Thumbing their noses at voters

One of the best places to find information about candidates for political office is the Project Vote Smart Web site. Unfortunately, it's only as good as the information the candidates provide. In New Jersey, only 20.7 percent of the 255 candidates for the 80 Assembly seats and 40 Senate seats this fall responded to Vote Smart's request to provide their views on a variety of issues. The return rate for incumbents was even lower. That's disgraceful.
Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan citizen's organization dedicated to providing voters with information that allows them to make informed decisions at the polls. The Web site includes biographical information, voting records, campaign finances, interest group ratings and issue positions for candidates willing to supply that information.
Check out the Web site. If candidates in your district haven't responded, e-mail them or get them on the phone and insist they do so before the general election. If they don't comply, don't vote for them. It's arrogance of the highest order not to let voters know where they stand on the issues.

Keep a spare tire in the trunk

It had been at least 10 years since I last had a flat tire while on the road. But that streak ended Monday night, on my way back from a dinner with some Swiss cousins and friends in New York City.
I had just passed through the toll plaza leading to the N.J. Turnpike when the steering wheel began pulling. Seconds later, it was clear I had a flat. Fortunately, I was able to limp into the service area, which was only about 100 yards from where I had pulled onto the shoulder. I was thankful I hadn't broken down in the Lincoln Tunnel, on the Route 495 helix or the nearby portions of the Turnpike where the shoulders have been eliminated because of ongoing construction.
The blown tire, I soon learned, could not be patched. I was given two choices: either use my donut, which I was advised wouldn't hold up for more than 50 miles and couldn't sustain speeds of more than 50 mph, or buy a new one. Unfortunately, they didn't have any tires in stock to match mine. The one that came closest would get me home. But if I drove with it for more than a week or two, I was told, my other tires would wear unevenly and quickly. The other catch: It would cost me $104, including tax - about double what I'm used to shelling out for a tire. I opted for the $104 tire that didn't fit right; today, I went out and bought another one that did for $44.
The whole episode would have been far more upsetting if I hadn't been so thankful for breaking down where I did. And now I finally have what I should have had in my trunk all along - a spare tire.

PNC Bank Arts Center out of control

In case you missed it, we had a story in today's paper about Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, asking the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission to revoke the PNC Bank Arts Center's liquor license. Handlin was responding to a series of incidents at Friday's Gwen Stefani concert that resulted in the hospitalization of several underage drinkers.
Underage drinking and excessive drinking by those old enough to drink legally have long been a problem there. Much of the problem could be resolved by banning tailgating and the consumption of alcohol on the grounds outside the venue itself, where concertgoers get primed long before the show ever starts. It's a recipe for disaster.
N.J. Turnpike Authority Executive Director Michael Lappola should waste no time insisting that venue operator Live Nation ban tailgating, beef up security and take other necessary steps to curb underage, and excessive, drinking.

Exelon CEO's state of the nukes address

John Rowe, CEO of Exelon Corp. - owner of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey - and newly installed chairman of the nuclear industry's chief lobbying arm, the Nuclear Energy Institute, addressed the NEI today at its annual conference.
A few of the highlights:
On relicensing:
"License renewal has become a routine undertaking. Three-quarters of our operating plants have renewed their licenses or indicated formally to the NRC that they intend to do so."
On profitability:
"License extension will enable us to extract value for our customers and earnings for our shareholders far in excess of what we imagined 10 or 15 years ago."
On disposal of nuclear waste:
"Over the past 30 years, the American people have paid almost $30 billion to develop a permanent repository for spent fuel. And sadly, we are not much further along today than we were 10 years ago. We must accept that the operation of a permanent disposal facility at Yucca Mountain will not happen soon – certainly not by the 2017 date currently advertised by the Department of Energy.
"... I support NEI's position that long-term interim storage must be that alternative. We must establish a process under which the federal government takes title to spent fuel, and moves it from reactor sites to one or more federal locations for consolidated interim storage. While permanent disposal at Yucca Mountain or a similar facility remains a long-term imperative, the industry can proceed if the operational date slips to 2025 or 2035 or even some later date. But we risk losing everything if we cannot tell our friends and neighbors, with confidence, that the federal government is meeting its commitment to safely store spent fuel."

Rabner punts on trooper union president's actions

Attorney General Stuart Rabner today released the results of his investigation into the actions at a press conference of David Jones, president of the state troopers union. His conclusion: "Jones behaved in a manner that brought discredit to himself and the Division of State Police, contrary to New Jersey State Police Rules and Regulations."

What did Rabner suggest be done about it? Nothing. He handed it off to State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes, suggesting Fuentes "evaluate proper disciplinary action." He gave no hint of what that action should be.

Jones had held a press conference lambasting 101.5 radio talk show host Craig Carton for publicizing troopers' Web site comments calling for a ticket-writing blitz in response to the negative reaction State Police received following Gov. Corzine's auto accident. Among other things, Jones held up a paper with Carton's home address and license plate number on it. He also sought to intimidate the radio station's executives and sponsors, and threatened the individuals who tipped off the radio station about the messages on the police Web site.

Rabner said there was no evidence that Jones accessed federal or state law enforcement databases to gather the personal information about Carton. But he said Jones' actions "created an inappropriate perception that law enforcement would harass a citizen whom they have a grievance about." That deserves harsh punishment. Rabner chose not to mete it out. Will Fuentes? I doubt it.

Imus' loss is Curtis and Kuby' and Led Zepp's gain

During my morning commute, I typically bounce around from one talk radio station to another - NPR, WFAN, WABC (Curtis and Kuby) and ESPN. Lately, I've been spending far less time with WFAN, which has been auditioning several replacements for Don Imus, who was fired three weeks ago.
One of Imus' frequent guests, NBC News Washington correspondent David Gregory, has been subbing the last few days, and it's been anything but riveting radio. But he hasn't been any worse than the previous stand-ins: Geraldo Rivera, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, tennis players John and Patrick McEnroe, local TV news anchor Chuck Scarborough and radio talk hosts Larry Elder, Stephanie Miller and Michael Smerconish.
If WFAN commits to Gregory, NPR and WABC will probably get more of my attention. Either that, or I'll spend more time with my Led Zepp, Porcupine Tree, Procol Harum and Simple Minds CDs.

Region takes back seat to no one for rude driving

New York City and its environs have the second rudest drivers in the nation, according to an annual road rage survey of 25 metropolitan areas. I demand a recount. There's no way this region isn't No. 1.
Miami claimed the top spot for the second straight year, according to the survey. Portland, Ore., and Pittsburgh, Pa., had the most courteous drivers.
How to explain New York City's mere runnerup status? First, the definition of the New York City metropolitan area must not have included a large enough swath of New Jersey - home to the most obnoxious drivers on the planet. Second, the survey relied on respondents providing honest answers about their own driving habits. Drivers in Miami must have been more willing to self-incriminate.

Take on speeders next

Gov. Corzine learned the hard way how foolish it was for him not to wear a seat belt. Now he plans to get the message across to the public via a two-week seat belt enforcement campaign billed as the largest in the state's history.
According to a press release from the state Attorney General's Office, State Police and local law enforcement agencies will conduct a statewide "Click it or ticket" campaign starting Monday and running through June 3.
When that campaign ends, I hope Corzine's accident will inspire him to begin a new campaign - a massive, sustained crackdown on speeding.

Jacob and Emily No. 1 again

The Social Security Administration today came out with its annual list of the most popular baby names. For boys, Jacob came out No. 1 again - the eighth straight year. That makes me feel proud. My dog's name is Jacob - Jake, actually - and my maternal grandfather also was named Jacob. Apparently the name was popular in Switzerland, where he was born, in the 1890s, too.
Interestingly, New Jersey parents did not climb aboard the Jacob bandwagon last year. The most popular names, in this order, were: Michael, Matthew and Daniel. Jacob ranked 14th.
Nationally, Emily has been the most popular girls name for 11 straight years. Last year, Emma was runnerup, followed by Madison, Isabella and Eva. In New Jersey, Isabella was No. 1, followed by Ava and Emily.
The SSA has a Popular Baby Names section on its Web site that allows you to search for the most popular baby names, by state, and by year since 1960.

Any questions for Assembly minority leader?

Alex DeCroce, R-Morris, the Assembly Minority Leader since 2003, will be meeting with the Asbury Park Press editorial board on Tuesday. If you have any questions for DeCroce about the GOP agenda, the state of the Republican Party in New Jersey or anything else, post them on this blog or forward them to me at rbergmann@app.com.

No leaks from Christie

As U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie was being quizzed by the Asbury Park Press editorial board Monday, FBI agents were starting to fan out in South Jersey and Philadelphia to arrest six men who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack at Fort Dix. Although Christie in his introductory remarks listed combating terrorism as one of his office's top priorities, there was no further discussion of the topic during the 90-minute meeting.
Most of the talk centered around public corruption, which Christie said is as pervasive today as it was when he took over as U.S. Attorney five years ago. He said there has been shortage of leads to investigate, and suggested there would be more big headline corruption stories in the spring or early summer.
Christie said gang membership was continuing to grow, and he identified gangs as one of his office's biggest challenges in the years ahead. He said gangs posed an even greater threat to public safety than organized crime did in the 1960s and 1970s.
Christie would not discuss any future plans, once his second four-year term expires 30 months from now. But he refused to rule out a run for governor. If the polls show he has a chance of winning in 2009, I'd be more than surprised if he didn't go for it.

Corzine-Katz ethics panel a whitewash

The state Ethics Advisory Board released its report today on a possible conflict of interest on the part of Gov. Corzine stemming from his relationship with Carla Katz, president of the state's largest state employees' union, and contract negotiations with her union.

