Search Results for: ration

>Democratic lawmakers back controversial DEP waiver rule

>Rooting for the American Dream
County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
Friday December 9, 2011
The Record ~ Op-Ed

I APPRECIATE the opportunity to respond to Carl Golden’s article in the Sunday Opinion section (“Will this Dream Come True?” Dec. 4).

I take exception to his use of the phrase “too big to fail.” There is no benefit in making tortured comparisons of American Dream Meadowlands and the big banks.

The people of Bergen County, many of whom work in the financial services industry, have suffered terribly during this recession. Residents are looking to their leaders to provide solutions.

My administration is dedicated to eliminating economic fear and uncertainty. We are committed to creating a climate that allows for a return to economic growth and prosperity.

To that end, at a time when there is 40 percent unemployment in the construction trades, American Dream will provide employment for more than 9,000 workers.

Furthermore, with overall unemployment approaching all-time highs, American Dream, when completed, will provide some 15,000 full-time jobs on-site. The economic and social ripples will be astronomical. What Mall of America did for Bloomington, Minn., American Dream will do for Bergen County and the region.

Triple Five, in addition to its own considerable investment and previously secured venture capital, has sought other financing mechanisms as well. It has applied for the Tax Increment Financing program, which is incentive to businesses regulated by the state Economic Development Corporation.

A TIF, as this financing instrument is called, does not require the taxpayers of Bergen County to invest anything. It is in effect a loan by New Jersey that is paid for by a portion of the sales tax proceeds generated by the development.

Acting as a pass-through

Triple Five has also informally requested that Bergen County act as a pass-through agency to allow for bonds to be sold to investors in an offering they have negotiated with the State of Wisconsin.

The developers of American Dream have never proposed that the county provide funding or assume risk for the project. And if they had sought to burden the taxpayers of Bergen County for this project, the answer from my office would have been and will always be a resounding “No!”

What distinguishes Triple Five’s realistic and good-faith financing plan from the prior specious economic projections, faulty engineering schematics and inexperienced developers that propelled the failures of Xanadu and Encap is that their business model has already been proven successful – not once, but twice. Unfortunately, politicians like Senator Bob Gordon who sat by and watched as the taxpayers were fleeced for Encap and Xanadu, purposely distorted these facts to serve his own short term political agenda; to get elected, even at the cost of the truth.

The developers of American Dream have identified Xanadu’s fatal flaws and have proposed remedial action. Their formula for success is modeled after the successful Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall – two of the world’s largest and most successful that attract tourists from all over the world.

The amusement/water parks they have proposed are signature components of their other successful ventures and also reflect the ingredients that have made Disney in Orlando one of the greatest tourist draws in the world.

The people of Bergen County know that I have consistently opposed corporate welfare. I was the only public official to criticize the previous administration in Trenton that allowed the owners of the Jets and Giants to sell personal seating licenses and pocket the approximate $800 million gain without paying one nickel of tax to New Jersey. That’s corporate welfare in its purest form. How many jobs did that $800 million windfall create? What are the social and community benefits? There is no comparison to Triple Five’s unparalleled reputation for quality retail experiences, commitment to civic and philanthropic causes and the environment, in addition to a philosophy of supportive integration with local economies.

An environmental role

Triple Five takes its environmental leadership role seriously. For example, Mall of America has utilized cutting-edge environmental technology for decades, recycling more than 60 percent of its waste – an average of 32,000 tons per year.

It converts the fat from restaurant fryers into more than 4,000 pounds of biodiesel per month. The comfortable 70 degrees inside the mall is maintained with passive solar energy from 1.2 miles of skylights and heat generated from store fixtures and lighting and the body heat from mall patrons.

These environmental benchmarks are among the reasons the mall was chosen to host the Big Green Conference in 2010.

When this exemplary environmental record is combined with Triple Five’s philanthropic outreach to many charities and organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Special Olympics and the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Bergen County residents will have a willing partner in making our community an even more wonderful place to live.

American Dream is a symbol of economic, social and community renaissance that reflects the best elements of public/private sector partnership.

“Will this Dream come true?” Hopefully, yes!

Most importantly, I support the American Dream Meadowlands not because it is too big to fail, but rather because it is so important it must succeed.

