What?!?!

The proposed byway has shrunk a few miles from its original 34-mile length. The version now proposed runs about 24 miles, between milepost 3.27 on the Pohatcong/Alpha border in Warren County through Hunterdon County to milepost 27.65 in Bedminster Township, Somerset County. Bridgewater Township decided not to join the effort. Phillipsburg also opted not to join, but "it really only has 500 feet of frontage on 78," said Mr. Paradis. He said Alpha hadn't decided yet whether it would participate.

WHAT?!?  We voted on the proposal THREE times and each time it was rejected.  How many more times do we have to say "No!!" for the message to get across?  I don't understand why that comment was made, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was misquoted by the reporter.  Maybe Mayor Paradis will stop by this blog again to leave another comment and give us his side of the story.

Feedback soon on scenic Rt. 78

by Veronica Slaght
Hunterdon County Democrat

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 12:15 PM

The application requesting state "Scenic Byway" status for Route 78 is in the state's hands.

"We would hope to hear something back at least within the first quarter" of this year, said Lebanon Mayor Mark Paradis. "They unfortunately don't give any timeline."

Mr. Paradis has headed the grassroots effort seeking scenic status, working with municipal officials and professionals volunteering their time.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Timothy Greeley said the I-78 Corridor Historic and Scenic Byway Alliance should get some news in short order, but said "no final decision is expected at this time."

The proposed byway has shrunk a few miles from its original 34-mile length. The version now proposed runs about 24 miles, between milepost 3.27 on the Pohatcong/Alpha border in Warren County through Hunterdon County to milepost 27.65 in Bedminster Township, Somerset County. Bridgewater Township decided not to join the effort. Phillipsburg also opted not to join, but "it really only has 500 feet of frontage on 78," said Mr. Paradis. He said Alpha hadn't decided yet whether it would participate.

One of the protections provided by the status is a ban on future billboard construction, which isn't necessarily seen as a benefit for towns that earn revenue from billboard companies.

Planner Carl Hintz provided the printing and then personally delivered 10 copies of the nomination to the state Scenic Byways coordinator at the Department of Transportation in December. The coordinator distributes it to the New Jersey Scenic Byways Advisory Committee, which makes a recommendation to DOT Commissioner Steve Dilts. He makes the ultimate decision.

In addition to Mr. Hintz's help, attorney J. Peter Jost worked pro-bono on the project and professional photographer Robin Giordiano of Lebanon took pictures of vistas along the highway. The application is the culmination of monthly meetings since May.

The scenic byway bid is endorsed by AAA Mid-Atlantic, HART and the Freeholder and Planning Boards of Warren, Hunterdon and Somerset and 11 towns: Bloomsbury, Clinton, Lebanon and the townships of Bethlehem, Bedminster, Union, Tewksbury, Readington, Pohatcong, Greenwich and Franklin (Hunterdon).

The proposal mentions scenic views such as the Delaware River Valley, preserved farmland, Round Valley and Musconetcong Mountain. Photos show the mature hardwood forest, and text describes Route 78's origin as a Native American trade route.

According to the DOT, the benefits of designation are federal funding, recognition, increased tourism, technical assistance in the scenic byway process, planning for protection and managed growth and possible grants to help with implementing a mandatory five-year byway plan.

Inauguration 2: Electric Boogaloo

Because of this:

This happened:

Obama retakes oath of office after flub

Update:  Fox News really has no shame.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said: "We're wondering here whether or not Barack Obama in fact is the president of the United States. They had a kind of garbled oath. It's just conceivable that this will end up going to the courts."

Dear Sarah Palin

Two Words: GO AWAY!

Palin to media: Leave my kids alone

By RACHEL D'ORO, 

Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is going on the offensive against news organizations and bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children. But political observers say the former Republican vice presidential candidate can't have it both ways: trotting out the children to showcase her family values, then trying to shield them from scrutiny.

Palin's criticism also raises questions about her motivations because she has said she is open to a presidential run in 2012.

"I think she's positioning herself. She's attacking the media as a way to generate support among a base she hopes will support her," said Leonard Steinhorn, a professor of communications at American University in Washington and an expert on the presidency.

Palin shied away from interviews during the campaign, although her children often accompanied her on her travels, including her oldest daughter, Bristol, who was pregnant at the time.

But in recent weeks, she has personally reached out to media outlets such as People magazine and The Associated Press to complain about information she claimed is wrong.

