Connecticut Panel Hands Down Recommendations Over Electric Utility Reliability

Once you attach a price tag to any project, all of a sudden supporters suddenly balk at making the necessary changes.

Connecticut residents suffered horrendously at the hands of Connecticut Light and Power during the double whammy of Hurricane Irene/Lee and then the freak October snowstorm. Millions of people were without power for days on end, and the utility was ill-prepared to deal with the snowstorm even after seeing how badly it responded during the hurricanes.

A panel set up by Governor Malloy has issued numerous recommendations, but it would call on rates to go up 10% in order to increase reliability by 30-40%.

The strongest recommendation was one that came from Connecticut Light & Power on the last day of the hearings – a proposed $2.2 billion plan to boost reliability.

Panel co-chair Joe McGee says the utility claims the plan would boost resiliency by more than a third, but will customers be willing to pay more for this?

“Their proposal was a 10 percent increase in your monthly bill for a 30 to 40 percent increase in reliability of the system,” said McGee.

In all, 82 recommendations were passed onto the governor for his consideration.

One of the reasons that the utility did so poorly had nothing to do with rates, but everything to do with not getting regional assistance plans in place to bring in supporting utilities from outside the region in a timely basis and then doing a poor job coordinating those efforts. Throw poor communications on top of everything else, and what you get is a mismanaged utility that can't do its basic job - delivering reliable power to its customers.

It can claim that those rate increases will improve reliability, but one has to question how other utilities in the state were able to do a far better job without similar rate increases (see PSE&G and even Con Ed and LIPA - and Con Ed and LIPA aren't exactly paragons of virtue when it comes to power reliability and dealing with outages). CPL skimped on tree trimming and other maintenance issues, and that had a large part to do with just how badly it handled the crisis.

So, what else does the panel recommend and find? Well, it realizes that the state has been hit by a string of severe storms, and that climate change may be involved (and might lead to even more severe weather events).

The panel called on the state to develop new engineering standards that will better protect the built environment from the effects of extreme weather and those standards should then be incorporated into the State’s Building Code within six months of development.

The panel also noted that there's a toxic work relationship between the utilities and their workforce, and that the utilities must prepare a worst-case scenario based on a Cat 3 hurricane (which is stronger than what the state experienced but well above the previously planned worst-case scenario that posited only 100,000 outages statewide; there were 1 million outages during the two weather events in 2011).

Tree trimming and infrastructure hardening is one of the priorities that must be addressed, but it shouldn't take a 10% increase in rates to accomplish.

Connecticut Light and Power CEO Resigns Amid Criticism

The CEO of Connecticut Light and Power has resigned. Jeff Butler has stepped down after his company failed to restore power following the October nor'easter in any semblance of a timely manner, and after withering criticism over how the company failed to make necessary preparations ahead of the storm that could have mitigated the disastrous blackouts and restored power more swiftly.

There are multiple investigations into CLP's mishandling of both Hurricane Irene and the snowstorm, and one area of attention is whether the company put profits ahead of power distribution and maintenance programs (including tree trimming).

Connecticut's Utility Fails To Meet Own Deadline To Restore Power

Connecticut Light and Power is the poster child for all that is wrong with power utilities in the country. Not only can it not provide its basic purpose - reliable power distribution, but it can't even make its own deadlines to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people across the state.

Thousands of customers are still without power two weeks after the early season snowstorm.

CLP's parent company, Northeast Utilities, has put up $10 million to offer assistance to its customers and waived penalties and other fees from the storm period. That's cold comfort to the hundreds of thousands of customers who were without power for nearly two weeks.

Gov. Dannel Malloy empowered a panel to investigate the utility and thus far there's no good news for the utility. It cut back on tree trimming, and while the utility can claim that it has spent more on trimming in recent years, it's less than it was spending a decade ago (as adjusted for inflation). That translates into less miles of line that gets trimmed - meaning that more trees are likely to cause service disruptions.

Others are now focusing on CLP's parent company, and how the political favors and lobbying has won it the right to little oversight or responsibility when things go horribly wrong.

The State Attorney General is working with a risk management company to try and figure out what the utility did and is an expansion of similar investigations being carried out in the wake of the utility's failings during Hurricane Irene.

There are five separate investigations ongoing into CLP's actions during the aftermath from Irene and the snowstorm.

Lights Still Out For 100k Customers In Connecticut

So much for self imposed deadlines. Connecticut Light and Power (CLP) blew its self-imposed deadline to get 95% of service restored. More than 100,000 customers are still without power across Connecticut, as compared with nearly all customers restored in New York and New Jersey and Massachusetts.

CLP is now saying that service will be restored Wednesday. Anyone want to give odds on that?

There are further rumblings that the utilities may seek rate increases to cover the storm damage costs.

