Helping Moms-to-be

Bridgewater Councilman Matthew Moench, pictured
here at a Township meeting on July 1, 2013.
(Credit/Dick Bergeron)

This month marks the second year that Councilman Matthew Moench is sponsoring a “holiday drive to benefit the Raritan Pregnancy Aid Center.” 

According to Moench, the Center is an “all-volunteer organization dedicated to helping pregnant women and new mothers in time of need.”

The full explanatory text of this highly beneficial outreach can be seen on the Bridgewater Township web site by clicking here.  It is only a couple of paragraphs long, and it is well worth your time and response during this especially busy holiday season.

The women who are helped by the services of this center are truly in need. 

For example,

Doing More with Less -- A Common Concern

Just read any newspaper in the country or surf the Internet and you will come across article after article reflecting one jurisdiction after the other seeking for ways to deliver public services in the face of a major economic downturn in which the unemployment rate remains stuck.

In my recent visit to the Washington, D.C. area, the Washington Post ran many stories about state, county and local government cutbacks.

Just like us in the Garden State, others are experiencing reduced tax revenues and the need to modify their budgets. Near the nation’s Capital, officials of Montgomery County Maryland have been advised that they can no longer count on the same level of state aid, and that they will need to find ways to provide public services with less cash from state coffers.

Another recent example – very close to home – is that of Somerset County, New Jersey. In its April 7, 2010 E-mail advisory, the freeholders released information about the county budget which is scheduled for a public hearing on April 27 at 7 p.m.

The freeholders are striking the same chord as that of Governor Christie in his message to school districts: Freeze salary increases. The county, although experiencing success, is struggling with the same problem facing school districts and municipalities. Not all employee groups are agreeing to hold the line.

In the E-mail release, Freeholder Director Jack Ciattarelli said that “These unprecedented times call for shared sacrifice and making difficult decisions.” He goes on to explain that “The wage freeze imposed on non-union personnel and accepted by the majority of unions is, all things considered, more than reasonable, fair, and appropriate given the economic crisis.”

However, Mr. Ciattarelli concluded that the freeholder board “remains deeply disappointed and troubled by those unions that, to this point, have chosen not to accept a wage freeze.” Seven of the county’s nineteen unions are still holdouts.

The proposed Somerset County budget is $212.3 million, 1.16% less than last year, with $169.9M to be raised through the county tax, which “will rise slightly, by .0016, from .2652 to .2668 per $100 of assessed value.”

NJ Taxes and You: Perfect Together

I could have skipped the Somerset County Business Partnership forum at Raritan Valley Community College Friday morning, because I was under the weather and felt more like remaining snuggly covered under the blankets.

But the topic was “Making New Jersey More Affordable for Businesses and Residents: a Public Policy Forum,” and I was determined to get a first hand impression of what the panelists and gubernatorial candidates had to say. Gubernatorial challengers Daggett and Christie were present and offered their views on NJ’s tax mess.

Incumbent Governor John Corzine decided to take a pass and to ignore the people of northern Somerset County.

Well, it was enough to make me even sicker, because it confirmed what I already knew, but about which I obtained a lot more detailed confirmation. Forum speakers and audience questioners emphasized the fact that the negative impact of New Jersey’s tax structure at all levels of government is totally unsustainable:

The crushing debt burden from ill-advised government borrowing; increased deficit spending; and unfunded liabilities for public sector pensions and benefits (said to be from $100 billion to $130 billion) has resulted in a stifling level of taxation, especially for property taxes.

I could go down a list of all the winners and losers in this NJ public spending drama, but it would be wasting your reading time. You know most of them but, if you are serious about learning even more, check out the home page at http://www.mycentraljersey.com/, and click on the “Tax Series Tab” in the carousel. You’ll be amazed at the first-rate job that Courier News journalists did in covering Friday morning’s forum.

Archibald Cox II, Plainfield’s Native Son

Libraries are magnificent places. They are full of dreams and living history jumping out of books. The Bridgewater Library in particular – jewel of the Somerset County Library system – exemplifies what an effective public library should be.

