DWI: A defense playbook?

Walking a straight line is one of several field sobriety tests.

'DWI', 'DUI', 'driving while impaired' -- whatever it's called, it's regarded as a serious offense and in New Jersey, a conviction typically involves the loss of driving privileges and a hefty fine.

Plainfielders may recall one DWI which finally played out in area courts.

Today's Bergen Record carries a story about a 'noted local attorney' from North Jersey who is contesting a DWI charge (see here). I found the outline of the case interesting.

When arrested, the attorney was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit. He failed several sobriety tests.

The arrest was made July 15, 2007 and the case has yet to go to trial.

Reasons?

• Multiple transfers to other courts.
• Rescheduled court dates.
• Motion to suppress all evidence obtained.
• Requests for extensive documentation on
• a) the types of sobriety tests given, and
• b) training and credentials of officers involved.
• Request for documentation on testing history of Breathalyzer involved.

Is there a DWI defense playbook?

Next appearance scheduled for October 2.

Bets, anyone?

---

• Bergen Record: "Noted local attorney fighting DWI charges"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Assemblyman Jerry Green: How I let you all down, again

Perhaps Plainfield Assemblyman Jerry Green should stop writing OpEds, considering that a close reading of them often does not advance his cause.

Take, for instance, the piece "Let's clear the air, post-Muhlenberg" which appeared in the August 15th Courier News (see here).

Setting aside the Assemblyman's propensity to deal with his responsibilities by looking around for someone to 'throw under the bus' (in this case, the late Mayor Al McWilliams), he DOES reveal something he has never said before --

The Muhlenberg situation became a major issue for the current administration as soon as it took office because the former administration chose not to do anything. In fact, during a meeting with the former administration and Solaris, I was advised that Muhlenberg Hospital was in danger. The former administration chose not to fight.

When the current administration and City Council came into office, we were told that, without a new buyer, the hospital would be closing within one year. This administration and the City Council have been working diligently to find a new buyer because the handwriting was on the wall ... (Emphasis added.)

Whether or not there was a meeting between Green, Solaris and the McWilliams administration (and I would want date, place and agenda from an independent source as verification), Green has tipped us off that -- as he himself says -- Mayor Robinson-Briggs and the Council knew FROM DAY ONE of her administration (that is, January, 2006) that the fate of the hospital was 1) A MAJOR ISSUE, and 2) that Muhlenberg might CLOSE WITHIN A YEAR WITHOUT A BUYER.

In an earlier OpEd from April, 2008 Green said --

I have been working with the leadership of Solaris Health Systems for years to make sure that Muhlenberg has received special funding from the state, and I am continuing to do that. (Emphasis added.)

In fact, questions around how Green 'worked' for Solaris surfaced last October at the time of the exposure of his previously undisclosed job as a VP for the Alllman Group of Westfield (see my post "As Green leaves, questions remain")

Given what Green says about what he, Robinson-Briggs and the Council knew and when they knew it, a few questions keep coming to mind --

MAYOR ROBINSON-BRIGGS: Since Muhlenberg's fate was an issue 'as soon as she took office', she needs to explain to the people of Plainfield and the Muhlenberg service area

1. Why, as a board member, she only attended one Muhlenberg Board meeting between taking office in January, 2006, and the announcement of the closing this past February [and THAT was a cocktail sip!], and
   
   
2. Why there is no prior evidence of an effort to find a buyer for the hospital if it was so high on her to-do list.

ASSEMBLYMAN GREEN: It has been years indeed, since Jerry knew Muhlenberg's situation was troubled. As a matter of fact, he advocated for their cardiac surgery license application nearly ten years ago, and in 2003, he stunned those involved in planning new construction and upgrades for Plainfield's public schools by flying in from left field with a wild proposal to build a school on the Muhlenberg campus as a 'demonstration project' under the Abbott construction funding scheme, with -- as rumored at the time -- a sales price to Solaris of $100M for a slice of the Muhlenberg campus. Alas, that scheme came to naught. (See here and here for details.)

1. The pertinent question to Assemblyman Green is -- Knowing what you knew and when you said you knew it: What did you do about Muhlenberg between 2003 and the announcement last November that it would be sold and/or closed?
   

