In case anyone hasn't noticed, city council members are ganging up on our councilman, and shooting down every new ordinance that he introduces, such as the freeze new city hiring-- Vega, Lipski, Brennan (Councilman-at-Large) are not acting in the best interest of tax payers. There are only two independent city council members, and downtown is lucky to have one of them representing us and bucking the machine!

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Fulop is learning how to win a few, even as outsider
Tuesday, May 23, 2006

The concept of a loyal opposition in politics refers to the minority party in a legislative body.

In Hudson County, there are generally only Democrats, so the loyal opposition, when it exists, consists of factions among Democrats.

Right now in Jersey City, it's Ward E City Councilman Steve Fulop, a relative newcomer, versus the world - or at least most his City Council colleagues. Sometimes, though, he allies himself with Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson.

Read the rest at nj.com

I've found Pew Internet reports helpful in filling out some aspects of this topic. They've identified clear differences in user behavior dependent upon access speed. As the expectation increases that the general population has reliable and fast internet access - banking, schoolwork, business, news promulgation - folks without high speed access are at a clear disadvantage.

Yeah, but he was going to a meeting in OXFORD, and the rooms were included in the fees!

So why was he staying in London with his entourage before the conference, and why couldn't he stay in the rooms that had been paid for during the meeting?

Taxpayers want to know!

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seriously, its like saying a library are going to put book stores out of business.
city wifi will never be the same as your private internet you paid for, but its better than nothing, and it lets people access information they normally might not have been able to at reasonable speeds.
yes it won't be secure, but there should be warnings stating that when you first log on. and as long as a business or bank uses encryption, those transactions will be secure.

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Because dialup sucks so badly with all the poorly designed bandwidth hog websites out there it makes using the net torture. If we want to help the poor & ignorant become less so, internet access is the 21st century equivalent of the public library, town square and the newpaper rolled into one. But then,helping the poor & ignorant become less so is not such a clear goal in some circles.
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While I'm sympathetic to your libertarian argument, it would hold more water if Verizon & Comcast actually competed against each other in the marketplace rather than in the bidding war for politicians who will grant them secure monopolies. Both of them have nothing but contempt for their customers, and deserve the same from us. Probably the only reason the government needs to be involved in the wireless venture is to protect it from those anticompetitive monsters who are like black walnut trees that poison anything that tries to grow near them.

These are the guys who are currently whining to Congress that being paid by their customers for broadband isn't enough, they need to get paid for bandwidth by websites that are already paying for their own broadband bandwidth!

You can purchase tickets in advance at...

Beechwood Cafe, 290 Grove Street
Garden State News, 366 Central Avenue
GO (Gourmet Organic), 611 Jersey Avenue

They can also be purchased at the Loews the night of the event pending availability.

Or contact your friendly JCLC board member (hi!).

Also folks, we are looking for volunteers for the ceremony, which would get you in for FREE.

E-mail me at jscparkhurst@hotmail.com for more info.

Joshua Parkhurst
President
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy

This looks like a fantastic event! Wine, food, music and the chance to rub elbows with a famous author, a controversial civil rights activist and a Hollywood director all in one evening. How do I get tickets?

Epps may be a scoundrel and a crook, but at least he's a good tipper. A 20% tip in a country where 10% is normal is quite commendable. But then again, that was my f890'ing money.

I guess many o you readers haven't been to London so you don't realize that ondon is a lot more expensive than Manhattan. $500 per night for a hotel room in Lodon is simply not extravagant. Also, anyone who knows London also knows that getting around is difficult, so the money spent on the limosine is not that outrageous.

There may be the additional problem of spoofing.

(?-p? spoof?ing) (n.) A technique used to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an IP address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host. To engage in IP spoofing, a hacker must first use a variety of techniques to find an IP address of a trusted host and then modify the packet headers so that it appears that the packets are coming from that host.
Newer routers and firewall arrangements can offer protection against IP spoofing.

When using wireless connections, it's very easy to be deceived into thinking you are hooking onto a random neighbors wireless signal or free wireless at a coffee shop when, in fact, it is a spoofer. And once you hook into a spoofed host, they can steal just about anything off your computer. While this wouldn't be the city's fault, it may be the unlucky result for naive users trying to log-on.