After leaving with the book, Plainfield, New Jersey’s History & Architecture, by John Grady & Dorothe Pollard, I discovered a notation about one of Plainfield’s famous native sons, Archibald Cox II. The book is easy reading. It’s loaded with photos of Plainfield’s past and short explanations near each picture.

On page 49, I discovered a 1997 photo of Archibald Cox II, one of seven siblings who all lived in a big estate home on Rahway Road. Cox attended the Wardlaw Country Day School in New Jersey, followed by St. Paul’s college prep in New Hampshire, before progressing to Harvard and establishing his law career in the Boston area.

Cox eventually joined the Harvard faculty and established close ties with the Kennedys. He became an advisor and speech-writer for Senator John F. Kennedy. After JFK was elevated to the presidency, Cox became solicitor-general in his administration.

However, the most famous single moment of Cox’s career would come years later when, as Watergate special prosecutor in the Nixon administration, he was fired in what notoriously became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

U.S. District Judge John Sirica had ordered Nixon to comply with Cox’s and the Senate Watergate Committee’s demand to release the Watergate tapes, but Nixon refused. Instead, Nixon counter-offered to have a senator listen to the tapes and to give Cox a synopsis of them which would be prepared with help from the White House.

Cox insisted on having the full tapes. As a result, a chain reaction of political blood-letting began when, on October 20, 1973, Nixon ordered his Attorney General, Elliott Richardson to dismiss Cox. Richardson, a Boston Brahmin, refused and resigned.

Next, Nixon called upon his Deputy Attorney General, William D. Ruckelshaus, who also refused and was promptly fired. Nixon then called upon the next highest ranking Justice Department official, Solicitor General Robert Bork who quickly carried out Nixon’s order and fired Cox. In 1974, the Supreme Court upheld Sirica’s order for release of all tapes and, under threat of impeachment, Nixon resigned.

Those were paradoxical times. Not only was there deception at the highest levels in the White House, but there was also accountability and integrity by other high-level people in Nixon’s administration who would not yield to corrupt practices under pressure from the president who had appointed them.

New Jersey can be exceptionally proud of Plainfield’s Archibald Cox II. Where, in New Jersey and in Washington today, are the people in high public office with his and his colleagues’ fortitude and political integrity?

Is This Price Gouging?

On my way back from a few errands in Somerset County, I wanted to fill the half-empty gas tank of my car. Pointing it west on Route 22, I decided to stop at an independent Liberty gas station where, yesterday, September 11, my wife gassed up her auto at $3.39 per gallon, regular.

On the way there, I saw two Exxon stations which service both directions of Route 22, near ShopRite. They posted prices of $3.45. The next gas station going west, Valero, posted $3.59. Just past that, on the eastbound side, Gulf also showed $3.59.

As I approached the Liberty gas station, the posted price for regular had gone up .30¢ overnight to $3.69! I drove past it, turned back east on Route 22, and stopped at the Exxon across from ShopRite, filling up for $3.45. Waiting at the pump, I was in disbelief at the price back at Liberty. I must have misread the big sign on the highway. How could it have gone up .30¢ in 24 hours?

My tank full, I needed to satisfy myself that I had this right. Pulling away from Exxon, I negotiated the first jughandle, reversing direction back west on Route 22. Slowing down slightly as I passed the Liberty gas station, the big sign read $3.69, regular. I wasn’t dreaming!

I hope that Somerset County officials check this out: because, although there may be a sound economic reason for this, it smells like a skunk.

(Note: The word Friday afternoon is that stations ordering gas now may have to pay as much as .50¢ per gallon above the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) price, due to Hurricane Ike. Still, are some stations out there with gas in their storage tanks purchased at lower prices taking advantage of the hurricane to jack up prices?)

Let’s Roll!

Early Wednesday morning, school buses of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, as well as those of its contractors will roll out of their garages and parking lots and head to their first pickup location. They will then crisscross the Township and the Borough, loading up with a first-day-of-school cargo of students. On Garretson Road, upper classmen who have coveted passes for high school parking will be pulling into the lots in private cars.

It’s going to be a particularly critical time to be alert, especially after a summer of driving in Bridgewater and Raritan with those big yellow buses off the road. Bus drivers are well-trained and know what they are doing. Many of those who work directly for the district have a long history of solid experience, know safety well, and are as familiar with Bridgewater and Raritan roads as they are with the back of their hands.

