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Guardian Angels are looking for new recruits

January 20, 2011 by

Camden, NJ police officers are turning in their badges this week. Due to steep budget cuts and reduced state aid the city is facing a huge deficit. The state has approved the layoff of 300 public workers including half of the police force and one-third of the city’s firefighters. Considering its small population of 70,000, Camden City has the 2nd highest crime rate in the US. They come 2nd to Detroit.

Several years ago the State of New Jersey took over running the school district due to corruption, reporting discrepancies and stealing from administrators. The police force already deals with a crime rate 5 times higher than the national average. Criminals taunt them, knowing their presence isn’t intimidating.

The Guardian Angels are putting the word out that they will be present in Camden. The patrols started this weekend and they will be the voice for the people. Members from as far as Chicago and Connecticut traveled to band together and keep the streets safe. The Camden Police have “unofficially” welcomed the support. Hopefully they can ease the burden put on the remaining officers.

Just a few blocks away is Adventure Aquarium, a state of the art aquarium that houses a Stingray Beach, 2 African Hippos, more than 500,000 gallons of shark and much more. I wonder how much state and government aid it took to renovate a couple years back.  $10 billion in equipment, transport, tools and weapons have gone unaccounted for in the Iraq War. Our government is spending money to send our troops to keep citizens of OTHER countries safe.

The city is in trouble and has been for a long time. With a history of corrupt mayors and government officials the rest of the country has turned their back on them. The community is passed the “in danger” title. Camden is crumbling around the people who live there. Streets and streets of boarded up homes and businesses, drug dealers working in plain sight of children and city officials and over 50% of the community living below the poverty level leaves this city with no way out.

We’ve bailed out the banks and auto manufacturers; we’ve given assistance to those unable to make their mortgage payments. When do we save our cities and the people who are struggling to survive in these situations? How do we protect those unable to protect themselves when you chop down the police and fire presence in an already impoverished community?
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A Perfect Beach Day

September 27, 2010 by

Our weekend was spent “down the shore” thanks to Rob’s participation in Bike MS City to Shore. We greeted him at the finish line and immediately headed to the beach.  The weather was gorgeous; the sun was shining and there was a great breeze as we got closer and closer to the boardwalk.  I figured the water would be too cold this time of year but brought the sand toys for the kids to play and build and dig.
It only took Shaun a couple minutes and he was in the surf.  The day was perfect.




Do You Think This Will Help?

April 13, 2010 by

I grew up in Southern New Jersey when you could get your learners permit at the age of 16 but it doesn’t seem to be that way anymore.

New Jersey is one of 23 states with a graduated license system, where new drivers under the age of 21 are required to have a probationary license for a 12 month period which grants restricted privileges. Some things probationary drivers are limited to is a curfew between the hours of 11 PM and 5AM and how many passengers are allowed to be in the vehicle.

Today I saw that a new driving law will be going into effect in the state of New Jersey beginning May 1st. Probationary drivers less than 21 years of age must affix a removable red sticker to the upper left corner of the license plate that can be taken off. Dubbed Kyleigh’s Law after Kyleigh D’Alessio, a New Jersey 16-year-old who was killed by a driver on a probationary license. This law requires the driver pay $4 for the sticker that is required through the 12 month probationary period. If caught without the sticker a $100 fine can be assessed. The sticker also gives police probable cause to search the drivers’ vehicle.

I am not sure if I am for or against this law. I am trying to figure out how the red sticker makes the roads any safer. The only way I see the sticker being useful is if the driver is caught driving after 11pm and before 5am. Other then that I feel the stinker is going to be a form of profiling by police and by other drivers. Everyone is going to know what a red stinker on the drivers’ license plate means and I feel this could be used against the driver in forms of road rage and other angry actions. How is a red sticker keeping accidents from occurring? I feel that this is just another way for the state of NJ to collect more fees at the DMV.

Do you feel this will help avoid accidents in any way?  Will this make the roads safer?  What are your thoughts?




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