PMUA mailer underscores disinvestment in Plainfield

Disqualifying partial postal indicia set sleuthing afoot.

Problems with the PMUA's mailer sent Plainfield Today on a sleuthing expedition that ended up underscoring continuing corporate disinvestment in Plainfield.

The first wave, of course, began in the 1960s (no, Virginia, it was NOT INSTIGATED by the riot), with the closure of the Mack Truck plant on West Front Street (1961).

But the trail the PMUA mailer led me on put the focus on a second, more silent and insidious slide.

The Rahway postal permit in the indicia is NOT AN INDICATOR one way or the other that the PMUA is not using Plainfield's local mailing house.

Why?

Because, in its wisdom, the United States Postal Service has TERMINATED the Plainfield P.O.'s ability to accept bulk mailings. Quietly, last fall, probably about the same time that Plainfield's postal branches' window hours were reduced --

New window hours for the Netherwood branch.




New window hours for the Muhlenberg branch.




New window hours for the Station A branch.

You will note not all branches' hours are cut.

The reduced window hours are just the tip of the iceberg.

All bulk mailings now originating in Plainfield -- from the barely qualifying minimum number of pieces by small churches and nonprofits to the millions of pieces dropped annually by the local mailing house -- must now be schlepped either to Rahway or Newark.

The inconvenience to the mailers is the least of it.

The loss of income to the local 07060 ZIP code -- estimated by a person in the business to run into the millions for the Plainfield P.O. alone -- will weaken Plainfield's position vis-a-vis other postal centers like Rahway in the (inevitable) next round of cuts of service to be made by the U.S.P.S.

Since I have lived in Plainfield, residents and taxpayers have suffered the indignity (and tax consequences) of the following DISINVESTMENT decisions --

MACY*S

Plainfield's Macy's was a profitable operation (per a marketing exec who lived in Plainfield at the time) when a corporate decision was made to close it -- and the Morristown location -- to shunt business to the new store in the Bridgewater Commons. The bottom line to the taxpayers? New owners successfully appealed the property's assessment, reducing the ratables to the City by 75%. Guess who picked up the slack?

FOODTOWN

When Royal Dutch Ahold bought the Foodtown chain, the Plainfield store on South Avenue was shut down, the new owners saying they needed 40,000+ square feet for a location. A larger Stop & Shop (subsuming Foodtown) opened on Inman Avenue in Edison in its place. The property sat vacant for years before being subdivided. This is the location Mayor Robinson-Briggs is saying C-Town will open as a new location by April, 2010.

NATIONAL STARCH

Once an industrial powerhouse (second only to Mack Trucks as a Plainfield employer), the British conglomerate Unilever closed its Plainfield plant rather than modernize it, taking hundreds of jobs to its Finderne location.

COZZOLI MACHINE

With a decades-long history in Plainfield, Cozzoli Machine Works moved out to a larger location in Somerset County, taking its well-paying jobs with it, and leaving behind a vacant industrial building.

TOWNLEY LABS

In its ineffable wisdom, the Schools Construction Corporation (remember them?) forced the relocation from West Front Street of this profitable local business and its local employees in order to take over the premises for a 'swing' school to handle shuffling students around during the construction and renovation of several school buildings. Loss to the taxpayers? $400,000/year in ratables. The SCC did this despite an argument that a better location was the old Wardlaw-Hartridge campus (already off the tax rolls). In a sop to Mayor McWilliams, the SCC promised the Townley property would be returned to the tax rolls when there was no further need for a 'swing' school. Can you guess what has happened to that promise?

MUHLENBERG

The closure of Muhlenberg RMC can also be seen as a corporate disinvestment decision (by its parent, Solaris Health System), which led not only to the loss of 1,100 jobs, but to the withering of the 'doctor's row' of medical and allied offices along Park Avenue. If you're a trickle-down enthusiast, you can see the effects of the closing trickling down from unemployment and medical office traffic to a dampened retail climate throughout the city.

RAMCO

RAMCO? The biggest little employer you never heard of in Plainfield. RAMCO was a manufacturer of gutters and downspouting located on South Avenue between Berckman and Richmond Streets. Low-key, successful (one of their main income streams was manufacturing these items for Sears). While the City was paying no attention to RETAINING this business, it was bought up by a Pennsylvania firm and the couple hundred jobs in Plainfield went elsewhere over a year ago. The building is still empty and for sale.

These are all what I would call PRIMARY DISINVESTMENTS in Plainfield, decisions made by corporate types with a direct and measurable influence.

