When no one is murdered in Newark, New Jersey that's big news. When it stays that way for an entire month, it's a milestone. The city just achieved its first homicide-free month in over 40 years. Newark has a murder rate that's 3.8 times the national average, and the city has previously been dubbed "The Most Dangerous City in America." But recent efforts by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and the police department seem to be making a difference. Today, the blogosphere has been giving the city's affable young mayor high praise.

• This Is Cory Booker Success Story, applauds Matt Kelley at Change.org: "Newark Mayor Cory Booker deserves a big piece of the credit. Booker, who last night was celebrating the achievement by quoting Nelson Mandela on Twitter ("It always seems impossible until it's done"), has made crime reduction a central piece of his administration. He's launched regular citizen night patrols, and usually walks the streets along with residents. He's the kind of sleeve-rolling mayor our embattled cities need. If you haven't seen the fantastic documentary Street Fight, you may not know the depth of this guy's resolve. Watch it this weekend -- I guarantee you'll come away with a dose of respect for Newark's tough, innovative young mayor."

• Let's Build on This, urges a blogger at Global Grind: "I'm sure Mr. Booker's innovations like his nightly patrols contributed to the decline in murders. They need to explore this more to find out what has changed and build on its momentum. If they can go one month then they can go two months and then maybe the year hopefully."

• Finally Some Good News, writes Josh Duboff at New York Magazine. "March was pretty awful in a lot of ways. It rained like every day... and coyotes ran rampant through the streets of New York. But it was not all bad, folks: For the first time in 40 years, a calendar month has come and gone without a murder taking place in Newark, New Jersey." Additionally, Daniel Foster at National Review gives a "tip of the cap to Mayor Booker and NPD."

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John Hudson