Thefts of gas from city pumps

Plainfielders feeling a pinch in their wallets at the gas pump these days may commiserate with Newark officials, who are charging five city employees with treating themselves and friends to free fill-ups on the city at the gas pumps used for city vehicles.

To my knowledge, no Plainfield city employees have been guilty of filling up their personal vehicles at the DPW's city gas pump.

Might not be able to say the same for politically connected private citizens, though. Word in the grapevine last week was that one such non-employee was spotted filling up at the city's expense recently.

The way gas prices are heading, this might no longer be considered PETTY THEFT.

Just a word to the wise.

---

• Ledger: "Newark workers charged with stealing gasoline"

-- Dan Damon

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PMUA a model citizen, will City reciprocate?

Sign at PMUA's new Environmental Resource Center.

Plainfielders looking for a model corporate citizen need look no further than the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA).

Especially with its new Environmental Resource Center on Rock Avenue, formerly known as the 'Transfer Station' (see my previous coverage here and here).

This all comes to mind as I read of Sen. Lautenberg's stumping in northern Jersey, touting a new federal law that gives local communities more authority over waste transfer facilities (see more here).

Thankfully, the concerns of those North Jersey communities are not duplicated here, owing to the long-term vision and hard work of the PMUA Board of Commissioners and the agency's executive team, including executive director Eric Watson and his left hand person Dave Ervin, plus financial whiz Jim Perry. They have shown they know how to get things right.

Attendees outside new ERC's 'big house'.

One question does come to mind, however.

Can the administration of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs reciprocate? Will it be able to get things right in the same way?

Appointments to the PMUA Board of Commissioners are due.

This year's batch should include the regular annual appointment of an alternate, the statutorily required appointment of a commissioner to a full five-year term, and the appointment of a person to fill out the remainder of William Reid's term (Reid resigned when he was appointed to the City Council).

Shouldn't be much heavy lifting here. Let's see if the Robinson-Briggs administration is up to the task.

Oh, by the way. Jimmy the Greek is giving 20-to-1 odds that former Mayor and Councilor Harold Mitchell will replace Reid.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Green and DeFilippo have right to 'smoke-filled rooms'

Plainfield Dem Chair Jerry Green

UC Dem Chair Charlotte DeFilippo

If ever local Democratic honchos Assemblyman Jerry Green and Charlotte DeFilippo had a reason to knock back a toast, this may be it.

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that --

"A political party has a First Amendment right to limit its membership as it wishes and to choose a candidate-selection process that will in its view produce the nominee who best represents its political platform."

Further, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the unanimous opinion --

"None of our cases establishes an individual's constitutional right to have a 'fair shot' at winning the party's nomination."

The case was about how New York goes about selecting candidates for its Supreme Court judgeships -- which, the Times points out, "is not the state's highest court, but its basic trial court" -- who are nominated by the political parties and elected by the general voters.

The ruling will warm the cockles of clubhouse pols everywhere, who occasionally must face party members with the temerity to believe that democratic processes should have a role in candidate selection.

As Scalia said --

"'smoke-filled rooms' and domination by party leaders, have long been an accepted manner of selecting party candidates"

I can imagine more than one local activist thinking 'If only we could have smoke-filled rooms'.

---

• NY Times: "Justices Uphold New York’s Judge System"
• WashPost: "Court Lets 'Party Boss' Law Stand"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Bonehead Dan learns a lesson

Bonehead Dan has learned a lesson: Readers rule.

Plainfield Today's companion blog, CLIPS, is what is known as an aggregator blog.

Unlike regular blogs, aggregator blogs are simply collections of links to other items on the Web. CLIPS links, as its tagline says, to "online stories of interest to the Tri-County area". That includes the local regularly publishing blogs as well as items from print (or 'legacy') media.

Aggregator blogs are held in disdain by some and are ignored by Google -- as I found out in the beginning when I tried to submit CLIPS to Google's 'crawler', its process of combing the hundreds of millions of pages on the Web to build the database that brings you those marvelous, near-instantaneous results.

