PBA says violence at PHS being mishandled

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Published in the Courier News, Friday, April 6, 2007

'Putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound'
Plainfield police union: Violence at high school is being mishandled

By CHAD HEMENWAY
Staff Writer

PLAINFIELD -- Saying that administrators are "putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound," the president of the city's police officers' union said the district is "downplaying" fighting at the high school.

"It's pretty serious there," said Officer Andre Crawford, president of PBA Local 19. "The situation there is totally out of control."

Crawford's comments come on the heels of reports of a large fight late Wednesday morning at the high school that resulted in the arrests of eight students -- two boys and six girls -- all of whom are juveniles except for 19-year-old Larraine Robinson. Each was charged with disorderly conduct.

Crawford specifically referenced high school Principal Frank Ingargiola and city police chief Edward Santiago, saying he was "disturbed they gave the impression this was no big deal."

"They keep brushing things aside," Crawford said. "There have been numerous fights breaking out, but they don't admit to anything. I'm tired of reading reports which aren't true.

"People's kids are in danger." he added. "It puts officers in a bad position when we keep having to go there."

Crawford said he worries that one day soon an officer will have to use physical force to apprehend students.

Ingargiola, who was in the school at the time and responded to the fight, said initial reports that there were about 20 students involved in a "melee" were false.

Instead, Ingargiola said the many students were merely onlookers.

"It sounded worse than it was," Santiago said, meaning reports that many students had weapons were also false. No weapons were found, he said.

The situation was made worse because of its timing, Santiago said.

The fight occurred outside a packed cafeteria during a period of class changes, leading to a large congregation of spectators, he said.

Santiago said he was surprised when asked to comment on the statements made by Crawford.

"We've had a pretty good working relationship," he said. "I appreciate his concerns but he does not see all the reports to understand what is happening there (at the high school)."

The act that Crawford called a newspaper before [he] contacted him was "another issue to look into," Santiago said.

"He may have stepped over the line," he added.

Late Thursday, Santiago said he had spoken to Crawford and admitted he learned some officers were upset with him because they believed he was downplaying the incident. he said he also agrees with Crawford's worries about police response to the school.

"Any time you need more officers there, it always heightens the risk," Santiago said. "There are always more kids than there are police officers."

He said administrators need to "tighten up" security in the school's hallways. But Santiago disagreed with Crawford's allegations of "brushing things aside."

"That's just not true," he said. "Every incident is investigated fully."

District Superintendent Paul Howard said her "mouth was on the floor" when she heard Crawford's comments because she said none of the high school's resource police officers has said anything to her.

"I can't understand what he (Crawford) is talking about," Howard said. "I can tell you that fight was handled immediately and the entire cabinet (administrators) went in," said Howard, who added some school staff worked until midnight with the Union County Prosecutor's Office and the police department.

Ingargiola said he "doesn't know where he (Crawford) is coming from," because he "doesn't think he has ever been in the building" since Ingargiola has been principal.

"I'm shocked," Ingargiola said of Crawford's comments. "I'd hope we'd have support from the police."

Everyone on Wednesday did exactly what they needed to do to quell the situation and restore order, Ingargiola said.

Ingargiola said Plainfield is no different than most schools who deal with occasional fights among students.

The high school had a half-day of classes scheduled Thursday because today is Good Friday. School will be closed next week for spring break, Ingargiola said. Increased visibility of security and police Thursday made for a "seamless" and uneventful day of school, he said.

Chad Hemenway can be reached at (908) 707-3148 or chemenway@gannett.com

---

This story appeared on A1 as the lead story in today's Courier, but was not posted online. It is being posted as a public service.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

The Stations

I. Jesus is Condemned to Death

II. Jesus Takes Up His Cross

III. Jesus Falls the First Time

IV. Jesus Meets Mary, His Mother

V. Simon of Cyrene Helps Carry the Cross

VI. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

VII. The Second Fall

VIII. Jesus Speaks to the Weeping Women

IX. The Third Fall

X. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

XI. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

XII. Jesus Dies on the Cross

XIII. Jesus is Placed in His Mother's Arms

XIV. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

About Gwyneth Leech's Stations of the Cross New York Artist Gwyneth Leech was commissioned in 2004 by Saint Paul's on the Green, an Episcopal Church in Norwalk, Connecticut to paint stations of the cross that blend traditional Christian iconography with contemporary elements. She found a vivid way of depicting Christ's journey to the cross for modern viewers, by incorporating the suffering and grief of people around the world who are caught in the midst of armed conflict, especially the war in Iraq. Unveiled earlier this year at the Avenue 50 Studio in Los Angeles (website here), the paintings are now on permanent view in the church at 60 East Avenue, East Norwalk, Connecticut. The artist's website is here. Her article about the commission for CounterPunch magazine is here. An article reviewing the reactions to the series is here.

Traditionally, before each station is said: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have saved the world. And after each station: Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps.

