Christie’s Version of Tunnel Vision

Tunnel vision is an expression generally reserved for people who have a very narrow and short-sighted view of an issue.  But in the case of the Hudson River tunnel project, or ARC (Access to the Region’s Core), Governor Chris Christie has turned the meaning of that expression on its head. 

By killing any further work on this project, the governor has demonstrated his ability to look accurately into the future and to envision a project that would spin out of financial control before its completion – one for which the overruns would be paid for solely by New Jerseyans.

SUMMARY:  The original projected cost of $8.7 billion was to be funded as follows:

·         $3.0 billion from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

·         $3.0 billion from Uncle Sam

·         $2.7 billion from New Jersey coffers

A person doesn’t have to be a CPA to know that such projects rarely come in on time and on budget.  New Jersey was not about to become the exception. 

According to information released by Christie’s staff, the Federal Transit Administration (a division of the U.S. Transportation Department) now estimates that the project could run as high at $13.7 billion, or $5 billion over the initial tab.

Governor Christie quickly saw that without additional financial support, New Jersey taxpayers would be on the hook not only for the entire cost differential of $5 billion, but also for the $775 million cost of the new Portal Bridge, a critical element of the tunnel project, yet not included in projections.

New York’s Governor David Paterson and the city’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg both expressed sympathy with Christie’s plight, but offered no additional relief for the project.  Nor did New Jersey’s own U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg offer any help except to express outrage over Christie’s decision to can the project.

With that as a backdrop, it’s no wonder that Governor Christie made the tough but necessary decision to halt construction. 

I prefer our governor’s version of tunnel vision.

Related Thought:  Meanwhile, the administration in Washington continues to spend billions on wasteful infrastructure in Afghanistan where its leader Hamid Karzai openly expresses disdain for the U.S.

Verizon Uses Questionable Pricing Polic in Internet Ad

Verizon is a company with national stature and a good reputation.  It’s also a fine Central Jersey neighbor.  Which are precisely three reasons why it should not use what can at best be called lack of full disclosure and, at worse, an online bait and switch pricing technique in its online advertising.

Verizon features an Internet ad which advertises “Verizon Double Play:  High Speed Internet + Phone.”  The price is advertised at “$54.99/month guaranteed for 2 years.”

But, if you are currently a Verizon customer, click on this ad and fill out the boxes, the price that pops up is ten dollars higher, or $64.99.  However, the Verizon online ad does not disclose that you are being asked to pay $10 more because you are a Verizon customer.

The only way to find that out is to get on the chat line provided and to ask the Verizon agent at the other end why the price has suddenly escalated by ten bucks after you clicked on the initial advertising icon and filled out the boxes, including providing your telephone number.

Nor does the agent on the chat line offer a clear answer for the price increase, except to write back that Verizon has different pricing plans for existing customers.  Decoding the English, this means that long-time Verizon subscribers get the distinction of paying more for an upgraded service than does a new customer.

Go figure!  You are a loyal Verizon customer for years, and the company plays you for a rube in its online advertising.  Top level Verizon management should tap on the link above to see how its marketing department is writing its ads.  Or does it already know?

The Soft, Warm Colors of Summer Surrender to the Brilliant Hues of Autumn

Brillian autumn red on the grounds of the
Green Knoll Professional Park on Wednesday

The sharp edge of change associated with the metamorphosis of seasons in the northeast is a phenomenon not quite the same anywhere else.

It is an advantage which we, in this part of the country have over other areas of the U.S. which, although some have milder climates, don’t provide the contrast and the beauty associated with the morphing of one season into the other.

If the saying, ‘stop and smell the roses’ has validity, then its corollary, ‘stop and admire the beauty of a New Jersey autumn’ is just as valid. Ever since I was a kid, I recorded images of nature with a camera. Throughout the years, I’ve gone through many makes and models. I now have my eye on a Nikon SLR, wondering if a new model is about to be introduced, making that one obsolete during the upcoming frenzy of the holiday shopping season.



The soft orange, green and blue of my garden on a
July day are but a vivid memory of warmer
days in Bridgewater

 No matter. The two that I now have are very well suited to my needs. One is a pocket-sized Sony model which can follow me anywhere. The other is a medium sized all-in-one Kodak with a longer telephoto lens and a viewfinder which I find necessary for bright days outdoors.

Photography is a gratifying hobby for many reasons. For me, it reflects the discipline of forcing a person to stop and to take the time to record what is happening in life – even those events which are not so obvious at first sight. It presents an opportunity to capture evanescent moments and to freeze them into a future of recorded memories.

Take care of yourselves, and stay engaged.

Strings from the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Orchestra Entertain at Bridgewater’s Open House

On Wednesday, October 13, Bridgewater Township officials hosted an open house at the new Municipal Complex. In attendance were dignitaries from the local to the state level. There was a festive mood to this occasion, and the weather could not have been more propitiously cooperative.

Bridgewater citizens and other guests are entertained by the strings of
a Bridgewater-Raritan High School ensemble in Bridgewater's
new Municipal Complex last Wednesday evening.

