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Re: Gov. Christie Forcing NJTransit Service Cuts, Fare Hikes
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Quite a regular
 
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I am seeing a lot of claims that NJ Transit is wasteful. Chrisite himself called it a "patronage pit."
I am just curious, does anyone have any evidence that this true? I, honestly, have never seen any solid evidence pointing to NJ transit as wasteful or a patronage pit. And I don't mean "yeah, I saw a conductor slacking." I mean real evidence.
Posted on: 2010/3/7 16:06
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Re: Gov. Christie Forcing NJTransit Service Cuts, Fare Hikes
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Quite a regular
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As if cars are not subsidized. You know how much we spend on roads? On wars to secure all the oil to fuel those cars?
How about the fact that the costs of polluting from your tailpipe is not born by the driver, but by all the rest of us who have to breathe the air. NJ transit riders should be subsidized because, instead of a negative externality like air pollution, they produce positive externalities like reducing air pollution and traffic. People who use mass transit are doing a public good. Drivers, albeit unintentionally, are doing a public harm. I don't dispute cuts have to made, or taxes need to be raised. First, Christie promised he would not raise taxes, but isn't this just a tax on the poor and middle class who use mass transit. These are republican "tax cuts." They shift the burden to the poor and middle class. Second, a gas tax. Cars get away with murder. They are by far the most subsidized form of transportation and NJ has the lowest gas tax in the country. Before you cut NJ transit you should be raising the gas tax or how about keeping the millionaire's tax.
Posted on: 2010/3/6 2:43
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Re: Music festival leaves Liberty State Park a muddy mess - reminded many of the 1969 Woodstock festival
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Woodstock was in a field in upstate NY. APW was on one of the most contaminated sites in the country.
I would be hesitant to roll around in chromium tainted mud.
Posted on: 2009/8/5 14:12
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Re: Thinking of getting my condo reassessed. Anyone know a qualified person to do it?
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Re-assessed or reappraised, it doesn't really matter. I think what you are saying is you would like to appeal your property taxes?
I would recommend you consider whether or not your assessment is at least 15% outside the range of comparable condos in your building or in the area. When you appeal your taxes you must argue that your assessment is out of line with comparable condos units. This has nothing to do with the actual value of your condo, only its relative value. In other words, even if the market value of your condo has dropped, you will have to show that the market value of your condo has dropped MORE than similar units.
Posted on: 2009/8/5 1:06
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Re: Cuts on Healy
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nj.com described Healy at his press conference today saying he was "trembling and flushed."
I thought that was kind of bizarre. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... thorities_issue_subp.html
Posted on: 2009/7/30 2:17
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Re: RALLY/PROTEST WEDNESDAY, 29TH CITY HALL AT 9:00AM
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Quite a regular
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NJ.com had an article that described Healy during his press conference today as "trembling and flushed."
Did anyone see the press conference, is that an accurate description of his demeanor? http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... thorities_issue_subp.html
Posted on: 2009/7/30 1:55
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Re: RALLY/PROTEST WEDNESDAY, 29TH CITY HALL AT 9:00AM
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Anyone saying this isn't about Healy or Healy shouldnt be the focus of this protest, READ THE BELDINI COMPLAINT!
To say Healy is not involved in this scandal is like saying the sun is not the center of the universe! He is at the heart of this scandal!
Posted on: 2009/7/28 1:53
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Re: Several local politicians arrested on corruption charges
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Quite a regular
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Essentially, for Healy to go down Beldini, Shaw or Cheatam have to turn on him. (the three stooges)
Based on a close reading of the complaint, it is obvious that all of the conversations these three had with the CW were designed to protect Healy. Healy makes a few vague comments to the CW like "hopefully we can work together," but then he always leaves so the three stooges can do the actual dirty business. Lets hope the Feds can get one of the three stooges to turn on Healy. Healy did just dismiss them without pay, so they are jobless and facing jail time. Meanwhile Healy likely got most of the money and is going free! Lets hope the three stooges can do some basic math and realize they are going to come out of this much worse off than Healy. These idiots took on all the risk with very little upside, meanwhile Healy takes all the upside without exposing himself at all. I am always amazed at how these pols can find loyal morons to do their dirty work.