The Postal Service does not yet rise to this level, but the indications are quite clear -- and ominous.

USPS is struggling to find a viable business model as more and more transactions are moving to the internet (email is killing letters, online bill-paying is killing monthly payments) and alternative package carriers (UPS and FedEx have eaten up the market).

Reduced hours for local branches and the loss of millions in local bulk mailing income are only positioning the Postal Service for what I fear is an inevitable further disinvestment in Plainfield.

Maybe we can find a developer to turn the main P.O. into high-rise condominiums?

With historic WPA murals in the lobby?

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• Plainfield Today: "Why your PMUA mailer may not be in your mailbox"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Bernice and Dan the blogosphere's Allen & Benny?

Comedian Fred Allen offers an opinion on Jack Benny's musicianship.

Plainfield's pre-eminent blogger took a poke at Dan today (see here), ultimately posing the question of whether the two are 'the Fred Allen and Jack Benny of the Plainfield blogosphere'.

That last may only be meaningful to Plainfielders of a certain age, but the un-superannuated can find a sort of Cliff Notes here (Allen) and here (Benny) -- the keyword being 'feud'.

In 1937, Allen wisecracked about 'a certain alleged violinist' and he and Benny (friends in real life) were off on radio's longest running gag.

Allen and Benny fight over a Christmas toy.





Allen smooches Benny, but what is the croquet mallet for?





Benny and Allen in an on-air 'fight'.

Perhaps the real question here is whether Dan, as some say, 'was born ignorant and has been losing ground ever since' or whether he is, as others say, a 'fugitive from a Ripley cartoon'.

Or maybe an anti-Norbert Pearlroth?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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BOE personnel policies discussed

NJ School Boards Association liaison Gwen Thornton presents to the BOE.

Plainfield's Board of Education held a much anticipated Policy Committee meeting Tuesday evening, with the controversy around staff certifications lurking in the background, though unspoken.

The session was in two parts: a presentation by Gwen Thornton of the NJ School Boards Association on personnel policies and practices throughout the state generally, and a presentation and discussion by Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve Gallon from the local perspective.

Seven board members (newly-appointed member Sandy Chambers, who had a last minute work conflict, and Lisa Logan Leach were not in attendance), Dr. Gallon, Board Secretary Gary Ottman and the board's attorney sat around the committee table.

Other attendees included about twenty-five members of the public, Councilors Annie McWilliams, Bridget Rivers and Linda Carter, and a contingent of scribblerati.

Renata Hernandez has already posted (twice) on her observations from the meeting (see her blog here), and Maria Pellum has noted that she will post in full later today (see here). Bernice Paglia can be expected to put up her report (see here), as well as the Courier's Mark Spivey (see the Courier website here), who stayed to the bitter end -- well past his deadline filing time.

I was there for the first portion, Ms. Thornton's presentation and discussion.

Low-keyed, seemingly vastly well-informed, and evidently a seasoned Board member herself, Ms. Thornton's input was measured and -- to gauge Board members' reactions -- news to some people.

While the session was not meant to (and did not) deal directly with the staff certifications questions that have been much in the news and which the state has announced it will look into further, Thornton touched on two areas of interest in regard to that matter: Board due diligence, and making job openings widely available.

DUE DILIGENCE

With regard to DUE DILIGENCE, which is part of a fiduciary's responsibilities (Board of Ed members have a direct fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers, whom they represent), Thornton pointed out that Board members have a legal right to examine the personnel records of TWO CLASSES of individuals.

Those are (1) JOB APPLICANTS and (2) PERSONS SUBJECT TO A PENDING ACTION by the Board of Ed.

With regard to APPLICANTS, Thornton underscored that while in theory Boards have this right, in practice it would be cumbersome to examine EVERY applicant's file. Not only that, the presumption is that there is a relationship of trust between the BOE and the Superintendent, such that it is expected that the Superintendent is bringing forth the very best and most qualified candidates for a job opening.

The other circumstance is with regard to PENDING ACTIONS, which Thornton repeatedly underscored could just as likely be for POSITIVE reasons (granting tenure, promotions) as well as for NEGATIVE ones.

The circumstances under which the personnel records could be examined were also clarified. The inspection of records MUST TAKE PLACE AT THE HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE, with the expectation that the District will accommodate the reasonable requests of Board members who may not find it possible to come during regular office hours. (By implication, 'reasonable' would include making the request in a timely fashion and not putting the Board in a position of being delayed because the member was busy inspecting records at the time of a Board meeting.)

