Debating the drinking age in NJ and elsewhere

By Jeff Johnson Jr.

Last week, a group of university presidents calling themselves the Amethyst Initiative publicly called for a debate on whether the 21-year-old drinking age actually does more harm than good.

Among the initiative's signatories are the presidents of two New Jersey universities: Drew University President Robert Weisbuch and Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole.

This is an unusual topic for Jerseyhacker, since it's actually a national debate. But, since drinking laws are set on a state level and the presidents of two New Jersey institutions of higher education have spoken out on the matter, it's certainly relevant—and I have a suggestion that might work in more than one state.

First of all, what is the Amethyst Initiative's position?

In a statement posted in its website, the organization links the minimum age 21 drinking age, which all states instituted in 1984 after the U.S. Congress threatened to take away some of their federal highway funds, to "a culture of dangerous, clandestine 'binge-drinking'—often conducted off-campus."

Certainly, anyone who has attended college since these laws took effect across the nation can find a lot of logic in this assertion. Back when I was an undergraduate at Ohio University—which is to say, back when most of my college classmates and I openly flouted the state of Ohio's minimum drinking age—I would have been wholeheartedly behind the group's position.

Today, I still agree with the Amethyst Initiative's linking of the drinking age to irresponsible drinking.

But the group's defensiveness towards what it calls "vicious attacks from MADD"—Mothers Against Drunk Drivers—frankly displays the type of late-adolescent insecurity typical of college students who refuse to admit their drinking problems.

MADD has a good point here, and to dismiss its right to passionately pursue its stated social mission is to be insensitive to the thousands of families who have witnessed first hand the consequences of drunken driving.

There's a very good reason why the federal government linked its demands that states raise their minimum drinking age to driving laws: A national discussion of responsible drinking cannot be separated from a national discussion of responsible driving.

Nevertheless, the initiative also has a point that this is an issue that the country should debate. It isn't right to be telling people between the ages of 18 and 21 that, as the cry went back in Athens, Ohio, they are "old enough to die for their country, but not old enough to drink a beer in it."

But simply lowering the drinking age overnight isn't going to work. The laws have been in place for too long and have fundamentally affected the culture of the entire nation. Simply changing the laws would inevitably mean that too many young people—and innocent bystanders of all ages—would learn the lesson of responsibility through life-and-death events on the road, where nearly every death is preventable.

So, here's my proposed solution for New Jersey and other states.

We adopt a dual licensing system for persons under the age of 21: One for driving, and one for possessing, purchasing, and consuming alcohol. It would work like this:

As is the case now, beginning at age 21, a valid driver's license or U.S. passport demonstrates that a person is old enough to buy, have, or drink alcohol.

Beginning at age 16, as is the case in most states now, a person may start the process of getting a driver's license.

Between the ages of 18 and 21, one needs a separate license for both. And here's where the changes start.

New Jersey and many other states have already moved to a system of "graduated licensing" for drivers under age 18. Making this system even stricter would help compensate for the fact that teen drivers may have access to alcohol through older friends and siblings.

At the same time that licensed alcohol purchases are implemented for 18-year-olds, persons under the age of 18 lose the right to drive without a legal guardian in the front passenger seat. And I don't just mean a licensed driver, I mean a legal guardian—a parent or other person deemed by the state to be legally responsible for a minor's actions.

This is close to what already exists in New Jersey, anyway, so here, this isn't a big change.

Drivers under the age of 18 obviously aren't going to like this, but the can't vote anyway, and, by the way, there are already too many drivers on the road. (Sorry if that sounds callous, kids. I shouldn't have had a driver's license until age 18, either.)

Meanwhile, responsible, law-abiding persons age 18 to 20 have the right to obtain two licenses: One is a full, unrestricted driver's license, and the other allows the holder to purchase and possess alcohol in limited quantities and to consume it responsibly.

In this vision, it is not easy for 18-to 20-year-olds to obtain these licenses. All drivers and alcohol license holders are required to take a Red Cross first aid course (many European countries already require this of all licensed drivers, regardless of age), must take an eight-hour course on the effects of alcohol abuse, and must pass a rigorous test at the conclusion of that course. No easier standards are set for individuals who "need a car to get to work." If you need a car to get to work, you'd better grow up enough to meet the standards necessary to have one.

Furthermore, holding these licenses are a privilege, not a right. An 18- to 20-year-old's alcohol license may be revoked for public drunkenness. Driving under the influence of alcohol or providing booze to an unlicensed person under the age of 21 results in the loss of both licenses—the under-21 alcohol license permanently, the driving license until at least age 21, longer for a severe offense.

Just to show that we're serious about involving 18- to 20-year-olds in the debate, this proposal should be put to a referendum open only to young people before it is even proposed in state legislatures: The options are accept the status quo or support the proposal of this compromise legislation.

Champions of a lower drinking age frequently point to Europe as an example of a place where people younger than age 21 drink responsibly. This is unfortunately not a valid comparison and, in fact, some European countries are actually considering stricter rules about alcohol to address irresponsible drinking. (See this 2007 article from Deutsche Welle, a German news service.) The U.S. drinking laws are stricter because our driving laws are more liberal. If you want to change the drinking culture in America, you have to change the driving culture, too.