Mayor wants credit for making sun shine

So, Mayor Robinson-Briggs wants to take credit for Moody's upgrading the rating on Plainfield's debt.

PT understands wanting to get credit for things. He has always wanted to get credit for inventing sliced bread. Can't do it, though -- taken. As is credit for 'the best thing SINCE sliced bread' -- which leaves PT in third place, at best.

And that's about where Mayor Robinson-Briggs is on credit for Moody's upgrading the City's debt rating.

It's worth reprinting yesterday's brief item from the Courier before addressing the Mayor's claims --

Plainfield: Moody's upgrades the city's debt rating

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the rating of the city's bond anticipation notes and long-term general obligation bonds.

"This favorable upgrade in our bond rating is the first in many years and reflects the administration's diligence and dedication in turning around the city's finances," said Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

The upgrade reflects Moody's belief that the city's financial position has stabilized, city officials said. The upgrade also means the interest rates on the city's bonds may decrease.

What Moody's likes

Moody's picture of an ideal community would be one with no crime, excellent schools and infrastructure and in which the town paid all of its obligations on time and spent none of its tax receipts, instead banking them all as reserves. In the real world, of course, adjustments must be made. And towns -- including Plainfield -- are rated by how close or far away they are from this 'ideal'.

Rating upgrade the 'first in many years'

Not true. Moody's gave Plainfield it's top BAN (bond anticipation notes) rating of MIG1 in the fall of 2005, which was the basis of the City's successful first-ever online auctions of BANs, and the subject of Plainfield Today's VERY FIRST POST --

"This is an exciting moment for the City," says Mayor Al McWilliams, "not only because we are participating in our first online auction, but because we just received a favorable rating letter from Moody's Investors Service."

"The letter notes the steps taken by my Administration to improve our financial situation through better management, a plan to build long-term reserves, and a stabilization of our $2.27 billion tax base.

"Further, while our rating of MIG1 for these notes is excellent, we are also encouraged that the rating letter, which gives the City an investment grade rating of Baa3, states that 'Moody's believes that audited fiscal 2005 results in line with unaudited estimates will likely result in a rating upgrade,' the Mayor concluded."

These ratings mean the financial community is regarding Plainfield in a better light because of improvements in the handling of the City's fiscal affairs (tax collection rate, building up of surplus, stabilization of tax base), and the City's bonds will be more desirable, making them easier to sell and at a more advantageous interest rate. [Emphasis added -- PT]

So, Mayor Robinson-Briggs' assertion is incorrect -- to put it charitably -- on its face. [If you're interested, you can read the results of that first online BANs auction here.]

'Turning around the city's finances'

Next, the Mayor attempts to take credit for 'turning around' the city's finances. As the citation from the 2005 BANs sale above notes, the administration of Mayor McWilliams had already done the groundwork that would allow, as Moody's said, an expected rating upgrade BASED ON THE AUDITED 2005 RESULTS, which is the basis for the upgrade Robinson-Briggs is trying to take credit for.

In truth, the city's ratings were impacted years ago, when the Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority (PARSA) was set up. That involved selling off the old system -- the Plainfield Joint Meeting -- to form the new one. Though the value of Plainfield's assets was set at $36M, Assemblyman Jerry Green was able to convince the City Council (whose members were of his own picking) that Plainfield's BEST INTEREST was to settle for $9M, along with giving up its veto right in the new organization.

That Council, not content to sell off our patrimony at a 75% discount, proceeded to set up a trust fund for the $9M and then ignore the trust to use the money to balance successive budgets. All the while saying that the money would be replenished. Hah!

So, dear readers, now you understand a large part of the basis for needing to repair Plainfield's credit rating in the first place, and whom we have to thank for it.

'The city's financial position has stabilized'

Lastly, the Mayor asserts the City's financial position 'has stabilized'. Again, let PT point you toward the November 2005 posting cited above. The groundwork was all laid by the administration of Mayor McWilliams, in particular by the work of then Director of Finance and Administration Ron West, someone who was willing to continue under the current Administration, but was turned out.

But we should also not forget that Mayor Robinson-Briggs proposed to balance the current budget by USING THE SURPLUS. This would have meant that we would be looking not at a Moody's ratings UPGRADE, but in fact a DOWNGRADE if the Council had done as she proposed.

PT brought this all up in a post last September 28 titled "Financing Plainfield: The Devil is in the Details"

1. The Council breaks a sweat. Or if it doesn't, it should. The RATINGS LETTERS that accompanied the current BANs (both Moody's and Fitch's -- available for download from the City website --"Moody's rates Plainfield" (PDF) and "Fitch rates Plainfield" (PDF)--) highlight IMPENDING DANGER SIGNALS.

2. Robinson-Briggs proposes balancing the FY2007 budget (now under discussion) with $2.9M of the city's $3.1M RAINY DAY RESERVES -- essentially LEAVING THE FUND BROKE. That would be frittering away -- IN HER FIRST YEAR -- the reserves that Mayor Al McWilliams went out of his way to build up over the course of eight years. And we've got THREE YEARS TO GO?

