Living it Up Wild in Bloomfield

It ain't easy being a wildlife photographer in North Jersey. Especially if you live in Bloomfield and only focus on what passes by your back deck. Pat Ciesla shows us a few of the fauna that a dedicated amateur can capture-- without leaving her home off Liongate Drive(she admits to following the hawk a block or so down the road.). We've never featured this many pictures in one post, but hey...why not? (Click on smaller photos for larger image)

This happens to be part of the tract that The Bloomfield Third RiverBank Association is fighting to preserve against developers' plans to build upwards of 150 townhouses.

They're having a garden party fundraiser this Sunday from 4 to 7 at 96 Lakewood Terrace. For info call: 973-951-4339

Make Your Own Local Map

It's been a while since we mentioned one of our most inspiring greenway sites:
http://www.gardenstategreenways.org/
It's the one with the elaborate county maps.
This time we've checked out the Interactive Map Link.
This can keep you up all night!

North Jersey Housing Inventory Update

Posted by James Bednar under North Jersey Real Estate:

GSMLS - http://www.gsmls.com
(Garden State Multiple Listing Service)
Single Family Homes, Condo, Coop
(Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren Counties)

10/11 - 19,084
10/18 - 19,035 (0.3% Decrease)

NJMLS - http://www.njmls.com
(New Jersey Multiple Listing Service)
Single Family Homes, Condo, Coop
(Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic Counties)

10/11 - 9,261
10/18 - 9,183 (0.9% Decrease)

Extreme Town Makeover

Of the "A" list Hollywood actors, Leonardo DiCaprio is probably on top of the growing number of eco friendly stars who put their time and money where their mouth is. His current project is producing a TV show that will transform troubled towns into environmental models. Inspired by Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth, "E-topia" will chronicle the reconstruction of an American town as it is transformed into a "Green utopia of tomorrow."

Established in 1998, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has actively fostered awareness of environmental issues through participation with such organizations as Natural Resources Defense Council, Global Green, USA, the International Fund For Animal Welfare, and National Geographic Kids.

The Sound of Dirty Birdies

Want a rationalle for including a local jug band in Ecorealty?
Well, there's few musical genres more Down to Earth than a jug band; they call themselves the Dirty Birdies; they've been based in Bloomfield since they began in 1965 --making them possibly the world's oldest surviving jug band as decreed by The Guiness Book of Records. They're featured performers this weekend at The National Jug Band Jubilee in Louisville, Ky. And we love their sound which you can sample on their cool website.

Inflation Jitters Drive Mortgage Rates Up

On Friday, Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.37 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending October 12, 2006, up from last week when it averaged 6.30 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.03 percent.

Justices Reject Challenge to Waterway 'no-build zones'

Third River Near Broad St. in Bloomfield

From The Star Ledger:
The state Supreme Court will not consider an appeal by the New Jersey Builders Association challenging the state's water protection regulations, leaving intact rules that are considered the toughest in the nation....

The builders were attempting to appeal an April state Appellate Court ruling that held the state Department of Environmental Protection had the power to establish 300-foot "no-build zones" around New Jersey's most pristine waterways, effectively putting up to 300,000 acres off limits to construction.

The zones do not prohibit construction of single-family homes that were approved before Feb. 2, 2004, and are not part of a larger development. Towns that have stormwater management plans can reduce the buffers to 150 feet.

Housing For The Birds

From Business Week Online:

Designer tree houses are a personal way to add fun and value to your home, and they're not just for kids anymore. This next-generation tree house is a prefabricated modular structure that is fully livable and can be adapted for a family of up to eight.(lower photo)Free Spirit Sphere by Tom Chudleigh, Errington, British Columbia
About $44,700 to buy and install; $134 for one-night rental

Eco-Auditing at Bloomfield College

BCU's Halls Of Ivy

Bloomfield College is participating in an innovative environmental compliance peer auditing program. The college’s participation ensures that its campus is environmentally compliant; satisfies environmental regulatory obligations and provides a safe living and learning environment for students, faculty and staff.

