The only good thing about this dismal Knicks season is that we are getting a chance to see what kind of offensive player center Eddy Curry can be (let’s not talk yet about defense and rebounding).
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
The chances that Lawrence Township — or any other — might be able to enact its own clean elections program could depend on two issue: whether it is allowed under current state law and whether taxpayers will be willing to foot the bill.
And the two issues are dependent upon each other.
It is still too early to know whether the local public-financing initiative is legal — Lawrence’s attorney is still investigating the issue — and it is doubtful that the money angle will go away (property taxes are the single biggest issue in New Jersey right now). But the cost of public financing at the local level is not likely to be that great — if it costs a penny on the tax rate in most towns, I’d be surprised. But it still won’t be easy.
That said, the two main campaign finance reform groups differ on the desirability of a clean elections program.
N.J. Citizen Action has been at the forefront of public financing, drafting model ordinances and working with the state Legislature to enact it at the legislative level (though not at the local level), while Citizens’ Campaign is pushing alternative methods — broader disclosure rules, a ban on pay-to-play, etc.
I think readers know where I stand on this — I believe there is a need for public financing, because the other proposals ultimately end up being nothing more than temporary solutions (think of the Dutch boy and the leaking dam; each time he plugs one leak, another pop up).
Incremental reform can be useful — which is why I applaud every community that enacts pay-to-play bans and disclosure rules — but it only goes so — far less far. More is needed.
In a town like South Brunswick, a penny hike in the tax rate — which would bring in $350,000 — would cost the owner of the average house $25 ayear. That’s a small amount, espectially when he return can be so great.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
See the smile? That’s because my little puppy got into the bathroom trash today — which tells me she is back to her old, mischievious self.
Thanks to everyone who’s expressed concern. It is greatly appreciated by Annie and me.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Even as the state Legislature moves forward with civil union legislation, the state Bar Association is lining up on the side of marriage equality (I saw this first on BlueJersey). It’s president, Wayne Positan, said the Assembly bill “needlessly creates ‘a multitude of questions’ simply to avoid calling the union of two people of the same sex a ‘marriage.'”
“Why not just call it what it is?” Positan asked. He said a rival bill by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) that would recognize same-sex marriages is “the best way of complying” with the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Oct. 25 decision. That ruling said same-sex couples must be allowed to form relationships that carry all the rights and responsibilities of marriage but left it up to lawmakers whether to call them something else, such as civil unions.
Positan said creating a new legal structure called civil unions will “create a lot of work for lawyers” resolving arguments over what the new terminology means. He said allowing same-sex couples to marry is “a nice, simple, concise way of dealing with it as opposed to a lot of contrivances to get to the same place.”
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Honey is back to being Honey. She ate today and begged for food, a sure sign that she is acting like her own self.
She is on steroids, which probably rules her out as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer but likely jump-started her appetite, and will be on steroids for about two weeks. During this time we’ll monitor her and talk with the vet and make a determination on how to proceed.
For now, we will take her smiling, begging and general exuberance and enjoy it without reservation.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 