Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Christie rebate cuts cause 22.4 percent increase in net property taxes that hits those making under $150,000
Net property taxes in New Jersey rose 22.4 percent in Gov. Chris Christie's first three years in office, compared to just 6 percent in Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's last three years in office, a New Jersey Spotlight analysis shows. Christie, who has made attacks on “Corzine Democrats” a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, has been touting his record of holding down overall property tax increases. But when Christie’s rebate reductions are factored in, his property tax record is not so clear-cut. While Corzine doubled average property tax rebates from 2006 to 2009 and provided rebates to families earning as much as $250,000, Christie sharply cut the size of rebate payments and limited eligibility for non-seniors to those earning $75,000 …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
After redistricting, state’s northernmost district doesn’t get the race it was looking for
- ELECTIONS
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
By Matt Manochio, NJSpotlight.com U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, the current G.O.P. occupant and a resident of Sussex County, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 and appears primed to strongly defend the seat. He faces a primary challenge from two Bergen County residents, Michael Cino and Bonnie Somer, both of whom concede the odds of winning are against them. The Democrats also have a contested primary. Teaneck’s Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen, former U.S. Marine Jason Castle and Lyndon LaRouche Democrat Diane Sare are vying for their party’s nomination on June 5. But that contest won’t provide the matchup Republicans had envisioned when they drew the new district lines last December, putting U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman, who …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
With major taxes growing at half the projected rate, is tax cut now in doubt?
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Seven weeks ago, Christie administration officials expressed confidence that state revenues would surge this spring, enabling the state to hit its income tax target, exceed its original corporate tax estimate, and prove that New Jersey could afford the 10 percent income tax cut that Gov. Chris Christie was proposing. Yesterday, the Treasury Department's release of the much-anticipated April revenue figures sent shock waves through the legislature with its acknowledgement that state revenues are running $230.3 million below expectations, with just two months to go in the fiscal year. Just one day after Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) reached apparent agreement on a compromise tax cut proposal, lower-than-…
Friday, April 27, 2012
Former Bergen school administrator says enough is enough with standardized tests.
As hundreds of thousands of New Jersey schoolchildren sit down for state testing over the course of the next month, NJ Spotlight came upon at least three families who are sitting this one out. Particularly notable: They are teachers and administrators themselves, past and present. And each said that's part of the reason they've decided to opt out their kids, having seen how pervasive testing has become in schools where they’ve worked. “Educators have to be first with this,” said Maryann Reilly, a Ringwood mother, education consultant, former school administrator in Newark, Hackensack , and most recently assistant superintendent in Morristown. “If people on the inside aren’t doing this, how can we expect our neighbors to,” she said. In her …
Friday, April 20, 2012
Ridership on the state's public transit systems is on the rise, but will public funding catch up and keep up?
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, April 20, 2012
By Tara Nurin, NJ Spotlight Public transportation is riding high, with nearly record-breaking ridership that reflects the shifting economy, the high price of gas, and the lifestyle of the young and creative classes. Last year, passenger traffic across the United States rose to its second-highest level since 1957, and in New Jersey, all four public and private rail transit systems are witnessing a steady increase. But the growing importance of public transportation in New Jersey is not matched by an equally accelerated growth in public funding. In fact, state funding has been more or less flat for the past few years -- with the exception of the cancellation of the ARC tunnel, which would have built a third rail tunnel between New Jersey and…
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Facing a $13 billion funding gap, NJ's state and local governments and school districts have to make deep cuts or reinvent the way they provide services
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, March 18, 2012
By Mark Magyar, NJ Spotlight Despite major savings from last year's pension and health benefits overhaul, New Jersey's state, county, and municipal governments and school districts will be taking in $13 billion less than they need to maintain services at current levels five years from now, according to a study by a blue-ribbon panel of former state officials and foundation leaders conducted for the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. Former State Treasurers Feather O'Connor Houstoun and Sam Crane, Rutgers University Public Policy Professor Ray Caprio, and CNJG President Nina Stack spoke for a bipartisan group of 19 policy experts yesterday when they warned that New Jersey would have to cut government services by as much as 20 percent over …
Friday, March 16, 2012
School Report Cards delayed as state gears up NJ SMART
Just a few months short of the Class of 2012's high school graduation, the state Department of Education is still tallying the numbers for the Class of 2011. Counting graduates was slowed as the department puts in place a new system for more accurately totaling up the number of students who make it through high school and how they do so, officials said. The delay has also postponed the release of the state's annual School Report Cards. Typically released in February, the Report Cards provide data and analysis for every school on their test scores, class sizes and a host of other measures. But the statewide and district graduation rates are a particular hot-button issue since the Christie administration has said it will be a central measure…
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Settlement affirms 'important consumer protection,' according to state agency
- BUSINESS
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
By Tom Johnson Public Service Electric & Gas customers no longer have to worry about the state's largest utility reporting information to a credit agency. In a settlement with the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel and the state Board of Public Utilities, the Newark utility agreed to withdraw a proposal to begin reporting payment histories of all residential, commercial, and industrial gas and electric customers to the credit agency Experian. Early last year, PSE&G, which serves 1.8 million gas customers and 2.2 million electric customers, announced it would begin reporting the information, but had suspended the effort at the request of the Rate Counsel and the BPU. "The laws of this state are very clear," said Stefanie Brand, director of…
Friday, February 24, 2012
Study examines the biological impact of weight and cell aging
It's well known that excess weight increases risk for a myriad of maladies, including diabetes, hypertension, heart attack and stroke. Now there are findings by a Rutgers University researcher suggesting that even the social stigma attached to being overweight can harm your health. Dr. Janet Tomiyama, who joined Rutgers this year as assistant professor of psychology and nutritional sciences, investigated the biological impact of weight stigma as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California-San Francisco. She and four co-authors will present their findings next month in Athens at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. The study involved extensive interviews with 43 women, all overweight or obese, who all …
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Local autonomy, rather than inflexible formulas, is the key to gauging teacher performance
- OPINION
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
By Arnold Kling, NJSpotlight.com New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would like to improve the way that teachers are compensated. He wants to get away from the rigid, credentials-based and tenure-protected system that exists today. Instead, he proposes to convene a task force that will "be charged with recommending a system that elevates the role of student learning in evaluations and fairly and transparently assesses teacher and principal performance." The current approach to compensation in primary education certainly is flawed. Quality teaching does not come from credentials. Instead, good teachers make themselves, through relentless effort at self-improvement. Seniority is not a meaningful indicator: some teachers use their years of …
paul smith
6:36 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
You hit the nail on the head. Let the red states govern themselves according to the Tea Party Mantra- that means we actually geta a fair shake from Washingtion instead of 61 cents for every buck sent to the GOP congress. I pray that people understand what a useless hypocrite Garrett is and turn him out of office. He can then retire to his shrub farm and get those tax breaks. more ›