Donald Trump leads the GOP presidential field in polls of Republican voters nationally and in most early-voting states, but some surveys may actually be understating his support, a new study suggests.
The analysis, by Morning Consult, a polling and market research company, looked at an odd occurrence that has cropped up repeatedly this year: Trump generally has done better in online polls than in surveys done by phone.
The firm conducted an experiment aimed at understanding why that happens and which polls are more accurate — online surveys that have tended to show Trump with support of nearly four-in-10 GOP voters or the telephone surveys that have typically shown him with the backing of one-third or fewer.
Their results suggest that the higher figure probably provides the more accurate measure. Some significant number of Trump supporters, especially those with college educations, are “less likely to say that they support him when they’re talking to a live human” than when they are in the “anonymous environment” of an online survey, said the firm’s polling director, Kyle Dropp.
With Trump dominating political debates in both parties, gauging his level of support has become a crucial puzzle. The Morning Consult study provides one piece of the solution, although many other uncertainties remain.
BURNING fossil fuels and cutting down trees causes global COOLING, a shock new NASA study has found.
By JON AUSTIN
PUBLISHED: 13:07, Mon, Dec 21, 2015 | UPDATED: 17:00, Mon, Dec 21, 2015
Major theories about what causes temperatures to rise have been thrown into doubt after NASA found the Earth has cooled in areas of heavy industrialisation where more trees have been lost and more fossil fuel burning takes place.
Environmentalists have long argued the burning of fossil fuels in power stations and for other uses is responsible for global warming and predicted temperature increases because of the high levels of carbon dioxide produced – which causes the global greenhouse effect.
While the findings did not dispute the effects of carbon dioxide on global warming, they found aerosols – also given off by burning fossil fuels – actually cool the local environment, at least temporarily.
The research was carried out to see if current climate change models for calculating future temperatures were taking into account all factors and were accurate.
A NASA spokesman said: “To quantify climate change, researchers need to know the Transient Climate Response (TCR) and Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) of Earth.
I became infamous at Le Cordon Bleu in France (at least in my own mind) on a relatively quiet and peaceful classroom day of wine tasting. I am on stage but the theater is a dimly lit classroom in the 15th Arondissement of Paris and I am an American widow with three grown children wearing a uniform that matches my nine other youthful women classmates. Can I succeed at performing the international protocols of a flawless 7-minute wine analysis that ends with a perfect food and wine pairing while standing in front of my peers, professor and the man from Margaux?
With a grimace, and a bit of pride, I always think back to this life-changing moment in the spring of 2012 when I was preparing for intensive wine exams. After studying ten months in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu’s first year of wine management, I still had my doubts about performing the 7-minute wine analysis and, if given the choice, would rather have performed the 7-minute AB workout even if it entailed wearing my spandex shorts in front of my other twenty classmates.
My classmates snickered, but I think they were secretly happy that I broke the traditional standards of food and wine pairing that day. It certainly opened the doors to the steps I follow when it comes to choosing the perfect wine for holiday gatherings.
The internationally accepted rules of a wine tasting analysis chronicle in detail the visuel, or visual; olfactif or aromatic; andgustatif or taste of a particular wine, analyzing the future of the wine in terms of age, serving temperature, whether to carafe or decant, and finally, what dish to pair with the wine—all in 7-minutes or less. And the key ends with unlocking the door to choosing the correct wine for your meal.
I hold the glass of 2009 Chateau Kirwan Bordeaux in my hand like a singer ready to begin a melody. “This bouncy and forward 2009 Bordeaux from Chateau Kirwan, which is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Cabernet Franc,” I exclaim, “could be paired with a lovely garlic-rubbed grilled leg of lamb served with roasted rosemary potatoes and sautéed green beans with toasted pine nuts . . .”
Monsieur Professor is proudly smiling at me and begins to clap with my other nineteen classmates and the man from Margaux.
“Or,” I sheepishly announce over the first seconds of applause, “it could be paired with a thin-crusted pizza covered with caramelized onions, crispy pancetta, sautéed shitake mushrooms, and Gorgonzola cheese.”
The clapping stops abruptly, “Why you do that!” Monsieur Professor shouts at me after my offbeat pairing suggestion. “You just gave perfect wine analysis and then ruined it by your food pairing . . . pizza, mon Dieu, not with Chateau Kirwan from Margaux!”