Sorry, but as someone who lost power for a couple of days, was severely inconvenienced by the loss of power, and poor customer service, I doubt anyone will stomach rate increases when there's evidence that the outages were extended due to the utilities own failures.

This includes not reimbursing mutual support companies for their work done in prior storms that led those companies to scale back the number of responding units. Pennywise and pound foolish looks like a theme in Connecticut, and to a lesser extend in other utilities as well.

Putting the bottom line above maintaining a dependable transmission grid has led to cutting back on basic maintenance. Trimming trees once every four to five years is insufficient. This storm once again showed that power lines are extremely vulnerable to wind and storm damage and that tree trimming must be much more aggressive to reduce the chances for outages.

So, while it means that many old growth trees might need to be pruned or removed, the upside is a much more reliable grid. Trees should be part of the landscape, but size-appropriate trees should be put in place. That means that 80-90 foot trees should make way for trees that are 20-30 feet tall and less likely to bring down lines and in places where burying lines makes sense (such as when roads are already going to be torn up for utility/sewer work/repaving projects), then the utilities should also be relocated underground. I think people will support plans that reduce damage going forward, but aren't going to sit still and take rate hikes for the companies own failings.

All of this is little comfort to those who are now without power for eight days. Among the worst hit areas include around Farmington, where more than 50% of customers remain without power.

Gov. Malloy now says that the situation is unacceptable. About time he did so. He's been late on getting ahead of the storm damage wrought by the early nor'easter. While he says that the state is mulling its options, here's a few ideas:

1. require all utilities to devote far more resources to maintaining, pruning, and other basic services;
2. impose penalties for outages that are the result of failing to adequately trim trees that lead to outages that last longer than they otherwise should have when the utility knew, or had reason to know, that the storm damage was likely;
3. impose penalties for delays that last longer than a period of time that cannot be reimbursed through rate hikes; and
4. clear red tape when it comes to tree trimming programs so that utilities can prune trees as necessary to maintain rights of way.

Utilities Still Working To Restore Power Across Northeast

While PSE&G and Jersey Power and Electric are close to getting the lights turned back on for all of its residents, Connecticut consumers aren't so lucky. There are more than 300,000 customers still without power.

Why did Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy wait until yesterday to activate the National Guard to help with clearing trees and debris from roads? Activating the National Guard would have freed up resources and helped localities get reconnected to the grid faster.

Yet the real problems lie with Connecticut Light and Power (CLP). They've done so much wrong in handling this crisis that someone will likely do a case study about how a utility shouldn't function.

But giving Northeast, specifically its Connecticut Light and Power subsidiary, a divine pass is like absolving Lehman Brothers of any blame for its demise in 2008. Like financial firms, utilities need to manage risks. And they have it relatively easy: much of the task simply involves clearing overhanging trees and other hazards from power lines.

Yet according to regulatory filings, Connecticut Light and Power cut its maintenance spending by 26 percent, from $130 million in 2008 to $96.5 million last year. Put simply, that seems to suggest that one in every four trees that could have been trimmed was left untouched, though the company says the maintenance line was depressed by a deferral of expenses for accounting purposes.

The utility showed the same kind of tin ear as some banks, too. Even as customers still faced a week without electricity after Irene struck, the Connecticut Light and Power boss, Jeff Butler, suggested any restoration costs should be covered by increasing electricity rates — when Connecticut’s power is already the most expensive in the continental United States. Mr. Butler later backtracked. But this week he suggested the weekend snowstorm came without warning — words he was again forced to eat.

There’s even a near-perfect model of how Connecticut Light and Power could have done the job better. Norwich, Conn., a city of 40,000, has owned its own electric utility, as well as those for sewage, gas and water, for 107 years. Norwich Public Utilities’ customers pay, on average, a bit less than Connecticut Light and Power’s. Yet after this past weekend’s snow dump, power was out for only about 450 of its 22,000 customers — and for no more than an hour. As of Thursday morning, nearly half a million Connecticut Light and Power customers were still waiting for the lights to go on.

That’s not luck, either. After Irene hit, just 13 percent of the city’s customers lost their power for more than a day. Within three days, the whole of Norwich had been restored. It took more than a week for Connecticut Light and Power to fully restore power.

That makes it seem odd that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has tended to appear alongside Connecticut Light and Power’s Mr. Butler and to support the utility, even though far more customers lost power than should have and restoration proceeded too slowly. There’s solid numerical evidence to justify Mr. Malloy’s berating Connecticut Light and Power and calling for Mr. Butler’s head on behalf of the citizens of his state.

In contrast to Connecticut Light and Power, Norwich’s electric unit last year increased operations and maintenance spending by 11 percent, to $2.9 million. Put another way, in 2010 Norwich allocated about $132 a customer to this line item in its accounts. Connecticut Light and Power reported maintenance, unadjusted for deferred expenses, of $96.5 million, or around $78 per client.

