From the Record:
New Jersey’s Fort Monmouth closing after 94 years
Anyone who has ever listened to FM radio, gotten a speeding ticket or wondered whether there is life on other planets has been affected by New Jersey’s Fort Monmouth.
The work done at the sprawling base near the Jersey shore led to communications advances including the development of FM radio, radar, and the ability to bounce signals off the moon to prove the feasibility of extraterrestrial radio communication. It launched the first radio-equipped weather balloon, and hosted hundreds of message-bearing courier pigeons that served in the two world wars.
…
But the fort’s time is up. On Thursday, after 94 years of helping warriors communicate with each other while keeping tabs on the enemy, Fort Monmouth is closing, the victim of congressional budget cutting. Most of its thousands of jobs have been transferred to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.“It’s sad. It’s depressing,” said Tom Hipper of Little Silver, a division chief who rode his motorcycle out the fort’s main gate Wednesday for the next-to-last time. “I just think it was all politics.
…
The base’s fate was sealed in 2005 when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission included Fort Monmouth in a list of military facilities it would close to save money. The commission estimated it would cost $782 million to move the fort’s mission to Maryland, but the cost rose to nearly $2 billion by 2008, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of many locals who depend on the base for jobs.
…
Of the 5,570 civilian and military jobs at the fort, 5,400 were to be transferred to Maryland. There were 3,144 civilian employees who took the Army up on its offer to move, Kearney said.
From CNN Money:
When will home prices spring back?
It was with some trepidation that Stephanie Kim and her husband, Brendan, 40 and 42, put their Chicago townhouse on the market in June. While the place was in great shape, prices in their city were off 8% from 2010 — and of the 30 similar homes in the area listed the previous year, only nine had sold.
And yet there was an offer on the house almost immediately; the sale closed two months later at just $15,000 under the $650,000 asking price. “We thought it would take a lot longer to sell,” says Stephanie.
Nationwide, the U.S. housing market remains deep in the doldrums and economists expect prices to fall another 5% to 10% in many places. And yet some sellers, like the Kims, are seeing signs of a turnaround.
…
When the rebound arrives, desirable zip codes will see price jumps first, says David Stiff, chief economist for housing research firm Fiserv Case-Shiller. “Real estate is always local, but these days it’s hyperlocal,” says Chicago broker Scott Berg.
…
While it’s a good sign when price drops slow down, inventory levels are actually a better gauge of where your market is headed, says David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
From HousingWire:
Foreclosure starts spike in August
Mortgage servicers started the foreclosure process on more than 78,800 properties in August, a 33% increase from the month before and the highest monthly increase in four years, according to RealtyTrac.
Still, foreclosure starts remained 18% below the level measured in August of last year, just two months before the robo-signing scandal broke. Servicers across the country to froze the process to check mishandled documentation.
Default notices, the first stage in the process in nonjudicial states, jumped 55% in California.
“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems,” RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said. “It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process.”
Good Morning New Jersey
What’s so good about it?
Capital gains tax rates benefiting wealthy feed growing gap between rich and poor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/capital-gains-tax-rates-benefiting-wealthy-are-protected-by-both-parties/2011/09/06/gIQAdJmSLK_story.html
So much for promises http://www.ajc.com/business/after-promising-jobs-dendreon-1181237.html
HOVNANIAN K ENTERPRISES INC 6.25000% 01/15/2016SR NT
Basic Analytics
Price (Ask) 41.000
Yield to Worst (Ask) 32.638%
Nice yield, kinda yield the clock is ticking to BK by the minute.
kettle,
Here ya go:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2011/09/11/is-thorium-the-biggest-energy-breakthrough-since-fire-possibly/
For the past several months, a friend of mine has been telling me about the potentially game-changing implications of an obscure (at least to me) metal named Thorium after the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
It seems like he is not the only person who believes thorium, a naturally-occurring, slightly radioactive metal discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, could provide the world with an ultra-safe, ultra-cheap source of nuclear power.
Last week, scores of thorium boosters gathered in the United Kingdom to launch a new advocacy organization, the Weinberg Foundation, which plans to push the promise of thorium nuclear energy into the mainstream political discussion of clean energy and climate change. The message they’re sending is that thorium is the anti-dote to the world’s most pressing energy and environmental challenges.
So what is the big deal about thorium? In 2006, writing in the magazine Cosmos, Tim Dean summarized perhaps the most optimistic scenario for what a Thorium-powered nuclear world would be like:
“What if we could build a nuclear reactor that offered no possibility of a meltdown, generated its power inexpensively, created no weapons-grade by-products, and burnt up existing high-level waste as well as old nuclear weapon stockpiles? And what if the waste produced by such a reactor was radioactive for a mere few hundred years rather than tens of thousands? It may sound too good to be true, but such a reactor is indeed possible, and a number of teams around the world are now working to make it a reality. What makes this incredible reactor so different is its fuel source: thorium.
A clutch of companies and countries are aggressively pursuing Dean’s dream of a thorium-powered world.
snip
“The commission estimated it would cost $782 million to move the fort’s mission to Maryland, but the cost rose to nearly $2 billion by 2008, ”
I believe those are just DoD numbers and exclude much federally-funded infrastructure spending that is necessary to accomodate the influx of personnel to the area. Perhaps someone has some granular data.
Other than the state government, there is not alot going on in Albany, NY. Not a bad place but seems to be more of a place close to other places than a destination itself.
Oy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14926601
Initial claims up this morning 428K, last week revised up too. PPI 0.4, expected 0.2. But Greece is saved so the market will rally.
Investigation finds Elizabeth school board pressures workers to fill campaign coffers
Published: Sunday, May 22, 2011, 11:00 AM Updated: Monday, June 13, 2011, 1:21 PM
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
ELIZABETH — Patti Gallante, a teacher now retired from the Elizabeth public school system, said only one thing about her job ever scared her: the school board.
Through e-mails and political mailings to her home, Gallante said she would constantly get solicitations from members of the city’s board of education, asking for money. There were dinners, cocktail events, testimonials and tables of tickets to be bought and sold. It was a nonstop stream of beseechings.
To Gallante — worried, as many teachers were, about promotions and prime school assignments — the implied threat was clear. “You buy the $125 ticket because you are scared,” she said.
The Elizabeth Board of Education, with more than 23,000 students and a $402 million budget largely subsidized by Trenton and another $20.5 million in federal aid, is one of the New Jersey’s largest and, to some, a top urban school district.
But a four-month investigation by The Star-Ledger, drawing on interviews, lawsuits and internal documents, shows it can also be a relentless political machine fueled by nepotism, patronage, money and favors, using its nearly 4,000 employees as a ready-made fundraising base.
Internal documents show friends and relatives of board members scattered through the payroll.
Teachers and other employees, who kick in tens of thousands of dollars in donations, say they feel pressured by supervisors and board members to buy tickets to fundraisers. They say they are reminded that attending campaign events is in their best career interest.
Testimonial dinners are held to honor the superintendent and president of the board of education — not to raise money for scholarships or education, but to funnel more into campaign coffers.
Campaign finance records also show lucrative contracts go to vendors who support the board at election time.
Questions about the board’s activities are aimed for the most part at its leadership, with few members singled out individually. All nine members of the board were contacted for comment for this story. The two who responded denied there was any political agenda.
“I have no idea what a political machine does,” said recently named school board president Marie L. Munn. “We hope to educate our children and give them the best education possible.”
According to Munn, there is no pressure for anyone to contribute. “That’s absolutely not true,” she said. “It’s not true. I don’t even know who contributes.”
Among the paper’s findings:
• At least 20 family members of current and former board members work for the Elizabeth school system, according to payroll records and financial disclosure forms — so many that the board in the past has lacked a quorum to vote on teachers’ contracts because of the extensive conflicts of interest, resolutions show. They include brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, mothers-in-law, cousins, wives, children and the spouses of children — who together are paid more than $1 million in salaries.
• Former board president Rafael Fajardo has at least six family members on the payroll. Among them is a sister the board sought state approval to pay more than $50,000 a year to serve as a truancy officer for preschoolers, who are not required to attend school.
• More than a dozen lawsuits against the board — some alleging nepotism, wrongful termination, discrimination and politically motivated employment practices — have quietly been settled by lawyers for the school system. The board initially refused to release the settlements, claiming they were confidential. Threatened with litigation by the newspaper through the Open Public Records Act, it finally acknowledged the settlements were public, but set a $2,500 fee to provide the documents. Redacted of names and details, one showed a settlement of $500,000. Another was for $205,000.
• The fundraising goes well beyond school board elections. District employees — in interviews and in lawsuits — say they are also targeted for campaign donations to city council and legislative campaigns. Some get solicitations sent directly to their school e-mail accounts, documents show.
• Campaign reports often are not filed on time, leading to compliance complaints from state regulators. One year, a quarterly report was filed 379 days late. Nearly a month after the most recent school board election, those just re-elected have yet to file any expenditure reports with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, as required by law.
Most recently, some employees were asked in e-mails by board member Paul Perreira and his wife to donate $240 in “membership dues” to support a group called For the People of Union County. Set up last year, the organization produces a weekly newspaper often used to attack political opponents. Perreira did not respond to requests for comment.
‘THE UNWRITTEN RULE’
Ronald Davison graduated from Kean College — now Kean University — with a bachelor’s degree in history, before he was hired as a social studies teacher in Elizabeth. He subsequently earned his master’s. But he said he soon learned that career advancement at the Elizabeth Board of Education “depended on more than just hard work and determination.”
In a lawsuit, he recalled receiving tickets to political dinners, meetings, rallies and events, and board administrators were regularly and systematically solicited, coerced, commanded or advised to purchase or sell them.
In his civil complaint, Davison said he “yielded to the pressure” and purchased tickets. He ultimately was promoted to become a tenured administrator. But when he stopped paying for the political tickets, he said he lost a plum assignment and was later suspended.
“The unwritten rule in this culture of political cronyism is that non-participation in the purchase and sale of tickets to fundraising events can be hazardous to one’s job security,” he said in his court papers.
The power behind all of that, he charged, was Rafael Fajardo.
“Mr. Fajardo has used the board as a source of campaign volunteers and pay-to-play contributors that allow him to exert a web of influence throughout the community,” claimed Davison, whose attorney declined to comment for this story.
Nothing prohibits school board members from seeking support from employees of their district. However, the state’s School Ethics Commission forbids any school official from soliciting or accepting political contributions in return for jobs, influence or other official action.
Federal law also forbids the use of coercion to raise campaign money.
More than a decade ago, the State Commission of Investigation targeted the city of Orange after it found that community’s government had been converted into a mechanism to guarantee the mayor “a steady stream of financial support and a significant army of campaign workers.”
Those interviewed said the pressure to contribute in Elizabeth is always there; that not playing for the team was a bad career move.