The Amethyst Initiative's website calls for a "dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21 year-old drinking age." Though I agree that the debate needs to happen, the choice of the adjective "dispassionate" is an unrealistic and unfair expectation. This is serious business, and anyone interested in this debate must be willing to tolerate the valid emotions that will come from all sides.

Index of topics

Last updated: August 8, 2008

This index may not include the most recent posts. Return to the main page to see the newest stuff.

A

Abiding Presence Lutheran Church
about Jerseyhacker
audiobooks

B

bicycling
bike to work
bubclave
Bureau of Homeowner Protection
bureaucracy

C

car registration
condominium associations

D

disclaimer
Dustin Farnum

F

Fair Housing Act
Family Leave and Medical Act
Family Leave Law

H

home buying
homeowners' associations
Homestead Tax Relief

J

Jersey Guys

L

Lawrence Hopewell Trail
libraries
listennj.com

M

mission

N

Neal Stephenson
New Jersey 101.5
New Jersey blogs
New Jersey Democratic State Committee
New Jersey Law Blog
New Jersey media
New Jersey Republican State Committee
Nielson Media Designated Market Area
NJ Map Guy (See also Dustin Farnum)

P

posting guidelines
primary election
Princeton Township
property taxes

R

real estate
roads

S

Snow Crash (See also Neal Stephenson)
solar energy
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates

T

Twin River

V

vehicle registration

Riding a bike to work in NJ—scary thought

Photos by Jeff Johnson Jr.

For most New Jersey drivers, getting to work means driving on roads that were never intended for bicycle traffic. If it isn't a busy, limited access highway like U.S. Route 1, seen here from Meadow Road in West Windsor Township ...

... then it's probably a narrow, two-lane rural road like Keefe Road in Lawrence Township. Though Keefe looks tame in this photo, taken outside of peak travel hours, rush-hour traffic barrels along the road with little regard for the 35-mph speed limit. With little or no shoulder space, roads like these are not likely to attract inexperienced cyclists looking to commute to work safely.


By Jeff Johnson Jr.

Given that I live just under four miles from my workplace, biking to work would seem to be a viable antidote to high gasoline prices, an easy way to help the environment, and good for my health.

Indeed, all of those arguments ring loud and clear in my head every time I get behind the wheel these days, and especially during my daily commute—until I have to pass a cyclist by the side of the road.

And every time I do, I see my kids' faces flash before my eyes.

Like many (possibly most) New Jersey commuters, I drive on roads that were built with one purpose in mind: Motor vehicle traffic. Without exception, whether I'm on my way to work or to the store, these are either limited-access highways or two-lane rural roads with no shoulder and certainly no bike lane.

Nevertheless, I haven't given up hope yet. But, clearly, finding a safe route will take some time and research. Here's my experience so far:

• The Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, a non-profit agency in my county, has produced a nice Mercer County bike map rating the suitability of area roads for bicycle traffic.


• One New Jersey bicyclist, Dustin J. Farnum Jr., has created an amazing map of bike routes state-wide—apparently as a hobby; it's "a labor of love", he told me. (I was so impressed with this work that I asked Justin to do a Q&A. It appears as a companion post to this one.)


• My township and a neighboring township are building a loop bicycle trail, the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, that will eventually connect several neighborhoods and area employers.

In his Q&A, Dustin wasn't terribly enthused about these types of segregated-traffic bike trails. Indeed, given that the Lawrence Hopewell Trail is to be a 20-mile loop, its usefulness for commuting will be limited. But it's a start.

If there were separate trails like this that provided a more direct route, I'd take them, even if it meant a one, two, or possibly as far as three-mile detour off of my usual driving route. But ten (assuming where I want to go is on the complete far end of the loop, which it is) is a bit much.

In all seriousness, though, I'd even be willing to take the risk on the roads—if I didn't have other people in my life who depend on my health and safety.

The 'NJ Map Guy'—Q&A

By Jeff Johnson Jr.

While doing a little research for my main post about (thinking about) riding to work in New Jersey, I stumbled across this bicycle map website put together by New Jersey bicyclist Dustin J. Farnum Jr.

Dustin, who describes himself on the website as the "NJ Map Guy," has explored a good portion of the state by bike and has kept mileage records of his routes since 1976. He describes his favorite places to ride as "scenic farmland" around areas in New Jersey's Hunterdon, Salem, and Cumberland counties. His site includes some photos he's taken on his rides.

Thinking Dustin might be able to provide some insight for people thinking about commuting on two wheels instead of four, I asked him for his thoughts on biking New Jersey's roads:

Q: If there are people out there who are thinking about commuting to work by bike, what do they need to watch for on their route? How do they know whether this is safe?

A: Common sense should be enough. Just look to the side of the road and ask this question. Would you ride there, now? If not, is there another route you could take? For most people, the morning commute with the traffic is intimidating.

Q: What can policymakers do to make our roads safer for multiple modes of transportation?

A: We must share the road. Driver education is the single most important thing that will make the roads safer. The best thing our government can do for cyclists is to make our presence known.

Enforce the speed laws and cell phone laws. Distracted drivers traveling 30 mph faster than you, two feet from you on a road with no shoulder while you're on a bicycle wearing shorts (no protection) is scary.

