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Governor keeps NJBMDA treasurer's son Super Bowl promise
The Star-Ledger
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What an amazing story about the family of David Bernstein, who owns Mid-State Lumber in Bridgewater and is treasurer of the NJBMDA. Weeks ago, Gov. Chris Christie had promised his 10-year-old son, Adam, would be the governor's guest at a celebration — in New Jersey — should the Giants win the Super Bowl. And true to his word, VIP seats were reserved for the Bernsteins at the rally in the Meadowlands two days after the Super Bowl, The Star-Ledger reported. The precocious fifth-grader won the honor by asking Christie at a town hall meeting in Bridgewater a question he and his dad designed to appeal to the governor's frequent boast that the only thing New York about a team that plays, trains and lives in New Jersey is the "NY" on their helmets.
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State unemployment trust could get back to black
NJBMDA
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STATEWIDE — Maybe it is a sign the economy could finally be rebounding: State officials think the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund could be back in the black by the end of this year. In recent years, state lawmakers have annually pillaged the unemployment fund to balance the state budget, ultimately requiring a $2.1 billion bail-out by the feds. Other reasons the fund could be replenished: Rules to collect have gotten stricter, employers are kicking in more dough and many people have exhausted their benefits, yet are still without a job.
What will $26 billion mortgage deal mean for the state?
NJBMDA
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STATEWIDE — Lots of chatter lately about the estimated $838 million flowing into New Jersey as part of a $26 billion national settlement with five major mortgage companies. The largest chunk of cash to the state would be a projected $660 million for homeowners trying to stave off foreclosure by one of these banks. But with more than 250,000 loans in New Jersey in dire arrears, will this cash make a real difference? And, for desperate people living paycheck to paycheck, when, exactly, will they see some relief?
After you read the port audit, don't forget to pay your tolls
NJBMDA
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BRIDGES & TUNNELS — Is there any surprise that an auditor's report shows the Port Authority is spending money like crazy? This independent review was made, after the Port Authority hiked bridge and tunnel tolls, again, last year. Auditors are calling for a "top-to-bottom overhaul of its management structure" and blamed the agency for billions of billions in cost overruns. Auditors were particularly aghast with the World Trade Center redevelopment costs — running $3.8 billion more than the estimate in 2008. Meanwhile, shut up and pay your tolls.
Small town, big sick leave pay
NJBMDA
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LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — A bill introduced to finally curtail public employees from banking gobs of sick leave has the perfect poster boy: an assistant to the police chief in Little Egg Harbor — due $121,000. The Asbury Park Press says the assistant, who rose up the ranks from a police dispatcher in 1973, quietly accumulated $95,756 in unused sick time, $12,783 in unused vacation time, $11,841 in comp time and $1,009 in unused personal time. (Personal time?) The small town plans to shell out the cash over time, rather than be stuck with one huge payment
Now it's easier to gamble away the rent
NJBMDA
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ATLANTIC CITY — A new generation of gamblers doesn't really have the time to sit at tables, roll dice, hold cards or pull a lever. In a world where instant gratification takes way too long, state legislation is moving forward that would allow casino dwellers to make bets on hand-held devices. So, they can tweet, text, post and lose $100 — all within five seconds.
Tax cut chatter getting louder
NJBMDA
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TRENTON — Lots of talk these days about tax relief in Trenton. The Governor keeps hyping his 10 percent income tax cut for all New Jerseyans, while the Democrats are demanding their prime constituents — the middle class — get some tax relief. But the Bergen Record reports it could all be hot air, as the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services is worried if the state has the cash to balance the budget — as it is required to do. Total tax revenues were about $325 million, or 3 percent, short of projections through the first six months of the budget year, the newspaper reported. Not the best timing for politicians to be hyping tax cuts.
Ground broken for West Deptford power plant
Courier-Post
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 Before the first shovel of ceremonial dirt was tossed by dignitaries, word came that the long-delayed LS Power project will have its production capacity expanded. The West Deptford Energy Station is designed as a combined-cycle electric generation facility, fueled by natural gas.
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OSHA fines Jersey City construction company $46,000
The Jersey Journal
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Jersey City company Clara Construction has been fined more than $46,000 by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged safety violations at a local work site, the agency announced. The company's Jersey City work site had 10 serious safety violations and one repeat violation, OSHA said.
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Newark to break ground on long-awaited Teachers Village
The Star-Ledger
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Elected officials, real estate developers and international investors will gather in the heart of downtown Newark to break ground on the city's most ambitious project since the Prudential Center. Teachers Village is a nearly $150-million mixed-use development between the Prudential Center and University Heights.
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PLM offers a safety group dividend plan for the NJBMDA dealer members. For more information on this program contact us at 800.752.1895 or at info@plmins.com. MORE
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ENAP's membership is composed of independent retail lumber dealers located throughout the entire East Coast and expanding west of the Mississippi River.
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Wood industry has reasons to cheer mortgage settlement
Woodworking Network
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For cabinetry makers, closets shops, custom furniture and wood crafters and architectural millwork businesses using home equity for funding, the recent $26 billion mortgage relief deal will help on two fronts: an improved housing market, and restored home equity for woodworking businesses.
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Pearson leases space at Hoboken waterfront center
City Biz Real Estate
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Pearson has signed a lease at SJP Properties' corporate center, the final site within Hoboken's 26-acre waterfront, mixed-use master plan. The 14-story office building will be designed as the state's only waterfront LEED Silver Certified office development. The development will create more than 600 construction jobs.
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Audit: Port Authority 'dysfunctional,' construction costs run amuck
The Star-Ledger
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a "challenged and dysfunctional organization" in need of a complete overhaul of its management structure, according to an audit of the agency. At the same time, the audit said, the authority has allowed the overall cost of the World Trade Center redevelopment project to balloon from an estimated $11 billion to nearly $15 billion since 2008.
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Lumber outlook improving
The Register-Guard
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The national wood products market is looking up "a bit," thanks in part to construction of multifamily housing and to China's hunger for lumber, industry analysts say. Most analysts predict the demand for new single-family houses will increase nationally in 2012. The annual 2011 single-family housing start figures were a disappointment, with the lowest number on record.
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Building slump cuts lumber demand, hurts state's nursery sales
Press of Atlantic City
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Between evenly spaced rows of plants that stretch away from Back Neck Road in Fairfield Township, workers at Halka Nurseries uprooted old trees and set them on fire. Halka is one of many companies with huge fields of trees and shrubs in Cumberland County, a place where more plant nursery products are produced than in most states.
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