Google's reasoning goes like this. If Google were to index aggregator blogs and aggregators were to simply put up blogs with nothing but links to their own posts, the Web would become a hall of mirrors, facilitated by Google, in which those wishing to game the system would rise in the search results by the use of these aggregator blogs. Makes sense to me.

On the other hand, there are those who think that aggregators are the online equivalent of a babushka, the Russian grandmother figure. You know, someone to remind you to wear your overshoes, eat your vegetables -- and read your news. And grownups don't need babushkas.

The question of CLIPS and linking to the local blogs was raised by a local blogger to me in a private email about a month ago. In my response, I offered to stop putting links up to that blog if the blogger desired. The favor of a reply was not granted.

A few days ago there was a post that singled out aggregator blogs and suggested readers had the choice of bypassing them by bookmarking sites they want to read, concluding "[t]here is no need for a nanny to tell you what to read."

In a fit of scruples, I assumed the blogger no longer wished to be linked to by CLIPS and accordingly took the link down yesterday. (As any good politician will tell you, you should always beware attacks of scruples.)

That was when blockhead Dan got his lesson.

Seems that readers get different mileage. They actually LIKE the aggregated blog CLIPS just because it does what it says it does -- put all the links to local news and views at the reader's fingertips. And readers told me so, in no uncertain terms.

Usefulness!

What a concept!

Chastened, I am returning the other blogger's links to CLIPS as of this morning.

Whether or not it is nannyish.

Babushkas of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your usefulness.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Symphony fundraiser at the Bonefish Grill

Bang Bang Shrimp. Yum. Cajun Chicken Egg Roll. Yum. Bacon-wrapped Atlantic Scallops. Yum, yum, yum. Just some of the tantalizing fare at the Bonefish Grill.

You can enjoy all this and more -- and hang out with a friendly crowd of music lovers -- all in support of the Plainfield Symphony.

This Sunday, January 20, from 5:30 to 7:30, you can enjoy hors d'oeuvres and entrée samplers at this renowned seafood establishment. Cash bar. Just make a $25 per person donation to the Plainfield Symphony (check or cash). Check out the Bonefish Grill menu online here (PDF).

No reservation required, just come along and enjoy the food and the company! Info: (908) 561-5140 or visit the symphony's website here.

---

Bonefish Grill
(732) 926-8060
215 Route 22 East
(Between Warrenville Road and Washington Avenue)
Greenbrook NJ 08812

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield landmarks fall by the wayside

Two of Plainfield's most recognizable landmarks fell by the wayside over the weekend.

An fire of undetermined origin struck the Larry's Deli building on South Avenue Saturday afternoon.

The deli, one of the last reminders of Plainfield's once-vibrant Jewish community, was still thriving a decade ago when operated by the Scheckner family. The business has been shuttered more than a year, in spite of interest from several potential tenants.

Meanwhile, the Strand Theater on East Front Street is losing its marquee, the 'face' that theaters present to passersby.

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I noticed blue tarp going up last week and inquired at City Hall, where I was told the owners had gotten a permit to demolish and remove the marquee which has graced the theater since it opened in the 1920s.

Workmen were seen with acetylene torches behind the blue tarp on Friday and Saturday, and I resolved to get some photos on Sunday.

To my surprise, East Front Street was blocked off on Sunday between Watchung Avenue and Church Street, and I was told by fire and police personnel that the tarp had blown loose and the dangling beams of the partially disassembled marquee were deemed a danger to passing pedestrians.

By mid-afternoon, workers from Oveter's Construction were on the scene, scrambling to finish removing the marquee.

What is in store for the former theater is anyone's guess. One police officer told me that the owners had completely removed the 1400 theater seats and the sloping theater floor, leaving an enormous rectangular room with only the stage at the front remaining in place.