The environmental peer audit approach blends a self-audit and a third-party independent audit and enables trained peers from participating schools to audit each other’s campus under the direction of an experienced professional auditor. Joining Bloomfield College in its commitment to the program are eight other NJ schools including Atlantic Cape Community College, Camden County College, Centenary College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Cumberland County College, Drew University, Georgian Court University and Saint Peter’s College.

The New Jersey Council of Community Colleges sponsored this program which is supported by the New Jersey Association of Independent Colleges.

The program will enable Bloomfield College to comply with all major federal environmental programs including air, water, pesticides, solid and hazardous wastes, hazardous substances and chemicals, environmental response, emergency planning, community right-to-know, and toxic substances control.

[Full disclosure: Along with President Richard Levao, three of the most eco-friendly people we know, Paul Russo, Pat Kenschaft and Fred Chichester, currently teach at BCU.]

Site Specific, NJ on Web

With campus security at an all time high, it's often a daunting task to get the art enthusiast to venture to exhibits on a college campus. Fortunately, enough of Site Specific, NJ's environmentally oriented images are available on line to give viewers a look at the distinct points of view of all seven photographers in this ambitious Union County College show. Guest curated by Montclair's Mary Birmingham, the show is running through October 26. (Photo deleted a request of photographer)

Smart Growth Financing

ParkLoans 75% Below Market Rate!

From the NJ Environmental Infrastructure website:

To encourage development in urban areas and preserve open space, the Environmental Financing Program (EIFP) offers a special low-rate loan for qualifying Smart Growth projects. The current rate is only 1.07%!

Under a regular EIFP loan, 50 percent of the loan is from zero interest State Revolving Funds and 50 percent is funded through a market-rate Trust loan (50/50 split). By combining the funds, program participants’ loans are half the market rate.

Basement Bed Ban Bugs Buyers

Many buyers have asked us to only show them homes with finished basements. If they indicate they are planning to rent them out as an extra source of income, we are honorbound to inform them that the law precludes basement living. Full baths are OK, but not full kitchens or bedroom facilities. Today's Star Ledger explains the reasons why it's becoming a major issue in NJ -- and most of the US.

When the Preferred Buyer is a Polluter

From The Times of Trenton:
HOPEWELL BOROUGH -- Brenda Goeke thought she had found the house of her dreams: a two-bedroom bungalow on a quiet street in desirable Hopewell Borough. Little did she know that her Somerset Street home was sitting on millions of gallons of polluted groundwater that could take decades to clean up.

Now Goeke, along with neighbors of the former Rockwell Industries plant that polluted the land, want the company to buy out their homes because they charge that the contamination has turned their slice of bucolic Mercer County into a worthless investment that no one will want to buy -- at least not for years to come.

"To be quite frank, Rockwell is not going to purchase any property because it all can be fixed," said Ulrike Williams, a corporate director of Rockwell Automation. "They are newer homes and the modifications are rather simple. They can be made -- we have seen it before."

Living Neat

Our ongoing Spring Cleaning efforts have evolved into a Fall Cleaning Crusade, so we were re-inspired into action by Bloomfielder Ariane Benefit's terrific website.and blog.
From her homepage:

Why get organized?

Because getting organized improves your physical and mental health and your emotional well being!

You don't have to be perfect. Just being reasonably organized enhances your self-confidence, self-respect, and overall well being. It lowers stress and helps you find more time and energy to do the things that matter most to you, like spending time with family, pursuing creative hobbies, eating healthy, and exercising.

MIT Designs "Invisible" Floating Wind Turbines

From TreeHugger.com:
An MIT researcher has a vision: Four hundred huge offshore wind turbines are providing onshore customers with enough electricity to power several hundred thousand homes, and nobody standing onshore can see them. The trick? The wind turbines are floating on platforms a hundred miles out to sea, where the winds are strong and steady. Since the wind turbines are not permanently attached to the ocean floor, they are a movable asset. If a company with 400 wind turbines serving the Boston area needs more power for New York City, it can unhook some of the floating turbines and tow them south.

