Here are some flowers that bloomed in May. Click image to enlarge.
--Bernice
Saturday, May 31, 2014
May Flower Images
We waited so long for Spring and it's almost over.
Here are some flowers that bloomed in May. Click image to enlarge.
Here are some flowers that bloomed in May. Click image to enlarge.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Curses! Foiled Again?
Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green snidely dismissed a controversial videotape as fake, but in a whiplash the original turned up online. The net effect appeared to be embarrassment (one of his most-used words) not only for the chairman, but for his candidates in Tuesday's primary.
But seriously folks, it is very important that all registered Democrats (13,105 at last count) come out and vote. I believe the unaffiliated voters (8,073) can declare at the polls if it is the voter's first primary. The New Jersey Department of State's Division of Elections has answers to many questions about voting.
Look at your sample ballot. You can choose by rows, not just columns. For instance, four people are running for Member of the House of Representatives. You can pick any one. Two people are running for council in my ward and district and I can pick either one. In the First Ward and in the Third Ward, there are three Democratic candidates each. With that said, you can always vote by slate. See the primary slates here.
It is against the law to intimidate voters or campaign inside the polls or within the 100-foot mark outside the polls. Vote your conscience and report any pressure tactics to election officials.
--Bernice
But seriously folks, it is very important that all registered Democrats (13,105 at last count) come out and vote. I believe the unaffiliated voters (8,073) can declare at the polls if it is the voter's first primary. The New Jersey Department of State's Division of Elections has answers to many questions about voting.
Look at your sample ballot. You can choose by rows, not just columns. For instance, four people are running for Member of the House of Representatives. You can pick any one. Two people are running for council in my ward and district and I can pick either one. In the First Ward and in the Third Ward, there are three Democratic candidates each. With that said, you can always vote by slate. See the primary slates here.
It is against the law to intimidate voters or campaign inside the polls or within the 100-foot mark outside the polls. Vote your conscience and report any pressure tactics to election officials.
--Bernice
Council Passes "Disapproval" of Mapp's Video
A special meeting Thursday to pass a single resolution disapproving Mayor Adrian O. Mapp's May 19 video stretched to two hours as speakers endorsed it, condemned it or called for the war among Democrats to end.
In the video aired on cable television and YouTube, Mapp blames Assemblyman Jerry Green for interfering with his new administration and thwarting his plans for Plainfield's future. At a special meeting Tuesday, the City Council passed a budget that eliminated Mapp's chief of staff and his communications specialist. Council President Bridget Rivers then asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello what could be done regarding the video. Minchello said it was not illegal, but the council could express disapproval of it by resolution, leading to the second special meeting Thursday.
Green is chairman of the Regular Democratic Organization of Union County and also Plainfield's Democratic party chairman, while Mapp headed the New Democrats club for several years until taking office as mayor on Jan. 1. He is endorsing a slate of New Democrats headed by incumbent Councilwoman Rebecca Williams, who succeeded him as president of the club. Green as chairman selected a slate of Regular Democrats. The factions will square off in the June 3 primary, with control of the City Council at stake.
Among the fourteen people who spoke before the vote Thursday, Rasheed Abdul-Haqq said of the mayor, "It seems to me you should want to have a mayor's corner to speak to the people."
But Charles Eke, who is running against Williams in the primary, said he did not find anything in the video "that would bring people to Plainfield." He said Mapp should have spoken as a private citizen.
Alan Goldstein and others equated the video with President Barack Obama's talks where he calls out Republicans for blocking his initiatives.
"It's good to have a mayor who speaks his mind, a mayor who tells the truth," Goldstein said.
Roland Muhammad called Mapp "a ringside fighter" and said he was tired of people talking against Green, while Jeff Dunn said Mapp was wrong to air "dirty laundry in public."
Former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who lost her bid for a third term to Mapp in 2013, passed out information from the state Ethics Commission, where the resolution of disapproval will be sent by the council.
Sharon Smith said she would sell her home if she could and get out of Plainfield because of the bickering over the past nine years.
"We as a community have got to have more respect for each other," Carrell Martin said.
Dottie Gutenkauf, who worked with Green for 30 years before backing Mapp's team now, said, "This excuse for a meeting is the silliest thing I have seen from this council."