“Word got around that if you wanted a position, you had to get your name on a (campaign donors) list,” said recently retired vice principal Ron Matlosz, adding that the pay-to-play culture was no secret among administrators and teachers.
Frank Cuesta, a recently retired principal and an Elizabeth city councilman once close to Fajardo, said the threat was real. “If you don’t buy tickets, you are not promoted to jobs you may want,” he explained. “You are basically shut out of the system, no matter how competent you are.”
Thomas Dunn Jr., the former superintendant of Elizabeth schools, said he saw the board change under Fajardo.
In the early years of his 14-year tenure, he and board employees bought tickets to various parties, affairs and events: “Not because someone pressured us to do so, but rather to show support to members of the board,” Dunn said.
“However, as time moved on and toward what turned out to be the end of my tenure, there was a growing sense among employees, myself included, that you had to buy tickets to be considered part of the ‘team.’ ”
In the months before he was forced out — in 2005 — the pressure to be part of the team mounted, Dunn said.
“There was an increasing attempt by some board members to become involved in personnel decisions and in the day-to-day operations of the school district, culminating in a ‘request’ to me to find resources in the budget to pay for the production of a commercial or series of commercials supposedly to promote the district, but which I believed were simply political advertisements to cast the city administration and/or mayor in a bad light.
“I said that I would not be involved in such an effort and naively thought the issue had been put to rest. … Shortly after this, I was informed that my contract would not be renewed,” he said.
Fajardo would not consent to an interview for this story.
In his lawsuit, Davison said Fajardo rewarded campaign contributors regardless of merit and punished those who turned their back on his fundraising activities. His claim against the board was settled out of court, according to a board resolution that contained only Davison’s initials and the docket number of the case. The board has so far declined to release the terms.
An attorney for the board of education, Kirk Nelson — responding to a list of written questions to school Superintendent Pablo Muñoz — said any assertion that jobs and promotions were dependent on contribution of money was simply not true.
“That allegation runs directly counter to stated board policy,” he said.
Fajardo, 57, has lived in Elizabeth since coming to the United States from Cuba in the mid-1960s. A former general contractor now involved in the real estate business, he has told friends of his desire to one day be mayor of Elizabeth, a city with a rapidly changing demographic that is now 60 percent Hispanic.
For much of the past decade, he has unsuccessfully challenged those who control City Hall, while serving on the board of education — at times as president — before his unexpected resignation from the board last year.
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage, who has been just as unsuccessful in trying to oust Fajardo and his supporters from the board of education, said he nevertheless respects his political ability.
“He clearly has generated a base of political support through fear that is very effective in his ability to create a power agenda,” said the mayor.
Among Fajardo’s relatives working for the board are his son-in-law, two sisters, two daughters and his wife, according to financial disclosure reports he filed.
One of his sisters, Olga Fajardo, was the focus of a court challenge over $50,786 in state funding to pay her salary as “community attendance liaison.” As described in an initial decision by the Office of Administrative Law, the job was simply that of a truancy officer — for preschoolers.
The state Education Department cut the position, noting the preschool program was voluntary and there was no justification for funding the job.
She was not let go. The board now pays her salary.
“Ms. Fajardo is employed as an attendance liaison, which is in full compliance with board and state policy,” said Nelson, the board’s attorney.
BIG SPENDERS
Under Fajardo, an examination of campaign finance reports shows Elizabeth board races have long been among the most expensive in the state, according to data collected by the Election Law Enforcement Commission. In some years, ELEC officials said, expenditures in Elizabeth for the school board have topped every district in the state.
“They have a well-oiled campaign machine,” said former school board member Eddie Branquinho, once supported by Fajardo and later cast aside, he said, when he challenged him.
Last year, Continue the Progress — one of the fundraising committees tied to Fajardo and his supporters — raised $105,367 in contributions. More than $85,200 of that was in contributions of less than $300, which are below the threshold limit for reporting the names of donors, according to ELEC. Those identified as Elizabeth Board of Education employees contributed $15,950.
Vendors to the school board gave more than $20,000 last year in political contributions. In addition, they spent another $6,500 for ad journal pages and tickets for a testimonial dinner honoring Fajardo that went into one of the campaign committees last year. The dinner raised more than $90,000 — most of it from school employees, according to records obtained by The Star-Ledger. None of it has yet been declared with ELEC as required by law.
Several weeks ago, school board employees received invitations to another fundraiser scheduled for last Tuesday night. Emblazoned with Fajardo’s photo, it invited them to a $1,000-a-person gala dinner to raise money for candidates supported by Fajardo in the upcoming race in the 20th Legislative District.
It was not the only fundraiser for the approaching June primary. Months earlier, a series of e-mails went to many top administrators. Each was asked by Perreira’s wife to sell a table of 10 tickets — priced at $175 apiece — to friends and colleagues for a testimonial dinner last night honoring Muñoz at the Pines Manor in Edison.
Officials of the board’s bus company, which was paid $2 million this year, and its insurance agency, which received $932,000, were also represented on the dinner committee.
Again, the money was earmarked for the legislative race.
Current and former employees said they were not only targeted with calls and direct mailings for those and other events, but they also were solicited by supervisors who were selling tickets.
Several of those interviewed said the election committees tied to the board appear to have at their disposal the lists of the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of every employee in the district.
“I don’t live in Elizabeth. So why am I getting solicitations?” asked retired vice principal Lou Alt, who lives in Union. “I don’t know where else they would get my address other than from board of education records.”
Nelson said he had no knowledge about who gets campaign solicitations. “It might be helpful to point out that upon hiring of school personnel, their appointment, including name and address, is included in the official minutes,” said the school board counsel.
Board member Fernando Nazco said there is no pressure on teachers or others to contribute.
“That’s 100 percent false. We hire the best-qualified teachers,” he said. “I never know who contributes.”
Despite mailings for the two fundraising events, state campaign finance filings last week by the Democrats for Change committee sponsoring the events reported raising only $175. The committee is now the target of a lawsuit by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) and others being challenged in the 20th District. The suit focuses on the unreported funds and on the For the People organization, which Lesniak asserts is an election committee but is not registered as one.
Donald Goncalves, the assistant board secretary, said it is “no secret that there are a few local leaders out there that have continuously pursued the Elizabeth Board of Education. Around election time, that ire is more focused and specific.”
THE BIG DAY
School board election day in Elizabeth is a busy one for district employees — even if they are not necessarily in school.
Last month on the day of the election, the streets outside many of the polling places were filled with employees — from custodians to security guards to teachers and administrators — all working to get out the vote.
Personnel records obtained by the newspaper, meanwhile, show hundreds of teachers, administrators, custodians and others took off on election day last month. At least 65 took vacation days — three times as many as on a typical day. Nearly 30 said they had funerals to attend — three times as many as on a day the following week. More than 150 called in sick that day, compared with 127 the following Thursday. Another 48 took personal days — double the number on May 5.
Those records also show one employee involved in election activities was listed with a sick day on the day of the school board elections. On May 2, three days after The Star-Ledger requested a list of all board of education employees absent or dismissed early on April 27, the sick day entry was deleted in the payroll system, and replaced with a personal day.
According to Nelson, contractual agreements permit all employees both personal and vacation days. “Their activities on such days are solely their own decision,” he said.
Union president Rose Carreto, who is on the district payroll as a guidance counselor at a salary of $101,600, said the EEA supports candidates who are approved by a screening committee.
“We do endorse and, in elections, we support them,” she said.
There is nothing illegal about unions campaigning for any candidate.
Teachers interviewed raised questions about the perception that the union was so tied to the board that it promotes the business of one board member.
The EEA periodically sends letters to members reminding them their vision plan benefits can be obtained through an eyewear business owned by Nazco, who was recently re-elected. Carreto, in response, said there was no conflict. Teachers can go to any participating optician, and many do, she said, adding that the agreement predated Nazco’s ownership of the business. Nazco separately said he consulted his own attorney to determine if there was any conflict.
As for teachers being pressured by anyone to contribute money, Carreto replied, “I’ve never heard of that. I would frown upon it.”
For all its political preoccupation, the Elizabeth board runs one of the few big city school systems not under state control in New Jersey. Test scores are up and Muñoz — who is paid $264,797 as superintendent — enjoys a good reputation with many.
“We are a high-performing school district, according to the state. We have the recognition of national entities and some regional political leaders to show for it, and even an audit by the New Jersey state Legislature gave us a clean bill of health,” said Goncalves.
Elizabeth’s schools are a mix, from modern buildings and refurbished ones, to modular trailers and former parochial schools. There are some with reputations so bad that parents fear for their children’s safety. And there are facilities that compare with the best schools in the state.
Outsiders say the schools do what they are supposed to, in a challenging environment.
Larry Leverett, executive director of the Panasonic Foundation — which provides technical expertise to the district — said Elizabeth has shown strong gains in student performance. “It’s a district that has a very clear focus about its targets for student improvement,” he said.
Gordon MacInnes, a former assistant state education commissioner who had responsibility over many of the urban districts, said Elizabeth has shown “remarkable, significant progress” in getting younger kids to be readers.
“The board is very controversial and very political, but the schools in Elizabeth are the best of the big cities in New Jersey, and rather comfortably so,” he said.
Its progress does not follow to upper grades, but he said it was doing an “admirable job” in conquering illiteracy.
“Pablo Muñoz knows what he’s talking about. He may be political and may support things that I disagree with, but they were always interested and anxious to improve. They listened to us. They were hungry to learn. I give their management high marks, and it has paid off in the results.”
That said, it did not escape MacInnes’ attention when he was with the state Department of Education that the Elizabeth schools were overstaffed with custodians, which he believed were patronage hires.
“When we tried to cut custodians, they would always try to take us to court,” he said.
MISUSE OF FUNDS
MacInnes also said the state found the school board wrongfully used district money for political purposes. Five years ago, investigators found the heavily state-subsidized district had paid for a 20-page brochure and several television ads featuring Carlos Cedeño, then running for office. The commissioner of education ruled the spending constituted political advertising in violation of state law, and deducted $88,373 in expenditures from the budget — a decision the board fought and lost.
The board was similarly penalized by the state education commissioner over the costs of a defamation lawsuit filed on behalf of the board, Fajardo and Muñoz, after they were targeted with a series of unflattering campaign mailings during the 2006 primary election for city council in Elizabeth.
Records later revealed the board initiated the lawsuit without ever passing a resolution to authorize its filing or the payments to cover the cost of the litigation.
The Department of Education found the costs a “misuse of school funds.” It subsequently docked the board more than $52,000 in state aid.
A Superior Court judge, meanwhile, in response to the lawsuit by Lesniak, last week imposed temporary restraints on the distribution of the Union County Reporter, the weekly newspaper produced by For the People. He also temporarily forbade the group from accepting any contributions from school board employees or anyone else.
Lester Dominguez, the board’s superintendent of transportation — who incorporated For the People and is chairman of the legislative campaign committee the newspaper is supporting — did not return a message left with his office.