3. This will have TWO CONSEQUENCES: The rainy day fund will be gone AND that will NEGATIVELY AFFECT OUR FINANCIAL OUTLOOK for the next sale of bonds or notes. Can you say HIGHER INTEREST RATES, costing the taxpayers even more?

The Council needs to look at this situation very carefully. The Devil, as they say, is in the details."

Thankfully, the Council did look at things very carefully, and saner heads did prevail.

Now the Mayor is faced with the problem of KEEPING or IMPROVING the Moody's rating -- which means, at the least, maintaining the high tax collection rate of the McWilliams years and continuing to build the surplus. Is she up to the task? Only time will tell.

But you will want to keep an eye on things. After all, it's YOUR tax dollars at stake here.

-- Dan Damon

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Cost-cutting doesn't extend to Mayor

She loves me... She loves me not... She loves me... She loves me not... She loves me...

Not.

Layoffs are in the air. Make that 'non-retaliatory' layoffs, to use one of Mayor Robinson-Briggs' turns of phrase.

PT previously questioned buying a bus and laying off people (see here under 'Rec Bus') and in today's Ledger ("Plainfield will lay off nine to rein in budget"), the Administration and the union weigh in on the issue of layoffs.

What remains unsaid is that the Mayor's interest in REINING THINGS IN doesn't seem to extend to her 'Mayoral' expenses, where -- if last September is an indication -- we're on target to clock in at over $35,000 per year in eats and treats. That would be an employee salary, right there.

Not to mention the FLOWERS which she has delivered weekly -- at taxpayer expense -- to freshen multiple offices in the 'Mayor's Complex'. What?! You didn't know about the flowers? You have to wonder what else you don't know.

As Mae West might say, "What's next, hand-peeled grapes?"

-- Dan Damon

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Council a NASCAR team?

Is the Council trying out as a NASCAR team?

You might be forgiven for thinking so if you noticed last night's agenda-setting was over in less than 30 minutes. Including discussing the firefighter's contract.

PT was reminded of the old saw "Be careful what you pray for, you might get it."

I can remember suffering through sessions that went on past midnight back in the 'good old days' and praying that we could have meetings where every jot and tittle was not cause for wrangling.

Well, we got it -- with a vengeance.

Take last night, for example.

Among the juicies were the arbitration award for the firefighters, which needs to be memorialized with an ordinance; amendment of the PILOT for Plainfield Towers West; the purchase of a 44-seat bus for the Rec Division; and proposed changes in the municipal land use ordinance.

FIREFIGHTER SETTLEMENT

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a DIRECTED and binding settlement, decided by an arbitrator. Councilman Gibson announced that he was unhappy with the provision that firefighters work 24 hours on, 72 hours off. The comment, he said, would explain in advance his vote on Wednesday evening. PT's jaw dropped, as did that of the person sitting next to me, who grew up in New York and knows as do I that this is New York's SOP (standard operating procedure). Should you not want to take PT's word for it, check out the following --

"Often firefighters and rescue personnel work 24 hour shifts ..."

--From Overtime Scams, a website for fire, police and EMT employees dedicated to exposing employers' overtime scam tactics.

TOWERS WEST PILOT

Ah, PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes). We have been over this ground before. The state requires them for a term on certain -- mostly non-profit -- projects. AFTER that term, they are supposed to go on the tax rolls. I leave it to you, dear reader, to figure out if that ever happens.

The knock on PILOTs is not that the City doesn't make out -- often it is close to or even slightly more than what the City would get in taxes. The issue is that those making PILOT payments contribute NOTHING to the MAJOR TAX BURDEN of the community -- THE SCHOOLS.

That aside, Mr. Dashield was singularly unprepared to answer Councilor Storch's question about its nonprofit status.

Plainfield Towers West is operated by Presbyterian Homes of New Jersey, which bills itself as a "not-for-profit, non-sectarian corporation" providing a spectrum of senior living options in 27 facilities throughout the state.

PT cannot imagine previous City Administrators Norton Bonaparte or Tom Morrison being unprepared to answer this question. At the same time, PT was puzzled that Councilors Gibson, Burney and Davis -- who represent the area in which the facility resides -- didn't spring to assist Dashield with their superior knowledge. Unless, of course, they didn't know. This seems to be what now passes for due diligence.

But PT has another question about the PILOT.

The facility has been here longer than I have (24 years), and I was surprised to hear that they were only paying at 7%, and would go up to 9% with the requested extension. PT always thought that 9% was the cap and that it was to be reached at the end of the first ten years of a PILOT (which usually has a lifespan in the 28-30 year range). If that is so, why are they only at 7% now? If the money was properly owed to the City, how much revenue have we foregone?

And 7% or 9% of what? It was never mentioned. Should we assume the Council understood the basis for the calculation? And who is explaining to the general public?

(Aside: Any news on the PILOT for the Park-Madison complex? Has it even started yet?)