Unfortunately, they are also only too familiar with the few – but very dangerous drivers – whose passion for speed and for bending the rules of the road could result in an accident. When you see the flashing lights of a bus as it slows down for a stop, don’t give in to the urge to quickly pass it by. There are plenty of kids in this district, but none to spare.



The Educational Services Commission of Somerset County, which covers an even larger geographic area, will also have its vans and buses out on the road transporting kids, so it would be a good idea for everybody involved to have an extra amount of patience in the next two weeks.

A Mom, Her Boys, and 9/11

My better half went swimming at the JCC in Bridgewater this morning, while I, still nursing a summer cough, decided to stay out of the water – perhaps tomorrow I can do a few laps. Instead, the Taurus took me to Harry Dunham Park, a municipal oasis in Liberty Corner, close to our home. Paved walking paths encircle the park, with nothing but green grass in between, the big sky above, trees and grassy berms lining the perimeter.

You can’t complete circling that park without passing by the 9/11 memorial to the World Trade Towers victims who fell to craven terrorism on that unforgettable day. From a distance, a tall U.S. flag first draws your attention. When you come right up to it, though, the impression is unmistakable: Steel beams from the World Trade Towers spread out at the bottom of the flag post, hallowing the entire area with reverence for the memory of innocent lives lost through the actions of a small group of bin-Laden-inspired barbarians.

If you believe in shrines, then believe in this one, because that is its most appropriate description.

This morning I stopped for a breather and sat on a bench just behind the steel girders of the memorial. A young mom with three boys, the oldest of which appeared to be about 10 years old, walked by. Something drew her attention to that hard brown steel and, as she walked on, she turned past the line of shrubs, and inside to the round area whose slate floor is inscribed with names of area victims from that fateful day. Her boys followed her.

I overheard the ensuing conversation, which went something like this: “See those beams,” she told the boys, “they come from the buildings that were destroyed by the attack on this country on 9/11.” “Is that right?” one of the kids replied, as all four continued to walk right up to the girders, seeing, touching, and believing.

“Imagine,” the mom continued, “the heat and intensity of the explosion that it took to make those two skyscrapers come crashing down,” she went on. “Wow!” the oldest boy exclaimed, as the two younger ones listened. The conversion was much more extensive, but you get the idea.

Today, that one mom gave her three boys the best history lesson that they will ever get about what happened on 9/11 – more compelling, I wager, than any that they are likely to get in some watered-down text book later on in school.

The New Journalism

Kelly Heyboer, writing for Jersey Blogs, asks, “Is it time to write the obituary for newspapers?” I don’t think so. Even though the newspaper industry is undergoing a major structural transformation, few prognosticators, if any, have a crystal ball accurate enough to predict the exact outcome of such a fundamental industry shift.

The impact of print newspaper circulation shrinkage in our own backyard of Bridgewater and Somerset County is undeniable. It’s easily observable in the heavily reduced on-site reporting for state and local proceedings; as, for example, in meetings of elected officials. Newspaper bureaus do their best, but it’s simply not possible to cover the entire waterfront with a severely reduced staff.

One of the major casualties is full, on-site coverage for boards of education meetings. It was hard enough for a reporter to sit through often interminable, long-winded meetings and be able to capture the one moment or two where someone might bring up a controversial topic, or try to slip through a crucial, but otherwise undetected item. Lack of funds for full coverage of public meetings has made it impossible for editors to even consider such full-time coverage. The public is the ultimate loser in this seemingly endless circulation slide.

However, I am an optimist on this matter. Blogger Chris Hedges writes – as reported in the Star-Ledger – that transferring news gathering to the Internet is an illusion. He goes on to conclude that, although “bloggers and internet addicts . . . can produce stinging and insightful commentary . . . they rarely pick up the phone, much less go out and find a story.”

Hedges claims that, “at least 80 percent (of all reporting) is done by newspapers and the wire services. Take that away and we have a huge black hole.”

I agree with that assessment. Take, for example, the latest flap over the proposed salary increase for Bridgewater’s Township Administrator. Without the original reporting and follow-up of an on-the-ground writer like Kara L. Richardson of the Courier News, you wouldn’t have known anything about this until the game was over. As it turns out, her story on the topic prompted two editorials, one in the Courier News, and the other in the Star-Ledger.


