> “Courts Gone Wild” Seminar Monday night at 8:00pm in Maywood !
For over forty years New Jersey’s Supreme Court has been the driving force behind the highest property taxes, the worst income tax and one of the highest sales taxes in America – all for the purpose of advancing its activist agenda!
Join Americans for Prosperity Foundation on Monday night for our “Courts Gone Wild” educational seminar and learn the facts about how our runaway Supreme Court has driven New Jersey’s economy to the brink! Monday, February 13th at 8:00pm Maywood Senior Center 145 W. Magnolia Ave. Maywood, NJ 07607
>$1B messtimate,Port Authority goofs on WTC cost budget
By JENNIFER FERMINO Transit Reporter Last Updated: 4:11 AM, February 10, 2012
The Port Authority brain trust that orchestrated last year’s toll hikes failed to include a billion dollars in their accounting of World Trade Center costs — and no one at the agency yesterday could explain why.
The blooper was uncovered in an independent audit released Tuesday that found the PA will fork over $7.7 billion to pay for the construction of the World Trade Center.
That’s a $1.7 billion increase from the last cost estimate in 2008.
At the agency’s monthly board meeting yesterday, red-faced officials admitted costs like moving tenants into 1 World Trade Center were not accounted for — despite being necessary to complete the job.
Finally looking to get it right Ridgewood officials justifies cost of Village Hall improvements
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012 BY JOSEPH CRAMER STAFF WRITER THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Restoration to the flood-damaged first floor of Village Hall will come at an initially higher cost than previous repair efforts, but the price tag will ultimately be justified by the proposed solution’s long-term sustainability and structural damage prevention in future flooding scenarios, village officials said
At a public meeting Wednesday, the Village Council introduced a bond ordinance to appropriate $550,000 for the remodeling and restoration of Village Hall’s first level.
Since the hall itself is prone to flooding due to its location in the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook floodplain, the first floor often takes on water in significant weather events. Most recently this occurred during Hurricane Irene, when several feet of water in the first level yielded around $90,000 in clean-up work and forced the relocation of community groups who normally use the space.
“Ridgewood school district hopes to reopen bridge.” Reader says better to replace bridge than fix it
A couple of points from this article that should be noted.
1) It has long been obvious to anyone and everyone who has had a conversation with an administrator or a BOE member about the bridge that they want no part of replacing it. They are scared to death that they will be forced to replace it and what the potential costs could be. (Can’t say I blame them.) Remember that when you try to digest their concerns about “ramps” becoming “dams.” That bridge is already a dam directly in the path of the river and greatly contributes to the flooding on Vets, Stevens and the RHS Field. “Ramps” would be outside the path of the river and would only become “dams” after the river has already flooded. That is a big difference. To try and argue that they are the same is ludicrous and indicative of how far they are reaching to ensure they do not have to pay to replace the bridge. It would also be very easy to build ramps that allowed flood water to run under them in the case of a major flood.
2) Allowing Angelo to be the person discussing things with the DEP is one more way to try and ensure that nothing gets done with the bridge. His job is to say “no,” especially when it comes to spending money. How do you think we ended up with the fake cupola on top of the HS? He thought no one would notice and the BOE could save some bucks. Thankfully it didn’t work out that way. He should not be involved in any of this until a decision is made and costs need to be evaluated. There should be a committee of people working with our elected state representatives to find out exactly what could be done to replace that bridge. The discussions should include; potential grants for flood relief, streamlined fast tracked approvals and guidance from the state and county and viable options that could be done quickly and cost effectively.
3) The fact that the current “Specs” demand (taking Angelo’s word which is very risky) that there be 84′ of ramps on both sides in order to raise a simple pedestrian bridge over a small stream shows just how out of touch Trenton and government as a whole has become. Governor Christie has pledged to bring common sense back to environmental restrictions. If we really want to address the bridge and the resulting flooding it would probably be good if we reached out to Christie’s office and got some direction on who we should be talking to at the DEP and get them to the site and find out what kind of options we have. There are always options when you refuse to take “no” as the answer the first time you ask. I am sure there is another way to build a small pedestrian bridge without constructing 168 feet of ramps for a 15 foot wide stream.
