>Christie crows about state job growth
Gov. Chris Christie credited his policies during his first year in office for New Jersey’s increase of 9,300 private-sector jobs in November, saying in an interview Wednesday that Democrats working on job-creating bills should watch what he is already doing. (Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal)
https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703929404576022073275799058.html?KEYWORDS=jersey
>Ridgewood woman finds artillery shell while cleaning basement
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
BY ERIK SHILLING
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
RIDGEWOOD – An 82-year-old woman found a decades-old unexploded ordinance in her home Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The ordnance, which police said had been rusted over, was a little more than a foot long and resembled a World War II-era artillery shell.
It was taken away without incident by two bomb technicians from the Bergen County Police Department, police said.
“We were cleaning out the cellar,” said the woman, Alice Smyser. “We came across this thing and didn’t know what it was.”
MORE:https://www.northjersey.com/news/121510_Ridgewood_woman_finds_artillery_shell_while_cleaning_basement_.html
>Home Rule :The fact that the police are local, even neighbors. It keeps them close to the people they protect and accountable.
I don’t know about you, but I really like the fact that the police are local, some even neighbors. It keeps them close to the people they protect. And accountable.
Sure, they have warts too, they are regular people. Some of them have personal problems too, just like us.
But my point is this: when you hire out-of-towners (state or county police, for example) to protect you…its very, very different. You really don’t know them, they aren’t neighbors and they don’t have a stake in our community. And when one of them turns out to be rotten – no one is going to help you deal with that problem.
Local police are much more accountable to the people and community they serve. And Accountability brings respect. Accountability is the most important quality when it comes to law enforcement.
Don’t kid yourself. It may seem like a white collar job being a cop in Ridgewood, but its not and it’s often dangerous. We hold them accountable and they deserve and hold our respect.
We live local, let’s keep the police local
>December 14, 2010
Climate Change: It’s the Sun, Stupid
Randall Hoven
Guess who wrote this.
“The Sun is the primary forcing of Earth’s climate system. Sunlight warms our world. Sunlight drives atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Sunlight powers the process of photosynthesis that plants need to grow. Sunlight causes convection which carries warmth and water vapor up into the sky where clouds form and bring rain. In short, the Sun drives almost every aspect of our world’s climate system and makes possible life as we know it.
“… According to scientists’ models of Earth’s orbit and orientation toward the Sun indicate that our world should be just beginning to enter a new period of cooling — perhaps the next ice age…
“Other important forcings of Earth’s climate system include such “variables” as clouds, airborne particulate matter, and surface brightness. Each of these varying features of Earth’s environment has the capacity to exceed the warming influence of greenhouse gases and cause our world to cool. ” [Emphases added.]
Lord Monckton didn’t write that. Neither did physicist Richard Lindzen, physicist William Happer, or physicist Hal Lewis. Nor was it Steve McIntyre who blew the whistle on the “hockey stick.” It was none of the usual suspects among the “skeptic” community.
It was NASA, home of our space program, the currently unmuzzled James Hansen and one of the major centers for collecting climate data and analyzing it. (HT: Ace.)
MORE: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/12/climate_change_its_the_sun_stu.html
>The Tale of Two Communities: Hackensack and Ridgewood
The Village of Ridgewood and the city of Hackensack both lie in Northern New Jersey, within easy commuting distance of New York City. While both locations started life as rural communities, their paths to their current environment were quite different. Ridgewood today is still a suburban village of predominantly single family homes, whereas Hackensack has become an urban city, hosting the largest hospital in the region as well as some significant government agencies.
https://www.stopvalley.com/The%20tale%20of%20two%20communities%20Hackensack%20and%20Ridgewood.pdf
>Surplus of N.J. tax revenue may be byproduct of income shifting to avoid federal tax hike
Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
TRENTON — New Jersey tax revenue is outpacing projections by 3.8 percent in the first five months of the fiscal year, the Treasury said yesterday.
However, there are signs that even though residents are earning more, they’re not spending their wages.
The income tax brought in the most money, and delivered revenue 12.7 percent over projections. But sales tax dipped 1.4 percent below projections, a concern for state Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff.
“At the risk of sounding overly pessimistic, I’m concerned that sales taxes are down at the same time that income taxes are up,” Sidamon-Eristoff said in a statement. “This may signal that income taxes aren’t rising solely because of an improved economy.”
