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Voting Hours - BOE Election April 27 2011
#31
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Please note that the voting hours are 7AM to 9PM.

The flyer from "Efficient Effective Education" incorrectly states that the hours are 9AM to 9PM:

Resized Image

I've heard that thousands of these flyers have been distributed with the incorrect dates.

So again - the correct times are 7Am to 9PM!

Posted on: 2011/4/21 15:03
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Re: HUGE GAS PIPELINE COMING - through Jersey City
#32
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Quote:

12345 wrote:
Leaking Gas Line Sparks Explosion, Inferno; 8 Homes Destroyed; Hundreds Of People EvacuatedBlast Felt Several Miles Away; Firefighters Battle Multi-Alarm Blaze

Jamie Peter | Web Producer
3:17 am EST February 10, 2011

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Firefighters from around Lehigh County are battling a multi-alarm fire that followed a gas explosion in the area of North 13th and West Allen streets in Allentown...


3 dead, 2 missing after massive Pa. gas blast
Elderly couple, baby killed in explosion, fire that consumes row of houses

UGI Corp. said Thursday morning that one of its natural-gas pipelines likely exploded.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41503700/ns/us_news-life/

Posted on: 2011/2/10 17:58
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Re: Key to community garden in Hamilton Park neighborhood
#33
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Quote:

mrasg1 wrote:
Does anyone know how you can purchase a key to the community garden on Brunswick Street between 6th and 7th streets? I wen to City Hall but they had no clue.

Thanks!


"purchase a key "? There was a two year waiting list the last time I checked.

Posted on: 2010/11/26 17:54
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Re: HUGE GAS PIPELINE COMING - through Jersey City
#34
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Today on MSNBC - Fracking!

'Fracking' for energy in Northeast: boon or doom?
GOP election wins give momentum to backers; critics worry about water and EPA is studying impacts

HARRISBURG, Pa. ? To supporters, it's a 21st century economic boom that will benefit millions across the Northeast. To critics, it could be this century's biggest national eco-disaster, tainting water supplies for tens of millions.

The it is "fracking" for natural gas buried between the rocks of the Marcellus Shale, a formation that extends from West Virginia and eastern Ohio through Pennsylvania and into southern New York.

Some geologists estimate it could yield enough natural gas to supply the entire East Coast for 50 years.

Fracking, shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, injects millions of gallons of water, sand and toxic chemicals into each well to break apart the shale and release trapped gas.

A drilling boom has been under way since 2008 in the formation, the biggest known deposit of natural gas in the nation.

Controversy over the technique has been building, with momentum shifting towards supporters after the midterm elections earlier this month.

The GOP takeover of the U.S. House will almost surely doom efforts in Congress to impose federal regulation over gas drilling. Congress exempted fracking from federal clean water regulations in 2005.
In Pennsylvania, Republican Gov.-elect Tom Corbett is seen as a lot friendlier toward the gas industry than outgoing Democrat Ed Rendell, who has clashed with companies over both taxes and tougher new clean-water regulations.

Corbett opposes any attempt to slap a gas-extraction tax on the industry. Pennsylvania is the largest gas-drilling state without such a tax, and Rendell tried and failed to persuade the Legislature to approve one.

Corbett has also said he will lift Rendell's executive order preventing the issuing of any more drilling leases in state forests.

The huge commercial potential was underscored earlier this week when oil giant Chevron struck a $4.3 billion deal to buy Atlas Energy, a major Marcellus Shale driller.

Combining a new process of horizontal drilling with fracking, drillers are unlocking vast deposits there and in other formations around the U.S. such as the Barnett Shale in Texas ? a boom that could ensure cheap and plentiful natural gas for many years to come for homeowners, factories and power plants.

The drilling frenzy in the Marcellus Shale is also credited with enriching landowners and pumping new life into trucking companies, short-line railroads, quarries and steel-pipe makers, as well as the restaurants and hotels hosting out-of-state drilling crews.

An industry-financed study by Penn State projected that the boom would generate tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes in the coming years.

A 2009 report prepared for the Energy Department said sand and chemicals typically account for less than 2 percent of fracturing fluids, with water making up 98 to 99.5 percent.

However, the use of fracking is raising pollution concerns across the Northeast.

While the industry maintains that fracking has been proved safe over the decades, homeowners are coming forward with tales of wells producing brown, foul-smelling water or water polluted with methane and chemicals.

In the northeastern Pennsylvania town of Dimock, a hotspot of Marcellus Shale exploration, some residents no longer use their polluted well water and can light their taps on fire because of methane they say seeped into their wells because of drilling.