Road design is an important factor in the ride ability. Roads must be wide enough to accommodate multiple forms of transportation.

I've always said that spending money on bike trails for the purpose of taking commuters off the roads is a waste of money. I think we would get more bang-for-the-buck if we put up signs that alert motorists that they must share the rode with cyclists. But don't stop there. Put some teeth in it with stiff fines for law breakers. The answer is not to take the cyclist off the road, but accommodate the cyclist by making a safer road. Bike paths should be for kids so they can become cycling adults.

Q: You mentioned that you don't ride your bike to work in NJ. Why not?

A: I do, occasionally, but I don't do it on a regular schedule. Time is a big factor. Working 45-50 hours a week leaves little time for all else.

Q: You also mentioned that you have begun using an 80 mpg motorcycle to get to work. How's that working out?

A: It works great. I think it's a good alternative to my 29-mpg car. It would make a better alternative to a 10-mpg SUV. How many times do you see a commuter using a large SUV, but not carrying anything but lunch? Think of your car's mpg as a bus ticket. What ever the price per mile it gets, that is the price of your ticket. I just got tired of paying that much for the ticket and did something about it. I don't use the motorcycle every day. If it's going to rain, I use the car. The motorcycle is a great alternative on nice days. When it does rain, I do errands that require the car. I've had it for two months, and I have noticed a big drop in taking the car to the gas station for fill ups.

Q: What inspired you to create the New Jersey Bike Map? Where'd you get your information?

A: The base data is from the United States Geological Survey's DLG files. The files contain lines that are the roads and rivers. All the roads and all the rivers. No names are included. You can't imagine the hours it took to get it to where it is today.

I used to use county maps like everyone else. I found them hard to use due to the size. Unfolding the map in the wind then trying to fold back up is difficult. On some rides, I needed 2 or 3 county maps. I originally made the map so I could remember where interesting things are and where all the good roads are. Taking notes of road names and town names. First using just one color, then using more colors for different road types. Locating points of interests, then parks, schools shopping centers and town centers. Later I thought that including bike paths would bring more people to the website, which it did. The map grew and developed into what it is today. I don't know where it's going to go next.

Q: Any idea how many visits your site gets?

A: Just over 7000 people visit njbikemap.com every month, downloading over 12,000 maps during the summer months. Since 2002, there are over 800,000 maps downloaded.

Buying a home in New Jersey—Q&A

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

I lived in four other states before coming to New Jersey, and I had to go and make my first home buying experience here in the Garden State.

Fortunately, it's been a relatively happy experience, and I always suspected it was a unique experience, as well. To see if I was right, I got back in touch with the buyers' agent who helped my wife and I buy our home.

It turns out I was both right and wrong: New Jersey is unique to the extent that every real estate market is unique, says Violetta Adamidou, a licensed Realtor and a Sales Associate at Gloria Nilson GMAC Real Estate in Princeton.

With the national housing market in the business news daily, I thought it would be relevant to get a local expert's perspective on New Jersey's situation. When we bought our home in Central New Jersey nearly two years ago, we found Violetta to be trustworthy, responsive, and focused on our needs, so I couldn't think of a better person to interview for this Q&A.

(For the record, this is NOT a paid post; I have volunteered my time and questions, and Violetta has volunteered her time and answers.)

Here's what Violetta had to say:

Q: Is there anything unique about buying a home in New Jersey—anything that a buyer might not encounter in any or at least most other states?

A: This is a great question, one that already understands that markets are different everywhere. But they are not simply different because of large regions or even states. They are different by smaller regions: such as towns and townships. New Jersey, because it is densely populated and because it has so many different areas with their radically different schools systems and services, provides unique opportunities if buyers are willing to travel a bit. Many buyers will find it useful to have an agent who is licensed in PA and NJ but it is also helpful to have an agent who knows the pros and cons to buying in Pennington versus Princeton or Rocky Hill versus Montgomery. It is useful to have a perspective on each of the surrounding areas in order to make an informed decision.

Additionally our proximity to New York City and the city of Philadelphia is a major contributing factor to the differences within the state and its various counties.

Q: Everyone I know in New Jersey has hired a lawyer when they bought a house. Is this required? If not, why do it?

A: Is it required? Is it mandatory? Is it necessary? Good points and here is the reality in brief terms.

Our region and all of North Jersey does have attorneys involved in the transaction from the moment the contract is fully executed to closing. South Jersey brokers and buyers do not employ attorneys to close the transaction. They do use title companies to facilitate the process.

This is a major reflexion on the point made above: New York does use attorneys for Real Estate Contracts, Pennsylvania uses title companies. So depending on where one is purchasing a property, an attorney may or may nor be required.

Does a buyer have to use an attorney? Not necessarily. However, it does feel, if not necessary, at least preferable to have one representing the buyers interest. This is exactly where we are as a region or county.

A good agent can sometimes help even the lawyer through difficult contracts. Sometimes an extra voice, extra perspective can be very useful.

It is team work, provided all members know the rules of engagement and keep a clear focus in mind.

Q: How's New Jersey holding up compared to other places in the housing downturn at the moment?

