It is established that although there are some very powerful or I should say previously powerful people that did not want an honest person like Akerman to be mayor, there was no other choice. Perhaps the PTB(powers that be) realized that there woul be a loud outcry if Akerman were not chosen. 

The question is who will be the deputy mayor? Some believe that it will be a democrat. Ray Coles and Meir Lichtenstein have been in the minority for years and perhaps deserve the position. Menashe has been Mayor for two consecutive years and has seen his share of ribbon cuttings and award ceremonies. Some believe that Steven Langert has convinced the other committee members to vote him in as deputy. This would cause quite a stir Among the recall Langert group. We will have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

President Obama and Senate Republicans reached a sweeping deal tonight that would let income taxes rise significantly for the first time in more than 20 years, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and averting the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.”

According to Democratic aides, Vice President Biden is on his way to the Capitol to explain the details of the pact he negotiated with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and a vote on the package could be held by 10:30 p.m., beating a midnight deadline. White House officials gave in on the last issue, how to handle estate taxes, yielding to GOP wishes, aides said. The House will begin considering the bill tomorrow, with final passage in the next day or two. 

News of the visit came with a little over three hours remaining until the fiscal cliff deadline.

Once again another person was seriously injured in Lakewoods Tent City. 

The man was taken by helicopter to a local burn unit. No word on his condition. 

This latest incident can once again be blamed on the inability for our town leaders to sit down and negotiate with those iin charge of the homeless camp. If we continue to rely on lawyers to take care of the problem, or hope that our police and fire Marshall can do anything, people will die, and nearby residents will be very frustrated. 

The time has come to sit down and discuss the options for the homeless camp. 

HH

One last cliff is about to come with the new year. It is a cliff that will change much of the way things are done in Lakewood.

Let us call it the Akerman cliff. 

With the inevitable appointment of Isaac Akerman as the mayor, there are many people in Lakewood worried about what may happen. 

Will the zoning and planning boards be able to continue to allow overbuilding, and irresponsible approvals? 
Will property taxes continue to be higher for select segments of our town, while allowing certain demographics a lower tax rate or tax free status? 

Will the police chief continue to be allowed to listen to certain individuals while ignoring the needs of the town? 

Will our public works department continue to be managed ineptly and misuse our township workers for certain people's personal needs?

Will the UEZ be allowed to continue appropriation of funds for personal needs while ignoring the need to promote businesses to create jobs which was its original intention? 

Will the Blue Claws be allowed to continue to use our town to make money for its owners and not share the wealth with Lakewood, the town for which they are named?

Will the committee be allowed to continue to lie about the homeless issue and ignore their needs and the needs of the people living in the surrounding area? 

Will a certain organization be allowed to continue to influence the Committee to think of its needs first, above and beyond the needs of the town as a whole with no regard to any damage being done. 

Will every town meeting be secret negotiations to help certain people, and a cavalcade of awards to make people happy so everyone can get what they want and the town is kept in the dark smiling while in reality we are being lied to daily? 

I hope not.

With all the last minute negotiations, backstabbing deals, and partisan politics regarding the fiscal cliff, one thing becomes certain. We need a re-evaluation of the entire tax system. 

So much has changed in our world in the last twenty years yet our government has pretty much been operating the same as it has for the last sixty years. There have been no major changes to fit the times. Our tax code has remained the same. Save for a few cuts here and there, a few new loopholes, everything has remained status quo. 

Now with the Bush tax cuts about to expire, perhaps we need to take a long hard look at which parts of our tax code are hurting the country as a whole. Focusing on a few rich people and their needs is not going to help us as a nation grow. 

The time has come to enact a tax system that will tax all people fairly. Rich, poor, non resident aliens, and even non profit organizations should share in the burden of keeping our country safe and stable. We all have one common need and that is to have the freedom to prosper in this great land. 

Lets all hold our breath. Here we go.

The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that would head off a possible doubling of milk prices. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow indicated that the House could vote on it as early as Sunday. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Americans faced the prospect of paying $7 for a gallon if the current dairy program lapsed and the government returned to a 1948 formula for calculating milk price. 

APP
LAKEWOOD — Police found the man suspected of stabbing two people at the homeless encampment known as Tent City on Saturday.

The victims, Jacquelyn Donaldson and Douglas Joyner, identified their attacker as Robert Faison, 42, shortly after the 6:30 p.m. incident, but police weren’t immediately able to locate Faison, police Sgt. David Sussman said.

Police found Faison around 11:30 p.m. and took him to the Ocean County Jail. He was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and his bail was set at $80,000, Sussman said.

It wasn’t immediately clear where police found Faison.

Joyner was stabbed in his chest and rear end and Donaldson was stabbed in her left arm and on the right side of her body, Sussman said.

Neither victim appeared to have life-threatening injuries, but both were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for their injuries, he said.

From the APP

TRENTON — A Brooklyn, N.Y., rabbi has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for his admitted role in a large-scale corruption and money laundering sting in New Jersey.

Lavel Schwartz was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day Thursday in federal court in Trenton.

The 61-year-old pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy last May.

He was one of more than 40 people arrested in July 2009. Four other rabbis already have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Schwartz admitted laundering what he thought were illicit funds from a developer who was acting as an informant for the government.

Several hundred thousand dollars were laundered through a religious charity.

About three-quarters of the defendants arrested in 2009 have pleaded guilty or been convicted.