The return of cheap gas — for now

Gas prices are still falling — $1.47 a gallon for regular at the Route 27 BP in Kendall Park. Wow.

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Food for the soul

Some local restaurants are hoping to attract diners by helping the region’s neediest residents. The effort, called Princeton Restaurants Against Hunger,

is intended to both boost area restaurant business and feed those in need by inspiring diners to celebrate the spirit of the holidays.

Participating restaurants will implement one of several charitable promotions, ultimately benefiting three local nonprofits: the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, HomeFront and The Crisis Ministry.

So far, restaurants that have signed up to participate in PRESTAH are: The Bent Spoon, Blue Point Grill and Witherspoon Grill run by Jack Morrison, Camillo’s Café, Ichiban, JL Ivy, Main Street Euro-American Bistro & Bar, the Whole Earth Center, the Yankee Doodle Tap Room at the Nassau Inn, and the Momos’ restaurants — Eno Terra, Mediterra and Teresa Caffe. The campaign’s motto is: “Eat local, share local.”

The campaign offers an interesting way to connect those who still have some disposable income during these difficult times to those facing the hard times. The campaign hopes to raise $50,000 through sales and donations by the end of the month.

Participating restaurants have pledged to donate a portion of their sales from operations on Sundays through Thursdays in December. Each participating restaurant is given the discretion to develop its own mechanism for raising donations.

John Marshall, co-owner of Main Street Euro-American Bistro in the Princeton Shopping Center, said the campaign is designed to highlight the connections between the restaurants and the local economy and that

dining out benefits everybody: food banks, diners, restaurants and those in need, Mr. Marshall said. “It’s a benevolent time of year. You want to do something,” he said.

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On affordable housing: delay, do not destroy

A delay like this, given the confusion and the difficulty of accommodating changes in state affordable housing law, seems appropriate — especially with Republicans looking to overturn some of the changes imposed by Democrats’ reform of the Fair Housing Act.

The key element of the reforms, which won approval earlier this year, was the end of regional contribution agreements. Such agreements had been created when affordable housing rules were established after the Mount Laurel decisions in the 1980s. RCAs allowed towns to transfer up to half of their state-mandated obligation to urban communities in the same region at a cost. Towns like Cranbury and Monroe have taken advantage of them over the years.

RCAs, however, also allowed towns to skirt the intent of the Mount Laurel rulings, which were not about providing housing but instead about ensuring that all communities in the state provided their fair share. RCAs continued the practice of concentrating low-income housing in the cities, perpetuatinga a pattern of economically induced segregation that has plagued New Jersey and fuels much of its unequal distribution of publice resources.

That said, the confusion surrounding the rules is real. Which is why Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, D-Camden, and Speaker Pro Tem Jerry Green, D-Union, are seeking a delay. According to a letter they wrote to the Council on Affordable Housing, there are “many communities struggling to adapt to COAH’s third-round housing rules,” which means that “the state must provide more flexibility to help towns adjust.” Plus, the Assembly members said, economic and environmental concerns ahve been raised and “municipalities should be given the chance to apply for additional time so they can submit thoughtful and realistic housing plans that reflect the latest changes and the economic and wastewater management concerns.”

A delay, as I said, seems wholly appropriate — and a far better option than the RCA provision being pushed by Senate Republicans. An October bill “would reestablish the regional contribution agreement as a viable method for a municipality to assist in affordable housing construction” as part of a larger group of changes being pushed by the GOP. The changes, which would make suburban communities happy, would do little more than eviscerate the state’s affordable housing goals, even if some of its provisions are worth considering (meeting obligations through rental vouchers, for instance).

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