I am told I need to participate in the national conversation. I am not exactly sure what that means, but It seems like everytime I turn on the news some authoritative figure addressing the most recent topic of the day decries the need to “have a conversation” or “add to the conversation” or “join in the conversation”. Who exactly am I supposed to be having a conversation with? Is this some sort of national Zoom call I don’t know about? You know, with the rest of the country. To discuss ...

When you hear the expression ‘going through the motions’, what comes to mind? Making a mediocre effort, yessing someone, lack of buy-in, and not caring about the final result are some that come up for me. It’s generally not a positive picture.   There are times, however, when going through the motions is a good thing. Here’s an example from a personal experience.   When our family was at Hyde School, there was a system of evaluating your attitude and effort:  EEMO. The first E was for Excellence. As a ...

TRENTON – The simple idea behind “food shortage” is, well, there’s not enough food. But there’s another reason for some pockets of food shortage in New Jersey: simply not enough workers to pull vegetables from the ground. Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher says that current labor shortages are hitting New Jersey farms especially hard this growing season, sharing a story with the Assembly Budget Committee about a farmer with plenty of asparagus, but no one available to cut it. Likely, the vegetable will just lay ...

FLORIDA — Snow, ice, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures do not lend themselves to thoughts of fishing. Usually at this time of the year homebound anglers can shake off some effects of “cabin fever” by attending local fishing flea markets or boating and fishing expositions. However, with all the restrictions on social contact, practically all these types of shows have been canceled this year. As a result, there is little for fishing enthusiasts to do to keep themselves busy. Fortunately, I have been able to do some ...

4 Big Incentives for Homeowners to Sell Now   The housing market keeps sailing along. The only headwind that could take it off course is the lack of inventory for sale. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that there were 410,000 fewer single-family homes for sale this March than in March of 2020. The key to continued success in the residential housing market is for more listings to come on the market. However, many homeowners are concerned that selling their homes could be challenging ...

Like so many of you I’ve watched the events of the last week in horror. I have not watched them in shock, I have long thought that violence would erupt during this transfer of power. I have seen the signs – the increasing violence, the rise in the acceptance of hate, racism, antisemitism and sexism. The armed militias, the increasing desperate cries, the willingness to use lies to justify behavior. I have watched in sadness as I saw the Capitol sieged in an attempted coup, I watched people who claim to support law and order ...

The 2020 census is finally out! And the good news for New Jersey: Unlike our neighbor to the east, the garden state will not be losing any congressional representation. We’ve still got an even dozen reps for the next decade! And we’ve reached 9 million people for the very first time. With all the hullabaloo and hoopla over people leaving the state, we’ve managed to keep a good number here. However, New Jersey is still the most densely populated state in the nation at 1211.3 folks per square mile. That does impose many ...

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ - If you own a business, you might be familiar with lots of trends in marketing that promise to increase your business: social media and email campaigns, as well as paid and organic ads. One trend that tends to get overlooked is SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is a proven and necessary tool, but you may ask yourself, “What is it?” and “How can you best utilize it for my business?” SEO is the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to a website or a web page from a search ...

Nonprofit blood services provider Vitalant urges all eligible donors to make an appointment to give blood, platelets or plasma this May in support of mothers and all patients relying on lifesaving blood transfusions. As a token of thanks, all those who come to give May 1 through May 25 will receive a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card* or, for the period from May 26 through June 1, a Vitalant ball cap. Pandemic continues to cancel blood drives while the need increases  More than 200 blood drives continue to be canceled each week because of the ...