plus 4, Recent editorials from New Jersey newspapers - Fort Mill Times

Recent editorials from New Jersey newspapers - Fort Mill Times
NY Emergency teams try to rescue man from cesspool - Fresno Bee
Archive for October 2009 - The Spokesman-Review
AutoZone Gains on Q3 Street Beat as Do-It-Yourselfers Boost Auto Parts ... - Zacks.com
Man arrested for allegedly stealing three vehicles while drunk - WKTV

Recent editorials from New Jersey newspapers - Fort Mill Times

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 01:18 PM PST

Part of New Jersey's decline in premiums is attributable to legislative reforms in 2003 that helped lure firms that wouldn't do business here. The state made changes to its assigned risk pool of drivers and allowed companies to offer bare-bones polices.

In 2002 alone, seven auto insurance companies bailed out of New Jersey, bringing the total number of companies that had fled the state in the previous decade to 25. The insurance rules made it impossible for some people to get insurance at all. For those who could, the limited competition resulted in escalating premiums.

Today, eight out of the top 10 largest firms write policies in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the policies aren't cheap. Only three other states had average per-vehicle premium costs in excess of $1,000 in 2007 - Louisiana, New York and Florida. The cheapest rates in the nation were in North Dakota, where the average premium was $511.

Several explanations are offered by auto insurers for why New Jersey has the highest rates: generous medical reimbursements, higher auto repair costs, a higher proportion of luxury cars and heavily congested roads.

Those elements aren't likely to change any time soon.

For now, the best thing to do to keep your premiums down is to shop around, explore the discounts offered by various insurers and keep your driving record clean.

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On the Net: http://www.nj.com/starledger/

Friday's (Dec. 4) Times of Trenton on inconsistent fees to obtain copies of public records:

Unfortunately, commonsense sometimes must be legislated. Such a case is now pending in the state Assembly.

Three lawmakers, including Linda Greenstein, D-Plainsboro, want to do away with the exorbitant rates some state agencies charge to provide copies of public documents. Instead of allowing offices to charge what they will, the bill calls for establishing reasonable and set fees for copies of state government documents. Under current law, document copying fees vary widely, with some state departments and agencies allowed to charge residents seeking information up to $10 per page.

That wholesale gouging of the public has to stop, and this bill is the way to do so. It mandates that the cost charged to an individual for public records could not exceed 10 cents per page for letter-size copies or 15 cents per page for legal-size copies. The fees would be applicable to documents from the Office of the State Treasurer or the Board of Public Utilities, motor vehicle accident reports and other records. A similar standard for municipal offices would also be welcome.

Passage of this bill, of course, will benefit the news media in our efforts to provide information. But it will also benefit every citizen who wants to review public records. A nominal fee to cover copying costs is not unreasonable, but dissemination of these documents should not be a moneymaking venture. Those records, after all, belong to all of us.

We urge Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts to waste no time in posting this bill for a floor vote.

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On the Net: http://www.nj.com/times/

Friday's (Dec. 4) Press of Atlantic City on extreme behavior by some bouncers:

Atlantic City is ... well, Atlantic City. There are bars, lots of them. There are people in town to have a good time. There are people who get rowdy and obnoxious when they imbibe too much of a good time. And there are bouncers to - presumably - keep it all in check.

Except when the bouncers become part of the problem - which, frankly, happens all too often.

The latest incident was captured on video and posted on YouTube. At least nine security guards at the 40/40 Club on Atlantic Avenue are seen kicking and punching two men in a parking lot after a dispute inside the club. Atlantic City police Sgt. Monica McMenamin called the beating "egregious."

It's "just so over the top. It looks horrible. We're lucky they weren't hurt more seriously," McMenamin said.

Lucky indeed. For the victims, certainly. And for the bouncers, too. They could have killed someone. It has happened - several times.

In July 2001, a bouncer at the Naked City strip club in Atlantic City stomped a 24-year-old investment banker to death outside the club. Tamer Shahid pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

In 1994, a bouncer at a go-go bar on the Black Horse Pike outside Atlantic City was acquitted of aggravated assault in the death of a man he had punched repeatedly and left on the sidewalk.

These cases are difficult for juries. The victims, after all, are often responsible for instigating the fights. But there is a disturbing common theme in these cases: Intense, brutally violent overreactions by bouncers.

Bouncers. They're just private security guards. And they don't come small - bouncers are usually big, muscled guys. They have a job to do, sure. But they have no legal right to assault someone, no right to swing a fist or kick or stomp someone.

Police officers, of course, are trained in the appropriate use of force. Bouncers have no real training (unless they happen to be moonlighting cops). There is no bouncer academy. No licensing. You just need to have arms and a chest that fill out a shirt that says "Security" or "Event Staff" across the back.

And too often their behavior is as egregious (to borrow Sgt. McMenamin's word) as the behavior of the presumably rowdy customers they are trying to control.

Club owners need to do a better job making it clear to bouncers that their job is to bounce - to escort a difficult customer out of the bar - and that the job ends there. Not on the sidewalk or in a back parking lot with a bunch of wannabe thugs ganging up on a drunk tourist.