While Thornton did not address it directly (not a question asked of her), her comments made it clear that the rumored willy-nilly inspection of personnel records alleged against some Board members in the past would be in violation of board policies as construed by the state, and might even be actionable, exposing the taxpayers to financial liability for the miscreant's malfeasance.

This opportunity to inspect the personnel files is intended to give Board members the opportunity to satisfy themselves, in the case of hirings and promotions, that candidates have the required qualifications and certifications for the contemplated action. To my mind, it would be good for the Board to reserve this right of inspection to the higher appointments and promotions intended by the Superintendent. (It should be noted, however, that whether Board members availed themselves of the opportunity is one of the issues in the certifications controversy that hopefully will be clarified.)

JOB OPENINGS

In her discussion of filling job openings, Thornton discussed the many options for Districts to get the word out -- ranging from posting notices in the faculty lounges of District buildings, to advertising in newspapers, to turning to educational institutions, professional associations and the NJ School Boards Association's website.

She was quite clear that there is no LEGAL REQUIREMENT to post or broadly disseminate job openings, but at the same time asked rhetorically 'why not?' want to get the word out widely.

Thornton's remarks should go a long way to clearing up confusion over whether the gyrations around rescinding the contracts of Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 and then immediately rehiring them under new job titles was somehow in violation of some rules about job postings. IT WAS NOT.

That being said, any ethicist worth his/her salt will tell you that just because a law is not broken does not mean that parties have acted ethically.

This is particularly germane because of the bad taste left in the public's mouth over the way the whole business went down this past Fall. Hopefully, a lesson will be learned here.

We can only hope.

The Board of Ed, and Christian Estevez as chair of the committee, are to be commended for the even tone of the meeting (I was not there for the second half, at which I understand there were some sparks).

Its timeliness can be gauged from the public turnout, which I understand is most often ZERO at such meetings.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Why your 2010 PMUA calendar may NOT be in your mailbox

PMUA's new calendar has incomplete postal indicia.

Many Plainfield homeowners look forward to the PMUA's mailer containing the handy annual collection calendar.

Yours may not be in your mailbox anytime soon.

And not because the PMUA didn't get the piece produced in a timely fashion (they did).

The copy I picked up in City Hall on Monday, shows the reason why its delivery is questionable.

The four-page mailer (the reduced size a nod to financial constraints?) containing the calendar also has the DISQUALIFYING PARTIAL POSTAL INDICIA highlighted in the photo at the top of the page.

To be acceptable at the Post Office, the complete indicia -- indicating type of mailing, that postage has been paid, permit number and mailing office -- must be visibly printed on every piece. The Post Office has a funny way of being picky about this.

Here is a sample of a complete postal indicia, this one for a mailing made on the permit of Plainfield's A&E Mailers, a local business employing Plainfield residents that has been used for years by the City for mailings to residents.

Sample of a complete postal indicia.

All is not lost, however. You can download the complete 2010 collection calendar from the PMUA website (see here; PDF format).

One final note.

If the photo from my cellphone at the top of the page had better resolution, you would find that the PMUA is NOT USING THE LOCAL MAILING HOUSE's postal permit, but a postal permit in Rahway.

Does that mean they failed to give their business to a Plainfield firm?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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High anxiety at City Hall over missing appointee

The situation at City Hall recalls the Mel Brooks movie.

Dropped by Plainfield City Hall Monday to pick up the schedule of City Council meetings. The air was thick with anxiety over Mayor Robinson-Briggs' mysteriously non-appearing appointee to succeed Jennifer Wenson Maier as Director of Public Works and Urban Development.

The appointment caused a stir at the Council reorganization on New Year's Day when Her Honor's nominee -- David G. Brown, II -- failed to materialize.

Folks also whispered about the presence of Wenson Maier, who sat quietly in a front row seat (bride's side, as Olddoc would say).

There was speculation among those attending Councilor Bridget Rivers' celebration event at Chez Maree after the Council reorg that Brown may have jilted the Mayor. (It was pointed out that January is prime-time for political appointees as administrations throughout the state set up shop and shuffle cabinets, and that perhaps Robinson-Briggs' nominee had gotten a better offer at the last minute, leaving the bride at the altar, so to speak.)

In the Courier's recap of the reorg, which ran on Saturday (see here) and highlighted the number of top vacancies in the new Robinson-Briggs administration, Councilor Rashid Burney was quoted as saying --

"It's a very, very difficult situation for the city," Burney said. "At this point, we're
just trying to keep the lights on."