The finding: Corzine violated no ethics laws. But the two-person panel mildly chastized him for not cutting off direct communications with Katz while contract negotiations with the state's unions were ongoing. Corzine stopped talking to Katz only in the final two to three weeks leading up to a tentative agreement, on the advice of his staff. Prior to then, Katz and Corzine both conceded they had communicated on a regular basis by phone and by e-mail, and that the discussions sometimes touched on the negotiations.

Corzine had never flatly denied having any discussions with Katz about contract matters. But in his denial of an Open Public Records Act request from Gannett New Jersey newspapers seeking access to his e-mail correspondence, Corzine said he did not discuss contract talks from his state e-mail account and that personal e-mail correspondence was not subject to the Open Public Records Act "consistent with the long-recognized judicial protection afforded non-public communications between senior public officials and those with whom they communicate."

In another story on the OPRA request, Corzine acknowledged "incidental contact" with Katz and several other union presidents during contract talks, but said no negotiations occurred away from the bargaining table. "Bargaining was done at the bargaining table. Pure and simple. End of conversation," Corzine said. Hardly.

Katz, who was interviewed by the panel, acknowledged that she had contact with the governor by e-mail and by telephone through the early stages of negotiations. "Although she could not identify how frequently they had contact, she stated that it was not daily, but more than once per month," the report said. How's that for being specific.

Whether it was every other day or twice a month, it was too much contact. As the report said, in far-too-mild terms, "Mrs. Katz's and the Governor's personal conversations and contacts concerning the negotiations were inadvisable."
It was more than inadvisable. It was totally unethical. And it demonstrated, once again, poor judgment on Corzine's part.

Fire trooper union boss

State trooper union president David Jones proved yesterday he is unfit to be a trooper, let alone lead a law enforcement union. While it's understandable he might have been unhappy about radio talk show host Craig Carton publicizing troopers' Web site comments calling for a ticket-writing blitz, Jones' response - holding a press conference and holding up a paper with Carton's home address and license plate number on it - is inexcusable.
Regardless of whether Jones violated any laws or regulations regarding release of Carton's personal information, State Attorney General Stuart Rabner should waste no time in instructing State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes to cut this guy loose. He's an embarrassment to the state, to his union and to the law enforcement community.

Does 'shock treatment' work on teens?

We had an interesting front-page story today about a program called "Rude Awakening" that is designed to impress upon teenagers, through presentations and interactive demonstrations, the dangers of drunken driving and the lasting consequences of auto accidents.
The response to the program was mostly positive in our Forums section. One poster suggested this country emulate the U.K. and Australia by running primetime public service announcements that show the horrors of an auto accident. Here is an example from Ireland.
What do you think? Does shock treatment work?

Any questions for Christopher Christie?

Crime-busting U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie - the bane of corrupt politicians in New Jersey - will be meeting with the Asbury Park Editorial Board Monday. Have anything you want us to ask him? Post it as a blog response, or e-mail me at rbergmann@app.com.

So much for stabilized gasoline prices

A couple of weeks ago, I read about how gasoline prices, which had climbed sharply in the past six weeks, had finally stabilized. They did - for about a week. Now they are back on their sharp upward trajectory, and the $3 a gallon of gasoline again beckons. Actually, it's already here in 11 states. Nationally, the average is up to $2.97 - 20 cents lower than the average in New Jersey, which as of Monday, had the lowest prices in the nation.

Some stations in New Jersey already are charging $3 and up. According to newjerseygasprices.com, an Exxon station in Summit is charging $3.29. The lowest and highest gas prices in Monmouth and Ocean counties are on Route 9 in Lakewood - Kwik Trip, $2.67, and Gulf, $2.97.

Some analysts are predicting gasoline prices will soon reach record highs. The peak nationally was $3.069, set Sept. 5, 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Adjusted for inflation, the record high was in March 1981, when gasoline prices were $3.223 in today's dollars.

Enforce the speed limits, or raise them

Moments after being released from the hospital where he spent 18 days recuperating from a car crash, Gov. Corzine apologized to New Jersey residents for "setting a bad example" by not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. "I hope the state will forgive me. I will work very hard to set the right kind of example."
Then, his new State Police driver proceeded to whisk him off to Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion, where Corzine's recuperation will continue. According to the N.Y. Times, Corzine's new vehicle, a GMC Savana van modified to accommodate a wheelchair, at some points sustained speeds of up to 70 mph on Route 295, including stretches where the posted limit was 55 mph. Apparently, Corzine's apology referred only to not wearing the seatbelt - not for ignoring speed limits. At the time of Corzine's accident, his vehicle was traveling at 91 mph.
Is this much ado about nothing? I don't think so. What's the point of having speed limits if they are ignored by the public, law enforcement agencies - and the governor?
Speed kills. If it can be demonstrated that drivers can go faster than the posted limits, raise them. If not, they should be enforced uniformly.