POPE RESIGNS

Today, in an early morning dispatch from Rome, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI declared his resignation from the Papacy, effective February 28^th, 2013.

In his press release, the Pope said that “my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”
 
He added that since “both strength of mind and body are necessary” to carry out the responsibilities of his position as head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI stated that he is stepping down from “the ministry of Bishop of Rome.”

Chosen to the Papacy by his peers in a 2005 Conclave, he previously held one of the Church’s most powerful jobs as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position to which he was appointed by his predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, in 1981.

Benedict XVI is also one of his generation’s most prominent theologians.  In his mid-thirties, he was a well-regarded papal advisor during the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, an event which had a profound impact on the direction and nature of the Roman Catholic Church.

The last Pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415.

Is it Bullying, if the Person is the Governor?

Governor Christie, as he appeared on the Piers
Morgan show on February 21, 2012.

Governor Chris Christie’s appearance on the David Letterman show set off another round of public discussion aimed squarely at, ‘should he or shouldn’t he?.  Lose weight, that is.  I recorded Letterman’s’ show on the DVR.  Pris and I viewed it the following day at an earlier hour.

I like Christie.  I admire and respect him as the CEO of New Jersey, and I would like him to get into better physical shape.  There is no question that the man is very, very large. I wish that he would shed some pounds

But I’m not going to hound him over it.  The fabricated expressions of concern over the size of his waist are beginning to sail out of control.  They border on harassment.

Hearing on Mosque Application Continues Tuesday Evening

A large group of people gather at the September 4, 2012
meeting of the Bernards Planning Board.

Tomorrow night at 7:30 pm, representatives of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge will appear at a Planning Board meeting in Bernards Township to continue presenting data and to testify in support of an application to build a mosque in the Liberty Corner section of Basking Ridge.

The proposed site is located at 124 Church Street on a four acre lot.  If approved, a mosque of approximately 4300 square feet will be erected on that property, and a parking lot will be laid out, subsequent to demolition of the home now at that location. 

Landmark Food Market to Shutter its Doors

A LITTLE BACKGROUND:  It may appear to be just another business that is closing down, but the A&P food market situated on Route 202/206N, at the junction of Burnt Mills and Washington Valley Roads has, since it was built in 1967, been an iconic presence at what is one of the busiest intersections in Somerset County.

This now-too-little and outdated store at 75 Washington Valley Road in Pluckemin Village represents the history of a great business enterprise.

A view of the A&P in Pluckemin, New Jersey,
on Sunday afternoon, January 27, 2013

The success story of the A&P began modestly in 1859 with a chain of stores selling tea and coffee that grew to 70 outlets by 1878.   In 1930, it had become a coast-to-coast behemoth of 16,000 grocery stores.

But the very size and success of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, combined with other marketing, operating, and competitive factors, would soon attract the attention of the anti-trust division of the U.S. Government.

Flash Report on Board Meeting:

Tonight, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education, the following salient topics were discussed:


Dr. Schilder runs through some PowerPoint slides
concerning the current status of the 2013-2014 tentative
school Budget.  (Bergeron Image.)

• Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Schilder proposed an additional $230,000 to the tentative 2013-2014 budget for more security at the campus-style Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
• That sum includes $100,000 for a uniformed school resource officer (SRO); $40,000 for two security guards; and $90,00 for "door enhancements."
• The SRO would be hired and trained by the Bridgewater Township Police and would most likely be an armed officer. The two security guards would not be armed, but would be assigned to outside duties and surveillance.
• Dr. Schilder, in response to a question from a Board Member, said that he had contacted the Borough of Raritan to see if it would help with the provisioning of a school resource officer, and that he was given "a definite no."
• Approval of Dr. Shilder's proposal would increase the security contingent at the High School to five.
• The date for the release of State Aid numbers conflicts with a previously scheduled BR-BOE presentation of the tentative budget to the public on February 26. It is being rescheduled to early March by which time aid numbers are expected to be known.
• The tentative budget currently stands at $139,392,430 (Total expenditures), and assumes state aid of $9,149,043.
• With a tentative increase of $230,000 for additional security and the uncertainty as to the timing and amount of State Aid, those numbers are subject to change.