Union County Housing Fair – Saturday, July 23, 2011

Posted on July 6, 2011 by

Although the recession is technically over, the unemployment rate in New Jersey remains high as does the continued fear of home foreclosure. To address the housing crisis issue a number of agencies will be holding a Housing Fair on Saturday, July 23 at Union County College in Elizabeth. Sponsoring organizations include: Union County Foreclosure Task Force, New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), Brand New Day, Urban League of Union County, Affordable Housing For Union County, and Faith, Brick & Mortar.

The housing fair will be held on a Saturday in hopes of attracting homeowners, new home buyers, and tenants. Information will be available on foreclosure intervention, foreclosure prevention programs, tenants rights, credit counseling, weatherization programs, homelessness assistance, utility assistance, first time home buyer programs and more. The organizers hope to attract the general public, lenders, realtors, and other community organizations.

The Housing Fair will be held at Union County College – Kellogg Building, 40 West Jersey Street – 5th floor, in Elizabeth, New Jersey from 10AM to 2PM. The flyer recently issued indicates that for further information and to RSVP please contact Jacqueline Jenkins of Brand New Day, Inc. at 908-282-0781, extension 146 or email: jackie.j@bndcdc.org. Feel free to copy or distribute the Union County Housing Fair flyer, either in English or in Spanish.

In preparing this post I surveyed a number of reliable websites on foreclosure information. You may wish to visit these sites:
HUD/NJ Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency list of certified counseling agencies, NJ Judiciary Foreclosure Mediation Program, Legal Services of New Jersey foreclosure page, and HUD’s avoiding foreclosure in New Jersey page.

Please share this information with people who are in need of housing and foreclosure information.

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Thank You Tilman Hausherr

Posted on June 13, 2011 by

Most of the posts that I write are about social programs or community resources. Today I decided it was time to thank someone for a gift he gave. There is a web developer by the name of Tilman Hausherr who lives in Berlin, Germany. In 1997 he created a freeware program titled Xenu’s Link Sleuth. The program checks for broken web links. I’ve been using it for years to check all the links on my website. So the other day I thought it would be kind to write him a check or send him some cash. Guess what, he doesn’t want payment! He gave a few options instead, so I decided to write this article and thank him.

You can go his website to download the program. It works great, btw. Or you can find it on the CNET download site. Additional information is available in a Wikipedia article.

I don’t know how I would keep my website’s 1800 links up-to-date if it weren’t for Tilman’s free program. Thank you, Tilman.

Pass it forward.

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A Road Less Traveled

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

A long time ago I learned in geometry the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. A similar rule when taking a car trip is to take the Interstate if you want to get to your destination fast. Sometimes it is more fun to take the road less traveled. A few months ago while visiting our sons in Maryland and Virginia we decided not to take I-95 but instead to go west via I-78 and make a left at Harrisburg and take Route 15 south.

Near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania we came upon a number of what seemed to be handmade road signs advertising handmade pottery and fresh produce. On the return trip back to New Jersey we decided to take this turnoff. We followed the signs, turning onto Route 134 in Gettysburg. To be more precise we took a left onto Taneytown Road. A mile or so down the road we came to our destination, a local pottery shop and community market known as The Lion Potter. The shop is owned by David and Junko Young, an incredible couple.

If you spend enough time at The Lion Potter you will know this is a special place. I can’t explain the place as well as a local news article did so I’ll suggest you read the piece found in the local Emmitsburg News-Journal. We bought a small pitcher and unpasteurized goat’s milk. We will be visiting their shop at 855 Taneytown Road, Gettysburg, PA. on a future trip.

We got a postcard from David and Junko the other day. They are having their 7th annual spring cleaning sale on Saturday and Sunday, May 21 & 22, 2011. Their inventory of plates, bowls, mugs, vases, etc. will be priced at 50% off. Go visit them. Take the turnoff for a road less traveled.

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LIHEAP Season Extended

Posted on April 27, 2011 by

The state sent out an email recently to announce the deadline for energy assistance applications will be extended through May 2, 2011. The reason for the change is that the normal deadline, April 30th, falls on a Saturday. According to their news release “LIHEAP applications will be accepted until closing of normal business hours on May 2nd. We will continue accepting applications for USF all year long.”

For a list of the local LIHEAP and USF application agencies, income guidelines, and resources for other energy and weatherization programs visit the New Jersey Community Resources website.

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Legal Services To Release Poverty Benchmarks Report – March 22, 2011

Posted on March 8, 2011 by

Date: Tuesday March 22, 2011
Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Place: New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, 205 W. State St, Trenton, NJ

Legal Services of New Jersey invites you to the public release of Poverty Benchmarks 2011: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Combating Poverty —the fifth annual report in the Poverty Benchmarks series prepared by LSNJ’s Poverty Research Institute.

Attendees will hear about recent trends revealed by data related to poverty and income inadequacy in New Jersey, as well as implications for state action to address existing and anticipated challenges. The release will feature presentation of report highlights, followed by panel discussions and Q&A. More details about the event, including directions and parking information, will be sent next week. Feel free to share the attached Poverty Benchmarks 2011 flyer with other interested parties.

The Poverty Benchmarks Project is an on-going data collection effort that aims to increase understanding of poverty in New Jersey as a foundation for more effective public response to the reality of poverty and its consequences. This report is the fifth in the annual series and updates key poverty trends and attendant policy implications.

Please RSVP by e-mail: PRI@lsnj.org. For more information contact Zane Kratzer (x8502) or Shivi Prasad (x8218) at (732) 572-9100.

Source: recent email from LSNJ

P.S. LSNJ has since released online Poverty Benchmarks 2011: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Combating Poverty. Those interested in reading some of the 172 page report can view it online at http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/budget/Benchmarks2011.pdf .

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Tax Benefit For Commuters Extended

Posted on February 17, 2011 by

The following article appears in NJ Transit’s FYI Customer Update, February 2011:

Congress has continued the $230 monthly pre-tax commuter transit benefit allowance through Dec. 31, 2011.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the pre-tax payroll deduction limit for transit was increased to $230 per month on March 1, 2009, while maintaining the existing $230 limit for parking expenses.

Through commuter tax benefits, employees save on income taxes when they use pre-tax salary toward their mass transit commute and/or qualifying parking benefit. Employers also save on payroll taxes for each participating employee by lowering payroll costs. To find out how you can participate, visit www.njtransit.com/taxbenefits.

The extension of the commuter tax benefit was part of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 passed by Congress on December 16, 2010.

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LIHEAP Action Day – February 9, 2011

Posted on February 9, 2011 by

Today is LIHEAP Action Day. Join with others to press Congress for at least $5.1 billion in federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for Fiscal Year 2012. For a list of local energy assistance organizations and fuel funds visit NJ Community Resources list of energy organizations. You may also wish to make a contribution to New Jersey’s fuel fund – New Jersey SHARES. See their website for details.

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