In any event, without a marquee it is hard to picture how the public would know what, if anything, can be taking place inside.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Martin Luther King, Jr. - 2008 Week of Events

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. :: 2008 EVENTS
TUESDAY · January 15 6:30 PM A Celebration of Dr. King City Hall Library 515 Watchung Avenue Sponsor: NAACP Plainfield Chapter	WEDNESDAY · January 16 11:00 AM Dr. King's Nobel Acceptance Speech Recited by Mr. Colin Baptiste Senior Center, 305 East Front Street Sponsor: Plainfield Senior Citizen Center
THURSDAY · January 17 3:30 PM Film: The Story of Ruby Bridges In 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges helped integrate New Orleans schools. Public Library, 8th Street & Park Avenue Sponsor: Plainfield Public Library	FRIDAY · January 18 7:00 - 9:00 PM The Decline of the Black Family Mohawk Lodge #307 1357 West Third Street Sponsor: Mohawk Lodge #307
SUNDAY · January 20 5:00 PM Ecumenical Worship Service Speaker: Bishop George Benbow Ruth Fellowship 733 South Second Street Sponsor: Concerned Urban Clergy	MONDAY · January 21 8:00 AM Annual MLK Breakfast Speaker: Dr. Ron Daniels, 'Achieving the American Dream' PHS Cafeteria $16 / $12 Seniors/Students. Call 756-4663 Sponsor: Frontiers International
MONDAY · January 21 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Harvest Radio Celebration Harvest Radio's Anniversary and Live Remote Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Kings Temple Ministries 1020 West Seventh Street Sponsor: Kings Temple Ministries	MONDAY · January 21 6:00 PM Citywide Commemoration Speaker: Rev. Dr. James Evans, former President of Colgate-Rochester Divinity School Music by the Freedom Youth Choir Shiloh Baptist Church 515 West 4th Street Sponsor: Shiloh Baptist Church Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, Pastor
To print this calendar for a handy reference, use the version here.

Hot spots in Plainfield? Try the Library.

Plainfielders looking for a hot spot should check out the Library.

A wireless Internet hot spot, that is.

For years one of New Jersey's most technologically advanced public libraries, it is now going official with its free internet access wireless hot spots.

The Plainfield Public Library has had an extensive wireless zone for some time, but has now made it easier for laptop users (whose batteries often run out while their owners are surfing the Web) by bringing power outlets to a select number of study carrels.

"The hard part -- literally -- has been installing the power outlets to the carrels," says Library Director Joe Da Rold. "As we learned years ago when hardwiring our computer network, the main level's concrete floor -- which is the ceiling of the library's lower level -- is nearly two feet thick, and presents a devil of a challenge for extending hard wiring in the building."

But where there's a will there's a way, and Director Da Rold is proud of his team's success in bringing power to eight of the study carrels throughout the main floor. Each powered carrel is specially marked.

Da Rold suggests users with questions should inquire at the Reference Department.

What will users want next? Wireless printing?

Stay tuned ... er ... logged in.

---

-- Dan Damon

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A proposal for indicted pols' campaign funds

How's this for chutzpah?

Indicted former State Sen. Wayne Bryant has asked the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) for permission to use his $626,000 in unspent campaign funds to pay defense lawyers in his bribery and corruption case, saying the legal costs are 'ordinary and necessary expenses' of holding public office.

The story, reported in today's Ledger (see here), follows on the heels of buzz in yesterday's Ledger, New York Times and Gannett papers that Bryant was planning the move. Today's story further reveals that former State Sen. Joseph Coniglio reported spending $90,000 of his campaign funds on lawyers for HIS corruption case.

This is the ultimate in pay-to-play: recycling the cash back to the 'vendors' even after indicted for corruption.

I have a modest proposal for the Legislature and ELEC.

When a sitting legislator is indicted for a crime, his or her campaign funds should be frozen until they are found either guilty or innocent.

If the indicted pol is convicted, the campaign funds should be seized and turned over to the state's Clean Election program. If found innocent, the freeze is unblocked.

Now, who can we find to sponsor such a bill?

---

• Today's Ledger: "Accused ex-legislators turn to campaign cash to pay legal bills"
• Yesterday: "Ex-Senator Bryant wants to pay lawyers with campaign cash" -- Ledger | NY Times | Gannett |
• Website: "Election Law Enforcement Commission"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Voting in NJ's Presidential Primary

Hoping to improve the impact of New Jersey's presidential primary, the Legislature moved the date for 2008 up to Tuesday, February 5.

Now dubbed as 'super-duper Tuesday' because more than 20 state will hold their primaries on that day -- with about 2,000 delegates to the Democratic convention at stake -- New Jersey has moved from being an afterthought to being in the heat of the fray.

