Think he'd consider being Treasury Secretary?

DEP Report finds more streams, lakes, bays, and ocean waters fail to meet standards - trends worsen due to sprawling over-development

Unsafe to eat fish from, swim in, or drink from most NJ waters

Last week, we disclosed that more than 12.5% of NJ residential drinking water wells failed to meet drinking water standards, and that residents of more than 50,000 homes were unknowingly drinking unsafe water. See:
Drink at your own risk http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2008/08/drink_at_your_own_risk.html

Continue reading "More bad news on water pollution" »

John McCain's landmark choice of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate overshadowed Barak Obama's landmark acceptance speech as we all noticed whether we liked to or not. Whether Mrs. Palin is ready or qualified to be Vice President I would leave to others who are much smarter then I am to decide. However, her nomination should resonate hard among New Jersey's executive branch.

If you paid attention to the New Jersey political scene during the last year or so you probably noticed a few patterns - the secrecy, the blatant abuse of power, the selling of leadership for union votes, but most of all you probably noticed the smoke & mirrors. The monetization plan which threatened to raise road-tax by 800% just screamed foolishness and the" historic" budgets is only historic in what it didn't include (Transportation Trust Fund for one), just to name a couple.

Continue reading ""Not Really" Style of Leadership" »

When I read Sarah Palin's compelling life story, I feel a mixture of admiration, flat-out envy and incredulity. Mostly I just feel tired.

Presidential candidates typically have superhuman energy; the campaign trail allows no time for naps. Still, even by those standards, Palin is exceptional.

Continue reading "Sarah Palin: Upping the ante on Superwoman" »

Squeezed, this year, between two conventions, Labor Day is unlikely to generate the attention it deserves. The holiday, advanced by trade unions more than a century ago, was conceived as a tribute to the contributions of all workers to the nation http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm and, as such, it should prompt us to take a hard look at the condition of those working people, and, on the policy and planning implications for work in contemporary America.

Accordingly, what follows are some observations of and about the life and times of the American worker on this Labor Day, September 1, 2008.

Continue reading "Reflections on Labor Day: Work life in America" »

Last year, like many New Jerseyans, I spent Labor Day weekend, with my family at the ever-shrinking shoreline on Long Beach Island. This year, I stayed close to home and ran a 5K race with my other family, my union brothers and sisters from the fire service, police officers and EMS in honor of Jimmy D'heron--a hero, a firefighter, a union member, father, husband and grandfather.

Four years ago, on September 3, 2004 Deputy Chief James D'heron, known as Jimmy D. to his friends, died rescuing 15 people from a fire in a multi-family home on Lee Avenue in New Brunswick. The 51-year old D'heron arrived first at the scene, and despite not having any personal protective gear, charged into the burning home to help those trapped inside. Jimmy had helped everyone inside to escape and went back into the house to make sure no one was left behind. He was banging on doors on the second floor when a propane tank exploded and the fireball it created mortally burned him.

Continue reading "Of heroes, races and remembrance" »

A young presidential candidate bases his campaign on a promise of change. He promises to reform healthcare in addition to promising tax cuts for the middle class. He is relatively unknown but he can speak well and is creating a stir. His opponent is a grizzled war veteran who made a not-so-good choice for vice-president.

Barack Obama? No, that man was Bill Clinton in 1992. The war veteran of course was George Bush Sr. whose choice of 41 year old Dan Quayle as VP in 1988 surprised many, to say the least.

Continue reading "It's dejà vu all over again" »

The Patterson family will live no longer on the comics page of this or any newspaper. Lynn Johnston will stop telling the tale of the family, their friends, neighbors and pets after 28 years. It's like losing a good friend. "For Better or Worse" is coming to an end. And, it's hard to accept. http://www.fborfw.com/news/

The Canadian family seems like next door neighbors. I've cared about them, suffered their travails, shared their joys, and lived with them through turmoil, disappointment, joy, romance, work, depression, aging, the illness and death of parents and grandparents--and witnessed the deft handling of controversial issues. No other strip will take the place of "For Better or Worse."

Continue reading "'For Better or Worse': A tribute to Lynn Johnston" »