I genuinely want that bottle of Chateau Kirwan from Margaux with pizza. Ce n’est pas chouette (that’s not cool) for a traditional French food and wine pairing but for me, an American, it is.
I suggest using my basic pairing principles—that so abruptly disturbed my French classroom that day—to explore and have fun with food and wine pairings during the holidays. By matching a wine that’s either similar or opposite to the dish or ingredients being served, you can produce delectable and unique pairings. It’s all about the personal adventure when it comes to food and wine pairing.
I pair wine using a simple technique that I learned from a famous sommelier in France. “Wine pairing should be looked at like we look at couples,” he shared. “There are two types of couples in this world. There are the couples who are similar to one another and make each other whole almost like being one person and then there are the couples who are completely opposite and one would never put them together.”
Yet both couples work together and form a powerful bond…
1. Is this wine similar to the dish?
Ex: A heavy beef stew with lots of pepper and bay leaves would have flavors similar to a peppery, earthy red wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon or a spicy Pinot Noir. The bold aromas and flavors of the wine are similar to the strong and spicy ingredients in the stew.
2. Is this wine opposite to the dish?
Ex: A creamy white sauce over pasta would pair well with a nice Sauvignon Blanc. Why?
The acidity in the wine is opposite from the creamy, smooth sauce and actually subdues and balances both flavors.
In pairing traditional holiday dishes, use the basic concepts above (try on your own first) and if you get stumped here are some cheat notes:
Be bold, brave and thankful that your pick does not include the man from Margaux. Simply take that adventurous wine leap believing that your personal palate will always catch you. And even if your palate fails you with the hours of thought you put into that special holiday food and wine pairing, who cares, try again later. Toss out the old ideas about failure and embrace it as your best friend because, when it comes to wine, there is always another chance to get creative with another even more provocative pairing.
A viticulturist, award-winning winemaker, and published author with over 25 years of experience in the wine industry, Paula Moulton has worked with wine talent such as Joel Peterson of Ravenswood Winery, Mike Benziger of Benziger Family Winery, and Jean-Luc Thunevin (Bordeaux’s Bad Boy wine). She has appeared on the Today Show, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CRN, and other major media outlets as an author and wine industry leader. Moulton holds a BA from U. C. Berkeley in Rhetoric, an AS in viticulture from Santa Rosa Junior College, and a Wine Management degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, France. Learn more about Moulton at www.paulamoulton.com.
DECEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RON FOX
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
If she ever had the inclination, Karen Keyes easily could field a potent lacrosse team. However, the coach is totally engrossed on sending a successful basketball team onto the court.
“As usual, we’re very quick and athletic,” Ridgewood’s girls hoops coach said as she planned for tonight’s season opener at home against Ramapo. “Many of the girls play lacrosse and they have a lot of speed.”
Last year, a host of key injuries struck the Maroons and left them scrambling to fill the openings. Three of last year’s seniors missed a great deal of time and the team ended with a record of just 5-15. The positive part of that equation is that the young girls who stepped in wound up gaining experience for this season.
The underclassmen also were hard hit by physical misfortune last year. Current seniors who have returned from injuries that hampered their 2014-15 season, guard/forward Jordan Iannone and guard Jules Rosen, are back in good health.
“Jordan had a recurring ankle injury last year,” Keyes said. “She brings experience as a fourth-year varsity player. She is a composed presence and we’re depending on her in a lot of areas inside and out.
“Jules was just starting to play well last year when she suffered a severe ankle injury. In fact, she was leading the team in scoring when she went down against Hackensack. She has a nice shot and we need her to be an offensive catalyst for us.”
The senior class also features Dartmouth-bound lacrosse star Katie Bourque at guard/forward, second-year varsity swing person Mia Barbera and guard Sarah Silvestro.
MAGIC SHOW FEATURING JOE FISCHER – Monday, December 28th, 11:30 am at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Tickets are $5 for all attending (under 2 free).
A show that is sure to amaze.
Be sure to watch for “Secrets of Magic” during our winter session – a 6 week class of behind the scene magic with Joe Fischer, with take home tricks each week.
ARCTIC ANIMALS ART CAMP WITH ABRAKADOODLE – Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29, 10 am to 12 noon each day, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades K-3. $90, all materials provided ($100 non-residents).
Calling all animal lovers! Students will use clay and paint in this camp while learning about some snowy friends! From igloos and polar bears to chilly moose, a fun time will be had by all!