REC BUS

A 44-passenger bus -- with a "Maxx Force 7 Engine (200 HP) -- to transport summer youth employees? And the only question the Council had was whether the Rec Division had a driver (the answer, according to Director Dave Wynn, was 'yes')?

Councilor Storch said he would prefer that when the Administration comes forward with capital purchases such as this, they should refer to the relevant section of the Capital Budget when doing so. An entirely reasonable request.

What struck PT was that this sailed through -- in contrast to the purchase of a bus for the Senior Center a few years ago, which took agonizingly detailed discussions over many meetings.

PT realizes that capital expenditures and operational budgets are apples and oranges, but at the same time I am puzzled that we are laying off employees and buying a bus. A bus that costs as much as two employees. Anyone with me?

LAND USE ORDINANCE

Planning Director Bill Nierstedt was invited to the table to give a brief overview of proposed changes to the municipal land use ordinance. This could be good news, but you'll have to check it out at the Planning Division or by following the Planning Board in its deliberations.

PT is pleased the proposed changes will address DENSITY issues, on which I have been something of a contrarian -- thinking that densities in the 80s range per acre may not be unreasonable, providing boundaries and parking requirements are STRICTLY enforced, which is ALWAYS the spoiler.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday night's Council business session: 8 PM at the Courthouse. Don't be late, though. They may be done in five minutes, the way things are going.

-- Dan Damon

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Layoffs, suspension may pack Council tonight

The Assemblyman's Mayor's "non-retaliatory" suspension of Police Chief Ed Santiago and the layoffs of numerous City employees may bring out crowds to the City Council agenda-setting session this evening.

Rumors were swirling over the weekend that representatives of the police chiefs' association would be on hand to question the Administration's proposal to suspend the Chief -- and why the Chief's right to a hearing was overlooked.

Also, it is rumored the PMEA, the union representing rank-and-file City employess will be present to protest the way in which the Administration's layoff plan has been structured.

Although the layoffs were contemplated in the budget process -- and hence should not really be a surprise -- the way in which they are being carried out has raised questions.

Though it was flat-out stated in adopting the budget that reductions were to be made in the Inspections Division -- though why Inspections rather than another? -- the Assemblyman's and Mayor's team will have a tough time explaining why the wife of an Inspections Division worker, who herself works at Dudley House, is having her hours reduced to part-time.

Can this be defended as "non-retaliatory"?

Especially when City Hall is abuzz with talk that the Assemblyman came to City Hall the day after the Board of Ed filing deadline and personally threatened David Graves -- Inspections Division employee, longtime parent activist, and former Zoning Board chair -- with the loss of his job over filing to run for the school board?

The City Engineer is also on the layoff list. Will it cost the taxpayers more to replace him with someone else favored by one of the parties to whom the Assemblyman owes a political debt? Or to replace him with a contracted service -- again to be provided by someone to whom the Assemblyman owes a political debt?

Add to this mix a news conference with Hispanic TV stations set by the Latin American Coalition for this afternoon, alleging the Chief's suspension is racially motivated, and you have all the ingredients of a classic brouhaha.

"O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!"

---

NOTE: Because of the possibility of an overflow crowd at tonight's 7:30 PM Council meeting, the VENUE may be changed from City Hall Library to another location. Call the City Clerk's office at (908) 753-3222 for more information.

-- Dan Damon

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Sign faeries on the loose

Warning: The sign faeries are on the loose.

Like those fable faerie rings that spring up overnight, signs for Jerry Green's school board candidates Jeanette Criscione and Wilma Campbell sprang up around the community overnight Saturday.

PT remembers the day when Board of Ed elections were apolitical affairs, with Democrats and Republicans running together as teams having the best interest of the students and the community at heart. The total amount we used to raise and spend on a campaign was never over $2,000.

All that changed once Assemblyman Jerry Green politicized the process a few years ago by running his own slate. Candidates had to face raising and spending enormous sums to compete with Green's resources -- and many fell by the wayside as a consequence.

That, of course, was in the days when Green had dreams of dancing dollar signs -- specifically the $186M that was supposedly earmarked for schools construction by the SCC.

Even though the promise of the money has evaporated, Green is now committed to running a slate -- more or less whether he wants to or not -- so as not to lose a chance at control of the BOE.

This year, he was unable to find three candidates to cobble together into a 'team.'

In fact, word has it that he was spared having only a single candidate when Criscione showed up to pick up her petition the afternoon of the filing deadline. And returned with it completed before the deadline a couple of hours later. It was only thanks to her willingness that he has any sort of 'team' whatsoever.

We'll have to see what good it does him.

---

From the If-You're-Gonna-Do-It-Do-It-Right Dept.: ELEC rules require signage contain not only the name of the committee, but the treasurer also. Have Criscione and Campbell filed to run as a team? If so, why doesn't the Committee name reflect it?

-- Dan Damon

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Councilman Burney out of step?