Two investigations launched into Elizabeth school board
Published: Monday, June 13, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Monday, June 13, 2011, 1:15 PM
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
ELIZABETH — The Elizabeth Board of Education has become the focus of two investigations in the wake of charges that jobs and promotions at one of the state’s largest school systems were tied to political contributions.
Several former teachers say they have been contacted or interviewed by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, which would neither confirm nor deny it was investigating the school board.
Separately, Assembly Republicans have launched an investigation seeking extensive spending records from the Elizabeth board under the Open Public Records Act — including payments for food, drink, entertainment and travel; legal fees; purchase of cars or televisions; sports and athletic equipment; lobbying and public relations fees.
Meanwhile, the school board has retained former New Jersey Justice Gary Stein to look into the allegations, which were raised in a report in The Sunday Star-Ledger May 22 detailing the political power wielded by those who control the Elizabeth schools.
The story documented widespread nepotism and patronage, along with tens of thousands in political contributions collected from teachers, administrators and other employees, which were earmarked for school board candidates, as well as local and state elections.
At issue are allegations by teachers, administrators and other employees of the Elizabeth school board who claim they are constantly urged to buy campaign fundraiser tickets to support candidates tied to board members — under pressure by supervisors and board members. They say they were told that attending campaign events would help their careers.
Donald Goncalves, the assistant board secretary for the Elizabeth schools, said he was unaware of any inquiry by any law enforcement agency, nor did he have knowledge of the request for records from the Assembly.
The Republican Office of the Assembly, though, confirmed it has launched an inquiry into the board. In a letter to the Elizabeth schools system from the Assembly GOP’s counsel, Andrew Wynne sought a long list of bills, vouchers, reimbursements and payroll records and personnel actions for individual employees.
“The OPRA request was made in order to research the spending practices of the Elizabeth school district, which receives a significant amount of state funding in order to operate its system,” said Rich Savner, a spokesman for the Republicans. “It is part of this office’s ongoing effort to track how tax dollars are spent. The purpose is to examine and root out areas of waste, fraud and abuse.”
The Elizabeth schools have more than 23,000 students and a $402 million budget largely subsidized by the state, as well as more than $20 million in federal aid.
The investigation came to light after two former teachers who filed wrongful termination cases against the board said they have been contacted by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I don’t know the full extent of what they are investigating, but it’s obviously in connection with an investigation into the Elizabeth Board of Education,” said their attorney, Phillip Linder of Edison.
Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow would not comment.
While nothing prohibits school board members from seeking support from employees of their district, the state’s School Ethics Commission forbids any school official from soliciting or accepting political contributions in return for jobs, influence or other official action.
Federal law also forbids any coercion in the raising of campaign money.
Most recently, three candidates tied to the board — including Assistant Schools Superintendent Jerome Dunn — raised more than $122,000 for a Democratic primary challenge in the 20th Legislative District that came up short this past week. Much of that money came from school board employees, records show.
Board President Marie Munn said Stein is being brought in to conduct an independent review and identify any practices related to fundraising activities. She pledged they would give him unfettered access.
“We are committed to ensuring that the work of Justice Stein results in an accurate assessment of where we are as a community and what improvements can be made to be one of the best school systems in the nation,” said Munn in a statement.
It will not be an unfamiliar role for him. More than five years ago, Stein was retained by the trustees of University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to investigate reports in The Star-Ledger that the school had awarded more than $700 million in contracts without competitive bidding — including some that went to politically connected firms. He concluded some contracts had been improperly awarded, but that there had been no evidence of any wrongdoing.
Before his work was completed, the university was criminally charged with Medicaid fraud and put under the control of a federal monitor.
Elizabeth school officials’ kids don’t pay full meal costs, records show
Published: Sunday, August 21, 2011, 11:30 AM Updated: Sunday, August 21, 2011, 3:17 PM
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
ELIZABETH — When schools open in Elizabeth next month, Carlos Lucio’s 6-year-old daughter is scheduled to receive a subsidized lunch through a federally supported program that helps feed children of needy families.
Lucio is a school principal for the Elizabeth Board of Education, with an annual salary of $103,163.
School records obtained by The Star-Ledger show that kids of two other high-level officials in the heavily state-supported district also eat for little or nothing — even though the parents’ gross incomes appear to exceed federal income-eligibility limits set by the federal government.
Marie L. Munn, president of the Elizabeth Board of Education, has a son listed as eligible for free lunch. Munn is employed as a human resources administrator for a New Jersey nonprofit organization. Her husband is employed as well, according to her most recent financial disclosure statement.
Marlene Abitanto — who makes $73,350 as supervisor of custodians for the Elizabeth school district — was listed as getting free lunch for her high school daughter through the 2009-10 school year, the records show. Those same records show no lunch subsidies for the family this year.
Under federal income-eligibility rules, which take into account both the number of children and total income, a family of four cannot earn more than $29,055 to qualify for a free lunch and $41,348 for a reduced-price meal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A household of eight people must show a gross income of less than $48,919 for kids to qualify for a free lunch.
“The guidelines are very clear as to what is allowed,” said Jean Daniel, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds the program. “The free and reduced lunch program is designed for needy children, and we take it very seriously.”
Board of Education officials would neither confirm nor deny the participation of its administrators and president in the federal school lunch program, but said any information regarding those individuals “may have been illegally obtained.”
In a letter signed by school business administrator Harold Kennedy Jr. sent to the parents of 23,000 students, the district said, “Illegal hackers gained access to confidential computer information looking to hurt you and the district.”
The district said it notified the U.S. Attorney’s Office and state attorney general “as to the apparent breach in our secure records” and instituted an internal forensic review.
The records obtained by The Star-Ledger were supplied by sources familiar with the National School Lunch Program. The sources requested anonymity because districts do not publicly disclose who is getting free or reduced lunches.
Principals and many others in the district — including guidance counselors, teachers and secretaries — had access to the lunch eligibility records, known as General Demographics Reports, according to several former employees.
Shortly after The Star-Ledger made inquiries about the participation of administrators in the program, updated records provided to the newspaper show the Elizabeth school district changed the format of the documents, eliminating any reference to whether students were eligible for free lunches.
Munn, the Board of Education president, would not respond directly to questions about how she met the eligibility requirement or whether she was currently employed. But in an e-mail she said “the application providing my children’s participation was submitted accurately.”
She also wrote: “Unfortunately, I am a reflection of the economic times, which is sadly the reality of 88 percent of the district’s students.”
According to her 2011 state financial disclosure statement filed in May, Munn is a human resources administrator for the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network, a statewide organ-procurement organization. Officials there confirmed she is still employed. She listed her husband as being employed by The New York Times, which said it does not disclose the names of employees. He is also listed as the owner and head coach on the website of the New York Hustlers, a semi-pro football team.
Lucio and Abitanto did not return calls or e-mails for comment.
Munn, Lucio and Abitanto are all politically connected players in Elizabeth, tied closely to factions that currently control the school district, and running for office with their support.
The National School Lunch Program, administered in New Jersey by the state Department of Agriculture, provides state and federal reimbursements to give nutritious free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch to children who meet income-eligibility requirements. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents.
State officials said schools also have a direct certification process in which students whose families are receiving food stamps or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits automatically qualify to receive a free lunch.
About 428,000 students statewide currently participate in the program.
State and federal officials acknowledge there is little monitoring statewide of those who receive assistance under the federal lunch program.
According to the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there have been no recent audits of any New Jersey school districts.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture said only a small number of all applications for free or reduced-cost lunches are actually reviewed and most are accepted without challenge.
“Schools are required to verify 3 percent of their applications, focusing on those in which the income is near the income threshold,” said the spokeswoman, Lynne Richmond. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that applications are taken at face value. If there is any question about an application, the district may verify the application for cause.”
According to Richmond, a total of 17,740 Elizabeth students participate daily in the lunch program, which last year received $7.6 million in state assistance.
An elementary school lunch in Elizabeth, including milk, is typically $2. A reduced-price lunch is 40 cents.
Richmond said because of the questions raised by The Star-Ledger, “the Department of Agriculture is obligated to follow up” and will be taking a look at the matter.
Donald Goncalves, a spokesman for the Elizabeth school system, said U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations prohibit disclosing information on the eligibility of individual children, but he said his district followed proper procedures laid out by the state and the federal governments.
“Applications for free and reduced lunch are submitted to us and processed according to the federal standard,” he said. “The district’s responsibilities are limited to compiling the data and providing it to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.”
He said the district was fully prepared to maintain the integrity of the program.
“But we would also caution those that would judge others — to do so based on facts, not innuendo, misinformation or lies,” he stated. “As a district, when it comes to the nourishment of our children and their academic achievement, we will err on the side of the child.”
Mistakes on applications statewide for the federal lunch program are not uncommon. A June report by the state auditor found a significant error rate in the districts it tested that would have disqualified some families.
“We didn’t classify it as fraud,” explained state Auditor Stephen M. Eells. “My goal was not auditing the lunch program. It was to audit the database for its accuracy.”
A high number of free or subsidized lunches benefits districts, the report showed. Overall state and federal aid is keyed to the free-lunch participation rates, with more aid being doled out to districts with larger numbers of students receiving free lunch.
In 2006, a private school in Lakewood agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle claims that it overbilled the government for lunch program subsidies.
That same year, a Hudson County nonprofit organization paid more than $469,000 to settle allegations that it submitted false certifications for lunch subsidies.
Nationally, there have been 10 investigations into the National School Lunch Program over the past five years that resulted in one indictment, three convictions and the recovery of $25.6 million — mostly from civil judgments — say officials with the Inspector General’s Office of the Agriculture Department.
The Elizabeth school board remains the focus of an investigation by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, after a series of stories in The Star-Ledger earlier this year into allegations of widespread nepotism and patronage.
Teachers and other employees have charged that jobs and promotions in Elizabeth are tied to political contributions earmarked for school board and other political candidates, with many claiming they felt compelled to buy campaign fundraiser tickets, under pressure by supervisors and board members.
Elizabeth school board president: I didn’t know my children were receiving free lunches
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 9:45 PM Updated: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 6:29 AM
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
ELIZABETH — Amid a growing criminal investigation, the president of the Elizabeth Board of Education said today she has repaid the school district $2,682 to cover the cost of six years of free meals her children were not entitled to.
In a statement tonight, Marie L. Munn said because of misunderstandings and financial complications, she was unaware her children were receiving free lunches until contacted last month by a reporter for The Star-Ledger.
Munn acknowledged she had indeed filled out an application to receive free lunches, but never intended to actually use the program. She said she gave her sons money to buy lunch each day and only recently learned they spent it on snacks, and ate the taxpayer-subsidized meal as well.
The Elizabeth board has already placed two other school administrators on paid leave after disclosures in The Star-Ledger that their children were also receiving free or subsidized lunches — despite salaries that far exceeded income-eligibility limits set by the federal government.