They refused to get mutual assistance calls in before the storm hit so that they didn't have prepositioned units ready to respond. They didn't take the weather forecasts seriously enough - even after everyone in the region knew that the early season snows would bring down trees because most trees still had their leaves. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that snow of any significance would lay low trees and power lines when the leaves are still on the trees.

CLP can't make its own self-imposed deadlines for service restorations, and that's completely unacceptable, particularly in light of the way that the company has cut back on basic maintenance.

It's abundantly clear that CLP failed its customers, but it further appears that the state of Connecticut failed its citizens as well in not taking appropriate steps to handle the natural disaster. When the state saw that CLP wasn't getting the job done in any semblance of a timely manner, it needed to act. The governor failed to do so.

Someone must be held responsible for the ongoing failures, and that includes both the utility and the governor.

Back in New Jersey, the last few remaining outages are being dealt with and some single customers may be out of power for longer because the damage affects more than the power line to their homes or businesses (taking out the lines all the way to the utility box/meter for example). Some towns are already out of snow days and are contemplating extending the school year to meet requirements.

Municipalities around the region are also dealing with how to clear tree debris. Some, like Fair Lawn and Wayne, are allowing residents to bring all tree debris to the curb and crews will pick them up if they bundle the trees/branches and cut them down to size. Landscapers will have to cart away tree debris.

However, in Mountainside, New Jersey, the town workers are cutting branches along the right of way but are then throwing the tree debris back on to the properties for the owners to remove. That's an absolutely asinine policy - but the town claims that they aren't responsible for removal.

And for a real estate market that is already rocky, the loss of so many trees means a reduction in curb appeal. Healthy trees can add up to 10% in value to a home. I'm spending quite a bit of money to get the damaged trees on my property pruned following the storm. Healthy trees were most affected by the storm since they still were in full leaf.

Frustrations Mount As Millions Remain Without Power Across Northeast

While there's been quite a bit of good news in New Jersey (particularly PSE&G) in restoring power, other areas aren't so lucky. Jersey Central Power and Light has the bulk of the outages in New Jersey, and PSE&G has reduced their outages to about 20,000 statewide (mostly Northern NJ). Those that are still without power can't take solace in those figures.

JCP&L is urging people to be patient, but as the outages wear on and the weather remains cold, it's hard to give the company any slack. After all, PSE&G was able to cut down the number of outages significantly, although towns like Teaneck remain a mess and schools remain closed as a result of the ongoing outages.

Orange and Rockland still has thousands without power across the Hudson River valley, and CLP still has more than 400,000 customers without power.

The frustration is mounting, and there's quite a bit of chatter about how CLP has misallocated its resources, including not giving mutual assistance crews the go-ahead to fix downed lines and equipment when they have the ability to do so. Power isn't expected to be restored until the weekend in large parts of Connecticut, and it doesn't appear that anyone is going to hold the utility responsible. Gov. Malloy is talking the talk about how they're trying to safely restore power and that it will take time, but isn't taking the right tone in dealing with the utility, which seems to have done everything wrong - from refusing to make the mutual aid calls in a reasonable time frame, to underestimating the level of damage, and then not giving its mutual assistance crews the ability to fix what needs to be fixed so that areas can be restored.

Some localities are considering suits against the utility. One in particular is Simsbury, which claims that the utility has only one crew working there - and that the public works crews are trying to clear streets, but need the utility to sign off on whether the lines are safe to work around and clear.

When asked whether the town was going to seek a lawsuit against Connecticut Light & Power, Glassman said the town is extremely disappointed that up until Wednesday they have had one CL&P crew working in Simsbury.

The town sued CL&P in the 1990s for the same reason because there were too many outages at the same time.

As a result of that lawsuit, CL&P increased their tree-trimming program, upgraded their transmission lines and added a substation in Simsbury which has since improved power in Simsbury.

“But we have a lot of questions now,” Glassman said. “Why five days into the storm do we only have one crew assigned to Simsbury, which was one of the hardest towns hit? So we will be exploring our options including litigation.”

Public Works Director Tom Roy said Tuesday they have every single person working on the restoration efforts and there are several contractors clearing the streets and debris.

“What our goals are right now is to get access to residents by car and emergency vehicles,” said Roy. “The limiting factor for us the majority of trees that have not been cleared at this point are entangled in the power lines. We need CL&P to verify that it is safe to work near them.”

Clearly, it appears that CLP is in hot water with its customers and regulators better take a good look at whether it's exercised reasonable prudence when it comes to maintaining its grid, handled trimming trees properly, and then failed to address the outage in any semblance of urgency.

North Jersey Still Suffering From Widespread Power Outages

For a second straight day, Northern New Jersey is without power across much of the region following the deadly nor'easter that left snows of nearly two feet in some places, but the lasting effects are the thousands of trees that were downed or damaged as a result of the heavy snow combined with leaves till being on the trees.

