Fully concur with equ regarding living choices for family/single. Here in JC it takes me minutes from Hamilton Park to swing in 1&9, arrival in Kenilworth in 20-25 min. Return is usually the same although there has been more incoming Holland Tunnel traffic recently which, according to my traffic readout over the years, is a clear indication of the economy picking up. The advantage of JC over Hoboken in that regards is that there are more entry points to chose from, and certainly parking is way better.

Super !

I have Comcast internet only. The tv is hooked to roku for netflix films/documentaries, and to a netbook controlled from the phone via airmouse for hulu/others eg watchvfree.net.

Some friends of mine switched to fios, internet only, and I am thinking of doing the same. Apparently verizon can plug their system on a house coaxial network. My friends have an HD antenna and a minimac with wireless keyboard to get hulu/others.

Fios ensures one doesn't share the network with a voracious roku neighbor.

The St Lawrence market in Toronto is very popular. Equally nice and popular is the distillery district there. Although Toronto doesn't respect its history as much as it should based on some friends who live there, these are clear successes bringing much CA$$$. I don't know about the financing for these rehabs though, but it is clear that it is what is dragging people in. The destruction of the powerhouse historical content here would be a short-time influx of (most likely tax-abated) money but a loosing game to our local economy in the long term. What is probably refraining developers here is the lack of vision from city leaders but also the chance of running afoul of some unpredicted on-the-go standards.

+1 chief

This will not go through. If it goes through, then the taxpayers have all reasons to expect real bikes lanes not like the jokes we see downtown. If they want a quick buck they should target helmet compliance, and that I think is reasonable. If they want a quick buck, there are also plenty of car non-compliance everyday by the tunnel entrances.

So have all the pumped up been identified ? It seems to me that in this age of electronic records, finding out records for reimbursements for nandrolone etc, and verifying through random blood test should allow to find out who is really hormonal deficient and who has some money to refund to the taxpayer. Payable in full or in installments carrying interest, thank you.

For a big project like this, it is reasonable to expect the players haggling over who will pay what.

But what is the problem for NJ if cost overruns, if any, are not footed by the state of NJ? Again, I would like to see FACTUAL documentation related to these, and/or legal documentation stating NJ taxpayers being on the hook for these...

Without these, it looks like a pretty dumb lose-lose situation for the taxpayer, especially the hudson county resident.

Thanks for the clarification.

The Big Dig was indeed a Boston project where cost overruns had to be footed by that city. The issue is whether one can make the same comparison for the state of NJ for the proposed tunnel considering the nature of the project and the players at stake. Do you have factual documentation listing potential cost overruns for the tunnel and/or documents indicating that NJ state would be on the hook for these? That would certainly be helpful.. Same thing as for the potential benefit of cancelling that project on the transportation trust fund.
Thanks again.

Can someone also explain to me how the cancellation of the project is affecting positively the transportation trust fund ?

Very interesting. JC_Man, do you have any factual documentation backing up cost overruns at this point?

If not this is a lose-lose situation for the taxpayer and independent voter I am.

As an independent grounded in sciences and what I presume to be reasonable analytical skills, I find it quite distressful to witness the influence of redistricting on the language of public discourse, especially when it comes to the use of labels. Anyway..., could any of you gentlemen please answers my questions below, that would be very appreciated:

Question 1:
If I hear right about $600M have already been wasted on the ill-fated tunnel and the state is now on the hook for $350M for a total cost of $1B wasted funds ? Is that right ?

Question 2:
Assuming a $3B cost overrun for a project lasting about 10 years, it would have mean ~$300M/year for the state. Christie was not ready to go for this ?

Question 3:
Were these ~$300M/year guaranteed in fine by the federal government ?

Sorry to hear about that. Based on your story it looks as if this plumber is confusing "deadbeats" with "consumers getting competitive pricing". You might call the association to clarify the definition and get the plumber on notice if untrue.

++1 Brewster.
The gullibility of the brain under stress especially fear or anger is infinite - Rush is very good at using the guts. My best is when they were continuously rotating pictures of 9/11 and Saddam Hussein behind an american flag background on Fox "news" to create the association.

Is this replacing the kids trick and treat on Coles and Pavonia ?

This is precisely the reason I used my iphone as recorder when I went through an inspection in my house - it passed. If I had had this kind of BS comment I would have sued the city. For the record the inspector was respectful.