CHILDREN’S CRAFT WORKSHOP WITH MRS. C. – Monday, December 28th, 1 to 3 pm, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 2-6. $30, all materials provided ($40 non-residents).
Use your creativity and imagination while learning simple techniques required to draw, paint, and finish a project of your choice. All materials included. Bottle dolls, wood painting, basket weaving, tile painting, beads, jewelry, and a lot more!
MYTHBUSTERS WITH EDUCATION EXPLORERS – Tuesday, December 29th, 1 to 3 pm, at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 1-5. $45, all materials included ($55 non-residents).
Explore science the Busters Way! Children will participate in a variety of hands-on experiments that put common “myths” to the test. Using scientific method and children’s innate curiosity, they will have fun exploring many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles.
Purchase of tickets for the shows or registration for the program offerings may be made either online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For additional information, or if special accommodations are needed, kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560.
DECEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
For the first time in years, when the Ridgewood High School swim teams host a meet, they will actually being doing so at home.
The Maroons’ practices and home meets are now being held around the corner from RHS at the Ridgewood YMCA after years of traveling to Passaic County Tech in Wayne.
“They’re very happy about it and I’m sure the parents are too,” said first-year coach Kimberly Schmidt. “The one thing that they do miss are the long bus rides. Not the late-night practices but the long bus rides, because they got to know each other and have fun.”
Schmidt, in her first year as a health teacher at the high school, took the helm after former coach Keith Cook was hired as the school’s athletic director earlier this year.
The coach taught in Newark for eight years and coached swimming at Gill St. Bernard’s, a private school in the city that had just begun its swimming program. Schmidt, originally from Suffern, N.Y., previously had served as an assistant on the Montclair State University coaching staff and swam for the University of Rhode Island.
DECEMBER 21, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY SOPHIA F. GOTTFRIED
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Giving the gift of a book can expand the mind, transport the reader to a new place or another time, and won’t break the bank. How many other gifts can do that?
But how to choose just one book when there are more than 300,000 published every year? “That’s why independent bookstores exist,” says Walter Boyer, co-owner of Bookends in Ridgewood.
Bob Kutik, owner of Womrath’s Bookstore in Tenafly, agrees, saying that shopping for books online “just isn’t the same as discussing a book with somebody knowledgeable.”.
The Record asked local bookstore owners to offer their picks for holiday gifts this season.
DECEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood resident Christie Kim, now 7-years-old, has played the role of Princess Ying Yaowalak in Lincoln Center Theater’s “The King and I” more than 200 times since the show returned to Broadway earlier this year.
Christie is one of only three members from the original cast who hasn’t missed a show since it opened. “I want to make it to the 300th show. I just don’t want to miss a show because I’ll miss the people there,” she said. “It feels different each night because there’s always a new audience.”
Christie and the cast of “The King and I” performed the song, “Getting to Know You” at the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “It was pretty early,” said Christie, who had to arrive on location at 5:15 a.m. for the performance. “Some people were nervous, some people were cold.” She enjoyed meeting the cast of “On Your Feet” while participating in the parade.
Christie had another early morning for the cast’s appearance in the 69th Annual Tony Awards last June. “It was cool. I had to wake super early, but I liked seeing all these different and new people there,” she said. “There was a big audience.”
While backstage at the awards, Christie got to interact with such Broadway stars as Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris. “I liked talking to people from ‘On the Town’ and ‘Something Rotten,’” she said.
Another television appearance was for “LIVE with Kelly and Michael.” “It was exciting,” Christie said. “It was a very short moment, but I got to meet Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan.” She also talked with actress Rebel Wilson behind the scenes and took a photo with her.
It was a surreal moment for Christie to watch the segment on TV later. “It was good,” she said. “It felt like there was two of me.
Ridgewood NJ, The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus directed by John Palatucci headlined two concerts this past weekend, Saturday evening 19 Dec at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon 20 Dec at 4. At a New venue: Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in Ridgewood, with special guest Laura Hamilton, associate concert master of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.Ms. Hamilton performed solo works of Beethoven and Fauré and a mind blowing rendition “Havanaise” featuring some violin pyrotechnics. The group was also accompanied by internationally acclaimed pianist and Monroe Quinn on guitar.