The Rendell administration intends to bill Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. the $12 million cost of installing a water line to serve 14 families in Dimock. Cabot denies the methane is connected to its drilling.

The gas drilling business got what it wanted in the election of Corbett, who received nearly $1 million in donations from the industry. Among his first actions this week was to name Christine Toretti, a national GOP committeewoman and owner of a Pennsylvania drilling company, as co-chair of his transition team.

Without giving specifics, Corbett on Wednesday promised a "reasonable" regulatory stand that protects the environment. He will be able to appoint a new head of the Department of Environmental Protection, which under Rendell has tried to aggressively deal with the problems brought by the gas rush.

"I look at this as an industry that's going to be here long after all of us in the room are gone," Corbett said. "It is going to be a great industry and we need to develop it properly. We need to develop it protecting the environment and growing jobs in Pennsylvania."

In the U.S. Congress, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., sponsor of a measure that would subject fracking to regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency, predicts a bleaker landscape now for his bill.

"If anything, there are more votes against it," he said Tuesday.

Whether events ultimately unfold to the industry's liking remains to be seen.

The election doesn't affect a web of federal, state and even municipal regulatory bodies that could stand in the way of drilling, industry analysts said.

The Pittsburgh City Council, for example, this week voted 8-0 to ban natural gas drilling within the city limits.

And the EPA could try to regulate fracking without congressional approval.

The federal agency is already studying whether the chemicals from fracking can get into drinking water supplies and asked drillers to provide lists of the chemicals they used. Eight of nine complied, the EPA said this week, the exception being oil services giant Halliburton.

The company also has faced renewed criticism over the provision in the 2005 energy law that prevents the EPA from regulating fracking. The exemption is commonly called the "Halliburton loophole," in reference to the company's pioneering role in fracking.

An energy task force convened by then Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Halliburton CEO, had urged the EPA exemption.

Initial results from the EPA study are expected in 2012.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40135664/ns/us_news-environment/

Posted on: 2010/11/12 13:46
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Re: VERIZON FIOS
#35
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Our FIOS was down early this morning but was restored before 10AM, not sure of exact time.

Quote:

Binky wrote:
Yes, but they're "committed to restoring service by 12AM Monday,
November 1st."

Setting a high bar for expectation, aren't they?

Posted on: 2010/10/31 16:00
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Re: Dr. Epps Contract Extended
#36
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Quote:

milkbone wrote:
Mr Waterman did not listen to his more experienced colleges on the boe , hence his unaccurate and wrong statements.


Just the sort of arrogant statement that I would expect from some of the current BOE members. By any reasonable standard Dr. Epps is under-performing. He's obviously an intelligent and capable person, but I'd grade him a "C+" at best. Conducting a nationwide search is the right thing to do.

And milkbone, don't be so sure about your assumption. An excerpt from Jersey City Independent today:

...A spokesman for state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said yesterday that the state Department of Education ?is reviewing the contract extension to see that proper procedures were followed.?

Spokesman Alan Guenther also said that the extension would go to the state?s Hudson County executive superintendent, Timothy Brennan, who is empowered to review and revise any and all school administrator contracts in the county.

?And when he finishes his work, the commissioner will look at it,? Guenther added.

Guenther would not detail what, if any, concerns the state may have. But the commissioner?s office is already in the midst of deciding whether to renew the contract for Newark?s superintendent, Clifford Janey, and the Jersey City board?s controversial vote hits even closer to home for Schundler, the city?s former mayor.

The BOE extended Epps? four-year contract an additional two years by a vote of 6-2, with one abstention. Epps? contract was not up for another year, but a provision allowed him a full year?s notice if he was not going to be renewed, and the board moved to give him a vote of confidence with the extension.

But one of the two dissenting members of the board, Sterling Waterman, plans to contest the vote with a state ethics complaint, saying the public was not given required notice. And some parent and community leaders have questioned whether such a big decision should have been made without at least considering other candidates.

Posted on: 2010/7/1 14:38
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Re: Blacktop be poured at the end of Jersey Ave.
#37
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It will be a two lane road - not four lane as was in the original proposal. Sam Pesin - Friends of Liberty State Park approved of the project. Since there's the light rail in the way with traffic lights and limited to two lanes it won't be a high traffic roadway according to traffic studies. There will be a pedestrian/bike lane next to the road and the project looks pretty nice. I'm personally against it, but it could have been much worse.

