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Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #1, Edition #3

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We’re back again with the third edition of the Start the Weekend Right link series! A consistent link series usually takes some time to catch fire with people out there on the interwebs. While we work to build an audience around this new feature, I hope that you’re enjoying reading these stories – and that you’re sharing them with your family and friends! Before we get to the links, though, I just want to remind you of what I wrote last week and the week before: If you find that you visit several websites on a daily basis, then I recommend you consider signing up for a free Feedly account. I don’t get anything for promoting Feedly – I just love the service and I think that it’s really a great RSS aggregator! And if you’re using another RSS aggregator, then please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/ or if you’re already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here.

Now, enjoy the links! If you come across any interesting links, then please share them with us in the comments section below.

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #1, Edition #3
Gamestop Defends Xenoblade Price Tag, Metroid Prime Trilogy Being Restocked, Joystiq
That’s right. I’m starting this week’s Start the Weekend Right link series with a story about a video game. When I was younger I played video games a lot. As I got older the free time that I used to spend playing games vanished. These days if I get 5 hours of video gaming in every year, then that would be a lot. Back to this story: a few years ago a Nintendo subsidiary named Monolith Soft came out with a role-playing game (RPG) called Xenoblade Chronicles. I picked up this game when it was finally released in North America and without question this is the best RPG that I’ve ever played. The game was so good and available in such a limited quantity, that you can only find used copies and they are going for $80 – $100+ online. Pretty impressive for a game that almost didn’t make its way to this part of the world!

How to Know If You’re Working (and Living) With Purpose, Inc.
This is a good article for those of you who might be wondering whether or not you’re living a life of purpose. The author of this article – Shelley Prevost – poses four questions for you to ponder in order to come to an answer. After reading the article, I can honestly say that I have strong, positive answers for each of these questions. In addition, I think these questions provide a good framework to adequately consider whether you are, in fact, living a life of purpose. For me, I know that if I didn’t have a job with community impact or at least have the ability and opportunity to help other people on a daily basis, then I wouldn’t be satisfied. We only have a short time on this planet – why not be happy and try to give others happiness in the process?

How The Heck Do I Get Started!?, Nerd Fitness
If you’ve ever tried to do something – anything! – big in your life, then you’ve stopped to ask yourself this question. Steve Kamb – the guy behind Nerd Fitness – is one of the best, most entertaining fitness writers that I’ve ever come across online. He integrates all of the geeky things that I either was or currently am a fan of and works them into the world of fitness. Trust me here, folks – if you read Steve’s writing you’ll see that he has a gift for making fitness fun. In this entry, he gives some perspective on how you can start doing whatever it is that you want to achieve. Unlike nearly all of the weight loss blogs out there, Nerd Fitness isn’t annoyingly preachy and Steve doesn’t force you to accept his perspective on life (consciously or subconsciously). He’s just a cool, geeky guy who got in great shape and had a lot of fun along the way. Give his blog a read – I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!

Time Capsule Found During Renovations at FDU Makes Special Request, Daily Record
I stopped linking to Gannett articles when the media giant went uber greedy and charged for accessing their silly, mostly-shoddily written articles after only a few days of being offered online for free. So I was conflicted on posting this link because who knows how long it will be active. Anyway, I thought that this very short story was entertaining. Apparently, some guys who were remodeling the bathrooms at FDU some 80+ years ago left an unofficial “time capsule” in the wall. The capsule was written during prohibition and asks the finder to have a drink on the renovation team if prohibition had finally ended!

Controlling Emotions, Wall Street Playboys
There is a growing movement in the blogosphere called the manosphere. This group of bloggers are typically young men who are successful at one aspect of their lives or another (or many at one time) and they write a very real-world, practical approach to achieving similar success. Some blogs focus on stories related to that success and others talk about the ideas behind that success. The team at Wall Street Playboys posted an article the other day talking about how and why it is important to be in control of your emotions. If you’re a young man and you’ve found your way to this week’s link series, then I encourage you to read this article.