Also of note, many airports and other stores provide an encrypted number for a fee in order to log into localized wireless services. If you wanted to offer citywide wireless, why not charge a small fee to cover costs. Otherwise, we are conning people into thinking they have another entitlement. And we all know how hard entitlements are to get rid of.

For the record, I don't think any tax money should go towards this, particularly with the dire situation in JC. Get new union employees on 401ks, streamline operations, and trim the budgets first. Pave streets, protect the populace and run city bureaucracries efficiently second. Then go for the gimmicks.

2 questions:

First, why do the "disadvantaged" need broadband? What can they do with broadband that they cannot do with dialup?

Is mp3 watching, porno downloads, bit torrent burns, and online gaming "necessary services" that government (ie, homeowners paying property taxes) are obligated to provide?

Why, exactly?

Also, let's be honest- It won't be senior citizens and low income people hooking up to the network.

Going forward, you're going to see the taking of a nascent technology (15 years the internet has been a household word- we're just getting started) from a center of innovation to becoming a "government service" that will run as efficiently and improve as quickly as other "government services".

And why? Because populist politicians are always looking for something else to "give" away.....from someone else's pocket.

I hate Comcast with a white hot burning passion from a service standpoint. The connection, however, rocks, and I'm willing to pay for it (comes down to $2 a day if you don't have digital, less if you do- Hardly a prohibitive cost).

I make a prediction today- If you get "free" government internet, in 10 years it will cost on average way more than $2 a day for each account.

Forcing a company to compete with a "free" government service, with power limited only by their ability to tax, with no incentive AT ALL to service, is a scenario for the destruction of the networks that do exist. Mark my words- Do this, and 20 years from now you'll see a stagnant network that has improved not at all.

But wait! We'll sell advertising! We'll get Google to donate! It will be FREE! Ah yes, initially it will. Someday, however, Google or whoever will be finished with this sinkhole, and you'll find "emergency spending bills" being authorized to cover the costs. Then you'll get 20-30 no-show no work "network maintainence" jobs out of city hall.

I could go on but I'm tired, and I don't need to. Look around you at everything that your municipality either controls or provides. It is uniformly sad, dilapidated, slow, pitiful, and embarassing. They can't maintain a street. You want them to maintain a wireless network?

And all these people I hear worried that government is eavesdropping, controlling, censoring, etc...You all want a government controlling how and where and when you access the internet? What's to stop a municipality from running blocking software to screen out "objectional" websites? You get one bible-thumper in office and it will be "adios porno!", complete with well oiled speeches denouncing use of taxpayer money for porno bandwidth. And once that happens, once censorship is accepted a little bit, it's all over. The next step will be dirty words, "offensive" non-politically correct commentary (defined by whoever is in office at the time), etc etc etc. What about when a political adversary's website "accidentally" gets blocked the week of the election?


Governments... ALL governments, by virtue of what they are, seek to control, to the extent they're able, the flow of information. The Internet is proving to be a revolutionary tool for getting the truth out. Government would love to control the revolution, and to save $2 a day, $1 or less for narrowband, are there really people out there that are willing to let them do it?

Freedom is sold that cheaply?

Would you trust George W Bush with control over your internet connection? Would you believe him when he said he'd never allow anything to be censored today, tomorrow, 20 years from now?

Also- The internet is not "free" from a traffic carrying standpoint. At some time the value proposition for the national network, if the locals become province of government, will change. Not enough time to talk about that here, but remember NOTHING is free, and you get what you pay for.

Think long and hard. There are repercussions far beyond free access in Hamilton Park while walking the dog.


GWB

That sounds like some trip.

Was that last weekend? A week before this last saturday?

I called them and they said they had a private party that day. I'm assuming you didn't see any signs up saying that there was a private party... that sucks. I think because the business is fairly new and still trying to get its legs, they are taking money where they can. I hope it becomes popular and they don't close on weekend nights for private parties.

Their phone number is 201-420-0101 and they say their hours are 12-9:30 on weekdays and 12-11 on weekends (i'm assuming this means friday and saturday).

Anyone know their hours? I once tried to go after 8 PM on a Saturday and found it closed.