Council President Bridget Rivers said the council was paying for Thursday's meeting to be taped because Mapp had put the media staff on "flex-time" instead of paying overtime. She proposed an ordinance requiring all meetings to be taped.
The vote on the resolution voicing disapproval was 4-1, with Vera Greaves, Gloria Taylor, William Reid and Rivers voting "yes" and Williams voting "no." Cory Storch and Tracey Brown were absent.
Eight people spoke after the vote. Eke alleged the video had been edited and said he put in an Open Public Records Act request for an unedited copy.
Thomas Crownover gave thanks to police and fire personnel who recently saved his life when a stucco ceiling collapsed on him. He called on people to appreciate Plainfield's public safety staff "and don't dwell entirely on the political things."
At least until the primary is over, Crownover's advice may be disregarded. Plainfield's politics are drawing statewide attention and punditizing, with even Senate President Stephen Sweeney getting into the act on Green's behalf and Politicker NJ describing the situation as a "bloodbath."
--Bernice
In the video aired on cable television and YouTube, Mapp blames Assemblyman Jerry Green for interfering with his new administration and thwarting his plans for Plainfield's future. At a special meeting Tuesday, the City Council passed a budget that eliminated Mapp's chief of staff and his communications specialist. Council President Bridget Rivers then asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello what could be done regarding the video. Minchello said it was not illegal, but the council could express disapproval of it by resolution, leading to the second special meeting Thursday.
Green is chairman of the Regular Democratic Organization of Union County and also Plainfield's Democratic party chairman, while Mapp headed the New Democrats club for several years until taking office as mayor on Jan. 1. He is endorsing a slate of New Democrats headed by incumbent Councilwoman Rebecca Williams, who succeeded him as president of the club. Green as chairman selected a slate of Regular Democrats. The factions will square off in the June 3 primary, with control of the City Council at stake.
Among the fourteen people who spoke before the vote Thursday, Rasheed Abdul-Haqq said of the mayor, "It seems to me you should want to have a mayor's corner to speak to the people."
But Charles Eke, who is running against Williams in the primary, said he did not find anything in the video "that would bring people to Plainfield." He said Mapp should have spoken as a private citizen.
Alan Goldstein and others equated the video with President Barack Obama's talks where he calls out Republicans for blocking his initiatives.
"It's good to have a mayor who speaks his mind, a mayor who tells the truth," Goldstein said.
Roland Muhammad called Mapp "a ringside fighter" and said he was tired of people talking against Green, while Jeff Dunn said Mapp was wrong to air "dirty laundry in public."
Former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who lost her bid for a third term to Mapp in 2013, passed out information from the state Ethics Commission, where the resolution of disapproval will be sent by the council.
Sharon Smith said she would sell her home if she could and get out of Plainfield because of the bickering over the past nine years.
"We as a community have got to have more respect for each other," Carrell Martin said.
Dottie Gutenkauf, who worked with Green for 30 years before backing Mapp's team now, said, "This excuse for a meeting is the silliest thing I have seen from this council."
Council President Bridget Rivers said the council was paying for Thursday's meeting to be taped because Mapp had put the media staff on "flex-time" instead of paying overtime. She proposed an ordinance requiring all meetings to be taped.
The vote on the resolution voicing disapproval was 4-1, with Vera Greaves, Gloria Taylor, William Reid and Rivers voting "yes" and Williams voting "no." Cory Storch and Tracey Brown were absent.
Eight people spoke after the vote. Eke alleged the video had been edited and said he put in an Open Public Records Act request for an unedited copy.
Thomas Crownover gave thanks to police and fire personnel who recently saved his life when a stucco ceiling collapsed on him. He called on people to appreciate Plainfield's public safety staff "and don't dwell entirely on the political things."
At least until the primary is over, Crownover's advice may be disregarded. Plainfield's politics are drawing statewide attention and punditizing, with even Senate President Stephen Sweeney getting into the act on Green's behalf and Politicker NJ describing the situation as a "bloodbath."
--Bernice
Thursday, May 29, 2014
A Wrong Ringy-Dingy from JG
So today I get a phone call from Assemblyman/Plainfield Democratic Party Chairman/Union County Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green complaining that I said he only has two supporters for his City Council slate, Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Mustapha Muhammad. He wants me to put on my blog that his City Council slate is endorsed by Senator Steve Sweeney. I express doubt that the Senate President is tracking local races in 566 municipalities, but meanwhile I am racking my brain to know what he is talking about.