Read Marie L. Munn’s full statement hereAfter the story appeared, the state attorney general opened a criminal investigation. District officials and the state Department of Agriculture — which oversees the federal program — have confirmed they had received subpoenas seeking records on who receives free or reduced-price lunches. The agriculture department said it is also conducting its own inquiry.
Last year, 17,740 Elizabeth students participated daily in the lunch program, which received $7.6 million in federal aid.
In her statement, Munn took “full responsibility for any oversight in regards to the payment of her children’s lunch” and apologized for “any negative light this situation has brought” upon her district.
She said she had no plans to resign as president or step down from the board. A spokesman for the district said he had not seen her statement and could not comment.
Munn is employed as a human resources administrator for a New Jersey nonprofit organization and does not qualify for the program that helps feed the children of needy families. Her husband is employed as well, according to her most recent financial disclosure statement, and is also the owner and head coach of a semi-pro football team.
The National School Lunch Program provides state and federal reimbursements to give free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch to children who meet income-eligibility requirements. State and federal officials, however, say there is scant auditing to determine if those receiving benefits are eligible.
In her statement, Munn said she would “never intentionally defraud the district or other taxpayers.” Munn said she had filled out the application for the National School Lunch Program because it was her understanding she was required to do so. She said she thought the form to be nothing more than administrative paperwork “and not an application for free or reduced lunch.”
Munn said she intentionally excluded her husband’s wages from the form at his request, but believed it would be of no consequence” because she was certain her son “would not qualify for free or reduced lunch because of her salary alone.”
In the statement released by her attorney, Sean M. Pena of Passaic, Munn said she decided to pay back the district after records showed her children had been receiving free lunch for six years.
She wrote a check for $450 on Aug. 22, and another check for $2,232.50 on Sept. 7, which she said represented the cost of every free lunch her children ever received.
In a statement late today, the school board confirmed that Munn tendered a check to the district.
Board attorney Kirk Nelson said the two other administrators who were suspended after The Star-Ledger report told the board that their spouses had submitted the applications for free lunch without their knowledge.
Marlene Abitanto — who makes $73,350 as supervisor of custodians — has already asked to repay the program. Carlos Lucio, a principal who makes $103,163, told the board the application was actually submitted by his divorced spouse without his knowledge.
“While this information is strictly confidential, the three individuals expressly authorized this information to be shared with the public to dispel the notion that these types of errors are rampant,” said Nelson.
“The Elizabeth Board of Education does not have the manpower to audit every single application — nor is that process done by any school system that we are aware of in New Jersey.”
Spot the State Media keyword:
DNC/Reuters:
“The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904353504576567460396287134.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h
The 2013 Tax Cliff
Business had better enjoy the next 16 months.
What might surprise Americans, however, is how the President is setting up the U.S. economy for one of the biggest tax increases in history in 2013.
For the White House, the policy calendar is dictated above all by the political necessities of the 2012 election. Mr. Obama will take his chances on 2013 if he can cajole the private economy to create enough new jobs over the next year to win re-election, even if those jobs and growth are temporary. Business owners and workers who would prefer to prosper beyond Election Day aren’t likely to share Mr. Obama’s enthusiasm once they see the great tax cliff approaching.
Re 16, so if she is not the criminal then her kids are criminals and she is just the bad stupid mom with fat kids who steal.
Why are so many Phys Ed teachers overweight??
Family member is holding out in Elizabeth until they are done with the free all day pre-school that starts age 3. No income restrictions as both husband and wife are working lawyers. Their two grade schoolers are in the Gifted and Talented school which also offers an extended day at no charge. Not for me, but for the “pioneer” types Elizabeth offers some perks for those with young kids. Plus it’s a train town.
18, Looks like those upper middleclass high wage earners in high tax states such as CA, NY and NJ are gonna pay through the nose in 2013. Many would be better off making less than 200K in staes such as FL with lower taxes and housing costs.
Free lunch?
Ive never seen so many fat kids in my life. It should be free sneakers and mandatory pushups.
22.
Bingo.
I have no problem with time off.
NJ kids don’t learn ethics until reform school?
hello ladies of the blog. If any of you are looking for a date just hit me up. I like to give even more then JJ.
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2010/11/03/Jesse-Thornhill008.jpg
Speaking of JJ. My sister wants a piece of him.
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2010/11/03/Michelle-Allen011.jpg
I’ve heard of lots of out-of-towners using an Elizabeth address for the free pre-school.
prtraders2000 says:
September 15, 2011 at 9:12 am
Family member is holding out in Elizabeth until they are done with the free all day pre-school that starts age 3. No income restrictions as both husband and wife are working lawyers. Their two grade schoolers are in the Gifted and Talented school which also offers an extended day at no charge. Not for me, but for the “pioneer” types Elizabeth offers some perks for those with young kids. Plus it’s a train town.
Maybe the free lunches are just a way to pay the employees back for their forced political contributions.
jamil [17],
LOL! Perfect!
40,000 children in New Jersey’s 31 Abbott districts get the free full day pre-school AKA babysitting funded by the State Tax Payers. The program is now in its 10th year by order of the state Supreme Court back in 1998. All teachers are certified NJEA, class sizes are limited to no more than 15 students. So Far Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed budgets have left untouched the State funding.
Nice perk if you can get it. My son will be 3 next year. I wonder if I should look into it.
I would save 25k a year……hummmm
You can use my address for 12.5K a year. Save yourself half of the cost of childcare and don’t have to actually move into Elizabeth.
Juice Box says:
September 15, 2011 at 10:02 am
I would save 25k a year……hummmm
Guess they have to deal with J Biden now..
“Nearly $19 billion in state unemployment benefits were paid in error during the three years that ended in June, new Labor Department data show.
The amount represents more than 10% of the $180 billion in jobless benefits paid nationwide during the period. The tally covers state programs, which offer benefits for up to 26 weeks, from July 2008 to June 2011. Layers of federal programs that help provide benefits for up to 99 weeks weren’t included.”
Nice perk. In Glen Ridge, full day Pre-K run by the BOE costs $6,000 for the school year. If you need extended care, you can add another $300/month on top of that. If you want to attend the Montclair Community Pre-K, that will run you $975/month if you don’t qualify for scholarship aid. If you need extended care, the cost goes up to $1,255/month.
30 gary
It seems that you too have embraced opinions contrary to the Truth. I have reported you with Obama’s Truth Squad (attackwatch.com/tags/gary). This is for your own good. Beating continues until the morale improves.
This reminds, I have to turn myself in again. Yesterday I got my salary, and I thought about keeping it.
Snitch or Die!
The rate on 30-year mortgage falls to a record 4.09 pct. They can drop to 0 pct. but why would it matter if you’re not eligible for a free pony anymore. Here’s an idea… sell the f*cking BMW that you couldn’t afford in the first place, stop dropping $200 a week on salted carb sh1t and take overnight trips within driving distance and not overpriced, overrated 8 day cruises designed to add three digits to your credit card. I know it’s difficult, but break away from Facebook and map out a strategy.
I’ll rent you a studio for 10K annually in Eliz. You’re welcome to stash a latin mistresss there. If you can’t find one, one can be provided to you. Enjoy a spicy latina, save 15K. Lease a Benz for your wife and put away 5K in your childs 529.
Everyone is happy and you’re the hero!
can you guys kindly help me with the following questions?
1. is it a good idea to buy in a development, which is in a pending lawsuit with builder?
2. my agent told me that because of on-going litigation. there are only a few banks offer mortgage. is this true? or she/he’s trying to push me to obtain a mortgage from bank with much higher rate?
thank you in advance!!
Hovnanians drop the price of their Rumson manses for sale.
25 Ward Ave- from $6,450,000 to $5,900,000
29 Ward Ave- from $10,950,000 to $9,500,000
1. is it a good idea to buy in a development, which is in a pending lawsuit with builder?
If the lawsuit because the builder built on top of an native American burial ground that was later used as a dump for dioxin and radioactive waste, and he didn’t disclose it, it is probably not a good idea.
What’s the lawsuit?
Catholic school near me charges 245 a month payable by check for pre-school which btw a check is only needed for a tax write off if under 250.
None of the jewish people or catholic people in my town want free preschool. First I have to pay for it for life second it is only chance our kids have to have some religious experience third teacher who actually work in the private schools get fired replaced by overpaid idiots in the public school.
NJGator says:
September 15, 2011 at 10:25 am
Nice perk. In Glen Ridge, full day Pre-K run by the BOE costs $6,000 for the school year. If you need extended care, you can add another $300/month on top of that. If you want to attend the Montclair Community Pre-K, that will run you $975/month if you don’t qualify for scholarship aid. If you need extended care, the cost goes up to $1,255/month.
@41
well, lawsuit is for improper installation of windows, which now causes water damage. not all units is affected (certainly not 1 i’m interested in).
jamil [36],
Do I have to wear an arm band and sing “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” as part of my indoctrination?
I love this Gen X claims Baby Boomers keep them from being promoted to senior management, then they say they want flex time, shorter work hours and want to spend more time away from work to be with family and to do hobbies. Can’t have it all.
The Generation X survey found that 70 percent would prefer to be their own bosses. They want the flexibility that will allow them to devote time to outside pursuits and family obligations. Less rigid hours and less time spent in the office are very important to 66 percent of women and 55 percent of men in the study, though 43 percent of women and 32 percent of men surveyed do not have children.
For those with children, Generation X members are as extreme at home as they are at work as they try to be the kind of involved parents that many of them — the first generation of “latchkey” kids — did not have, according to the report. Sixty-five percent of women and 59 percent of men surveyed feel guilty about the time they spend away from their children, the study found.
The reluctance to lend may be based on potential damage to the entire building, regardless of whether or not your unit might be impacted.
That said, I’d be surprised if that were the case, since I’ve seen banks agree to lend on houses that are damn near falling down. Assuming you are qualified and the unit appraises accordingly. The is a bit different from a scenario where the HOA might be in bankruptcy… Is that the case here?
Sienna?
Shiny down to $1,785.
Trigger finger getting itchy.
@46
no, this is for a 2004-2006 development in secaucus, nj. and i’m more than qualified for the mortgage (20% down with 800 credit score). dont know why, but i have a gut feeling that i’m being lead to tak a mortgage with higher rate because of this litigation.
JJ 42 – They love free pre-school in the Abbott districts because “they” don’t pay for it. Abbott districts get the overwhelming majority of their school tab picked up by the State. It’s the wealthier districts that have to pay the lion’s share of school costs through local property taxes. BOE run Pre-K in Glen Ridge is actually a revenue generator for the town. In Montclair, the private PreK gets some funding from the town, purely for scholarship aid for disadvantaged kids (the BOE used to provide PreK for free to all residents, but had to cut it out of the budget over 10 years ago). The PreK then charges tuition on a sliding scale based on income, so the higher earners pay a lot more to subsidize the tuition of the less well off. It was actually less money for us to send our son to a 100% private PreK.
