Correction
In a Bayonne Community News story titled “Festival of Lights,” the children singing were not from Temple Emanu-El as indicated, but from the Lauren Wendroff Early Enrichment Program at the Bayonne Jewish Community Center.
Mayor’s Tuesday evening hours suspended for holidays
Bayonne’s Office of the Mayor announced that Mayor Mark A. Smith’s Tuesday evening office hours will be suspended during the holiday season. Those hours will not take place on Dec. 21, Dec. 28, and Jan. 4. Smith’s Tuesday evening office hours will resume on Jan. 11, 2011, at 5:30 p.m.
Prosecutor sues county for release of funds
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a legal action against the Hudson County Executive Office, demanding the release of funds already in the 2010 county budget.
Prosecutor Ed DeFazio said the money is in the budget, but that the County Administration will not release it.
DeFazio said the funds would be used partially to give non-union workers in his office a 2.5 percent raise.
“We’ll even have money left over to give back to the county at the end of the year,” he said. “We believe in efficiency, which is why we have the money.”
County Executive Tom DeGise, while praising the work of the Prosecutor’s Office, said that the county’s non-union employees have a wage freeze, and that the prosecutor’s move to give non-union workers in the Prosecutor’s Office a raise would set a bad precedent. Non-union workers in other departments have not received a wage increase in three years, and will not receive one this year, DeGise said.
Cunningham legislation would curb `redlining’ by banks
Legislation sponsored by Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham to use incentives to encourage banks to operate in traditionally underserved areas – which can be considered financially unattractive to the institutions – was approved today by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
Approval of the bill comes after the sudden closure earlier this year of a Bank of America branch in Jersey City, which left residents – many who walked or took public transportation to perform banking needs – without access to a local, established financial institution. The HUB shopping center on Martin Luther King Drive, where the branch was located, was apparently considered undesirable by the company.
“Losing a local bank can be extremely detrimental to a community,” Cunningham said. “Often times, residents are forced to use check cashing stores, which charge exorbitant fees for basic banking services, and businesses are left with nowhere to turn for one-on-one support for their financial needs. This legislation will give banks a reason to stay in underserved areas to provide the critical banking services that should be available in all communities.”
The goal of the bill (S-2286) is to incentivize banks to locate in low-income areas, where they often do not enter because the neighborhoods do not have enough money to make the locations as financially attractive as others. To do this, the legislation would establish, within the Department of Banking and Insurance, a Banking Development District Program to create a banking district in communities with few or no financial institutions. Banks within the district would be eligible to hold State Treasury funds, and municipalities, by resolution, would be permitted to select a depository within the banking district to hold its municipal deposits. Ultimately, this would help to boost profitability of the branches.
“Many New Jerseyans take their local bank for granted,” said Cunningham. “For others, their financial choices are limited to check-cashing storefronts or banks located far from their homes. Not only should we be promoting sound financial practices among all residents, but these new banks can create new job opportunities in the communities where they locate.”
The bill is part of the recently unveiled “Back to Work N.J.” legislative initiative to create jobs and promote the state as a better place for business.
Ronald McDonald House offers high school scholarships
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State area is awarding over $400,000 in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors. The application can be down loaded at http://www.rmhc.org or be obtained by called 1-866-3994
RMHC and its local chapters provide aid to outstanding graduating high school students who cannot afford the cost of a college education. The scholarships are distributed based on demonstration of academic achievement, financial need, and community involvement.
The scholarships are given out in four areas for students with Asian, African-American/Caribbean, and Latino heritage and a fourth category all students can apply for.
“The RHMC U.S. Scholarship Program focuses on supporting students from communities with limited access to educational and career opportunities by providing the appropriate tools to aid their success,” said Gerald McCoy, president of the Tri-State chapters.