That's a recipe for disaster - taking out power line after power line. The nasty weather and snow further hampers the efforts to restore power since power lines block roads that have to be plowed so that crews can get to where they have to repair lines. You had to clear lines so that the plows could get through. It was the proverbial chicken or egg problem for some parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachussetts (which saw some areas get 2+ feet of snow) and the Hudson River Valley in New York.

As with the recover from Hurricanes Irene and Lee, people are wondering why utilities aren't being forced to locate utilities underground, where they wouldn't succumb to weather events like this every time the wind blows.

It's a good question and states and localities have a patchwork of rules regarding utility hookups.

Some require that new developments place utilities underground at the developers' expense. Others have no requirements.

It all comes down to cost.

Placing the lines underground may be more costly at the outset - 8-10 times more expensive than running lines on utility poles. Those are costs that are passed on to utility consumers. The underground lines are also potentially more expensive to replace as their life expectancy isn't nearly as long as overhead lines under normal conditions. Also, power restoration after floods are extremely troublesome for underground lines. Whereas a flood event may leave the overhead lines undisturbed, a flood for underground utilities may requires days or weeks of work to restore power.

Thus, it's a balancing act as to whether a given area would benefit from overhead or underground lines.

However, with the recurrence of major outages in the area, it's time that the utilities reconsider the overhead lines in troublesome areas.

Moreover, all the utilities should look towards ramping up their tree maintenance programs to prune back trees in and along their rights of way to prevent downed trees taking out entire towns and communities.

The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 140

Despite the Port Authority's possible toll and PATH fare hikes to cover rising construction costs for Ground Zero reconstruction, the work continues on both the Freedom Tower (1WTC) and 4WTC and workers are moving to complete the 9/11 Memorial in time for the 10th anniversary as the museum and other components are being prepared.

Now, the New York Times is reporting that the major financial firm UBS may be moving back to New York City 15 years after moving its headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut. The company has a case of buyers remorse as it has found it can't recruit and retain talent, which would much prefer to live in New York City.

As a result, UBS is seriously considering a reverse migration that would bring its investment banking division and up to 2,000 bankers and traders back to Wall Street and a new skyscraper at the rebuilt World Trade Center, according to real estate executives and city officials.

“They just can’t hire the bankers and traders they need,” said one landlord who has spoken with UBS but requested anonymity so as not to alienate a potential tenant.

The bank is also looking at several Midtown locations, and Connecticut is sure to wage a fierce battle to keep UBS in Stamford, where it is the largest private employer and the biggest taxpayer.

A final decision is perhaps months away, and any move would not take place until 2015.

But over the last week, UBS has engaged in negotiations with the developer Larry Silverstein over the terms of a potential financial deal at 3 World Trade Center, an 80-story office tower that he plans to build at 175 Greenwich Street. The return of UBS would be a boon to New York, which in past decades often suffered from corporate defections that were fueled by a sense that computers and telecommunications had made a Manhattan location more of a luxury than a necessity.

The move would be the latest sign that New York has regained its allure as a caldron for the young and creative. Six months ago, Google paid nearly $2 billion for a large building just north of the meatpacking district, in the same Manhattan neighborhood where many of its employees live.

Considering that Silverstein wouldn't be able to secure the financing for 3WTC without having tenants lined up, this is a significant piece of news. It would mean that another component of the Ground Zero rebuilding could finally get underway - and without the need for government agencies filling up the space in lieu of private companies who would command higher rents (even as those rents are subsidized due to various incentives enacted after the attacks to attract businesses back to Lower Manhattan).

Unfortunately, this would be a big blow for Connecticut, where there's already at 25% vacancy rate in Stamford. Expect the state and city to try and throw more incentives at UBS to stay, but with UBS eying a return to Manhattan to be closer to clients (aka Wall Street), those Connecticut incentives would have to be serious coin to keep them there. Note too that UBS would be able to work with Silverstein to tailor the facilities at 3WTC to their needs (and the design already calls for a major trading floor space).

The Question That May Have Tilted the Connecticut US Senate Seat Race

Dick Blumenthal, the Democratic party candidate for the US Senate in Connecticut may have lost his bid to win in November because of his disastrous response his GOP opponent Linda McMahon's pretty simple question asked during this past week's debate.

He was asked how jobs are created.



That's the full exchange.

It is a perfect caption for his opponent, Linda McMahon to use in advertising. And she's running with it.

She's got a radio spot. And she's got a tv ad that is now running in the tri-state region.



It's simple. It's direct. And it hits one of the most basic issues facing Connecticut. How to create jobs and spur a moribund economy. Blumenthal simply flails at the issue.

Blumenthal is currently leading in the polls by a relatively comfortable margin, but they appear to have been taken just prior to the debate. He has a couple of weeks to recover, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a significant bounce for McMahon in upcoming polls that translates into a nailbiter on election night for Democrats in Connecticut.