Repertoire iincluded:
Do You Hear What I Hear? – Regney
The First Nowell – Vaughan Williams
Ani ma’ amin – arr. Leavitt (w/Ms. Hamilton)
O magnum mysterium – Handl
The Prayer – Sager & Foster
Go tell it on the mountain – arr. Quinn (OCMC premiere)
I’ll be home for Christmas – Gannon, Kent & Buck
Selected Carols – Turrin (Ron Levy, piano)
Credo – Turrin (world premiere)
Night Song – Lane (w/Ms. Hamilton)
Little Saint Nick – Wilson
How can I keep from singing? – arr. Ellingboe (w/Ms. Hamilton)
Some children see him – Burt
Jingle Bells – arr. Gold, Paich; adapted Hayes
And of of coarse there was plenty of audience participation including the annual sing-a-long with Auld Lang Syne.Orpheus started on October 11, 1909, eight men met at the Ridgewood home of Frank R. Pawley do discuss a men’s singing club. A week later, 10 men gathered in the village library, a room in the First National Bank Building. The group paid 75 cents per night to use the room and began singing together, with Dewitt Clinton, Jr., as director. The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus was born. Others joined the club and by December, it was agreed that a concert would be presented in February at the Library, but the actual decision was left to the director, and the first Performance was in May. The opener in that concert was the rousing “Winter Song.”
Club membership quickly rose from the 18 who sang the first concert, to 35. The members met weekly on Wednesdays from October to May, and in 1913, the club gave it’s first performance of “Pilgram’s Chorus” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser. Variety in repertoire was common in Orpheus Club concerts. A program might include “The Boog-a-Boo,” a ragtime number, “Old Black Joe,” the Stephen Foster song, comedy numbers like “But They Didn’t,” and classics, sometimes sung in French or German.
Ten years after its founding, the Orpheus Club was making guest appearances around New Jersey, and traveled as far as Brookly to sing at a fundraiser for the rebuilding of the Baptist Temple, which had suffered a fire. As the years continued , the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus remained a significant part of New Jersey’s cultural life. When the Kasschau Memorial Band shell was dedicated in Ridgewood, the club sang at the inauguration.
In 1962, Richard Lane signed on as pianist for the club, beginning a distinguished career that would continue for 42 years until his death in 2004. A brilliant composer and teacher, Lane wrote 20 numbers for the Club and today’s concerts always feature at least one of Richard’s compositions.
Today, the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus includes about 50 singers from New York and New Jersey and generally makes eight to ten appearances annually including four formal concerts. The Club has sung “Alto Rhapsody” (Brahms) with the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra as well as “The Testament of Freedom” (Thompson) and “Hymn to the Nations” (Verdi) with the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea. The men of Orpheus have joined with the Ridgewood Choral to sing “Song of Democracy” (Hanson) and appeared with the Ridgewood Concert Band to sing the music of Aaron Copland and Richard Wagner.
In the Spring of 2005, the Chorus made its Lincoln Center debut, performing at the Lincoln Center Library with the Palisades Virtuosi chamber ensemble. Additional performances in recent years have included concerts at the Kasschau Memorial Band shell in Ridgewood, singing in Ridgewood’s Independence Day parade, area churches, and in November 2009, a presentation of Beethoven’s Fantasia for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80 (the Choral Fantasy) with the Ridgewood Choral, the Ridgewood High School Chamber Choir, and the Eastern Christian High School Chorus.
Richard Lane’s composition declares: “We are men who like to sing. We are the men of Orpheus.
The Roland L. Meyer Orpheus Club Scholarship
The Orpheus Club is proud to sponsor a scholarship program designed to honor and assist a graduating high school senior who has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in music and who intends to continue musical studies on the collegiate level. Since the program took on its current form in 1993, we have been pleased to recognize students from more than a dozen area schools with grants totaling more than $20,000. These outstanding young musicians have gone on to study at colleges and universities across the country. The 2016 Application and instructions will be available in January 2016.
By Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 21, 2015 at 6:00 AM, updated December 21, 2015 at 7:33 AM
In the weeks since Donald Trump ignited a firestorm by claiming “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in Jersey City cheered the fall of the twin towers on 9/11, elected officials, religious leaders and a former state attorney general denied the existence of celebrations in the city that day.
Media outlets, after scouring archived news stories and video footage, could not find verified accounts of Jersey City Muslims rejoicing.
In the weeks since Donald Trump ignited a firestorm by claiming “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in Jersey City cheered the fall of the twin towers on 9/11, elected officials, religious leaders and a former state attorney general denied the existence of celebrations in the city that day.
Media outlets, after scouring archived news stories and video footage, could not find verified accounts of Jersey City Muslims rejoicing.
