Recent Posts:

A low-roller's dream

Published: 11/18/09

I rarely gamble. So when I found myself at the Borgata recently with a little time on my hands, I was prepared to lose …

Gunning for common sense

Published: 11/17/09

So the state passed a one-handgun-a-month law back in June. Gov. Jon S. Corzine set up a Firearms Advisory Task Force t…

Born to run ... slowly

Published: 11/16/09

Quick quiz: What happens when you cross a social-science researcher with an over-50 Bruce fan?

Read it and weep

Posted: 11/12/09

The Pew Center report listing New Jersey as one of 10 states careening toward fiscal disaster confirms how decades of m…

A message from a veteran called Joe

Posted: 11/11/09

 

That contentious health care vote

Published: 11/10/09

We're getting a slew of letters criticizing U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, for his vote against the House health car…

Signs of November

Published: 11/09/09

When I left on a short vacation, I wondered if all those political signs that litter the landscape would be gone from m…

N.J.’s gubernatorial race, seen through Washington’s navel

Published: 11/04/09

Sometimes, you just want to slap the national media silly. The lead story on NPR news today was the New Jersey and Vir…

New Jersey’s perennial “food fight”

Published: 11/03/09

Can we stop New Jersey's political campaigns from degenerating into typical mudslighting and a "yo' momma" level of dis…

The monument wins ... again

Posted: 11/02/09

The bad news is that the investment climate is abysmal - and plans to build a casino hotel at the foot of Route 40 have…

Of ocean views and scenic overlooks

Published: 10/30/09

Question: What does tourism in Cape May Point and Atlantic City have in common?

That spending chasm

Published: 10/29/09

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie calls it "the $25 million two-by-four."

DeSanctis and "Dear Mr. Mayor"

Posted: 10/23/09

We've been running a coupon on the Editorial Page for a couple of weeks: "Dear Mr. Mayor, Please ...." asking people to…

A.C.'s fiscal mess

Published: 10/21/09

Atlantic City's next budget is in trouble - big trouble. And it may take more than "creativity" to fix it.

Don't do this to your pet

Published: 10/19/09

Halloween is coming. So someone has to speak out on behalf of those who can't:

Zero tolerance on ... walking

Posted: 10/16/09

My Egg Harbor Township Hometown edition of The Press contained this little gem: The EHT school district won't let kids …

Exploding a myth?

Posted: 10/15/09

Among the most refreshing, candid things I've heard from a politician lately was independent gubernatorial candidate Ch…

Horse lobby skittish on Corzine

Posted: 10/14/09

The horse-racing lobby was apparently blindsided by Gov. Jon Corzine's remarks to The Press editorial board last Friday…

Save a shack?

Posted: 10/13/09

The office joke is that I never met an old building I didn't want to save. Still, I've never quite gotten the quest to …

Campaign ads that are over the line

Posted: 10/09/09

Campaigns slide further into the mud the closer it gets to Election Day. But Gov. Jon Corzine's latest ads that ridicul…

I'm sorry, Mr. Postman

Published: 10/07/09

My big mistake: I got busy one holiday season and did most of my shopping via Internet and catalogs.

Cory, your state needs you

Published: 10/05/09

Maybe Newark Mayor Cory Booker should run for governor. At least he'd stick up for New Jersey's honor - and get the sta…

Banking enters the Twilight Zone

Published: 10/02/09

When someone called me yesterday to say that TD Bank's computers were down and direct deposits weren't getting through,…

The most entertaining debate you'll see today

Published: 10/01/09

If you want to see a gubernatorial debate that is shorter and probably a heck of a lot more entertaining than the one c…

Could Sweeney's success be coup for taxpayers?

Published: 09/30/09

Looks like state Sen. Steve Sweeney of Gloucester County has the votes to become the new Senate president, displacing S…

Twix, Snickers and the sales-tax dilemma

Posted: 09/29/09

The nonprofit Tax Foundation is making the rounds after the release of its annual reports listing New Jersey as having …

Wanted: Informed voters

Published: 09/28/09

My standard advice: Don't believe what you hear in campaign ads. They are meant to confuse and distort - and they meet …

So what would you ask these guys?

Published: 09/26/09

If you had your Assembly candidates, the gubernatorial candidates - or all four Atlantic City mayoral candidates - alon…

Fueling suspicions about traffic tickets

Published: 09/24/09

When I was a kid, we used to take Route 73 from Philadelphia to the shore every summer. Doing so meant going through Fo…

Some perspective on taxes

Posted: 09/23/09

The news that the Tax Foundation just listed New Jersey - again - as having the highest property taxes and the worst bu…

Atlantic City and the overtime quandry

Posted: 09/22/09

Overtime isn't a cut-and-dried issue. Some overtime is inevitable and can save money in the long run if it means not hi…

Restrooms and the law

Published: 09/21/09

Since I blogged about the lack of bathrooms at The Walk a few days ago, I was reminded of something:

That most basic tourist amenity

Published: 09/17/09

Tourist areas usually strive to provide amenities for visitors. But one amenity -make that necessity - that At…

Where the money goes

Published: 09/16/09

Yesterday's blog wondered where all the money from the state's $5-a-day homeland-security tax on rental cars goes.

Securing the homeland on $5 a day

Posted: 09/15/09

Reading

Seeing the light in the Pinelands

Published: 09/14/09

Will the Pinelands Commission see the forest for the trees?

Corruption: What's the answer?

Posted: 09/12/09

Both the Opinion and Commentary pages Sunday are devoted to a single topic: corruptio…

9/11: Remember

Posted: 09/11/09

Just about everyone can remember where they were and what they were doing when they first saw what happened on Sept. 11…

Firehouse sex scandal: City should get this wrapped up

Posted: 09/10/09

In the case of Atlantic City's firehouse sex scandal, can we stop talking jail - and start talking suspension and termi…

Have we become permanently frugal?

Published: 09/08/09

So is the new frugality the new normal?

A positive campaign in the race for governor

Posted: 09/07/09

The only major candidate who seems to be talking about the issues in the gubernatorial race is the one who hasn't a pra…

The Marty Small case: Will this be the end of it?

Posted: 09/04/09

Maybe this time ... finally ... there will be an end to the wholesale perversion of the voting process in Atlantic City…

The $740,876 parting gift: Nevermore?

Published: 09/03/09

The sometimes-obscene payouts made to public officials for "unused" sick time etc. reached new heights last year when …

Antiques and the Internet

Posted: 09/02/09

It's always easy to bemoan the loss of an attraction that you thought was a great idea, but didn't actually visit. (Edi…

Defusing the 'debate debate'

Published: 09/01/09

News today is that Gov. Jon Corzine has agreed to participate in two debates in October, regardless of the date.

Decline of the butterflies

Posted: 09/01/09

Press photographer Dale Gerhard shot that photo a few years ago at Cape May Point before the annual migration of monarc…

Another season of robo-rage?

Published: 08/31/09

Here's an easy prediction: Get set for a barrage of robocalls this campaign season - pre-recorded phone messages from c…

On traffic stops, mattress tags and property taxes

Published: 08/28/09

This subject line popped up Thursday morning in a campaign-related e-mail: "Breaking news! Christie spotted removing ta…

What's the blooming secret?

Published: 08/27/09

So how does the South Jersey Transportation Authority grow that lush crop of wildflowers in the median strip of the Atl…

The trolls of Mordor

Published: 08/26/09

Kathleen Parker explores the nastiness of the blogosphere in her