Posted on: 2010/6/29 14:05
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Re: Hamilton Park Renovation - Update
#38
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Quote:

Vigilante wrote:
The basketball court was absolutely trashed again tonight. On matter of principle I cannot clean up after those people.
Why are there no signs posted or an officer writing tickets? Time to end the mis-directed hysteria aimed at dog-owners and start a movement to close that court. It is a big open sore on the new park. Shameful.


"Hysteria aimed at dog-owners"? What are you talking about? Please explain.

Posted on: 2010/6/6 5:25
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Re: City To Conduct First Property Revaluation Since 1988
#39
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Quote:

worm wrote:
I guess I just don't understand why a reval can't happen when a property is sold. Wouldn't this make the most sense? ...


That would make sense. It's up to Trenton to change the law, but don't hold your breath. This is the law in FL, for example:

The assessment on any property which is sold or otherwise conveyed to new owner during a calendar year is raised to full market value according to law. The limitation will be applied to the assessed value in the first year following the year in which the new owner qualifies the property for homestead exemption.

Posted on: 2010/4/28 20:52
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Re: Vote Tuesday..... BOE Endorsements....
#40
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Mia, your endorsement is a major disappointment. I'm going to hit the "unsubscribe" button for your mailing list. I'm not going to endorse candidates on JCLIST but my friends know that I think that Carol Lester and Sterling Waterman are strong candidates. There are other good choices as well, such as Gerald Lyons, Anthony Sharperson, and June Mulqueen.- people with integrity that can be trusted to act in the best interest of our children, and JC taxpayers.

Quote:

mia wrote:
...We need board members who will stand up to the teachers' union like Jerry McCann (11A). By orchestrating the defeat of the contract, the teachers, under recently passed state law, will pay a measly 1.5% or on average $750 PER YEAR for their insurance but we save $4 million in health insurance costs! Listen I don't care for his personality either but these economic times demand tough people who can read a budget and financials.....

My second choice is Sterling Waterman (3A) who regularly attends Board of Ed meetings so he has some idea what's going on, unlike the other candidates. My only reservation is that now that he's supported by the Teachers' Union he is anti- school choice. The charter schools on average get about 67% of the funding we spend on regular (non-special ed) students. Many are doing a fine job.

As for third choice.... I'm torn....

Posted on: 2010/4/19 16:56
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Re: Fire in building next to Basic
#41
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Quote:

Vigilante wrote:
Quote:

heights wrote:
Quote:

Vigilante wrote:
I saw earlier tonight that the russians had put a bunch of charred debris and furniture to the curb. Is that a proper way to dispose of that stuff? Seems to me that it should be considered toxic waste.

Is today garbage day then ? Call the JCIA (201) 432-4645


Well last night was Garbage night on 8th St but the stuff was still there this morning when I walked by.


Report it to NID (201) 547-5683. I'd give it at least a day. The landlord may have made arrangements to remove the debris.

Posted on: 2010/3/23 16:05
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Re: Village Voice - "Suez Canal" Egyptian fish joint rules near Journal Square @ 117 Tonnele Ave.
#42
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Review of Suez Canal at Jersey City Independent.com:

Fish. Fish and Brazilian guarana soda that tastes like bubble gum.

If you don?t want either of these things, then there?s no reason to wander down to Suez Canal. But if you want fish, and you want fish that is uniformly fresh and excellently prepared, then hike to Tonnele Avenue, ask the nice woman who brings you the menus what?s fresh, and get ready to have some of the best fish you?ve ever had. They do fish ? fried, grilled, in sauce ? they do it right, and they don?t do anything else...


Read the rest at:

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... /but-i-digest-suez-canal/

Posted on: 2009/12/18 15:41
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Re: VERIZON FIOS
#43
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Quote:

robt wrote:
Let us know when this has full coverage in 07302.

Not sure i understand why they have a booth in Newport Mall when most folks in Newport and, actually, Hamilton Park, still can't get service...but i would like to mistaken here...


I live in Hamilton Park and have FIOS, and so do many of my neighbors. 6 months ago on 8th between Erie and Jersey FIOS wasn't available, not sure if it is now.

Posted on: 2009/12/17 16:19
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Re: Roof repair?
#44
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Capitol has a very good reputation. Stay away from Miller roofing - if they're still around. I recommend Simpson Roofing 201-936-8668. Always get at least three estimates.

Quote:

neverleft wrote:
I have used Capital Roofing. Great job no hassle!!

http://www.capitolroofingco.com/




.

Posted on: 2009/12/9 15:17
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Re: Jersey City Government Corruption Scandal - 16 arrested
#45
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This morning on WNYC (NPR Radio) The Takeaway, there was a story on Beldini pleading not guilty, Healy and the corruption scandal in Jersey City.

