Romney backs school vouchers, more school choice
By Stephen Dinan
Mitt Romney said Wednesday he will expand Washington’s endangered voucher program as part of a broad push for more school choice nationwide, setting up a dramatic contrast with President Obama, who has called for the D.C. program to be phased out, and with teachers unions, which have fought against expanded choice.
Mr. Romney announced the push on education in a speech in Washington as he made overtures to Hispanic voters, who regularly tell pollsters that access to education is one of their top concerns — even above immigration — and who generally support vouchers.
Congress staring over edge of ‘fiscal cliff’
Lawmakers face budget dilemma
For Congress, the outlines of the pending fiscal crisis are clear: Don’t do a thing, and watch the economy slip into a double-dip recession early next year. Or cancel the looming tax increases and spending cuts, watch the deficit rise, and push the government ever closer to a European-style debt crisis.
That decision was put in stark terms Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office, which in a new analysis said the economy will plunge into a recession early next year if Congress lets taxes rise and spending be cut, as called for under the law.
But if Congress changes the law to keep taxes low and spending high, it could add more than half a trillion dollars to the deficit in 2013, marking a fifth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits and risking the patience of the country’s creditors.
Wireless carriers seek to ‘offload’ customers
By Roger Yu, USA TODAY
With phone lovers clamoring to get on their networks, wireless carriers are building new offrampsMajor carriers are investing in ways to unload customers’ data traffic from their airwaves into cheaper and more localized networks, such as Wi-Fi hot spots and small cellular base stations, which are designed for compact, heavy traffic areas such as stadiums and city centers.
Wireless companies say the new approach (“offloading” in industry parlance) will help meet customers’ surging demand for more data bandwidth. Even as they build the next generation of faster wireless networks, called 4G LTE, carriers are discouraging heavy data users by eliminating unlimited data plans and enforcing monthly caps.
Such efforts have done little to slow the hunger for more data from ceaseless waves of users who watch Netflix and listen to Pandora at all hours via over-the-air networks. In North America, video and audio streaming now account for more than half of all domestic wireless data traffic, according to network management company Sandvine.
Senate Committee advances nominations of 17 Superior court judges
The Senate Judiciary Committee this morning advanced the renominations of 17 Superior Court judges, averting a fight that could have exacerbated a judge shortage in Essex County.
The renominations of the judges, from eight counties, now head to the Senate for a full vote on Thursday.
Democrats have said Gov. Chris Christie told them he would dump some Superior Court judges in the coming months. He did not renominate one judge from Essex and the renominations for several others came very close to the expiration of their terms. (Spoto, The Star-Ledger)
The New Jersey Health Benefit Exchange, what’s next?
Last week Governor Christie vetoed the New Jersey Health Benefit Exchange Act (A2171/S1319), arguing that it is premature to move ahead with authorizing the exchange until the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the federal health reform law. Even if the Affordable Care Act is upheld in its entirety, this veto is unlikely to interfere with New Jersey’s ability to effectively meet its obligations under the health reform law. (Cantor for NJ Spotlight)
As need for volunteer MDs rises, waiving malpractice insurance is reconsidered
Retired physicians who volunteer at community health centers, to care for the poor and uninsured, would be shielded from malpractice lawsuits under legislation being considered in Trenton.
Passage of the bills, A2178/S1165, would allow doctors to donate their time without also having to buy malpractice insurance, which can easily cost more than $100,000 a year. Advocates say their services are desperately needed in New Jersey’s poorest cities. (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)
In N.J., 2010 U.S. Census over-counts by 31,000 people
You may have 31,000 fewer neighbors than what was counted in the 2010 Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau today released results of a survey designed to check the accuracy of the last decennial survey. The report shows a slight net over-count of New Jersey residents, roughly a third of a percentage point of all people counted here in 2010.
The error is so slight in a state of more than 8 million that officials say it’s not statistically different than saying there was no error at all. (Sagara, The Star-Ledger)
Executives see New Jersey is becoming as more business friendly but voice major concerns about its regulatory climate
While the state’s top executives believe New Jersey is becoming a better place to expand and run a business, they still have major concerns about its regulatory climate, a panel of business leaders said today at an economic policy summit unveiling the results of a CEO survey by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
“A difference has been made almost overnight with the perception of New Jersey as a place to do business, but it takes a long time to turn structural issues around,” said Michael Van Wagner, executive director of the New Jersey Business Action Center. “If you had interactions with the administration, your view on the regulatory environment would be more favorable than it was in the past two years. It has to be, because I see it every day.” (Eder, NJBIZ)
The Christie Administration projects revenue shortfall of $676 million
The administration is projecting a revenue shortfall of $676 million through Fiscal Year 2013, a little over half the revenue miss of $1.3 billion predicted earlier today by the Office of Legislative Services.
According to an administration source with knowledge of the revenue projections, Treasurer Andrew Sidamon Eristoff will present plans to close the gap before the Assembly Budget Committee Wednesday.
The revenue shortfall for the two fiscal years amounts to about 1 percent of the overall budget, the source stressed. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
Class-Action Lawsuit against Ridgewood Water , time to sell?
May 21,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Wednesday, officials from Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff held a press conference with their attorney Joseph Fiorenzo and called for the total of 26% in rate hikes from 2010 and 2011 to be rescinded and $3.3 million refunded to ratepayers.
Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park filed a $3.3 million class action lawsuit claiming Ridgewood funneled water utility revenue into its own municipal operating budget to avoid making hard cuts.Months of mediation between the parties has broken down. So on Wednesday, officials from Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff held a press conference with their attorney Joseph Fiorenzo.