Tax News of the Day:
http://finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=ba387157-5056-a032-5252-c7bf71fc6c90
If they were really interested in promoting retirement security, they wouldn’t be eyeing retirement investments as potential piggy banks, and standing over them with a hammer, salivating the entire time.
Image like than tends to promote retirement INsecurity.
Grim (46) – I hear they are fixing the Siena. With caulk!
http://www.baristanet.com/2011/09/siena-gets-caulked/
Once again, I don’t make the list.
http://digital.accountingtoday.com/accountingtoday/2011influential#pg1
JJ, where did you rank?
I have met Carville and respect his opinion. I don’t know him well but he is often spot on in his analysis of the Democratic Party and its candidates:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/09/carvillle-to-obama-time-to-panic/1
Carville to Obama: Time to panic
President Obama and his aides are taking heat from fellow Democrats, with the latest blast coming from consultant and television personality James Carville.
Citing this week’s House election losses by Democrats in New York and Nevada, Carville writes on CNN’s website:
“What should the White House do now? One word came to mind: Panic.”
Beyond that, Carville’s advice to Obama: Fire somebody. Indict somebody (over the financial crisis). Make a case like a Democrat. Hold fast to an explanation.
Like other Democrats, Carville fears the prospect of a one-term Obama presidency.
“As I watch the Republican debates, I realize that we are on the brink of a crazy person running our nation,” Carville writes
snip
And this:
Democratic strategist James Carville has just one word of advice for President Barack Obama: panic.
In a CNN op-ed, Carville said Tuesday’s two special election results are a warning to the White House – and a sign the president must make drastic changes now to stave off the Republican momentum.
It’s time to panic, he wrote.
“People often ask me what advice I would give the White House about various things,” Carville wrote on Wednesday. “Today I was mulling over election results from New York and Nevada while thinking about that very question. What should the White House do now? One word came to mind: Panic.”
Carville said Democrats are “past sending out talking points” and said he would tell the president, “The time has come to demand a plan of action that requires a complete change from the direction you are headed.”
Carville’s advice: “Fire. Indict. Fight.”
Obama must fire someone – “No – fire a lot of people” — because the current team is just not working, Carville wrote.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63573.html#ixzz1Y2Cra7WU
Find something good about this :
U.S. ECONOMY
Jobless claims rise
Initial applications for unemployment benefits reach the highest level in nearly two month.
• U.S. consumer prices jump 0.4% in August
• Negative Philly Fed index worse than forecast
• New York–area manufacturing activity dips
• Industrial output up 0.2% in August
The original piece:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/14/opinion/carville-white-house-advice/
snip
I don’t know how else to break this down. Simply put:
1. Fire somebody. No — fire a lot of people. This may be news to you but this is not going well. For precedent, see Russian Army 64th division at Stalingrad. There were enough deaths at Stalingrad to make the entire tea party collectively orgasm.
Obama: America can’t ‘wait 14 months’
Branson: Obama’s timing is off
Obama: If you love me, help pass bill
Mr. President, your hinge of fate must turn. Bill Clinton fired many people in 1994 and took a lot of heat for it. Reagan fired most of his campaign staff in 1980. Republicans historically fired their own speaker, Newt Gingrich. Bush fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. For God’s sake, why are we still looking at the same political and economic advisers that got us into this mess? It’s not working.
Furthermore, it’s not going to work with the same team, the same strategy and the same excuses. I know economic analysts are smart — some work 17-hour days. It’s time to show them the exit. Wake up — show us you are doing something.
2. Indict people. There are certain people in American finance who haven’t been held responsible for utterly ruining the economic fabric of our country. Demand from the attorney general a clear status of the state of investigation concerning these extraordinary injustices imposed upon the American people. I know Attorney General Eric Holder is a close friend of yours, but if his explanations aren’t good, fire him too. Demand answers to why no one has been indicted.
Mr. President, people are livid. Tell people that you, too, are angry and sickened by the irresponsible actions on Wall Street that caused so much suffering. Do not accept excuses. Demand action now.
3. Make a case like a Democrat. While we are going along with the Republican austerity garbage, who is making the case against it? It’s not the Democrats!
We are allowing the over-educated, over-explanatory bureaucrat by the name of (Congresssional Budget Office director Douglas) Elmendorf do all the talking. Do not let him make your case. Let us make your case. Is it any wonder that we were doing better in the middle of the stimulus-spending period than we are doing with the austerity program?
4. Hold fast to an explanation. Stick to your rationale for what has happened and what is going to happen under your leadership. You must carry this through until the election (never say that things are improving because evidently they are not).
snip
jamil,
Report James Carville to the Obama Truth Squad.
Another housing problem.
I am in my home office, an extension off the side of the house, when I hear tapping and rustling on the outer wall. I figure the dog is trying to get through the gap I closed up with chicken wire, so I investigate.
Dog is in the back yard, nowhere near the room. So I go over to the side patio and look up at the side wall.
Woodpeckers.
The original piece:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/14/opinion/carville-white-house-advice/
snip
I don’t know how else to break this down. Simply put:
1. Fire somebody. No — fire a lot of people. This may be news to you but this is not going well. For precedent, see Russian Army 64th division at Stalingrad. There were enough deaths at Stalingrad to make the entire tea party collectively or-g@sm.
Mr. President, your hinge of fate must turn. Bill Clinton fired many people in 1994 and took a lot of heat for it. Reagan fired most of his campaign staff in 1980. Republicans historically fired their own speaker, Newt Gingrich. Bush fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. For God’s sake, why are we still looking at the same political and economic advisers that got us into this mess? It’s not working.
Furthermore, it’s not going to work with the same team, the same strategy and the same excuses. I know economic analysts are smart — some work 17-hour days. It’s time to show them the exit. Wake up — show us you are doing something.
2. Indict people. There are certain people in American finance who haven’t been held responsible for utterly ruining the economic fabric of our country. Demand from the attorney general a clear status of the state of investigation concerning these extraordinary injustices imposed upon the American people. I know Attorney General Eric Holder is a close friend of yours, but if his explanations aren’t good, fire him too. Demand answers to why no one has been indicted.
Mr. President, people are livid. Tell people that you, too, are angry and sickened by the irresponsible actions on Wall Street that caused so much suffering. Do not accept excuses. Demand action now.
3. Make a case like a Democrat. While we are going along with the Republican austerity garbage, who is making the case against it? It’s not the Democrats!
We are allowing the over-educated, over-explanatory bureaucrat by the name of (Congresssional Budget Office director Douglas) Elmendorf do all the talking. Do not let him make your case. Let us make your case. Is it any wonder that we were doing better in the middle of the stimulus-spending period than we are doing with the austerity program?
4. Hold fast to an explanation. Stick to your rationale for what has happened and what is going to happen under your leadership. You must carry this through until the election (never say that things are improving because evidently they are not).
snip
Keith “I have met Carville and respect his opinion. I don’t know him well but he is often spot on”
Have you ever met out of touch liberal lunatic you didn’t like?
That irrational hatred towards non-liberals must have an origin.
Something in the childhood?
#48 Jase Rion – A higher rate means a higher payment. This is equivalent to paying a higher purchase price.
Find out what the rate difference is for lenders who will finance in the subject complex as opposed to the lender you would choose on your own. Calculate the difference and reduce the amount you offer to compensate.
As for me, in this market I wouldn’t buy into the problem. So much inventory to choose from and it will all be cheaper as time goes on!
Nom,
I think John has a woodpecker problem too.
#20,
My phys ed teacher made Kenny Powers look like a greek adonis. He was easily 350..but hey he was a great HS DL in the 60s.
[54] shore,
No one will ever accuse Carville of bipartisanship (unless his idea of bipartisan is nailing his wife).
Personally, I can’t stand the guy and it has nothing to do with his politics. It’s cuz I was eating one night at Old Ebbitt (where I dined regularly back then because it was open and near my office), and the damn wait staff was fawning over him at the next booth. We couldn’t get service, or even get the damned check timely cuz of him sucking all the oxygen out of the room. And he certainly seemed to be enjoying the attention.
#37 Saw a blip this morning about how hard it is ti get a mtg etc, but what about FHA and how easy that is supposed to be?
On another note I asked my wife last night, well do you want to start looking for a house. She said not really, if something grabs her attention, possibly, but she said she just does no really are all that much any more. She is too buys planning activities now that our last one is away in college.
Of course it helps that the landlord has now changed his mind about selling, ans says we can stay until we decide to leave.
[61] shore
Some one had to say it. Didn’t think you’d be first.
from Carville:
” Indict people. There are certain people in American finance who haven’t been held responsible for utterly ruining the economic fabric of our country. Demand from the attorney general a clear status of the state of investigation concerning these extraordinary injustices imposed upon the American people.”
Won’t get far without a citation to a section of Title 18 of the US Code. There are those who ruined this economy without committing an identifiable crime. Irrespective of whether it should be a crime (save this question for another day), the lack of an actual crime makes investigations and indictments into exercises in futility.
Of course, we could always pass some laws and apply them retroactively, like Congress wanted to do to WS bonuses, but that pesky ex post facto clause would just get in the way.
And the signal we send to the next generation of entrepreneurs (which we are kind of sending anyway) is: Take your business elsewhere.
The tax that will be paid in excess of the $250k for married couple is marginal tax rate.Meaning the income above the $250K is what being tax at the higher rate.Let us not misled readers that the whole income is tax at the higher rate.
BTW, the sign that we are truly screwed as a nation is when the developing world (think BRICs to start) has more customers than us, and as much investable capital as we do. Our status depends only on our relevance, and when no one needs to rely on the US for sales or capital, game over.
#60 #30 year: I see more inventory still coming on this time of year.Perhaps it is a little blip before the holidays. There are towns in Bergen Co now, that have late 1980’s prices ( grant it not considered the best of towns etc.)
Even the land of Unicorn’s has become more more competitive price wise ( perhaps because of the insane taxes). Also even towns like Wyckoff and Glen Rock have listings with a 4 and 5 handle now, that would have commanded 6 and over during the bubble.
One of the few towns (in my humble opinion) now that appear to be stuck in a time warp price wise now is Oradell.
This is interesting. Dems have been pushing similar changes to Electoral College, but I’m sure they will regret that now.
This would severely limit the impact of acorn voter fraud in 1-2 districts. They can’t do that in every district.
