Record crowds over weekend, but spending declined
Retailers’ Dilemma: A record number of shoppers turn out, but they spent less for the 1st time
By Anne d’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer 4 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers got Americans into stores during the start to the holiday shopping season. Now, they’ll need to figure out how to get them to actually shop.
Target, Macy’s and other retailers offered holiday discounts in early November and opened stores on Thanksgiving Day. It was an effort to attract shoppers before Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season.
Those tactics drew bigger crowds during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, but failed to motivate Americans to spend.
“The economy spoke loud and clear over the past few days,” said Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors. “We are going to see an increase in markdowns.”
A record 141 million people were expected to shop in stores and online over the four-day period that ended on Sunday, up from last year’s 137 million, according to the results of a survey of nearly 4,500 shoppers conducted for The National Retail Federation.
But total spending was expected to fall for the first time ever since the trade group began tracking it in 2006, according to the survey that was released on Sunday afternoon. Over the four days, spending fell an estimated 2.9 percent to $57.4 billion.
Shoppers, on average, were expected to spend $407.02 during the four days, down 3.9 percent from last year. That would be the first decline since the 2009 holiday shopping season when the economy was just coming out of the recession.
SHOP SMALL: SUPPORT THE BUSINESS THAT MAKE A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Jeanne Hulit is the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Most Americans know Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big days for holiday shopping. But between the two is another important part of the holiday shopping season –Small Business Saturday, a day that is dedicated to supporting the small businesses that anchor our local communities and strengthen our economy.
From the Main Street shops to the high-tech startups, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of a diverse and thriving marketplace. These businesses create two out of every three net new private sector jobs, and half of working Americans either own or work for a small business. By shopping small and supporting local business, we all have a role to play in giving millions of families the opportunity to achieve the American dream.
Small Business Saturday is a nation-wide initiative that bring Americans together to support these businesses, with the money you spend going right back into your local economy, and that’s important because we know that half of working Americans either own or work for a small business.
Started in 2010, Small Business Saturday has boosted holiday sales in Main Street businesses around the country. Last year, nearly 70 million people shopped small in their communities for an estimated $5.5 billion in sales to independently-owned small businesses. This year, we can do even more!
Small Business Saturday falls on November 30th and there are a number of ways you can get involved:
If you own a small business, register your business at www.smallbusinesssaturday.com. You can sign up to rally your neighborhood, list your business so customers know where to find you, and receive free Small Business Saturday promotional materials. You can also check out SBA’s tips on how to prepare for the holiday season at www.sba.gov/saturday.
If you are a customer, find events in your community and participating local businesses at www.smallbusinesssaturday.com. Small businesses are listed in communities large and small across the country, and together we can support them with our business.
Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce wants to make this the BIGGEST SHOPPING DAY of the YEAR for Kenmore Village Businesses!
By starting your holiday season at the coffee shop on the corner or the bakery downtown, you can support all the things that make our communities great.
On November 30th, I know I’ll be shopping small. I hope you will too.
Ridgewood Chamber Annual 28th Downtown for the Holidays
Fri, December 06, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey
Event Description
Come to Ridgewood to start your Holiday season!
Join us on Friday, December 6, 2013
The merriment begins at 5:30pm –
-Santa will be in the Park to meet & greet with the “wee little ones”.
-“Kids Corner” – arts & crafts for the kids.
-Lots of music and entertainment on
E. Ridgewood Ave.
7:00-8:00pm
7:30pm Tree Lighting Celebration on stage.
On stage-end of E. Ridgewood Ave.-
Enjoy the talented kids on stage, they will entertain you with their happy feet, loveable voices and winning smiles.
8:00-9:00pm
Back onto E. Ridgewood Ave. for more
music, entertainment, SANTA in the Park, and surprises.
Saturday, December 7 –
8:00am-10:00am-Breakfast with Santa at
The Officer Beer Bar & Grill-reservations
required call 201-652-1070.
10:00am Santa will come through Ridgewood on the big red fire truck, waving to all the little kids.
