Nancy Pinkin

Lawmakers hope a phone number and website are better than a list of mostly irrelevant addresses in notifying the public where to vote in an election.

New Jersey residents are being swamped by calls from telemarketers, at all hours of the day and night.

"I'm tired of these people treating me like an animal," one prisoner wrote from New Jersey State Prison. "I'm afraid when I do return to the free world. I will not know how to behave in company," said another.

NJ lawmakers want to raise taxes on cigars, raise the smoking age and boost enforcement of public smoking bans. They'd also spend millions to help people quit.

On Thursday, the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee is scheduled to consider a bill focused on letting residents and business owners know when their lights will be turned back on following power outages.