Posted on: 2009/12/3 14:43
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Re: Cops: Jersey City man high on PCP hits two cars, announces he's 'God'
#46
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Quote:

melhayes wrote:
A Jersey City man suspected of being high on PCP was arrested last night after his car struck two vehicles, including a cop car, and he told police he was "God," reports said.

William Marable, 35, of Martin Luther King Drive, who was driving with a suspended license and had previously been arrested for shooting a police officer, was slapped with several motor vehicle violations and drug charges, reports said.

For full story: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_man_high_on_pcp_hi.html


Wow, thanks for posting a story with the correct headline!

Posted on: 2009/12/2 22:30
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Editorial: Building vote proves council is inept
#47
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Editorial: Building vote proves council is inept
By The Jersey Journal
November 30, 2009, 12:01AM

The Jersey City City Council approved bonding to allow the city Parking Authority to purchase this Central Avenue building that leases space to the Parking Authority office.

How much more evidence is needed to show that the people of Jersey City are being ill-served by those members of the City Council whose strings are being pulled by a City Hall administration that cares little for the taxpayer or well-being of its citizens. This is either an intellectually deficient or a sinister bunch in power.

The latest exhibit for the court of public opinion came last week, when the council approved bonding that would allow the city Parking Authority to buy the building that the agency has been renting at 392-394 Central Ave.

The purchase price was a highly questionable, $4.2 million in a down real estate market. Actions of these of elected officials in providing the agency with a go-ahead to buy this building is tantamount to malfeasance.

These self-appointed masters of investment and property acquisition refused to pay the $500 or so for a new appraisal of the building. Instead, they were content to rely on a year 2008 appraisal when the real estate market was booming. Their ineptitude was so blatant that it is easy to suggest their actions may have been planned.

Among those who approved the funding was Councilwoman Nidia Lopez, who has some trouble filing New Jersey tax returns. Another was Councilman Mariano Vega, who has so badly botched his campaign filings with state ELEC that it is difficult to accurately determine who donated to his war chest in May's municipal race. These are people who should not be making decisions with taxpayers' money.

The ordinance was introduced with a 5-4 vote but bond ordinances need six votes for approval on the second reading. Conveniently, it was Vega -- who once frighteningly chaired the city Tax Enhancement Committee -- changed his vote to yes. The councilman, who faces federal corruption charges and refuses to step down claiming he did nothing wrong, said he was convinced by supporters that this was a good deal for the city. He made this explanation with a straight face.

Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop, Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson and Councilwoman at large Willie Flood did the right thing by voting against the bond ordinance. Fulop argued for the new appraisal and noted that one of the property owners contributed to the Team (Mayor Jerramiah) Healy slate in this year's election.

Perhaps a review of past real estate deals approved by this City Council is a necessity. This city government cannot be trusted.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... building_vote_proves.html

Posted on: 2009/11/30 13:25
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Re: Jersey City Council to vote on spending $4.6 million for parking authority building
#48
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Quote:

jcmiles wrote:
Hello,
I was at the Council meeting last night to speak about a completely different issue, but I watched in horror as the Council voted to purchase this bldg...


I was there also, and listened with an open mind to the arguments on both sides. What Fulop was asking for were two new appraisals. The argument that the current appraisal is still accurate defies logic. It was truly astonishing. The majority of the council could just as well have been arguing that the world is flat. Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly (not present at this council meeting) was on record in support of performing new appraisals. The majority of the council, for whatever reason, was hell bent on buying this building for pre-real estate crash prices. It's questionable if the city should be in the business of owning commercial properties (they will be a landlord) and Fulop's request to at least value the property accurately was prudent and reasonable.

All Council meetings have minutes which are in the public record. I have a strong suspicion this vote will be be remembered as an abject example of government's failure to act in a responsible manner.

Posted on: 2009/11/25 16:52
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Jersey City Council to vote on spending $4.6 million for parking authority building
#49
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On Tonight's Agenda!

Jersey City Council to vote on spending $4.6 million for parking authority building
By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
November 24, 2009, 3:29PM

The Jersey City Council is expected to vote tonight on purchasing the Parking Authority office on Central Avenue for $4.6 million.Despite a heated debate last night, Jersey City Council is expected to vote on purchasing a Central Avenue commercial building for $4.6 million at tonight's meeting.

The council tabled the ordinance Nov. 10 after questions were raised about the purchase price. It's back on tonight's meeting and if approved would appropriate $4.6 million, including nearly $4.4 million in bonds, for the Parking Authority to purchase the property at 392-394 Central Ave.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop took issue with the purchase pricesaying it was based on an appraisal from April 2008.