-- a sentiment shared by many, but probably one that would not excite potential appointees keeping an eye on Plainfield in the news.

Yesterday, things were even more mysterious, as Wenson Maier was in her (former?) office, and City Hall employees were abuzz over the situation.

Mayor Robinson-Briggs, who promised 'improved communications' in a second term in her State of The City Address delivered at the reorg, seems to have forgotten her newest promise.

Not only did employees not know what is going on, the Council appears to be in the dark also.

Councilors I spoke with said they had no knowledge of developments concerning Brown's appointment, nor of Wenson Maier's role at City Hall.

While the Mayor does not need Council approval to make an 'acting' appointment, if she is appointing Wenson Maier as 'acting director' until either Brown takes the job or another candidate is found, she does need to let folks know what's going on.

For an act by the Mayor to be official (such as appointing Wenson Maier to an acting position), the appointment must be made in writing to the Municipal Clerk, who would advise the Council of the Mayor's action.

Unlike the Pope, who may name a Cardinal in secret ('in pectore', or 'in petto', literally 'in his breast'), Plainfield's mayors have no such papal prerogative.

So, as me sees it, Mayor Robinson-Briggs owes everyone an explanation as to what's up, or not up, as the case may be.

Pronto.

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• Courier: "Plainfield still seeking administrator" -- 's', actually.
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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MLK Events - 2010 (Printable Calendar)

President Lyndon B. Johnson listens to Dr. King.

The 2010 Calendar of events commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is online here in a handy printable version.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield blogs rank high on the Web

How big is the Web?

Plainfield's blog scene came in for a mention in Mark Spivey's end-of-year technology story last week (see here), leading me to check out how we rank on the Web.

The Plainfield blog scene is truly remarkable, with 16 identifiably authored blogs and counting (plus one more, if you include Bo Vastine -- who lives a couple of doors over the city line in Scotch Plains -- and who comments on the 22nd Legislative District, in which Plainfield is included).

When I told the presenter at a workshop on blogs for Rutgers journalism students some time back that Plainfield had (then) a dozen active blogs, he was amazed at the number. That was then, this is now.

One quibble with the Courier's copy editor (not with Mark, who does not write the headlines or section heads) is the heading 'COMPETING BLOGS'. I really think of us all as complementary, rather than competing. While several of us (Bernice, Olddoc, Piv, myself and the blogging Councilors) cover some of the same turf, each blog has its own voice and view and reading them all will give Plainfielders a pretty rounded view of what's going on in town.

Can we find out how Plainfield's blogs stack up as masters of the (Web) universe?

Kinda, sorta.

There are several problems --

1. First, blogs are websites of a particular kind (usually the effort of a single person, easily but often irregularly updated, mostly non-commercial);
   
   
2. The Web is an ever-changing universe, just like the real one, with new sites and blogs constantly being born even as others die;
   
   
3. This means that stats are literally like frames in a video, changing every moment;
   
   
4. Since the Web is by its very nature decentralized, there is no one central authority for what's going on.

Given these issues, it is still possible to get a meaningful glimpse of how Plainfield's blogs are faring in the overall mix.

First, how big is the Web?

For an answer, I turned to Netcraft (see here), which basically tracks the Web for the types of servers being used, but which has a useful chart --

Netcraft finds an increase of 7 million active sites over the past year, and the chart indicates a total of approximately 72.6 million (72,600,000) active websites (the total of registered websites is on the order of 240 million). That's quite a few needles in the haystack.

All well and good, but can we find out where Plainfield's blogs stand in the mix?

The service which I use is Alexa, a free ranking rating tool that bloggers can install to monitor their traffic and that of other sites or blogs in which they are interested (see here; for a peek at rankings without the bother of installing the tool, see Evrsoft's search page here).

Be aware that Alexa and other site trackers (like comScore, Hitwise, Nielsen Interactive and Quantcast) are businesses vying with each other and each snipes at the other about its accuracy. Among the factors that enter into a site's ranking are the frequency of posting, numbers of unique visitors, numbers of pages viewed, and links to and from other websites. For our purposes, Alexa is considered 'one of the most accurate FREELY AVAILABLE tools' for ranking sites', as Evrsoft says.

Hedged about with all these caveats, what I found on the eve of the New Year is that Plainfield blogs line up in a range (LOWER numbers indicate HIGHER TRAFFIC) from 621,001 to 9.6 million, with the middle of the pack in the 800,000+ range. Plainfield's blog contingent is DEFINITELY NOT shabby. (For a little context, consider these traffic rankings: Courier News [38,749], Star-Ledger [2,431] and New York Times [97].)

Here's a chart --

BLOG	OWNER	TRAFFIC RANKING**
CLIPS	Dan Damon	621,001
Plainfield Today	Dan Damon	627,990
Plainfield Plaintalker	Bernice Paglia	789,367
Plainfield Sports News	Augustine Dashiell	807,079
Jerry Green's Page	Asm Jerry Green	811,741
Doc's Potpourri	Harold S. Yood, MD	813,064
Maria's Blog	Maria Pellum	825,574
Piv For Plainfield	Jim Pivnichny	842,687
Mapping It Out	Adrian Mapp	864,233
For Good Government	Cory Storch	869,880
Positive Change	Annie McWilliams	873,531
As I See It	Rashid Burney	873,532
The (TV) Show Must Go On	Jackie Schnoop	1,669,153
PEPTalk: Revisited	Renata Hernandez	5,006,907
Confessions of a Bathrobe Blogger	Rebecca Williams	8,037,864
Dottie G Sez	Dottie Gutenkauf	9,681,343
**As measured on ALEXA, 12/31/2009.

Keep in mind that on any given day, a blog's traffic may spike considerably: Plainfield Today's traffic shot up nearly tenfold when I posted about PolitickerNJ's overnight decision to go from FREE to $1,800/year for access (see here; the story was of intense interest to the NJ blogosphere). I also noted on Jackie's TV blog that her December 20 post Survivor: Samoa's season finale (see here) garnered an amazing 228 comments, leaving the rest of us to eat our hearts out.

While we're talking Plainfield blogs, please note that I am adding Dottie Gutenkauf's blog, Dottie G Sez, to the daily list (thanks to Dr. Yood for bringing it to folks' attention; please drop by and check it out), which also includes Rebecca Williams' Confessions of a Bathrobe Blogger, Jackie Schnoop's The (TV) Show Must Go On, and Renata Hernandez' PEPTalk: Revisited (where today she announces her candidacy for the Board of Ed).

Anyone with thoughts to share should consider this invigorating pasttime.

Come on in, the water's fine!

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• Courier: "The age of multitasking" -- Pertinent section is on page 2.
• Netcraft: "December 2009 Server Survey" -- Most current stats on Web size.
• Alexa: "Alexa: The Web Information Company"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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WINNERS: 'Good Riddance' and 'Plainfield Resolutions'

The envelope, please.

GOOD RIDDANCE

Plainfielders certainly did want to bid 'Good Riddance' to any number of things at the end of 2009. With 28 comments (see here), it was definitely hard to pick among them.

Most of the comments focused on issues surrounding the Robinson-Briggs administration often with wry humor, though there was one identifying a school district issue (administrative overhead: District coordinators for left-handed and right-handed pencil sharpening).

Among things bid good riddance to were the mayoral bodyguards, ineptness (we can only hope), petty politics (we certainly hope), those 'Sponsored by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and...' slugs (puh-leese), politicians on the take (surely this could not refer to Plainfield?), and anonymous posts by pols-in-power to the blogs (how outré).

Wished away, but not likely: Potholes, flood insurance, paper jams, blogs that don't post comments, empty stores, and red blazers in official places.

More likely: Getting rid of the 'Hooray for Sharon!' banner outside City Hall (the wind may do it), and getting the city out of the social services business (Dudley House, Bilingual Day Care, WIC, PAS).

There was a cranky wish that the bloggers (or one of them, at least) be gone, and a spirited defense of all the bloggers by 'Yep I Said It' (thank you!).

It finally came down to two: (1) Getting rid of the Mayor's 'under construction' election website (still clocking in at 215 days since the Primary, see here) and (2) Getting rid of the Mayor's bad-math 300% reduction in murders.

And the winner is...

Since we seem actually to have gotten rid of the Mayor's 'Bad Murder Math' -- though the suggestion she be tutored by certified schools staff may be a good one -- the award goes to MARVIN SELWICKY for --

Good riddance to the math skills of Ms. Briggs. 300% reduction in murders - Maybe some of the "certificated" cronies at PPS can tutor her in Math.

RESOLUTIONS FOR PLAINFIELD

Though there were fewer responses (it was, after all, New Year's Eve), they were certainly thoughtful (see them all here).

Business development, a marketing plan for the city, beautifying the Park Avenue corridor, keeping the Train Station area clean, becoming more active and engaged in the community, and funding community programs at the YMCA -- all good and worthy resolutions.

Development is more likely and the triangle at Park/East 9th/Prospect may actually get under way if the Mayor makes some decent appointments. Lord knows, the Council is behind these items.

Less likely: Getting rid of the PMUA. Fining our way to a better Plainfield (didn't say it wasn't a good idea, Rob, just less likely ;--)). Mayor Sharon driving a Mini Cooper? Get real!

Council accept no walk-on resolutions? Possible, but there may be extenuating circumstances.

This brings it down to two finalists: (1) Activating the Hispanic Affairs Commission, and (2) a simple 'Hello, how are you?' effort by one and all.

The winner?

Both.

The Hispanic Affairs Commission has languished even though counting Hispanics will be crucial to the success of Census 2010, for which everyone fears Mayor Robinson-Briggs is ill-prepared. So, congratulations to RANDY SCHAEFFER for his resolution --

Get the Mayor to activate the Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs by appointing experienced, effective community leaders who are committed to working together in addressing the many challenges confronted by our Hispanic neighbors.

I like Jackie's idea that we can do a lot of good by simply being more outgoing as we make our way through life. Truly something everyone can do, and something so small we often overlook it, but something that is definitely good for the soul. So, an extra award to JACKIE SCHNOOP for the following --

My resolution is to continue my "good morning," "hello, how are you?" campaign on the streets of Plainfield. I'm a pedestrian who walks to the train station five days a week. I've found in this town that when you say hello to a person on the street, they'll reply. As time goes by, folks will go out of their way to say hello first. The next thing you know, folks are greeting you like an old friend.

Perhaps it sounds a bit corny. But, to me, it shows how friendly Plainfield actually is -- folks from all walks of life, all nationalities ... just exchanging pleasantries as they pass on the street. Over the past few years, I've helped an immigrant learn new words in English in our brief talks -- everyday he'd point at something and ask how to say it.

It's something small, I know. But greeting people and saying a simple hello make the town all that much better. You get to know folks you might not ever get to know and you're both the better for it ... as is the town.

My resolution is to continue doing this daily. I believe it's a good thing indeed.

The winners may stop by Dairy Queen on South Avenue any time after 2 PM today for their $10 gift opportunity.

And thanks to all for participating.

Having bid Good Riddance to a number of truly awful things, and resolving some good things for ourselves and our community, we can move forward into a better, kinder, and more fulfilling New Year for Plainfield.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield pipedreams

Many Plainfield boys have had a connection
to a unique summer camp.

Word comes of a national radio program with a special Plainfield connection.

'Pipedreams', a program devoted to pipe organ music that airs on public radio stations nationwide features a segment in this week's show highlighting the organ at Lake Delaware Boys Camp in Delhi, New York (in the Catskills), where young men from Plainfield have served -- and continue to serve -- as counselors.

The segment, which airs on WQXR (105.9 FM) tomorrow night (Sunday) at 11:00 PM, features the 1886 Roosevelt organ in the camp's chapel. The organ is a favorite feature of campers, who vie for the opportunity to turn by hand the large wheel which pumps air into the bellows from which the organ draws wind to sound the pipes. 'Unsullied by electricity' as a former organist refers to the process. (You can see boys over the years have carved and inscribed their names, leaving behind a record of their presence.)

The program can also be heard directly from the Pipedreams website (see here; the segment is found under 'Complete Show', 'Hour 1', and move the cursor to 40 minutes into the 59 minute segment).

Lake Delaware Boys Camp got a high-profile story about its centennial this past summer in the New York Times (see here, complete with a slideshow here).

My longtime friend and Sometime Fellow Warden of Grace Episcopal Church, Geoff Dunham, is also a devoted and long-serving board member of the camp -- as well as an alumnus.

Geoff tells me in an email that the camp is currently seeking counselors for the 2010 season. It is in a wonderful setting, and offers a great summer experience. Those interested should check out the camp's website (see here), or drop me a line (use this link) and I will forward the expression of interest to Geoff.

Enjoy the music!

Consider the opportunity!

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• Pipedreams: "Pipedreams: Lake Delaware Boys Camp celebrates 100 years"
• Website: "Lake Delaware Boys Camp"
• NY Times: "A century of character-building and games" -- Slideshow here.
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Robinson-Briggs offers half a banana at Council reorg

Plainfield's City Council reorganization got off to a leisurely start on Friday with a small-town feel as residents gathered, exchanging New Year's greetings, hugs and kisses.

