Friday, November 11, 2011
Freeholder: For a long time, I was skeptical that Morris really had families in need.
The details always get lost in the shouting, the facts blown away in the Hatfields-and-McCoys din of loud questions and louder replies. And in a lingering slow economy, the human equation is drowned in the wave of incomprehensible events and news. Earthquakes and tsunamis. China, Italy, Greece. Failure of the Eurozone. Gas prices. Tornados, Irene, floods, snowstorms—JCP&L. The debt ceiling, government shutdown. Iraq, Afghanistan. Somali pirates. Toll hikes, Tax breaks, millionaire taxes, pensions; class warfare; health care reform. Asteroids cruising between the earth and moon at a billion miles an hour. It's the end of the world as we know it. So we find refuge in those things that make the most sense to us and question why it seems that …
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Those who once provided donations and time now often the ones seeking help.
It's been a rough time for the eighth-richest county in the United States. Many middle-class residents have found themselves at the end of their assets, and in need of help feeding their families, keeping the heat on, and paying everyday bills. Joining the 3.5 percent of the county's population who live in poverty—based on federal standards of an annual income of approximately 21,000 for a family of four—were the professionals, bankers, truck drivers, public employees, sales clerks and skilled manufacturing workers. County officials speak about a rush of first-time applications for unemployment benefits. Food pantry operators speak of families who once volunteered and donated to their centers appearing in the weekly lines to get food and …
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
It was just one of the signs of how many people need housing—or are struggling to hold onto the homes they've got.
Joanne Bjornson was looking at a storm damage of a different type. Just last week, Bjornson, the executive director of the Interfaith Council for Homeless Families of Morris County, based in Morris Plains, told her board that the waiting list for the agency's shelter had reached 30 families and 12 single women, the longest list since 2008. Then Tuesday, she said, the list has added 10 more families. Consider them refugees from the storms. "These are the hidden homeless," she said. They might be people who were displaced by the August flooding associated with Hurricane Irene when their homes were damaged—or families who were staying with other people whose homes suffered similar fates. Or families forced to move when their homes lost power …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Even Morris County residents who've always done well are hit hard by the economic downturn.
The announcements began to pile up like empty promises. In September 2008 Mary Jo Buchanan, then Morris County's director of human services, told county freeholders that the staff at the Office of Temporary Assistance was preparing for the arrival of the bankers—former employees of Bear Stearns, the big Wall Street bank that had collapsed. Buchanan, now the county's assistant administrator, said Gary Denaman, director of the Office of Temporary Assistance, had provided additional training for his staff, because the bankers were not among the regular visitors to the unemployment office and might need some help with the maze of bureaucracy. Then, after what seemed like a short time (but was nearly a year), Buchanan told the freeholders that …
Monday, November 7, 2011
Today, we begin our five-part look at Morris County's Working Class.
The bus at times seemed as if it would not fit between the cars parked on both sides of the narrow Morristown street. The homes, like the cars, were tightly packed, built on small lots, but neatly kept. These are the homes of Morris County working families. The bus was filled with young executives taking the affordable housing tour sponsored by the Housing Alliance of Morris County, an affiliate of the United Way of Northern New Jersey. "We want people to see where the county's workers live," said Jodi Miciak, director of community impact for income for the Morris office of the United Way. "We try to tell the story by focusing on the people that someone would come in contact with on a normal day." The people who would serve your coffee, …
Maxim Sapozhnikov
9:52 pm on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Just guns, gold, and God, Mike? You forgot food, tools, and med supplies. "We invest in gold. And to hedge our investment, we invest in lead." Gotto love this quote. I really hope Bachmann, Cain, and Perry weren't personally told by the Almighty himself to run. That would make Him a really poor vetter. more ›