>Audit of N.J. Turnpike Authority finds $43M in waste during tough economy
Who knew that there is a business that gives bonuses for shoveling snow or working on your birthday, that throws a $10,000 event that nobody attends and pays for an employee bowling league?
Where is this workplace paradise?
That would be your own New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
“It’s amazing when you peel back the curtain — sometimes you see waste and corruption,” Peter Kennedy of New York City said between Exits 12 and 11. “It’s upsetting when you see the perks.”
>Former Washington D.C. schools chancellor hesitates in accepting offer to become N.J. education chief
TRENTON — Washington, D.C.’s former schools chancellor is seriously considering an offer from Gov. Chris Christie to become the state’s next education commissioner, but family concerns may prove an insurmountable stumbling block for her, two people familiar with the negotiations said. (Calefati, The Star-Ledger) https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/former_washington_dc_schools_c.html
>What Exactly is this “COMMON GOOD” that always seem to get thrown around
Craig Hueneke said… In no disrespect to the good doctor as I do not personally know him. But to trash Mrs. Barclay and Mrs Dittrick because of their careers is really not called for. Let’s say it like it is people, in the eyes of Lord we are all creatures when it comes right down to it. Again, I mean no malice towards the doctor, but if it came down to wanting to know more about a community I would rather listen to a realtor. If my community had an outbreak of a mysterious rash, then I would consult the good doctor. And finally, please quit the West/East side angst. It serves no feasible purpose.
We are a community, and a community never fully agrees on everything. However a true community understands that everyone has different opinions but acts in the interest of THE COMMON GOOD.
Thanks, Craig S. Hueneke
Craig, First let me commend you for using your name – braver than most, and braver than I. The hospital is on the Eastside of town. The Westside is sufficiently distant that many there may think that they are immune or less affected by possible effects, or simply rate their importance less highly. For this particular issue, a different perspective of costs/benefits based on where you live is not unreasonable.
Your sentiment about the THE COMMON GOOD is noble, but the point is that the community hasn’t reached a general consensus on what is THE COMMON GOOD. The hospital is sure, the (unelected, volunteer)planning board is sure, but as a community we are not sure.
> Kathe Donovan : The Days of Wine & Roses in Bergen County are about to come to an end Republican candidate for County Executive Kathe Donovan pledged today to take personal responsibility for the official actions of every agency and office of County government adding, “my opponent incumbent Dennis McNerney’s greatest failing is his refusal to be accountable for the reckless conduct of his administration.”
According to Donovan, “Mr. McNerney has attempted to distance himself from charges of corruption and incompetence at the Bergen County Improvement Authority suggesting that the agency is independent of his office. That’s simply not true. The County Executive can assert total control over the BCIA by vetoing the agencies minutes. Mr. McNerney never registered a veto in his eight years in office and the result is hundreds of millions of dollars of bonded indebtedness, a hundred million dollar cost overrun at one park where a toxic landfill may have been created by lack of oversight or sheer incompetence, tens of millions of dollars of consulting and other contracts to politically connected friends and runaway spending on easy to manage issues like expense accounts.”
Ms. Donovan said that in addition to using her veto power whenever appropriate she will appoint herself or her designee to serve on every County board and agency. “It’s the responsibility of the County Executive to guard against abuses and lapses in judgment. Agencies will not be responsible if they are not accountable and the best way to achieve this is for the County Executive to be an ongoing presence. Absentee management will no longer be the norm in County government.”
She continued, “Through strict governance we will end the corrupt practices uncovered and reported by the Record which cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in questionable contracts to consultants and vendors with close political ties to the County Executive. Our Office of Asset Recovery will for the first time aggressively review all contracts and seek cost recovery when warranted. If consultants were paid for a service we will want proof that the service was provided. Without proof of service we will move to recover those ill-gotten gains.”
Donovan added, “McNerney’s failure to take responsibility and allow reckless practices has allowed the County’s debt to more than double to $1.1 billion leaving each Bergen County family a bill for over $5,000. I have taken responsibility for the running of the County Clerk’s office and been fully accountable. As a result, we have managed savings amounting to $300 for every Bergen County family. That’s the difference been McNerney and me.”
