Monday, May 21, 2012
A Lake Hopatcong pastor makes an appeal to area residents to help.
The following is from Rev. Christopher Muldoon, pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea church in Lake Hopatcong. Just to let you know that in the months of January, February, March, April and May, a total of $4,600 has been disbursed to a total of 37 familes and individuals [in the Lake Hopatcong area]. Often our emergency fund is the only one available to help people in our area to meet basic needs of rent and utilities. Last year more than $11,000 was disbursed to people in our area. Your participation in [Saturday's Hunger Walk was] very badly needed and [was] essential to sustain the emergency fund. Please return your money and sponsor envelopes to me. Fr. Chris Muldoon P.O. Box 337, Lake Hopatcong, N.J. 07849 Or to the rectory at 237 …
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Senate committee approves a bill requiring greater sales to qualify for farmland assessment.
It may finally get a little harder for property owners to get a huge tax break for selling a few hundred dollars in Jersey tomatoes or stacks of firewood cut from their land. Last Thursday, the Senate environment committee released a bill doubling the amount of income a landowner would have to get from his property to be eligible for the preferential farmland assessment. That’s only the first step in what could be a long road to enactment for the measure. It’s unclear how many people would be impacted by the change because the state does not keep good records for the program. An analysis of the state’s property database shows that almost 29,000 acres of land in Morris County are farmland assessed and the average assessment is $425, …
Monday, May 14, 2012
With visions of 1994 dancing in metropolitan fans' heads, who do you think will win?
It isn't always pretty. In fact, it rarely is. When the two top ice hockey squads in the New York-New Jersey metro area lace them up, it's always a spectacle. But it's never more so than when the matchups come in the playoffs. Of course, we're talking about the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers (sorry Islanders fans, but the '80s are behind us). The two NHL teams begin their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series Monday night (8; NBC Sports Network) for the right to head to the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, most fans remember the last time these two faced each other for that right. It was 1994. For Rangers fans, it was the precursor to a fantastic Stanley Cup championship victory over the Vancouver Canucks and the end of …
Polls focus on November as most give challengers in the few primary contests little chance of victory.
Last week brought a number of polls affirming the fickle nature of New Jersey’s electorate and a reminder, despite any lack of enthusiasm, that there is an election in less than a month. Our votes don’t count again this year in presidential balloting as the primary was moved back to June—holding a separate president-only primary in February 2008 cost the state an extra $12 million. Most people don’t seem to care. It’s impossible to imagine anyone but Mitt Romney would have won the Republican primary here, anyway. With everyone else out of the GOP primary, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Public Mind Poll looked ahead to November. It found New Jerseyans giving President Obama a 50 percent approval rating and a 14-point lead over Romney. …
Friday, May 11, 2012
A state legislative committee approved a bill this week that would bar the practice.
Can an employer force you to reveal your Facebook or other social media password as a condition for getting hired or keeping your job? That issue began to get some attention in March after a statistician in New York reported that during an interview with a potential employer, the woman interviewing him had searched for his Facebook and, upon discovering that it was private, asked him for the password. The statistician, Justin Bassett refused and left the interview, according to the Associated Press. But the story brought to light other instances where employers have sought similar access to social media accounts, and have led several states to consider legislation to ban the practice. California's assembly voted Thursday to approve such …
Hopatcong mom shares her family's experience.
The following is from Hopatcong resident Erin Panfile. My two children ages 12 & 8 have been attending our towns Summer Recreation Program for several years now. It’s only May, and they are already talking about seeing Ryan Smircich, the program Director and Dayna Iannuzzi again. The Rec program is well managed and is fully staffed with teachers and college students that grew up in Hopatcong. The program accommodates different leaders and classrooms per age group, which is a plus if you have more than one child attending! Each week is a different theme and the leaders really go above & beyond to make it a fun experience. The camp also offers weekly trips to Hackettstown pool in addition to other affordable field trips. This year, the …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Alicia Martin-Conyers asks Hopatcong for support.
Dear Fellow Relay for Life Participants, My name is Alicia; I’m 14 years old and am an eighth grader at Hopatcong Middle School. I am the Team Captain of Gee-Gee’s Butterflies and have been working very hard just like all of you to raise money for a cause that is near and dear to my heart. On February 21, 2010 I lost my Great-Grandmother, Sylvia Martin (Gee-Gee) to cancer, which was very sudden and shocking to my family. This is my fourth relay with the American Cancer Society and I feel proud every time I participate. It makes me feel good knowing that I am helping make a positive difference within my community and in the lives of others. I am also very proud of Hopatcong for holding this relay and seeing its true importance. I am …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Margaret Nordstrom said to be under consideration for number two spot
They ought to rename the New Jersey Highlands Council the Morris County Freeholder Re-Employment Bureau. The latest rumor is that former freeholder Margaret Nordstrom of Long Valley is in line to become deputy director of the Highlands Council. That spot is open because Tom Borden resigned as a matter of conscience last month when the council ousted Eileen Swan as director in a political move. No one is confirming the rumor yet. Nordstrom did tell The Observer Tribune last month that she is looking for a job within, or with the help of, the administration of Gov. Chris Christie, who lives in Morris. Earlier this year, the state appellate court tossed Nordstrom off the freeholder board, reversing a superior court judge’s earlier order, …
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 …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Hopatcong schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Maranzano: 'The benefits of arts experiences go beyond the four walls of the classroom and into the community.'
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Thursday, April 19
The following is from Hopatcong schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Maranzano. According to Education Week, a weekly publication by Editorial Projects in Education located in Bethesda, Maryland, recent reports on the state of Arts Education offer a complex but revealing picture of the arts in America’s public schools. The availability of music and visual arts instruction on average remains high in most places but the report indicates that disparities persist in access to arts education for impoverished students in many American communities. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “The good news is that the last decade has not generally produced a dramatic narrowing of the curriculum in the arts.” This in spite of reports that the …
Gadfly
7:19 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
The real solution is not to increase the income requirement, but to make the program only available to "real" farmers. For years some people have suggested that the program should only be available to people that make some minimum percent of their income from agricultural activities. more ›