She slammed reports that 18-year-old Bristol Palin and the teen's fiance are high school dropouts. The governor insists the two are not dropouts because they enrolled in correspondence courses.

The couple last month had a son — the governor's first grandchild.

The governor said she is speaking out to set the record straight, not because of any political aspirations.

"It's all about the family," she said. "I'm wired in a way that I can take the criticism. I can take the shots. But any mother would want to protect their children from lies and scandalous reporting."

In a Jan. 5 interview with conservative filmmaker John Ziegler, Palin also questioned whether Caroline Kennedy's quest for a New York Senate seat was as heavily scrutinized as her vice presidential campaign.

When her comments were reported, she chastised journalists for taking her remarks "out of context to create adversarial situations."

Steinhorn is not alone among experts who believe the first-term governor is trying to keep her name in the spotlight. A newcomer to national politics when she was nominated, Palin energized the Republican base but also attracted intense criticism that she had little substance.

Palin "does seem to have ambitions, and this is one way of staying in the public eye," said Janis Edwards, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama and an expert on women candidates. One of Edwards' classes monitored Palin's role in a project called "The Palin Watch."

Palin's grievances include what she calls "false stories" such as a talk show host's suggestion that she helped Levi Johnston get a job in Alaska's North Slope oil fields, circumventing eligibility rules since he does not have a high school diploma.

Johnston's father, an engineer for an oil-field services company, has said his position accounted for any help Levi received in getting the apprenticeship job.

Palin also lashed out at bloggers and others perpetuating Internet rumors that her 9-month-old son, Trig, is actually Bristol Palin's child from a secret previous pregnancy.

Her decision to strike back at news organizations seems to contradict the governor's earlier statements on how politicians should respond to media coverage.

Months before she was named John McCain's running mate, Palin attended a leadership forum in Los Angeles and was asked her opinion on then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's allegations that she was being unfairly treated by the media during the primaries.

Palin said Clinton did herself a disservice to even mention it. The governor said it bothered her to hear Clinton "bring that attention to herself on that level."

Palin said her opinion has not changed since the March 2008 event and insisted that defending her children is her only motivation.

"I'm not whining about the treatment of the press, but I am calling reporters on the family aspect of this," she said. "I think it's unprecedented in some respects what I have seen with my children."

It's not unprecedented. The children and spouses of high-profile politicians always draw attention.

Early in President George Bush's first term, his twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, made headlines after an embarrassing run-in with the law for underage drinking.

So did Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, when she was treated for alcoholism after her husband's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1988. She later suffered a relapse and was hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol.

Two weeks before President Obama's inauguration, his daughters Sasha and Malia were escorted to their new schools past a line of waiting photographers.

A New Era Begins!

The 44th President of the United States of America

Barack H. Obama

Excerpts from President Obama's Inaugural Address:

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

"For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate."

"America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

January 20, 2009

A quick look at the past.

These words truly resonate with today's events.

It's FINALLY over!

Our long national nightmare is over!

"An Obama job approval rating of 79 percent - that's the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster. To many Americans, the Bush administration was a national disaster." 

- Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst

"As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. 

At least that's the way three-quarters feel." 

- Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst

Oh Really?

As far as the other towns' reluctance to take part, [Lebanon Borough Mayor Mark] Paradis said, "we're not trying to tell them what to do."

'The Star-Ledger'

01/11/2009

I appreciate this comment, I really do, but I'll go back to the night that Greenwich Township Mayor Elaine Emiliani attended Alpha's Council Meeting to present the Route I-78 Scenic Byway Proposal.  Mayor Emiliani got defensive during my questioning and called me rude, disrespectful and antagonistic.  The way she came across that night sure made me feel that it was her way or the highway...no pun intended.  Mayor Paradis may not be trying to 'tell us what to do', but their [I-78 Corridor Historic and Scenic Byway Alliance] Warren County Contact definitely tried and it didn't work.  Mayor Emiliani stated at our meeting (and quoted in 'The Express-Times' on 09/24/2008) "You're the only town that hasn't bought into this, I didn't anticipate it would be this difficult."  Oh really?

But three other towns initially proposed as part of the byway -- Alpha, Phillipsburg and Bridgewater -- opted not to take part, reducing the 29-mile scenic swath originally envisioned to about 24 miles.  