Today's offshore wind turbines usually stand on towers driven deep into the ocean floor. But that arrangement works only in water depths of about 15 meters or less. Proposed installations are therefore typically close enough to shore to arouse strong public opposition.

Paul D. Sclavounos, a professor of mechanical engineering and naval architecture, has spent decades designing and analyzing large floating structures for deep-sea oil and gas exploration. Observing the wind-farm controversies, he thought, "Wait a minute. Why can't we simply take those windmills and put them on floaters and move them farther offshore, where there's plenty of space and lots of wind?"

Fun Time for Buyers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home sales slowed and a key measure of prices fell for the first time in 11 years last month, spurred by the biggest glut of new homes on the market in more than a decade, an industry group said Monday.

The National Association of Realtors report on existing home sales showed that the median home price in August was $225,000, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier. It was the first year-over-year decline in median prices since April 1995, when that measure slipped only 0.1 percent. And it was the biggest year-over-year drop since the record 2.1 percent decline recorded in November 1990, when the nation was in recession.

While month-over-month declines in prices are not uncommon, year-over-year decreases in prices are a more serious sign of a slumping housing market. Even in other recessions, home prices generally have risen year-over-year on a national basis. The median price is the point at which half the homes sell for more and half sell for less....

The downward pressure on prices came from the record inventory of homes on the market in August. The group said there were 3.9 million homes on the market, up 38 percent from a year earlier. That gave the market a 7.5-month supply of homes, also up sharply from the 4.7-month supply available in August 2005, and the average 4.3-month supply throughout 2004.

The last time the group estimated a 7.5 month supply was April 1993.

Woody Bites the Buzz Saw

BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C.,) -- Over the past six months, landowners here have been clear-cutting thousands of trees to keep them from becoming homes for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
The red-cockaded woodpecker was once abundant in the vast longleaf pine forests that stretched from New Jersey to Florida, but now numbers as few as 15,000. Continue reading from AOL news(Click on headline):

Blowin' In the Wind

From the Star Ledger

Windy Acres: Of bobolinks and lawsuits

Say "Windy Acres" to a certain set of people -- land-use planners, environmentalists, builders and the like -- and it doesn't only conjure an image of 292 undeveloped acres of rolling Hunterdon County farmland close to Route 78. It's become much more than that.

Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club calls Windy Acres "the poster child for suburban sprawl."

Mike Disler, president of the Metro New York/New Jersey Division of Pulte Homes, which owns the property and would like to turn it into a mix of senior and low-cost housing, calls it "the poster child for why there is an affordability crisis in housing in this state."

And so it goes in a saga that began in 1985 and has become one of the longest-running development disputes in the state. It's a conflict between developers and environmentalists; between municipalities and the requirements mandated by state's Council on Affordable Housing; and, above all else, the conflict in this crowded state over what has long been our most limited resource: open land.
...
The Cliff's Notes version of the dispute goes like this: In 1985, Windy Acres owner Irving Hilsenroth proposed building an office park there. In 1987, the Clinton Township Planning Board rejected the proposal and rezoned Windy Acres residential, deciding it was an ideal site to help fulfill the town's affordable housing quota as required under the state Supreme Court's landmark Mount Laurel ruling.

In 1995, Hilsenroth returned, proposing a 1,140-unit mix of single-family homes, townhomes and low-cost units. In 1997, he partnered with Pulte Homes, a Michigan-based developer that, with nearly $15 billion in revenue last year, is the nation's largest home builder.
...
By 1999, Pulte -- which eventually bought the property from Hilsenroth for $13.6 million -- had gained general approval for building 1,019 units, scaling down the size slightly to give some of the protected species on the land -- like the turtles -- enough buffer zone.

But soon Pulte had a lot more than a few turtles to worry about. The town was beginning to mobilize politically against Windy Acres, which was projected to increase the number of households in town by 30 percent.