If we don’t get the DEP to the site and find out a way to replace that bridge we’re going to be paying $50,000 a clip to clean and renovate the fields every time we get a significant flood and then we are still going to have to pay to have it replaced because it is going to continue to erode and deteriorate no matter what the BOE thinks. We should spend the bare minimum on the bridge to get it re-opened for the short term and we should start immediately working on getting a plan together to replace it or we’re going to have the same conversations in another couple of years when the bridge needs yet again more repairs.
> ““the Telephone Pole Solar Panel Rip-Off”” : Readers comment
Ellie Gruber , just had to comment on this story:
There are numerous errors of commission and omission in the blog.
1. NJ has better sun than Germany but German panels are producing year round- (better in the summer but even in the winter as long as they are not totally snow covered).. PV panels work well in low sun conditions- they do not need direct summer sunlight in order to produce energy. NJ has about 15-20% more sun than Germany on an annual basis
2. The structure and costs of the NJ solar program and the German program are very different. Germany has been more aggressive for longer than NJ and has more capacity on a per capita basis. Germany has been able to reduce peak usage in their grid and reduce peak energy costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.
3. As opposed to fossil fuel technologies, the cost of installing solar is dropping- last year prices were 30% less than 2009. The NJ solar progeam is making solar more competitive with fossil fuels while cleaning the air and providing jobs for thousands of NJ residents.
2 different career paths define Christie N.J. Supreme Court nominees
One nominee has logged long hours in the courtroom, and the other has rarely appeared before a judge. One has a $3.5 million real estate portfolio, while the other owns less than $1 million worth of property.
Those are just a couple of the distinctions between the two attorneys nominated by Gov. Chris Christie to serve on the state Supreme Court detailed in questionnaires submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The documents, obtained by The Star-Ledger, offered a glimpse into the different backgrounds of Phillip Kwon, 44, of Closter, and Bruce Harris, 61, the mayor of Chatham borough. If confirmed, Harris would be the first openly gay justice on the court, and Kwon the first Asian-American. (Baxter and Spoto, The Star-Ledger)
While I am finishing up part 5 of the series “the Telephone Pole Solar Panel Rip-Off”, I want to bring to everyone’s attention some interesting information that is being compiled on the operation of solar panels by Germany. The reason it should be of interest is because many in the state use Germany as a blueprint for New Jersey’s solar panel program.
Since the 1980’s the Green Party in Germany has pushed the country to invest enormous amounts of money in “Green” power projects. Because of this the installed solar cell base is 1.1 million power systems and is rated at 25 gigawatts. That might sound impressive until you convert is to megawatts and realize that it is 25,000 megawatts. That is about the same amount of electricity, if all of the cells are producing at the same time what would be produced by 25 average coal fired or nuclear powered generating plants.
To get this 25,000 megawatts Germany has paid a tremendous price. They have invested over 100 billion Euros to install these units and just recently the return on investment in the form of electricity from this expenditure was: ZERO.
Of course you will not read about this in the New York Times, Washington Post or on NBC, ABC or CBS since it does not support the green energy myth they have been pushing. You will though find out about these problems if you are an investor researching various companies in the alternative energy fields.
I was reading an article entitled Dark Clouds Threaten German Clean Energy Ambitions: Global Implications by John Peterson, an American living in Switzerland. This one quote really hit home:
“For weeks now, the 1.1 million solar power systems in Germany have generated almost no electricity.”
Because of this Germany has had to import electricity from France and Czech Republic. 100 billion Euros spent and they still have to import energy to heat and light their homes. Could this be the future of New Jersey? Well, some people want it that way and are willing to lie to us in order to make it so.
Writing at EcoOutfitters.net, Dawn Allcot compares Germany and New Jersey then makes this statement:
There’s a simple answer, and the proof is in the power. (So to speak…) Germany is currently the world’s leader in solar energy production. Last year, the country’s solar plants produced more than 13,000mw of solar energy – enough to power 4.3 million homes, according to an article on the BBC website about solar power in Europe.