Local educrats stayed off campus at taxpayers' expense, records show
Monday, May 22, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr. and his staff lived like kings on the first four days of their 2004 trip to England, paying nearly $500 for two meals, more than $300 on limousines and taxis and nearly $1,500 for three nights in a London hotel - all at the public school system's expense.

According to receipts and other documents obtained by The Jersey Journal from state Republicans and interviews with the Oxford University group that hosted the educational convention, Epps arrived in England four days before the convention began at Oxford University on July 19, 2004, racking up the majority of his $5,179.47 in reimbursed expenses.

In addition, organizers for the Oxford Round Table on Superintendency and School Leadership say room and board is included in the "all inclusive rate of $8,195" paid for by the school district - but Epps stayed off-campus, at the nearly $300-a-night Old Parsonage Hotel.

Epps, who also is an Assemblyman representing Jersey City and Bayonne, has repeatedly refused to return phone calls about the trip, which is drawing fire from state Republicans and radio station Jersey 101.5 FM.

Earlier this year, Epps told the radio station that he should have considered "McDonald's or Burger King" instead of dining at the exclusive Rules Restaurant, which has an estate to raise its game hens and is billed as London's oldest restaurant. He also said he was trying to "figure out" why he took a limousine instead of a taxi.

"I would rethink asparagus soup, I would rethink beef, I would rethink a limousine, and doing it just a little bit differently," he said.

It's unclear how many other district employees accompanied him on the trip, and whether they too stayed at hotels in Oxford and London and then submitted their own receipts for reimbursement.

According to restaurant receipts obtained by The Jersey Journal, Epps ate with two other people; a hotel bill from the last night of the trip indicates two people stayed in the room that Epps paid for with his Diner's Club credit card.

It's also unknown if the taxpayers paid for empty rooms at the conference, since the college offers attendees reduced rates if they decline to stay on campus. Organizers said it's "rare" that attendees don't stay in the dorms.

Epps also wouldn't return phone calls to explain why he went to England apparently four days before the conference began. All the receipts submitted by Epps for July 15-17 are from London, which is a little more than 50 miles away from Oxford University. More than half of the receipts he submitted for reimbursement came from this period.

In total, taxpayers footed the bill for Epp's $5,179 worth of submitted expenses, which does not include the $8,195 convention fee or airfare for all the travelers, according to school district records.

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exactly. exactlyexactlyexactly

I think it is great if you can get this done for free or on the cheap -- great stuff!

Epps should give at least some money back: Manzo
Monday, May 22, 2006

Charles T. Epps Jr. should return some or all of the money he received as reimbursement for his expenses during his 2004 trip to England, said fellow 31st District Assemblyman Louis Manzo of Jersey City.

Epps, an Assemblyman as well as the state-appointed superintendent for Jersey City Public Schools, violated the district's policies regarding travel expenses and overnight stays that were in effect when he went to London and Oxford, and therefore should return the money, Manzo said.

"In light of the fact that he broke his own policy, he should do the right thing and give the money back," Manzo said.

Travel expenses were capped at $1,200 and staff members were limited to two overnight stays per school year for events outside the New Jersey/New York region. Epps was in England from July 15-24 on a trip that cost $8,195 for the "all inclusive" tuition to the conference at Oxford University, plus he was reimbursed $5,179.47 for expenses.

Manzo was one of the few Hudson County politicians willing to discuss Epps' trip.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian Stack, West New York Mayor and Assemblyman Albio Sires, state Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco and state Sen. Bernard Kenny of Hoboken all did not return phone calls for comment.

However, state Republicans have been quick to pounce on the details of Epps' trip.

"I challenge Assemblyman-slash-school superintendent Charles Epps to find one student in Jersey City that his lavish trip to London benefited," New Jersey Republican Chairman Tom Wilson said.

"This is precisely the type of thing that undoes the credibility of the Abbott Districts and makes it hard for them to come to the state when they need money, because we can't trust that it's going into the classroom where it belongs," he said.