She concluded, “On the day I announced for the office of County Executive I said that the days of wine and roses would soon be over. By requiring accountability and assuming responsibility taxpayers should have every confidence that I will produce on that commitment.”
RIDGEWOOD — Plans to upgrade The Valley Hospital, high property taxes, and a sluggish shopping district are among the issues four candidates face in a special election on Nov. 2 to fill a seat on the Village Council.
Russell Forenza, Louis Lembo, Oliver Train and Stephen Wellinghorst are looking to fill the remainder of the term of Councilwoman Anne Zusy, who was elected in May 2008 and died in June. The non-partisan term expires in 2012.
None of the candidates has held a seat on the Village Council but all say they bring a special perspective and talent to the council.
Valley’s latest PR salvo in the war over the Master Plan is a “personal” letter from a Doctor in Glen Rock sent to many Ridgewood homes.
The letter states that expanding to single patient rooms is in the interests of patients, calling the expansion an “imperative” for Valley.
While many people support the single patient room argument, the letter ignores the obvious point that Valley is trying to shoe-horn such a large construction into the residential Village of Ridgewood. If a seven storey building is approved and built, there is no turning back.
There are alternatives that the Village Council has control over via the ordinance process. Since Pascack Valley Hospital closed in 2007, patients from nineteen villages have been forced to travel across Ridgewood streets to visit Valley and overstress the emergency room. This was a financial windfall for Valley enriching already healthy annual surpluses in its accounts.
Over the last three years, Valley has argued at public meetings and before the PHV bankruptcy court that there are too many beds in Bergen County. The obvious solution to preventing the proposed over development in Ridgewood and the additional traffic created by PVH closing is for PVH to reopen its 128 beds and Valley to become a single patient room 350 bed hospital. Remember Valley was a very profitable operation before PVH closed. Denying the people of Pascack Valley access to local surgical facilities is unconscionable.
The Ridgewood Village Council has the power to make this happen so make your vote count on November 2 2010 and vote for a candidate that supports a reasonable compromise.
>N.J. Assembly consider “affordable housing” reform bill
TRENTON — The state Assembly today introduced its long-awaited version of a bill to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing and revamp affordable housing rules in New Jersey. (Livio, The Star-Ledger)
>Gov. Christie expresses concern over cable dispute
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie weighed in Monday on the increasingly bitter cable television dispute that prevented three million homes in New Jersey and New York from seeing both the Giants football game and the second game of the National League baseball playoffs on Sunday. (Carter, The New York Times)
A bill that would cap the amount of sick leave an employee can accrue and be paid upon retirement passed the assembly budget committee today. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
Begining Monday, October 18th leaves should be placed at the curb loose or in biodegradeable paper bags. Please observe the DEP 7-day rule for placing leaves in the street. Plastic bags of any type should NOT be used.
Contrary to popular belief, drivers in red cars don’t get ticketed more often than their less-flashy comrades. Middle-aged males with a thing for foreign brands, on the other hand, had better watch out.
Men who drive a Volkswagen GTI or Mercedes-Benz CLS-63 AMG are twice as likely to get a ticket than the average driver. If they’re in a Hummer, they might as well plan on it–drivers of the Hummer H2 face more than triple the chances of a citation.
“It’s the combination of the male driver driving the big old Hummer and a mid-life kind of person feeling good,” says Bob U’Ren, senior vice president at Quality Planning, a San Francisco-based company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers. “That’s the magical combination that drives some of these things.
To determine the cars most likely to get a ticket, Quality Planning’s analysts looked at traffic violation data from February 2009 through February 2010, counting the number of violations racked up by different car models. To account for the difference in number of cars on the road, they averaged the violation count per 100,000 miles driven. Vehicles that have been discontinued for more than 10 years were not included in the analysis.
The most-ticketed car on the road, the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, is a two-door luxury convertible–suggested retail price for a SL550 Roadster is $102,600. Drivers of these cars are four times more likely to get a ticket than the average person.
Luxury coupes and sedans dominate our list: Only one SUV (the Hummer H2) and two hatchbacks (the Scion xB and Volkswagen GTI) appear on the top 10, and no minivans or wagons.
