Quick reactions, Tweets follow East Coast earthquake
HUDSON COUNTY – Some Hudson County residents were scared during Tuesday’s earthquake, reporting that their office buildings shook – but others just sent out humorous quips via Twitter. And local government agencies used Twitter to get the news out about the Holland Tunnel being closed for evaluation and other information.
“At ease, Chicken Little…” Tweeted former Reporter columnist and Hoboken bartender Chris Halleron before 3 p.m.
Hobokenite Chris Manzo, star of the popular reality show Real Housewives of New Jersey, opined: “u know someone earlier today was like ‘ughhh god just give me a sign’ and now he/she wont shut up about it.”
The quake was recorded at 5.9 and was said to be centered in Virginia. It was felt shortly before 2 p.m. The Holland Tunnel was closed for evaluation soon after.
What did you see? Send photos and comments to editorial@Hudsonreporter.com.
Should Hoboken council members receive health benefits?
HOBOKEN – Council members Tim Occhipinti and Beth Mason have sponsored a resolution on the agenda for the Aug. 24 meeting that will eliminate health, vision, and dental benefits for members of the City Council.
Council members earn an annual salary of $24,130 for their part-time services, and the council president earns $26,541. Members currently receive benefits.
Councilwoman Mason herself declined in 2008 to take her council salary and benefits, but in 2009, after losing the mayoral election, she asked the council to give her her back pay and reinstate the benefits.
The resolution on the agenda states that since the positions are part time, and “part time positions usually do not provide for…benefits,” the salaries will be amended to eliminate the health, vision, and dental benefits for City Council members. The wages will remain the same under the proposed ordinance.
This is not the first time Mason and Occhipinti have attempted to cut spending in City Hall this year. Mason sponsored a resolution earlier this year that would have lowered Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s salary to $100,000. Zimmer, who earns $116,950 per year, vetoed the legislation after it passed by a 5-4 vote. However, Zimmer had started at approximately $130,000 in 2009 before she slashed her own salary.
The council – now that the majority is allied with Zimmer – is also considering returning a higher salary cap for the city attorney after Mason’s allies slashed it when they had the majority earlier this year. When the council was aligned against Zimmer, before July 1, the members voted to lower the cap on the contract of the city attorney, Mark Tabakin. His original contract, approved on Oct. 6, 2010, set his salary at “an amount not to exceed $103,500.” The council voted to lower the amount to approximately $70,000 in June. However, on the agenda this week is a resolution that would boost his salary back up to the original terms of the $103,500 contract. Corporation counsel is not a full-time position in Hoboken.
The newest resolution, which was submitted by the Zimmer administration, is being proposed “to maintain good faith and fair dealing on the city’s actions under the contract,” according to the resolution.
Police investigating shootings of four teens at JC house party
JERSEY CITY – Police are still investigating the shooting of four teens at what they said was a large house party on Union Street near West Side Avenue after midnight on Sunday.
Police encountered one bleeding teenager driving on Bergen Avenue with at least one other injured teen on the car, according to a report on NJ.com. The driver said he was taking his friends to Christ Hospital.
A total of four teens were shot, one critically, according to press reports. They were a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, an 18-year-old man, and an 18-year-old woman.
Autism benefit this weekend
HUDSON COUNTY – A classical music concert will be held at the Park United Methodist Church in Weehawken this Saturday, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. to benefit autism. The proceeds will help those on the autism spectrum to travel, discover new places, and socialize in a controlled, organized, and therapeutic setting.
For more information visit www.sensorytravelnetwork.com.
Free concert will feature best of Broadway
WEEHAWKEN – The next free concert in the “Summer Concerts on the Hudson” series will feature music from the Golden Age of Broadway. The show will take place at Lincoln Harbor Park on the Weehawken waterfront on a special day: Monday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The concert is sponsored in part by the Hudson Reporter newspapers.
This music and dance concert will be an original, one night only production and will feature some of musical theatre’s finest actors and singers including Klea Blackhurst, Ron Bohmer, Chuck Cooper (Tony Award winner – The Life) , Erin Davie (Theatre World award winner – Grey Gardens), Tari Kelly (direct from Broadway’s Anything Goes), N’Kenge, Noah Racey, John Viscardi, and the New York Song and Dance Company.
Summer Concerts on the Hudson is an eclectic program of free summer concerts presented by the non-profit Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center, Inc. (HRPAC). For more information, including the full schedule, directions, late-breaking concert news, and rain date information, please check the HRPAC web site – www.hrpac.org or call the concert info hotline at 201-716-4540.