A: Every location is different and it would be dangerous to generalize for an entire state. It is safer to say that certain areas, like Princeton, West Windsor, Lambertville and more have done quite well or doing better than others.

Overall we as a state we are in better position than specific states such as Florida, Ohio, etc., for obvious major reasons.

Q: What's attractive about living in NJ? People in other states make fun of it, but it seems OK to me. What do you think?

A: Many people are shocked at the beauty of central New Jersey, and once people get a taste of that beauty (and proximity to NYC and Philadelphia) they believe they have the best of two worlds.

The ones who make fun of it are only basing their limited opinion on driving through the state on the turnpike by the refineries ... apparently this is not how a state should be evaluated!

Q: Have you ever had an experience buying or selling a property here that made you think "only in New Jersey?"

A: I think the answer to your first question may provide an answer to this question as well. Buyers have such opportunities in New Jersey, and buyers can begin thinking they want one town and begin considering another town or they can be very oriented to NYC but discover the beauties of Philly or they can believe Princeton will provide lots of culture but then also fall in love with the nature preserves and historic buildings of surrounding towns and townships. "Only in New Jersey" could you find such opportunities and surprises.

Q: Any general advice for anyone thinking of buying or selling a home these days?

A: Don't get lost in the extreme pronouncements in the news. People are still buying and selling, and you can make an informed decision based on the specifics of each property. If there is one house that is listing for a fraction of what it listed for a year ago, is it definitely the better deal over a house that just came on the market and is priced to sell. A lot of people think they are getting tremendous deals when they go to Outlet stores, but this is not always true. You must look at the house in the greater picture and with a greater history of the market and not get seduced by the "great" deals out there. Preserve the emotional excitement but have it informed by a strong market analysis and a clear understanding of the pros and cons of the area, the property, and the price. A good agent can help you navigate through the hype.


Violetta Adamidou's profile page is available at http://www.glorianilson.com/violettaadamido.

Blogging can liberate New Jersey media

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

There are exactly two things I like about New Jersey 101.5 FM. The rest of the station's offerings don't thrill me—and they make me thankful for blogs.

I like the cheesy 70s and 80s pop music that the station plays on the weekends, with special (if implicit) focus given to New Jersey artists. (Ever heard that song "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by the 1970s Jersey band Looking Glass?)

Only slightly more than that, I like the unrelenting focus that WKXW, as New Jersey 101.5 is officially designated, places on the Garden State. Its slogan—"Not New York, not Philadelphia, our own radio station!"—makes the station's target audience clear.

In fact, in its traffic reports, heard every fifteen minutes around the clock, the station doesn't even utter the names of those two out-of-state cities whose metropolitan areas encompass much of New Jersey. New York City is referred to as "across the Hudson", Philadelphia as "across the Delaware," and road directions described as "leaving" or "entering" the Garden State.

What I don't like is the chatter that New Jersey 101.5 plays around the clock from Monday until Friday evening. And that's a lot of programming to not like.

Sometimes the chatter is downright offensive (as when the Jersey Guys, the station's afternoon shock-jock team, fostered hate against Hispanic immigrants), but mostly, it's just plain boring (as when night host Michele Pilenza talks about New Jerseyans and their kinky sex. This ex-Californian yawns.)

New Jersey 101.5 is an artifact of two things: (1) the way old media defines "markets," and (2) the demographic anomoly that is New Jersey.

In broadcasting, "markets" are designated as geographic areas where everyone can receive the same television or radio signals. Nielson Media, the organization that is responsible for what most of us know as "the ratings," ranks these markets according to a formula that basically shows how many listeners or viewers are likely to hear a broadcaster's message.

Obviously, this rating is partially a function of population, though if one market's viewers are found to watch more TV or radio than an adjacent market's, it could potentially affect those market rankings. (Maybe that's how, according to the list, the market of Lima, Ohio, jumped 11 spots from '07 to '08? 'Cause, if I had to live in Lima, Ohio, I'd probably watch more and more TV all the time ...)

It should come as no surprise that the main purpose of these market rankings is to estimate the potential size of target audiences for advertisers. The operative word here is estimate. I'll get back to that.

It also probably seems logical that these geographic areas usually center around a major population center. Hence, New York City is DMA (Designated Market Area) No. 1, and Los Angeles is DMA No. 2.

It's the "major population center" part that leaves room in the media landscape for a successful niche broadcaster like New Jersey 101.5.

As of the 2000 census, 8.4 million people lived in New Jersey, ranking it 11th in population. Meanwhile, the state ranks 47th in size. This easily makes the state the most densly populated in the U.S., but with no clear center.

New Jersey as a state is not on Nielson Media's list—and neither is any place in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, right at New Jersey's borders is not only New York City, but also Philadelphia—DMA No. 4.

That doesn't mean that New Jersey issues don't get covered in the media. Obviously, New York City's and Philadelphia's radio signals don't fall out of the air and sink into the Hudson and Delaware rivers. A lot of people in the Garden State receive these signals, so the Philadelphia broadcast media tend to cover South Jersey and the New York City media tend to cover North Jersey.