Beginning at 4 pm and ending after dark at 8 pm, the open house included individually guided tours of the buildings, conviviality among friends and acquaintances which included hors d’oeuvres and dessert served free of charge by local businesses.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony took place on the outside patio, bathed in the bright sunlight of a low lying western sun.

There were plenty of people in attendance, much to see, to eat and to do – and an abundance of photo ops. In this blog post, though, I wish to highlight one aspect of the occasion:

During the latter half of the evening, a group of six string musicians from the Bridgewater-Raritan High School orchestra entertained people coming and going from the main meeting room as they lingered and chatted, sating their appetites with gustatory freebies.

Assembled by Joe Lalumia, music teacher and B-R High School Orchestral Director, the string sextet performed commendably. In speaking with Mr. Lalumia that evening, I found out that these students had come together on rather quickly to perform for the occasion.

Below is a group of photos showing close-ups of the string ensemble performing at the open house.




Concentrating on the Performance



Emphasizing the low notes.

The harp lends its contribution to the B-R High School's
six musician string ensemble.

Violinists await their cue.

Bringing the score to life.

Enjoying hors d'oeuvres to the accompaniment
of the musicians.

An Autumn Cornucopia

One of the rites of autumn for Pris and me has been our habit of making sure that we take advantage of nature’s bounty while enjoying an afternoon of brisk, breezy weather out in an apple orchard of the northeast.

Storm clouds blanket the old church steeple
and the flag over Melick's Fruit Farm.

This tradition began a long time ago, when one of my dad’s friends, Ovide Bernard, a full-time loom fixer in Lowell’s Merrimack mills also owned and managed a 50 acre apple orchard at his farm home in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. That homestead is long gone now, paved over with streets and studded with home sites.

Years later, when our own kids came along, Pris and I packed them in the back seat of our car on a Sunday afternoon and drove from our hometown into the then rural area of Westford, Massachusetts – Drew’s apple farm was our destination.

Old habits are hard to break; good ones never should be. In that spirit, weather permitting, we always make sure to carry on this practice in our now long-established residence in New Jersey.

On Friday afternoon, after the rains finally stopped, Pris and I anticipated the absence of apple picking crowds and drove the Subaru to Melick’s in Oldwick. We had gone there last Sunday, but didn’t stay. Business was booming: the long, wide lines of people waiting to check out with their bounty of apples promised that the waiting would be longer than the picking.

UPS is delivering the first basket to our grandson for his birthday;
the second is in the crisper; the third is for baking and sharing.

Returning on Friday, we were surprised: there were no other cars in the parking lot as we pulled up. So we borrowed a red wagon and walked it towards the section of trees hanging heavy with Granny Smiths.

Drilling for Men

The rescue operation for 32 Chilean miners and the one Honduran trapped in the San Jose Mine located in the desert about 35 miles from Copiapo, Chile, is an incredible example of the courage of those 33 individuals who have been trapped 2,000 feet below ground.  (As of this writing, the endeavor is almost half completed.)

This undertaking is a stellar tribute to the Chilean government, to its President Sebastian Pinera, and to the men and women of NASA, as well as to those of the American and Canadian companies who lent their technical and medical expertise to this effort.

That team has been working assiduously around the clock for over two months to devise and to implement a plan that now seems to be working flawlessly in an effort to pull every one of those trapped miners out of the ground.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed and offer up a prayer or two that the remainder of this operation goes well.

As I have been observing the progress of this gargantuan rescue project which is unparalleled in mining history, I could not help but to reflect upon the single-minded purpose of every individual involved in the rescue attempt.   

There has been real faith, real hope: No phony stuff; no recriminations; no blame; no back-biting; no accusations. 

Just real leadership and teamwork.

Quite unlike the lack of leadership, the prevarication, the CYA announcements, the foot-dragging, and the finger-pointing that emanated from Washington, D.C. during the BP oil spill fiasco.

(Note: I borrowed the title for this post from an interview which I heard on TV, thinking it quite appropriate to the situation.)

Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band to Fly the American Flag

Bridgewater resident Dave Mountney submitted an op-ed piece printed on Thursday in the Courier News:  If correct in all of its claims, it presented a very startling picture.  There must be a rational explanation, I thought.  Or there must be something amiss.

According to Mr. Mountney, the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band “does not march in parades with the U.S. flag.”  He underscored his point by stating that, “They don't march with the ‘Stars and Stripes’ in Somerville's St. Patrick's Day Parade or the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bradley Gardens,”  whereas, he continues, “The Somerville High School Marching Band has a student carrying the U.S. flag in parades as does the Immaculata High School Marching Band.”

I found these assertions disturbing and tried to get clarification by calling several sources.

First, I tried to call Mr. Mountney, but Verizon indicated that his number is unlisted.  I then called several sources in the Bridgewater-Raritan administration with knowledge or responsibility – direct or indirect – for the activities of the Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band.  It was mid-to-late yesterday afternoon.  Two secretaries in the Wade Building were very instrumental in pointing me in the right direction.