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NY Emergency teams try to rescue man from cesspool - Fresno Bee

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 12:28 PM PST

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Archive for October 2009 - The Spokesman-Review

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 11:38 AM PST

Spokane County commissioners fired the company they hired less than a year ago to operate the county's Raceway Park , their controversial purchase near Airway Heights that drew good crowds this summer but racked up some $1.2 million in unpaid construction debt.

The county's insurance may be needed to pay contractors that performed the work ordered by Austin Motor Sports Management but never approved by the county, they said.

Commissioners voted unanimously during a special afternoon meeting Thursday to terminate the contract with the company and its owner Bucky Austin, a racing enthusiast who owns a chain of auto repair shops in the Puget Sound region. Despite promises in August and September that he would make good on all outstanding debts for improvements in the park, Austin still owes several local contractors, who have filed liens worth about $1.2 million against him and the county.

They're looking for a new operator to run the track in 2010, although next time, they expect to keep "a closer, watchful eye" on Austin 's replacement, County Board Chairman Todd Mielke said.

The county became aware of financial problems at the track last summer, when contractors began serving notice that they would file liens for unpaid bills. Austin called the liens standard procedure, said he had to review billing to make sure the work was actually done and promised to pay everybody by November.

But commissioners discovered Austin had ordered more construction than they expected, essentially compressing renovations the county thought would take two years into the first year the track operated. He did it without securing performance bonds, as required by state law, or putting the projects out to competitive bids, commissioners said.

Because of those problems, commissioners said Austin 's contract was in default and terminated on Thursday afternoon.

Austin was put on notice in September that he'd lose the contract in 60 days if he didn't "cure" those problems. He said he would find financing or partners to make payments. But this week, his attorney confirmed that "Austin Motor Sports Management is unable to find additional financing to continue to operate the raceway," Jim Emacio, the county's chief civil deputy, told commissioners.

The notice of default had a 60-day time limit, which would have been up on Sunday. When asked why they were terminating it just three days early, they said the weather was turning cold and they wanted to have county staff "winterize" the facility as soon as possible.

Asked if the decision was at all prompted by fears Austin 's management company, a limited liability corporation apart from his repair shops, could declare bankruptcy, Mielke would only say: "Rumors abound."

The county will draft a new request for proposal and allow potential operators to submit bids.

"We hope to find an operator that can continue to operate the track… and maintain it's credibility with the community," Mielke said. "We're going to do our due diligence with any construction projects that take place."

They want to county will also review all the outstanding claims to make sure the work was done, is up to standards and has been double-billed, Commissioner Mark Richard said. Legitimate claims will be submitted to the county's insurance carrier for payment.

That process could take up to 60 days. John Black, an attorney who represents seven of the contractors holding some $1.19 million in unpaid bills, said his clients could eventually file suit against the county if they aren't paid. But it might take about two months to prepare a lawsuit, so the contractors might hold off.

"If in fact there is a commitment to pay, it would make sense to wait," said Black, who added he heard about the commissioners' decision from the reporter calling to ask for comment.

Story also filed on the Local News section, and generating comments. Join the discussion here.

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AutoZone Gains on Q3 Street Beat as Do-It-Yourselfers Boost Auto Parts ... - Zacks.com

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 12:42 PM PST

AutoZone Gains on Q3 Street Beat as Do-It-Yourselfers Boost Auto Parts Sales

Boston, Dec 08, 2009 (MidnightTrader via COMTEX) -- AutoZone Inc. (AZO) is up more than 3% and trading near the top of its session range, after reporting 9% jump in Q1 profit and Street beat, as consumers turned to self-repair of their cars to avoid costly auto shop charges.

AutoZone reported a net of $143.3 million, or $2.82 per share, compared with $131.4 million, or $2.23 per share, last year. Revenue climbed almost 8% to $1.59 billion. Analysts expected profit of $2.66 per share on $1.59 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Same store sales rose almost 6%.

AutoZone said it repurchased 1.4 million shares of stock during the quarter at a cost of $204 million, which helped boost per-share earnings.

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Man arrested for allegedly stealing three vehicles while drunk - WKTV

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 11:31 AM PST

ONEONTA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A Portlandville man is facing multiple charges, after Otsego County Sheriff's Deputies say he stole three vehicles.

Investigators say William Alvarez, 28, stole a taxi from an auto repair shop on SR-7 in Oneonta on November 22nd. He later crashed it on CR-35 in Westford and fled on foot.

He then stole a pickup truck and ended up crashing into a telephone pole a short time later, at which point Alvarez again ran off.

Afterwards, investigators say he then made off with a sedan from a Westford driveway. That car was later reported stolen. Police later found the car over an embankment behind the Worcester Central School the same day.

Alvarez was found at his home and arrested on charges of Grand Larceny, Criminal possession of stolen property, DWI and Aggravated unlicensed operation.

He's due back in Westford Court on December 10th. He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted.

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