-Santa will be taken to Columbia Bank,
60 S. Broad Street, where all the children will have their picture taken with Santa and receive a beautiful toy.
-2:00-4:00pm Santa will then be at the Park.
Bring your cameras.
Saturday, December 14, 21
8:00am-12N Breakfast with Santa-
The Office Beer Bar & Grill
reservations required 201-652-1070
-12:00N-4:00pm Santa will be in the Park
Bring you list and Santa will check it twice.
You can take pictures with Santa
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS WHO HAVE MADE THIS EVENT A ‘TRADITION’…
without them this event would not happen.
Columbia Bank
Valley Hospital
Van Dyk Health Care
Boiling Spring Savings Bank
The Ridgewood News
Atlantic Stewardship Bank
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Janjigian Trading Co., Inc
Parks Wealth Management
Ridgewood AM Rotary Club
Marron Gildea Realtors
Panico Salon & Spa
Ulrich, Inc.
Bookends
Daily Treat Restaurant
Duxiana
West Bergen Mental Healthcare
Adamoli & McGorty MD’s LLC
Country Pancake House and Restaurant
Haagen-Dazs
Life Opportunities Unlimited
Restaurant Memoire
Sullivan Associates
Troast Vision & Hearing Center
CC Van Emburgh
Ridgewood Moving Services
Sakurabana Restaurant
Alex and Ani – special offer on 12/6/13
will be offering a Gift With Purchase of $75 or more shoppers you will receive a candle votive and offering Crystal Color Therapy earrings to the first 50 people to shop.
Support these local businesses, they are supporting the Ridgewood “tradition”.
Black Friday Spending Spree (in Washington)
11/29/2013
American shoppers aren’t the only ones getting ready to spend big this holiday season.
In Washington, members of the budget conference committee are considering several options that could increase spending by up to an additional $100 billion.
What’s standing in their way is sequestration: the automatic spending cut mechanism President Obama signed into law with the Budget Control Act (BCA). Sequestration enforces spending caps on the discretionary budget, which includes those domestic programs that brought you the infamous IRS Star Trek parody video and the $325,000 RoboSquirrel. The reductions disproportionately fall on defense, and lawmakers should do a better job of prioritizing this core constitutional function while staying within the agreed-upon spending levels.
According to news sources, some budget conference members are considering a compromise deal to bust the sequestration spending caps by up to $100 billion. In an attempt to find offsetting mandatory spending cuts and revenues to entice both sides into such a deal, lawmakers are reportedly considering an increase in “user fees.” This is simply a disguised tax increase.
Raising these fees to cover the cost of providing services is one thing. Increasing them to pay for more spending is just another Washington gimmick. Using gimmicks like this one to get around necessary spending reductions is a destructive habit that has helped fuel the now $17.2 trillion national debt.
What adds even more fuel to the fire is that Congress is not currently restrained by a debt limit.
Lawmakers suspended the debt limit through February 7 in the deal that ended the government shutdown. With no dollar amount to limit their spending, there is little to stop Washington from piling even more spending and debt on taxpayers. Imagine hitting the Black Friday deals with an unlimited credit card at your disposal.
A budget conference “compromise” may sound like progress in this era of congressional gridlock, but when it means higher spending and continuing on the current fiscal collision course, it will do more harm than good. Washington is already on track to spend nearly $150 billion more in 2014 than it did in 2013, largely due to growth in entitlement spending—the key driver of spending and debt.
Instead of spending even more of taxpayers’ money, lawmakers should address future debt by controlling the growth in entitlement spending, sticking to the Budget Control Act, and enforcing lower levels of spending. If the committee fails to begin solving America’s entitlement problem, this means spending and debt will continue to go up and harm the opportunities of all Americans.
The credit card has been maxed out too many times already. This is the season to curb Washington’s spending spree.
Ridgewood Police Answers : Why do New Jersey Police Departments refer to the person who is accused of committing a crime the “actor”?
Here is a quote from Title 2C, NJ Criminal law:
2C:1-14. Definitions.