But I, at least, have always been somewhat disappointed with the lack of attention these outlets give to state government issues that affect everyone from Cape May to High Point, such as the state budget and the (almost literally) baroque bureacratic designs that drives up costs in ways that taxpayers in other states would have revolted over years ago. New Jersey 101.5 is perhaps the only media outlet that really does make a point of addressing these issues, but I can't stomach the station's populist jabber for more than the fifteen minutes it takes to hear the traffic report on the rare occassions when I drive on the Turnpike.

New Jersey 101.5 exists because it aims toward an audience that is, on the one hand, potentially very large. On the other hand, though, there is very little comparable data on this audience—certainly not enough for traditional media outlets to be willing to take the risk on setting up a large-scale operation here. If you've ever listened to New Jersey 101.5, one thing you can say about that station is that its owners are willing to take risks. These risks pay off in terms of advertising revenue, at least for one station.

If you're like me and you're more conservative about the tone of news (and I mean conservative in terms of prefering blandness, not in terms of political views), then you're probably not interested in the kinds of risks New Jersey 101.5 takes.

Print media's audience may not be constrained by the natural boundary of airwave range, but is slave to the fairly textbook dynamics of cost associated with the time, fuel, and materials necessary to carry their message over a great distance.

The Trenton Times and the Newark Star Ledger, arguably the most state-focused daily newspapers in New Jersey, share a web presence with several other New Jersey publications at nj.com and at least try to address these Garden State needs—but they seem to be having a hard time figuring out their identity. (Witness what dennisl, a user at Blue Jersey, calls "this travesty of the graphic arts.")

Blogging throws a wrench in the plans of the traditional media marketing models by making geography relevant only to the degree that it frames common interests.

Blue Jersey keeps a blogroll of 44 Jersey-centered blogs (inner sidebar column, scroll down, underneath their "recent comments" sidebar), most of which are generally updated regularly. I don't find all of them interesting, but I find it copelling that there are so many and that they cover such diverse topics. Several—including Blue Jersey—fund themselves in part with advertising.

Old media should take note of this, because it doesn't follow the old model.

Web advertising, of course, caters to a much more fragmented audience than broadcast or print advertising does. But one crucial difference is that you can track web advertising's effectiveness very easily.

Remember what I mentioned earlier about the purpose of Nielson Media's market rankings—to help estimate the potential size of target audiences for advertisements. There's no way you can no for sure how many people are actually tuned in on a given day to hear a radio advertisement.

A web advertisement on a blog may reach a smaller audience than a broadcast message on New Jersey 101.5—but anyone who knows enough to set up a blog also has the know-how to track the exact size and behavior of that small audience down to the type of web browser most visitors used to access the site. I talked about one of these tools, Google Analytics, briefly in my Facebook blog recently. Columbus, Ohio, blogger Leigh Householder has a post on the science of measuring web visits on her blog Advergirl.

Blogging could be liberating for New Jersey media because it enables New Jerseyans to develop an identity that transcends Sopranos references and tough-guy clichés.

And we can always download our cheesy Jersey Shore pop songs from the Internet, if we still miss them.

Update on property tax relief program

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

Here's an update on my earlier post on the Homestead Property Tax Relief program.

Applications for people who are not over 65 have been going out this first two weeks in July. Those who are over 65 should have received the application in May. That's for homeowners. For tenants, the application came with your state tax forms.

The filing deadline is August 15, 2008, for your 2007 Homestead Property Tax Relief, which is actually based on the amount of property tax that your home was assessed in 2006.

You got that?

The same filing deadline now apparently applies to all homeowners, young or old, disabled or not. Don't ask me whether the tenant deadline has moved. I can't figure that out.

My application had an ominous notice on it that "the state budget may affect rebate eligibility and amounts for 2007." So, kind of like the social security payroll tax that's withheld from my paycheck every two weeks, I'm not holding my breath that I'll ever see that money again.

Once again, the state plays the property tax shell game with its residents, giving them the psychological feeling of getting something when they're not only getting nothing, but in fact probably losing money on the deal to pay for the bureaucracy that has been in place to make state residents feel like they're getting something for the bureaucracy that they pay for.

You got that?

Download audiobooks for free in New Jersey

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

This may be the future of the audiobook section at your public library.

A consortium of public and private libraries in New Jersey has started listennj.com—an online collection of audiobooks that users can check out and listen to for a limited period. The service is free. You only need to enter your library card number from a participating library to download books.

Since I'm already juggling four different books at the moment (including a series of audio lectures on English history that I listen to on CD in my car), I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but it looks promising.

Like a regular library, listennj.com has a limited number of copies of each item (depending on the number of licenses they've been granted, I'm guessing). Each copy can be checked out by only one person at a time. If an audiobook is checked out, you can put your name on the waiting list and receive an e-mail when it's your turn.

All of the audiobooks can be played on your PC (software download required) or on a supported portable device. Some, but not all, of the books also come with burn to CD rights. The files expire when your checkout period is over.

Solar energy: In NJ, anyone can generate and invest

By Jeff Johnson Jr.

It probably surprises no one to hear that California has installed more solar panels than any other state. I, at least, was surprised to read on June 25 in the New York Times that New Jersey is second.