Last night, city officials presented the council with an appraisal conducted by the building's owner this year as well as a letter from the city's appraiser both standing by the original appraisal price.

"There is no way this building is still the same value or remotely the same value as it was last year," Fulop said, calling for a new, independent appraisal of the site.

Ward D Councilman William Gaughan and Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano asked if they could get notarized letters from the city's appraiser saying the price is still accurate.

Gaughan said the building was unique in that it has a federal tenant, the U.S. Postal Service, and it's a large space with the possibility of other tenants.

"It's well worth it," he said. "Take a tour. It's a great building."

Fulop and Sottolano got into a heated argument over the worth of the building.

"This looks like a plus in revenue going forward," Sottolano said.

But Fulop said he feels the building is not worth what the city is offering.

"You are all stewards of taxpayer dollars," he said. "If you can say with a straight face that the market hasn't changed in the last year and a half, then vote for it."

The Parking Authority has a 10-year lease, which expires next year, and pays about $225,000 a year in rent.

It subleases some space to the city for its closed circuit surveillance television system for $50,000 a year.

In addition, the U.S. Post Office rents space on the first floor from the owner, for about $177,000 annually. If the Parking Authority were to go through with the acquisition, it would become the post office's landlord.

While the Parking Authority would pay more monthly toward a mortgage than it does in rent, the post office's rent would offset the cost and result in a lower monthly payment, city officials said.

The building is owned by Hudson Central Building, LLC, whose managing members are Seung Kyom Kim and Matteo Pavodano, according to the lease agreement.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... council_to_vote_on_1.html

Posted on: 2009/11/24 21:19
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Re: Hawk on First and Erie
#50
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Same hawk?


Bird of prey on Journal Square
Photo by Reena Sibayan on August 24, 2009 at 12:42 PM

A bird believed to be a red-tailed hawk was spotted this morning on Journal Square in Jersey City, Monday, August 24, 2009. Here, it was seen perched on top of The Jersey Journal building photographed through the window of the Blume Goldfaden Berkowitz Donnelly Fried & Forte office on the sixth-floor of 26 Journal Square. -- REENA ROSE SIBAYAN / THE JERSEY JOURNAL

Resized Image

http://photos.nj.com/jersey-journal/2 ... _on_journal_square_5.html


Resized Image

Posted on: 2009/11/19 22:58
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Re: Healy's law license may face suspension
#51
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Quote:

Ms_Taggart wrote:
Quote:

Xerxes wrote:
Christie can be counted on to work tirelessly to root out all DEMOCRATIC corruption.
Corrupt Republicans are immune from scrutiny for the next 4 years.


Wasn't one of the mayors arrested this summer a republican?


Other Republicans, such as Ward E council candidate Guy Catrillo, were also swept up in the sting.

Posted on: 2009/11/19 17:56
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Re: Healy's law license may face suspension
#52
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Ethics panel criticizes Jersey City Mayor Healy for Bradley Beach incident
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
November 18, 2009, 1:45PM

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy's law license may be suspended after an attorneys' ethics panel recommended action against him based on his 2006 disorderly persons convictions in Bradley Beach.Part of the reason Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy should face discipline as a lawyer is that he never accepted responsibility for his actions during a 2006 scuffle with Bradley Beach police and tried to throw his political weight around, a state attorney ethics panel says in a brief.

"There is nothing in the record to suggest that (Healy) has admitted any wrongdoing or accepted responsibility for his actions,'' the 11-page brief sent by the Office of Attorney Ethics to the state Disciplinary Review Board states. "Moreover, at the time of the incident, he was serving as the mayor of Jersey City, a fact he made known to the arresting officers."

The board's recommendation that Healy's law license be suspended for three months or that he be censured was first reported Friday, but the full brief was just secured by The Jersey Journal today.

Healy, meanwhile, remains adamant that he is blameless.

"At that time, I pleaded not guilty and disputed those charges, as I did nothing wrong and was acting as a Good Samaritan in an attempt to break up a fight," the mayor said yesterday.

"Those involved in the fight were related to Bradley Beach authorities, and the result was a gross miscarriage of justice and an abuse of power," he said. "However, even if you were to assume I did what the authorities in Bradley Beach charged, this has nothing to do with my law license or my practice of law."

According to the ethics panel, Healy's 2007 convictions on disorderly persons charges relating to the scuffle "clearly and convincingly'' demonstrate he has committed an act that "reflects adversely on (his) honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer.''

It continued: "The only issue that remains is the extent of the discipline to be imposed.''

