State commission re-examining Panasonic tax credits
Pleas from Secaucus officials and Hartz Mountain Industries asking the state to rescind $102.4 million in tax credits to Panasonic may be having an effect.
Less than a month after New Jersey’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) approved $102.4 million in tax credits to Panasonic if the company moves from Secaucus to Newark, the EDC has agreed to take a second look at whether the state’s Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program pits municipalities against one another.
Panasonic, the multi-billion-dollar company that has called Secaucus home since 1974, is considering a move elsewhere, and is weighing tax incentive options in several cities, including Newark, Brooklyn, Chicago, and sites in California. Given the possibility that Panasonic might pack up and move more than 800 jobs out of state, EDA last month approved the tax credits through the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program, in an effort to keep the company in New Jersey. The program gives tax credits to certain companies that employ at least 250 full-time workers and build or rent office space in or near nine designated urban transit communities. Newark is among the nine designated urban transit hubs, Secaucus is not.
But Secaucus officials and Hartz, Panasonic’s current landlord, believe the tax incentives offered to the company have placed the town in a losing competition with Newark for Panasonic’s affections.
Last week the EDC agreed to have attorneys review the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit to gauge the fairness of the program.
On Tuesday evening the Secaucus Town Council passed a resolution objecting to the use of the tax credit to encourage intrastate relocations.
Hudson County Bar Foundation to offer scholarships to law students
The Hudson County Bar Foundation will award scholarships to students who are attending law school or who have been accepted to law school for the September 2011 to May 2012 term.
The Hudson County Bar Foundation Scholarship Fund is one of the oldest providers of financial assistance to Hudson County law students. Esteemed members and families of the Hudson County legal community have funded these 43 scholarships.
Students must be a resident of Hudson County, must demonstrate financial need, must provide two current Letters of Recommendation, and must account for appropriate academic standards.
Interested applicants can write to the Hudson County Bar Foundation Scholarship Committee, 583 Newark Ave., Jersey City, New Jersey 07306 or call (201) 798-4708 or send an e-mail to hcba.law@verizon.net to request an application. All applications must be received on or before April 15, 2011.
CLAWS in need of volunteers
The Closter Animal Welfare Society (CLAWS) is in need of volunteers to help at their adoption centers at PetSMART locations in Secaucus and North Bergen. CLAWS volunteers help feed, clean, and socialize cats and kittens awaiting adoption. Volunteers must be at least 18 and must be able to commit to a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. For more information, please call (201) 768-0200 or visit the web site at www.clawsadopt.org. Prospective volunteers can fill out the volunteer application posted on the web site.
Meadowlands Liberty Convention & Visitors Bureau gets smart
The Meadowlands Liberty Convention & Visitors Bureau (MLCVB) has launched a new mobile website that gives visitors traveling to the region access to all of the hospitality components and attractions from the main website with an interface the bureau insists is easy to use.
The mobile website, which was developed by Mobi Manage, one of the leading developers in the travel and tourism industry, can be used by most smart phones available on the market.
“All indicators suggest that mobile web usage and advertising will overtake desktop in the coming years,” said Jim Kirkos, MLCVB President and CEO, in a release. “As the leading advocate for our region’s travel and tourism economy, it is essential that the MLCVB conveniently reaches and accommodates the maximum number of individuals interested in our region.”
The mobile website mirrors the look of the MLCVB’s website, www.mlcvb.com, ensuring familiarity and brand consistency for users. The same regional categories are featured on each site: hotels, attractions, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and transportation.
The Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors Bureau, a division of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber, is the comprehensive destination-marketing channel for travel to the metropolitan New Jersey region.