For almost 10 years now, New Jersey lawmakers have been grappling with the issue of what to do about surprise medical bills.
They are the invoices sent by doctors and other health care providers who are not part of your insurance company’s network. So when your insurance does not cover the full amount of what they charge for their services, they come after you to pay the difference. Hence the term “balance billing.”
Continue reading TIME TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS
Radburn residents who have been battling for years to have a greater say in the governance of their planned community, gained ground earlier this month when new by-laws that would have undermined their voting rights were thrown out by the state.
The NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) on March 2 notified the Radburn Association board that amendments it approved last May were invalid because they were never filed with the county clerk, as required by state law. As a result, Radburn members get to elect four trustees to the nine-member board rather than the two that would have been allowed under the by-law changes.
Continue reading STATE INVALIDATES ANTI-DEMOCRATIC RADBURN BY-LAWS
On January 23, New Jersey Appleseed filed a complaint on behalf of Radburn United, a community group that is asking for the state’s help in preserving the voting rights of those who reside there.
Founded in 1929 as one of the first planned communities in the United States, Radburn is a private, unincorporated association within Fair Lawn, with over 3,000 people living in a mixture of single-family homes, townhouses, two-family houses, and an apartment complex.
In a process that took years, spanned three mayors and was led by an urban planner who just won a MacArthur “genius” award based, in part, on those efforts, the City of Newark overhauled its zoning laws in 2015.
It was the first such comprehensive revision in more than 50 years and was widely praised not only for the substance of the new zoning, which was based upon goals of environmental justice and accountable development, but for the open, participatory process by which it was adopted
Recently, in a move that would seem to undermine the well-thought out plan embraced just two years earlier and to contradict its participatory approach, Newark amended its zoning to increase the maximum building height in part of the Ironbound. And it allegedly did so without providing nearby residents the legally required notice. Continue reading LAWSUIT CHALLENGES IRONBOUND UPZONING
Atlantic City residents can stop worrying that the state, which took over their local government in the fall of 2016, is going to sell or lease their water system out from under them, at least in the near future.
In a statement made public on December 20, Jeffrey Chiesa, who was chosen by Governor Chris Christie to oversee the state takeover of the City, announced “the public can rest assured that the MUA [Municipal Utilities Authority] will not be privatized by the State.”
Continue reading STATE BACKS OFF EFFORT TO PRIVATIZE ATLANTIC CITY WATER SYSTEM
A report released in the past week confirms that the Trump administration policy of arresting undocumented immigrants in and around courthouses is undermining our system of justice.
When federal immigration agents swoop in and arrest undocumented immigrants while they are present in or on their way to court, it doesn’t just hurt those they sweep up, detain and deport.
The report, by Make the Road New Jersey, an immigrant advocacy group based in Elizabeth, found that such arrests, which have risen sharply since Trump took office, have created a chilling effect that is keeping people away from courts and social services.
Governor Chris Christie might be a very lame duck at this point, with only a little more than a month to go, but as he heads toward the door, he has taken a parting shot at Edward Lloyd, the environmental lawyer who is one of the longest serving members of the Pinelands Commission.
Continue reading CHRISTIE TARGETS ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE COMMISSION SEAT
Earlier this year the Trump administration jettisoned environmental rules that would have halted the use of a pesticide that has been shown to damage children’s brains. Pending state legislation that would at least do so in New Jersey hit a road block last week.
Continue reading SENATE COMMITTEE DELAYS VOTE ON BANNING DANGEROUS PESTICIDE IN NJ
If you are like me and the folks at New Jersey Appleseed and have an interest in keeping tabs on corporate crimes and other misdeeds, I have just the website for you.
The Violation Tracker database has about 300,000 entries that reflect more than $394 billion in fines and settlements. It was compiled by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First—a national group based in Washington, D.C. that describes itself as “a national policy resource center for grassroots groups and public officials, promoting corporate and government accountability in economic development and smart growth for working families.”
I voted today as I hope most of you did.
Pressing those buttons didn’t take much time but it was the culmination of a long process that began last year, with learning about the candidates, reading up on the issues and giving serious thought to the choices presented.
I fulfilled my civic duty. How I wish the state would do its part.
NJ Appleseed 