PT was honored to be a guest yesterday at Councilor Burney's home for a nationwide kaffeeklatsch with Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama.

There were about thirty-five participants, with a good sprinkling of non-Plainfielders, which was refreshing. Elsewhere, PT has some suggestions for Sen. Obama's campaign, based on yesterday's house party.

What intrigues PT is that Councilor Burney may have gone out on a limb here.

The papers have noted that Gov. Corzine will be endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton for president on Monday (see Saturday's NYTimes article here).

In Elizabeth.

Immediately, that tidbit signified to PT that State Sen. Lesniak would also be endorsing Hillary, if not actually HOSTING the press event.

This seems even more likely upon learning that Lesniak will accompany the Guv on his private jet tonight, in a trip to Cleveland for the Rutgers and LSU women's Final Four encounter (thanks to The Auditor for this tidbit).

And where Ray is, there is Charlotte. PT opines that Union County Dem chair Charlotte DeFilippo will also be there, heartily endorsing 'the peoples' choice' -- along with grip-and-grin photos and lots of red-white-and-blue bunting.

PT predicts no marching bands, tho. After all, even New Jersey has standards of taste.

And...where Ray and Charlotte are, will there be Assemblyman Green?

PT is betting a cuppa java that Green will be there, endorsing Hillary too.

Will this leave Councilor Burney in the embarrassing position of being out of step with Assemblyman Green?

The Assemblyman wants his grip to be ironclad and he does not look kindly on stepping out of line.

Stay tuned.

-- Dan Damon

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City missteps in Santiago suspension

As they say in the computer business, RTFM**.

That would probably be good advice for the Assemblyman and crew on the latest effort to get rid of Police Chief Santiago. (See "Hearing needed before disciplining Santiago" in today's Courier.)

It's not rocket science, and it's not like it's never been done before, but -- Surprise! Surprise! -- Santiago has the right to a hearing. Public, if he so desires.

Is there a whit of intelligence at the heart of this operation?

The Public Safety Director has been around the block before -- and he doesn't know? Mayor Robinson-Briggs had to agree to the move -- and she didn't know? Granted, she doesn't have any experience, but who's advising her? And the Assemblyman, who's really in charge here? Well, no one can accuse him of being overly attentive to details.

Meanwhile, town is abuzz with rumors that there will be a large public contingent ready to speak up on the Chief's behalf at Monday's agenda-setting Council meeting. And that representatives of the police chiefs' association may also show.

With no hearing date set, have the powers-that-be set themselves up for a Chinese-water-torture of their own making if, over the next few weeks, citizens and their organizations demand an accounting?

PT proposes a new motto for the City, at least for the duration of the current administration: 'Ready, shoot, aim.'

**Read The F***ing Manual

-- Dan Damon

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Politicizing the Police Division

There is but one conclusion to draw from the Assemblyman's suspension of Police Chief Ed Santiago: Politics in a particularly lethal form is steadily worming its way down to the lowest level of municipal government.

We may expect that Department Heads will be political appointees; after all, elected officials have a right to their administrative priorities.

But it is unusual, given the continuing intense scrutiny by US Attorney Chris Christie, to see it being rolled out so dramatically as it is in Plainfield. Today's Ledger carries the story of Chief Santiago's latest suspension by this Administration ("Plainfield suspends police chief a 3rd time").

Make no mistake about it, this is as political as it gets, notwithstanding Mayor Robinson-Briggs' declaration that "there have been no practices of retaliation on the part of this administration."

At issue is whether the Public Safety Director has the authority to manage the Police Division at the level of granularity being sought. The Chief has resisted, and has grounds for doing so, according to the state police chiefs' association.

PT's guess is that the trail of breadcrumbs -- when this goes to court -- will lead back to Plainfield's special charter.

While the Charter spells out powers of the Public Safety Director in some detail, you will search in vain to find other than oblique references to the Police Chief.

Does that automatically mean the Director has the upper hand? Stay tuned.

As for the Assemblyman's threat of an ex post facto law -- in PT's humble opinion, it's a non-starter in the America of the founding fathers ("The sentiment that ex post facto laws are against natural right, is so strong in the United States, that few, if any, of the State constitutions have failed to proscribe them... [T]hey are equally unjust in civil as in criminal cases." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Isaac McPherson, August 13, 1813).

Meanwhile, Frick and Frack, true Forces Of Entropy, are busily wreaking havoc elsewhere.

Of which more, later.

-- Dan Damon

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Councilor busted in DWI?

Thursday PM: It was confirmed to PT that the Councilor involved is Don Davis, who represents the third ward. -- DD

PT got word that a City Council member was arrested for driving while intoxicated last night. Have not been able to confirm details yet, but check back later in the day.

-- Dan Damon

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Bush's Monica - A reprise

"The Monica in Bush's future" -- A reprise. PT made it on a national political blog for this story yesterday, and they are carrying the link again today. Awesome number of page views were generated. Back to normal tomorrow. -- Dan.