PA, OH, MI, WI (and even FL) have now absolute GOP control in state houses (and GOP governor) so they can change the way electoral votes are distributed. Rather than winner takes all, they can be distributed according to congressional districts.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/14/quotes-of-the-day-802/
“Under the Republican plan—which has been endorsed by top GOPers in both houses of the state Legislature, as well as the governor, Tom Corbett—Pennsylvania would change from this system to one where each congressional district gets its own electoral vote…
“[I]f the GOP presidential nominee carries the GOP-leaning districts but Obama carries the state, the GOP nominee would get 12 electoral votes out of Pennsylvania, but Obama would only get eight—six for winning the blue districts, and two (representing the state’s two senators) for winning the state. Since Obama would lose 12 electoral votes relative to the winner-take-all baseline, this would have an effect equivalent to flipping a medium-size winner-take-all state—say, Washington, which has 12 electoral votes—from blue to red.
Democrats would not be able to retaliate..
Thus the full-scale Democratic freak-out about the Pileggi plan. Michigan, Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin are all run by Republicans, Democrats point out, who could ram these plans through if they wanted”
Go for it.
FORTY TOP NJ COUNTY COPS DO THE DOUBLE-DIP: HOW 16 SHERIFFS & 24 UNDERSHERIFFS POCKET MILLIONS IN PENSIONS PLUS SALARIES –
Forty of New Jersey’s top county cops are double-dipping from public coffers, pocketing millions in pension cash on top of their regular salaries.
A New Jersey Watchdog investigation revealed 16 county sheriffs and 24 undersheriffs collect $2.88 million a year in retirement pay, using loopholes all but ignored by Gov. Chris Christie’s pension reforms. (Click here for full details)
Overall, the “County Cops’ Double-Dippers Club” includes sheriffs and undersheriffs from 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties. On average, each rakes in $181,000 a year – $109,000 in salary plus $72,000 in pension. Some simply swap positions – or just switch job titles – to double-dip without leaving the public payroll. And it’s apparently legal.
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura gamed $1.1 million from a state pension fund. At age 47, Fontoura “retired” as undersheriff in 1990 when his title was changed to sheriff’s officer chief. He never left the department or county’s payroll, but has received two sets of checks for the past two decades. Fontoura currently hauls in $200,000 a year – a $62,000 pension and $138,000 salary.
Morris County Undersheriff John F. Dempsey ranks second in the pension millionaires’ club. He ostensibly “retired” from the county prosecutor’s office on Dec. 31, 1992 and “went directly into the Morris County Sheriff’s Office with no break in service,” according to officials. Dempsey draws $63,000 a year from his pension, plus his $128,000 salary. So far, he has cashed $1.02 million in retirement checks while continuing to collect his county pay.
Others police officers retire for awhile, then return to take advantage of the system. Joseph O’Leary retired as Gloucester County undersheriff in September 2006. Four months later, the county rehired O’Leary back as undersheriff, allowing him to get a paycheck on top of his pension. O’Leary now banks $153,000 per year – a $96,000 salary plus his $67,000 pension.
Some double-dipping cops take a quarter-million dollars a year or more from the public till.
In Bergen County, first-year Sheriff Michael Saudino is on the fast track to retirement riches. He collects $268,000 a year – $138,000 in salary plus a $130,000 police pension. The dual checks began on Jan. 1, when he retired as Emerson Borough police chief to take office as newly-elected sheriff.
Three of the undersheriffs hired by Saudino have followed his lead. Collectively, the four Bergen County cops – officially listed as “retired” – receive $405,000 from pensions plus $473,000 in salaries each year.
New Jersey Watchdog found that three-fourths of the county sheriffs in the state are double-dipping, an apparently legal and widespread practice. Those sheriffs – and their annual double-takes, rounded off to the nearest thousand – include:
Passaic Co. Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, $251,000 – $149,000 salary + $102,000 pension
Union Co. Sheriff Ralph Froehlich, $228,000 – $143,000 salary + $85,000 pension
Camden Co. Sheriff Charles J. Billingham, $219,000 – $145,000 salary + $74,000 pension
Mercer Co. Sheriff John A. Kemler, $214,000 – $129,000 salary + $85,000 pension
Warren Co. Sheriff David P. Gallant, $204,000 – $122,000 salary + $82,000 pension
Somerset Co. Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano, $199,000 – $123,000 salary + $76,000 pension
Gloucester Co. Sheriff Carmel M. Morina, $192,000 – $129,000 salary + $63,000 pension
Morris Co. Sheriff Edward V. Rochford, $191,000 – $130,000 salary + $61,000 pension
Hunterdon Co. Sheriff Frederick W. Brown, $189,000 – $107,000 salary + $82,000 pension
Middlesex Co. Sheriff Mildred S. Scott, $188,000 – $127,000 salary + $61,000 pension
Salem Co. Sheriff Charles M. Miller, $183,000 – $107,000 salary + $76,000 pension
Ocean Co. Sheriff William L. Polhemus, $166,000 – $123,000 salary + $43,000 pension
Cape May Co. Sheriff Gary Schaffer, $162,000 – $108,000 salary + $54,000 pension
Cumberland Co. Sheriff Robert Austino, $134,000 – $75,000 salary + $59,000 pension
The list of double-dippers also includes 24 undersheriffs in Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Cumbland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. (Click here for details on all 40 officers)
The system is ripe for abuse, particularly by police. Unlike other governmental workers in New Jersey, participants in police pension plans qualify for “special” retirement after 25 years of service, regardless of age. Those who retire in their 40s or 50s often find ways to wiggle back onto the public payroll, taking advantage of creative strategies, loopholes in laws and complexities in rules.
Gov. Christie’s pension reforms, enacted in June, received plenty of headlines but did little to stop the double-dipping. While the new law increased employee contributions to the retirement funds and limited benefits to rank-and-file workers, it ignored most questionable practices – including one perpetuated by Christie’s own lieutenant governor.
The double-dipping of Michael W. Donovan Jr. – revealed by a New Jersey Watchdog investigative report last year – provides an inside look at how powerful politicians can conspire to cheat pension funds.
As Monmouth County sheriff in 2008, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno hired Donovan as chief in charge of law enforcement. There was an obstacle: Donovan had retired as a county investigator three years earlier. Since a sheriff’s chief officer is a position subject to the rules of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS), Donovan faced the prospect of giving up pension checks by going back to work.
To help Donovan double-dip, Guadagno informed payroll officials Donovan was her chief warrant officer – a similar sounding but completely different position not subject to PFRS rules. In contrast, Guadagno’s own memo and organizational chart identified Donovan as her chief in charge of law enforcement.
With Guadagno’s help, Donovan pocketed $85,000 a year in retirement pay along with his new salary of $87,000. He scammed $245,000 from PFRS – $227,000 in pension pay, plus $18,000 he should have contributed to the pension fund after being re-hired.
Faced with controversy, Sheriff Shaun Golden – Guadagno’s successor – found a way to protect his office and Donovan. In February, Golden gave Donovan a raise and promoted him to undersheriff, a position not subject to PFRS rules. So Donovan continues his double-dipping ways, more lucrative than ever.
Some schemes are enabled by superiors who have already gamed the system for themselves.
Essex County Sheriff Fontoura – unofficial dean of the County Cops’ Double-Dippers Club – pulled the same trick as Guadagno eight years before she did. As first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in March, Fontoura hired John Dough in 2000 using the sheriff’s chief/chief warrant officer ploy.
Thanks to Fontoura, Dough is literally rolling in dough, drawing a $77,500 pension in addition to his $114,000 salary. So far, Dough has reaped more than $900,000 from the retitrement fund.
In response to New Jersey Watchdog’s reports, the state launched a criminal investigation into the alleged pension abuses of Donovan and Dough. But the state is also using the existence of the ongoing probe to block release of certain public records – including oaths of office, job specifications, official orders, rules, regulations and organizational charts.
Investigative reporter Mark Lagerkvist filed a complaint with the Government Records Council in April. The GRC has yet to render a decision in the case.
http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2011/09/14/xxx/
#39 Rion
From experience,I bought at a development that the builder filed for BK.I have friends that almost lost their down payment.Got back 30 cents on the dollar after a 3 year litigation.I am lucky my house was delivered before BK and no problems showed up in the 5years I owned the house..It is always smart to make sure the builder agrees downpayment goes to escrow in case home is not delivered on time you can get your money back.
Another housing problem.
…
Woodpeckers.
Carpenter ants are your problem, not the woodpeckers. They are helping you take care of the problem.
[67] yo’me
Speaking of misleading, the WaPo article on cap gains fails (except in the graph) to distinguish between long term and short term gains.
The distinction is kind of important.
Also, for those decrying the rich and looking at marginal rates as the panacea, consider this passage:
“The 400 richest taxpayers in 2008 counted 60 percent of their income in the form of capital gains and 8 percent from salary and wages. The rest of the country reported 5 percent in capital gains and 72 percent in salary.”
So the uber-rich, like Mr. Buffett, couldn’t care less about Obama’s plans. They don’t sting the uber-rich. Further, by going after only earned income and tax deductions, Obama recognizes the threat of capital flight. In that sense, he is lying, or at least misleading, his suppporters and the american people.
Scab, go ahead and report me to the White House.
Time to buy a home? Will rents going be going up to be just too damm high?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Consumers-paid-more-for-range-apf-87741826.html?x=0
[73] grim
Wondered about that. But the area shows no sign of damage or water infiltration, and carpenter ants like moist wood.
re # 62- My high school phys ed teacher and football coach looked and acted just like Rex Ryan. The man could stuff down a whole pizza is under 30 minutes, and would always have loads of food in his office in the basement of our high school.
He actually had a heart attack and went into “early retirement” one season coaching.
I bought a place once in a development where owner defaulted on loan so big it caused bank to fail as it was their largest loan. I love the smell of a bk early in the morning.
45,
JJ,
Im Gen X. Work less make more. Thats my motto. I see those sad faces waiting at the train and bus station every morning around 6am. They have their coffee, umbrella, newspaper etc. Those folks are wasting their lives away chasing a carrot that gets further and further away.
When my kid was born my Dad said to me, “When you were this age I was working so much overtime the next thing I knew you were in college.”
1. Give up the leased BMW. You arent impressing anyone. Everyone has one.
2. Debt is slavery.
3. Stay mobile
4. No loyalty in todays world. Play accordingly.
5. Work for yourself.
74, comrade “Scab, go ahead and report me to the White House.”
Nice law license you have there, comrade. Shame if anything were to happen to it..
(see AZ State Bar action in yesterday’s thread)
39,
No. If its a housing association the legal fees will be distributed evenly amongst the homeowners. The bills come out of nowhere. Trust me. I’ve lived it. Never again will I live in a housing association.
Government has $10B that needs to be handed out to green economy scams, eh, I mean businessess by the end of this month. What could go wrong?
“The Obama administration is moving to finalize as many as 15 loan guarantees for renewable energy companies before the stimulus program ends on Sept. 30, and Republicans are questioning whether that could lead to more failures like Solyndra Inc., a company that filed for bankruptcy and may leave taxpayers on the hook for a half-billion-dollar loan.”
#75 Juice: Then of course there is the ever rising property taxes. I would like to know where all the real estate cheerleaders have gone. No one I know even talks about it any more. In fact hey avoid it like a plague. And as I said earlier my wife doe not even care any more. No burning desire to run out an buy one.