The Garden State's success in promoting solar generation stems from a rebate program that has been in place until recently; those who installed solar panels—including both residential and commercial customers—were eligible for a rebate on part of the installation.

That program turned out to be too successful, in fact, and the state hopes to phase it out and convert entirely to what it calls a Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program. Under this system, customers who have a solar generation system that is hooked into the power generation grid receive certificates for excess power generation, and are allowed to sell these certificates on the open energy market.

One power customer that hopes to benefit from this system is Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Ewing, New Jersey. (Disclosure of interest: My family attends this church.)

The church applied to the rebate program more than two years ago—a common waiting period under the current scheme— and expects its application to be approved soon. Like many customers, Abiding Presence won't even be able to begin installing the equipment without the rebate's capital.

Once the system is installed, though, it is expected to generate all of the church's annual power needs and then some. The church's solar committee hopes the revenue from the tradable energy certificates will, over a period of a few years, easily pay down balance of the loan it will take to pay for the necessary solar equipment.

According to Abiding Presence's solar committee, the energy certificates, which are issued for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of excess power generation, were expected in 2006 to trade at $200 to $250. Now they are expected to bring $400 to $600.

Solar power is part of the state's energy master plan The current draft of this plan calls for the state to get 22.5 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Solar energy forms a portion of the proposed renewable portfolio, along with biomass and wind energy. More than 80 percent of the expected 1,200 megawatts of wind energy capacity is expected to come from turbines off the Jersey shore.

Homestead property tax relief information downright confusing

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

In case anyone else is confused, here's the state's latest update on the process for applying for a 2007 Homestead property tax rebate. Fair warning: If you're already confused, you're likely to be confused more by following that link. Let me see if I can clarify. No, I won't bother. Let me demonstrate to you how confusing it is (as if you don't already know).

Apparently, if you're a homeowner over age 65, the deadline has been extended to August 15 from June 2. If you're like me and you're not over 65, the deadline has not been extended. But don't fret—that's because you weren't eligible to file yet at all. You only have to file early if you're old. In fact, you're not allowed to file early unless you're old. But then again, you don't have to file early if you're old, after all. I guess. I mean, if you're old, you're allowed to file early, but you're not required to—anymore, I mean.

Actually, if you're not old, you don't even have an application yet. That will come in the mail—if you're a homeowner.

If you're not a homeowner, but rather a tenant, you're still eligible for a property tax rebate—yes, it's true, since your landlord probably passes the property tax on to you in your rent—but you should have already filed the application with your state taxes, so the deadline was April 15. Unless you filed for an extension, in which case your application for the rebate was automatically also extended. I think.

In any case, if you're a tenant, this April 15 deadline was true whether you are over 65 or not. So, if you own a home, and you're over 65, the deadline to file has been extended, but if you're a tenant and you're over 65, the deadline has not been extended, unless you asked for it to be extended.

Wait, I just realized that all of the rules for people who are over 65 also apply if you're under 65 and disabled.

Got all that?

If you're able to parse all of that information, then maybe you can explain to me why we in the Garden State have to go through this ritual every year, anyway. Let me see if I understand it: Our municipalities have had to raise property taxes—in part, though clearly there are other reasons—because they cannot count on the same amount of assistance from the state and federal government anymore.

So, the state, which has trimmed its budget over the years to offer less assistance to the municipalities, instead pays cash to taxpayers who live in those municipalities to make up for the extra taxes they pay to the municipality due to less assistance from the state—and the federal government, who is at least customer-service-oriented enough to simply dump their version of this shell game directly into my bank account.

Not only are we robbing Peter to pay Paul the money he owes Peter, we've set up a costly administrative bureaucracy to accomplish the task that wouldn't be as necessary if we didn't have so much bureaucracy.

I guess at this point I should clarify what I meant in my earlier comments that "this is not a political blog." I guess what I meant was that this is a nonpartisan blog. A long succession of politicians from both major parties is responsible for getting us to where we are today.

New Jersey has a lot of annoyances that make life here endearing. This isn't one of them. This is just sick.

Jerseyhacker's mission and principles

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

This post is a little different. I just want to give you an idea of what Jerseyhacker is supposed to be about. I may update periodically, since I'm pretty much making this thing up as we go. There are several parts to this post:

About Jerseyhacker
Disclaimer
Mission
Thoughts on blogging in New Jersey
Thoughts on blogging in general
Guidelines for contributing content

• Comments
• Posts

About Jerseyhacker

Like all of the states that comprise the original 13 colonies of the United States, New Jersey exists in its current form because of people who acted on principle.

And while I prefer to shun most of the cliches surrounding the Garden State's hard-edged reputation, what the "attitude" in these cliches (e.g. "You gotta problem widdat?" "What's it to ya, pal?" and "Only the strong survive.") tells us that, whatever people think of Garden Staters, they know that we still have our principles.

Likewise, this blog has a few principles, as well as a mission statement, which you may find interesting if you're visiting us for the first time.

But before I get into that, there's just one thing I'd like you to know.

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Disclaimer

Please consider the following statement to sufficiently cover Jerseyhacker's proverbial rear end: Jerseyhacker's authors and contributors are not lawyers and do not pretend to be. Which is a good thing, because, (1) New Jersey has enough lawyers, and (2) why would anyone pretend to be a lawyer?