Let the Sun Shine In!

Passaic Co. Greenways, Present and Future

Earlier this year we ran a greenway-centric map of Essex County that generated much interest. It was an intriging site utilized by planners and dreamers. Garden State Greenways is still offering of it's large format pdf county maps. Here's one of Passaic County that dramatically distinguishes north from south.

Falling oil prices bring down mortgage rates

From Inman News:

Long-term interest rates are sitting on a six-month low, the 10-year T-note at 4.75 percent and low-fee 30-year mortgages at 6.5 percent. The reasons that these rates are so low are not the widely advertised pre-recession or housing collapse.

Aside from improving the inflation outlook, the big drop in energy costs will relieve household budgets. As is, consumption has not faltered much: August retail sales were forecast to decline and instead rose.

Housing is slowing, no question, its past stimulus fading to nil, but housing trouble will not exert drag unless waves of foreclosures result in a price spiral. The newest foreclosure and loan-delinquency data do not support the scare headlines, and there is widespread misunderstanding about the process of a housing slowdown.

Due Diligence on Potential Environmental Issues

As a result of our recent adventures with NJ's Sunshine Law, we've been looking into some interesting legal sites dealing with NJ issues. One of the more interesting ones is NJlawblog.com which recently posted a followup to the Day Care/mercury scare:

"Raymond Papperman, Chair of the Environmental Law Group, was featured in Don't Buy an Eco-liability Nightmare in the August 28 issue of NJBIZ magazine. It discusses the recent discovery of New Jersey day care center that had been unknowingly operating on the site of a former thermometer factory. The day care had to close after high levels of mercury were found in the air and the water.

Papperman said, "The biggest thing you can do is due diligence. If DEP is satisfied you've done all you can do, you are protected from future claims." The article goes on to discuss steps businesses need to take to find out about a property's past and the possibilities of environmental contamination."

First suburbs' are finding strength in numbers

Coalition initiative aims to focus public and government attention on their problems

They are described as the "first suburbs," towns that sprang up along the borders of New Jersey's cities in the past century and a half.

They include Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair, West Orange, East Orange, Maplewood, Rahway, Franklin, Parsippany and over 90 others. Half of the state's population lives in these towns or in the neighboring cities.

Most are fully developed and tax-stressed. Their school systems are financially strained, their housing, roads and sewers are aging, their business districts fading and their population is becoming increasingly diverse racially and economically.

What they do not have, in the view of people who want to see these towns prosper, is one voice. A voice that can shout for the attention of the state and federal government and business.

continue reading from the Star Ledger:

You CAN Tape City Hall

Martin O'Shea



We were always under the impression that members of the public are entitled to videotape public meetings but last night yours truly was stopped mid-frame by Bloomfield Planning Board Chairman, Alan LaQuaglia. Board attorney Michael Rubin gave no legal basis for his ruling so we wondered if there were any precedents. Is it ever possible with or without prior permission?
We queried Martin O'Shea, New Jersey's Guru on Sunshine laws, and received a fast response:
"Bottom line: We all have an absolute right to videotape every public meeting in the state. The source of the information in the attached is the New Jersey Press Association. I think your problem can be fixed with a simple letter to the planning board lawyer."

stay tuned...

Lemon Aid

Most home owners expect to make a reasonable profit on their original investment. Most of their appreciation potential is dictated by market economics, but many discover to late that other unanticipated factors have turned their property into a 'Lemon."

"Brokers say apartments with tenants living in them, particularly messy tenants, are hard to sell, as are those owned by divorcing couples when one spouse is not in favor of moving and attempts to sabotage everything from showings (like canceling them at the last minute or loitering on the premises) to appraisals (pointing out the apartment’s every fault).

Overly customized apartments (“I’ve seen stuff like bathroom tiles bearing the faces of the owner’s kids,” Mr. Miller said) or overly improved apartments (a glorious renovation in a rundown building) do not fare well...."
Continued from Sunday's NY Times on When Deals Go Sour.