The suit alleges the village had funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to subsidize its police and fire departments, its engineering department, the municipal attorney, expensive health and pension obligations .
Local critics claim Ridgewood Water has become an albatross around the necks of Village residents, overwhelmed by environmental and state regulation , alleged declining water quality and unwilling or unable to make the necessary investments in infrastructure. Regular summer water rationing and sky rocketing bills has not engendered the utility to anyone and rumors have surfaced from time to time that the utility was on the chopping block to sell The Village council was hoping for a positive outcome from mediation but the current “talks” have now hit a road block .
In somewhat over the top language Fiorenzo claimed the alleged bilking came between 2004-2009 and led to an operating loss for the utility. He then went on to criticize weak oversight and sloppy book keeping , claiming the utility would have shown a substantial profit . “Evidence revealed…there was no ‘loss’ to justify the extraordinary water rate increase,” Fiorenzo wrote in a statement. “Rather, Ridgewood has been bilking the ratepayers of Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park by having the ratepayers pay for a substantial portion of the operating expenses of the Village of Ridgewood.”
Ridgewood officials countered saying that Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park are taking their class action lawsuit to the media because their case is weak. Ridgewood Village Attorney Matt Rogers replied in a statement sent to media late Friday, “Generally, such tactics are used to inflame the situation due to lack of confidence in the legal merits of their case” Rogers remains confident in the Villages case saying adding the Village would continue “good faith and responsible effort” to keep water prices low for all Ridgewood Water ratepayers.
Ridgewood NJ , The United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) is making a comeback. Recall that the U.S. Constitution allows the President to sign treaties, provided that two-thirds of the Senate concurs. Senator John Kerry has scheduled his first hearings this week to push for ratification of the treaty.
If you’re not familiar with LOST, William F. Jasper wrote on this back in 2009 for The New American (TNA).
In a nutshell and in the UN’s own words, LOST:
“is perhaps one of the most significant but less recognized 20th century accomplishments in the arena of international law…. Its scope is vast: it covers all ocean space, with all its uses, including navigation and overflight; all uses of all its resources, living and non-living, on the high seas, on the ocean floor and beneath, on the continental shelf and in the territorial seas; the protection of the marine environment; and basic law and order…. The Convention is widely recognized by the international community as the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out.”
As TNA reported last week, former Senator Trent Lott, a once ardent foe of LOST, is now lobbying for its ratification, after being paid $110,000.
Senator Jim DeMint is organizing the opposition and gathering signatures from fellow Senators to help put a stop to this sovereignty-robbing treaty.
Obama’s war on coal hits your electric bill
By Phil Kerpen
Published May 22, 2012
| FoxNews.com
Obama’s War on Coal has already taken a remarkable toll on coal-fired power plants in America.
Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a shocking drop in power sector coal consumption in the first quarter of 2012. Coal-fired power plants are now generating just 36 percent of U.S. electricity, versus 44.6 percent just one year ago.
It’s the result of an unprecedented regulatory assault on coal that will leave us all much poorer.
Last week PJM Interconnection, the company that operates the electric grid for 13 states (Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) held its 2015 capacity auction. These are the first real, market prices that take Obama’s most recent anti-coal regulations into account, and they prove that he is keeping his 2008 campaign promise to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket.”
Senate Dems back increase in air travel fee to close funding shortfall at TSA
By Erik Wasson – 05/22/12 12:33 PM ET
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday moved forward with legislation to increase airline passenger security fees, beating back a GOP attempt to keep them at current levels.
The 2013 Homeland Security appropriations bill would increase one-way fees for passengers from $2.50 to $5 in order to close a budget shortfall at the Transportation Security Administration.
Could You Get Into Harvard Business School?
By Melissa Korn
What have you done well? What do you wish you’d done better? Answer those questions right, and you could be on your way to a Harvard M.B.A.
Harvard Business School, usually the first elite business school to unveil its M.B.A. application, is halving the number of essays that all prospective students must write – to two, at 400 words apiece. At the same time, it’s adding an extra essay for applicants who make it through an in-person interview with a school representative.
That means that instead of slogging through 2,000 words from each of the 9,000-plus applicants, the admissions office will get just 800 words per candidate to start, and then another 400 words from the 1,800 or so invited for interviews.
(Quick math: if all last year’s applicants used the maximum word limit last year — two 600-word essays and two at 400 words, for a total of 2,000 words a head– the admissions team could have read upwards of 18 million words last year. Now, they’re looking at fewer than 8 million.)
The 37th Annual Fred D’Elia Ridgewood Run is this coming weekend…
Summer 2012 Running Shoe Guide
Runner’s World wear-tests and reviews the latest shoes to help you find the perfect fit.
By Jeff Dengate & Martyn Shorten, Ph.D.
From the June 2012 issue of Runner’s World
Best Update: Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 14 $140
Heel Cushioning: 55 /100
Forefoot Cushioning: 96/100
Flexibility: 50/100
Heel Height: 36.1 mm
Forefoot Height: 26.9 mm
Weight: 10.9 oz (M); 9.3 oz (W)
When a shoe has been around long enough to boast a double-digit number at the end of its name, any updates are usually minor tweaks. Naturally, you don’t want to turn away the faithful. But Saucony boldly overhauled the Hurricane. The 14 is 1.2 ounces lighter than its predecessor, is more flexible, offers more cushioning, and is more stable. And Saucony lowered the heel-to-toe drop to 9.2 mm, down from 11.4 mm. Such dramatic changes could have gone horribly wrong, but Saucony came out with a winner, and wear-testers loved the update. The Sauc-Fit feature in the upper helps lock the foot into the shoe.
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