New York Job Flight Continues

Starwood Hotels, which employs 800 people in White Plains, New York headquarters, is moving across the border to Connecticut because Connecticut put together a more favorable tax package. New York politicians have tried for the past two years to put together a package, but they just couldn't compete:

The efforts of state and county agencies in the past two years to keep Starwood Hotels’ global headquarters on this side of the border could not match Connecticut’s offer.

"We have tried for two years to make this happen and fill the gap," said Salvatore J. Carrera, Westchester County’s director of real estate and economic development. "And the gap was $40 million."

Wednesday’s announcement that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. would move from White Plains to Stamford, Conn., reinforced the view of many real estate and development experts that New York stood little chance in an incentives fight with Connecticut.

"New York state and Westchester don’t have the programs and incentives to compete with the state of Connecticut, plain and simple," said William V. Cuddy Jr., an executive vice president at CB Richard Ellis Inc. "No one should be shocked if this is the first of subsequent relocations."

Connecticut, which of late has offered several aggressive incentives packages to lure businesses, will provide the company with a $9.5 million loan, $75 million in tax credits and up to $5 million in tax exemptions on building materials. The package will translate into a 20 percent reduction in the company’s annual rent, Starwood President and Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen said in a statement.

This is what happens when you have states with a poor business climate continue doing business as usual, and don't take a step back to realize that high taxes and competing states putting together favorable tax packages are luring away jobs and businesses, which affects New York's tax base.

The loss of Starwoods doesn't just affect corporate income taxes in New York, but sales and use tax, and other tax revenue streams in upcoming years following the company's headquarters move. It also affects other businesses that helped service Starwood's headquarters, including restaurants and catering that benefited from the company's presence. That, in turn, will result in loss of sales and income to those businesses.

Multiply this by multitudes of other companies that have or will be relocating elsewhere, and the problems facing the state will only deepen.

The single best way to turn around this mess is to reconsider onerous tax and spend schemes in the state and lure businesses back to the state to do business. Moreover, building up the tax base helps reduce the individual tax burden since more people share in the tax load and create jobs in the process.

More Reason For NY Democrats To Be Upset With Obama Administration

At a time when New York City Democrats are smarting over the way President Obama snubbed Democrat Bill Thompson in his election bid to unseat incumbent mayor Independent Mike Bloomberg last week and Governor David Paterson is trying to overcome largely negative ratings and antipathy from the White House, President Obama has decided to campaign for Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, who's embroiled in scandals arising from his cozy relationship with Countrywide Mortgage.

Embattled Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Ct.), whose low approval ratings make him one of the most vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election next year, gets help from President Obama tonight.

Obama will appear at a $1,000-per person fundraising event for Dodd in Stamford.

(snip)

Dodd’s low approval ratings stem from several factors, including the sluggish economy and questions raised about favorable treatment he received on a mortgage from Countrywide Home Loans.

So, why is Obama willing to appear with Dodd? Well, it's all about the politics of securing passage of financial services overhaul legislation. Never mind that Dodd is ethically challenged over his ties to the industry and his committee has failed in its oversight function on numerous occasions. In fact, Dodd purposefully excluded AIG from employment compensation limits, causing a kerfuffle over bonuses provided AIG executives paid out from bailout funds, even though Congress was well aware of the existence of the exclusion.

New York Democrats have to wonder why they aren't getting the support that their fellow Democrats in New Jersey and Connecticut received, even though in both instances, the candidates were seriously flawed.

New York Again Leads Way On Property Taxes; NJ Worst Business Climate

Several counties in New York once again lead the way in the highest property tax burdens in the nation. Congratulations. New Jersey isn't far behind, with Hunterdon, Bergen, and Essex Counties following.

The ratings by the Tax Foundation nationwide can be found here.

The top 10 counties in median real estate taxes paid for 2008 are, from 1 to 10, Westchester County, NY ($8,890); Nassau County, NY ($8,628); Hunterdon County, NJ ($8,492); Bergen County, NJ ($8,446); Rockland County, NY ($8,430); Essex County, NJ ($7,924); Somerset County, NJ ($7,743); Morris County, NJ ($7,557); Passaic County, NJ ($7,370); and Putnam County, NY ($7,324). The national median is $1,897.

The top 10 counties in median real estate taxes as a percentage of median home value for 2008 are all from the state of New York, from 1 to 10, Niagara County (2.89%); Monroe County (2.85%); Wayne County (2.82%); Chautauqua County (2.60%); Cayuga County (2.54%); Cattaraugus County (2.52%); Onondaga County (2.51%); Erie County (2.48%); Oswego County (2.42%); and Chemung County (2.38%). The national median is nearly 1 percent (0.96%).