Crowds Panic as Flood Threatens Ireland

Dead Enders

Since their introduction in the 1920's cul de sacs have been synonymous with suburban planning. Finally the pushback has begun.

"Homeowners found that the cul-de-sac limited traffic, creating a sense of privacy, while encouraging ties among neighbors, who could hardly avoid one another. Developers liked the cul-de-sac because it made it possible to build on land unsuited to a grid street pattern and because home buyers were willing to pay a premium to live on one.

Now the cul-de-sac is excoriated in certain quarters, especially by New Urbanists, as a detriment to security, community and efficient transportation."

From The NY Times comes: Why Some Towns Place Roadblocks on Cul-de-Sacs
By Carla Baranuckus

from The Democratic Daily:

Residents of New Orleans gathered Monday night for a candlelight vigil with 1600 candles to commemorate those who lost their lives after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina nearly one year ago in New Orleans. Those who gathered to remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina shared “tears and anger at the officials who abandoned tens of thousands to the chaos and whose bureaucratic bungling continues to complicate reconstruction efforts.”

River's Risin'

So it has been raining most of the past few days and nights. As nearby rivers rise and fall, it's good to know you can keep track of flood dangers from the comfort of your computer connection. For real-time half-hourly updates on the status of your favorite neighborhood stream, click here.

Up In Smoke

Study calls Jersey a taxing place to call home

From Monday's Ledger:
New Jersey's reputation as a tax hell just got worse.

The $1.9 billion worth of tax increases in the state's new budget represents a 5 percent increase over last year, far outpacing any other state, according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislators.

New Jersey now has the highest state sales tax, tied with three other states, at 7 percent. Its cigarette tax now leads in the nation. And, of course, this all comes on top of the nation's highest average property taxes.

It's no wonder people like Donley Kuendel are thinking of leaving.

"The quality of life is going down about as fast as taxes are going up," said Kuendel, 50, of Atlantic Highlands. He and his wife are looking at houses in Delaware, where there is no sales tax, no income tax and property taxes are relatively low.

The National Conference of State Legislatures report found the national trend is toward keeping state tax increases at a minimum, or even cutting them. South Carolina and Texas this year raised taxes a little more than 1 percentage point; five states (Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming) cut taxes by more than a penny on each dollar.
The bulk of New Jersey's tax increase came in the sales tax, which -- after a battle that temporarily shut down state government before lawmakers agreed on the $30.8 billion spending plan -- was raised from 6 percent to 7 percent. That puts New Jersey in a four-way tie with Mississippi, Rhode Island and Tennessee for the highest state sales tax rate. (California charges 7.25 percent, but 1 percent goes to municipalities.)

The new $2.575 per-pack tax on cigarettes puts New Jersey ahead of all other states, although California voters will be asked this fall whether to raise that state's tax to $3.47.

There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.

-Mary Kay Ash

Bad, Good & ...

from the Housing Blog:

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes and condominiums dropped by 4.1 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million. That was the lowest level since January 2004.

The Mortgage Bankers' Association reported another slight easing in mortgage rates, though as Calculated Risk noted, the stats look anemic in light of last year's performance. Still, rates are still tremendously low, and this might encourage shaky buyers to give it a whirl.

Whose Woods?

We found this recent creative contribution on fark.com. One of Fark's favorite features is it's Photoshop challenge. No clues as to where the background was taken, but it, along with many of the 80+ other variations submitted could conceivably have been inspired by a trip to the Liongate area referenced below.

New Flood Rules Could Anger Builders

From Today's Star Ledger:

Building along the state’s rivers and streams would become significantly more difficult under sweeping new environmental regulations announced today in Trenton. In an effort to reduce flood risks, Gov. Jon Corzine proposed doubling or tripling existing no-development zones on most of the state’s waterways.

The rules would increase buffers on 80 percent of the state’s rivers and streams, to as much as 300 feet in some cases. The other 20 percent, previously dubbed the most pristine, are already protected by 300-foot buffers.