Posted on: 2009/7/25 0:52
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Re: Several local politicians arrested on corruption charges
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Healy: 'It is clear that I am Jersey City Public Official 4'
By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy this afternoon acknowledged that he is the person known as ?Jersey City Public Official 4? in the federal criminal complaint against three Jersey City insiders. ?Based on review of the complaint, it is clear that I am Jersey City Public Official 4. I did nothing wrong at anytime. Right now we are going to continue to conduct open and honest government and are focused on moving the city forward. In fact, yesterday we solicited instructions and advice from the U.S. Attorney?s Office on how to secure the offices and records of those officials who were charged and suspended,? Healy said in a written statement. ?We are complying with those instructions and will continue to cooperate. We will make no further statements at this time due to the ongoing nature of this investigation.? Although a slew of public officials and political figures were arrested or charged yesterday -- including Healy?s two opponents from May mayoral election -- Healy was not. The complaint, however, casts political consultant Jack Shaw and Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini ? who both were charged ? as acting as middlemen for JC Public Official 4. It even quotes Beldini telling Shaw that JC Public Official 4 would not be comfortable talking finances in front of co-defendant Edward Cheatam because there were ?too many snakes.? The complaint says that at a meeting with JC Official 4 and the defendants, the cooperating federal witness -- who has since been identified as real estate developer Solomon Dwek -- told JC Official 4 that he had given $10,000 to Shaw, would give him another $10,000 after the meeting and another $10,000 after the May municipal election. ?To which, JC Official 4 responded, among other things, that hopefully ?we? could work ?together? and that this would be ?mutually beneficial.?? http://www.politickernj.com/matt-frie ... ey-city-public-official-4
Posted on: 2009/7/25 0:40
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Re: Several local politicians arrested on corruption charges
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The FBI obviously didn't get Healy on tape taking a bribe, which is a shame. Clearly, however, his deputy mayor was accepting bribes on his behalf on tape.
So where does that leave us? Well, in the eyes of the law he might just get away with it, but that does not mean politically he can or should survive. That is not up to the FBI, the Sate Attorney General, or anyone except the people of JC. I always hear a lot of griping about politicians and law enforcement looking the other way. Ultimately, it is the people who decide whether this guy stays in office.
Posted on: 2009/7/24 3:55
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Re: Several local politicians arrested on corruption charges
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What if Mr. Healy went to work tomorrow and a few hundred people were on the lawn with signs reading:
"JERSEY CITY OFFICIAL 4 MUST GO" That would do the trick...just sayin.
Posted on: 2009/7/24 3:27
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Re: Several local politicians arrested on corruption charges
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Adonis Said: Quote:
I just finished reading the official criminal complaint against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini. I don't know how Mayor Healy has escaped being arrested this morning. He is mentioned all through out the complaint as "JC Official 4". This absolutely correct. The Jersey City Independent does a good job looking at this. http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... y-jersey-city-official-4/ Ofcourse Healy is "Jersey City Official 4" in the complaint. The complaint describes this person as seeking re-election and how the deputy mayor is constantly setting up appointments with the informant and Jersey City Official 4. Who else would the deputy mayor set up appointments for? and who else was seeking re-election at the time? Ofcourse it is healy. The Baldini complaint is most amazing for telling the story of Healy receiving bribes, having others do the dirty work, and possibly getting away with it. If you read the Beldini complaint, Healy is implicated over and over again. I don't even think Beldini got any money, she just was the middle man for healy. READ IT!