'The Star-Ledger'

01/11/2009

Was she purposely misleading us, trying to make us feel like the odd man out?  I guess we'll never know.  Just for the record, this proposal has come up at our Council Meetings a total of four times - twice in August and twice in September.  It was voted on at three of those meetings and defeated.  I guess the first two votes didn't send a clear enough message, so Mayor Emiliani showed up to 'tell us what to do'.  I wish we spent the same amount of time on more pressing matters - like property taxes, land preservation and economic development.

Route I-78...

From 'The Star-Ledger' / NJ.com...

Route 78 may get a historic designation

Effort tries to preserve beauty of interstate

Sunday, January 11, 2009
BY JEANETTE RUNDQUIST
Star-Ledger Staff

A somewhat shorter, but still scenic, stretch of Route 78 in northwest New Jersey has been proposed for designation as a scenic byway.

A dozen towns in Warren, Hunterdon and Somerset counties joined forces last month, applying with the state Department of Transportation for the interstate corridor to be declared a "New Jersey Historic and Scenic Byway."

But three other towns initially proposed as part of the byway -- Alpha, Phillipsburg and Bridgewater -- opted not to take part, reducing the 29-mile scenic swath originally envisioned to about 24 miles.

One Alpha councilman said he voted against joining partly because it would eliminate billboards proposed for town-owned land. Alpha, in Warren County, currently receives between $1,000 and $2,000 per month rent for a billboard on property near the Pennsylvania border. Other billboards also are proposed for Alpha's land, which includes industrial and farmland, Councilman Harry Zikas Jr. said.

"Those billboards would be so out of the way they wouldn't bother anyone in town, and we'd be able to make the profit," Zikas said. "We're looking to get revenue any which way we can. Had we joined the proposal, those billboards would not be permitted."

The scenic byway proposal was started last spring, led by Lebanon Borough Mayor Mark Paradis. He said the idea was to preserve the scenic beauty of the corridor, which runs through mountains, forests and farmland, and passes by picturesque small towns. The roadway has history as well: It began as a Native American trade route, grew into a local road, and in 1917 be came one of New Jersey's first 15 state highways.

"It's a remarkable east-west corridor that has some significant history to it, and we feel that it's important for people to realize that and for us to preserve it," Paradis said.

Scenic byway designation also means no off-premises signs can be built that are "visible to any highway or portion of a highway designated as a scenic byway, or ... nominated for designation," according to the state Department of Transportation.

Lebanon Borough is involved in a legal tussle with an outdoor advertising company, after a proposed billboard was turned down by the planning board last summer. The mayor said scenic byway designation was not sought simply as a way to block billboards, however.

"There is some protection from billboards, but that's really not the real reason we're doing this," he said. "We feel this corridor is something that has a story to tell."

As far as the other towns' reluctance to take part, Paradis said, "we're not trying to tell them what to do."

"We understand it's an economic (matter)," he said of Alpha's billboard revenue. "I still feel Alpha is a viable partner in working with us."

Phillipsburg includes only about 500 feet of the originally proposed corridor, Paradis said, and opted not to participate, but sent a letter of support. Bridgewater officials indicated they did not want to be included at this time, he said.

The proposed scenic byway begins at Route 78's milepost 3.27 on the Pohatcong/Alpha border, and ends at milepost 27.65 in Bedminster. The application, supported by towns such as Greenwich Township, Clinton and Readington, as well as by Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren County officials and the Automobile Association of America, was delivered to state transportation officials in December.

The state scenic byways coordinator is reviewing the application, and will respond to the towns with any comments and concerns soon, a DOT spokesman said. No timetable was given for the final decision.

If the application is approved, the towns have five years to prepare a required Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. The towns could also apply for national scenic byway designation, and if they receive it, seek funding that could be used for the management plan.

Zikas said the management plan was a concern for him, too.

"There's a plan you have to pay for, and I didn't feel comfortable supporting it, not knowing the cost," he said. "I just feel we have so many other issues to deal with, a scenic byway proposal wasn't the way to go. ... Our highway infrastructure across the state is in desperate need of repair, and I think tax dollars should go toward improving those before we put money toward scenic byway proposals."

Star-Ledger interview on Route I-78 Scenic Byway Proposal

I received a call from Jeanette Rundquist of 'The Star-Ledger' earlier today and was asked a few insightful questions regarding my opposition to the Route I-78 Scenic Byway Proposal.  As soon as it goes online, I'll link or post it here and offer any further opinions.

Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the best in 2009 along with peace, health and happiness!