The Monica in Bush's future

There is a Monica in President Bush's future, and her presence may be even more toxic to him than Monica Lewinski's was to President Bill Clinton. Even without a blue dress or cigar.

This Monica is Attorney General Gonzales' deputy and liaison to the White House from the Department of Justice, Monica Goodling.

Why is her testimony -- which she is now withholding by invoking her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination -- so important?

Others from the DOJ who have testified before Congressional committees have been shown to have given misleading, incomplete and perhaps false answers to questions posed them. And they are saying that they were prepped for their testimony by Monica Goodling, who assured them the White House was not closely involved in the firing of the US Attorneys.

Now she doesn't want to talk about it.

Meanwhile, ANOTHER BOMBSHELL whose import is only beginning to be made clear is that it turns out White House employees, from Karl Rove on down, in executing their OFFICIAL duties, used email accounts housed on GOP email servers (both the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney campaign committee). One source says that about 80% of Karl Rove's communications -- across the board -- are done via such a GOP email account.

On the face of it, such a practice raises the question of whether it was engaged in to circumvent the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which requires the preservation of communications by White House staffers acting in their official capacity as government records.

Fears have been aroused that the emails may be mishandled or destroyed. That is the dark side of the discovery.

The 'bright' side is that any emails using non-governmental email addresses, and housed on non-governmental servers, CANNOT CLAIM EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE to block Congressional inquiries.

In PT's humble opinion, the import of all this hullaballoo is that Karl Rove was planning to politicize the US Attorneys and use them as partisan shock troops in the 2008 presidential election campaign to advance the GOP's candidate's chances.

If you think that is farfetched, check out this MSM story ("GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics in 'Improper' Use of Agency for GOP").

---

Links to stories are listed below --

• Goodling Testimony:
• NYT: "Aide to Attorney General Refuses to Testify About Dismissals"
• WP: "Citing Fifth Amendment Right, Aide to Gonzales Won't Testify"
• MSNBC: "Gonzales aide to invoke Fifth Amendment"
  
  
• Emails on GOP servers:
• Truthout: "White House Use of Outside Email Accounts Questioned" -- Congressional doc here.
• WP: "GOP Groups Told to Keep Bush Officials' E-Mails"

-- Dan Damon

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Robinson-Briggs a 'Woman of Extraordinary Achievement'

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, one of 80 female mayors in New Jersey (see CAWP stats), is being honored on Thursday evening as a 'Woman of Extraordinary Achievement' at a reception sponsored by B.A.L.L.O.T.**

Though her achievement is unspecified, she outranks fellow honorees Mildred C. Crump, President of the Newark City Council, and Celia M. King, executive director of Leadership Newark and former Vice Mayor of Maplewood. She is only trumped by Joyce Wilson Harley, an attorney who is the Essex County Administrator.

Tickets will set you back $100 per, and you must make your reservation by EOB today, either by calling (973) 945-4958 or by email to contact@ballot-pac.org.

Be aware that B.A.L.L.O.T. is registered with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission as a political action committee. That means it can contribute to the election of partisan political candidates. And though you may deem the cause worthy, your contribution is NOT tax-deductible.

QUESTION: Since this is a political activity and the Mayor CANNOT be acting in her OFFICIAL capacity, is Mayor Robinson-Briggs precluded from using her taxpayer-funded security detail at taxpayer expense to cover her at this event? Will she have to pay for them out of her own pocket? If she charges the cost to the City, is it merely an ethical lapse or is it grounds for a criminal complaint?

DETAILS: The event is Thursday, March 29, 6 - 8 PM. At Seabras Radizio, 1024 McCarter Highway, Newark.

Did PT forget to mention there will be food?

---

**B.A.L.L.O.T. (Black Americans Lobbying for leadership of Tomorrow) is a political action committee that provides financial support to elected officials and candidates for political office whose policies and positions benefit, serve and empower people of African descent.

-- Dan Damon

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Mayor and helicopter explained

It's just like the dance of the seven veils: If you hang around long enough, a lot will be revealed.

So Her Honor did use a helicopter for a Trenton trip (see Friday's post).

But it turns out it wasn't exactly of her own free will.

Seems she was summoned to a meeting on a Juvenile Justice pilot program at which her attendance was wanted, on time.

Now, a juvenile justice pilot program might put you in mind of dealing with issues like youth gangs, gunplay, school violence, and helping troubled youngsters with mentoring, wholesome activities, and job training.

And you might expect local elected officials to be on fire about participating in such a program and resolving some of the problems our young people face -- in a positive direction.

The helicopter?

PT hears through the ever-active grapevine that Robinson-Briggs' administration had been less than eagerly responsive and the helicopter was to guarantee attendance at the get-together.

Who pays? The taxpayers, of course. Though not as directly as if Her Honor had ordered and paid for it on her own.

Tip to the Juvenile Justice people: An old realtors' trick to get realtors out for an open house is to advertise free eats. Works every time.

For PT's money, it would be cheaper than helicopters, and every bit as effective as this crowd can't seem to get enough eats at the public expense.

-- Dan Damon

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John De Marco sings!

John De Marco sings!

Beautifully.

Über-realtor John De Marco has just released his debut CD, Pure & Simple, and PT was pleased to get a sneak peek, after hearing about the release from a reader.

Around Plainfield, we all know John as the polished and consummate realtor, specializing in crème de la crème properties.

Well, take that image and translate it to cabaret music. Polished and consummate delivery of American classics in crème de la crème venues such Judy's Cabaret Room and Helen's Hideaway Room in Chelsea, and the cabaret at The Mandalay in Las Vegas, some of John's most recent gigs.

Popping the CD into the player, PT was instantly transported back in time to The Five Oaks, a Greenwich Village cabaret where I spent a lot of time in the 70s listening to Marie Blake, who had been Billie Holliday's pianist.

Cabarets offer a sophisticated, worldly musical take on life and love. Small, intimate spaces with minimal technical baggage, they are a space where performer and audience can bond that is unlike any other.

Pure & Simple offers a selection of rare finds among the thousands of songs in what is called 'the American songbook,' those songs from the 1930s through the early 60s that formed the core of American popular music before rock 'n roll.

Here, you can find favorites ranging from Old Devil Moon and Witchcraft to Under a Blanket of Blue and I'll String Along With You, all done in John's incredibly smooth and buttery style.

Listening to these evocative songs takes one away from the suburban hubbub and routine to romantic fireside evenings, candlelight dinners for two, and long, quiet walks together.

You'll be glad to have Pure & Simple in your collection and I'll bet you'll listen to it often.

---

The CD can be ordered through John's website, "John De Marco Entertainment".

One cut (I'll String Along With You) has been posted for your listening pleasure on GarageBand.com.

-- Dan Damon

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A crimefighting conundrum

Cops rely on informants -- snitches -- for information needed to fight crime.

No mystery here, it's as old as history.

Sometimes it's just a matter of giving police the bits and pieces needed to put a puzzle together in solving a particular crime or going after groups like chop shop networks or bra-and-panties rings (which have been in the news lately) -- or gangs.

Sometimes it's needed to clinch a prosecution, because in American courts, with their roots in English common law, proof must be 'beyond a reasonable doubt'.

When snitches figure in a prosecution, the authorities must disclose information about the snitch and the snitch's import to the case in court filings. Those filings become available to the defense, which means that they can become available to the DEFENDANTS, who can then intimidate -- or worse, eliminate -- the snitch.

This is illustrated by a story in this morning's Ledger ("Two accused of attacking informant in Crips case") concerning the Grape Street Gang in Newark.

There are actually both federal and state cases involved, and there are different standards by which decisions about the safety of witnesses are made.

But the bottom line appears to be that using snitches to fight crime in New Jersey is seriously compromised by the lack of clear guidelines both protecting snitches.

And at the same not defeating the requirements of the defense's right of discovery.

Essex County prosecutor Paula Dow is on the case. Bet we can expect a proposal to give witnesses more protection.

But we can also expect criminal defense attorneys to object.

And there's your conundrum.**

---

** "A Conundrum is a puzzling question. In one variety of conundrum, the question is posed as a riddle and the answer is or involves a pun. More broadly, a conundrum is any problem where the answer is very complex, possibly unsolvable without deep investigation. A mystery or paradox can often be phrased as a conundrum."

Further reading --

• "Stop Snitchin'" -- Urban campaign
• "Delator" -- Ancient Roman informants
• "Omertà" -- The Mafia code of honor

-- Dan Damon

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Helicopter Mayor's new thing?

So the Mayor's got a brand new bag: helicopter transportation?

Word is Mayor Robinson-Briggs and entourage debarked from a HELICOPTER at Hub-Stine Field late yesterday afternoon, returning from a trip to Trenton.

As far as PT knows, no other Plainfield mayor has used a helicopter to get around. PT understands Route 1 -- which all of us mere mortals, including the Assemblyman, must use -- is a royal pain in the butt.

But isn't this a bit excessive, even for Robinson-Briggs? And who is picking up the tab? And what about the police escort detailed to meet Her Honor at the landing pad?

We have become accustomed to reading that the only safe way to get out of Baghdad is by helicopter -- where getting from the Green Zone to the airport can be life-challenging.

But if all of Plainfield IS a Green Zone, what's the Mayor's reason?

-- Dan Damon

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Vagina Monologues at UCC-Plainfield this Sunday

Can it really be more than 10 years since The Vagina Monologues burst upon the scene?

And it is JUST NOW coming to Plainfield?

Well, it is. And it is. And you won't want to miss it.

Eve Ensler developed the episodic show based on her interviews with more than 200 women about sex, relationships and violence against women. The play has gained worldwide attention, having been translated into more than 45 languages. Although Ensler has stated the piece originally was intended to celebrate feminity and pleasure, it has since been aligned with a movement to combat violence against women and girls known as V-Day.