Remember, you can always record anything and send it to the web right away for protection.

I guess the new tenants had their first inspection and discovered the "handler's fee" which they did not anticipate..., or the 40K business licence which they did not anticipate either.

I am avoiding THAT SR at any cost. My own observation is that food inflation has gone up considerably over the last year but especially THAT place. It is ridiculously overpriced for the "privilege" of getting tasteless fruits and vegetables. Look at how ridiculous the price for hummus has gone up there, they really take advantage of people.

I used to think it was funny to shop at Trader's Joe but not anymore. I spend 30% less there, people are nice and even if the selection is more limited, it is more seasonal.

That's what is so advantageous in turning on jersey, the light for the turn to Coles is always on except when traffic is going straight, so one can always opt for one or the other.

when turning on jersey ave one has the choice for both lights either straight or the underpass. I tend to forget about the later which is the most convenient actually, the red light there is statistically green more often. Quick access to HP west.

40K corruption fee, without even benefiting from it.

So where is the compendium of planned and past events at LSP on the web ?

OK, this is a NJ state park being used for private events. NJ state residents and taxpayers have a right to know on these as well as $ benefits. So where are these listed exactly past and present ?

It was this: http://www.northjersey.com/news/healt ... t_Liberty_State_Park.html

Like you, I am baffled at the lack of a JC event metasite.
Today was also the Liberty half-marathon..

The pipeline under San Bruno was THREE FEET under (sic!). Spectra can run their line but only if it is FIFTY FEET under and in a concrete casing filled with argon.

There was some recent article about the cost of transportation being a important factor in wind turbine cost, the reason US production can remain competitive vs. China as compared to photovoltaic for ex. This suggests to make sure policies favor this industry.

Personally I am all for it, yes there will be some bird casualties but many countries have adopted this technology which indicates it is limited. The only concern is noise which implies a reasonable distance from inhabitants whether in land or see.
As for view, well I see turbines as a sign of progress, it doesn't bother me as much as mountain top removal for coal where the industry argument that they can restore the land is really a fairy tale for children.

Reminds me of this woman I know who had a temporarily lapse of critical analysis skills while dating a scientologist. She started being very interested in the H2O car, while ignoring the input of an electrolyser sitting on the back seat.

She is doing fine now, she has broken up with him. I hope he is the one left with the "improvement courses" bills.

+1 VanVorster. Ian I would ordinarily agree with you in the context of general social needs but I think we have witnessed enough of our share of pilots, inflated hierarchy and double dipping recently. The later especially is very bad in terms of pension cost and limiting employment opportunities. I also take issue with the comment on 1/3 assessed houses, you seem to have forgotten the ratio in your equation. Certainly my house is currently overvalued based on this formula and the drop in sale values.

What I am really concerned is the city seemingly completely behind the curve. So they raised 2 millions by raising property taxes again, but the deficit will be 56 millions. How can they solve this? Arguably the reval won't save that. It seems to me that we are moving fast to a situation of default and on that one, I would argue to start with the great Schundler bond before any pensions. The later will likely be impacted imho.

Seems to me that the area covered with these panels is peanuts hence very little energy produced. The real value is on larger areas - roofs. From what I understand regarding private solar panels, one can either pay the full installation upfront , or get into a long term contract with an installer that covers the installation but comes in a form of lien attached to the house and tied to property taxes. This lien can be really bad when selling the house, Fanny/Freddy seems to have an issue with it.

If I decided to fork everything upfront, I also bet that the city would raise (again) my property taxes.

An abatement results in a inflated sale price as opposed to a non abated property. The only clear benefit is for the developer, the person who buy has a higher mortgage with many more payment years in time of job insecurity. The rest of the taxpayers take the slab when things happen. Not giving abatements is the way to "raise tax" on the developer, but more generally to make sure that residents are treated first and equally.

So to come back to the pilots, if the county and schools are screwed why no legal action? It is not clear that the most recent abatements have resulted in more income for the city as opposed to non-abated properties, if that's the argument used to justify such contracts against the equal protection clause. Even if it does, I still would like someone to point to me how part of that extra income is still distributed to the schools and county.

To come back to the Christie argument, I agree, all the more reason to elect independents with strong background in law and accounting. It seems the best way to ensure fairness - when the city default and many contracts are cancelled.