Posted on: 2009/7/24 1:22
Edited by Webmaster on 2009/7/24 3:57:13
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Re: Teachers union boss criticizes Fulop in letter to members
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Quote:
Newtothearea wrote: There is nothing wrong with holding teachers accountable. But doing that based on test results is f-ing retarded. The following is an excerpt from an article in the New Yorker by Malcom Gladwell: "A teacher is not solely responsible for how much is learned in a classroom, and not everything of value that a teacher imparts to his or her students can be captured on a standardized test. Nonetheless, if you follow Brown and Smith [two teachers] for three or four years, their effect on their students? test scores starts to become predictable: with enough data, it is possible to identify who the very good teachers are and who the very poor teachers are." http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/20 ... ct_gladwell?currentPage=2 The point being, although it may be difficult you can decipher the good from the bad teachers. The data actually does show that test scores are of some value in determining who are good teachers and that some teachers do better than others improving test scores. This article discusses the difficulty of picking out the good teachers from the bad, but it can be done. Also, kids with strong support networks, like the upper middles class, can overcome having a year with a bad teacher. A poorer student, with no social support structure cannot afford to lose that year or they likely will not recover academically. Teachers matter, and some kids get stuck with bad teachers. Therefore, limiting the ability to fire bad teachers dooms kids in poor neighborhoods to failure. We can debate whose fault that is, but it is a fact. Even worse, you have a concentration of bad teachers in poorer school districts with no way to get rid of them because of tenure. The tougher school systems get the worst teachers. The suburban districts pay more and find ways to remove bad teachers. Poorer districts are too desperate for teachers and do not have parents groups demanding better teachers, so that is where they end up. We are dooming these students to failure. This may not be the teachers' fault, per se, but in many cases they are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Who, but a bad teacher, would desperately cling to tenure? The teachers unions represent good teachers and bad, they all pay dues. The teachers union must protect bad teachers, that is their function. They owe no allegiance and have no interest in the education of children. Their incentives are to protect teachers, nothing more. So they are dead wrong on this issue.
Posted on: 2009/5/7 17:16
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Re: NJ 8th Highest Electric Rates/BPU/Triple the Cost
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I know it is so much fun to blame all of our problems on corruption and cronyism, but unfortunately that does not work here.
BPU rates are largely set by the market for the commidity, such as natural gas. Unfortunely, or fortunately if you care about the environment, there have been record increases in fuel costs, such as oil, natural gas and coal. So the fact that BPU rates tripled under Fox means absolutley nothing. Oh and despite all the hooplah, not one cent of the Clean Energy Fund Money has been shown to have been misappropriated or unaccounted for. I have no skin in this game, just pointing out facts instead of hysterical corruption claims. Anyway, stop bitching and use less energy.
Posted on: 2009/3/12 18:42
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Re: living well in a bad economy
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Quite a regular
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Soup is a great suggestion. Get the crock pot fired up and start throwing stuff in!
The JC library system is actually quite good. The people who work there are great and it is free! Combine all of the above by canceling your cable TV. I know it sounds blasphemous, but I'll give you several reasons why this is a good idea: 1. Comcast is awful 2. You can spend more time reading books from the JC library for free 3. You can spend more time cooking, thereby saving even more money 4. You would be amazed at how your desire to buy anything goes down when you are not subjecting yourself to a barrage of TV commercials. In other words, you won't want to buy as much crap.
Posted on: 2009/3/2 21:49
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quite a regular
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According to the previous statute 4:19-21.1 :
"the municipality and the owner of the dog may settle and dispose of the matter at any time in such manner and according to such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon." N.J.S.A. 4:19-21.1
Posted on: 2009/2/18 18:04
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Re: Downtown: 100 bags of heroin seized during Wayne st drug bust
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What about a camera? Put a camera on the park 24/7. I have heard other cities have success with this.
Posted on: 2009/2/18 17:52
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Re: Stimulus to mean $$ for jobs and infrastructure - Healy wants to repair sewers, roads and more.
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Quite a regular
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One thing is for sure, a lot of Hudson County politicians are drooling right now over the possibilities. I hope someone from the federal government is watching every dollar.
Otherwise, the only people getting stimulated will be the dear friends of our local politicians. It is a very good time to know the Mayor and own a construction business.
Posted on: 2009/2/14 6:24
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Re: Dogs in the Hamilton Park Childrens' Playground at night!!!
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Call the cops. That is totally unacceptable.
