PSE&G’s Customer Service Centers around the state are hosting the League of Women Voters during the next few weeks in a program to help customers register to vote in New Jersey.
Volunteers will distribute Voter Registration Forms and Absentee Ballot Application forms in English and Spanish. They will be available to assist customers in filling out the forms and will answer questions about:
– Election dates and locations of polling places.
– Deadlines for registering prior to an election.
– Procedures to apply for absentee ballots by mail or in person.
– Deadlines to change party affiliation.
– Circumstances under which a person might have to re-register.
– Where information about candidates may be obtained.

“Our Customer Service Centers, centrally located in cities within our service territory, serve thousands of customers each month, and so we are perfectly positioned to act as a resource center for our communities,” said Vaughn McKoy, PSE&G Director of Customer Service and Community Relations. “We are happy to work with the New Jersey League of Women Voters and to encourage people to take part in the voting process.” [Read more →]

It’s no secret that we as Americans are tightening our belts. But before you lose your mind, sell all your possessions and move to the woods, here are easy ways to cut costs and save every month-without ever leaving the house.

1. Become Your Own Barista. If your morning routine includes a $4 trip to grab premium java, you’re spending $120 a month—or $1,400 a year! And that’s not counting the bagel or scone. These days, many high-quality espresso machines can be had for under $300. Just add grounds and you’re saving a big chunk of change… or beans.

2. Unsure About Insurance? Then maybe it’s time to compare quotes and save. Log on to a comparison site like Insurance.com or InsWeb.com, which aggregates quotes from several companies. Rates often change based on age or marital status-and simply browsing competing offers could save hundreds a year. [Read more →]

From the Governor’s Office:

Mount Laurel - Governor Jon S. Corzine today signed landmark legislation that will reform affordable housing laws in New Jersey and increase housing opportunities for low and middle income families throughout the state. 

“Through these measures, we are ending decades of unfair, unbalanced, and insufficient provision of affordable housing in New Jersey ,” said Governor Corzine. “The fact is, this legislation holds much promise for the thousands of New Jerseyans who want to stay in their hometown—to work there and raise their families there—but simply can’t afford to live there. This bill lays the groundwork for us to reach our ultimate goal of ensuring that housing is available to all New Jerseyans, which ultimately will enhance the quality of life for everyone in this state.

“I also want to recognize the courage and persistence of our legislative leaders, especially Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, for being at the forefront of this issue and standing up for people who need affordable housing in New Jersey .” [Read more →]

Today, will be a historic day for the city of Paterson and the whole State of New Jersey.   Today, Governor Corzine will sign into law a change to the Fair Housing Act of 1985 abolishing RCAs or Regional Contribution Agreements.  So what are RCAs and why is this good?

Regional Contribution Agreements “have allowed wealthy municipalities to pay poor municipalities to accept their affordable housing obligation. This law helped perpetuate segregation and increased the concentration of poverty in our inner-cities.”  This is the way it worked:  A cash strapped city like Paterson would receive money from lets say Wayne to build low income housing for them; then Paterson would also take money various other municipalities creating a pool of folks of low resources.

This would and has increase the concentration of poverty in the city of Paterson and other urban cities in New Jersey.  Concentrating poverty in one area has never worked - which is the reason why housing projects are being knock-down all over the country. More>>

Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders thanked Scout Tony Figueroa of Hawthorne for his Eagle Scout project of building 11 new picnic tables for Rifle Camp Park.

Tony Figueroa, of Troop 85, organized and planned the project by arranging for donations of money and materials for the tables. He also demonstrated his leadership qualities by supervising the volunteers who helped build the tables.

He was assisted by Philip Conroy, naturalist for the Passaic County Parks Department, who is stationed in the Nature Center in Rifle Camp Park.

He was recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Freeholder Board.

Click on the image to enlarge.

“See, Barack [has] been talking down to black people . . . I wanna cut his nuts out” Reverend Jessie Jackson

It has been said that God takes care of babies and fools. As Reverend Jessie Jackson is not a baby, as a critical thinker, I’m sure you can figure out the rest. His remarks on a “hot mike” are even too much for this critical thinker to grasp. Once again we have evidence of what I shared with you in a previous edition of THE CRITICAL THINKER (see What Is It About The Truth http://thereadingcircleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-is-it-about-truth.html) concerning hard truth being spoken by an African American man about the plight of African Americans and the need for us to take responsibility for ourselves and another African American man standing around blaming the “white man” for all of our ills. Now don’t get me wrong, this piece is not in defense of “da man,” it is in defense of African Americans who have awakened and become conscious enough to understand and speak out concerning what is needed for African Americans (or any race for that matter) to move ahead. Just as when Bill Cosby offered his views and was criticized and ostracized, here goes Jessie Jackson of all people looking to castrate a brother for telling it like it is for us (African Americans) to move forward.

Obama speaks the truth with his urging greater emphasis on fatherhood, and his telling of students to stick with school and forget about careers as rap stars or pro basketball players. The drop out rate statistics that Senator Obama quoted were correct. The single family home statistics were correct. The call for African American men and women to be responsible for their choices and actions was also correct. It is for these reasons that I cannot understand what in the world Reverend Jessie Jackson was referring to when he says Barack is talking down to black people. What black people is he referring too? I have heard Senator Obama on several occasions and have yet to feel that I was talked down to. If anything, I am inspired by his eloquence, word mastery and public speaking skills. [Read more →]

The Paterson Fire Departmet is using funds to upgrade their generators.  This upgrade will allow them to use solar power in the future.  More>>

How many times have you heard this one: “Abbott districts serve less than a quarter of the state’s students so they shouldn’t get 50% of all state school aid.”

People who toss this myth around seem to think taxpayers should only pay for schools in their own communities. But school funding hasn’t worked that way in New Jersey for decades, nor should it now.

Public education in the Garden State is paid for by a combination of revenue collected from municipal property taxes and from state taxes, especially sales and income taxes. As a result, every taxpayer – urban, suburban, rural — helps pay for the public school in their hometown, as well as schools in other communities.

And under our State school funding formula, the “local share” of the education budget from property taxes is determined by a district’s property wealth and resident income. The “state share” from state taxes makes up the difference so that all school districts can properly educate their students. As a result, wealthier districts pay more in local property taxes because property values and incomes are so much higher, and receive less in state aid, than poorer districts. [Read more →]

To The Editor:

It is difficult to explain to your child why he or she has to go down four flights of stairs just to use the restroom at school, or have class in the hallway everyday. Even more troubling is helping your child rationalize how he or she can eat their lunch in only ten minutes and then proceed immediately to recess, because there are several more shifts of children that have to be served in the limited space and the limited time provided.

For parents in school districts throughout the State, however,  this is a daily reality; justifying why an edifice that pre-dates the presidency of Chester A. Arthur has not been demolished and rebuilt to reflect the contemporary needs of today’s students.

Since 1973, The New Jersey State Supreme Court has made it clear that capital expenditures are indeed inclusive in the “thorough and efficient education” clause of the New Jersey State Constitution, and therefore incumbent upon the State Legislature to fund.

Several subsequent rulings have emboldened this precedent, including a consortium of “Abbott” decisions that unequivocally mandated the State to fund educational facilities in the State. [Read more →]