So, as Assemblyman Green suggests, let's 'clear the air':

The real issue with regard to Muhlenberg is not what the previous administration did or did not do, it is the question of what kind of leadership Assemblyman Green and Mayor Robinson-Briggs have exercised on their watch.

Not nearly good enough, by my lights.

Real Estate: Plainfield, Union County Update

Hotpads.com, offers free views of residential properties. Shown here
are some of the foreclosures in Plainfield. (Click to enlarge image.)

If Union County were a state, it would rank as having the second highest foreclosure rate per thousand subprime mortgages in the country.

With 5.2 foreclosures per thousand subprime mortgages, it comes in behind Florida (6.2) but well ahead of Calilfornia (4.6) and Nevada (3.7), according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

You can read or print out the full Fed report here --

Foreclosures - Union/Essex Counties - Aug 2008 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Foreclosures - Union/Essex Counties - Aug 2008

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its quarterly figures on Thursday for existing home sales in the country's metropolitan areas (see here -- PDF). The Newark/Union County area has registered a 6.9% decline in the median sales price over 2007's QII figure.

Experts say that prices may need to fall up to 30% from their 2006 highs, in addition to a reduction in the inventory of unsold homes in order to think the corner has been turned in the housing market.

According to the NAR, about a third of sales were either 'short sales' (where the bank accepts less than the amount owed on a mortgage) or outright foreclosures. The Ledger reports (see here) that banks are better off with short sales (where losses run around 19% of the loan amount) than outright foreclosures (at 40%).

Lastly, I have found a FREE mapping tool at hotpads.com (see the saved Plainfield map here), which looks to be more useful even than the for-pay RealtyTrac website. You can zoom the maps, choose among sales, rentals and foreclosures, and by clicking on 'list' instead of 'map' get a list of the subject properties with details. This is one site to bookmark if you are interested in real estate matters.

If you are a hard core real estate buff, you will also want to bookmark Jim Bednar's NJ Real Estate Report, a treasure trove of all things real estate. WARNING: It's addictive.

P.S. Note the discrepancy between the Hotpads map and the map in the Federal Reserve report. I suspect the Fed report is less than accurate because of the habit of many people of just using '07060' as the ZIP code for Plainfield and omitting the '07062' and '07063' ZIPs, which would give a result like the Fed's.

---

• Ledger: "Homebuyers on hunt for bargains"
• NAR: "Metropolitan Median Prices, 2008 Q2"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Courier, Ledger parent companies' woes continue

Newspapers owned by Advance, the Ledger's parent company.
For a complete list of the Courier's parent, Gannett, see here.

While driving with the radio on Thursday afternoon, I heard a report on Bloomberg that Gannett, the parent company of the Courier (and the Home News, Asbury Park Press and Courier-Post, among others in NJ) was going to lay off 1,000 people -- in their advertising departments, it seemed. This comes on top of previous cuts and a forced buyout at the Courier, and rough news for the Ledger (which I previously covered here).

Then, yesterday, the good folks over at the Countywatchers blog forwarded a link to a story about New Jersey newspapers and their problems from this week's NY Observer (see here). You should know the Observer, published weekly, is owned by young Jersey-raised Jared Kushner, who also owns the PolitickerNJ website (which is now expanding its franchise to many other states, as you can see from links on its homepage). And that Kushner, should things come to that, is rumored as a potential buyer for the Ledger.

My old standby, Editor and Publisher magazine, confirmed the Gannett news (see here), and also posted an update on the Advance (parent of the Ledger) organization's Michigan situation (see here), where three of its papers are consolidating printing and ad production -- reminiscent of Gannett's moves with the Courier.

But the real dirt comes from Jim Hopkins' Gannett Blog, where he posted the layoff memo (see here). Hopkins, former business editor of the Arkansas Gazette, has a hoppin' blog on all things Gannett. (As he notes, Frank Gannett would NOT be pleased.)

It all boils down to advertising moving away from print media. Classifieds, long a homely stepsister, but a cash cow, led the way, but now it has bled to national advertisers -- including cars most prominently. And, of course, the economic situation has not been helpful, especially as far as real estate advertising goes.