Voters who don't want to be left out of making an impact need to keep a couple of things in mind --

• REGISTRATION: If you aren't registered, you can't vote. Period. Deadline for registration for the presidential primary is next Tuesday, January 15. Voter registration forms are available at the City Clerk's office at City Hall or you can check out the County Clerk's information page here and print out a form here (PDF).
  
  
• DECLARATION: Registered voters who have NOT made a declaration of party affiliation may vote in the presidential primary by declaring the party they wish to vote in at their poll location on election day, Tuesday, February 5. Be sure to see the County Clerk's information page here for procedures to follow. Persons who have declared themselves 'Independents' are not eligible to vote in the primary election of either the Democratic or Republican parties.

If you're not registered, get busy! Time's a wastin'.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Face-to-Face: School Forum Tonight

Interim Superintendent Garnell Bailey begins her tenure by reaching out to the community in a forum scheduled for 7:00 PM this evening at Washington Community School.

The announced topic is presentations by principals and administrators on each of the district's thirteen schools' plans and achievements.

However, you can be sure that the public will probably have questions about the impact of the new school funding formula which Assemblyman Jerry Green helped pass in Monday's final lame duck session of the Legislature.

---

Face-to-Face: A Forum Engaging The Community In Support Of Our Schools

Tonight, 7:00 PM
Washington Community School
427 Darrow Avenue
(Parking in Spooner Avenue lot)

-- Dan Damon

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Man discovered fatally shot on street

Published in the Star-Ledger, Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Man discovered fatally shot on street

PLAINFIELD:

A 24-year-old city man was found shot to death on South Second Street early yesterday morning, authorities said.

Ahmed Crittenden, 24, of West Front Street was found near the intersection of South Second Street and Prescott Place shortly after midnight. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Plainfield Detective Tom Robertson at (908) 753-3609 or Detective Harvey Barnwell of the Union County Prosecutor's Office at (908) 527-4514.

(Note: Story in print edition only, transcribed by DD.)

(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.)

Bluestone Sidewalk Slates Available

A local nonprofit has advised that they have approximately two hundred linear feet of bluestone sidewalk slabs available for sale immediately.

These would be perfect for homes in the historic districts which may need replacements for cracked or missing stones.

The stones vary in thickness from two inches to six inches, and are approximately thirty inches wide. The nonprofit can arrange for delivery. Price varies depending upon size of stones and whether or not delivery is desired.

For more information, contact Williams McNeill at (908) 380-0055.

Don't delay -- opportunities like this don't come along every day!

---

-- Dan Damon

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Co-mingled, in a word

COM ING LED Glass & Plastic Wednesday, January 9

My newsletter arrived in Tuesday afternoon's mail, complete with Calendar as promised. Hope your mileage was just as good.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Testimony and Debate on the School Funding Bill

One of the raps on the dismantling of the Abbott schools system which Jerry Green's vote has helped bring about is the UNSEEMLY HASTE to get the legislation passed -- literally days after the unveiling of the proposal.

A reader wrote to urge that the proposal should be clearly understood before rejecting or accepting it --

Independent of any political agendas for any local politicians, some of my neighbors and I have been trying to educate ourselves about the new funding proposal. The change proposed by the Governor may not be against the interests of our community. I am not sure as yet, but I and my neighbors are trying to learn more about it. Accordinlgy, I am forwarding to you an eblitz I received in that effort. Pershaps it will be of use to your readers who are also trying to educate themselves about this issue. As I am sure you can appreciate, before rejecting or accepting a new position or policy, you at first must know what it is.

The reader pointed to testimony offered in support of the Corzine proposal before a joint session of the Assembly Education, Budget and Appropriations Committees. The testimony by Derrell Bradford, deputy director of E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone) can be found here (web) and here (PDF).

I should point out that E3 is organized specifically in opposition to the continued existence of the Abbott districts and hence has a dog in this fight.

To get the view of the Abbott Districts, visit the pages of the Education Law Center (here). You may be especially interested in their testimony before the same committees (see here).

The Education Law Center takes pains to point out that the proposal could hurt suburban as well as urban schools, and pointedly asks what is the rush to pass the legislation.