In the early morning hours of June 17, 2006, Healy intervened in a dispute between a couple outside a Bradley Beach bar owned at the time by his sister and brother-in-law. The responding officers testified at trial that Healy ignored their requests to step aside so they could interview the young woman and at one point he assumed a "boxing stance" as though to fight one of the officers.

Both officers said Healy -- who acknowledged drinking five to seven 10-ounce beers that evening -- as "clearly intoxicated." They testified they had to wrestle him to the ground and pepper-spray him in both eyes to arrest him.

Healy was later convicted on the disorderly persons charges of resisting arrest and obstruction of the administration of law.

Office of Attorney Ethics Director Charles Centinaro said today that his office recommended Healy's censure or suspension automatically based on Healy's convictions and the reaffirmation of the convictions on appeal.

In the next few months there will be a public hearing on the matter in the Supreme Court chambers in Trenton where Healy will have an opportunity to defend himself, Centinaro said.

The Disciplinary Review Board will then deliberate on the matter and make its recommendation to the Supreme Court which will decide if sanctions against Healy will be imposed, he said.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... el_criticizes_jersey.html

? 2009 NJ.com. All rights reserved.

Posted on: 2009/11/19 16:49
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Judge in Lopez Case Admits to Being Chronic Procrastinator
#53
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Judge to rule on Jersey City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez' residency
By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
November 17, 2009, 4:07PM

Nidia LopezReena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalSuperior Court Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli said he would rule on Jersey City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez' residency in about two weeks.Jersey City Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Lopez should know in two weeks whether she can keep her council seat.

Superior Court Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli said today be plans to issue a decision in about two weeks.

Lopez took the stand Oct. 26 to defend her residency during a one-day trial before Gallipoli.

Norrice Raymaker, who ran unsuccessfully against Lopez in May, files the suit against Lopez.

Raymaker finished third behind Lopez in the council election and contends that Lopez' primary residence is in Florida and therefore should not be allowed to serve in Jersey City. Lopez has not paid New Jersey income taxes in at least three years, but filed federal taxes in Florida during that time. Florida does not have a state income tax.

Lopez said she has lived in Jersey City since at least 2001. She belongs to Iglesia Presbiteriana Nueva Esperanza church on North Street in Jersey City; has sought medical attention in and around Jersey City; and her husband Ben Lopez works for Hudson County.

Lopez' attorney William Northgrave declined to comment on the Gallipoli waiting so long to rule on the case.

Diana Jeffrey, an attorney representing Raymaker, said she is awaiting the decision.

"I have confidence the judge will render a fair decision based on the law and evidence," she said.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ule_on_jersey_city_c.html

Posted on: 2009/11/17 21:58
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Re: $12.4 million land purchase on Jersey City Council agenda - land on Routes 1 & 9 and Central Avenue
#54
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City's 'pay-to-play' law being properly enforced?
Friday, November 13, 2009

An allegation that an engineering firm may have violated Jersey City's pay-to-play law has raised a larger question about enforcement.

"We passed an ordinance to do something, then nobody follows up," resident John Seborowski Sr. said at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Seborowski asked the council to table a resolution that would have given a $125,000 contract to T&M Associates, a Middletown engineering firm.

He said that according to Councilman Mariano Vega's Election Law Enforcement Commission reports, the firm made donations to Vega this year in violation of the city's pay-to-play law.

The firm denies the contributions, but the enforcement issue could impact other holders of contracts and donations as well.

For example, Manalapan-based CMX Engineering, which works for the city, made a $2,500 contribution to a Burlington County political action committee in May. In March, that PAC donated $500 to Councilman Bill Gaughan's campaign fund and $1,500 to "Team Healy," Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's campaign fund.

Heather Taylor, communications director for Citizen's Campaign, which drafted the pay-to-play law adopted by many municipalities in the state, said although "regularly" would have to be defined, the city should still explore CMX's donation to the New Frontier PAC.

"This very well could be a violation of the local pay-to-play law and it's something the city should look into," she said.

The city's corporation counsel William Matsikoudis said vendors are asked to fill out a form attesting to the fact that they have not donated.

Seborowski said no one verifies that vendors are being honest.

But city officials realize there needs to be some enforcement. Matsikoudis met with Ward F Councilman Steve Fulop, community members and Taylor last week.

Fulop said the city's purchasing agent, or a committee of concerned citizens, could be tasked with checking up on companies.

"I suspect by the next time we meet, we'll have a process in place," he said.