So, how long will you be able to pick a copy of the local paper out of your bushes every morning?

Or how long will you even want to?

Postscript: While print media flounder, their online presences do better, as can be seen from this exclusive report posted online this morning by E&P -- see here.

---

• NY Observer: "Welcome to New Jersey, media wasteland"
• Editor & Publisher:
• "UPDATE: Gannett Confirms Cut in 1,000 Jobs"
• "Advance consolidates printing, ad production"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Comments: Dan is caught up...for now

OK, so I'm not the swiftest at catching up on the comments...

Most are in the form of tips and gossip (Heaven forfend!), and I often get a few (awright, several) days behind, but this morning I ate my broccoli and posted the 'comment' comments before even my first cup of coffee.

How's that for being virtuous?

Anyway, if you thought I had neglected you, go back and check -- even the nasty ones are up.

But it probably doesn't mean the tiger has changed his stripes...

or whatever the metaphor is....;-)

Muhlenberg talks: Double-talk, excrement polishing the order of the day?

Film classic a decoder ring for Muhlenberg talks?

If things weren't so serious, I'd think we were watching a replay of the famous Abbott & Costello 'Who's on first' routine.

Today's Courier (see here) reports on one-half of the much-touted pair of meetings scheduled for yesterday between Assemblyman Jerry Green, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, three Councilors and players in the saga of saving Muhlenberg Hospital. The report covers the meeting with Commissioner 'Chainsaw Heather' Howard. For news of the other meeting, we must wait.

Parsing the story, it seems that double-talk and excrement polishing were the order of the day.

THE LICENSE

Keeping Muhlenberg's license active, a key face-saver for the Assemblyman and the Mayor, has been an issue for some time now, as the Assemblyman himself has made clear. As has also Dr. Reddy Dandolu and his investor group -- in fact, they have said failure to keep the license active would be 'a dealbreaker'.

The mishandling of the license matter by the Assemblyman could hardly have been more shabby. If it was important to keep the license active beyond Muhlenberg's closure, wasn't it important in the very beginning? If it was important, why didn't the Assemblyman ask his colleagues in the Legislature if any remembered a similar circumstance of a hospital closure where the license was kept active? Or why not ask the NJ Hospitals Association the same question?

No, it appears the Assemblyman asked no one, did no homework and only cited the embarrassing fact AFTER 'Chainsaw Heather' had issued her decision, and only after he learned of it through the sharp memory of Dr. Harold Yood (see Dr. Yood here, and the Assemblyman here).

Could the whole issue of canceling the license been headed off in advance if the Assemblyman had been more attentive or insightful? The outcome certainly couldn't have been worse.

Double-talk? How's this --

Howard and Green both said a key outcome of the discussion was a mutual agreement to work toward ensuring that the issue of licensing, a hot-button topic in recent days, not be allowed to jeopardize any prospective sale of the hospital ...

... The absence of an active license for the hospital is regarded as a major pitfall by two of three known investors' groups to have expressed recent interest in Muhlenberg, according to Green ...

... "We're talking about reducing the risk of a potential buyer making the sale contingent on the license," Howard said.

The Assemblyman said Howard 'reassured us' the license issue would not be a problem. Is this a retreat from the call to keep the license active? Is this a sign the Assemblyman's lack of mojo is letting the people down once again?

VIABLE BUYER(S)

'Viable buyer(s)', 'a viable plan', and 'a viable offer' seem to be the weasel-words behind which 'Chainsaw Heather' and Solaris are going to hide. I have the feeling that if Warren Buffett showed up and offered to write a check on the spot and in full for the purchase of Muhlenberg, he would be found to be 'not a viable buyer'. This smokescreen and the license issue can be seen as the strongest cudgels in the successful implementation by Solaris of any strategy of preventing competition in its service area.

JERRY THREATENS SOLARIS?

Is the idea that Muhlenberg's property would be put on the tax rolls (as a non-profit hospital, the property is currently tax-exempt), with a cost to Solaris of $3 million a year, a threat to them by the Assemblyman? You be the judge.