Note: 1.) Responsibility for any omissions or errors of fact in this blog post are strictly my own. 2.) Richardson’s story may be found at: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080805/NEWS/808050381/1012/NEWS0201

Hate Pays a Visit

What is the structure of hate? What are its elements? What makes it so pervasive and difficult to stamp out? And what is it that makes the specter of anti-Semitism rise again in Somerset County?

In the early 2000’s, Bridgewater experienced an ugly series of anti-Semitic actions. According to newspaper accounts at the time, a man was indicted for scrawling anti-Semitic graffiti on bleachers surrounding the ball fields at Chimney Rock Park. The same person was also charged with “making telephone calls threatening to harm the former governor, Christie Whitman, and the mayor of Bridgewater, James Dowden.”

The road to tolerance is a long one with many detours along the way. Now, another incident has apparently occurred: In the local section of the Courier News, Michael Deak reports that, “Two 13-year old boys have each been charged with three counts of bias intimidation and harassment.”

In regard to the same topic, Jennifer Golson writes in another local newspaper that two teenagers from the William Annin Middle School in Bernards Township “were charged with bias offenses for allegedly making a series of derogatory phone calls to Jewish families.”

She quotes school Principal Nick Markarian as saying that some eighth-grade students placed “phone calls of a harassing nature” and that he has “counseled” them so that there is no “school-based misconduct.” If the allegations are true, it seems to me that Mr. Markarian may need to review his rather soft statements.

Deak reports that “The principal was ‘extremely disappointed’ about the incidents,” and that, ‘The school emphasizes character development and conducts special programs and daylong events such as Holocaust Day to promote mutual respect.’” Character development begins in the home and is nurtured and developed there. Schools cannot solely impart that characteristic. Educators can only provide information and, most importantly, project a good example through their own personal conduct and integrity.

Mr. Markarian intends to meet with his eighth-graders about this, Deak writes. Sounds OK, but school action involving a broad sweep of the guilt brush over all students doesn’t get to the core of this particular problem. These are highly specific incidents which, if they happened as alleged, require a specific response aimed at those involved.

Mr. Markarian, voluntarily working with the teachers of these two students and, with the full approval and support of their parents, should consider assigning an appropriate community project, followed by a report, to each of the students. Or would that violate the conventions of political correctness?

It is too easy to ignore the import of these alleged incidences. We all know where bias-laden phone calls can lead, how disruptive they can be to the lives of people and, in particular, to Jewish families, whose tradition has endured enough through the ages.

Sources: For the full background stories, see Michael Deak at http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS/805080375/1011/NEWS0206, and Jennifer Golson at http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1210221367159820.xml&coll=1. For the Bridgewater archived story, see the New York Times at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/a/antisemitism/index.html?query=BRIDGEWATER%20(NJ)&field=geo&match=exact

What Recession?

The official measure of a U.S. recession is two successive quarters of negative economic growth. But, as I heard one commentator recently, present economic expansion – though still positive – is very low and, he opined, if it feels like a recession, then it is.

I don’t know if that last statement is true or not, but anyone who found himself at Costco in Bridgewater Sunday afternoon would have to rethink this whole recession issue. Every checkout register was busy recording purchases. Each line reached into the shopping area, and all of Costco’s oversized checkout carts were brimming.

My wife and I were in one of those serpentine lines that day with only an outdoor table umbrella. At $99.99, it would be hard to find a better comparable value. But the place is a madhouse on weekends. Anecdotally, at least, most people who shop at Costco in Bridgewater don’t seem to have changed their consumption habits much.

I wish we could get a micro-economic assessment of GDP growth specifically for Somerset County, New Jersey. If that number were reported side-by-side with national data, it might show better results, even though the housing market in Somerset County is still depressed.

Within spitting distance from our home, there is a better-than-new ranch house on a large parcel of land that is on the market at a price far below what it would have fetched just 18 months ago. Now, that’s depressing!