In fact, according to Quality Planning data, 8 of the 10 least-ticketed cars are SUVs and minivans. U’Ren says that’s because drivers who carry multiple passengers–especially young passengers in car seats–significantly alter the way they drive. (For example, it’s likely many drivers of No. 3, the Scion tC coupe, aren’t toting kids.)
Our list of the cars most likely to get a ticket includes only two autos manufactured by Detroit’s Big Three, both of them discontinued: the Hummer H2 and the Pontiac Grand Prix. Drivers of GM’s discontinued sedan are almost twice as likely than the average commuter to be ticketed behind the wheel.
Another standout on the list: the Toyota Camry. Not known for its glamour or luxury, it makes the list for reasons having little to do with its mainstream popularity. U’Ren says there’s a large segment of Camry drivers who are proportionally disposed for violations: older women, who are less likely to be driving with kids. It’s also important to remember that this segment includes the Solara coupe–a sportier version than the ho-hum Camry sedan. “Sixty percent of those drivers are female, and they’re a little bit older–50 years old on average,” U’Ren says. “That’s the profile of the type of person that would buy and drive a Camry and Solara–and drive it quickly.”
>Kathe Donovan Disgusted by Allegations of Bullying, Intimidation and Reprisals Against County Employees
Vows that public employees will never have to fear political pressure in a Donovan Administration
Republican candidate for County Executive Kathe Donovan said today that asking Dennis McNerney’s handpicked, political county administrator to investigate serious allegations of bullying, intimidation and reprisals against county employees “is like inviting Bonnie & Clyde to review county ethics practices and BCIA expense accounts.”
Ms. Donovan referred to a complaint filed by county employee Domenick Spitaleri who has charged that after refusing orders from superiors to make political phone calls for Mr. McNerney he was retaliated against. Mr. Spitaleri’s allegations have been sent to the United States Attorney.
According to Ms. Donovan, “Asking County Administrator Dacey to review these serious allegations is eerily familiar to Mr. McNerney asking a Democrat crony from Middlesex County to investigate allegations of corruption at the Bergen County Improvement Authority. There has been no public disclosure of findings from that “phantom investigation.”
Ms. Donovan said that no public employee will ever have to fear political pressure and reprisals during her administration. She added, “This is another example of Mr. McNerney refusing to be accountable or to take responsibility. He is a disturbing reminder of Captain Renault (Claude Raines) refrain from Casablanca, ‘gambling? I’m shocked that there’s gambling in this establishment.’
Ms. Donovan said she was delighted to receive a campaign contribution from the County’s blue collar labor union in the wake of the allegations of abuse, harassment and reprisals lodged against Mr. McNerney.
“Unfortunately, these latest charges of harassment, abuse, bullying and reprisals lodged against County Executive McNerney and his administration are consistent with reports that have circulated throughout the County since the beginning of this campaign. These are serious charges which should be fully investigated by appropriate law enforcement and regulatory agencies.”
“Mr. McNerney’s treatment of public employees as chattels of his campaign is consistent with his flagrant, cavalier use of public money to illegally fund his reelection effort. These desperate, despicable efforts to save his position are evidence that he does not merit reelection.”
>Proposed bill would use teacher givebacks to help buy back lost positions
Six months after Gov. Chris Christie first called for teacher unions to agree to wage freezes and other concessions, debate still roils about what should be done with that money and what the state can and should require. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>November Elections : Sipprelle assails U.S. Rep. Rush Holt on Wall Street reform
Sipprelle assails Holt on Wall Street reform
ABERDEEN – Most of the crowd disgorged the Temple Shalom when Anna Little Little left, and now a solitary Scott Sipprelle of Princeton Twp. enters and announces that U.S. Rep. Rush Holt “insisted on keeping us separated” in this 12th District forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
>November Elections: Little supporters swamp Pallone in Aberdeen
ABERDEEN – A crowd mostly affiliated with the Little camp packs Temple Shalom here as U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) debates 6th Congressional District challenger Anna Little, the mayor of Highlands, who just arrived from Piscataway and another packed rally with Gov. Chris Christie. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