HEROES OF THE HOUR?

Assemblyman Green and Mayor Robinson-Briggs, both of whom face re-election next year, garnered nice words from Commissioner Howard which will be useful in next year's campaign flyers, I am sure. You will note, however, that Assemblyman Green rather than the Mayor is quoted extensively in this story, which brings me back to my question of yesterday: Was she only going to be the hand-puppet of the Assemblyman?

Meanwhile, completely left out of the discussion -- by Commissioner Howard and the Assemblyman -- is the fact that if it had not been for the continuous and highly visible pressure from citizen activists like POP and 'Buy Muhlenberg', Muhlenberg would long ago have sunk beneath the waves without any of the concessions and conditions that were wrung from Solaris.

To pols and bureaucrats, the people are an inconvenience and not the real source of the power that they wield. (One regular attendee at the 'Save Muhlenberg' rallies told me that the Assemblyman confided at the very first rally that he thought it would be the only one that would ever be held.)

But that can be changed, can't it.

---

• Courier: "State health commissioner urges potential Muhlenberg buyers to come forward"

-- Dan Damon

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D-Day today for Robinson-Briggs and Green on Muhlenberg

D-Day , no turning back.

Today is D-Day today for Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Assemblyman Jerry Green on the rescue of Muhlenberg Hospital.

In two meetings today -- one including Commissioner Heather Howard, one not -- the Plainfield duo must convince the state to keep Muhlenberg's license active, and the potential buyer to stay in the game.

The prospective buyer has said that not to have an active license in place would be a 'deal-breaker'.

The D-Day metaphor is quite appropriate: The Plainfield duo will have to make their way successfully across an 'Omaha Beach' under heavy artillery barrage and strafing mounted by Solaris to kill the Muhlenberg license.

Assemblyman Green and Solaris have worked hand-in-glove for many years in a mutually beneficial relationship, as both parties have often remarked.

Will the Assemblyman, to save Muhlenberg, today finally have to 'bite the hand that has fed him'?

Will the Mayor be a player or just a hand-puppet for the Assemblyman?

Will the mystery three Council members be active participants?

Will the deal move forward?

Or die?

Stay tuned.

---

-- Dan Damon

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3 Plainfield schools get money for emergency repairs

Three Plainfield schools are among 114 in special-needs school districts (they're not referred to as 'Abbott districts' any more) statewide that will receive $60M for emergency repairs, according to a story in today's Courier-Post of Cherry Hill.

Plainfield High School and Cook School will receive funding for emergency roof repairs; Stillman School gets money for window replacements.

Read the full story in the Courier-Post here.

Muhlenberg: Will the hapless heroine be rescued from the wicked schemer?

Pauline's guardian schemed to get rid of her.

Mayor Robinson-Briggs is 'thrilled' with the possibility that Dr. Reddy Dandolu and DBR Healthcare may emerge as the saviors of Plainfield's Muhlenberg Hospital. (See reports in today's Ledger and Courier.)

Not, I think, if Solaris has anything to do with it.

Dr. Dandolu had reached out to me in April (see here), after I wrote about the interest of Pine Creek in Muhlenberg.

Discussing the need to work with local political officials to successfully conclude a deal (and that I could not be said to be on the friendliest terms with same), I suggested Dr. Dandolu approach the political powers-that-be through Councilor Cory Storch. (I call your attention to the lack of any mention of Councilor Storch in the Mayor's showboating -- which is not the reporters' fault if the Mayor never clued them in.)

Because Solaris' financial consultants required a confidentiality agreement, Dr. Dandolu was not at liberty to discuss his proposal.

However, my research after that conversation showed that he has a family connection to a group that owns several hospitals in southern California, operating as Prime Healthcare Services.

I have to wonder if PHS is part of the deal that Dr. Dandolu is putting together. That would bring a team that has successfully managed hospitals back to financial health -- though not without criticism and crossing swords with California's healthcare monitors (see here).

Tension increased unbearably as the train
bore down on the hapless heroine.