But in a new examination by NJ Advance Media, a police officer who worked on 9/11 and residents on the outskirts of Journal Square say they witnessed small pockets of people celebrating before the groups dispersed or were broken up by authorities.
The NJ Advance Media inquiry, encompassing more than two dozen interviews conducted since Nov. 25, found Trump’s broad assertion that thousands of people cheered to be baseless. At the same time, the inquiry provides the first credible indication of at least two modest celebrations, as described by on-the-record sources who say they witnessed the behavior.
“When I saw they were happy, I was pissed,” said Ron Knight, 56, a Tonnele Avenue resident who said he heard cries of “Allahu Akbar” as he shouldered his way through a crowd of 15 to 20 people on John F. Kennedy Boulevard that morning.
Collectively, the gatherings amounted to dozens of people at the two locations, the witnesses said. Callers also flooded the 911 system with accounts of jubilant Muslims on a rooftop at a third location, three police officers said, but a reporter was unable to find witnesses there 14 years later.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Check out your own state’s cost per mile with Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report.
Nick Gillespie|Dec. 7, 2015 12:09 pm
This new video uses data from Reason Foundation’s 21st Annual Highway Report to make a simple but devastating point: New Jersey’s roads are paved not with asphalt but wasted taxpayer dollars. (Disclosure: Reason Foundation is the nonprofit that funds this website.)
Indeed, according to the report, the Garden State spends way, way more than other states to maintain its roads:
South Carolina and West Virginia spent just $39,000 per mile of road in 2012 while New Jersey spent over $2 million per state-controlled mile. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California and Florida were the next biggest spenders, outlaying more than $500,000 per state-controlled mile.
See where your state stacks up here.
Spoiler alert: if you live in California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Alaska, or Hawaii, you can suck it in terms of road costs and road quality. But you already knew that, didn’t you?
Legislators in Jersey (and many other states) are eyeing ways to pay for more road construction. Recent polls show about 57 percent of Jersey residents are against a gas-tax hike even as five roadways popped up on a list of the “worst traffic bottlenecks” in the country.
Critics of Reason Foundation’s methodology counter that a fairer accounting of costs finds that Jersey spends “only”$270,000 per mile on its roads.
Yeah, maybe, but almost certainly not.
Jersey’s gas tax is a relatively cheap-o 14.5 cents per gallon while neighboring New York’s is a relatively whopping 45 cents per gallon. These taxes are supposed to fund capital road projects and maintenance but neither is accomplishing that basic task. Capital New York notes that while New Jersey’s transportation fund is wallowing in debt (about one-third of receipts go to debt service), New York’s fund is giving away money to a wide range of activities, with less than a quarter of receipts going to road projects. Give the state too little money and they need more; give it too much and they spend it on whatever they want to.
And there’s this for Jersey folks:
New Jerseyans pay an average $601 annually in extra repairs due to driving on roads in need of fixing, according to [Department of Transportation] data.
36 cents – Mass transit 23 cents – “Local System Support,” including regional planning and state aid for county and local roads 12.6 cents – Behind-the-scenes work on implementing the capital program, such as research, planning and design. 12 cents – Road upgrades, including pothole repairs, resurfacing, drainage, landscaping and environmental compliance 8 cents – Bridge maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement 3 cents – Support facilities, such as office buildings and highway rest areas 2 cents – Congestion relief, including road widening 2 cents – Safety improvements at intersections, railroad crossings, traffic signals, restriping highways 1 cent – Multimodal programs, including bicycle, pedestrian, ferry and freight programs 0.4 cents – Airport improvement program
By Justin Zaremba and Marisa Iati | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 20, 2015 at 4:24 PM, updated December 20, 2015 at 8:46 PM
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — The leader of a Boy Scout troop was attacked by a bear while leading three scouts through the woods Sunday afternoon, according to authorities.
The unidentified man was airlifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital with what authorities described as non-life threatening injuries, Rockaway police said in a statement.
Police were called to the scene around 12:26 p.m., when one of the scouts reported that the man had been attacked after entering a cave off one of the hiking trails surrounding the Splitrock Reservoir.
Local officers and firefighters were joined by a state police helicopter to search the 625-acre area straddling the Rockaway-Kinnelon border, using signals from a scout’s cell phone to locate the group, according to police.