2C:1-14. In this code, unless a different meaning plainly is required:
a. “Statute” includes the Constitution and a local law or ordinance of a political subdivision of the State;
b. “Act” or “action” means a bodily movement whether voluntary or involuntary;
c. “Omission” means a failure to act;
d. “Conduct” means an action or omission and its accompanying state of mind, or, where relevant, a series of acts and omissions;
e. “Actor” includes, where relevant, a person guilty of an omission;
f. “Acted” includes, where relevant, “omitted to act”;
g. “Person,” “he,” and “actor” include any natural person and, where relevant, a corporation or an unincorporated association;
As you see, the “perpetrator” or “do-er” or “defendant” fits in with that legal definition of “actor” and that term is used in lots of the individual statutes use that term, like this excerpt from 2c:2-3:
“e. When causing a particular result is a material element of an offense for which absolute liability is imposed by law, the element is not established unless the actual result is a probable consequence of the actor’s conduct.”
Because the term is used in NJ criminal law, police just tend to use it on complaints, in their reports and news releases. Lots of states that use the “model; penal code” as the basis for their criminal law use the word “actor” when reffering to the accused
Ridgewood employees’ holiday party to be held in Hawthorne
Wednesday November 27, 2013, 11:22 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The annual village employee holiday party will once again take place outside of Ridgewood, a notion that has been a growing sore spot in the minds of some elected officials and residents who had hoped to keep the celebration local. As they have done in previous years, village staffers will venture into Hawthorne next month for their workplace gala.
“I don’t understand how we’re not able to do this party in Ridgewood, with all the restaurants that we have,” Mayor Paul Aronsohn said during a council meeting earlier this month, further stressing his ongoing penchant to patronize a village business with the partially taxpayer-subsidized event.
After sending out a questionnaire to 15 Ridgewood establishments, officials at Village Hall received only three responses from those interested in hosting the holiday get-together, according to acting Village Manager Heather Mailander. The manager’s office opened up the search to village restaurants and non-profit groups with rental halls, but none of the proposals that were delivered entirely fulfilled Ridgewood’s needs and requests.
Proclamation of Thanksgiving Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863
This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.
Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She explained, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.”
Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale’s request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before Lincoln’s.
The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
Each year at this time school children all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating.
It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving’s real meaning.
The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.
The official story then has the Pilgrims living more or less happily ever after, each year repeating the first Thanksgiving. Other early colonies also have hard times at first, but they soon prosper and adopt the annual tradition of giving thanks for this prosperous new land called America.
The problem with this official story is that the harvest of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.
In his ‘History of Plymouth Plantation,’ the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with “corruption,” and with “confusion and discontent.” The crops were small because “much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable.”
In the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622, “all had their hungry bellies filled,” but only briefly. The prevailing condition during those years was not the abundance the official story claims, it was famine and death. The first “Thanksgiving” was not so much a celebration as it was the last meal of condemned men.
But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, “instead of famine now God gave them plenty,” Bradford wrote, “and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God.” Thereafter, he wrote, “any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day.” In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.
What happened?
After the poor harvest of 1622, writes Bradford, “they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop.” They began to question their form of economic organization.
This had required that “all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means” were to be placed in the common stock of the colony, and that, “all such persons as are of this colony, are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the common stock.” A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed.
This “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” was an early form of socialism, and it is why the Pilgrims were starving. Bradford writes that “young men that are most able and fit for labor and service” complained about being forced to “spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children.” Also, “the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak.” So the young and strong refused to work and the total amount of food produced was never adequate.
To rectify this situation, in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.
Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible results. At Jamestown, established in 1607, out of every shipload of settlers that arrived, less than half would survive their first twelve months in America. Most of the work was being done by only one-fifth of the men, the other four-fifths choosing to be parasites. In the winter of 1609-10, called “The Starving Time,” the population fell from five-hundred to sixty.