MELISSA HAYES

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerse ... 58097138201150.xml&coll=3

Posted on: 2009/11/13 14:54
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Re: $12.4 million land purchase on Jersey City Council agenda - land on Routes 1 & 9 and Central Avenue
#55
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QUESTIONS VEGA REPORT
Firm with city contract denies giving him $$$
Friday, November 13, 2009
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega's campaign finance reports have come under fire.

Resident John Seborowski Sr. cited the reports during Tuesday's City Council meeting, saying an engineering firm may have broken the city's pay-to-play law. But the firm contends the reports are erroneous.

This is not the only issue with Vega's reports.

As The Jersey Journal reported yesterday, Vega last month updated his ELEC filings to include $10,000 that was previously not reported. The funds are linked to $30,000 Vega allegedly took from a federal informant cooperating in a federal corruption sting. Vega was one of 44 people the U.S. attorney charged in July.

According to Vega's May Election Law Enforcement Commission reports, T&M Associates contributed $600 to Vega's re-election campaign and Dominic Carrino, the vice president of the Middletown-based firm, donated $400. There was no date for the contributions on the report.

Those contributions would appear to violate the city's pay-to-play law, adopted last year, which prohibits donations over $300 from people and firms doing business with the city.

But T&M spokesman Pete McDonough, a partner at Winning Strategies Pubic Relations, said the donations were never made and noted that the company's address on the contribution attributed to Carrino is incorrect.

"They checked with the employee and they checked the bank records, and no donations were made," he said.

Reached by telephone yesterday, Vega said the money had to come from someone.

"If I put it in there, I must have gotten something from somebody," said Vega, who serves as the treasurer for his account. "I'll probably look into it."

T&M is vying for a $125,000 contract for design and construction of Marion Greenway Park at the former PJP Landfill in Jersey City. The council was set to vote on the contract, but the resolution was tabled.

According to the city's pay-to-play law, a business or individual employee cannot donate more than $300 to any candidate, $500 to any joint candidate committee or $300 to a political committee or political party in Jersey City within one year of receiving a contract with the city.

T&M has an ongoing contract with the city for work it has already done at the PJP tract.

The law also places a $500 cap on donations to Hudson County political committees and political party committees and to any political action committees (PACs) that "regularly" donate to local candidates.

Companies found in violation of the law can be banned from city work for four years.

Jeffrey Brindle, executive director of the Election Law Enforcement Commission, said he couldn't comment on a specific case, but spoke generally.

"It could possibly be something that is accidental or a mistake. In that case we would work with the filer of the report to amend the report and correct the mistake," he said.

"On the other hand if it's an intentional misrepresentation of the source of the contribution we would probably turn it over to the attorney general."

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... l_front_and_back_609.html

Posted on: 2009/11/13 14:48
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Re: $12.4 million land purchase on Jersey City Council agenda - land on Routes 1 & 9 and Central Avenue
#56
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T&M Contract Snag Highlights a Larger Issue with Jersey City?s Pay-to-Play Law: Enforcement
By Shane Smith ? Nov 11th, 2009 ?

The City Council was all set to award a $125,000 contract last night to the Middletown-based engineering firm T&M Associates in connection with the design and construction of the Hackensack River Waterfront Park Project (sometimes called the Marion Greenway Park Project).

But the contract ran into a roadblock as one dedicated citizen argued that it was in clear violation of the pay-to-play law passed by the council last fall. This revelation, brought to light by John Seborowski, Sr., illustrates what even the law?s initial sponsor acknowledges is a major problem with the ordinance: no one is really enforcing it.

As it stands now, the pay-to-play law relies on nothing more than the word of the business seeking a contract. That business has to submit a sworn statement that it ?has not made any reportable contributions ? that would be deemed to be in violations [sic]? of the pay-to-play law. In T&M?s case, president and CEO Kevin F. Toolan signed just such a statement on Oct. 30.

The problem for T&M are two contributions to At-Large councilman Mariano Vega*?s 2009 re-election campaign. In Vega*?s 20-day post-election report, filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) in August, there is a $400 contribution from company vice president Dominic Carrino, as well as a $600 contribution from the company. (Check them out on page three and 21 of this PDF.)

The law caps a business or individual employee?s yearly contribution at $300 to any candidate, $500 to any joint candidates committee, and $300 to a political committee or political party committee in Jersey City. (Contributions of up to $500 are allowed to Hudson County political committees or political party committees and to any PACs.)

But T&M says it believes the ELEC report is inaccurate. ?We don?t believe a contribution was made,? company spokesman Pete McDonough says. ?We?re double-checking.? (Vega* could not be reached for comment today.)