Ridgewood NJ ,CBS 2016 Battleground Tracker came out with some interesting results , first 70% of respondents felt America had become “More dangerous and insecure” and that the 69% of the respondents felt the American economy is moving more toward a system that makes things harder for them. No surprise , given the weak job growth and high regulatory costs and anti business mentality of the Obama Administration , but in what I think is the big surprise is that a resounding 56% of Democrats favored Bernie Sanders .
CBS News December 2015 Battleground Tracker, New Hampshire
CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker, New Hampshire: Dec. 14-17, 2015
The CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker is a panel study based on interviews conducted on the internet of registered voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The poll was conducted by YouGov, an online polling organization.
CBS News 2016 Battleground TrackerNew Hampshire Sample 1091 Registered VotersConducted December 14-17, 2015 Margin of Error ±5.7%
1. Do you feel America is generally becoming a safer and more secure country, or a moredangerous and insecure country? More dangerous and insecure 70%
2. Do you feel the American economy is moving more toward a system that benefits you, or more toward a system that makes things harder for you? Makes things harder for you 69%
6. Which candidate are you most likely to vote for in the New Hampshire
GOP Favor Donald Trump 32%
Democrats Bernie Sanders 56%
Bill to restart BEIP payments angers some NJ businesses
DECEMBER 20, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The passage last week of a bill that would restart incentive payments to about 270 New Jersey companies owed hundreds of millions of dollars for creating jobs in New Jersey sounds, at first glance, like good news for the companies.
Yet the legislation has upset some of the businesses by including a delayed payment schedule that means some won’t get their money for years.
The state stopped funding the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) more than two years ago, after underfunding it and skipping payments for years because of budget constraints. The revived program changes the method of payment, from rebates needed to be provided for in the state budget, to tax credits, which are reductions in taxes the businesses have to pay.
But the new system’s delayed payment schedule has only renewed criticism from the companies affected, which are now owed $785 million.
Payments not made between 2008 and 2013, for example, will now be paid in five installments, beginning in 2017 and concluding in 2021 – more than a decade after some first became due. Payments not made in 2014 and 2015, won’t be paid until 2019, and all payments for the next five years will be paid at least three years after they are accrued.
Sponsors of the bill, which passed both houses of the Legislature on Thursday and is expected to be signed by Governor Christie, say the payment delays are needed to cope with an estimated total obligation of $1.267 billion once all the bills are paid by 2025. The estimate comes from the state Economic Development Authority, which manages the state economic development programs.
But the delays are too long for some companies already irate that they reshaped their business – in some cases moving into New Jersey from out of state – based on a commitment that the state hasn’t kept.
“That’s absolutely asinine, literally,” said Thomas Churchill, vice president for operations at Model Electronics in Ramsey, of the delayed payment schedule.
Churchill, whose company remanufacturers audio navigation and other auto parts, added, “If they are doing it over a period of time, it becomes monotonous, and idiotic. It becomes very, very hard to manage, and it’s probably not worth the cost.” He said spreading payments over several years makes calculating how much money the company receives, and the taxes owed on it, more complicated and burdensome.
Churchill’s company moved from Rockland County, N.Y., to Bergen County in 2005 with the help of a grant for $468,000 over 10 years, contingent on bringing 85 new jobs to the state. After he fulfilled that commitment, the state at first paid the annual rebate checks on schedule, but the company has not received a check since getting the company’s 2011 incentive payment.
Another business owner, who is owed payments but declined to be identified, welcomed the bill but added: “However, I cannot get excited for something that is four years away, and six years after the first payment was due initially.” In a reflection of how the BEIP history has damaged confidence in the state’s development efforts, the owner added: “I am sure anything can happen and change by then anyway, as it did two years ago.”
DECEMBER 19, 2015, 10:32 AM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2015, 3:16 PM
BY TODD SOUTH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Authorities arrested a 33-year-old Bronx man Friday afternoon at the Garden State Plaza who they allege had 13 pounds of raw heroin in his car, according to a media release.
In the release, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said that at about 1:45 p.m. Friday Passaic sheriff’s detectives along with the investigators from the state Attorney General’s Office Gang/Organized Crime Bureau pulled over Daniel A. Cespedes in a white Honda Accord as part of a joint undercover operation at the mall, in Paramus.
“After the stop, detectives observed the driver acting in a suspicious manner,” Berdnik said.
Officers allege that they saw Cespedes trying to hide an orange tool bag behind the front passenger seat. Police then searched the vehicle and found 13 pounds of raw heroin, with a wholesale value of more than $500,000, according to the release.