"Among states, the story is much the same as for the top counties: The Northeast area of the country has the highest property taxes, along with pockets elsewhere, such as Wisconsin, Texas, Nebraska, and Illinois," Prante said.

The top 10 states in median real estate taxes paid for 2008 are, from 1 to 10, New Jersey ($6,320); Connecticut ($4,603); New Hampshire ($4,501); New York ($3,622); Rhode Island ($3,534); Massachusetts ($3,406); Illinois ($3,384); Vermont ($3,281); Wisconsin ($2,963); and California ($2,829). The top 10 states for median real estate taxes as a percentage of median home value are Texas (1.76%); New Jersey (1.74%); Nebraska (1.72%); Wisconsin (1.71%); New Hampshire (1.70%); Illinois (1.57%); Vermont (1.53%); Connecticut (1.50%); Michigan (1.45%); and North Dakota (1.41%).

This list from 2007 shows the relative property tax hit nationwide, breaking down the ratings by median tax paid, tax as percentage of home value, and median tax as percentage of income. New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut all are among the tops in each of the categories.

Tax burdens aren't made any easier with unfunded mandates by the federal government and state and local obligations that shouldn't be avoided (say hello to pension obligations that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said could be avoided so as to make it look like the budget was balanced and that no new taxes had to be imposed this year). The property tax bite is highest in these localities, even as they are hit with high sales tax burdens and personal income taxes, and a whole range of taxes that make living in the New York metro area exceedingly expensive.

Here's a guide to several of the "sin" taxes imposed nationally, but note that many localities impose their own taxes that piggyback the state tax.

UPDATE:
New Jersey also ranks worst in the nation for business climate. That's based on the combination of taxes imposed on taxpayers in the state. I'm sure Jon Corzine will not include that in his commericals, but Chris Christie will.

Your Representation In Action

Say hello to the fine members of the Connecticut Legislature. They're all so busy working on the people's business. In fact, they were supposed to be discussing the state budget, which is a financial black hole complete with a multibillion dollar deficit:

The bill was approved, largely along party lines, by 22 to 13 shortly before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Sen. Joan Hartley of Waterbury was the only Democrat who voted against the budget - joining all 12 Republicans. Sen. Andrew Maynard of Stonington was traveling out of the country and missed the vote.

Republicans complained that the two-year, $37 billion budget would increase spending by more than $800 million over two years, while Democrats said they had cut $3.1 billion from the "current services'' budget that counts lower-than-expected increases as cuts. Those spending cuts represent 35 percent of the state's projected $8.5 billion deficit, according to the legislature's nonpartisan fiscal office. Despite those figures, Republicans said that the budget had "no real cuts'' and simply had accounting maneuvers and money transfers.

One shots and sleight of hand to get a balanced budget? Connecticut has learned those lessons from Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, where it is taken to high art. Of course, the solution will come soon enough in the form of higher taxes and fees, because reducing spending is not on the agenda.

That said, there's probably one reason why the solitaire and tv was streaming on those laptops - the vote was most likely already assured and everyone knew that this was simply window dressing. It is nice, however, that someone noticed the "work" going on in the Connecticut legislature.

UPDATE 9/2/2009:
Michelle Malkin notes the Connecticut Democrats in action, and gets a response that essentially boils down to what I noted above:

Our members have discussed and debated the state budget for seven months, culminating in yesterday’s marathon, 13 hour budget session. With little new ground being broken, and the results of the upcoming vote a reasonable certainty, a momentary diversion is understandable. Both representatives insist there was no intent to disrespect the minority leader during his presentation.

Regards,
Doug Whiting
Communications Director
Connecticut House Democrats

Classy. Then again, I regularly saw members in the New York legislature playing crosswords and reading newspapers during session, mostly because all the hard work was done behind closed doors where members were told how they would vote on items. It appears that little changes depending on the setting.

Pothole Proliferation

If you drive around the New York Metro region, the bone jarring hits your car and person are absorbing should not come as a mystery. It's a direct result of shortchanging the transportation funds needed to maintain existing roads and mismanagement and misbegotten priorities.

New Jersey's transportation trust fund is in dire shape. Connecticut and New York are just as bad, and the states routinely raid the transportation funds to pay for other pet projects rather than upkeep.

That means that the states have accumulated a backlog of decrepit roads that will take years to bring back to passable standards.

Then, there's the Port Authority, which has raised tolls and PATH fares, all while the pace of construction at Ground Zero moves forward at a glacial pace and several of its bridges (primarily the Goethals and Outerbridge) are in need of replacement because they are obsolete. Instead of saving that money to be used for the infrastructure improvements, it's doubled the number of people on its payroll who make six figures. There's nothing quite like giving raises for incompetence and dithering.

Those who might defend the Port Authority will be quick to mention that they've spent billions to upgrade area airports, built the AirTrains at Newark and JFK, and maintain existing bridges and tunnels, but they also happen to oversee obsolete infrastructure that needs serious attention.