The real obstacle I think is that Solaris will move heaven and earth to see that Muhlenberg's license is cancelled. I have felt all along that Solaris has a STRATEGIC goal of 1) eliminating any competition in its service area, and 2) driving charity care away from the JFK facility.

The maneuvering by Assemblyman Green, Mayor Robinson-Briggs, Dr. Dandolu and Solaris put me in mind of the grandaddy of all movie serials, The Perils of Pauline.

Pauline was always put in peril by the wicked Mr. Koerner who schemed to polish her off and keep control of her inheritance for himself. When I was a kid, the serials used to be run on TV and I always remember the one with Pauline tied in knots and stretched across a railroad track by Koerner in the path of an oncoming locomotive.

Pauline was saved in the nick of time.

Will Muhlenberg be?

Pauline's adventures gave us the word 'cliffhanger'.

---

• Plainfield Today (4/29/2008): "New data and a new buyer for Muhlenberg"

-- Dan Damon

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Obama and Dems set up HQ on East Front Street

Democratic Party HQ for the General Election,
just down the street from the Senior Center.

The Democratic Party's headquarters for the November general election is going to have a spiffy street-level space in the same newly renovated office block on East Front Street that houses the city's rented Senior Center space.

In fact, it's in the space previously occupied by the New Democrats during Mayor Al McWilliams primary and general election campaigns for his second term.

The karma should be good for those standing for election this fall.

Now, if they can just get all the signs to stay up at the same time. (The droopy one is for Democratic candidates for City Council Annie McWilliams, Adrian Mapp and William Reid.)

---

-- Dan Damon

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Should Plainfield revalue its properties?

Is it time for Plainfield to revalue its properties?

The amount a property owner pays in taxes is determined by the assessed value of the land and buildings (called 'improvements') and the tax rate, which is set annually by the County and based on budgets for the municipality, schools and the county.

At the time a community values its properties, the assessments are supposed to reflect actual market conditions. Plainfield's last revaluation took place in the early 1990s, and the assessments on our books (except for new construction or properties revalued because of substantive improvements) reflect those older market conditions.

Municipalities undertake revaluations at different times, and the potential exists for a town to carry an unfairly large share of the county's tax load if its assessed values are higher than other towns in the county. Counties attempt to level the playing field by assigning a multiplier value which is intended to make each town more comparable to other towns and to approximate current market conditions.

This all works reasonably well in good times, but these are not good times.

Last Thursday, the city of Paterson sued Passaic County and ten other towns in the county over this very same issue, contending that it is carrying an unduly heavy share of the county tax burden.

Because our revaluation took place over 15 years ago, Plainfield may not have the same complaint.

However, with market values depressed and unlikely to recover any time soon (many experts are suggesting a five or six year slump in prices), Plainfield's City Council might be doing Plainfield taxpayers a favor by considering revaluation under today's market conditions.

Read more about the thinking on these issues here...

Property owners turn to tax appeals to ease hard times

Facing hard times and falling property values, New Jerseyans are turning to tax appeals as a way to ease financial burdens.

Well-prepared property owners who can document that a property's value has declined stand a chance that they can get their assessment, and thereby their tax bill, knocked down significantly.

Several items need to be covered to enhance chances for success. Read more here...

Muhlenberg: The backstory

Check back a little later. -- Dan

Plainfield's latest 'park' not its greatest

This abandoned pallet marks the entry from the rear parking lot.




Bare dirt comprises most of the 'park' site.




The sign. No comment.

Plainfield's latest 'park' is hardly its greatest.

I've been watching the vacant lot on West Front between Horizons and McDonald's as the long-vacant building was razed and then a couple of park benches appeared. I didn't realize it was a 'park' until Bernice called it to my attention recently.

Since no one can seem to remember the Council resolving to make it a park, the mystery of how it got that designation and where the funds came from to do the project is beginning to pique a few people's interest.

Parking in the lot adjacent to Horizons and behind the storefront properties, one is first caught up by the deteriorated and refuse-strewn condition of the city lot. What is that about?

From the rear, one must pass an abandoned pallet to access the mostly bare dirt 'park', in which two benches perch amid a hedge of barberry, a few neglected and dying marigolds and assorted litter.