Now that the deed is done, you may also want to see how your elected representatives conducted themselves in Monday's legislative session. For that you can go to the archived live coverage here.

---

• Website: "Education Law Center"
• Website: "E3"
• Legislature: "Coverage of Debate"
• Legislature: "Text of A500/S4000 School Funding Bill" (PDF)

-- Dan Damon

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Green votes to dismantle Abbott districts

Plainfield Assemblyman Jerry Green abandoned Plainfield's children AND the Legislative Black Caucus yesterday evening to cast his vote to effectively dismantle the Abbott school districts.

Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign the legislation without delay.

In a thoughtful review of the issues involved in the governor's plan, Newark schools superintendent Marion Bolden recently outlined (see here) both the achievements that have been made by the state's Abbott districts -- including Plainfield -- over the last seven years, and the disaster the new funding formula will mean for those same districts and their taxpayers.

The legislation will put the new plan in place immediately, which for Plainfield will mean a 2% increase in the next year and then zero increases in the following two years, after which it is possible that state funding may actually DECREASE.

Whatever your feelings about public schools or the success of the Abbott districts, you can understand that this means state aid will not even cover non-discretionary expenses -- salary increases and utilities, especially -- over the next three years.

The options will be to cut programs -- thus harming our children's life prospects -- or to raise property taxes. Or maybe both.

Abbott proponents are sure to take the state to court over the abandonment of the judicially mandated Abbott system, but that will take years to settle.

In the meantime, Plainfielders will have to deal with the wreckage Green's vote brings in its trail.

---

• Ledger: "Legislature barely approves school-funding bill"
• NY Times: "New Jersey Revamps State Aid to Schools"
• Gannett: "Corzine school funding wins narrow approval"
  
• Bergen Record: "Legislature OKs school funding plan"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Obama Rally at St. Peter's College Wednesday

Barack Obama RALLY FOR CHANGE St. Peter's College, Jersey City Wednesday, January 9 3:45 PM (Doors open at 2:30)

New Jerseyans have an opportunity to join with Democratic candidate Barack Obama in a rally Wednesday, the day after the New Hampshire primary, at St. Peter's College in Jersey City.

The rally will be at the Yanitelli Center, on Montgomery Street between Kennedy Boulevard and West Side Avenue (see campus map here).

---

• Campus Map: "St. Peter's College"
• Map: "Google Maps: St. Peter's College, Jersey City"
• Ledger: "Obama coming to New Jersey Wednesday"

-- Dan Damon

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Something funny with the [mortgage] money

The fate of the real estate market continues to hover over Plainfield as we enter the new year.

Though some think I have been something of a Chicken Little over the past several months, the auspices are not good. The ARMs with seductive teaser rates that were so hot in 2005 up until early 2007 are going to face their resets in the first two quarters of 2008.

Two things are going to drive the expected high foreclosure rate for these ARMs -- many of them subprime mortgages:

• First, the properties are not appreciating fast enough (some may even be worth less now than when bought), so there is little or no equity to use to refinance;
  
  
• and, secondly, credit has tightened. People must now show real incomes and real money in the bank. Not good for those with NINJA (No Income, No Job or Assets verification) loans -- otherwise known as 'liar loans'.

All this will sort itself out as the year unfolds.

But I am still mystified by the huge amounts of leverage some homeowners got against their properties while the markets were hot.

This is coming out now as some of these properties slide into foreclosure.

Consider the Berkeley Avenue property I highlighted in November (see here).

It had sold in 2000 for $350,000. It was on the Union County Sheriff's sale list in November with an upset price of $996,000. Speaking with the former owner of the property at the Van Wyck Brooks district's Christmas House Tour, I asked whether he had any idea how so much could be owed on the property. His answer: "All I can think of is there must be some fraud somewhere."

Sunday's Courier ran a story on the continuing rise of foreclosures, pointing out that the first nine months of 2007 outpaced ALL OF 2006 in Union and Middlesex counties.

But there were two eyepopping foreclosures on the list --

• In Green Brook, a house sold in 1998 for $396,889 and appraised in 2006 at $716,200 is being foreclosed with a mortgage of $982,225.
  
