Tuesday, August 05, 2008
City's 'National Night Out' promotion. Grade: Incomplete.
Screenshot of city's online calendar today. Lack of right-hand arrow
means there is no August calendar online.
means there is no August calendar online.
Here's the challenge: You want 50,000 Plainfielders to know you are celebrating National Night Out's 25th anniversary on the first Tuesday in August so they can come out and participate.
In previous years, there have been stories in the newspapers, banners over the street, and a big push in the community to come out, join in and 'give crime a going-away party' as the slogan used to go.
So, what's the communication plan for 2008?
Seems like it's 'tell people as little as possible'.
The banner stretching all the way across Front Street near Watchung Avenue only has the date, no other information. Same for the banner staked into the ground at the corner of Front and Park.
The city's website calendar doesn't even have August events up yet, as you can see from the illustration above. (Were they caught by surprise that there was another month after 'July'?)
Maybe there's a press release. Nope, the last press release on the website is dated July 10 (road repairs) and before that June 13 (firefighter valor awards).
Thankfully, Monday's Courier has a mention of today's programming: Tonight, 5:30 PM, in front of City Hall. Surprisingly, readers learned that this past weekend's Bike Rodeo was also part of the observance, as was a 'Church Community Day' on Sunday. Who knew?
We also learn that events will be held in Wards 2 and 4 on Wednesday, and Wards 1 and 3 on Thursday. The events, times, and locations are unspecified. Better get out your Ouija board.
What a contrast to the School District, which I will take a look at tomorrow.
If there were an award for 'City With Poorest Communications', Plainfield would definitely be in the running.
-- Dan Damon
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Monday, August 04, 2008
Taste of the Plainfields: Casino Night helps rebuild Library's Children's Room
Plainfielders can help the Library rebuild it's Children's Room while enjoying live music by Nat Adderley Jr., tastings of Plainfield food specialties and a casino room, all this Friday evening at the Library.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the event will bring together residents, friends of the library, local businesses and anyone looking for a good time which will benefit a good cause.
MUSICIncluding a 50-50, this is going to be the event of the summer.
Nat Adderley Jr., music director and keyboardist for the late Luther Vandross, will fill the evening with the sounds of live jazz.
FOOD
Sample the tastes of the Plainfields, highlighted by cookoffs between such local favorites as Cousins vs. Elma's Kitchen, Blackberry's vs. Indigo, Jay's Sweet Cakes vs. Taste of Rubies, and Livay Goodies vs. Sweet Lew's. Plus Freshwaters, Giovanna's, 5 Chefs Indian Cuisine and many more.
CASINO
For those who want to try their hand against Lady Fortune, the Casino Room will offer a Texas Hold'em poker tournament, three Blackjack tables, and Roulette and Craps tables.
Don't miss it. Tickets are $40/person and can be bought at the door or in advance (see ticket locations here).
The Plainfield Public Library is at 8th Street and Park Avenue, with ample parking in its two lots and on College Place.
For more information or to reserve tickets, call Robert K. Graham at (908) 756-2300 or visit the Taste of the Plainfields website.
-- Dan Damon
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Sunday, August 03, 2008
Why isn't Mayor Robinson-Briggs against illegal guns?
Though you do not read about it in the papers and certainly not on the city's website, guns are still a problem in Plainfield, particularly among teens, I am told by several cops.
So, why isn't the mayor against illegal handguns?
The issue of handguns is coming back into focus now that Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham of Jersey City is being joined by mayors Cory Booker of Newark and Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City to push for passage of a bill restricting the purchase of guns in New Jersey (see stories here and here).
What is being proposed is a statewide law restricting the purchase of handguns to one per month. The three argue that the legislation -- twice passed by the Assembly but never brought to a vote in the Senate -- is a necessary part of a multi-pronged effort to combat the proliferation of illegal handguns, especially among teens in the state's cities.
New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has organized a nationwide coalition of mayors to lobby for measures to reduce the availability of illegal guns. Known as Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the coalition now has 325 mayors signed on, including 46 in New Jersey.
But not Mayor Robinson-Briggs. Wouldn't you think we'd want to be against illegal handguns and in favor reducing their availability?
Here is a list of New Jersey mayors belonging to the coalition (it's online here) --
- Asbury Park, Mayor Kevin G. Sanders
- Bayonne, Mayor Joseph V. Doria Jr.