The Plainfield production has been adapted by Kean University theatre major Annie Fletcher as her senior year project. It is being directed by Brittany Blackburn and features Fletcher and Ilana Seagull.

Plainfield's Cultural and Heritage Commission is presenting the production as part of its Women's History Month observance with the co-sponsorship of Union County College-Plainfield Campus and the Student Government Association. The production was brought to the attention of the Commission by member Theresa Choate, Ph.D., a professor in Kean's theatre department.

The production will be in the main building of the campus, at East Second and Church Streets, this Sunday, March 25. Doors open at 1:30 PM and the show starts at 2 PM. The event is free, but seating is limited, so be sure to come early. Light refreshments will be served afterward, along with an opportunity to meet the production team.

-- Dan Damon

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A sinking feeling on Prospect Avenue

Thuh-WHUMP!

What the hell!?

PT glanced at the speedometer -- 25 mph. What the hell was that? PT was headed up Prospect Avenue from the five-points, and bellied out near the Evergreen School teachers' parking lot.

It was so unexpected that PT stopped the car, grabbed the camera and went for a look-see.

The 'dip' in the street near Prospect and Carnegie

The dip was formed by a crease that ran from one side of the street to the other. It was then that PT noticed the gap in the sidewalk across the street from the school.

Gap in the sidewalk on northerly side of the street

Closeup of the gap, nearly 6 inches

Now, you know if this were YOUR sidewalk, you would have been written up before it got to this point. What gives? Talking with three young men polishing a car in front of one of them's home, PT asked about the gap. How long had it been there? Had they noticed any recent change?

There had always been some gap they said, but when they saw me using a ruler to measure the depth, they opined that it had changed over time. One, a student at PHS, volunteered that he habitually trips on it at night returning from visiting an elderly church member who lives around the corner.

PT suspected this was the point where Plainfield's enormous underground floodwater diversion storm sewer crosses Prospect to wend its way under Plainfield High School and emerge behind the Stelle Avenue parking lot, thence to flow through Cedar Brook Park.

Section of the DPW mailer showing approximate flood zones in blue
(Click to enlarge)

The tax maps confirmed that this is the point where the storm sewer crosses Prospect Avenue.

Detail from tax maps, showing storm sewer right-of-way in blue
(Click to enlarge)

So, what IS going on here? Is the soil around the rigid storm sewer subsiding? Why? Could this also account for such things as the tilt of the tree at the rear of the photo below?

Notice the tilted tree at the rear of this photo

On the other side of the street, the green patch veering rightward toward the rear of the photo seems to be over the storm sewer as it heads toward PHS.

View toward PHS, green patch on right indicates storm sewer path

Shouldn't the city fix the sidewalk before it gets sued? Doesn't seem to PT that it's the property owner's fault. Shouldn't the city fix the roadway -- you can see obvious signs of patching -- before someone breaks an axle?

That would probably require an engineering study to correctly analyze and assess what's going on here.

And then what about checking out the rest of the storm sewer, which PT is told was put in place by the Army Corps of Engineers after the disastrous 1973 flood -- in which the entire area on the DPW map that slashes from behind the Sears store on Route 22 southwestward to Cedar Brook Park was under water.

Of course, the City COULD just ignore it.

-- Dan Damon

P.S. -- You may also want to check out the story about the Administration's bumbling of the renewal of the FEMA Flood Maps last September ("Administration: The Dog Ate My Homework")

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Rescuing the mayor's [non]-image

It is tempting for PT to characterize Mayor Robinson-Briggs' public relations presence as a shambles.

But that would be too generous. It's really been practically non-existent.

What does Laurence Rice do? PT sees him around with a camera, taking pictures. But the idea was he is supposed to do PRESS for the Mayor -- you know, press releases pitching her activities and accomplishments, staging press conferences, ribbon-cuttings and baby-kissings. That kind of stuff. Instead, the only print output we see is his monthly newspaper -- and no one seems to think there is an ETHICAL question here?

Then there is the Department of Community Newsletters, with Cynthia Crawford in charge. Have you seen one yet? What is that about? Your tax dollars at work?

The one exception is PCTV-74, the cable station, which is treated more like a personal MySpace site for Her Honor than what the cable franchise calls for: a station that trains and equips the public to produce programming about the community, which is then to be aired on the public access channel.

Where is that Cable TV Advisory Board? And why aren't they advising? PT suspects the Board of Public Utilities would not be happy with the content on the station at present. AND, aren't we supposed to be at the review point in the franchise contract? (PT has an inkling, since he was the secretary to the Commission that negotiated the present agreement with Comcast.)

The Mayor has a chance to fix things if the Council approves the creation of a Public Information Officer (PIO) on Wednesday evening.

That is, if she gives the person who gets the job the authority to do it properly and the expectation that it will be done competently.

Jazz Johnson might make a good PIO, but only if the Mayor empowers her.

Will she?

-- Dan Damon

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