  
• In Branchburg, a single-family home bought in 2005 for $235,000, with a 2006 assessment of $513,700 is being foreclosed with a mortgage of $1,564,165.

As Ricky Ricardo used to say, "'Splain me."

---

• Courier: "Union county see more foreclosures in 9 months of 2007 than all of 2006"
• Plainfield Today: "Plainfield Foreclosures"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Watch out for Jerry Green's sellout Monday

If things go the way Gov. Corzine hopes tomorrow, Plainfield taxpayers will be taking it on the chin -- royally.

Word in the street Saturday afternoon was that a highly secretive email issued to Abbott school districts confirmed a slippery trick in the school funding proposal that would nail local taxpayers.

While it previously had been reported that the Abbott districts would get a maximum 2% PER YEAR INCREASE over the next three years -- and then face possible cuts -- that seems NOT to be the case.

Instead, the districts -- Plainfield included -- will receive a TOTAL of 2% SPREAD OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. Can you spell d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r?

And Plainfield Assemblyman Jerry Green is on board with Corzine and the state Democratic leadership in this slippery bit of business.

Whatever your point of view on funding public schools, you need to keep your eye on your wallet -- which is about to be picked.

This is why you will want to pay particular attention to how Assemblyman Green votes tomorrow on the school funding plan.

---

• Marion Bolden: "Funding plan a disaster for poor schools" -- Newark's superintendent of schools outlines the issues.
• Ledger: "School funding vote too close to call"
  

-- Dan Damon

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PMUA's 2008 Calendar: Pickup Locations

Click on image above or follow this LINK for a printable, fridge-sized 2008 PMUA Calendar. (Follow the printing instructions carefully.) AND be sure to email this page to your friends and neighbors.

You now have several options for getting a copy of the PMUA's 2008 pickups calendar.

Besides printing it out from the online copy (see links above), you can go to one of the following locations and pick up a hard copy, courtesy of the PMUA --

• Plainfield Public Library (8th & Park)
• Plainfield City Hall (515 Watchung)
• Plainfield Senior Center (305 East Front)
• PMUA Headquarters (127 Roosevelt)
• Environmental Resource Center (95 Rock Avenue)

If you want to fetch a hard copy, may I suggest trucking on over to the Environmental Resource Center?

Besides getting your calendar, you can get a good look at the new state-of-the-art facility for handling the many tons of solid waste we as residents generate and which needs to be processed and transferred elsewhere. It is a tangible sign your PMUA dollars are being wisely invested.

Or, you can just wait to get your copy in the mail in the newsletter which has been promised.

In any event, next Wednesday, January 9, is co-mingled (plastics and bottles).

Afraid you won't remember?

Go write it on the bathroom mirror in lipstick.

Now.

---

-- Dan Damon

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CSI Plainfield: PMUA's 2008 Calendar

Click on image above or follow this LINK for a printable, fridge-sized 2008 PMUA Calendar. AND be sure to email this page to your friends and neighbors.

Plainfielders may well wonder how the PMUA could have gotten its knickers in such a twist over such a simple -- and predictable -- task as issuing the pickups calendar for the new year.

Nevertheless, confusion continued yesterday.

When I got home late yesterday afternoon, my mailbox was full of comments on the pickup situation -- and an email from sender 'Reach PMUA' at the PMUA, which helpfully offered a press release and a PDF of the 2008 Calendar.

A 'CYA' MOVE?

The press release noted that PMUA workers would be picking up on Thursday both paper and co-mingled items which had been set out on Wednesday. And the PMUA was kindly suspending the issuance of waste rules citations for incorrect putouts. (Nice touch!)

But wait, the press release is dated January 3, and says the extraordinary collection was for January 3. OK... But my email had a time stamp of 4:02 PM. At the end of the work day in question. Are you confused yet?

The email from sender 'Reach PMUA'

So, I slipped into CSI: Plainfield mode and checked out when the 'press release' was composed.

Properties sheet for the press release, showing time of creation.

So the 'press release' was composed at 3:34 PM (actually, that was the time of saving an edited copy of a previously composed document) and then emailed to me (and perhaps others?) at 4:02 PM.

