Sunday, August 26, 2012
Fast bridge repair like that of Route 202 in Bernards shouldn't be the exception.
Transportation officials just replaced the bridge connecting Morris and Somerset counties along Route 202 in what has to be record time, at least in New Jersey. After a full closure for less than 10 days, the bridge just north of the Olde Mill Inn in Harding is expected to be open again on Monday. While the closure inconvenienced drivers along the busy highway for the last week, it's still better than six months of complete or intermittent closures, which is what it could have taken to complete the work. In this case, state officials accommodated local ones concerned about the effect the bridge work was going to have on local businesses and the resulting solution was good for all. Built in 1924, the bridge carried about 10,000 vehicles a …
Monday, May 7, 2012
At what point does accountability take a back seat to teaching to the test?
Even more tests appear to be in the future of New Jersey’s high school students. Last week, Gov. Chris Christie proposed replacing the state’s High School Proficiency Assessment, which most students have to pass to graduate, with a group of end-of-course exams for those in grades 9 through 11. The change is needed, according to Christie, because the HSPA only measures achievement at an eighth-grade level, and that’s not good enough for the modern world. At recent budget hearings, state college presidents said they wind up spending thousands of hours and millions of dollars on remedial courses to bring freshmen up to collegiate level because these new students are coming in unprepared. Obviously, students need to have the appropriate skills…
Monday, April 23, 2012
By the way, there's a nice pension boost in it for Feyl, too.
The appointment of Gene Feyl as executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Council last Thursday accomplished several goals—most of them political, but with a nice personal perk for Feyl. It took Feyl out of contention for another term as a Morris County freeholder, allowing him to land safely—and cozily, with a $116,000 salary almost five times larger than he gets now—without having to worry about a messy primary fight with the conservative team opposing the incumbent Republicans in June. And talk about cozy! Were Feyl to lose a Republican primary fight in June and leave office at the end of the year, he would retire with a maximum annual pension of about $13,300, according to the Retirement Estimate calculation tool on the state …
Monday, January 30, 2012
Almost 1 in 5 districts statewide has already eliminated the April vote.
Voters in six Morris County municipalities—so far—have lost one opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Less than two weeks after Gov. Chris Christie gave them the option, 106 school districts have jumped at the chance to jettison the annual public vote on the school budget and move the vote on board of education candidates to November, alongside the election for political seats ranging from town council to, this year, president of the United States. That represents almost 20 percent of the state’s districts. In Morris County, as of last Friday, the ranks included Butler, Parsippany, Boonton, Florham Park, Lincoln Park and Randolph, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. More are expected to follow suit. This …
Monday, January 16, 2012
If his widow seeks his seat, will any other Republicans challenge her?
Morris County lost a powerful ally last Monday when Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce died suddenly at the end of the long last day of the lame duck session. DeCroce, 75, had been in the Assembly for almost 23 years, rising to the position as head of the GOP in the lower house in 2003. He was deputy speaker of the Assembly when the Republicans were in power between 1994 and 2001. At the time of his death, DeCroce was the most senior Assembly member and the sixth longest serving member of the Legislature. Before heading to Trenton, DeCroce was a Morris County freeholder for five years and served as its director in 1986. These almost 30 years in politics gave the Parsippany Realtor the experience and savvy to negotiate deals when …
Monday, December 12, 2011
New Census data shows most people still drive alone to work.
If you spent 85 minutes on a bus every workday, what would you do with the time: Read, sleep, work? Whatever you did—or do, if this describes you—has got to be better than spending that much time in a car, whether it be crawling in traffic or cruising over the speed limit, watching the other cars and the miles and your precious free time pass by. Using public transportation, be it a bus or a train, is certainly better for the environment because it makes the air a little cleaner. But it’s also good for the mind (reading, listening to podcasts), body (sleeping) and soul (daydreaming, texting a friend, planning your spouse’s birthday celebration). Or, if you really have to, you can always do more work via your laptop, iPad or Blackberry. …
takemethere2
5:37 pm on Wednesday, September 5, 2012
You may possibly have bridges confused. The Rt. 15S/Clinton Road crossing Rt. 46 was closed for probably 9 months, the Salem Street Rt. 10 bridge was only closed about 2-3 months. more ›