The proposal was welcomed by environmentalists but is sure to anger builders and property owners, who would be unable to build on the property within the buffers and would not necessarily be eligible for any compensation.

Regulations to implement the proposal could be introduced as early as today and could be enacted after a public comment period without legislative approval.

This could have a major effect on some long delayed developments such as these.

You Blew It.com

What do you do if your house has been on the market for several months with no serious offers? Suppose the office manager refuses to do more open houses until the price comes down to his predetermined level? You can try going over his head to a corporate exec., Or maybe The Broker? How about the CEO?
Jake Freivald considered all his options before asking to be let out of the listing agreement for his West Orange home. Rather that hiring a lawyer, Freivold and family have taken their case to the court of public opinion with an website that has attracted national attention as a detailed case study of how home marketing and customer service can go astray.
He's included his own active forum for comments, but The Northern NJ Real Estate Bubble has picked up the story with an even more intense discussion of the ethical issues involved.

Through Green Colored Glasses

Rates Slip for Fourth Straight Week

Freddie Mac released the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.52 percent with an average 0.3 point for the week ending August 17, 2006, down from last week's average of 6.55 percent. By contrast the 30-year FRM averaged 6.80 percent four weeks ago. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.80 percent.

Bites for Heights

Inspired by the late Johnny Cochran's success with OJ, Rick Bishop(AICP), a California planner, has some poetic suggestions at plaetizen.com for his colleagues when they testify in public: The idea is to come up with a short sound bite that gets repeated:

"Have a City Council that is sprawl-oriented? Hey, 'It's no offense to approve something dense.' Conversely, is the Council approving too many units? Try 'Stop the propensity for an intensity of density.'

Having trouble getting a planning commission to understand the complex nature of granting a height variance? Try "If it doesn't reduce sight, the new height is alright.' "
Since most local officials will not bother reading their stacks of paperwork, the bottom line should be a rhyme.

Tea Party at Town Hall

(top photo: construction of Newark sewer system c.1880)
From Sewer taxes to WayFaring Signs, Montclair taxpayers feel too much of their tax dollars are going down the drain. Tonight they have planned to announce g their own tax revolt at their Town Council meeting.
Overseen by the Montclair Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), the estimated $500,000 to $750,000 sign project will be funded through a several-year period.

After designing her own protest signs, community activist Pegi Adams continues to plead her case on both Baristanetnj and The Watercooler:

"On July 24, 2006, I attended the town council meeting during which the municipal government authorized the execution of an agreement with Cloud Gehshan Associates for the design of the program. However, the resolution does not include either a dollar amount or a recipient of the amount. Does this mean the council is making an agreement with no dollar amount?

When I called town offices this morning, neither the town purchasing department nor the clerk's office knew if the contract had been "fully executed", nor did they know what department would be in charge of executing it. makes you wonder who knows what down there, doesn't it? "

Condos Converting Back to Apartments

From Forbes:
Condos Cool Off, Apartments Heat Up

"Home ownership has been relatively strong, but we're seeing the downturn now," says Celia Chen, director of housing research at Economy.com. "We've seen strong demand for housing that was only partly supported by underlying factors.
...
The rental market is in the sweet spot, says Michael Cohen, research strategist at Boston-based Property & Portfolio Research, an independent real estate research and advisory firm. "Vacancies are at 5.8% across the 54 major markets that we cover," he says. "That's the lowest they've been since the third quarter of 2001."
...
Cohen believes that trend will start to reverse as sales slow, which will in turn lead to converters returning units they had expected to sell as condos back to the rental market. High land prices, which in many markets have precluded construction of just about any property type other than condos, will also start to ease and facilitate rental development.

Green Grow the High Rises

"They are not yet as ubiquitous as the Toyota Prius, the hybrid car popular among the ecologically minded, but “green” apartment buildings have begun popping up around Manhattan."
Continue reading in Sunday's NY Times:

NJ Leads Way to Saving Energy

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program™ puts the power to control energy and save money right where it should be – in your hands. Here are some ways you can do it:

Rebates on energy-efficient room air conditioners and central air conditioners/heat pumps that will keep you cool this summer.