>Plug-in electric vehicles that can pump power back onto the grid

>

>Pearl Harbor attack, 70 years ago, still fresh in the memories of old sailors
By Bruce Newman

From Dec. 7, 1941 until long after VJ Day and the end of World War II, Americans referred to the Japanese strike against Pearl Harbor as a “sneak attack.” In his declaration of war before a joint session of Congress the next day, President Franklin Roosevelt captured the nation’s shock and fury, promising it would be “a date which will live in infamy.”

But on this 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, with old war wounds healed and racial sensitivities heightened, the phrase used more often to describe that day is “surprise attack.” For most Americans, the “infamy” of Dec. 7, 1941 has receded since Sept. 11, 2001.

The survivors of those doomed ships — many from the Bay Area — are mostly hard of hearing now, but the buzz and the boom of the bombs from that day still ring in the ears of John Tait of Concord, Ed Silveira of Hayward and Dempson Arellano of Antioch. Gordon Van Hauser, who lived in San Carlos until his death in 2008, often spoke of his service not in terms of fighting for his own life, but for the life of his country.

https://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19483242

>Speculation heavy as redistricting deadline looms

>
Donald Trump Fights Back: ‘Ron Paul Is A Joke’ And George Will Is ‘Third-Rate’
by Colby Hall | 8:10 am, December 5th, 2011

Donald Trump appeared today on his regularly scheduled Monday morning Fox and Friends segment and fought back against critics who have vocally railed against plans for the self-proclaimed billionaire and reality show television host to moderate a GOP debate sponsored by Newsmax, a conservative media outlet. A combative Trump specifically called out conservative columnist George Will, and continued his habit of insulting the presidential aspirations of Ron Paul, calling his campaign a joke.

There was almost an immediate backlash when news broke last Friday of Trump’s plans to moderate a debate. I wrote that no serious candidate should participate in a debate hosted by Trump, which would make a mockery out of an institution already low in credibility. Those thoughts were echoed by Will, who said on ABC News’ This Week that this was an opportunity “to do something presidential, stand up and say, ‘we’re not going to be hijacked and participate in this.”

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/donald-trump-fights-back-ron-paul-is-a-joke-and-george-will-is-third-rate/

>

Gasoline: The new big U.S. export
By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoney December 5, 2011: 11:41 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The United States is awash in gasoline. So much so, in fact, that the country is exporting a record amount of it.
The country exported 430,000 more barrels of gasoline a day than it imported in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That is about twice the amount at the start of the year, and experts and industry insiders say the trend is here to stay.

The United States began exporting gas in late 2008. For decades prior, starting in 1960, the country used all the gas it produced here plus had to import gas from places Europe.

https://money.cnn.com/2011/12/05/news/economy/gasoline_export/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

>Charter school thrives on data

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2011  
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Walk through the doors of Bergen Arts & Science Charter School in Garfield and you’ll see a computer kiosk that lets parents see all their kids’ test mistakes so they can practice more at home.

The database also gives information on the day’s quizzes, homework and any demerits for misbehavior. For live updates, parents can tap into a “student database app” on their cellphones.

At a time when many parents and teachers worry that schools have gone overboard in testing children and lament the time spent on test preparation, families here embrace the school’s intensely data-driven approach. Indeed, its children spend almost a week in December and again in March taking practice rounds of NJ ASK, the state’s annual four-day testing spree for Grades 3 through 8, and then they take the real thing in May.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/135010653_Charter_school_thrives_on_data.html

>Credit guidelines for mortgages get tougher: Higher FHA limit extended 2 more years

GUIDELINES GET TOUGHER

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, with help from Congress, recently took steps that affect people buying homes in high-priced real estate markets such as New Jersey.

First, Congress approved an extension of the loan limit on Federal Housing Administration loans in high-priced markets at $729,900. The regular limit in most areas is $417,000, but in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Congress temporarily approved the higher limit for some high-priced areas. That limit was set to expire in November 2011. Instead, the higher limits have been extended for two more years.

In addition, the FHFA has set the size of loans for 2012 that will conform to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines in higher-priced markets at $625,000.

https://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20111205/NJNEWS/312050015/Credit-guidelines-for-mortgages-get-tougher-Higher-FHA-limit-extended-2-more-years

>Supporters of Christie-backed school bill rally in Trenton