- Berkeley Township, Mayor Jason J. Varano
- Camden, Mayor Gwendolyn Faison
- Closter, Mayor Sophie Heymann
- Corbin City, Mayor Carol Foster
- Demarest, Mayor James Carroll
- East Newark, Mayor Joseph R. Smith
- East Orange, Mayor Robert L. Bowser
- Edison, Mayor Jun Choi
- Elizabeth, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage
- Fair Lawn, Mayor Steven Weinstein
- Guttenberg, Mayor David Delle Donna
- Hamilton, Mayor John Bencivengo
- Hazlet, Mayor James C. DiNardo
- Highland Park, Mayor Meryl Frank
- Irvington, Mayor Wayne Smith
- Jersey City, Mayor Jerramiah Healy
- Little Falls, Mayor Eugene Kulick
- Logan Township, Mayor Frank W. Minor
- Longport, Mayor John Stroebele
- Lower Township, Mayor Walt Craig
- Manchester Township, Mayor Michael Fressola
- Merchantville, Mayor Frank M. North
- Milford, Mayor James A. Gallos
- Morristown, Mayor Donald Cresitello
- Newark, Mayor Cory Booker
- North Arlington, Mayor Peter C. Massa
- North Brunswick, Mayor Francis M. Womack III
- North Haledon, Mayor Randy George
- North Plainfield, Mayor Janice G. Allen
- Parsipanny-Troy Hills, Mayor Michael Luther
- Passaic, Mayor Samuel Rivera
- Paterson, Mayor Jose Torres
- Pennsauken, Mayor Jack Killion
- Phillipsburg, Mayor Harry L. Wyant
- Port Republic, Mayor Gary Giberson
- Red Bank, Mayor Pasquale Menna
- Salem, Mayor Earl Gage
- Shrewsbury, Mayor Emilia M. Siciliano
- Spotswood, Mayor Barry H. Zagnit
- Trenton, Mayor Douglas Palmer
- Victory Gardens, Mayor Betty Simmons
- West Windsor, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh
- Woodbridge, Mayor John E. McCormac
Unless, of course, guns and crime are no longer an issue in Plainfield.
- Jersey Journal: "Booker and Healy join to promote gun purchase limit"
- Courier: "Gun control bill gets booster in state Senate"
- Homepage: "Mayors Against Illegal Guns"
-- Dan Damon
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Saturday, August 02, 2008
Surveyors seen measuring Muhlenberg parking lot
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A resident in the Muhlenberg Hospital neighborhood reported seeing surveyors with transits measuring off the hospital parking lot on the West side of Park Avenue, between Randolph and Laramie Roads.
Does this lends more credence to the rumor that the lot is up for sale?
You tell me.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Ledger 'on life support'?
Plainfield and the rest of New Jersey was rocked Thursday afternoon with the news the Ledger was demanding 200 employees take buyouts by October 1st and the unions make concessions -- or the paper would be put up for sale. (See links to coverage at the end of this post.)
Watching the newspapers deal with the Internet has become a regular habit of mine, and you have heard me comment from time to time (most recently when the Ledger yanked its Sunday 'Perspective' section).
I suspected things were not well with the Ledger, but never that it would come to this. Think of Queen Elizabeth telling the royal household if they didn't take the buyout she would sell the Royal Crown of England.
At any rate, the news is surely part of a negotiating stance by the Ledger and its parent company, Advance, the newspaper half of the Newhouse press empire (the other being the Condé Nast magazines). But that doesn't mean that New Jersey's paper of record might not change hands -- or go out of business (I don't think so).
Let's hope they figure out how to make it work, but this is a slippery slope. The LATimes and the Philly Inquirer have gone through more than one downsizing in the last couple of years, and they are still not out of the woods.
Ultimately, the answer can never come in layoffs and reducing the scope of the papers' coverage alone. They have got to figure out how to make the Internet work for them in this brave new world.
I would hate to see the dead-tree versions go away, since I grew up with them and they are deeply ingrained. I don't mind that I have to wash my hands after reading the Ledger because of the ink smudging off.
Seems like more part of the real world than mere pixels.
- CountyWatcher: "Star-Ledger to employees: Buy-out or be sold"
- Editor & Publisher: "'Star-Ledger' Seeks 200 Buyouts, Threatens Sale if Not Reached"
- Ledger (Breaking): "Star-Ledger announces large-scale buyout offer" -- With reader comments.
- Ledger (Print): "Star-Ledger gives staff a deadline for buyouts"
- NYTimes: "Cuts and Concessions Demanded at New Jersey Papers"
-- Dan Damon
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