My property taxes were $5,900 when I looked at my house in 1999. Today they are $8,200 and I just won a greivance effective 2013 that brings them down to $7,900.
So a $2,000 increase from 1999 to 2013. Plus with two kids in public schools and one headed to kindergarten next year, what a bargain.
Then again I am the only one I know who thinks is RE taxes are cheap. But then again I don’t live in a rich blue ribbon town
3b says:
September 15, 2011 at 12:06 pm
#75 Juice: Then of course there is the ever rising property taxes. I would like to know where all the real estate cheerleaders have gone. No one I know even talks about it any more. In fact hey avoid it like a plague. And as I said earlier my wife doe not even care any more. No burning desire to run out an buy one.
Actually I will be loyal to my staff to the grave. You cross me all bets are off. My bosses are same way, I find staff has no loyality
Al Mossberg says:
September 15, 2011 at 11:54 am
45,
JJ,
Im Gen X. Work less make more. Thats my motto. I see those sad faces waiting at the train and bus station every morning around 6am. They have their coffee, umbrella, newspaper etc. Those folks are wasting their lives away chasing a carrot that gets further and further away.
When my kid was born my Dad said to me, “When you were this age I was working so much overtime the next thing I knew you were in college.”
1. Give up the leased BMW. You arent impressing anyone. Everyone has one.
2. Debt is slavery.
3. Stay mobile
4. No loyalty in todays world. Play accordingly.
5. Work for yourself.
Jeff Macke: “……throwing Greece into the sea is like throwing a virgin into a volcano. It doesn’t do anything, except waste a perfectly good virgin.”
As for me, in this market I wouldn’t buy into the problem. So much inventory to choose from and it will all be cheaper as time goes on!
ANY QUESTIONS!
BTW AL, I love going to work. I had a staff member tells me he hates the commute. I told him I LOVE IT, read the WSJ, get a copy of Coffee, check BB, get ready for game day. I am like Mark Sanchez running out of tunnel on opening day when I burst through door at work. Gen X,Y and Milem can’t handle it, IT IS GAME DAY EVERY DAY on WALL STREET .
JJ says:
September 15, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Actually I will be loyal to my staff to the grave. You cross me all bets are off. My bosses are same way, I find staff has no loyality
Problem with this statement is that you are likely not making the larger head-count decisions. I happen to have a fantastic relationship with my boss and feel very loyal to him, but if he got word from the C-Suite that cuts need to be made, you think he will take himself out of work before me? Loyalty in corporate american is foolish.
Re: False Flag Operations
Can someone explain this to me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ACcSkrZD2hM#!
#84 JJ Taxes in my town have increased over 60% in the last seven years. You will not find a house in my town with $7,900 a year property taxes; simple as that.
A Greek virgin is not much of a virgin, my friend Stacy said the Greek version is she does it all except the cherry. Personally, I would not want a girl who 20 guys have done the nasty back there even if she is a virgin. But hey I am not greek.
chicagofinance says:
September 15, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Jeff Macke: “……throwing Greece into the sea is like throwing a virgin into a volcano. It doesn’t do anything, except waste a perfectly good virgin.”
grim [73],
Are carpenter ants employed because of the stimulus program? :o
#84 JJ
That is not bad considering house value still double the price in 99
My property taxes went from $5300 to $9100 in 10 years.
My property taxes went from 4500 to almost 7000 in 2 years. Back down to 4500 after appeal.
RE Colts Neck pre-K…..I pay $3700 for 5 days 2.5 hours.
Neighbors down the street who is much welathier had kid qualified for an IEP, so he not only gets to be in my son’s class, and an afternoon class, but he gets 2.5 hours in the middle of the day of training and lunch. So 5 days full-time and lunch for ZIPPO cost….also, to add insult to injury, we live too close to the school so we get no busing, but the other kid does, and he waves from the school bus every morning as he rides by as a nice little HA HA SUCKAS spit in the face! he is a nice kid though…..
It’s more wag-the-dog stuff, but this article is the first one I have seen that shows how tax experts can game the Obama payroll tax cut proposal.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/how-payroll-tax-cuts-can-create-jobs/?ref=business
Not that tax experts would recommend that sort of thing. Nope, nothing to see here. Move along.
#97 chicago – My twin sons have IEP’s. Got free pre-k too. I would have traded their disability for paid pre-k anytime.
Count you blessings!
[97] chifi
An IEP for a pre-K student??????????
I had an IEP from first grade to sixth grade. Nuns used sharp edge of ruler on me and wooden pointer across shins then called Dad to make sure he used Belt, always instructed him if it was a pants up or down and buckle or no buckle side infraction. Got all three one day, the IEP is very effective
Houses are double 99 prices? you got some good crack in that pipe you are smoking.
yo’me says:
September 15, 2011 at 12:26 pm
#84 JJ
That is not bad considering house value still double the price in 99
JJ,
Sanchez sucks at what he does. He’s mediocre at best. I would expect something like Mariano Rivera from you, or are you more worries about GQ then actual performance.
Performance off the field and on the field count.
make money says:
September 15, 2011 at 1:03 pm
JJ,
Sanchez sucks at what he does. He’s mediocre at best. I would expect something like Mariano Rivera from you, or are you more worries about GQ then actual performance.
Humm hearing rumors of European Bank runs and I am not talking about somebody’s Greek Aunt and her checking and savings accounts.
http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/datasets/bank-exposure-to-greece/versions/1
A greek bank run would be funny. I hear they only accept deposits in the rear so I wonder where you make the withdrawls?
#95 gary Yeah, but look at all you have got for that money!!!!
3b [107],
My town hasn’t had a f*cking Unicorn sighting in 35 years.
Wonder what kind of Cash for Trash program they have thought up now. The Dodd-Frank Law narrowed the Fed’s emergency lending authority and subjects this lending to greater scrutiny.
I bet the new cash for trash will be the Swiss Borrowing Dollars from Fed with Francs they print up, the then do a cash for trash program with the European Banks.
This end around of the Dodd Frank Law should at least get Bergabe the Firing Squad.
Dodd gets like 40K for a one hour speech
make money says:
September 15, 2011 at 1:03 pm
JJ, Sanchez sucks at what he does. He’s mediocre at best. I would expect something like Mariano Rivera from you, or are you more worries about GQ then actual performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJshw2Axsqc
Shore,
Andrew Jackson, (7th US President, when forcing the closure of the Second Bank of the US in 1836 by revoking its charter)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/General_Jackson_Slaying_the_Many_Headed_Monster_crop.jpg
Unfortunately more energy (a la thorium) doesn’t solve the underlying social demons we are facing and will only exacerbate the situation if we dont lay our demons to rest first. We must first collectively comprehend the exponential function.
“The greatest failure of the human species is its inability to understand the exponential function.” – Albert Allen Bartlett
My town hasn’t had a f*cking Unicorn sighting in 35 years.
Not true, they recently saw one near the high school … but thugs scared it away by throwing rocks and bottles. Locals say it ran up Van Houten and hid in the safe haven of the Hovnanian development. You know, they say Ara saw the Virgin Mary in the mist from the waterfall one morning.
grim [113],
safe haven of the Hovnanian development
Isn’t that an oxymoron? :)
Not to unicorns it isn’t. You know they need a steady diet of mortgage documents to survive. Helocs are like clover to them. They also seem to prefer the water from the Hackensack and Saddle Rivers.
66-
Nom… wouldn’t “fraud” be applicable?
I thought they chased them into “The Gates of He1L” or did Hov buy that for redevelopment?
Didn’t the gates of hell become the Cambridge crossings clusterfunk?
#08 Maybe we can introduce them into a new habitat? But they are very,very picky. They will not move into just any town.
JJ I thought Frank was the Gay prositute. Who knew being fat white stupid and elected could pay so well?
Grim speaking of the saddle river I just got fun pictures of Lodi during Irene. Only main street unfortunately did not take the whole town. Shoot me an email if you would like to see
We had a blackout the other night. But the cops made him get back into his car and go home.
Maybe I will start raising Unicorns, now that my last kid is in college, and my spouse is apathetic about buying. Maybe I will go to BOE meetings and Mayor & Council meetings and be a gadfly. Who knows!!!
Jase Rion [43];
well, lawsuit is for improper installation of windows, which now causes water damage. not all units is affected (certainly not 1 i’m interested in).
What makes you think the illegal immigrant day laborers weren’t drunk when they installed your unit’s windows? Personally, I’d pass.
JJ [7];
KHOV recently broke ground adjacent a property I’m interested in. I was wondering how much it was worth to me to have to live with construction headaches for the next 5-7 years. Now it sounds like I’d have to live with a half-built eyesore in BK.
Prtraders2000, why are two working lawyers living in Elizabeth (median household income $41,000)? Seems crazy. Kids would no doubt benefit from attending preschool elsewhere, too.
Nom [100];
An IEP for a pre-K student??????????
School district-based special ed. starts at age 3, just like most pre-schools do. Plenty of system-gaming going on, esp. from those who can afford not to, but like 30-yr I’ll take the bill over the Dx.
Grim, did your new basement drainage system survive the storm?
Is living in a city with a median household income below your own beneath you? And hey, they pay big bucks for that kind of “diversity” in the yuppy towns (i.e. Montclair)!
Double Down says:
September 15, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Prtraders2000, why are two working lawyers living in Elizabeth (median household income $41,000)? Seems crazy. Kids would no doubt benefit from attending preschool elsewhere, too.
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more.
Therefore 50% of town earns more than median income so not unusual someone lives there who makes above the median income.
The average lawyer is not well paid, maybe 100K each. Almost qualifies as poverty.
Eastwick Pioneer says:
September 15, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Is living in a city with a median household income below your own beneath you? And hey, they pay big bucks for that kind of “diversity” in the yuppy towns (i.e. Montclair)!
Double Down says:
September 15, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Prtraders2000, why are two working lawyers living in Elizabeth (median household income $41,000)? Seems crazy. Kids would no doubt benefit from attending preschool elsewhere, too.
“Is living in a city with a median household income below your own beneath you?”
It doesn’t make sense to me that two well-to-do people would throw their kids into a school district with a 44% graduation rate when they can easily afford much better.
Everyone has different priorities, however.
Does to me, makes perfect sense. My sister in law lives in a horrid school district. Metal detectors, drug dealers etc. Her three kids were AP classes whole way, segregaged from bad kids and treated like rock stars. those schools need to get scores up and teachers and principal will kiss the butt on a good parent with smart kids, come college time schools love recruiting from poor schools plus you get a higher GPA, my niece who graduate with a 106 GPA from that type of school could go to any IVY, if she was in a good HS she would be just an average joe.
Double Down says:
September 15, 2011 at 3:53 pm
“Is living in a city with a median household income below your own beneath you?”