Why do a 'press release' late in the day to cover an activity that was to take place earlier in the day? Do the words 'cover your butt' come to mind?

THE CALENDAR DELAY

The 'press release' also cites 'a delay in receipt of the new 2008 collection schedule by most residents'.

A reader had emailed me of her experience with PMUA customer service Thursday in this regard. When she called --

...the PMUA this morning...I was told that there had been "a change" and that the first and third Wednesdays were now dedicated to the collection of paper recycling. When I asked how residents were informed of this change, I was told that no notification had gone out and that the city was a fault. I was assured that details of the change in the pick-up schedule would be published in the next newsletter, and that I would get the afore-mentioned newsletter by next Monday.

Councilor Burney's mileage varied. He reports on his blog that --

"[The PMUA] assured me that actual calendars were on the way and every household in Plainfield should have one by this Saturday."

Saturday or Monday? Why wouldn't the customer service people have the same information for EVERYONE who called?

If it had been promised for Monday and delivered on Saturday, the PMUA would look heroic. The first law of customer service, you will remember, is 'underpromise and overdeliver'. On the other hand, if you promise Saturday delivery and muff it... Well, you get the idea.

And what does the City have to do with it at all? Why would a customer service person blame the City?

But wait! The PMUA sent me a copy of the 2008 Calendar. Back into CSI: Plainfield mode. When was the 2008 Calendar prepared?

Properties sheet for the 2008 Calendar, showing a December 13 creation date.

Inspecting the properties sheet for the PDF document shows that the 2008 Calendar was in its final form by December 13, 2007. That's three weeks before the events of January 2nd and 3rd.

But it couldn't get into your mailbox by New Year's Day?

And I would have been happy to let all this go without any further comment after the FIRST 'press release' from the PMUA on Wednesday.

But they had to 'fix' things.

---

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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Dine Around Town Discount Cards Available

Now that the fever of your New Year's resolutions has subsided, the Friends of the Plainfield Public Library have good news.

Just in time for you to get back into eating out.

This year's Dine Around Town cards are now available -- with many intriguing eating spots participating.

Here's how the DAT card works: You pay $10 for the card, which goes 100% to support the Library's adult literacy and children's reading programs.

You present the card to a participating eatery and get a 10% discount on your meal. Each and every time you dine at any of the participants throughout the entire year.

Not bad, huh!?

Eat well and do good at the same time.

---

Cards available at:

• Plainfield Public Library (Circulation Desk), 8th and Park.
• Suburban Jewelers, 126 East Front Street
• Netherwood Auto Repair, South & Woodland Avenues
  
• Queen City Diner, 1324 South Avenue
• Sweet Lew's Bakery, 1348 South Avenue

Or for delivery, call the Friends of the Library's concierges:

• Sandy Spector (908) 756-0310
• Sandra Rice (908) 391-8865

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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PMUA annoys 48,000 Plainfielders without lifting a finger

There isn't a week goes by I don't have to defend the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA) to someone.

Knowing that elected officials just never have the political stomach to invest in maintaining the infrastructure that manages our waste water and solid waste, I never for a moment thought it was a bad idea. Still don't.

But Lord knows, the PMUA doesn't always make it easy to stick up for them.

Take today, for instance, when the PMUA managed to annoy 48,000+ Plainfielders without lifting a finger. Maybe I should say exactly because they did not lift a finger -- in advance.

Today is first Wednesday. Should be bottle and can recycles, right?

Well, it would be if the old calendar was simply extended.

And no new one has arrived yet, so -- as Julia Child used to say -- 'what would you do?'

Like me, you probably lugged your blue container with bottles and cans to the curb last night, so it would be there for pickup this morning.

Except that the PMUA decided to switch Wednesdays -- meaning today would be papers. It's their prerogative. No problemo.

Well, except the PMUA didn't actually TELL anyone until it was too late.

I got the word via an email FORWARDED to me by its recipient mid-morning.

I emailed the PMUA staffer who sent out this 'press release' immediately, asking for confirmation and advising I would put out the word upon hearing back from them. As of this evening, no reply.

However, the Courier did post the news online at mid-day, and a reader sent me the link (along with the comment they posted to the story).