In other words, please don't interpret anything you read in this blog as legal advice. These are just shared experiences, not court decisions. You'll notice that Jerseyhacker articles about specific laws generally link back to other sources. You should consult those other sources for more information--but you can count on Jerseyhacker's posts to always make a good faith effort to be accurate and to direct you toward sources that may prove useful.

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Mission

Jerseyhacker's mission is to provide people who live in New Jersey or have an interest in New Jersey with practical information may be useful for maintaining or improving quality of life. Some examples of topics relevant to this blog include:

1. Stories about conditions and situations that make the Garden State's character unique, with starting points for getting more information.


2. News to raise our readers' awareness of current events and issues in the Garden State.


3. Summaries of laws, bylaws, rules, regulations, guidelines, ordinances, executive orders, charter documents, common practices, local customs, cultural expectations, stigma, social contracts, trends, bandwagons, urban legends, and any other codes, formal or informal, that shape life in the Garden State.

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On blogging in New Jersey

As the blogosphere grows, the number of blogs specifically about New Jersey is also growing. Many of these blogs take a very activist and confrontational approach, which I applaud--but Jerseyhacker is meant to serve a more pragmatic need.

Frequently missing from the public discourse in New Jersey is the answer to a simple question: (which you can imagine uttered in a New Jersey style): "What're you gonna do?"

As mentioned in the mission statement, Jerseyhacker's goal is to help people find solutions to the problems that they may encounter in the course of day-to-day life in the Garden State. Jerseyhacker does not endorse a particular political party--not because I'm uninterested in politics, but because there seems to be plenty of blame to go around for the conditions that exist in New Jersey.

This is all to say that, the market for political pundit blogs in New Jersey seems to be flooded. What we need is a solutions blog. That's the purpose of Jerseyhacker.

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Philosophy on blogging in general

Blogging is a medium, not a genre.

The general public is starting to get that, but there is still a lingering perception that "blog" is synonymous with twenty somethings engaging in virtual exhibitionism or political pundits eviscerating each other.

In fact, blogs are all that and more.

Blogs may well be the most versatile mode of communication ever created. Every type of medium, subject matter, purpose, level of interactivity, color, and level of quality that has ever existed in any other form can now be published as a blog. Meanwhile, blogs open the doors for us to experience communication in ways we never imagined.

True, blogs are more frequently written as first-person narratives than other forms of media, and Jerseyhacker's posts are no exception—but that doesn't mean Jerseyhacker is about its writers' personal lives. All of the posts on Jerseyhacker stem from someone's personal experience, but are not intended to be directly about the person.

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Guidelines for contributing content

Comments

Comments are welcome on all posts at all times. Simply click the appropriate link at the end of the post.

As of June 15, 2008, comments are not moderated. This may change depending on the number and type of comments that Jerseyhacker gets. Having seen that comment moderation is pretty standard for small blogs like this, comment moderation has been turned on as of June 20, 2008. I won't censor comments just because I don't agree with their ideas, but I do have to maintain some community standards:

1. I will delete libelous comments. Libel is a gray area, and I won't try to explain it here. It boils down to this: You're welcome to use Jerseyhacker as a place to air your grievances with the Garden State. Please don't use it as a tool for destroying individuals' personal reputations with falsehoods.


2. I won't say don't swear. In fact, go ahead: swear. But be reasonable. I suggest using foul language only on those rare occasions when you find gaps in your vocabulary. I'm guessing most readers can express most opinions without having to resort to words used to describe common sexual acts, certain sexual organs, a few bodily orifices, or the various fluids or substances that human beings excrete. However, I won't exclude anyone for a simple lack of vocabulary. I will, however, delete comments that are obviously created just for the sake of being crude. These usually aren't topical, anyway, which brings me to the last standard...


3. Stay topical. That is, make your comments have at least some relevance to the post. If it looks like you're just using Jerseyhacker as a place to post random announcements, I might remove your comment. If you spam, your comments will definitely be deleted. I won't try to define spam. I know it when I see it.

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Posts

I welcome any ideas for main articles. You're even more welcome to actually write the post, and I'll edit it for you, offer helpful suggestions, give you a byline, and post it. I also plan on adding other authors as time goes on. If you're interested, send me an e-mail to newjerseyblogs@gmail.com.

New Jersey family leave law has pros, cons

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

Like many states and the federal government, New Jersey has a family leave law that provides job protection to take care of a new child or certain seriously ill family members.

However, unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, this doesn't cover the employee's own illness or disability.

While this looks like a disadvantage, it might not be. See Question #3 in the FAQs for the New Jersey law. For any situation that is covered by both the federal and state laws, an employee's eligibilty runs simultaneously. But if the employee must also take time off for his or her own disability, this difference in the laws may actually give him or her an added benefit:

"Thus, even though an employee may utilize all of his or her allotted time under the federal FMLA due to his or her disability, the employee may subsequently be entitled to time off under the NJFLA in connection with the birth or adoption of a child or the serious illness of a parent, child or spouse."

Yes, NJ has another primary election this Tuesday

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

If you're like me, then you may have not even realized until a couple of weeks ago that New Jersey has another primary election scheduled for this Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Or maybe you all knew and I'm just dense. Or maybe you didn't realize it until you read this, which means I'm not as out of it as I could be.