Throw in politicians who love to cut ribbons on new projects, rather than the routine maintenance and upgrade of existing structures, and you have perverse incentives to build new items without worrying about payment for existing infrastructure.

And if you think that the porkfest will help deal with improving the situation, you'd be mistaken. It will barely make a dent in the backlog and there's no money next year to cover spending on transportation in states like New York and New Jersey that face massive budget deficits. Priorities are all askew, and we're all paying the price.

Connecticut Democrats Plan Censure of Sen. Joe Lieberman

This makes no sense.

Connecticut Democrats, angry that Sen. Joe Lieberman is campaigning for the Republican presidential candidate and criticizing his own party's nominee, agreed Wednesday to circulate a resolution to censure the veteran politician but won't consider acting on it until after Election Day.

The state party's central committee Wednesday voted to send copies of the resolution to every Democratic town committee in the state. The resolution condemns Lieberman for speaking at the Republicans' convention and backing John McCain.

Party officials say the group plans to get input from the town officials and revisit the issue in December.

"If you have someone who says they're a Democrat, who is registered as a Democrat and is a national figure supporting a candidate who is opposed to all the ideals and beliefs and positions that we hold as Democrats, he's diluting, in my opinion, the meaning of our party," said Audrey Blondin, a 30-year party veteran, before the meeting.

Democrats essentially drummed Lieberman out of the party when the far left lunatic fringe supported Ned Lamont over Lieberman in the primary.

Lieberman ran as an Independent, under the Connecticut for Lieberman party banner, in the statewide election and won handily.

Now, these same left wingers want to censure Lieberman, who is no longer considered a Democrat, because he's supporting McCain, a Republican?

I think they've forgotten to take their medication, even as Lieberman votes with the Democratic caucus most of the time (excepting the war in Iraq). Lieberman is an Independent, thanks to these kooks who run the Democratic party in Connecticut. Censuring someone who is no longer a member of the party reeks.

Turmoil Roils Wall Street

It's going to be one hell of a week on Wall Street as two bastions of the Street, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers have succumbed to the credit crisis from having so much debt on their hands that they had no way of paying for any of it.

Lehman Brothers' announcement that it is filing for bankruptcy came after all potential buyers walked away. Potential suitors were spooked by the U.S. Treasury's refusal to provide any takeover aid, as it had done six months ago when Bear Stearns faltered and earlier this month when it seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In an effort to calm the markets, Lehman pre-announced third-quarter results on Wednesday. In an affidavit filed with the bankruptcy court, Lehman Chief Financial Officer Ian Lowitt said that action "did little to quell the rumors in the markets and the concerns about the viability of the company." He said the uncertainty made it impossible for Lehman to continue.

Employees emerging from Lehman's headquarters near the heart of Times Square Sunday night carried boxes, tote bags and duffel bags, rolling suitcases, framed artwork and spare umbrellas. Many were emblazoned with the Lehman Brothers name.

TV trucks lined Seventh Avenue opposite the building, while barricades at the building's main entrance attempted to keep workers and onlookers from gumming up the steady flow of pedestrians flowing in and out of Times Square.

Some workers had moist eyes while a few others wept and shared hugs. Most who left the building quietly declined interviews.

Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last night, and Merrill Lynch got bought out by Bank of America for roughly $50 billion. It had been expected that Bank of America would go after Lehman Brothers, but Bank of America wouldn't move on Lehman Brothers without the federal government providing protection.

The markets are going to be hurting badly this week, but this situation has been months in the making.

This situation will ripple through the NY Metro area, where Wall Street executives and workers live and spend their considerable salaries. It also means that the real estate market in the region is going to take a hit as well, as people are not as likely to buy new homes and may consider downsizing their homes even as they are unable to find buyers for their existing homes.

Jim Cramer is arguing that the situation demands that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. That may increase the amount of liquidity in the markets, but I don't think it addresses the fundamental problems with the credit market - namely that so many banks have exposure to assets that are below water after issuing credit to lenders who had no ability to repay and the paper issued to spread the risk didn't take any of this into consideration. He's not the only one to think that a rate cut is coming, even though the Fed thinks inflation is the bigger concern. Given that energy costs have dropped well off their highs, inflation costs are muted in comparison to the credit crunch.

Teacher Resigns Over Bikini Photo

Howard Stern's show is involved.

The teacher, Marie Jarry, resigned from the Thalberg School in Connecticut after photos of her taken on the Howard Stern show caused controversy. Jarry, and her husband, Aaron, were winners of a $5,000 contest - "Ugliest Man, Hottest Wife."

I don't think that the photo is all that revealing or anything that a person couldn't see on Connecticut beaches this summer, so why did she feel compelled to resign?

