Herman Cain has now put his Presidential aspirations on hold. I find this appalling.  This situation rings as totally unfair; Herman did pay Gloria White off for his peccadilloes. Is there no honor among sinners? Of course, his explanation that they were just friends and that he was innocently helping her with her fiscal difficulties totally explains why she would come forth at this time to embarrass him.  Obviously, next time, he has to up the ante; i.e. the sum he paid was insufficient for the...

Election 2011 is here.  Special focus on education. VOTERS RULE! (1) Fort Lee residents must go to the polls, please VOTE! It is the responsibility of each citizen to assume this responsibility granted in our Constitution. You forfeit the right to complain about conditions in your community when you fail to vote. (2) Please take the time to evaluate the candidates; the future of Fort Lee is at stake. (3) There have been major drives around the U.S. regarding term limi...

On Monday night, there was a candidates’ debate, sponsored by the Fort Lee Homeowners’ Association, and held at the Lewis F. Cole Middle School.  The usual rhetoric permeated the room, with each candidate throwing barbs at the opposition. Note:  To clarify the record, so there are no misunderstandings, I believe that I am a registered Democrat! However, it was so long ago, I might have registered with the Whig Party. I do have one radical belief; I prefer to vote for the best cand...

If the Fort Lee educational system did not have enough issues, one of our most vicious issues is the poor reimbursements from the State of NJ. As a result of the Abbott Decision, Fort Lee is one of many suburban districts that literally get “ripped off” in terms of educational funding. The average expenditure per Fort Lee Student per year is $16,232, while in Newark, it is $22,000 and in Asbury Park the absurd figure of $26,782. For that price, it would be cheaper to ship students from these com...

When Erik Wander, Editor of the Fort Lee Patch, graciously granted me the opportunity to blog, it opened my eyes to the world of Fort Lee, its issues and its diverse population. But outside of blogging professionally, I had never considered writing local commentary. In researching blogging, I found four types of blogging:  (1) personal opinions; (2) interviews with community officials and V.I.P.’s; (3) blogging on personal life; and (4) public service announcements of activities in your communit...

In the wake of the Casey Anthony case, it might be prudent to do a little self reflection in terms of parental responsibility. It is fair to say that a large majority of the public believed that Casey Anthony was guilty of murdering her daughter, Caylee. Even if she was innocent, it is unlikely that she will be considered the national role model for an outstanding parent. Fort Lee is a large town, but a small community. In the past three months, there have been two frightening incidents regar...

It is probably difficult for many residents of Fort Lee to see how Roger Clemens relates to our community.  But, in reality, his trial affects every community in the United States. Roger Clemens was a superstar ball player for many years.  He has numerous Cy Young awards and All-Star appearances.  But when you cut to the chase, he is an athlete, no more, no less!  He may or may not have used steroids; I’m not certain I really care.  He is not a violent criminal; I do not believe our community...

In 2009, the Class of 2013 matriculated to Fort Lee High School from the Lewis F. Cole Middle School.  The total number of students in this class was 287 according to one website.  At the end of the freshman year, it came to my attention that more than 40% of the students in this freshman class had had at least one failing grade in their freshman year.   I found this information to be extremely disconcerting.  Additionally, as a result of this academic lapse, I learned that the BOE had rescinded...

As a coach involved in three sports (baseball; soccer; basketball) in Fort Lee over the last ten years, I have watched crazy coaches (myself included) and overzealous parents. I have endured parents who believe that community sports programs are a babysitting service, where they drop their children off, go shopping and come back to pick them up at the end of the game or practice. As a little league coach, I even had one parent forget about her son on two occasions and fail to pick him up; I had ...

As I was picking up some milk from a local deli on Main Street, it was difficult not to cringe at all the empty stores on the block.  I glanced at the empty Blimpies and realized how much this town really needed that store.  The owners weren’t really that nice, but the sandwiches were pretty good and very reasonably priced.  There used to be a Kosher Deli on the block, but that is long gone. Sally Ling’s is now closed, but we still have the China Star. Callahan’s is long gone, but Hiram’s remain...