I Appreciate the feedback. A couple of points related to your posts. Apologies on the length


1) I will bring up the website at today?s caucus and that it?s in dire need of being overhauled. I will let you know where this goes


2) It was also pointed out that I get out-voted often on some important issues whether it is a hiring freeze, removing Chief Troy or abatements? This is a fact, but it doesn?t mean that what I am saying is not the truth. The reality is that sometimes the actual vote result is not the most important aspect but turning the spotlight on something that is very wrong often has the same effect. We won the seat despite the political organization and that affords some freedom as to what I can do. The police Chief issue had some serious impact for him to reform, or the detective promotions that were on deck will likely not happen?.


3) With regards to prioritizing issues in the city, some of you have mentioned that you would prefer that I focus on other items that are more pressing. I recognize this point may seem valid, but I plead that you recognize that I put my time to working on several initiatives at the same time including entertainment ordinances, ethics policy, dog run, abatement overhaul, Newark Avenue/Christopher Columbus?. Of which many of you have been very involved. In the past year, you may not realize but we got much accomplished, even with issues like street paving that was cited here, relative to the rest of the city we managed in Ward E to get the most streets paved versus any other ward. Things are far from perfect and I will be the first to say, but I am happy with many aspects of the last year


4) On the wireless internet, maybe it is just I feel with a little work it is doable. This past week I finished my Marine Corps commitment, and the dual Master Programs at both Columbia and NYU so I will be the first to say that I have added capacity and will do much of the lifting on this as long as volunteers are with me. There are many different models on how municipal wireless can work from revenue generating, to low cost to the private entity, to free fro advertising. The reality is that this is a new space and there is uncertainty on both the public/private side which poses an opportunity if we are smart about it.


I think it is important that we are on the earlier side with this project and I am sure that if some of you are willing to help out we can put together something that we can all be proud of. Once again, as always I appreciate the feedback and as I say at the community meetings, I am always thankful for the opportunity to represent you on the council


Sincerely
Steven Fulop

I went to Ceviche's this past Saturday on the recommendations posted below. Wow, I was not disappointed. It is definitely a romantic and secluded place in "da Hood." Quite striking actually.

The wait staff was pleasant, friendly. We were actually presented with a wine and liquor menu. We, of course ordered the Sangria, which was great. My partner oredered chicken soup for an appetizer. If you like cilantro and ginger in a soup superbly prepared, you won't be disappointed.

My partner ordered the ceviche mixto and we both thought that it was too salty, but still very good. I ordered the ceviche compdrone?, the shrimp in a tomato and orange juice sauce. Fantastic.

We didn't order the coconut flan, but another one recommended by the waiter. We were surprised to find it was very dense and had a texture unlike any other flan I have tasted. Besides being a bit bizarre, the flan was really good.

The coffee is good and very, very strong.

I found the music overwhelming at times. It was simply too loud for our enjoyment, but perhaps others like that.

During the dessert, the owner/chef, Rob, came up to us and introduced himself. Nice touch.

This place is definitely for couples, but they are very child friendly and offer a whole menu of options for the wee ones. Am I willing to share this wonderful place with my kids? Probably not, but others may feel differently :0)

Thanks ErieSt for the fantastic recommendation!

Althea
www.cfijc.org

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I thought it would only be a $10 reward!

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Hey, I lost $20 downtown the other day. Anybody finds it PM me. I can describe the lost property and you can mail it to me. There is a $20 reward.

FLYING MONEY
Monday, May 22, 2006
By STEVEN LEMONGELLO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Bank robber tosses $20's to escape

It was addition by subtraction for a man who robbed a Jersey City bank on Saturday and evaded capture by throwing some of the stolen cash over his shoulder as he fled from a security guard.

Faced with the prospect of watching his employers' $20 bills blow away in the wind, the guard stopped up to pick up the loot while the robber got away with the rest, reports said.

The robber walked into the North Fork Bank, 201 Newark Ave., shortly after 2:30 p.m., reports said. He handed a teller a note demanding $10,000 and a bag to put it in. He never showed a weapon nor claimed to have one, police said.

The teller filled the bag with $5,642, mostly in $20 bills. As he walked away, the teller pushed the hold-up alarm and shouted "We've been robbed!"

The security guard managed to grab the thief by the arm, but the robber wriggled free and then threw the cash behind him as he fled north on Coles Street.

The robber got away with $4,217 - not including the $1,425 he dropped to slow down the guard's pursuit, reports said.