He said the boost in income tax revenue may be inflated by wealthy residents trying to shift income from 2011 to 2010 to circumvent any potential increase in federal income taxes. For example, some companies have awarded bonuses early
MORE: https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/surplus_of_nj_tax_revenue_may.html
>Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno : high property taxes discourage businesses from locating in New Jersey
N.J. Lt. Governor urges action on tax relief
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno urged 200 New Jersey business people Tuesday to press the Legislature for more property tax relief, arguing that high property taxes discourage businesses from locating in New Jersey. (Lynn, The Record)
https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/121410_NJ_Lt_Governor_urges_action_on_tax_relief_.html
>Property tax hike may top 2% cap
New Jerseyans are likely to see their property taxes rise by more than 2 percent next year despite a levy cap that takes effect Jan. 1, the leader of the state Senate said Tuesday. (The Associated Press)
https://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20101215/NEWS01/12150349/Property-tax-hike-may-top-2-cap
>Law Makers call for investigation of steroid use by New Jersey law enforcement officers and firefighters
Report has lawmakers calling for probes, testing
Citing the misuse of tax dollars and a potential danger to the public, state lawmakers yesterday pushed for an investigation and legislative action following revelations of steroid use by hundreds of New Jersey law enforcement officers and firefighters. (Britain and Mueller, The Star-Ledger)
https://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1292311575214160.xml&coll=3
>N.J. Assembly passes affordable-housing changes, bill would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing
N.J. Assembly passes affordable-housing changes
A proposal to overhaul New Jersey’s controversial affordable-housing rules won approval Monday by the Assembly, 43-32.
The bill, which might be considered next week in the Senate, would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing and strike a 2.5 percent fee on nonresidential development to subsidize low-cost housing. (Rao, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
https://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20101214_N_J__Assembly_passes_affordable-housing_changes.html#ixzz1859Up3Jq
>Fearing more conservative backlash the New Jersey Republican State Committee abruptly canceled a long scheduled meeting
With State Republicans fearing more conservative backlash the New Jersey Republican State Committee abruptly canceled a long scheduled meeting Hyatt Regency in Princeton last night, less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to convene.
Chairman Jay Webber sent an e-mail to committee members informing them that the next meeting of the New Jersey Republican State Committee will not take place until after the New Year. https://conservativenewjersey.com/rsc-abruptly-cancels-meeting
>ABC News/Washington Post poll : New Low in Support for Health Care Reform
New Low in Support for Health Care Reform
December 13, 2010 1:17 PM
Coinciding with a federal judge’s ruling invalidating a key element of the health care reform law, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds support for the landmark legislation at a new low – but division on what to do about it.
The law’s never been popular, with support peaking at just 48 percent in November 2009. Today it’s slipped to 43 percent, numerically its lowest in ABC/Post polling. (It was about the same, 44 percent, a year ago.) Fifty-two percent are opposed, and that 9-point gap in favor of opposition is its largest on record since the latest debate over health care reform began in earnest in summer 2009.
More also continue to “strongly” oppose the law than to strongly support it, 37 percent to 22 percent.
more:https://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2010/12/new-low-in-support-for-health-care-reform.html
>Obama’s Health-Care Law Ruled Unconstitutional Over Insurance Requirement
The Obama administration’s requirement that most citizens maintain minimum health coverage as part of a broad overhaul of the industry is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled, striking down the linchpin of the plan.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond, Virginia, today said that the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health-care legislation goes beyond Congress’s powers to regulate interstate commerce. While severing the coverage mandate, which is set to become effective in 2014, Hudson didn’t address other provisions such as expanding Medicaid.
“At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance — or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage — it’s about an individual’s right to choose to participate,” wrote Hudson, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002.
MORE : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html
>Up in Smoke: Democrats shape marijuana law
New Jersey Senate Democrats are pushing ahead with a challenge to the Christie administration’s rules for the state’s new medical marijuana program, despite a supposedly bipartisan compromise the governor announced earlier this month. (Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal)
https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703380104576015822655788988.html?KEYWORDS=jersey
>A ‘shadow inventory’ of foreclosed homes dampens winter market
New statistics provide a glum holiday-time snapshot of the real estate market: shrunken sales pace, bloated inventory and a “shadow inventory” of foreclosed homes looming menacingly in the background. (Martin, The New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/realestate/12njzo.html