Then the Jamestown colony was converted to a free market, and the results were every bit as dramatic as those at Plymouth. In 1614, Colony Secretary Ralph Hamor wrote that after the switch there was “plenty of food, which every man by his own industry may easily and doth procure.” He said that when the socialist system had prevailed, “we reaped not so much corn from the labors of thirty men as three men have done for themselves now.”
Before these free markets were established, the colonists had nothing for which to be thankful. They were in the same situation as Ethiopians are today, and for the same reasons. But after free markets were established, the resulting abundance was so dramatic that the annual Thanksgiving celebrations became common throughout the colonies, and in 1863, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.
Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them.
* * * * *
Mr. Maybury writes on investments.
This article originally appeared in The Free Market, November 1985.
1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Iran: President Obama Wants Diplomacy, But Sen. Bob Menendez Pushes New Sanctions Bill
Published November 26, 2013
Fox News Latino
Ignoring Obama administration concerns about short-circuiting diplomatic efforts with Iran, Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., are working on legislation that would put full sanctions back in place and impose new ones if Iranian leaders renege on their pledge to roll back the country’s nuclear program.
The two lawmakers, according to legislative aides, hope to have the bill ready for Dec. 9, when the Senate returns from a two-week recess. Many in Congress are skeptical about, if not outright hostile to, the deal reached by Iran and world powers over the weekend in Geneva, led by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Kirk-Menendez bipartisan measure would require the administration to certify every 30 days that Iran is adhering to the terms of the six-month interim agreement and that it hasn’t been involved in any act of terrorism against the United States.
Proposal Bans Snacking, Smoking Behind the Wheel
By NBC10.com Staff and Wire Reports | Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 | Updated 4:50 PM ES
Drivers could possibly be pulled over for snacking, smoking or putting on make-up behind the wheel under a bill that has been advanced in the New Jersey Assembly.
WATCH: Mayor says random attacks are not a game
The proposed law would fine drivers found to “engage in any activity unrelated to the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle.”
The bill advanced by a 12-0 vote Monday in the Assembly’s transportation committee. It does not spell out which activities would and would not be considered distracted driving, instead leaving that determination up to police.
New Jersey National Motorists Association representative Steve Carrellas tells The Star-Ledger that the proposal is too vague.
“I can’t adjust the radio anymore? I can’t change the CD? I can’t look at a map?” he told the paper. “This is a whole set of undefined behavior that someone could perform in the car that could be considered not driving.”
Additional crews and equipment on hand to restore service
(Newark, NJ – Nov. 26, 2013) Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) Company, New Jersey’s largest electric and gas utility, is closely monitoring the track of the storm expected to hit New Jersey this evening into Wednesday.
The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall and moderate winds to the utility’s service territory, as well as the possibility of localized flooding on roads. In anticipation of the storm, PSE&G is ensuring that all available personnel are ready to respond should there be outages.
To report a power outage or downed wire, call 1-800-436-PSEG. Customers with a handheld device, or who are at an alternate location with power, can also report power outages and view the status of their outage by logging in to My Account at www.pseg.com.
General outage activity throughout our service territory is available online at www.pseg.com/outagecenter and updates are posted on pseg.com during severe weather. Customers can also follow us on Twitter @psegdelivers to monitor restoration progress. Twitter should not be used to report outages.
This storm does have the potential to interrupt service, and customers should prepare for the possibility of outages. PSE&G offers the following tips:
DOWNED POWER LINES
Downed wires may appear dead but should always be considered “live.” STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. Parents are urged to check for downed wires in areas where their children might play and to remind the children to stay far away from any wires. If a wire falls on a vehicle, passengers should stay in the vehicle until help arrives. To report a downed wire, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.
CUSTOMERS WITH LIFE-SUSTAINING EQUIPMENT
Individuals who rely on electricity to operate life-sustaining electronic equipment, such as a respirator or dialysis machine, should pre-register with PSE&G to receive priority attention in the event of an outage. To request the service, call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG. They should also inform their rescue squads and fire departments of their needs, in case of emergency. Even though customers with life-sustaining equipment who have registered with PSE&G will receive priority attention during outages, they should also have emergency back-up equipment on hand, since immediate restoration cannot be guaranteed.