You Don’t Know Jack… About the Assumption, Busted Halo
This isn’t an article to read, but rather a short video where Father Jack Collins interviews people on the street about whether or not they know the meaning behind yesterday’s holy day of obligation. What holy day of obligation was yesterday you ask? It was the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you’re not sure what that means, then take a few minutes and watch this video so you can find out.

Vivat Jesus!, His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan
One of the blogs that I really enjoy reading is that of His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan. Cardinal Dolan had a very natural speaking (and writing) voice that boils down complex theological issues in a way that is easy to understand and appreciate. In this entry, he talks about visiting the recent Knights of Columbus national convention. I thought this was a good entry to add to this week’s list of links not just because I enjoy Cardinal Dolan’s writing, but because as a member of the Knights of Columbus, I’m glad to spread commentary about the good work that the fraternity sponsors around the country.

New Residential Construction Planned for Waterfront, Asbury Park Sun
It’s amazing how much new construction is going on in Asbury Park. Granted, we’re not talking about a new developing every week, but it certainly seems close to a new development every month. From the expansion of the Johnny Mac’s area to the Vive residential development that was sold out just about as soon as the units went on sale to the renovations up and down Cookman and the many entrepreneurs and small business owners still rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy – there’s a lot going on in Asbury Park. This article talks about yet another residential development planned for the waterfront area. If you’re interested in development in New Jersey or the revival of Asbury Park, then this article is for you.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?, Men’s Health
Admittedly, this is not a safe article for me to read! There are some nights when I have an absolutely horrible time trying to get to sleep and then there are other nights when I sleep like a log. Unfortunately, there are more nights when I toss and turn and wake up in the middle of the night for one reason or another, but that should improve when I’m off the tremendous amount of medication that I’m currently on. In any event, this article from Men’s Health says that if you get 5 hours of good, quality sleep, then you’re okay. It’s a quick article – only a few paragraphs long. If you have a few minutes, then I suggest giving it a read.

Get your weekend started right by checking out these links, starting a new, free Feedly account, and/or adding the blogs above (and JerseySmarts.com, too) to your existing Feedly or other RSS aggregator account. Enjoy!

Roxbury Board of Education Misses The Point

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Each day I browse around the websites of various newspapers that I would read if I had subscriptions and had the time to sit down in the morning and look over them. These include local newspaper websites like the Asbury Park Press and the Daily Record. This morning I was flipping around the Daily Record’s website and came across an article entitled, “Roxbury student code of conduct now in effect 24/7/365.” I’d link you to the article, but these Gannett-owned newspapers don’t keep their articles online for more than a few days and then you have to pay for them (ha!). However, the point of the article was as follows:

The school board has revised its code of conduct policy to require students be on their best behavior the entire calendar year — even when school is out — or face suspension from extracurricular activities, board member Chris Rogers said Tuesday.

Now as a former student at Roxbury High School and as a former college student who fought this type of nanny-state activity at my university, I hate this decision by the Roxbury school board. And there are any number of reasons to hate it. First of all, the policy seems to single out those students that are involved in extracurricular activity. So little Susie is on the softball team and is found in violation of this vague policy in July (what IS “best behavior?”). Is she to be suspended from the first four or five softball games the following spring? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?

What about little Bobby who doesn’t have any extracurricular activities. Does he get suspended from school if he does something that doesn’t qualify as “best behavior” in August? And if so, then is he suspended the first two weeks of school in September for an “offense” committed on August 1st? Is this insane or what?

How about Jen – the President of the Student Council. She gets cited for not being on her “best behavior” a few days after school is out in June. Is she then suspended from participating in the Student Council for the month of September?

And is it fair that Billy is suspended from school while Susie and Jen just get to miss out on their extracurricular activities?

And does this policy apply to the school’s faculty? Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that every single teacher or employee of the school district exhibits their “best behavior” all day, every day. And who is to define “best behavior?” What if my family’s best behavior is different than your family’s definition? Do you see how crazy this can get?

These types of theoretical situations can go on and on, which is typical of policies that shouldn’t be enacted in the first place. The school board is overstepping their bounds in this case in an inappropriate manner. This policy should be rescinded immediately.

Corzine Not Doing Great in the Polls

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Thankfully, New Jerseyans seems to be coming to their senses and it would appear that they are preparing to kick Governor Money Bags (aka Governor Corzine) out of office come November. An article in today’s Daily Record cited how an overwhelming majority of New Jersey voters agreed that our state’s budget is in critical condition. This follows a recent poll showing that Corzine is trailing his likely Republican opponent Chris Christie. The Daily Record article states:
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Governor Corzine Just Doesn’t Get It

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Governor Jon Corzine (aka Governor Money Bags) just doesn’t get it when it comes to New Jersey and the struggling families in our state. Yesterday he gave his budget address and it was a disaster for all working families. The total budget that he proposed was $29.8 billion which includes cutting property tax rebates to almost the entire middle class population of New Jersey: any family making more than $75,000 will have their property tax rebate eliminated.

I know that my friends living across the nation are thinking, “Wait – you guys are getting upset over people making more than $75,000 having their property tax rebates cut? Shut up!” Look, I understand that mindset and if this was going on in any other part of the nation, I might agree with you. But New Jersey is the most expensive state in the union! Property taxes in most of the state are between $7,000 and $10,000 each year. Each year! Most New Jerseyans wouldn’t mind paying so much in property taxes if the level of services that were received for the expense matched. However, in New Jersey most property tax revenues are shoveled into Newark and Camden and any other number of these so-called “underserved” Abbott school districts. Let me tell you something. I’ve toured many of the schools in these Abbott districts as well as many of the schools in the regular school districts. Trust me, the kids in the Abbott districts have a much better learning environment than their suburban counterparts. It’s bull.

Some thoughts from a posting on the Daily Record website:

Corzine struck a sober tone in his fourth budget address, saying tough choices are necessary now to ensure New Jersey emerges strong when the global recession lifts. He also reminded the Legislature of reckless spending in the past, saying years of irresponsible spending contributed to the state’s dire fiscal circumstances this year.

“You can’t correct 15 or 20 years of bad decisions in 38 months,” Corzine said. “The steps we’ve taken have put our state’s finances on more solid ground.”

What a sorry SOB this guy is. How out of touch with reality must one man be to say, “Hey, the last 15 years were a disaster,” when he operated the state for 3 of those 15 years!? Come on! When does reality sink in? When do the masses in Essex and Camden county finally stop and say “WAIT! Enough! We’re NOT voting for the New Jersey Democrats any more!”

I’m not advocating for everyone to vote for the Republicans (except for Chris Christie – see below), but damn it – STOP voting for these ridiculous Democrats who have no idea what it’s like to try to survive in this state. Vote for the Libertarians or the Constitution Party – vote for someone other than the Democrats already! They’ve ruined this state and they’re not going to stop.

And Governor Money Bags’ budget gets better… If you make more than $500,000, you could have your taxes raised this year only as a way to raise more funds for the state treasury. So if you were making all of this money, why wouldn’t you find a way to be listed as a Pennsylvania resident for this tax year? What stupid, stupid idea from this idiot governor.

Governor Money Bags also wants to money to hospitals and small towns (which are proven to be operated more efficiently and in a more cost-effective manner than their larger counterparts). Good grief! The next thing you know he’s going to start taxing the shore towns for how much sand is in their jurisdiction! Maybe he can go to an old folks home and tax them for each gray hair they have on their heads, too!

This man needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Chris Christie MUST win the upcoming gubernatorial election or this state is going to continue its out of control spiral towards being an unhealthy place for middle Americans to live, work, and retire.

Getting Polled in the Upcoming Governor’s Election

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A few days ago I was polled by Quinnipiac University regarding the upcoming gubernatorial election in New Jersey. For those of you who are not familiar with the popular candidates in the lovely Garden State we are choosing between the incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine and the prospective Republican candidate Christopher Christie. The poll lasted some twelve minutes and covered a variety of issues including who I voted for in the recent Presidential election and how I identified myself in terms of my politics.

Anyway, I bring this up because I saw the results of the poll on the Daily Record website a few days ago. Here are the results in their entirety as printed in the Daily Record:

TRENTON — U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie hasn’t said whether he’ll run for governor, but he’d start such a race slightly trailing Gov. Jon S. Corzine, according to results of a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

Corzine is favored 42 percent to 36 percent among 2,020 registered voters in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup against Christie. Much of the advantage results from the state’s overwhelming Democratic edge in voter registration, as Christie holds a 38 percent to 32 percent edge among independents.

The two had been tied in polls conducted in August and September. The new poll was done from Nov. 12 to Nov. 17, culminating on the day Christie announced he will resign his post on Dec. 1 — news that sparked talk of a long-anticipated gubernatorial run.

The poll also showed New Jersey disapproves of Corzine’s job performance by a 46 percent to 43 margin and say he doesn’t deserve to be re-elected by a 51 percent to 37 percent margin.

Those numbers are poor but improving, Quinnipiac pollster Clay F. Richards said.

“The long coattails of Barack Obama have reached down into New Jersey and helped Gov. Jon Corzine’s re-election prospects, at least for now,” Richards said.

The poll showed few voters are aware of Christie, despite his nearly seven years as the state’s top federal prosecutor. Seventy percent of respondents said they have not heard enough about Christie to have an opinion about him, compared with 11 percent who aren’t aware enough of the state’s governor.

“That will change as we move along and we get a race,” Richards said.

The poll’s margin of error was 2.2 percent.

I find it interesting that there is no mention of how these votes breakout demographically or geographically. For example, I was asked about my ethnic background as well as what type of area I live in – suburban, rural, or urban. Having studied polling and the ways that pollsters can manipulate the results of such questions, I’m surprised that there is no breakdown of percentage of voters located in urban areas who are pro-Corzine or pro-Christie vs. percentage of voters in suburban or rural areas.

Hmmm…trying to hide the gigantic gap in the number of urban Republicans and suburban and rural Democrats maybe? Everyone in the state knows that Democrats win in New Jersey because the heavily urban areas are so highly populated and are so firmly in the Democratic column that it’s not worth the money to campaign in those areas. I just wish that a respected polling group like Quinnipiac University would sort of put that information out there in the public domain as part of the results of their survey. Why not add a line stating, “As has usually been the case in New Jersey, of the 2,020 registered voters who were polled, 85% of them were located in urban areas. Of these voters, 95% identified as Democratic voters.”

We all know it’s true – just looking for some more truth and full disclosure in the media.

More on Growing Student Loan Debt for College Students

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Once again, the Daily Record printed an excellent article today regarding the student loan crisis and how mounting debts are saddling today’s students. One of the greatest economic catastrophes of our time is brewing in this student loan mess and no one is addressing it directly. Oh sure, there are plans to offer existing and future college students a break either by an Obama tax credit or an increased Pell Grant, but that does nothing for the students who are graduating college, year after year, with high five and six figure debts.

People need to realize that the current economic issues are all linked together. One of the reasons why there are so many houses for sale on the market is because graduating college students simply can’t afford to pay the crazy prices that are being asked. This is a two-headed problem – first, the prices are way out of sync with the value of the homes and second, college students aren’t graduating with a few thousand dollars of student loan debt any more. In today’s world, college students are averaging $20,000 in student loan debt. Some of us have broken six figures in these debts! From the article:

When Melissa Norelli graduates from Fairleigh Dickinson University three years from now, she’ll owe about $129,000 in student loans.

Her private loan officer told her to consider it like a car payment — for a BMW. Norelli, who is studying to be a teacher, said she’ll probably have to walk to work because she’ll have a $900 monthly student loan bill.

“I was naïve to the fact it would be so much money,” said Norelli, 20, of Langhorne, Pa. ” I love my school and my major. But, I didn’t think it was going to be so scary, so overwhelming.”

An annual study on student debt shows that the average debt of college graduates with loans grew by 6 percent in just one year from 2006 to 2007. The average debt rose from $18,976 to $20,098, according to the Project on Student Debt. The report also points out that the debt is rising faster than starting salaries for graduates, which only grew 3 percent in the same time period.

It’s all related. Ms. Norelli graduates with a six-figure debt in a really tough job market which cannot offer her enough compensation for her to buy a home so she spends more time living at her family’s home after graduation, which returns a small financial burden on the family. You have a home that cannot be sold, a college graduate that may not be able to find a high enough paying job, and a family that now has to spend money instead of putting it away for retirement. It’s a vicious cycle and the scary thing is – it’s only one, small cycle in this incredibly crazy market.

I wish all of my best to Ms. Norelli in her future endeavors. As I said in the previous entry, no one should be projecting their personal situations on the brave young people who are profiled in these articles. A few years ago I had the honor of being on the front page of USA Today as a profile in student loan debt. The most annoying thing to come out of that experience was the amazing amount of people who thought that because 50 years ago they could join the military and get a free education, that I should have done the same thing. Or the arrogant jerks who said that I should have worked through college to pay down my debts (I did). These people just LOVED to talk about their success in the wake of another person’s concerns – truly the lowest of the low.

There is only so much of a person’s story that can be told in a USA Today (or in Ms. Norelli’s case – Daily Record) article. And I, for one, wish Ms. Norelli the best and hope that she can find a great job which allows her to pay down her student loan debt quicker than the analysts think is possible. Good luck! 🙂

Student Loan Debt is Changing Future Jobs for Students

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My hometown paper, the Daily Record, ran a story today entitled, “Burdens of college: Stifling debt, uncertain job market.” Given my ridiculous student loan debt and the fact that at one time someone called me the poster boy for the issue, I thought that I’d make a comment or two about this article. From the article:

Anthony Ratliff of Chicago may become a paralegal instead of a Web designer because he’s carrying $64,000 in debt and can’t afford to continue studying at the Illinois Institute of Art. Instead, he’s pursuing legal studies at a local community college.

“My dreams of doing what my talents allow me to do has been pretty much put on hold until the economy improves,” said Ratliff, 25.

A recent report by The Project on Student Debt found that nearly three of five members of the class of 2007 left school with debt. The average debt graduates carried that year was $20,098, a 6 percent increase over the previous year.

This really is a shame. Mr. Ratliff might be one of the best web designers of our time, but we’ll never know because he is being forced into a different profession. There are many stories of this happening over at Student Loan Stories and I know the feeling (somewhat). I wish Mr. Ratliff the best in his job search and I hope that he can pay down his loans in a reasonable amount of time.

In my situation (which is completely different than Mr. Ratliff’s situation) I might be forced out of my current job because they don’t offer enough of an annual salary increase. The job offers a standard 3% increase over the previous year’s salary – barely a cost of living bump. For those of us who go above and beyond the call of duty, we get an extra point or two in addition to the 3% (I actually got about three points higher because I’ve really kicked it up at work over the last 12 months). Frankly, though, it’s not enough for me to ever hope to get out of the rat race of living paycheck to paycheck with a meager savings for retirement. So I can appreciate Mr. Ratliff’s situation where he wants to do one thing (in my case, stay at my current job), but his student loans are forcing him to do something else (in my case, find higher paying employment).

The message that is reinforced in the article is that these are tough times. You’ll notice in the “comments” section of the Daily Record article that I had to make a comment to another respondent. The worst thing that can happen in this situation is for people to project their own personal situations on to the experiences of the subjects of these articles. Would you ever hear someone who has a job say to someone who just lost their job: “I didn’t lose my job because I’m a worthwhile employee. You should try not sucking at your job and maybe you wouldn’t lose it!” Of course not. The situation is the same with gigantic student loan debt. Sometimes students don’t have access to Auntie Mae’s fortune, the ability to go into the military, or the option to go to a less expensive school. Other times people DO work their entire time in college and graduate school and still wind up with some student loan debt.

All I’m saying is that it’s crazy for people to harangue and blast the people in these stories by using their own lives as an example. How narcissistic? My best to Mr. Ratliff and everyone out there fighting to survive under massive student loan debt.

Unnecessary Complications: Urbanizing Northwest New Jersey

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Today’s Daily Record ran a story entitled, “Builders in Highlands must add affordable units.” The increased production of affordable or workforce housing units in northwest New Jersey (also known as the Highlands) should be a priority – there’s no doubt about it. There are many people like me who are making a decent salary that just cannot afford to live in New Jersey because the asking prices for homes are completely outlandish. God bless my fellow New Jerseyans for wanting top dollar for their homes, but unlike the national housing bubble – the local housing bubble hasn’t totally burst yet in New Jersey.

That said, let me make it clear that the latest COAH rules are infringing on what makes the Highlands one of the most beautiful parts of the state. For those non-New Jersey folks out there, you wouldn’t know that you were still in this state if you were driving around portions of Morris, Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon counties. We have large forests and some gorgeous wildlife areas that are being preserved by the Highlands Commission. But we also have Governor Money Bags (you non-New Jerseyans may know him as Jon Corzine). This man knows nothing of New Jersey outside of Newark, Trenton, and Camden and – frankly – the way that the masses in Essex, Mercer, and Camden counties constantly vote Democratic, he has no reason to know anything else.

From the article in the Daily Record:

COAH issued a “scarce resource restraint” on all Highlands towns under its control — 72 of the 88 towns in the region, including 24 of Morris County’s 32 municipalities — that appears to stop all construction that does not include affordable units. The order applies even to those towns in the Highlands region’s planning area, where compliance with a regional master plan is voluntary. Still allowed would be any building exempted from the 2004 Highlands law, including a single home on an existing lot.

Stopping construction may not be the best news for those of us looking for a home in that part of the state, but given the economy construction may have stopped anyway. Forcing affordable units into larger developments, though, is not the proper way to move forward. In fact, I talk to many housing developers on a daily basis and restrictions like these almost always lead to an increase in the total number of units being built – though the amount of land to build on is not increased. What does this mean? It means more bodies in less space. It’s unnecessary urbanization. More from the article:

COAH’s action was in response to Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s September executive order that affordable housing not be built at the expense of protecting water resources in the 860,000-acre environmentally sensitive region and that COAH and the New Jersey Highlands Council work together to reconcile their competing mandates.

Highlands Executive Director Eileen Swan said that COAH’s order won’t stop all development. Any subdivision in which 20 percent of the homes will be affordable — for instance, 10 units in a 50-unit development — and those meeting one of the 17 exemptions written into the Highlands law will be permitted. So will development in any town that proves to COAH it has ample water, sewer and land for building.

In other words, if you’ve already figured out how to build affordable units in one of the areas of the nation where real estate is still overvalued, then you can go ahead and build. But the interesting part of this blocked quote is Governor Money Bags’ order that affordable housing come second to protecting our natural resources. With one hand, he’s forcing higher density units and with the other he says to keep water resources at the forefront. Double talk at its best…or worst.

