R U in NJ

You'd think our state legislators would finally learn not to meddle where they don't belong. But the Assembly Higher Education Committee spent precious time Thursday passing a recommendation that the Rutgers University Board of Governors consider changing the school's sports team logo - the one with the scarlet "R" - to more closely identify with New Jersey. The committee chairman, a Middlesex County Democrat, wants to see the "NJ'' reimposed over the "R'' and showed his colleagues an example, drawn by his wife. You can't make this stuff up.

New Jersey has done very well with Rutgers as the name of its state university for years. If people don't know where it is, alums are only too happy to explain. Plus it's the only state university without the state in its name. That makes New Jersey special.

What's not so special is how our representatives in Trenton waste time. One Republican member of the committee called it a bad example of micromanaging at a time when the state has so many other problems. He's right. Worrying about Rutgers' sports logo is not what we're paying our legislators $49,000 a year to do.