Posted on: 2009/2/11 4:15
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JC Municipal Court Judge Faces Scandal
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An ethics complaint has been filed against Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Wilson Campbell, who allegedly had an affair with a bailiff assigned to his courtroom. The bailiff attempted suicide last June after breaking up with the Judge, according to the complaint filed by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. The bailiff has been reassigned to another courtroom and Campbell continues to serve on the bench.
The incident occurred just weeks before former Jersey City Municipal Court Chief Judge Wanda Molina was indicted for fixing parking tickets. Molina is accused of dismissing eight parking tickets for a female companion. She stepped down last year during the initial investigation over ticket fixing, which netted half of Jersey City's municipal judges. Three other Jersey City Judges have been charges with misconduct as part of the ticket fixing scandal: Victor Sison, Pauline Sica and Irwin Rosen. Also indicted was Virginia Pagan, a former court administrator who allegedly fixed 215 parking tickets for herself and her daughter. http://www.politickernj.com/wallye/27 ... -city-judge-faces-scandal
Posted on: 2009/2/6 5:20
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Re: Downtown: One dead in shooting on Coles Street in Jersey City this morning
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I am always confused by the connection people try to make between the number of police or policing skill and a random murder. This is tragic, but I don't blame police, the mayor or anyone else beside the person who pulled the trigger.
The police can't be everywhere. If someone with a gun is willing to shoot someone in broad daylight, how can the police stop that? For that reason we should be addressing the larger set of social conditions out of which this kind of crime arises. By that I mean improving schools, the economy, concentrated poverty, etc.
Posted on: 2009/1/27 23:17
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quote:
Sam S wrote: I did not write that. I just did a bad mob of quoting Vigilante. Gotcha, sorry. Actually that makes so much more sense now!!! I was thinking how that was not really consistent with what you were writing earlier. I agree with you that there is no excuse for not leashing. It is however, entirely consistent with Vigilante's thinking. To that point, I find it incredibly difficult and awkward to have to approach negligent dog owners and tell them to leash their dog. I can relate to Kitten's experience Quote: Kitten wrote: I really hated this feeling. If this dog came running at us, I don't know what I would I have done... we would have stood no chance against it. I might follow Brewster's advice. Quote: Brewster wrote: Yes, you should have called the cops at 547 5477, the non-emergency number. So we are left with three options, in order to feel secure in public parks: 1) Confront dog owners directly about an unleashed dog; 2) Call the cops; or 3) Dog owners could have the courtesy to leash their dog. I think we can all agree that 3 is the best option, no?
Posted on: 2009/1/26 17:56
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quote:
SamS wrote: I am not excusing anyone's behavior but I am telling you that the dog walkers I've talked to are tired of being singled out when no other rules or laws are enforced. The 6 gangstas on the BB court at 2am are a little too scary for cops to disrupt or neighbors to berate. The yuppie with the off leash chocolate Lab is easy pickings. It is a good thing everyone does not think that way because there would be anarchy. Other people break the law, so I can too. Or the police don't arrest that jay walker, so why should I put my dog on a leash! Murderers get away with murder everyday, so why should I get in trouble for anything! There is a temptation to fall into that kind of thinking when we are frustrated, but to give in to that temptation would be dangerously uncivil.
Posted on: 2009/1/26 16:27
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Re: A Case Study in What's wrong with JC Real Estate:
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Quote:
JCSHEP Wrote: If you factor in taxes, mortgage, HO fees, tax refunds, rent, rent increases, your $$, ect. and the calc says renting makes sense?AND you dont think the property will appreciate, then rent. This doesn?t mean the market is out of wack, this means the market is not optimized for you. But isn't there some economic theory that the equilibrium price for housing is for it to be in line with the cost of renting? The market can be seriously out of wack. Would you not agree that in the Sring of 2006, the market was out of wack? Or was it just not opimtized for certain people? Under what set of conditions does it make sense to buy at the beginning of the collapse of the real estate bubble? The housing bubble is bursting all around you and it would seem that, only under extremely rare sets of circumstances, would buying make sense over renting. Quote: SamS wrote: Your parents now have a home they probably will not lose, Can I just point out the "myth of real estate ownership"? You do not own real estate, you simply rent it from the government. Particularly in a State like NJ where real estate taxes for a 600K house could easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars per year! The security of ownership is not real.
