Earlier this month, the Hoboken BoE district filed a lawsuit against the two grade expansion of HoLA, the downtown Spanish immersion charter school.

The cold war between the BoE school district and Hoboken charter schools has gone red hot since the announcement last month dozens of layoffs were likely with a tax increase in its preliminary budget. There’s no financial figures attached to that announcement and no additional details are available on the district website.

A legal complaint filed earlier this month challenges the charter school’s expansion according to a Jersey Journal story filed the end of last week. Read More...

Councilman Peter Cunningham announces:

Happy spring and happy holidays to all.

This weekend’s local paper had a public service announcement for parking permit renewals for Hoboken residents.  Many of you may not be aware that renewals are on a rolling basis, not within the first quarter of the year as it had been for as long as we can remember.

April 2013 permits are to be renewed at this time.  To check on when your permit renewal is due, please login to www.hobokennj.org/hpuonline.  This is a GovOnline System where you login to create an account, view your updated contact info, or renew your permit.  You can also call 201-653-1919 to check on your renewal during the hours of M-F, 8:15am to 9:30pm; Sat from 9-1pm.  If you are not signed up to receive your renewal via email, you should receive a letter.  I advise that if you haven’t renewed in over a year to do so as soon as possible. Read More...

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.       

                                                    Matthew 28:6

The complete legal filing by the Hoboken BoE vs. State of NJ DoE, Hoboken Dual Language Charter School.

Some highlights:

The filing includes original letters by the Superintendent objecting to the expansion of HoLa and “urged the DoE further study and analyze the issue of major demographic differences.”

In Exhibit C, a reference to school performance demonstrate “de facto segregation” with BoE vs. Hoboken charters. A comparison between Connors and HoLA states the former has 3.9% white students vs. 60.6% at HoLa. Further comparison references a 76% minority population in the BoE district vs. 30% in 2011-2012. Read More...

MSV has previously written of evidence of direct threats made against Hoboken resident Jessica Coco. There’s more to that story.

What you weren’t told were the threats made against this editor.

The continuing political efforts surrounding the undocumented plan Vision 20/20 and the hostilities surrounding its lack of approval have led to numerous antagonistic actions, games being played and pawns pushed into the fray.

For the first time, MSV will make public the evidence of a threat directed against this editor.
It ended thusly: Read More...

Carmelo Garcia and his important but controversial dual roles as HHA Executive Director and Assemblyman saw that issue arise this past week in both the HHA and last night’s City Council meeting.

A question was posed to one of his staff members Patricia Waiters, when Councilman Ravi Bhalla asked if she was a paid staff member of Carmelo Garcia.

Waiters responded “no” and provided a long confusing dually confessed and obfuscated answer. She along with several others is in fact on the payroll of Assemblyman Garcia.  Councilman Ravi Bhalla finished requesting a legal opinion if it’s appropriate to vote someone on as a HHA commissioner who is also a paid staff member of Assemblyman Garcia. Read More...

One of the aspects of Hoboken’s changing political climate is the never say die mentality of those who stand in the way of not just good government but decent government. It’s the shame of our City.

How else to explain this video of Councilwoman Beth Mason speaking on Vision 20/20? As has been pointed out numerous times, this monstrosity was thrust upon the Hoboken public and the unsuspecting residents of the HHA with zero transparency.

To date all the public has seen is a bunch of words and a glossy brochure. Read More...

Tonight’s City Council meeting comes with a fairly light agenda although there’s some financial moves for budgeting on deck but without a neutralized reform council member absent, MORTe (Mason-Occhipinti-Russo and Terry Castellano) can not hope to stop merely delay or obfuscate needed approvals on budget matters.

But the war over the fiefdom of the HHA’s contracted and self-appointed leader Carmelo Garcia should see some noise coming from his small, merry band of Carmelitos this evening. Read More...

There’s been networking problems at City Hall and live broadcasts of the City Council meetings have been down in recent weeks. Unclear if that’s fixed for tonight.

The last meeting led to the first interview with Councilwoman Beth Mason on her and her husband’s hundreds of campaign violations, (Richard Mason of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz).  Speaking for the first time on their state violations where up to seven figure fines are on the table by NJ’s watchdog agency, Beth Mason made her first public comment on the controversy.  Her comments however were not congruent with the complaint against her 2011 and 2009 campaigns. She claimed the “numbers are false,” and NJ Elec, the oversight agency ‘doesn’t write their own stuff.’ It’s unclear where the review process Mason called “hyped up” stands or if the rumors floating around on Grafix Avenger are true – that the Mason family is unhappy with pending fines for their lawbreaking. Back later with more. This City Council meeting may be live but it won’t be available on Maxell.

                         

The parallel investigations between the US Attorney’s Office and a state committee investigating missteps into the BridgeGate and SandyGate swarm rolls on. With it the latest report from today’s Star Ledger details how the governor’s staff was allegedly directed not to work with mayors across the state who weren’t politically supportive of the governor as he sought re-election last November.

The issue is illustrated here with the statement of an aide for Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno upon leaving a Shoprite parking lot after speaking privately with the mayor. The aide testified upon departure from Hoboken the Lt. Governor said “Mayor Zimmer was not playing ball.” Read More...