The thief was described by witnesses as in his late 40s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He was wearing a beige hat, a white hooded sweatshirt and silver eyeglasses, police said.

A man fitting a similar description robbed a Weehawken bank on May 12, also without showing a weapon, but investigators have not made any connection between the two crimes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (973) 792-3000.

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Parents living in tax-abated condos already are sending huge floods of children into Learning Community Charter School (only 25 percent of the kids who apply through the kindergarten lottery are getting in) and P.S. 16/Bradford (a public school in Paulus Hook which has no playground but does have a great principal, great teachers and a genuinely diverse mix of students.)

Once the new condos go up, getting a child into Learning Community, Cordero or the downtown private schools will be next to impossible.

The one good side effect is that a flood of downtown condo kids might lead to a lot of improvement at the marginal downtown schools -- Cordero, Conti, Conwill.

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Maybe if Joe Vas were running for President, but he's not. He's running for the Democratic nomination in a district which is about as slam dunk Democratic as you can get. There were some thoughts in the 80s that it could go Republican, but it never happened. That is, of course, one reason (if not the only reason) that Sires switched parties.

Not much to add to this topic, except to say that I fully support the efforts. A fully wired city is a great amenity that adds to the quality of life and attracts new residents who are creative and entrepeneurial.

The JERSEY CITY LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY is proud to announce the winners of the

2006 PRESERVATION AWARDS

for our upcoming:



After nearly six months of deliberating over board-nominated candidates, conducting historical research and interviews and making multiple site visits, we have selected the following outstanding examples of bricks-and-mortar restoration, preservation promotion, scholarship, grass roots advocacy and lifetime achievement:

EXCELLENCE IN PRESERVATION AWARD

This award, given to three separate property owners, recognizes the recent restoration, rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of a building, structure or object that exemplifies a high regard for the resource's historical and architectural integrity.

Charlie Hewitt and Tom Watts
for The Bath House, 1903
5-11 Coles Street
The Italian Village
Jersey City, New Jersey
Inglese Architecture and Engineering
(Architect of Record)
Donahoe Brothers, Inc.
(General Contractor)



Dennis Doran
Private 19thh Century Victorian Residence
55 Summit Avenue
Bergen Hill
Jersey City, New Jersey



Giuseppe LoPiccolo
Creative R & D, LLC
Private 19th Century Italianate Clapboard Row House
336 8th Street
Hamilton Park Historic District
Jersey City, New Jersey




2006 PRESERVATION INITIATIVE AWARD

This award recognizes the extraordinary efforts by an individual or organization in promoting the preservation and/or protection of a historic resource.

Grace Lutheran Church
982 Summit Avenue
Jersey City Heights
Jersey City, New Jersey




2006 J. OWEN GRUNDY HISTORY AWARD

Named after the city's late historian, the J. Owen Grundy History Award recognizes work that chronicles, through a written or visual medium, Jersey City history.

Thomas Fleming, Author
"Mysteries of My Father: An Irish-American Memoir"




2006 THEODORE CONRAD PRESERVATIONIST AWARD

Named after Jersey City's late influential preservationist, the Theodore Conrad Preservationist Award recognizes local grassroots historic preservation efforts.

Sam Pesin and The Friends of Liberty State Park




2006 LIVING LEGEND AWARD

The Living Legend Award is given to someone, who through his or her experience, embodies the history of Jersey City.

The Reverend Robert Castle




THE 6TH ANNUAL PRESERVATION AWARDS CEREMONY

The 2006 Awardees will be celebrated at our 6th Annual Preservation Awards Ceremony, a special public event on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre in Journal Square from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Presented by the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy at the conclusion of National Historic Preservation Month. Sponsored by Metrovest, Lord Abbett, PSE&G, Lindemon Winckelmann Deupree Martin and Associates, Van Vorst Park Association, Goldman Sachs, Liberty Realty and the historic Temple Beth-El.

We are thrilled to be able to recognize and bestow honors upon these heroes of the preservation community, and we hope you are able to attend the ceremony to meet them and sing their praises!

The event will include live lobby music, buffet, wine, slide show, exhibit, presentation of awards and a private tour of the theatre. In 2005 we drew a crowd of over 250, but we hope to top that number this year, demonstrating the public's growing passion for--and commitment to--historic preservation in Jersey City.