This Week’s Friday is not a “Rockin’” One

On Monday, March 17, the Courier News published a front-page story about Good Friday. I’m sure that the newspaper had good intentions. I also suspect that someone there must have been embarrassed. At least I hope someone was embarrassed. On the front page, picture and all, was a lead story describing how churches were planning to add an “entertainment value during Holy Week.”

The primary headline in bold letters, just above that lead-in, read, “Have a rockin’ Good Friday.” Now I don’t know your thoughts on this matter, but I think I can safely say that Jesus had anything but a “rockin’ Good Friday.” Even the non-religious would probably agree that hanging on a cross for endless hours is not conducive to the best of times. The Romans themselves thought this form of punishment to be so extreme and cruel that it was outlawed for all Roman citizens.

I’m not a prude, and I’m well aware of the statistics which show that most traditional, mainline Christian churches have lost millions of members in the last few decades. I support the notion that Christian denominations should do all they reasonably can to attract new membership. But reducing the description of one of the most sacred days in the Christian calendar to a “rockin’ Good Friday” is not the way to get there.

Despite that, I think that some prudent editor must have caught this awkwardness, because the online edition of the same story did not carry the print edition’s designation. Thank goodness for good sense.

Let’s reserve the rockin’ celebration for Easter.

No Immunity for Bridgewater or Somerset County

The financial tsunami engulfing Wall Street threatens to drown markets and to tank the economy. The effect is being felt locally. Three factors brought this about:

1. Sub-Prime Loans Fed by Complex Financial Instruments. It was like a financial merry-go-round. A person went to a local bank, obtained a loan for a home purchase at an absurdly low introductory rate and left happy as a pig in mud.

The bank, though, did not hang onto that mortgage note. It worked with financial ‘wizards’ on Wall Street, who repackaged those mortgages into bond-like securities. Those securities were then traded in the financial markets. At that point, the borrower no longer knew who actually held the debt. Neither did the bank. In fact, neither did the ‘wizards’ of Wall Street.

These derivative securities allowed banks to off-load entire mortgage portfolios. By getting those loans off their balance sheets, banks and their Wall Street partners were able to slice and dice loan portfolios and to push them out into the bond markets. This enabled a continual remarketing of loans, thereby providing even more cash to fund housing construction .

2. Over-Extended Consumer Housing Demand. Hundreds of thousands of consumers, if not millions, were lured into buying homes at temporarily low teaser rates. The mortgage agreements specified that these initial rates would rise to normal market levels. However, many of those contracts were well below the repayment ability of borrowers who should have exercised far more prudence and restraint than they did. These were not good deals. When the hammer came down, too many of those borrowers found themselves unable to meet the higher monthly mortgage obligation.

3. The Federal Reserve. When, in the early 2000’s, Alan Greenspan, then Chairman of the Federal Reserve depressed interest rates to their lowest levels in 50 years, he set up the conditions which led to the current mess in the housing market. His purpose at the time was to stabilize the stock market and to stem any further damage to the economy. It was a good strategy because it pulled the country out of a pit. But Greenspan kept rates too low, too long -- he admitted as much in his post-retirement book.

Those artificially low interest rates had a corollary effect. They fueled a boom in the real estate market. Lured by the availability of easy money, Wall Street firms kicked into high gear to market an alphabet soup of derivative instruments (CDO’s, SIV’s, MBS’s, etc.) to keep the party going. But it could not be sustained.

Ben Bernanke, the current Fed Chairman who inherited today’s housing market bust may be repeating Greenspan‘s mistake: Lower interest rates quickly and hope that it doesn’t create more problems than it cures.

What Greenspan and Bernanke seemed to have glossed over is that existing legislation authorizes the Federal Reserve to prevent the errant behavior of financial institutions. Prudent regulatory oversight would have pre-empted the excesses of banking and financial houses. Both chairmen were asleep at the switch.

Opinion. The conservative behavior and fiduciary responsibility which America should be able to expect from its large financial institutions is a myth. If it were not, the deplorable condition of some of the biggest U.S. fiduciary establishments would not require a Federal Reserve bail-out and infusions of cash from Middle-East kingdoms

London-based Breakingviews.com is harsh on some of those bearing responsibility. Quoted in Saturday’s edition of the The Wall Street Journal, it refers to, "…the periodic recurrence of banker stupidity." Enough said.