According to this Associated Press Q&A published in the Asbury Park Press on May 17, New Jersey separated its presidential primary race this year from all other primary races in order to give the state a bigger say in the presidential races:

Q: Didn't New Jersey have its primary back in February?

A: Yes, but it was only for presidential candidates. The primary for all other elected offices is June 3. New Jersey moved its presidential primary to Feb. 5 this year to try to give the state more say in choosing presidential candidates.

I guess it should have struck me as odd that, when I voted in the Feb. 5 primary, the only office on the ballot was U.S. president.

Since the mission of this blog is to help you survive the Garden State rather than fight it, I'll reserve my thoughts on whether having two different primary elections, which generally have low turnout to begin with, is a good thing for democracy.

I can, however, provide here the links to both the Republican and Democratic state party websites in case you would like to pass your thoughts along to those who made this decision.

• New Jersey Republican State Committee
• New Jersey Democratic State Committee

I also welcome your comments. Comments on this blog are moderated to avoid spam. I'll post any comments that are relevant to the topic within 24 hours.

Watch car registration deadline when transfering plates

by Jeff Johnson

Apparently, when you transfer your plates to a new vehicle in New Jersey, the new vehicle takes on the registration cycle of your old vehicle.

So, say your old vehicle's registration is due to expire in January, but you buy a new vehicle in November and transfer the plates from the old vehicle. The new vehicle's registration expires two months later, in January, not a year later as you might expect. The moral of the story is always renew your registration on your vehicle immediately upon receiving a reminder in the mail, even if you expect to sell the vehicle before the registration actually expires.

This was one I found out the hard way—and made Princeton Township $54 richer in the process.

Last November, when my 1992 Honda Accord's rear bumper was hanging from one last rusty hook, I decide it was time to move those license plates to a newer vehicle.

The kind folks at the car dealership took care of the paperwork and even called one of their techs over their public address system to come use a cordless electric screwdriver to remove the plates from the Honda and attach them to my new vehicle. My fingers were spared even more strain when they handled the registration on my behalf, which you can do in New Jersey, and called me a couple of weeks later to pick up the registration card at the dealership.

Fast forward to March of this year, when, on my way to take my not-quite-four-year-old to his first dental appointment, I was busted.

Just across the border into Princeton Township, I saw the unmarked patrol car sitting just off the road ready to pounce. I'm not a lead-footed driver, but this was on a downhill—so of course my heart rate went up a bit.

And then it flew off the chart upon seeing those blue and red lights in the rear view.

Apparently, Princeton Township police are quite tech-savvy these days, and the officer explained that her dashboard-mounted laptop had noted that my vehicle was not showing up as registered in the state database.

Since I'd just bought the vehicle in November, I dumbly didn't check the expiration date when I received the registration, assuming it must be valid for a year. I remember receiving a reminder in the mail for the old vehicle just a few days before I traded it in, but had thrown it away. After all, why renew the registration on a vehicle you're going to sell in a few days, anyway? (Clue Number 2 should have been that the transfer registration only cost me something like $4.50, but that clue got lost in the much larger price of the car.)

Since this isn't a political blog, we'll set aside our musings about how low the crime rate in Princeton Township must be for their finest officers to be sitting by the roadside scanning random license plates. Instead, we'll look on the bright side and say—with all truthfulness—that I'm glad Princeton Township got to practice some basic detective skills on me rather than have me find out after getting into an accident or having the vehicle stolen that it wasn't actually registered.

In other words, I'll count my blessings that I got off with a $54 non-moving violation.

Plus my son had a good story to tell everyone that day. Of course, the first words out of his mouth at the dentist's officer were "there was a police car, and the police lady stopped my daddy, because, she said, my daddy didn't have the right papers for his car."

Well said, kid.

Helpful tips for surviving in New Jersey

by Jeff Johnson

This seems to be an old joke by now, but it still somehow hits home (especially if your home is in the Garden State): "New Jersey: Only the Strong Survive."

I've seen that on t-shirts, on bumper stickers, and, while doing some background research for this post, on the shock-jock blogs of a few Garden State radio stations.

I once heard that the saying was actually attributable to a New Jersey governor, with some versions saying it was Brendan Byrne, others attributing it to Thomas Kean, and a few chalking it up to James Florio. (Both Democrats and Republicans are represented in the aforementioned list.)

Since I couldn't verify the authenticity of any of those claims, we'll just agree that it's a saying that's taken on a life of its own. And with good reason: It's always something in New Jersey.

That's not to say that this isn't a good place to live. I've adopted it as my home and have no regrets. But when you live in the state with the highest population density, there have to be rules, regulations, and sometimes just plain principles to keep things moving.

That doesn't mean the rules are designed to keep you moving. Just New Jersey. If you also happen to move, well, that's just fine with New Jersey.

This is not a political blog. The authors do not attempt to assign blame for any of the issues here to any particular person or political party (because, if you want to talk about how Jersey got the way it is, there's plenty of blame to go around), but rather offer helpful tips to fellow New Jerseyans to help survive life in the Garden State.