Columns

Dear Members of the Democratic Committee:

I am always grateful and, indeed, humbled by the generosity of those who volunteer to improve our town. As committee members, you have invested time, energy, and judgment to develop the slate presented at yesterday's primary election.

There's no evidence to the contrary, based on how he's mishandling his campaign promises on comprehensive immigration reform. It's already becoming a problem for him as he maneuvers toward the 2012 presidential election.

in•ad•e•quate adj. Not adequate to fulfill a need or meet a requirement; insufficient.

The need, in this case, is for each and every one of our children to receive a thorough and efficient education. The insufficiency lies in Gov. Chris Christie’s arbitrary cuts to school funding.

Do you want to have a say on major decisions in the Democratic or Republican Party: who becomes the party chair, or who gets endorsed by the party for mayor or Governor, or what should be the party’s platform priorities? A great way to do that is to become a county committee member. And now is the time to do it.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the state’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) to be unveiled.

The plan, under revision by the Christie administration for more than half a year, is once again being delayed, this time ostensibly because the state failed to follow public notice requirements associated with holding hearings on the document.

If you happened to come across any media coverage of the White House's report "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," the headline that probably grabbed you was about women making, on average, only 75 percent of what men earn with similar education levels.

Besides the dispiriting gender pay gap, the scarce media attention to the first comprehensive federal report on women since 1963 focused on the notable gains in women's academic achievements. Yet the biggest story was completely overlooked: women's health.

“We are all Wisconsin” is not a mere symbolic gesture. Their struggle is indeed our struggle at Rutgers. Rutgers University faculty, staff, and students stood with thousands in the pouring rain in Trenton, listening to Wisconsin workers and responding, “We are all Wisconsin!” on Friday, February 25.

I learned this the way anyone who unwittingly puts themselves or others in harm's way finds out such a thing -- by reading about proposed legislation to put a stop to the deadly behavior.

It is evident to anyone who regularly follows the news in the state of New Jersey that our public schools are imperiled. First and foremost, the schools face dwindling financial support from state government.

At the same time, the schools are constrained by legislative mandates that place an increasing number of regulations on reporting, policy, and other matters.

Recent state legislation also put a 2% cap on possible local property tax increases, regardless of the needs of specific local schools.