The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Linden NJ, The largest gasoline pipeline in America Colonial Pipeline is returning to service, according to the company that runs it, after a cyberattack choked fuel supplies across the eastern U.S. Shortages are likely to continue for some time however, as supplies got more sparse overnight with stations as far north as New Jersey affected.
Posted on September 13, 2017 at 10:30 AM
By Larry Higgs
lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com,
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A non-profit think tank wants New Jersey drivers to dig deeper into their pockets to help the state Department of Transportation and NJ Transit catch up on needed projects.
The organization, Fund for New Jersey, calling for putting tolls on interstate highways, leasing state toll roads to private operators and raising motor vehicle fees in a report called “Crossroads NJ” set to be released Wednesday.
The report ties a transportation system that’s in good repair to the state’s economic well being, but said the state doesn’t have enough funding to keep up with a backlog of needs, even with the 23 cent per-gallon state gas tax increase that took effect in November.
The report suggests some revenue raisers that proved to be unpopular suggestions in the past, including charging tolls to use interstate highways and privatizing the states toll roads. Leasing the toll roads to private operators to raise funds for transportation projects was proposed by Gov. Jon Corzine in 2007 and dropped when met with strong opposition.
The report also suggested raising motor vehicle license and registration fees to improve the state Motor Vehicle Commission. The MVC has been on a decades long effort to replace an aging main frame computer system, which has been blamed for long lines and wait times at agencies when it breaks down. In MVC’s fiscal year 2017 budget, it collected $489 million in revenue and sent $139 million to the state budget.
file photo by Boyd Loving
By Double Down May 6, 2017 9:32 AM
Driving in New Jersey is tough. It takes years of practice. The Garden State has some of the most aggressive drivers anywhere in the country. Whether you grew up in New Jersey or are visiting from out of state, there are some basic rules of the road that everyone needs to adhere to so we can keep it moving and get to our destination.
Here are your 10 Commandments for driving in New Jersey.
Read More: The 10 Commandments of driving in New Jersey | https://nj1015.com/the-10-commandments-of-driving-in-new-jersey/?trackback=tsmclip
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 19, 2016 at 9:00 AM, updated October 19, 2016 at 11:13 AM
As little as three years ago, an NJ.com story declared the “bad old days of the DMV” — long lines, rude employees and a bureaucracy from hell, were a thing of the past.
In 2002, then Gov. James E. McGreevey convened the “Fix DMV” commission, which delivered a report about how to deal with the Division of Motor Vehicles chronic problems of lines, long waits and inefficiencies. The Nov. 2002 report led to the creation of the current Motor Vehicle Commission.
Under the MVC, wait times and lines had gotten shorter. Even beleaguered Jersey drivers stuck up for the agency, saying that it was better than it used to be.
file photo by Boyd Loving
By By Matthew Stock | Reuters
By Matthew Stock
Keeping calm behind the wheel could get easier thanks to a new car seat that actively monitors a driver’s physical and mental status to offer an on the move therapy session.
The “Active Wellness” seat is the world’s first health-monitoring car seat, according to automotive suppliers Faurecia. It uses a biometric sensing system built into the seat lining that can detect if the driver has a drop in energy levels or is under stress and responds with a specific massage pattern, along with air flow through the seat’s ventilation system.
“The Active Wellness seat is Faurecia’s vision on the next level of personalized comfort,” said Olaf Biedermann, director of innovation at Faurecia. “What we basically do is to monitor respiration rate and heart rate in the seat, and we derive stress and energy level from that. Then, having this kind of wellness being information, we now can offer a closed-loop comfort system; so in case you are stressed you get a relaxation massage, in case you have low energy levels you get a very energizing massage.”
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/intelligent-car-seat-detects-drivers-stress-level-100406941.html
Congressman Scott Garrett’s tax plan would be a real gas for Jersey drivers: Mulshine
In the New York Times the other day a panel of experts debated the wisdom of lowering the drinking age. Those in favor of doing so pointed out that current law encourages younger people to binge on hard liquor in private instead of drinking beer or wine at a bar.
The article was sent to me by Assemblyman Mike Carroll of Morris County. Carroll, who is a father of five or six or some such number, said he supports lowering the drinking age to the voting age, which is 18.
“If you’re not capable of making a determination to drink a beer, are you capable of making a determination that Barack Obama should be president of the United States?” asked Carroll.
As you might deduce from that remark, Carroll is a conservative Republican. But there are liberal Democrats who also support lowering the drinking age. It all makes for a high-toned and illuminating debate and it might have great meaning – if this were a free country.
Unfortunately it’s not. Americans love to yammer on about their love for freedom, but they love pushing other people around even more. That’s how we ended up with such draconian regulations as a national 55-mph speed limit and a national drinking age of 21.
Scott Garrett has an idea that would end all that over-regulation – and free up a lot of money for transportation as well. Garrett, a conservative Republican who represents the northwest corner of the state, is sponsoring a bill that would accomplish both those ends through the simple expedient of turning the federal gas tax into a state tax.
https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/congressman_scott_garretts_tax_plan_would_be_a_rea.html