CEREMONY TICKETS:

You may purchase your ticket for $25 at the local businesses listed below or at the Loew's box office on the night of the event.

Beechwood Cafe, 290 Grove Street
Garden State News, 366 Central Avenue
GO (Gourmet Organic), 611 Jersey Avenue

For more information about tickets and the ceremony, please call Joshua Parkhurst at (201) 332-4704 or e-mail: jscparkhurst@hotmail.com

The 2006 Awards Ceremony is also made possible by the generous contributions of Friends of the Loew's, FastFrame Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and Bar Majestic. Special thanks goes out to Lycel Villanueva, Leon Yost, Christine Bee, Laura Fraschilla, Pat Guida, Cynthia Harris, The New Jersey Room, and all of our dedicated 2006 Preservation Awards Ceremony volunteers!



SPECIAL ADDED EVENT:

As a special precursor to the May 31 Awards Ceremony, the Conservancy, in collaboration with the Jersey City Museum, will be holding a one-time public screening of the 1991 film "Cousin Bobby" at the Jersey City Museum, 350 Montgomery Street, on Tuesday, May 30, from 6: 00 to 8:00 p.m.

The 70-minute film focuses on the embattled life and times of the Rev. Robert Castle, a 1960s-era Episcopal priest in the heart of Jersey City's then-blighted Bergen Hill neighborhood and, later, after a self-imposed exile, Harlem. In the eyes of the Jersey City politicians and police, Castle was a constant thorn, a reckless civil rights advocate who knew no rest; to the African-American and Latino communities, he was a selfless civic leader, a savior for the silenced and oft-persecuted minority.

Demme, the director of such acclaimed films as "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Philadelphia," made "Cousin Bobby" as a tribute to his older cousin Castle. Critics praised the film's honesty and gripping portrait of one of the most controversial yet important religious figures to emerge out of the Civil Rights Movement.

A brief Q&A will follow the screening. Mr. Demme will not be able to attend the museum event, but he is scheduled to attend the Preservation Awards Ceremony to watch his cousin receive long-overdue recognition.

Tickets are $10 at the museum reception desk, or you may reserve your seat inside the museum's Caroline L. Guarini Theater with a credit card by calling the museum at 201-413-0303 x 141.

I hope to see everyone at both the Awards Ceremony and the "Cousin Bobby" screening!

John Gomez
Founder and Past President
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy

More info at www. jclandmarks.org

Jus saw him headed west on Jersey in front of Carolina's Laundromat - in the red & black outfit, w/cane and hat. Had to explain to my dad (visiting from out of town) the significance of Tha Pimp!

Muffintops

I'm not sure once you get out of the tourist area that Hong Kong is much cleaner than any other big city.

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=5 ... ext=set-72057594048108990

http://flickr.com/photos/eddielaw/set ... 4048108990/with/43765904/

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And Brewster,
I almost bought a place on Morningside Park & 120th Street -- I am glad I bought here instead.

I think there are lots of parks here - Liberty State - Hamilton - Van V and the other parks that I don't know the names of on Brunswick near 10th street and the other one with Ball fields under the turnpike -- also if the embankment happens that will add even more (I would be happy if it does become a light rail & bike walkway It would be ashame if it is just a light rail track.) Anyway I think once the waterfront walkway-park is completed and we can walk and bike all up and down the Hudson River we will really have something.

I think Downtown is pretty lucky as far as parks go. I do like that people like yourself keep after the city and the developers, but I do think Healy is trying to get as much development in the tube for downtown (before the real estate market tanks) and I think this is good for Downtown's future -- it might be ten years or more till we see a boom like this -- if ever.

There won't be a sea of new kids from these luxury condos using JC's public schools and the city will be getting a lot more money from these new people than if it did nothing to bring them here. We are talking about 30,000 or more well off people coming to downtown.

I like the new faces and I feel safer already - this is great for downtown - we all need to lose our cars! We also should pick up trash ourselves and stop the whining. It's our town!

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Amen. Nothing like nonstop potholes, overturned garbage and $1 million dollar one-bedroom condos to make me feel like I live in the greatest town in the world! Woohoo!