Suckers Bet or Sure Thing? Give The Meadowlands A Slot

By Joe Irace, Oceanport Councilman

The latest Atlantic City Rescue Plan by the State of New Jersey for all intents and purposes,  ensures a slow and painful death by a thousand cuts to New Jersey’s horse racing industry all so that our elected officials in Trenton are both blinded and mesmerized by the bright shiny lights of Atlantic City.  The political machine is fond of trumpeting the tired old canard that New Jersey’s racing industry is dying.  They tell this big lie over and over again in the hope that by sheer repetition it will become the truth, all the while purposely ignoring the politically inconvenient fact that Atlantic City’s gambling industry is not dying, but is actually dead and has been so for quite some time. 

This proposed plan ignores the most obvious socially and fiscally responsible solution: allowing for the installation of video lottery terminals, slot machines or a gaming casino at the Meadowlands. 

Why does the State continue to ignore this solution?  Because a great number of our unelected officials, entrenched bureaucrats and political power brokers in Trenton, rather than deal with the realities attendant to the success of the introduction of video lottery terminals or casinos at racetracks in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York, have decided that the State of New Jersey is going to get into the business of subsidizing the failed business model that is Atlantic City.  Some of the most shrewd and brilliant businessmen in the world couldn’t sustain the Atlantic City business model, yet Trenton’s powers that be are supremely confident that they are up to the task, the rest of the State of New Jersey be damned. And, quite frankly, why shouldn’t they be confident what with the tremendous success they’ve had over the past two decades with the revitalization of Camden, Newark and Paterson, the Xanadu Project, the School Construction Corporation,  Abbott Districts, pension funding, budget balancing and the recent Race to the Top Application?

As evidenced by the success of gaming sites in Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania, the residents of the tri-state area are more than willing to forego the bucolic vistas offered by a ride down the N.J. Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and the urban “charm” of Atlantic City in favor of more convenient gambling venues. Notwithstanding the fact that the two most interested parties, the horsemen and the general public, are clamoring for a casino at the Meadowlands facility, the State dismisses the idea out of hand in favor of a proposal that provides neither party with what it wants.

 Two reports by Christiansen Capital Advisors, commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Treasury, recommended the installation of slot machines at the Meadowlands. The reports stated that 5,000 machines at the Meadowlands would produce $750 million annually and that 10,000 machines would produce $1.5 billion annually. The same study suggested that 2,100 slots at the Meadowlands would reduce Atlantic City gross gaming revenue by .01 percent. 

Senator Sean Kean recently said on the New Jersey Senate floor “if it (a Racino at the Meadowlands) were put to a vote we’d probably get a majority, if not a super-majority (in support), to save horse racing in the state of New Jersey.”  Despite the overwhelming financial benefits flowing from such an arrangement, Trenton summarily dismisses the installation of Video Lottery Terminals, slot machines or a gaming casino in the Meadowlands in what can only be interpreted as a yet another deferential bow to Atlantic City’s political power brokers.

Given the fact that over the past decade or so New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware have destroyed Atlantic City’s monopoly on East Coast gaming, one would think that our friends in Trenton would have enough sense to fight fire with fire and move quickly towards the racino business model.  Unless, of course, maybe our Atlantic City-centric friends from Trenton don’t want to move quickly because if they wait long enough for the racing industry to finally die, then they won’t have to share profits with anybody.  How much would you like to wager that, after years of categorically denying the financial benefits of allowing gambling outside of Atlantic City, our friends in Trenton will have a sudden about face on the issue once the horsemen have been forced from the Meadowlands?

Trenton refuses to acknowledge the viability of the racino model and, instead, continues to dump on our horse racing industry and the 7,000 jobs, $110 million in federal, state and local taxes, and 57,000 acres of working agricultural landscape which come along with it. Racinos around the country employ nearly 30,000 people. Bringing racinos to New Jersey will create thousands of new jobs. Additionally, it will solidify many jobs that may be in danger of leaving our state in favor of states that have already authorized racino legsilation. Racinos are a proven model that states around the country are turning to for gaming. Twelve states have already implemented racinos and many more are debating proposals to allow them in the near future. In 2009, racinos around the country generated $2.6 billion dollars in tax revenue for state and local governments. Additionally, they strengthen the state’s agricultural industry. Racinos allow existing racetracks to grow their purses, spurring new investments in breeding racehorse ownership throughout the state. Additional racehorses will create more jobs and improve the overall economic impact. As Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and the nine other racino states can attest – racinos improve the rural economy.  But the health and well being of our state’s rural economy does not seem to be of paramount importance to the movers and shakers in Trenton.  Why should they spend a few million dollars to shore up and promote a proven, historically viable and stable commodity like horseracing, when instead they can throw HUNDREDS of millions of taxpayer money at a financial and social corpse like Atlantic City?

Racinos are a sure thing.  Rushing with reckless financial abandon into the resurrection of Atlantic City is a sucker’s bet.  Sure thing. Sucker’s bet. Sure thing. Suckers bet.  Which one will our friends in Trenton take? If left to their own devices, I think we all know that our friends in Trenton will take the sucker’s bet every time.  And since our friends in Trenton will be spending our tax dollars trying to raise the corpse that is Atlantic City and its gaming industry, we, the taxpayers, are the suckers. And we really are suckers if we let them do this without giving them a fight. I say that we bring the fight to them. Let’s do everything we can to get this matter to a vote of the New Jersey Legislature as soon as possible!

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Former Governor Byrne: Controversy Over Christie’s Chopper Ride Is Bullsh*t

AP Report: Christie and GOP reimbursing state for cost of flight

By Art Gallagher

I ran into former Governor Brendan Byrne earlier today at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick where I had a business meeting.

“Hello Governor,” I said while zipping my fly, “what do you think of the controversy over Christie’s helicopter ride?”

“It’s bullshit,” he exclaimed while drying his hands, “that’s what I said when I was governor.  If Corzine had been using the helicopter he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

We weren’t exactly in a locker room, but as close as you can get to one in a law center I guess.  I appreciated Byrne’s candid venacular. 

The media and partisan outrage over Christie’s use of the state police helicopter is bullshit.

The Associated Press is reporting that Christie and the state GOP are reimbursing the state for the cost of the helicopter ride.

No doubt the reimbursement is being made to quiet the bullshit.  There is serious state business to be done.  The budget.  Pension and benefit reform. A new collective bargaining agreement.   The ridiculous nonsense over the governor’s use of the helicopter has become a major distraction.  Since there have been no natural disasters (the tornadoes missed NJ and hit Massachusetts), terrorist attacks, corruption arrests or revelations of love children to knock the helicopter ride off the airwaves and front pages, Christie and the GOP did the right thing paying for the chopper rides.  Not because the flight was inappropriate, but because the hullabaloo is a distraction from important state business.

If it had been Frank Pallone or Steve Rothman who tweeted a picture of his package to a coed instead of NY Congressman Andrew Wiener, Christie’s chopper ride would not be dominating the news and there would be no reimbursement until the next ride during a slow news cycle.

Christie spokesman Mike Drewiniak said in an email explaining the reimbursement:

Also, though the Superintendent of the State Police noted yesterday the travel does not cost taxpayers additional dollars, the Governor understands the sensitivity about this kind of thing and believes he owes it to the public to ensure that this is not a distraction.  As such, the Governor is reimbursing for the last two trips dated 5/27 and 5/31 in the amounts of $919.20 and $1232.30, respectively. 

(emphasis added)

Drewniak also released a list of instances in which State Police helicopters have been used by the Governor’s office since Christie took office.  33 flights were by the Governor.  1 by the Lt. Governor and one was for transporting staff between consecutive press conferences at the Meadowlands and Atlantic City.  You can download the list here.

Some of the active MMM commenters have indicated that they think State Police Col. Rick Fuentes statement that the governor’s helicopter rides do not cost the taxpayers additional money is disingenuous.  I disagree.  That kind of thing is too easy to verify.  I’m sure some industrious reporter is checking it out now.  If Fuentes made it up we’ll read all about it and he will lose his job.  If he is telling the truth, as I believe, we’ll hear no more about it.

I want the Governor to use helicopter more than he does.  If it makes him more productive at his job, or God forbid, gives him more quality time with his family, I’m all for it.   That the State Police have to put in hours flying the choppers anyway makes it a no brainer.

The opposition to helicopter use is petty partisan bullshit.

The demogougues who are invoking the working Moms and Dad’s who are sitting in traffic while missing their kid’s games are full of it.  I don’t believe the majority of New Jerseyans are that petty.  The media is that petty.  The politicians are that petty.  I don’t believe the people are.  I know Governor Byrne is not that petty.

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Top Cop: Christie’s Chopper Flight Didn’t Cost Taxpayers Anything

By Art Gallagher

State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes issued a statement to the media this afternoon stating that Governor Christie’s  helicopter ride to his son’s baseball game yesterday didn’t cost that taxpayers money because the Governor’s travel was required flight training for the pilot.

The cost of the actual trip was $2500.

Assemblyman Joe Cryan, the $112,000 undersheriff of Union County said, “but, but, uhm, hmmm.”

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Casagrande Gives Birth To Theodore Charles Chance

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and her husband Stephen Chance are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Theodore Charles Chance.

The baby was born early this afternoon, measuring 21 inches and weighing 8 lbs., 9 oz..

Mother and child are resting comfortably, while dad and little brother Harrison, age 2, are thrilled at the newest addition to their family.

Rivals, the football recruiting service, immediately listed little Teddy as a five star football recruit in the class of 2032. Neither Asw. Casagrande or her husband would comment on the rumor that Teddy has verbally committed to Penn State University, his parents alma mater.

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NJ’s Supreme Injustice

Court feeds political machines

By Steven Malanga, In today’s NY Post

New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the cash-strapped state must send another $500 million in aid to urban school districts — the latest in a long series of decisions disconnected from economic reality and wise public policy.

Over the last 40 years, Jersey’s high court has commandeered tens of billions of dollars of state tax money that has largely been wasted on schools, forced taxes higher and undermined the tax base of whole communities — in the process, driving the state to the verge of insolvency.

Basing its original decision on a vague clause in the state Constitution that says the state must ensure “a thorough and efficient system of free public schools,” the court made the state responsible for funding urban school districts — regardless of whether the money was well spent.

 Courts in other states, including New York, have interpreted similar language to mean that states should provide more aid to urban districts. But Jersey’s high court essentially ruled that schools in 31 poor “Abbott districts” should be funded at a level equal to the states’ wealth iest school districts — making Jersey’s among the most expensive urban school districts in America.

Newark spends $23,000 per pupil; Camden, $22,000; Asbury Park, $27,000. Most of that money comes from the state — 82 percent of Newark’s school budget, for instance.

So residents in many suburban towns essentially pay for two school systems: their own, through local property taxes, and urban schools, through their state taxes — costing state residents a staggering $37 billion since 1998, according to estimates in The New York Times.

Even if this spending produced stellar results, it would be hard to justify this system: The steep property taxes it requires have helped make homeownership unaffordable even to many middle-class residents. But the results have been the opposite of stellar. As the education reform group E3 observes in a study of Newark, “Money For Nothing”: “Given the extraordinary expenditure on schooling, students are not receiving a meaningful education.”

Despite claims that it wanted to ensure “thorough and efficient” schools, the court has done nothing but feed dollars to a patronage-laden Jersey political culture.

For example, when the court ruled that Jersey had to spend heavily to build schools in urban districts, the state floated billions of dollars of debt through a construction authority it created to get around the requirement that voters must approve all borrowing. The court not only allowed the scheme — but when the construction authority proved so corrupt and inefficient that it only finished half the job with the money it got, the court forced the state to spend billions more.

The court has also reshaped the state’s map with decisions known as the Mount Laurel cases, by taking local zoning powers away from towns and cities and requiring municipalities to build affordable housing, often at great cost.

In one infamous case, it ordered the tiny township of Greenwich, with only 520 housing units, to add 810 homes, sending property taxes soaring. The burden fell especially hard on middle-income residents; later court rulings gave big property-tax breaks to the lower-income units.

The latest ruling has spurred Gov. Chris Christie in his pledge to remake the Supreme Court. Last year, he outraged the state’s political establishment by refusing to renominate Justice John Wallace, breaking with a tradition in which Supreme Court justices are automatically reappointed. The Democratic-controlled Senate refused to consider Christie’s nominee for the job, allowing Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to appoint a temporary replacement judge, who was the key swing vote in the decision to spend $500 million more in school aid.

That’s money the state doesn’t have — Jersey can’t even afford to contribute to its severely underfunded state pension system.

New Yorkers, beware. In 2007, the Empire State agreed to boost state education spending by an unrealistic $7 billion over four years in response to a lawsuit brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. But facing a $10 billion budget hole, Gov. Cuomo has cut education aid by $1.5 billion, prompting threats of another CFE lawsuit — even though New York still leads the nation in per-pupil spending.

The courts shouldn’t become a permanent substitute for our elected officials in managing state spending. As Jersey has taught us, when judges seize that power, taxpayers wind up big losers.

Steve Malanga is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute; his new book is “Shakedown: The Continuing Conspiracy Against the American Taxpayer.”

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Tornado Watch

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for 12 New Jersey Counties including Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Mercer, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, Warren, Somerset, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester.

The tornado watch is in effect until 8PM this evening.

  URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
   TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 411
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   100 PM EDT WED JUN 1 2011
  
   THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
   TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
  
          CONNECTICUT
          MASSACHUSETTS
          WESTERN MAINE
          NEW HAMPSHIRE
          NEW JERSEY
          SOUTHEAST NEW YORK
          SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA
          RHODE ISLAND
          COASTAL WATERS
  
   EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 100 PM UNTIL
   800 PM EDT.
  
   TORNADOES…HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER…THUNDERSTORM WIND
   GUSTS TO 70 MPH…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
   AREAS.
  
   THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
   MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF
   PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA TO 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF AUGUSTA MAINE.
    FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
   OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).
  
   REMEMBER…A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
   TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
   AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
   THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
   AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
  
   OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 410…
  
   DISCUSSION…SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY OVER
   PORTIONS OF VT/NY/PA AND TRACK EASTWARD ACROSS PORTIONS OF NEW
   ENGLAND…NY/PA/NJ THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS
   HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS THIS REGION WITH DEWPOINTS WELL INTO THE 60S
   AND MLCAPE VALUES OVER 3500 J/KG.  THIS COMBINED WITH STRONG
   WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT AND INCREASING SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL
   POSE A RISK OF SUPERCELL STORMS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL…DAMAGING
   WINDS…AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.
  
   AVIATION…TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
   SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
   WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
   500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28035.

Per TornadoSafety.com:

If a tornado “watch” is issued for your area, it means that a tornado is “possible.”

If a tornado “warning” is issued, it means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or is strongly indicated on radar, and it is time to go to a safe shelter immediately.
Be alert to what is happening outside as well. Here are some of the things that people describe when they tell about a tornado experience:

• A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky.
• If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it.
• A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm.
• Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky.
• A sound a little like a waterfall or rushing air at first, but turning into a roar as it comes closer. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets.
• Debris dropping from the sky.
• An obvious “funnel-shaped” cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.

If you see a tornado and it is not moving to the right or to the left relative to trees or power poles in the distance, it may be moving towards you! Remember that although tornadoes usually move from southwest to northeast, they also move towards the east, the southeast, the north, and even northwest.

Encourage your family members to plan for their own safety in many different locations. It is important to make decisions about the safest places well BEFORE you ever have to go to them.

IN HOMES OR OTHER SMALL BUILDINGS:

The best places are:

• In a storm shelter specifically designed for that use–within the basement or outside the home entirely. Some companies manufacture pre-fab shelters that you drop into a hole in the ground, and that blends in with home landscaping(some more, some less).
• In a basement, away from the west and south walls. Hiding under a heavy work-table or under the stairs will protect the family from crumbling walls, chimneys, and large airborne debris falling into the cellar. A family in the April 8th, 1998 tornado in the Birmingham, Alabama area survived because a hutch toppled and was held up by the dining room table they were under. That hutch helped deflect the debris that would have struck them. Old blankets, quilts and an unused mattress will protect against flying debris, but they should be stored in the shelter area. Precious time can be lost by trying to find these items at the last minute.
• In a small, windowless, first floor, interior room like a closet or bathroom. The bathtub and commode are anchored directly into the ground, and sometimes are the only thing left in place after the tornado. Getting into the bathtub with a couch cushion over you gives you protection on all sides, as well as an extra anchor to the foundation. Plumbing pipes may or may not help hold the walls together, but all the extra framing that it takes to put a bathroom together may make a big difference. If there is no downstairs bathroom and the closets are all packed with “stuff,” a hall may be the best shelter. Put as many walls as you can between yourself and the tornado. In a pinch, put a metal trash over as much of you as you can. It will keep some flying debris from injuring you. Even that may make the difference between life and death.Wherever it is, the shelter should be well known by each member of the family. If you and your family will conduct annual emergency drills(fire, tornado, etc), everyone will remember what to do and where to go when a tornado is approaching–automatically and without panic. Choose a friend or family member in another part of town or elsewhere to be a “contact person” that will be called by everyone should the family members become separated.
  http://www.hsus.org/disaster/tips.html

  The Red Cross suggests that you assemble a “disaster supplies kit” that you keep in your shelter area. It should contain:

  • A first aid kit with essential medication in addition to the usual items.
  • A battery powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries.
  • Canned and other non-perishable food and a hand operated can opener.
  • Bottled water.
  • Sturdy shoes and work gloves.
  • Written instructions on how to turn off your homes utilities.

  IN SCHOOLS
  Leave auditoriums, gyms, and other free-span rooms, exiting in an orderly fashion. Go to interior rooms and halls on the lowest floor, but avoid halls that open to the outside in any direction. If there are no interior hallways, avoid those that open to the southwest, south, or west, since that is the usually the direction the tornado will come. Stay away from glass, both in windows and doors. Crouch down, and make as small a “target” as possible. If you have something to cover your head, do so, otherwise, use your hands. Don’t assume that there will always be a teacher or other adult there to tell you what to do–if there is, you should follow their direction, but you need to know these things too.
  Peak time for tornadoes to strike varies from region to region. In some southeastern states, early morning tornadoes are almost as common as late afternoon ones. In western and northern states, peak hours are from 3 to 7 PM, just at the end of the school, but including the hours of afterschool activities.

  http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/~doswell/tstm_camping_safety.html TO AND FROM SCHOOL, WORK, OR AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES:

  If really severe weather is expected, your school may be dismissed early in order that you can reach home before the worst of the weather reaches the area.
  If you are on foot or riding a bike, it is doubly important that you go home immediately, and not linger with your friends. If caught in the open, you should seek a safe place immediately. The chances of encountering falling trees, power lines, and lightning is greater than encountering the tornado itself. The basement of a sturdy building would be best, but lying flat in a ditch or low-lying area may be the only thing available. A culvert in a ditch MAY be a good choice if there is no rain, but if there IS rain, flash flooding may be more dangerous and likely than the tornado.

  If you are in a car, and you can see a tornado forming or approaching, you should leave the car and take shelter as above. You may think you can escape from the tornado by driving away from it, but you can’t know what you may be driving into! A tornado can blow a car off a road, pick a car up and hurl it, or tumble a car over and over. Many people have been killed in cars while they were trying to outrun the tornado, and although it is sometimes possible to escape, it is generally not a good idea. The photo to the left shows you what can happen to a car that encounters a tornado.

  A few years ago a fellow contacted us and tell us his experiences with the Wichita Falls tornado of 1979. When he was a young man, he outran the Wichita Falls, Texas tornado in a car. He survived, but many people that day tried the same thing and were killed.
  You can read his story here.)

  An underpass may seem like a safe place, but may not be. While videos show people surviving under an underpass, those tornadoes have been weak. No one knows how survivable an underpass is in a strong or violent tornado. The debris flying under the underpass could be very deadly… head for a ditch.

  IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS:

  Interior rooms and halls are the best locations in large buildings. Central stairwells are good, but elevators are not. If the building loses power, you may be in the elevator for a long time. Stay away from glass walls and windows, no matter how small.

  MOBILE HOMES:

  Most tornado deaths occur in cars and mobile homes. If you live in a mobile home park, you should find out from the manager where you should go in the event of a tornado–but don’t wait until you really need the information–ask him/her on a nice day! Mobile home parks may have a designated tornado shelter, or a steel reinforced concrete laundry room. If they don’t, you need to find another substantial structure that you can reach very quickly. You may have only seconds to get to it. The photo below shows what an 60-80 mph wind can do to to a mobile home. At 100 mph, they may start to disintegrate.
  Two articles that explore the stay in a “mobile home or leave in a car” debate were published recently on the web–one by Dr. Thomas Schmidlin of Kent State University is called Closet, Car, or Ditch? The Mobile Home Dilemma During a Tornado. The other, The Alternate Dilemma: How to Explain and Encourage Counterintuitive Behavior is by Rocky Lopes of the National Headquarters of the Red Cross. They are interesting and informative reading.

  SHOPPING CENTERS, HOSPITALS, AND FACTORIES:

  Go to interior rooms and halls on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass enclosed places or areas with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, theaters, and warehouses. Crouch down and cover your head. Deaths have occurred in large, single story department stores. They have occurred inside the building when the roof or wide span brick walls, which collapsed. A corner would be safer than the middle of the wall. A bathroom, closet, office, or maintainance room with short walls would be the safest area, especially if it was on the north or east side of the building.

  Is it likely that a tornado will strike your home or school? No. But being ready for the possibility will keep you safer!

  Deaths and injuries from tornadoes have dropped dramatically in the past 50 years. Casualties numbers are holding steady as scientists learn more about tornadoes and develop the technologies that detect them sooner. Forecasters must continue to improve techniques because the population is increasing. The National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center, and television and radio weather people have taken full advantage of the advancements in tornado prediction to improve warnings.
  In addition, many people generously donate their time and expertise to help protect their neighbors and communities in another way–by tornado and severe storm “spotting.” “Spotters” combine an interest in the weather, a willingness to serve and often, ham radio experience to make tornado prone areas safer for all. Spotting can provide a focus to a person’s interest in the weather, and ham radio helps you meet other like-minded people. It is not often that something that starts out as a hobby can potentially do so much good. If you are interested in Skywarn training and becoming a spotter, check out the National Skywarn page.

  The Tornado Project salutes both the professional and non-professional for their work!

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Busting Christie’s Chopper

By Art Gallagher

The media is making a huge deal of Governor Christie’s use of a state police helicopter to attend his son’s baseball game in Bergen County yesterday afternoon and flying back to Mercer County in time for dinner at Drumwatcket with the presidential recruiters from Iowa.

Naturally, Democratic blowhards in the legislature are blasting the Governor in the hopes they can get their names in the paper.

Christie gave his critics a lay up.  Governors have been criticised for their use of state helicopters for decades.  Christie had to see this coming.

But does the public really care?  Maybe Patrick Murray or the FDU EmptyMind will poll the question.    I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority already thinks that the Governor uses the helicopter to travel the state regularly rather than “occasionally as the schedule demands,” as Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said.

If Jon Corzine had been in a helicopter instead of a Suburban, trying to get from Atlantic City to New Brunswick to meet Imus and the Rutgers women’s basketball team in 30 minutes would have worked.

Christie’s critics are making a deal out of the fact that he helicopter usage was apparently not for state business.  The Governor’s office is not saying where Christie was before or after the baseball game, but the governor was seen entering Drumthwacket an hour and 10 minutes after leaving the game.

Once again I wonder if the public really cares.  It is a question of Christie juggling his family life and commitments with his job.  Back in December the media and the Democrats had a field day over Christie being in Disney World with his family during the blizzard.   Paul Mulshine was angry that he couldn’t get litter for his cat to poop in, as if that was the Governor’s or Lt. Governor’s  fault, but before long no one cared where Christie was during the storm.

I doubt he will do it, but I would like to see the Governor maintaining a schedule that demands the use of the helicopter more often.  I bet he could outlast the whines from his critics in the media and the Democrats and that most people will think that he’s traveling the way that Governors have always traveled throughout the state.

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Double, Triple Dippers In The Legislature

By Art Gallagher

36 of the 120 members of the NJ Legislature, 9 of them Republicans, hold additional government jobs, according to this piece at NJ.com.

Hudson County Senator Nicholas Sacco is the biggest money maker, pulling in $214,260 as an assistant school superintendent in North Bergen.

Union County Assemblyman Joe Cryan, the majority leader and former state Democratic Chairman makes $111,772 as a Union County Undersheriff.