Green goes on to hassle me some more and then starts getting into my personal life, asking about my marital history (I am divorced) and suggesting, "Why don't you get a young buck?" among other comments.
I suspect he is just goofing on me for the benefit of others in the room from which he is calling and tell him so. It reminds me of the kind of sexist comments women face on the street from males who have not yet left the 20th Century.
I am mystified by this entire call, starting with the reason for it and ending with the weird foray into my business. Later, someone tells me that it was Dan Damon who posted about support for the local slates on his blog. The only thing Dan and I have in common is that we are both Caucasian and both bloggers. So Jerry had someone in his office call me and ask whether I would speak to the Assemblyman, presumably also in his office, on the wrong premise! It was not my blog at all, but because the Assemblyman does not go online, he didn't know the difference. How such an important person had time to delve into the personal life of a female elder is another mystery.
I had stopped talking to Jerry in 2008 after he tried to rope me in to some attack he wanted to make on a school board member. Recently, I have had some calls from his office and have answered them. But after this, I think I am done once more with "official" phone calls from Assemblyman Jerry Green.
--Bernice.
Green goes on to hassle me some more and then starts getting into my personal life, asking about my marital history (I am divorced) and suggesting, "Why don't you get a young buck?" among other comments.
I suspect he is just goofing on me for the benefit of others in the room from which he is calling and tell him so. It reminds me of the kind of sexist comments women face on the street from males who have not yet left the 20th Century.
I am mystified by this entire call, starting with the reason for it and ending with the weird foray into my business. Later, someone tells me that it was Dan Damon who posted about support for the local slates on his blog. The only thing Dan and I have in common is that we are both Caucasian and both bloggers. So Jerry had someone in his office call me and ask whether I would speak to the Assemblyman, presumably also in his office, on the wrong premise! It was not my blog at all, but because the Assemblyman does not go online, he didn't know the difference. How such an important person had time to delve into the personal life of a female elder is another mystery.
I had stopped talking to Jerry in 2008 after he tried to rope me in to some attack he wanted to make on a school board member. Recently, I have had some calls from his office and have answered them. But after this, I think I am done once more with "official" phone calls from Assemblyman Jerry Green.
--Bernice.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
SRB's PIO "Terry Someone"
One thing about having a nine-year online archive of stories about Plainfield - It's easy to look stuff up.
I searched for Terry West (the public information officer whose name former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs couldn't remember at Tuesday's special meeting) and got a post about Terry West's arrival in Plainfield in April 2012. There was another one about his projected role in publicizing the annual July 4th events.
The latter drew 28 comments, which reminded me of the fact that although an Independence Day committee exists on paper, plans were often made on an ad hoc basis without the oversight the committee might have provided. We already have a minor controversy regarding the 2014 concert - a promoter came to the microphone at the May 15 council meeting to dispute the selection of the one who was approved.
But back to the need for a PIO or media director to draw positive attention to the city. It is important and is a bulwark for economic development, which involves a different set of skills. Of course, when the SRB years began, there was a roster of about 18 economic development proposals and most faded away, so there was not much need for publicity. To their credit, the council has approved a review of several past redevelopment plans and, as noted here, economic development appears to be picking up. Who will tell the story?
--Bernice
I searched for Terry West (the public information officer whose name former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs couldn't remember at Tuesday's special meeting) and got a post about Terry West's arrival in Plainfield in April 2012. There was another one about his projected role in publicizing the annual July 4th events.
The latter drew 28 comments, which reminded me of the fact that although an Independence Day committee exists on paper, plans were often made on an ad hoc basis without the oversight the committee might have provided. We already have a minor controversy regarding the 2014 concert - a promoter came to the microphone at the May 15 council meeting to dispute the selection of the one who was approved.
But back to the need for a PIO or media director to draw positive attention to the city. It is important and is a bulwark for economic development, which involves a different set of skills. Of course, when the SRB years began, there was a roster of about 18 economic development proposals and most faded away, so there was not much need for publicity. To their credit, the council has approved a review of several past redevelopment plans and, as noted here, economic development appears to be picking up. Who will tell the story?
--Bernice
Mapp-Green Spat Hits Headlines
Take a look at PolitickerNJ's analysis of Plainfield's all-Dem debacle.
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