Early this morning, Dr. Leonard Herman, Supervisor of Fine and Practical Arts returned my call.  Dr. Herman who is new in his position since July 1^st of this year has, among other duties, general responsibility for the bands.  He was not aware of this situation.

Len said that he had looked into it and was advised that over time, the American flag once used in parades by the marching band had “fallen into disrepair and was not usable.”  As a consequence, the marching band began to borrow the flag that is in the high school auditorium and to display it in their parades.

But, he explained, on the day of the parade members of the band were unable to gain access to the high school auditorium and faced the conundrum of pulling out of the parade or of marching with no American flag

That, in my view, obviously puts students who have pride in their work and country and who have practiced long and hard for their appearance before the public, between a rock and a hard place

Much to his credit, Dr. Herman stepped up to the plate and underscored without any equivocation or excuse that, “Not marching with the [American] flag is indefensible, and it will be taken care of and corrected.”

B-R High School principal, Dr. James Riccobono who is also a veteran, called me late this morning.  He emphasized that this “was not an intentional thing,” that the school district “wants to wave it (the flag) proudly . . .  it is prominent in our minds, and won’t happen again.”

 

He added that the Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band has a drill routine that it uses at football games which ends with the unfurling of a 20 by 40 foot American flag.

Thanks for reading.  Stay engaged.

Stumping for GOP Gubernatorial Candidates

Governor Christie has become a national presence within the Republican Party.

His get-tough attitude about New Jersey’s bloated budget; his blunt tell-it-as-it-is attitude; and his ability to deal with a New Jersey legislature controlled by Democrats are all factors which, when combined with his willingness to wrestle with the Garden State’s powerful labor unions – especially that of its education association – has focused the national limelight on our guv’.

Even my sister-in-law in New Hampshire who hears of him through TV tells me about it.

Christie’s national aura has resulted in his being in such great demand that he has taken to  jetting in and out of New Jersey, campaigning for GOP gubernatorial candidates, returning home in between some of those flights.

The governor seems to have a good staff to carry on in his absence.  But despite his energy level, these trips have taken precious time away from pressing problems right here in our state.

I can’t speak for any of you readers, but I’ll be glad to see him settle back in New Jersey to concentrate full-time on the extraordinary problems that confront us.

One of my old bosses at AT&T hailed from Bell Labs and was fond of reminding his staff that a person has to concentrate on what’s urgent, because there are only so many ergs in a day.  (Erg is a technical term used in physics relating to energy; he adapted the word for business usage in order to make his point.)

Today, in his Capitol Quickies blog, Michael Symons quotes from an Eagleton Poll which indicates that, “By a margin of 64% to 24%, respondents said they'd prefer Christie stay in New Jersey and focus on issues here rather than go on the campaign trail to help Republican candidates in other states.” 

Exactly my sentiments.  What are yours?

Great Weekend for the VNA

Although this weekend’s VNA of Somerset Hills rummage sale did not get off to a good start on Friday on account of the drenching rains, it was a different story for the next two days.

Looking for bargains at the VNA's annual rummage sale.

On Saturday morning, after attending a men’s club breakfast at my church in honor of a friend, I returned home, put on my jeans, a mid-weight pullover; and, more importantly, a good pair of over-the-ankles L.L. Bean boots to get me through any mud or water-soaked grassy depressions at the VNA grounds in Far Hills.

When I arrived around mid-morning, it took about 20 minutes of start-and-stop driving in the Subaru before I could get through the entry gate and into the rummage sale area. The parking lot was 90% full by then, and I was directed about as far away from the tents as one could get for a parking spot, nearly 6 rows away from the sidewalk facing Route 202.

But it was worth it.

My purpose was to not browse through the entire area, but to head laser-like to the book barns. A long line awaited me there as well. I reminded myself, “Don’t buy too many.” But reading is simply too infectious for me, and I came out with a huge bag of books at bargain prices. On Sunday, books were even cheaper.

Probably my best overall bargain was a new, still sealed-in-cellophane copy of the latest edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language with CD. The list price is $60. Amazon sells it for $37.77 new. I scoffed it up for four bucks cash.

Eager buyers stand in line on Saturday to get into the tent area
for the VNA rummage sale in Far Hills, New Jersey.

Accounting for this bargain, my daughter Denise reminded me that with the advent of free websites such as dictionary.com, good print dictionaries are no longer the in-demand tomes that they once were.

Even the authoritative 20-volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary which sells on Amazon for $995 may disappear in its printed form. Its online version currently receives two million hits a month, but not for free. Subscribers pay an annual fee of £240, or about $380 U.S.

Sunday’s weather was just as good as that of Saturday, providing another 24 hours for the thousands of people who like to meander about the various tents in search of that elusive find at a bargain price. I hope that two wonderfully sunny days brought out enough people to make up for Friday’s loss.

Thanks for reading, and stay engaged.