Of the Monmouth County legislative delegation, only Senator Sean Kean is on the list.  Kean makes “at least” $25,000 per gig as an attorney for Tinton Falls and Howell.  Kean also makes less than $10,000 as an attorney for Union Beach, according the the graphic in the NJ.com piece. 

Kean is the only practicing attorney in the Monmouth County delegation.  Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande is an attorney but is not practicing.  She is a full time legislator and a full time mom.

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Anne Patterson’s Supreme Court Nomination Passes Senate Judiciary Committee

By Art Gallagher

By a vote of 11-1, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee approved Anne Patterson’s nomination to the State Supreme Court yesterday, a year after Governor Christie nominated her.  Union County Senator Ray Lesniak voted against Patterson even though he did not attend the her hearing.  Lesniak said prior to the hearing that he would approve Patterson for a lower court where her decisions could be reviewed by other judges.  He said her lack of judicial experience and that fact that most of her legal career was spent in corporate defense work gave her too narrow an exposure to the law.

If approved by the full Senate, Patterson will replace Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto on the Court.  The seat vacated by Justice John Wallace, whom Patterson was first nominated to replace, will remain vacant until March.

Senator Joe Kyrillos , a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offered the following reaction to Patterson’s confirmation hearing:

“Ms. Patterson said something today that I have never heard from a nominee to our state’s highest court- that she would bring humility to the job. She is to be commended for that promise, as the decisions she will make as an Associate Justice have very real consequences for the people of New Jersey.”

“Anne Patterson showed today not only that she is qualified to be a jurist, but that New Jersey needs her on the Supreme Court. Her testimony and answers to the Committee’s questions were thoughtful, ethical, and demonstrated a piercing intellect.”

“The Majority’s failure to consider her nomination last year was wrong and unprecedented, and ultimately delayed confirmation of an exceedingly qualified nominee. I am, however, pleased that these confirmation proceedings have finally arrived, and encourage all of my colleagues to join me in voting yes on her nomination.”

Senator Jennifer Beck said, “It has been more than a year since Anne Patterson was nominated by Governor Christie  and it is time that she was heard. In her interview in front of the Judiciary Committee today, I found her to be articulate, intelligent and professional. I believe she will make an excellent addition to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Her background in the New Jersey Attorney General’s office under Governor Christie Whitman, as well as the accolades she has earned from her peers in the legal profession, makes her well suited for the bench.”

“I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this exceptionally well qualified individual, and in so doing make history by confirming a female majority to this state’s highest court.”

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Snooki is cheap

By Art Gallagher

I’m not talking about her lascivious lifestyle—that’s no longer newsworthy and I still don’t get the entertainment allure of the train wreck while there are so many real disasters on TV.

I’m talking about her $32K speaking engagement at Rutgers.

Compared to the largess that Rutgers is bestowing on outgoing president Richard McCormick, Snooki’s $32K is cheap. McCormick with receive a one year paid sabbatical at his salary of $550,000.  After his full year paid vacation he will return to the faculty as a history professor with a $335,000 salary.

I don’t have a major gripe with McCormick personally.  His is just one more example of a golden parachute for a government employee .  I was surprised to read that he is making only $550,000 to lead the 57,000 student university.  That sounds cheap compared to former Brookdale College President Peter Burnham’s salary and perks before Freeholder John Curley tore down that ivory tower.  McCormick’s compensation sounds cheap, given the job, compared to the numerous $200K plus superintendent of school salaries we’ve read about throughout New Jersey before Governor Christie reformed that absurdity.   McCormick’s golden parachute is a bargin compared the almost $800K the former superintendent of the Keansburg schools tried make off with.

McCormick hasn’t been as blantently greedy as some in government. He refused to take raises to his salary from 2002 through 2008 and he hasn’t taken another raise since the 4.75% bump he got in 2008.  Also, in 2008 he donated the $100K performance bonus that the Board of Trustees awarded him back to the university to fund financial aid to students based on need and performance.  It’s tough to make a case that McCormick’s a bad guy.

But the system that the government class designed for themselves and continues to exploit is increasingly tough to take and increasingly difficult to pay for.  It’s tough to write the tax check knowing that too much of it is going to pay high five figure pensions and lifetime health benifits for men and women in their forties and fifties.    McCormick’s case is just the latest reminder of all that is broken in New Jersey.

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