H.I.T.S.: HEARD IN THE STREET. . .
Next week will be the third Monday/Wednesday one-two punch of the revised Council schedule. The first two business meetings have been eerie...public attendance has dwindled from throngs to a mere handful. At the last meeting, there were nine city employees and seven members of the public -- not counting the press. This could turn out to be the next best thing to not having to face the public at all. On the question of how long Monday was the meeting night, I have been doing some research on the flagpole at Watchung and East Seventh Street, near City Hall -- the project was under way from 1925 - 1927, and all the press clips mention Council meetings being on Monday. . .so that's a tradition of at least 80 years that has been pitched overboard.
Speaking of City Hall, if you look carefully you will see that the roofing contractor is back at work. This has to be the slowest job ever. The contract called for four roofs to be done: City Hall, City Hall Annex, and Fire and Police headquarters. The materials were lugged up to the City Hall roof last fall. Work on the Fire and Police roofs was done pretty much on time, but the City Hall roof is now several months behind schedule. . .late is better than never, no?
Meanwhile, they are raising the roof on City Hall's third floor. Word reaches my ears that the Mayor and the City Administrator had to make an emergency visit to the third-floor Inspections offices to try and turn the heat down on the simmering feud between Jocelyn Pringley and Nagy Sileem. The issue at hand this time? Claims that Nagy's rearrangement of the office has made things unworkable. You can be sure we'll be hearing more news from the front. . .
If you were out and about yesterday around 5:00 pm, you may have noticed the teachers' march -- complete with posters and chants -- along West 7th Street and Park Avenue. The flyer I got says "No one goes into public education to get rich. . .but we deserve respect and fair treatment." The union is turning the heat up on the school district, where contract negotiations are in mediation, the step before binding arbitration. Unless you were in a cave this week, you will have noticed that the NJ Supremes ruled that the Corzine administration can freeze Abbott Schools funding for the 2006-2007 school year. As I said before, this will put the Abbott districts in a bind -- cut staffs and services? raise taxes? Look for a bumpy ride ahead. . .
One of the challenges Mayor Robinson-Briggs has on her plate is how to improve the ratables ratio between residential properties and the CIB (commercial/industrial/business) sector. In the 1960s, CIB accounted for a third of the tax monies raised. When Al McWilliams took office, that share had declined to 18%, putting the burden of carrying the community on the backs of residential property owners. McWilliams labored for years to turn those ratios around through economic development. Pat Ballard Fox's letter in Wednesday's Courier is a reminder that success needs Council cooperation. She recounts how Plainfield lost two chances for multi-million dollar projects because of Council short-sightedness. [And if the Council had approved forming a development corporation like other communities have, who knows how far we would be ahead of the game.] If and when the current administration gets around to economic development, we will get to see if the situation has changed. . .
Speaking of letters to the editor, several people have emailed that they were unable to connect to the Speaking Out piece by the Rev. Rick Taylor on the recent visit by Sharpe James, Alton Maddox and 'Buster' Soaries to our fair city. I have posted an archived copy of the piece online. And speaking of Speaking Out, you may recall that the Courier told activist Joan Hervey that the reason they didn't publish her piece online was that they weren't doing that any more. Joan writes me she will be in touch with the Courier. . .again.
Mea culpa Dept.: Regarding the front-page story on immigrants in the Ledger last Sunday [ "The fearful immigrants next door"], Siddeeq El-Amin, chair of the Plainfield Health Center board, wrote me as follows:
Dan, I read the Star-Ledger article and it made no reference to a fear to use health and social services. It dealt with problems of employment and education, never mentioning a lack of health care or social services. As for the Plainfield Health Center, it is the only place in town where the uninsured and underinsured can get health care, documented or undocumented. No one is turned away. Please check your facts first.He is right, the Ledger article is about employment and education. I took the cue for my comment from the sub-head which says immigrants "are suddenly facing calamity..." But I did not say that the Health Center didn't provide care for immigrants -- documented or undocumented. We all know that the under- and uninsured can and do get health care there.
This opens the door for me to explain a little about how CLIPS gets done. Since there is not time enough to read each and every story before getting the post off to you all, I have to go by the headlines. Sometimes they are clear and concise. Sometimes the editors play cute and the main head would leave you scratching yours -- in which case I grab the sub-head if it works, or edit the whole thing to point you in the main direction. Sometimes I'm tempted to editorialize -- the green italic stuff -- and sometimes that blows up in my face. But, hey it's about having fun and providing a service. Stuff may happen, but more and more people sign up every day. Thank God they put up with my part of life's annoying little imperfections. . .
Speaking of which, you still cannot get an answer or leave a voicemail at PCTV-74, Plainfield's public access cable TV station. Try it and see: (908) 753-3301. I gave up after 25 rings, but your mileage may vary. . .
P.S. Yesterday's Chamber meeting was hosted by Anthony's Place, an Italian cafe and deli next to the former Margie's Cake Box. Great coffee and breakfast, and a sandwich shop menu you should check out. Also, they will prep a daily special for your pickup at day's end if you call ahead. What!? Make your evening a little less rushed? What a concept! Anthony's Place is at 1346 South Avenue, open M-F 7:30 am - 6:00 pm, Sat 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. Phone: (908) 754-2210. The catering hall seats 50 comfortably.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of fairness, any person identified in a H.I.T.S. post who believes he/she has been portrayed unfairly or that the information about him/her is untrue will have the opportunity to respond in this space.