And Germany isn’t exactly noted for its sunny, temperate weather. Let’s look at a snapshot of conditions in a few areas around Berlin today, according to Weather Underground:
• Scattered clouds
• Mostly cloudy
• Scattered Clouds
• Scattered Clouds
• Clear
• Mostly Cloudy…
This sure sounds a lot like the weather we get in New Jersey, and if we accepted what Allcot takes as gospel from the BBC, it might make sense for New Jersey to follow in Germany’s “green” footsteps. But before we open the checkbook, how about we consider this little piece of information by Alexander Neubacher at Spiegel Online International:
You know what i said at 308 eastern? we want a million jobs an hour. that’s what we want. what we got looked like a good report. i said let’s get the calculator out and i did. so did my sources and big blogs many people read like zero hedge. the labor force participation rate if you look at nonseasonally adjusted, a fresh low going back to april of ’83. if you look at seasonally adjusted a fresh low participation rate going back to december of ’81. what does that mean in english? shrinkage. shrinkage. 1.2 million people are now not considered unemployed anymore. they just have left the system. we need to concentrate on the internals and eventually we want to watch the fixed income market to see if some of this sets in as people do their ciphering. back to you.
> ‘Islamist Firster’ president not what he claimed By Charles Hurt-The Washington Times
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
GOLAN HEIGHTS — Surveying the live minefields, cratered roads and mortar-pocked concrete buildings along the border here between Syria and Israel, it is hard not to be reminded of the historic and monumental disappointment President Obama has been.
When he was campaigning to become the most powerful man in the last standing superpower on Earth, he spoke passionately about changing the world, restoring America’s greatness and bringing more peace and fairness to everyone.
>‘Hybrid’ charters will meld online lessons with conventional instruction
A great deal was made of the Christie administration’s last round of charter school approvals, and the lack of any suburban charters on the list.
But the urban ones that were approved are interesting in themselves, including two in Trenton and Newark that are trying a new model of education, mixing online learning with face-to-face instruction in a setting unlike any other in the state.
The person making the pitch is Ben Rayer, a self-described education “entrepreneur” out of Philadelphia who won approval to bring the new model to two of New Jersey’s toughest cities. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes Andrew Malcolm Political News & Commentary
How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their “fair share” of taxes.
Because how unfair — indeed, un-American — it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet’s secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate.
Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.
A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama’s executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven’t paid any share, let alone their fair share.
Previous reports have shown how well-paid Obama’s White House staff is, with 457 aides pulling down more than $37 million last year. That’s up seven workers and nearly $4 million from the Bush administration’s last year.
Nearly one-third of Obama’s aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each.
>5 RHS students were inducted last month into the high school’s new Donahue Fellowship program.
RHS music students Catherine Janson (’15), Johnny DeCesare (’15), Matthew Casale (’14), Miranda Canilang (’13), and Trey Shore (’12) were inducted last month into the high school’s new Donahue Fellowship program, honoring the life and memory of 2003 RHS grad Connor Donohue. The Fellows were selected based on their love of music, motivation to study music seriously, and willingness to serve as a mentor and role model to other musicians. Acceptance into the Fellowship includes weekly private music lessons, monthly music seminars with a professional musician, master classes with faculty at local universities, and opportunities to attend concerts in the area.
The Fellowship was established by RHS alumni Colin Mead (’03), Val Allevi (’02), MichaelAaron Flicker (’01), Director of Bands Jeffrey Haas, and is currently led by Alison Crossley (’01). The Fellowship is a recognized non-profit organization and operates solely on fundraising and donations. Donations can be sent to: Donohue Fellowship c/o Valerie Allevi, 411A Gregory Avenue, Weehawken, NJ 07086. Checks should be made payable to RHS Band Council Alumni. Any questions about the Fellowship can be sent to [email protected]
I’m about to use a dirty word. It’s the “M” word. Not everyone dislikes the word. In fact, the “M” word is a word the President and others on the Left are quite fond of. So what is the word? Mandate – the antithesis of freedom. Compulsion, force, coercion, and requirement, are all common synonyms of the “M” word. Obama and his allies quite simply love to mandate.