Does it suggest that the Jarry's have questionable judgment? After all, this is the Howard Stern show we're talking about and Stern is known for asking his female guests to disrobe in the studio. But that didn't even happen here.

There's got to be more to the story than this.

Why Give Illegals New Benefits?

Why is Connecticut the latest state to consider giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens who aren't even supposed to be in the United States in the first place?

Connecticut would join 10 other states, including New York, that allow illegal immigrants to pay the in-state rate that is available to other residents. Illegal immigrants now often pay twice as much to attend Connecticut’s taxpayer-supported colleges and universities.

Aides to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, said she would not decide whether to sign the bill until she sees its final language, which she had not done Friday.

The Senate approved the bill, 20 to 15, after a three-hour debate in which several Republicans vigorously argued against the measure, saying that it would reward illegal activity. The debate in the House was similarly heated before the bill passed, 76 to 67, on May 17, with several Democrats joining most Republicans to vote against the measure.

“What we’re doing here today is trying to incorporate some kids who, through no fault of their own, have arrived in our communities,” said Jonathan Harris, a Democrat from West Hartford who was the bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate. “They reside in our state. They’ve gone to four years of high school. They’ve demonstrated the acumen and the academic success.”

In 2001, Texas was the first state to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. New York passed a similar bill in 2002. Some state legislatures — including the one in Texas — have debated laws prohibiting in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants. Last year, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved such a ban.

Like most states, Connecticut gives its residents a substantial discount on tuition at publicly supported colleges and universities. For example, the in-state tuition rate per semester at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain is $3,367. Out-of-state students pay $7,727.

Why would any prospective out-of-state legal resident consider going to a Connecticut school under those conditions. They are at a disadvantage when compared to an illegal alien.

Consider that if you are a US citizen living in New York, and decide to go to UConn, you'd have to pay $7,727. However, if you were an illegal alien, under this bill you'd pay less than half that out-of-state rate. State taxpayers are subsidizing the rest.

All this nonsense about trying to incorporate illegal aliens into the communities ignores one basic fact. They're here illegally. They break the law every single day that they're in the United States. Extending them benefits such as this encourages others to come to the US illegally. Illegal aliens deserve no additional benefits as compared to out-of-state legal citizens.

The prospect of giving illegal aliens benefits that an out-of-state resident would only dream of is yet another reason to consider claiming oneself as an illegal alien since they get all the benefits of US citizenship without having to pay for it.

Fireworks Guaranteed Or Your PhD Back

Let's see what posting a link to this does. Just a tasty morsel to get you going:

A collective "I told you so" will ripple through the world of Bush-bashers once news of Christopher Lohse's study gets out.

Lohse, a social work master's student at Southern Connecticut State University, says he has proven what many progressives have probably suspected for years: a direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush.

Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

I predict much fireworks.

HT: Anonymous Emailer.

UPDATE:
And I also predict that the student will get an A, will get much coverage on talk shows, and has guaranteed a steady source of income well into the future...

The Rematch - UConn v. UAlbany

The Albany Great Danes are meeting the UConn Huskies this afternoon in a rematch of their encounter in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last season. When I was at Albany, the Danes were never considered a powerhouse, let alone worthy of being on the floor with a team like UConn. The game last season showed just how far Albany has come, and how much further the team wants to go.

It set a benchmark by which Albany will judge its future seasons. The team can take a huge step forward today in its meeting with UConn. The national exposure has resulted in season ticket sales doubling.

The University at Albany has turned a memorable loss on the basketball court last March into a resounding long-term victory for the school, according to university officials.

The UAlbany men's basketball team meets 18th-ranked Connecticut today in Storrs, Conn., a rematch from that riveting night eight months ago when the Great Danes caught the attention of sports fans all over America.


On St. Patrick's Day, the Great Danes were poised to pull off the greatest upset in NCAA Division I Tournament history. They led top-seeded UConn of the Big East Conference by 12 points with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining before a CBS regional television audience and a crowd of 19,990 at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Gradually, UConn's superior talent took over and UAlbany ran out of gas in a 72-59 first-round defeat that ended the school's first appearance in the tournament known as March Madness.

But the national exposure the school received from that game helped contribute to an increase in student applications, greater alumni support and, say university officials, an overall better atmosphere on campus.

"The tournament had a huge effect on the university," UAlbany officer-in-charge Susan Herbst said. "It galvanized alumni around the country who saw the game, and it kind of re-opened their loyalty channels back to the university."

Herbst said she'll try to attend today's game, which coincidentally was scheduled before UAlbany and UConn played last March.

The tangible results of the previous meeting are obvious at UAlbany's SEFCU Arena, where season-ticket sales have nearly doubled from about 600 last year to almost 1,200 this year in the 4,538-seat building.

UPDATE:
The rematch wasn't nearly as close as last year's matchup. UConn won 86-55.