Posted on: 2009/1/26 15:35
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Re: A Case Study in What's wrong with JC Real Estate:
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Quite a regular
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Even if the cost of owning starts coming into line with rents, which they obviously have not, would that be an indication that buying makes sense?
First, you have the downside risk. The property could lose value. Second, you have maintenance costs. Third, you have the risk of rising property taxes, which could be quite rapid as we saw in Hoboken recently. Finally you have the decreased mobility associated with owning, including the transaction costs of selling the property. (realtors fees, transfer tax) In order for it to make sense to buy I think property prices would have to fall to somewhere actually below the cost to rent. Maybe 10 percent below rental costs.
Posted on: 2009/1/25 22:16
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quote:
Elvis wrote:Concerns about ?dangerous? dogs have caused many local governments to consider supplementing existing animal control laws with ordinances directed toward control of specific breeds or types of dogs. Members of the Task Force believe such ordinances are inappropriate and ineffective. It helps if you actually READ your links. Thanks for the advice Elvis, but I do read the links. What makes you think I didn't read that? All the literature suggests breed specific regulations are problematic. I never suggested breed specific regulation. Each of my suggestions applied across the board to ALL dog owners. In fact, the only distinction I make is between urban and rural environments, which I think makes sense. If you are referring to the other studies I cited regarding breed specific tendencies, I was responding to someone who said dog bites are not breed dependent, which is not entirely accurate. Breed is one of many relevant factors as it relates to which dogs bite. But I never suggested breed specific regulation. You should read what I write more carefully, you could learn something! I'm proud of you for reading the AVMA study though!
Posted on: 2009/1/23 16:12
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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These studies are helpful.
According to one study, certain breeds are far more likely to bite than others. German Shepherds are common biters. Labradors rarely bite. Ofcourse, Breed is not the only relevant factor. Sex is also highly relevant. In general, Male dogs are more likely to be biters. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dog3.pdf According to this other study, "Several interacting factors affect a dog?s propensity to bite, including: - heredity - sex - early experience, - socialization and training - health (medical and behavioral), - reproductive status, - quality of ownership and supervision - victim behavior" http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf However, as it relates to fatal attacks, they found that "Rottweilers were the most commonly reported breed involved in fatal attacks, followed by pit bull-type dogs. Together, these 2 breeds were involved in approximately 60% of human deaths." Therefore, I think there is ABSOLUTELY a correlation between a dog's breed and the chances it will bite someone. That is not to say that a certain breed WILL certainly bite someone, just that they are more likely to bite. Breed is one of several relevant factors.
Posted on: 2009/1/23 3:59
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quote:
Jaah37 Wrote: Some dogs may be inherently dominant and/ or aggressive but it is not BREED dependent. I'll be the first to admit that I know nothing about dog breeding, but this doesn't make logical sense to me. If a dog is bred, for example, to be a guard dog, like a German Shepherd, won't that dog breed be more aggressive than one bred to, say, be a lap dog?
Posted on: 2009/1/23 2:11
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Along the lines of this discussion, I stumbled across this story today, which is so crazy I could not have made it up.
The Article Says: Quote: Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own 'clinically depressed' pet dog. The 76-year-old statesman was savaged by his white Maltese dog - which suffers from frenzied fits and is being treated with anti-depressants. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01 ... s-dog-bites_n_159763.html Apparently dogs can be clinically depressed and go nuts attacking someone. WTF?
Posted on: 2009/1/22 20:17
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Re: Unleashed Mastiffs Attack JC Man Downtown this Morning
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Quote:
trp wrote: i can't imagine the number of posts the next Pitbull attack will result in. There is something about the prospect of being mauled by large beasts in the middle of the city that gets people all HYSTERICAL! I wonder why...
Posted on: 2009/1/22 18:30
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