It doesn’t make sense to me that two well-to-do people would throw their kids into a school district with a 44% graduation rate when they can easily afford much better.
Everyone has different priorities, however.
Nom (100) – In NJ up to age 3 a disabled child gets services from Early Intervention. At age 3 the child is transitioned from EI to the local school district for PreK. Hence the IEP. From age 3 forward the school district provides the seervices which the child qualifies for.
126
One grew up in Elizabeth attended public schools and graduated from an Ivy league university. So they have a higher opinion of E-town than most. Not to mention they are super savers and like the fact they can put huge chunks of money away every year. Bought 2nd home in Elizabeth last year and it’s paid off. Kids don’t seem to care. Honestly, their immediate area isn’t bad at all.
Makes perfect sense to me. Two new lawyers taking advantage of 3 years of free childcare & cheap rent to repay their student loans before making the move to the burbs to keep up with the Joneses.
I’m not saying Elizabeth is the best city in NJ to raise a family in….but dude, it’s pre-school. The 3 year olds in Elizabeth learn the same shapes, colors and letters that the kids in hoity poity suburbs learn, except for free.
P.S. Plus they’ll have some street cred once they start school in the burbs!
Double Down says:
September 15, 2011 at 3:53 pm
“Is living in a city with a median household income below your own beneath you?”
It doesn’t make sense to me that two well-to-do people would throw their kids into a school district with a 44% graduation rate when they can easily afford much better.
Everyone has different priorities, however.
I’d guess they’re either in the (Elmora) Hills or North Elizabeth.
I’m in a similar position. In my late 20s. Born & raised in Elizabeth. Make decent money working on Wall Street and am a big saver. Zero debt except car loan (Wrangler, not BMW). Have a rental property in town that has been cash flow positive from day one, and planning to pick up another one next year.
I rather enjoy the reaction I get from people when they find out I still live in Elizabeth. They either raise their nose in disgust, or try to match my street cred with their own hometown stories. And the ones who raise their noses are usually the ones with the leased BMWs, massive debt, low savings, etc.
prtraders2000 says:
September 15, 2011 at 4:31 pm
126
One grew up in Elizabeth attended public schools and graduated from an Ivy league university. So they have a higher opinion of E-town than most. Not to mention they are super savers and like the fact they can put huge chunks of money away every year. Bought 2nd home in Elizabeth last year and it’s paid off. Kids don’t seem to care. Honestly, their immediate area isn’t bad at all.
#35 to keep up with the Joneses.
Except the jones’s are not keeping up, they are falling further behind.
One can argue back and forth about the schools, but when one compares the so called blue ribbon towns with the non blue ribbon towns, the kids are all going to the same colleges. Unless you are in the inner city, etc. there is no real difference between the school systems
3b the difference between blue ribbon and not so blue ribbon is most likely due to the quality of the students and their parents driving them to succeed. Newark schools have greater resources per student than any suburban school and still are horrible, there are probably many reasons for this but the primary ones are students and parents that don’t care.
Hey all, need avice on a roofing job. I had my 80 year old roof stripped to the rafters replaced last week. Roof had 3 layers in some sections. Roofer is claiming that because of the overhang at the gutter edge caused by 3 layers (ie one layer overhangs other by an inch, next by another inch), the shingle line at the gutter now comes up short in areas. Roofer claims that current clips can’t be adjusted enough. He can redo all the gutters for $2,800 additional. Is it normal for this to occur? Does a roofing job normally include gutter maintenance? Since his estimate was $2k less than the other estimate I got, the cynic in me assumes this was a bait and switch. He knew the add-on work would be required. Should he have at least pointed out the problem before the estimate was submitted and signed?
JJ [132];
Wait till you see who the daughter brings home to meet the folks and she tells them what she’s got cooking. It isn’t all about the classroom.
Goon [140];
Conversation goes like this: “I think you’re trying to screw me, but to keep my life simple I’ll pay you $500 for the “extra” (with finger air quotes) work. But if I have to pay $2,800 anyway, I’ll just as soon pay it to someone else.”
139. Pre-natal drug use and nutrition are a factor. Genes are a bitch. Yo.
135. I’ve never leased (rented) a car in my life. I buy em used every single time. Sell em about the time they start to rattle. Either make $ or break even. Every single time.
As for neighborhoods, I would rather have my eyes plucked from my skull than live with the East Coast wannabes. They are pathetic soft headed morons. Perhaps the most uncool people in the entire world.
AG, I’m looking to purchase a used boat up to 22 ft. Any guidance you can provide will be appreciated. Good makes and the stuff to stay away from.
Geithner to discuss leveraging EU bailout fund
Timmy is trying to get Europe to adopt the US Pixie Dust Finance approach.
jj (110)-
I would gladly pay a hit man 40K to whack Chris Dodd.
“Dodd gets like 40K for a one hour speech.”
sx (143)-
My mom drank whiskey and smoked two packs of Salem Longs a day when she was pregnant with me. And I’m ok. Really. Except for my hair-trigger temper, voices in my head and desire to kill when I’m feeling a little stressed.
“Pre-natal drug use and nutrition are a factor. Genes are a bitch. Yo.”
147
That’s a murder threat or incitment to murder. I think fbi needs to detain this nutcase.
Serious mental problems obviously.
Nje,
I can’t post at the moment. Remind me and I can share some thoughts sometime this weekend. In the meantime, if you find something you like, spring for a survey including a sea survey.
Grim,
Here is a topic for Friday:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/15/tent.city.new.jersey/
Perhaps everyone can get a tax credit for “going down the shore”…
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‘Jersey Shore’ tax credit approved; NJ taxpayers angry they’re paying for Snooki, The Situation
BY Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, September 15th 2011, 1:57 PM
‘Jersey Shore’ stars Snooki and The Situation are costing New Jersey taxpayers money.
It’s a situation sure to irk New Jersey taxpayers.
The state Economic Development Authority has approved covering a $420,000 tax credit for production costs from the “Jersey Shore’s” first season.
That means tax dollars will be used to offset the cost of all the club hopping, fist-pumping and fake tanning from the hit reality show’s 2009 season.
The irony that New Jersey residents will be forced to foot the bill for a show that many view as an affront to the state’s self-image is not lost on some.
“I can’t believe we are paying for fake tanning for ‘Snooki’ and ‘The Situation’, and I am not even sure $420,000 covers that,” Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
Gov. Chris Christie’s office said, while Christie doesn’t like the show and opposed the tax credit, he has no control over the authority’s decision.
The show centers on the cast living it up along the beach and boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Seaside Heights Mayor P. Kenneth Hershey said he was in favor of the tax credit because the production’s presence in town gives a big boost to the local economy.
[116] joyce,
Sure. There are many fraud statutes. So long as you can argue that there is proof to show (1) a scheme to defraud or obtain money or property by fraudulent pretenses; (2) intent; (3) the making of materially false representations; and (4) any other conditions of the statute in question, then you can make out a fraud case.
Being sloppy, or being unlucky, is not fraud. That isn’t to say that there isn’t any, and there have been prosecutions. But I find that the left wants to prosecute first, and think up some charges later.
jamil (149)-
Silly boy…I’d only pay the hitman in Confederate dollars.
I’m at least as sane as Bergabe. Moreover, I’m a helluva lot smarter and I still have a full head of hair.
gl (152)-
Somebody please re-read this, and construct a logical case as to why we shouldn’t immediately arrest and summarily execute anyone deriving income from state gubmint in NJ.
Folks, if you don’t by now understand that the gubmint has declared war on you, you deserve whatever is coming next. And what’s coming next ain’t gonna be too pleasant.
148. I think “crack” is a whole different ball of wax. Sure lots of kids were born a little underweight and slightly hung over from the ol’ skool stuff. But these new chemicals are a BEATCH.
Actually, this might be my last post here. Thanks for the insights and the laughs! I have always taken comfort in these words:
“My judgment and wrath are reserved for those filled with judgment and wrath. Measure for measure. Those filled with loving-kindness, empathy, compassion, understanding and forgiveness, those who withhold judgment, will be judged with the same eye used by a mother judge to her son, for they are my children. Those filled with judgment, selfishness, self-centeredness, egocentricity anger and hatred will be judged by Creator of the universe who gave them life. No human is without sin. No human can bear my judgment and live. Not through righteousness will you be saved. Only through loving kindness, good deeds, and a benevolent eye during your life will your soul survive My judgement. By the same measure you judge others, so shall you be judged. Only I see what is in the human heart. Only I know the weight of the yoke I placed on their shoulders. A man with weak legs who takes a single step with the weight of the world on their shoulders is more beloved to Me than the man who runs like the wind whose yoke is feather light. Those who believe in My loving kindness and forgiveness will experience My loving kindness and forgiveness. To man’s detriment, the Creator he imagines is the Creator he will get. My face is a pond. When an angry human looks into a pond he sees an angry face. When a kind human looks into a bond he sees a kind face. The face I will show to you on judgment day will be the face you show to the weakest, most despised among you.If you recognize My unity you will feel my presence in all of creation, and have mercy on every human and every creature. You cannot despise one of my creatures without despising Me “
145.
Escapee,
Buy used. Boats depreciate faster than a house in NJ. The key to buying your first boat is figuring out how much you are going to use it vs cost. You will use it a lot the first year then less after the novelty wears off. This is especially true for big boats that are costly to run and maintain.
Since you are wisely starting with a small boat you have to ask yourself what are you going to use it for. If its fishing then center consoles are the way to go. If you want to do a bit of cruising and fishing then a walkaround cuddy might be the way to go. If its cruising only then you will probably want to get a bigger boat or go with a small bow rider. I imagine you are talking strictly power boats not sail boats.
Most important thing is make sure you have a polyethylene fuel tank. The ethanol in the gas eats through the aluminum tanks and causes boat fires. Bayliners are cheap for a reason. They use garbage parts. I also recommend a marine survey prior to buying. 400 bucks and they will inspect the boat from head to toe and check the compression in the cylinders of your engine. This is for safety not cost savings. I would rather get ripped off on the sales price then to encounter a serious problem that I was unaware of when out in the ocean.
There are tons of boat manufacturers. Stay away from Bayliners. Boston Whalers are arguably the best but come at a huge premium.
1. Buy used
2. Get a marine survery
3. I prefer outboards over I/O’s
4. Polyethylene fuel tank
5. Check your local water depth. Stay away from catamarans if your water is real shallow. I love the catamarans but there draft is too deep for the shallow spots on the Barnegat Bay.
Très bon site ! Je le trouve très vivant, bien pensé ,merci pour vos partage.
Bonjour ;
il est sympa ; votre site ! Beaucoup de choses à voir et à savoir… je le mets dans mes favoris, et je reviendrais sûrement.
How do you do? I simply love your breathtaking write-up and pls keep it up
Do you have a Facebook page or Twitter? Would love to follow you there, I’m on my iPhone and love reading your stuff!