Once the Council reorganized, with Councilor at-large Annie McWilliams elected as Council President, Ward 3 Councilor Adrian Mapp elected chair of the committee of the whole, and Ward 4 Councilor Bridget Rivers sworn in and seated, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs was given the floor to deliver her 2010 State of the City Address. (See Bernice's take on the day here; and Olddoc's here.)

Mercifully spared yet another PowerPoint presentation, attendees were showered with a 40-minute recitation of accomplishments and happenings -- both large and small -- that had taken place during the final year of Robinson-Briggs' first term (the Address is online here; in PDF).

(By way of contrast, New York City's Mike Bloomberg covered the details for his somewhat larger burg in just 14 minutes.)

There were little nuggets in the Address if one listened closely --

NEW SUPERMARKET

Mayor Robinson-Briggs announced that a 'major supermarket' would be coming to Plainfield by April 2010. Noting that the City had been trying for many years to bring a big-name player to Plainfield, she showed a board of pictures of the proposed location on South Avenue (the now vacant Drug Fair, which many will recall as the one-time home of a popular and busy Foodtown), adroitly sidestepping the fact that it was the West End which was supposed to benefit from a new supermarket in a development proposed for West Front Street across from the Drake House -- an initiative that fell by the wayside during the Mayor's first term. A sudden drop in her voice as she named the store left many in the room wondering what chain it was. All I heard was '...town'; Olddoc misheard it as Foodtown, but I was told by someone behind me that it is C-Town (I'll have more on that later).

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 'DIVISION'

Robinson-Briggs noted that she would be 'increasing the level of communications to our residents by enhancing the information technology infrastructure', by creating an IT 'Division' in 2010. Those who understand bureaucratese will immediately recognize the 'D' word as a sign that Robinson-Briggs will proposed to add not just an IT slot, but STAFF to go along with it. While the Robinson-Briggs administration adamantly denied that a person had been preselected for the IT job, word in the street is that the deal is in and that the new hire will be who everyone thought it would be all along, a staffer from another city organization. Meanwhile, one has to wonder about these new 'Division' employees -- are we looking at the hiring of friends, relatives or girlfriends to feed at the public trough? As I said way back when the Council started down this road, there needed to be a Needs Assessment by an outside, independent professional to assure we were not going to be ripped off. Stay tuned on this one.

RADAR BLIPS

There were a few roses strewn, the brown spots on which were glossed over --

• -- TAX COLLECTION: While the collection rate was a laudable 96.11% (the highest ever, the mayor said), there was no acknowledgment of the oppression of our property taxes or any attempt to control them, nor the difficulties homeowners have had this past year, arguably the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s;
  
  
• -- SWINE FLU: While holding two vaccination clinics was heralded, there was no mention of the total number of shots administered; I suspect we have plenty of unused vaccine and wonder if we will have another clinic -- open to all -- but no mention was made;
  
  
• -- SENIOR CENTER: Mayor Robinson-Briggs went to some pains to tell the audience that the 'dedication' of the new Senior Center back in May, during the height of the Primary season had been scheduled so that Charles Nelson, the ailing chair of the building committee, could see the fruition of his efforts, but that sadly he had 'gone on to Glory' that very day. This could be contrasted with media coverage at the time, which pointedly noted the challenge to the Mayor and Assemblyman in the upcoming primary. Left unspoken was any acknowledgment that the Mayor and Charles Nelson were about as far-removed from each other as could be, and that Nelson had sometimes been a burr under the mayor's saddle;
  
  
• -- GOLDEN GLOVES TOURNAMENT: Mayor Robinson-Briggs repeatedly noted that the Golden Gloves Tournament had been held in cooperation with the Plainfield School District, and that there had been 'no disturbances'. Why that had to be noted was left unsaid, though the mayor did say she would 'like to see [the event] reported on the blogs'. Was she unaware that that is really the bailiwick of the Plainfield Sports News blog (see here), a beat which the rest of the bloggers don't normally cover?

The mayor was stunning in a gold jacket under which she wore an outfit in her trademark bright red.

Though in many ways what was offered was half a banana, that's better than none at all, right?

---

• Plainfield Website: "2010 State of the City Address" (PDF)
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield's New Year starts off with a bang

The New Year got off with a bang.

Plainfield's New Year started with a bang this morning.

Waking late (I stayed up to welcome the New Year), I thought I heard a snow plow grinding along the pavement of West 7th Street.