BEFORE THE STORM
Register for MyAccount and make sure your contact information is up-to-date. This makes it easier for our system to recognize you when you call. Registering online also provides us with an email address to send general updates. Opt in for MyAlerts to allow PSE&G to send you text and email messages about outages that may affect you.
Charge your cell phones and other mobile devices. Bookmark our website and add the Customer Service phone number to your contacts. Make sure you have your account number in a secure place that can be easily accessed.
IF YOU LOSE POWER
First check your neighborhood. If you are the only one without power, check your fuse box for tripped circuit breakers or blown fuses. If that’s not the problem, look outside at the wire between your house and the utility pole. If it is down, report it immediately to PSE&G.
It is important to always report outages to PSE&G. Don’t assume someone else has reported it. It is easy to report your outage via the self-service line at 1-800-436-7734 or through MyAccount.
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is New Jersey’s oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving nearly three-quarters of the state’s population. PSE&G is the winner of the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system reliability. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a diversified energy company (www.pseg.com).
Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict
By Jim Angle ,Published November 26, 2013 ,FoxNews.com
Almost 80 million people with employer health plans could find their coverage canceled because they are not compliant with ObamaCare, several experts predicted.
Their losses would be in addition to the millions who found their individual coverage cancelled for the same reason.
Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute said that in addition to the individual cancellations, “at least half the people on employer plans would by 2014 start losing plans as well.” There are approximately 157 million employer health care policy holders.
Avik Roy of the Manhattan Institute added, “the administration estimated that approximately 78 million Americans with employer sponsored insurance would lose their existing coverage due to the Affordable Care Act.”
Last week, an analysis by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, showed the administration anticipates half to two-thirds of small businesses would have policies canceled or be compelled to send workers onto the ObamaCare exchanges. They predicted up to 100 million small and large business policies could be canceled next year.
According to projections the administration itself issued back in July 2010, it was clear officials knew the impact of ObamaCare three years ago.
In fact, according to the Federal Register, its mid-range estimate was that by the end of 2014, 76 percent of small group plans would be cancelled, along with 55 percent of large employer plans.
TRENTON — State lawmakers are looking to upgrade the penalties for dealing drugs such as heroin, LSD and methamphetamine by letting prosecutors press charges based on the number of doses, rather than the drug’s weight.
The bill, whose primary sponsors include Assembly members DiAnne Gove and Brian Rumpf, R-Ocean, was advanced Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, sending it to the full Assembly for possible consideration. A companion bill in the Senate hasn’t yet had a hearing.
The bill is intended to increase penalties for drug distribution, not possession. For instance, it would become a first-degree offense to have one ounce or more of heroin with the intent to distribute, rather than the current five ounces, or 500 units of cocaine or heroin. (Symons/Asbury Park Press)
Resolution for N.J. extension of 7 Line clears Assembly committee but lacks steam
By Andrew George November 25, 2013 at 2:20 PM
While a resolution in support of extending New York City’s 7 Line Subway to New Jersey was moved forward by an Assembly panel today, don’t expect it to go anywhere anytime soon.
Though the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee voted to release the resolution for further consideration, legislators said there were still too many concerns surrounding it.
Assemblyman Thomas Giblin (D-Clifton) is the resolution’s primary sponsor.
According to the resolution, studies indicate that travel demand between Manhattan and New Jersey will increase by roughly 38 percent by 2030. The 7 Line, which is currently undergoing an extension on Manhattan’s West Side, would connect New Jersey riders to the major hubs of Grand Central Station, Times Square and eventually the area near Penn Station when construction is completed.
In New Jersey, the proposed extension would include stops in Hoboken and Secaucus and roughly account for an additional 128,000 riders per day, according to an April 2013 study conducted by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which was included in the resolution.
Committee chair and Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) said that the extension is worth further consideration if only to continue looking for an alternative to the $8.7 billion Access to the Region’s Core project, a trans-Hudson rail tunnel that Gov. Chris Christie nixed in 2010.