Aside from the sign (with its odd, uncalled-for use of quotation marks and brackets), one would hardly suspect it was a park. With the benches in direct sun except for early morning and late afternoon, it is an uninviting spot, and seems mostly ignored in favor of seating along Front Street that gets more shade.

You'd think the people whose names are on the sign would think twice before letting their names be associated with such a forlorn-looking project.

Is this the image of the Queen City the administration wants to project?

---

-- Dan Damon

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Solaris & Muhlenberg: Everything coming into focus

With the announcement -- on a Friday, to bury the news? -- that Solaris is asking for public bonding to expand, it seems the months-long drama of the Muhlenberg closure plan is now coming into focus.

You can read the news here --

• Courier: "JFK to expand to fill gap created by Muhlenberg's upcoming closure"
• Ledger: "Solaris looking to expand JFK Medical Center"

But the real story is behind the news.

That will be for Monday.

---

-- Dan Damon

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08/08/08: Time to bet the farm?

Could be. The Casino Night/Taste of the Plainfields fundraiser for the Plainfield Public Library's children's room refurbishment is tonight, starting at 6:30 PM, at the library. $40/person.

Though the Chinese are exceptionally fond of the number '8' and believe it to be exceptionally lucky (the Olympics kick off at 8:08 PM on this triple-8 day), they are not the only ones.

Check out Ben Schott's op-chart in today's New York Times entitled 'Crazy Eights' (see here) for a roundup of eights and their import throughout history.

Could you be lucky tonight?

Four eights in poker?

Red or Black eight in roulette?

Boxcars in craps?

Hmmm...

---

-- Dan Damon

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Toiling in the hot summer sun

In Plainfield, man and beast alike toil in the hot summer sun to make the world go 'round.

'Beast' may be a stretch, but the bee above gathering nectar from a Bloodroot, or Scarlet Asclepias, in the Shakespeare Garden at Cedar Brook Park caught my eye. The plant is a gussied-up version of the milkweed commonly seen along country roads and in open fields.

With the help of a rail-riding crane, workers place a heavy metal plate as part of the ongoing reconstruction of New Jersey Transit's Plainfield rail crossings. The work shown here is at the Madison Avenue crossing, after which the crane moved west to the Central Avenue overpass. Reconstruction of the overpasses is scheduled to be finished in 2009.

The bee did not appear to break a sweat; can't say the same for the NJT workers.

---

-- Dan Damon

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The School District teaches the City a lesson

Under Plainfield's new superintendent of schools, Dr. Steve Gallon III, changes are reinvigorating the district from top to bottom.

One of the most prominent to my mind is the new emphasis on timely communications with the district's stakeholders, which includes the whole community.

And thereby, the district is teaching the City a lesson.

With about a month under his belt, Eric Jones, who is coordinating the district's public information, has not only STARTED a blog (PPS News ... Online!), but has POSTED TO IT REGULARLY (including at least one weekend post), with A VARIETY of brief and lively posts.

In his first twenty 'stories', I have noted --

Communications from Dr. Gallon	1
Agendas	1
Event Notices	4
News Items	7
Personnel Introductions	3
Comments/Feedback Roundup	1
Photo Essays	3

The purpose of the blog is clearly stated at the top of the right-hand column, and there is both a link to send an email and a contact phone number.

As if all this weren't enough, Jones outlines a number of different featured posts we can look forward to --

1) CLOSE-UP (a guide to an instructional program)

2) ASK THE 'SUPER' (Dr. Gallon will answer readers' questions)

3) INSIDE RM: __ (A 'sneak peek" inside a classroom, featuring engaging lessons and activities)

4) UP CLOSE & PERSONAL (Interviews with students, staff, parents, and administrators.)

With adaptation to its peculiar circumstances, this is a recipe for communications success that could readily be put to use by the City if it wanted or had the ability.

---

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield Today: August 1 - 5 posts

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.

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.

MUSIC

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.

Including a 50-50, this is going to be the event of the summer.

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

You'd think we should be there.

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'?

Billboard touts the Ledger as most read newspaper
in Union County. (Photo: CountyWatchers)

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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