Herewith the Courier's reportage --

PLAINFIELD: Recycling schedule has changes for 2008

The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority will collect paper products on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, under a change to the recycling schedule for 2008.

The change is effective Wednesday.

Additionally, co-mingled recycling will be picked up on the second and fourth Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 9. This includes cans, bottles, plastic and glass.

City residents can refer to their PMUA 2008 alternate recycling calendar for more information. (Online story here.)

'Alternate recycling calendar'?

If you haven't yet got your recycling -- or your alternate recycling -- calendar, join the crowd.

It's probably in the mail.

You think your PMUA bills should cover timely notice of service changes?

Picky, picky.

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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If a tree falls in Plainfield, does the world know?

If a tree falls in Plainfield, does the world know?

There was a fairly full audience yesterday as re-elected Plainfield councilors Linda Carter and Cory Storch were sworn in at the annual reorganization meeting.

By a vote of 5-2 (with Storch and 4th Ward councilor Elliott Simmons voting 'no'), councilor at-large Harold Gibson was elected council president for the 2008 term. Linda Carter was unanimously elected chair of the committee of the whole.

Presiding Municipal Court Judge Joan Robinson-Gross administered the oaths of office to all, having interrupted her vacation to accommodate the ceremonial occasion.

The invocation was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Shirley Cathie, pastor emeritus of Community Church of God.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs presented her third 'State of the City' address by way of a PowerPoint presentation.

None of the above news is in the local papers today, and you may ask 'why not?' since lots of other towns' reorganizations are covered (see CLIPS here).

Why not, indeed!

While the Administration was up to its ears in maneuvering to reschedule the date the Council had originally set for the meeting, it evidently was too busy to make sure its public relations apparatus bothered to tell the media of the changed date for the Mayor's important speech.

If a tree falls in Plainfield, does the world know?

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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Collapse of 'buy and strip' deal has local impact

Plainfielders wondering how the mortgage mess impacts us locally may want to ponder the following tale.

PHH, the country's 7th-largest residential mortgage originator, pulled the plug on a buyout deal by Blackstone that was to be consummated by midnight last night. The reason given was that Blackstone was unable to pull together the loans necessary to complete the purchase, or to put up its own cash to close the -- relatively small -- deal.

The foreground story is that the 'buy and strip' model -- where private equity firms float huge loans to buy out companies, strip out the value, sell off the assets and leave the shells behind, saddled with new and humongous debt -- has hit a rough patch of road. Bottom line: The banks putting up the money don't believe PHH is worth what the deal was set at. Financial media are focused on the harm this does to Blackstone's image and relations with the banks.

The back story is about what this means for PHH.

The company's chairman is quoted in the NY Times as saying --

"there can be no assurance that any further exploration of strategic alternatives that the board may determine to undertake will result in any agreement or transactions."

Translation: The company is in deep doo-doo, and if it doesn't find a buyer, its future is cloudy to say the least.

How does this translate into local impact?

PHH is one of the four companies spun off by Cendant Corporation in 2005 (it got the mortgage and vehicle leasing businesses).

One of the sister companies spun off at the same time is Realogy (it got the real estate franchises) -- now the parent corporation of such local real estate brands as ERA, Burgdorff-ERA, Century 21 and Coldwell Banker.

PHH, on its own and through its 'privately branded' mortgages, has been a major mortgage partner of these former sibling operations.

Difficulties for PHH can ripple down to the real estate companies, whose agents must help buyers find mortgages in order to close sales.

Stay tuned.

---

• NY Times: "Deal to Buy Mortgage Company Collapses"
• Wall Street Journal: "A Failed Deal Harks Back to '07"
• WashPost: "Credit Crunch Puts the Brakes on Buyout Blitz"
• Website: "PHH"
• Website: "Realogy"
• Wesite: "Cendant Corporation"

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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Council Reorganization, Mayor's Reception this morning

HAPPY

NEW YEAR!

Mayor's New Year's Day Reception
9:00 AM | City Hall Library

City Council Reorganization
11:00 AM | Courthouse/Council Chambers

The Mayor's Annual State of the City Address
will be delivered during the Reorganization meeting