Instead, it turned out to be yet another accident directly across from my house. A VW with four 20-somethings had smashed into an SUV parked across the street.

By the time I got boots on and walked out to the front, a cop was already on the scene. Trying to get a snap with my cellphone, I heard an 'Oh, my God' and looked up to see a woman who lives in the Connolly apartment building and who has just come out to check out the fuss only to find out it was her SUV that had been hit.

(Having lived here 25 years, it was only after Connolly Properties took over the apartment buildings across the street and started charging resident for parking spaces that many began parking in the street, dangerously narrowing 7th Street in our block. So, thank you David Connolly, and a Happy New Year to you, too!)

Now feeling my first day of the New Year slipping behind schedule, I headed off to pick up the daily papers. Heading down Liberty Street, I discovered why the VW had probably slid into the SUV. Tapping the brakes as I approached the STOP sign near St. Mary's Church, I slid into the middle of the intersection -- black ice! Thank God no one was coming down 6th.

I usually return up Madison Avenue with my haul of 3 newspapers, but this morning I could see fire trucks enter Madison the wrong way from 4th Street and then stop, blocking the street, further up.

Hmmmm...

Looping around, I parked on West 6th and walked down the block to discover the house directly across the corner from the old Board of Ed headquarters, informally known as '504' billowing smoke.

The house was billowing smoke.




Pumping had not yet begun.

Firemen with axes were battering the front door. Smoke was billowing out of every opening, including under the roof.

I didn't see anyone looking like residents standing on the street, and thought that strange. However, after looping around again and being able to go past the house from the eastbound 5th Street side, it looked like it was boarded up.

A foreclosure?

Arson?

Arriving back at my driveway as dawn approached, I was in time to catch a couple of shots as the crash was being cleaned up by a tow truck driver.

The VW was now up on a flatbed.





Damage to the SUV was now clearly visible.

What a way to start the New Year of 2010 in Plainfield!

---

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Rumors swirl of surprises at Council reorg today

Rumors are swirling of surprises to come at Plainfield's City Council reorganization at 1 PM today.

Will Bibi Taylor be leaving, or staying, or both?

Will Wenson-Maier be swept into the dustbin of history?

Will Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, as she commences her second term, have a nomination for City Administrator?

You'll have to come out and see for yourself.

City Council Chambers/Courthouse, 1 PM.

---

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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RESOLUTIONS, 'GOOD RIDDANCE' extended for one day

Plainfield Today is starting off the New Year by breaking my first resolution -- to wrap up the RESOLUTIONS FOR PLAINFIELD and 'GOOD RIDDANCE' comments and announce the winners today.

Staying up at friends for the New Year to come in meant this little blogger got to bed h-o-u-r-s late. Then, New Year's morning got off to a BANG (see the other post), meaning I'll do the awards tomorrow.

Check out the two posts, and leave your comments if you have not already (or even if you have, maybe you'll have another brilliant suggestion) --

• RESOLUTIONS FOR PLAINFIELD (here)
• 'GOOD RIDDANCE' (here)

Don't forget the Council reorg today, 1 PM -- there WILL BE SURPRISES.

... and Happy New Year!

---

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Reception for Annie McWilliams cancelled

The reception for Plainfield's new City Council president, Annie McWilliams, set for New Year's day afternoon has been canceled, owing to an illness in the family.

Councilor McWilliams will be sworn in as Council President at the reorganization meeting, which will take place in the Council Chambers/Courthouse at 1 PM.

-- Dan

RESOLUTIONS FOR PLAINFIELD Day

Today is RESOLUTIONS FOR PLAINFIELD Day.

How about instead of making a resolution for YOURSELF for the New Year, which you know will be broken by the end of January (if not sooner), you propose a RESOLUTION FOR PLAINFIELD TO MAKE for the New Year? Something that could be done (or stop being done) that would benefit Plainfield in 2010.

Could be something for the Council to do. Or the Mayor or administration. Or the school district. Or the business community. Or some other organization that could positively impact the community.

Be creative. Be ingenious. Be outrageous. But above all, be posting your comment today.

There will be a $10 gift certificate for Dairy Queen awarded for the most intriguing RESOLUTION FOR PLAINFIELD (my pick). You may make your comments anonymous or sign them, but in order to collect the DQ award, you will need to make yourself known to me somehow with a moniker of some kind. I will post the winning items on New Year's Day, after which the winner can contact me by email (I'll put a link up then).

Go!

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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