Sunday, December 30, 2012
U.S. needs a genuine third party to deal with this and other issues.
Looking back from this point, the last year seems to have been filled with misery and grief: the Newtown mass shooting that killed 20 children, Superstorm Sandy and the devastation she brought, the Aurora theater shooting. Locally, there have teen suicides that touched several communities. Longtime businesses have shut their doors or announced their closings. Many in red Northwest Jersey probably viewed the re-election of President Barack Obama as bad news, as well. So perhaps it is appropriate that the nation spends the last hours of 2012 teetering on the edge of the so-called "fiscal cliff." Part of what led us to the cliff was well-intentioned: A bill designed to reduce the federal deficit. The other main problem was beneficial to …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Is murder of 26 people, most of them children, enough to make Washington take notice?
Bullet-proof glass in every window. Armed guards monitoring X-ray machines at the sole entrance. Snipers on the rooftop keeping watch over the playground. Is this the future of elementary schools in New Jersey and the nation? It’s hard to imagine everything school officials would have to do to make children completely safe, after the horrific slaughter Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. There is one thing that this nation must do: Congress must pass and the president must sign laws putting much greater controls on guns, preferably to include an Australia-style firearms buy back. Information about the senseless murder of 20 first-graders and six staff members at the school is still incomplete, with new details seeming …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
NJ needs to adopt rules to ensure everyone can vote more easily if another disaster hits.
All the ballots have finally been counted in New Jersey. Once they are certified by the state canvassers on Friday, New Jersey can finally close the book on this difficult election. Or can it? The constitutional litigation clinic of Rutgers Newark Law School is poking into the votes, asking for information about the processing of special balloting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno ordered to help those displaced by Superstorm Sandy. Remember, thousands were homeless, either literally because their houses were destroyed or left uninhabitable, or by choice because they had left cold, dark buildings to stay with family or friends or at a hotel. Even some polling places were without power and so had to be moved. Guadagno ordered the …
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Politicians have to make tough—perhaps expensive—decisions and need to start taking action.
It’s been three weeks since Superstorm Sandy blew through New Jersey, and past time to begin figuring out how to minimize losses the next time. Some solutions involve building; some, doing the opposite. Just as the attacks of Sept. 11 brought talk of rebuilding, there have been vows to restore the shore back to Oct. 28, 2012, as if nothing had happened. That would be a huge and costly mistake. It is not politically correct to say that at least some of what was destroyed should not be rebuilt. But it’s the truth. Barrier islands are aptly named. They are supposed to serve as barriers for the shoreline. When a major storm like Sandy or Irene hits, they will take the brunt of it and provide some measure of protection for the mainland. They …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Letter to the editor
- OPINION
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. This year, approximately 160,340 Americans are expected to die from lung cancer, accounting for 28 percent of all cancer deaths. That is why there is an entire month dedicated to this disease, raising awareness and increasing research to help put an end to it. People like to think that lung cancer is a self-inflicted disease from smoking; the truth is that radon, secondhand smoke, and air pollution all can cause lung cancer. The American Lung Association encourages everyone to help stomp out the stigma of lung cancer and create awareness around the disease. The American Lung Association launched a new online resource at www.MyLungCancerSupport.org designed to guide and support those living with …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Letter to the editor
- OPINION
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Monday, November 12, 2012
Watchung Borough Government began operations for Sandy on Sunday, Oct. 28, when Emergency Management Coordinator Gary Greves opened up the OEM ( Office of Emergency Management ) Command Center. Mayor Jerry Mobus, Gary and the Borough professional team were at first concerned with potentially serious flooding issues so the lakes were lowered in preparation for this event. When Sandy arrived the destructive high winds were the most serious concern as heavy rains did not really materialize. Watchung has many participants on the emergency management team and a summary of their actions during the emergency follows: 1. Emergency Management Coordinator Gary Greves is in charge during any emergency in accordance with Federal and State law. Gary …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
With week-long (or more) power outages two years in a row, residents want to know how to change the way outages are handled.
Hurricane Irene, October snowstorm...Hurricane Sandy and now the "Snow'easter." All of these storms in just the last 14 months left hundreds or thousands of residents in the cold and the dark for a week or more. What's going on? Weather may be unpredictable, but power outages don't seem like they should have to be. Many residents are feeling fed up, and demand change. It's hard to know the best way to pressure the utility companies into being more aggressive in either planning for such emergencies or in repairing their systems more quickly. At some point, we'll be past this outage—but we should have a plan for how we will endeavor to make sure such outage never happen again. Tell us what you think will be the best way to effect change in …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Letter to the editor
- OPINION
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Monday, November 5, 2012
My running mate, Ken Herrmann and I, Pat Boccio are proud of our record of service to Green Brook. We ask for the support of Green Brook’s residents to allow us to continue our over 18-years of combined service to the community. The following are some of the efforts we supported to help keep Green Brook the great community we both love: BOCCIO & HERRMANN 15-POINT TAX SAVINGS & STABILIZATION PLAN 10. We support sales of township properties when appropriate, generating revenue and increasing the number of taxable properties. 11. We support the use of seasonal employees to augment permanent DWP staff when needed. 12. We support annual efforts to apply for state and county grants which amounted to more than $400,000 in 2012 alone. 13. …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Be sure to cast your vote as an unprecedented NJ election unfolds following historic storm.
There is an election on Tuesday. Who cares? Everyone should care. It's the big presidential balloting, comes around only once every four years. There's one U.S. Senate and all House seats up. Two statewide ballot questions. Three state Assembly seats, including one in District 26 that covers Parsippany and other parts of Morris County. County freeholders. mayors and council members. And, for the first time in a November, school board members—the majority of districts throughout the state pushed their school elections to November to eliminate the public vote on the budget. All of this is central to our democracy. And everyone should get out and vote. But it's the last thing on the minds of many people, and who can blame them. They're still …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
It's not even Halloween yet and some stores are already putting up Christmas decorations. Is it too soon to deck the halls or are you ready for the 2012 Holiday Season to begin?
It's an annual question for merchants and shoppers: How soon is too soon to deck the malls and shopping centers for the Christmas holiday season? Some stores have already begun the process. Christmas music, decorations and layaway ads can already been seen in the shopping aisle at local stores. Halloween decorations still dominate, but signs of Christmas are already creeping in. So what do you think? When is too early for the Christmas shopping season to begin? Do the decorations and Christmas ads entice you to buy early or make you grit your teeth and wish for more time before the holiday rush begins?
Dan Grant
4:34 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Hookerman, Edward is just in his own little bubble and the fact that the Constitution was written and ratified to "Form a More Perfect Union" is a concept he can't grasp. more ›