To name a few Obama mandates: Obamacare mandates that all Americans carry health insurance by 2014 or face a stiff penalty. The Dodd-Frank financial industry overhaul, through the controversial Volcker Rule,mandates that by July of this year certain banks cannot buy and sell securities for their own benefit. In the name of energy efficiency, through a special office of the Department of Energy, the Administration mandates what kind of appliances the American people can buy for their homes. Obama has mandated that the cars Americansbuy must achieve 56 mpg, i.e., fully electric powered engines, by 2025. Also in the name of energy efficiency,Obama has mandated that we can only buy a certain type of mercury-filled light bulb.
The reason why the “M” word comes so easy to the President and others on the Left, is that they are starting from a very different point. The Left claim that American principles include fairness, equal opportunity, and equal responsibility for all. Now I have read the Declaration of Independence, and I have read the Constitution,and I have read the Federalist Papers, and I simply cannot find these so-called “principles” in any of these documents. What I found are words like freedom, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and natural-born rights. These are America’s founding principles.
Besides trampling our natural-born freedoms, disregarding the Constitution, and treating the American people like we are too stupid to make decisions for ourselves, mandates like these also have significant negative economic consequences.
Many of these mandates increase the cost of doing business. For instance, the rules and regulations imposed by President Obama alone have increased the cost of doing business in this country by tens of billions of dollars.If business can afford to, they will pass along the increases to their customers as higher prices – like a hiddentax increase. They may also sell fewer goods or services, or they will lay off, or simply not hire more workers. What ever the consequence, mandates like those favored by the Left have significantly negative effects on the U.S. economy.
Now, the Obama Administration is imposing a new mandate: as part of Obamacare regulations the President is mandating most health plans to fully cover contraception without co-payments or deductibles.
The new rule will not affect government-administered, i.e., publicly funded, health care. Those on public assistance already have their birth control fully subsidized. Instead, private health plans will now be required to provide birth control to all their participants, including those who would have already been on birth control with or without the mandate. So, guess what? Those of us who have health insurance will soon be paying higher monthly premiums to subsidize the cost of birth control and a laundry list of other family planning items. After all, the manufacturers of these products are not going to provide them for free. (They cost millionsto manufacture, not to mention the significant research and development costs that go into developing many of these products, and let’s face it, there is nothing wrong with maximizing profits.) And the health insurers who pay for them are not going to just eat the cost. They are going to pass them along to their customers, i.e.,premium-paying Americans – folks like you and me who have health insurance and pay premiums out of our own pockets.
The government’s basis for the new mandate is to reduce the downstream healthcare costs associated with unwanted pregnancies. Putting the moral issues against the mandate, which are significant, aside, the government’s cost-benefit analysis appears to be seriously flawed.
The government, not surprisingly, is overstating the benefit associated with the new mandate. For instance, the number of unintended pregnancies in the U.S. per year covered by the mandate is not as high as the government would have us believe. In fact, although the government claims millions will annually benefit from the mandate, no more than 500,000 unwanted pregnancies would be covered by it. Furthermore, no one is claiming, I’m sure,that the new mandate will motivate the use of birth control in all of these cases or that birth control will preventunintended pregnancies 100% of the time.
And the costs associated with the mandate will likely be higher than the government anticipates. Indeed, those who currently have at least a portion of their birth control covered by their insurance will now have 100% of the cost covered. And some of those not currently on birth control – and not counted as an unwanted pregnancy because they didn’t get pregnant – when offered a free lunch may start using a contraceptive. It will cost insurance companies more to fully cover birth control. These increased costs will simply be passed along ashigher premiums. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Assuming the mandate is even authorized by the Constitution, which I submit it is not, the benefit to society should significantly outweigh the increased costs in order to justify the invasion of our freedom. Once again, it does not.
Mandates are a dirty word not only because they destroy our freedom and keep us under the heavy hand of the nanny state, but they also are invidious because they often impose tax increases on the American people without anyone noticing or batting an eye.
Ian Linker is an attorney living in Ridgewood, New Jersey and is a former Republican candidate for the U.S.Senate from New Jersey.