New Jersey should leave the Highlands area alone. There are more than enough brownfields (former industrial sites that are no longer in use) in this state that can be demolished, cleaned, and redeveloped. Let’s work on those areas first and then think about manifest destiny to the Pennsylvania border.

A North Jersey Landmark Closing Down

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Today’s Daily Record had a great article talking about the Dover Lanes bowling alley closing down. Dover Lanes is a “family” and “fun” landmark in Morris County and North Jersey and it will be missed. I remember when I was in a weekend bowling league at the alley as a young kid and I would bowl with some of my friends from the Lake Rogerene area – it was a good time! From the article:

A sharp decline in business at the 34-lane alley was responsible for the decision to close, according to Dover Lanes’ manager, Joyce Reynolds.

On Tuesday night bowlers were moved by the sight of workers already dismantling Lanes 29 through 34.

Ms. Reynolds has been the manager at Dover Lanes for as long as I can remember. I hope that she lands on her feet. It’s also interesting to note that a sharp decline in business is being marked as the reason to close the alley down. Circle Lanes in Roxbury has much higher prices and a really awkward ball return system that is guaranteed to destroy your bowling ball and yet they’re still in operation. Weird. More from the article:

Atlanta-based developer Trammell Crow Residential announced in 2005 that it wanted to buy the bulk of the properties on Bassett Highway and tear them down to make way for a residential and retail development with hundreds of apartments. Although the company’s plans for the street are still alive, the completion of a deal that would allow the beginning of construction has been slowed by the slump in the housing market. As a result, Trammell Crow has yet to reach the required development agreement with Dover’s Board of Aldermen.

Dover Lanes, along with the other businesses in the proposed development area, are allowed to remain in their current locations until a development agreement is reached. But Reynolds said the mere announcement of Trammell Crow’s plans prompted the managers of many leagues to decline to renew their contracts with Dover Lanes because they feared the alley would be shut down in the middle of their leagues’ seasons.

Two interesting points here. First, to knock down that entire street and put up contemporary developments will absolutely ruin the character of the town in that part of Dover. There is a certain charm about that area which can be restored if those in charge just focus their efforts! But knocking down the entire block and putting up “hundreds” of apartments and retail on the bottom? Talk about gentrification at its worst.

Second, how interesting that the redevelopment plan – which appears to be an economic development as much as a residential project – actually caused this local business to cave. Isn’t that the exact opposite of what economic development plans are supposed to bring to the table? And since I’ve had ample opportunity to sit in many of the brain storming meetings for these economic development plans, I can tell you that no one is thinking about having a bowling alley as part of the new development. Other than restaurants and the occasional bar, it’s extremely rare for an economic/residential stimulus project to have any night life associated with it – even night life as low-key as a bowling alley.

What a shame. Morris County and North Jersey loses another local hangout that brought people together to have good old-fashioned fun.

Another One Bites the Dust

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The Daily Record ran a story this morning about the Headquarters Plaza Fitness Club abruptly shutting down in Morristown. This echoes the same out-of-the-blue closing of the Ocean Fitness Company – both gyms were owned by The Fitness Company, a group out of Holmdel.

There is something up with The Fitness Company organization. They aren’t returning phone calls and they aren’t refunding membership fees even if you joined an expensive plan the day before they closed up shop. It would appear that a bunch of greedy punks are running the show over there – or at least a bunch of greedy punks took over the company and are now running it into the ground. This is a shame for many reasons, not the least of which is the community aspect of health clubs. The Ocean Fitness Company was more of a place-based company than it was a branch of the The Fitness Company. In fact, two years ago it changed its name from “The Fitness Company” to “Ocean Fitness” to reflect that fact.

The same is true of all gyms and health clubs. The people who go to these places form friendships and expand their personal networks. To see such innate community building torn apart because of some person’s greed is a shame, yet par for the course in New Jersey.

Here’s hoping that someone investigates the sudden closing of these clubs and that those who have been screwed out of a great deal of money join together and sue those who took that money.