Regardless, the resolution approving the contract was withdrawn last night, and when reached this morning, corporation counsel Bill Matsikoudis said the city would look into whether or not the contribution put the contract in jeopardy of violating the ordinance.

But as Seborowski points out, the real problem here isn?t the contract, but the pay-to-play law itself.

?The city needs to put a process or procedure in place to ensure compliance,? he says. ?In this day and age of automation, it should be easy enough.?

Ironically, enforcement came up at a meeting about the pay-to-play ordinance just last week. Ward E councilman Steven Fulop (the legislation?s initial sponsor), corporation counsel Bill Matsikoudis, the Citizens? Campaign?s Heather Taylor, and local good-government advocates Cynthia Hadjiyannis, Andrew Hubsch and Aaron Morrill were among those in attendance.

Fulop says the purpose of the meeting was ?to continue fine-tuning? the ordinance and its implications. Enforcement ?is, coincidentally, one of the topics we were addressing.?

He says that two enforcement options were suggested at the meeting: Have the city?s purchasing manager oversee the process, or have ?good-government focused people? like Seborowski do it.

Hadjiyannis says that ?the most important thing is to provide notices to people before they even try to bid on a contract.? She and Taylor both suggest placing information on the city?s website and in contractor bid packages that makes it clear which vendors are disqualified from bidding on city contracts. ?The time to deal with this is before you run into a problem,? Hadjiyannis says.

While ?it is the primary responsibility of the business entity to self-enforce,? Taylor says it?s the city?s responsibility to make sure they know about the ordinance. ?Every opportunity needs to be taken to make sure that vendors are aware of the law.?

Despite her commitment to the ordinance, Hadjiyannis recognizes that there may be administrative challenges for the city in enforcing it. ?That could become somebody?s full-time job, just checking [compliance with the ordinance] ? I don?t know, do we want to pay somebody to do that?? But ultimately, she says, ?given the history of all the problems we have with corruption ? the city should want to deal with the problem and retrain one of the people who works in City Hall to be the pay-to-play compliance officer.?

Matsikoudis says that deciding how to enforce the measure ?would be a collaborative effort between the Department of Administration, the Law Department, [and] the council to determine the best direction, especially since this is a new ordinance that we are trying to come to grips with.?

Regardless of if ? and how ? the city decides to enforce the ordinance, Fulop still says that the vendor seeking the contract is ultimately to blame.

?In the end, we can put a better process in place,? he says, ?but these are also sophisticated vendors who are familiar with the law.?

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... -to-play-law-enforcement/

Posted on: 2009/11/11 22:17
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Re: Testimony Finished in Lopez Lawsuit
#57
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This is what I was talking about:

Quote:

tanze_des_lasters wrote:
I wonder what the hold up is regarding the Lopez case. Later this week should mean close of business on Friday yet not even a hint of the ruling. I can't help but wonder if we will be kept in the dark until after Tuesday's election.

Posted on: 2009/11/2 22:15
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Re: Jersey City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez a Florida Resident?
#58
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Quote:

AmyJCNJ wrote:
No, you misunderstood my post. I want to send him a letter expressing my opinion about the matter. I don't really care how long he takes him to decide. I think he's waiting because he hasn't made up his mind yet. He must be torn. So maybe people in the community can convince him to do the right thing.


Sorry, I did misunderstand what you wrote. I think that someone else in the thread was assuming that the judge would rule in favor of Lopez, but would wait until after the election (tomorrow) to issue the ruling. I personally am not so sure if that is the intention, but his is Hudson County - so who knows?

I included the phone number so that you could call and get the mailing address. It should be the main number for the Superior Court.

Posted on: 2009/11/2 22:12
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Re: Jersey City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez a Florida Resident?
#59
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Quote:

AmyJCNJ wrote:
Does anyone know the name of the Judge? I couldn't find the name in any of the articles. I'd like to write him/her a letter and would encourage others to do the same. Ignorace of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Also no one can reasonably believe that she didn't know what she was doing is wrong. It would be an outrage if the judge gave her a pass on this. If there was enough community outrage then maybe he would consider the gravity of her actions.



I think that urging the judge to speed things up is like pushing on a string, but here you go:

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli
(201) 795-6000

The article from Jersey City Independent:
http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ourt-but-no-decision-yet/

Posted on: 2009/11/2 21:13
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Re: hey, so who hit my car?
#60
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Quote:

reverend wrote:
they were issued tickets, and now I will be able to have my insurance company contact his insurance company about the cost of the car and a rental in the meantime. Will definitely keep you all posted!


Awesome news!

Posted on: 2009/10/22 16:59
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