A simple online energy audit of your home that enables you to find ways to cut your energy usage every month and save.

Rebates on solar energy systems so you can generate your own electricity - making you more self-reliant.

Direct installation of energy-efficient measures and more for income-eligible households.

Rethinking Land Use Policies

OUT: New Single-family homes.
IN: More two-family zones and garage apartments.
Our Land-Use braintrust is thinking out of the box.

From todays NY Times:

It also said that states and towns should move away from their traditional use of property tax revenues to finance public education — a practice that has encouraged many towns to exclude certain types of lower-cost housing, like apartments, and certain groups, like lower-income families, thought to consume more in school costs than they pay in taxes.

“We don’t have the land for development, we don’t have the highway capacity for suburban development, and issues of congestion and the loss of open space are becoming more important to people in suburban communities,” said Christopher Jones, vice president for research at the Regional Plan Association. “We really do need a different approach if we’re going to provide the housing for what’s estimated to be three to four million people over the next 25 years.”

Linden May be Model for Clean Energy Farm

From the center of one of the most pollution prone areas of NJ may come a fossil fuel free energy center:

From today's Star Ledger:
City officials are considering developing its former landfill as one of New Jersey's first energy farms, where windmills, solar panels and methane gas would generate electricity.

Pod Pad

The original idea was to accomodate music festival lovers who don’t like camping. You can leave the waterlogged camping to the students and rest up in relative luxury after a hard day’s partying in a Travelodge ‘Travelpod.’ Made from clear poly-carbonate glass, these mobile hotel rooms are 18 feet long, 7 feet wide and 8 feet high and comes complete with a double bed, bedside tables, lights, duvet, pillows, a dressing table, mirror, chair and toilet.
The Travelpod is still at trial stage, though Travelodge officials expect to charge a very budget price of $50 per night.
We can also imagine a potential market for backyard guest rooms.

Property Tax Increases Far Outpace Income Growth in Metro NY Region

It may not surprise many, but the NY Times latest study of property tax increases in the area really brings it home.

Property taxes grew two to three times faster than personal income from 2000 to 2004 in the suburbs surrounding New York City, a sharp reversal from the 1990’s,

Butterfly Type

This is one of our favorite new interactive websites. These are all letters made from closeups of butterfly wings photographed by one of the world's leading nature photographers, Kjell Sandved. It took him 24 years to complete this project--without harming the butterflies. Anyone can send e-cards for free(click on the title), but you will be encouraged to by photographs and posters as well.

Too Darn Hot

Whether you agree or disagree with Al Gore's case for Global Warming, Thursday's free webcast will offer a unique opportunity to discuss and debate the issue.
Be Our Guest For An Exclusive Webcast On Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth
 
> Date: Thursday, August 3rd
> Time: 7:00PM - 8:00PM EST
> 
Ellis College would like to invite you to attend a
 FREE, exclusive webcast on Al Gore's controversial
 and topical film, An Inconvenient Truth. Led by
award-winning faculty professor, noted-author and a
 member of the Indiana Academy of Sciences, Josh
 Dobkins, this webcast will provide a unique view of
 this highly debated topic and an exciting open forum
 for discussing, analyzing and debating the
conclusions brought forth in the film. You are
 encouraged to view the film prior to the webcast. Don't miss your oportunity to be a part of this
 thought-provoking event. Register today!
 How To Register- Register for your FREE Ellis College guest pass
 by clicking on the Free Guest Pass links on the Ellis College Homepage at
 http://ellis.nyit.edu/
 - Click the GO box on the appropriate webcast to
 begin the transmission. 
 We Hope To Welcome You As A Member Of Our Online
 CommunityQuestions? 800-405-5844
Here are a few faq's on Global Warming courtesy The Union of Concerned Scientists: