Thursday, January 10, 2013
Some educators suggest student surveys should be part of teacher-effectiveness evaluations
With all the debate in New Jersey and elsewhere about evaluating teachers on how well their students perform, another idea is starting to surface that could prove equally provocative: judging teachers by what their students think of them. One of the options available to New Jersey school districts as they build teacher evaluation systems is including student surveys among the “multiple measures” of student achievement. The idea is gaining popularity, at least among policy-makers. Several districts that have been part of the pilot program testing evaluation models have included or plan to include student surveys, although not necessarily as part of a teacher's grade. In Alexandria, for instance, teachers survey their students and are …
Monday, December 10, 2012
Of all the proposals, building redundancy into the grid looks to have the best chance of keeping the lights on next time
- OPINION
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Monday, December 10, 2012
The devastation left behind Hurricane Sandy poses huge challenges for the state -- not the least of which is how best to prevent future storms from leaving 2.7 million customers without power, some thousands of whom still lack electricity or gas on the barrier islands along the coast. In the more than a month since the storm hit, there has been no shortage of proposals to prevent disaster from striking again. The recurring questions are whether any of the schemes will work, and at what cost to ratepayers, who ultimately bear the cost. Those plans range from requiring utilities to install so-called smart meters in customers' homes and businesses; ordering gas stations and other facilities to buy backup generators; and forcing Jersey Central…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
But marriage-equality supporters here prefer action by state Legislature
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
by Hank Kalet, NJSpotlight.com The success of marriage-equality ballot initiatives in three states Tuesday demonstrates that voters are growing more accepting, but should not be used as models for legalization in New Jersey, supporters of same-sex marriage believe. Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved referendum questions Tuesday that made it legal for same-sex couples to marry in those states. They were the first such referendum questions to be approved in the nation, after 30 previous ballot initiatives around the country either banned same-sex marriage or reinforced existing bans. Supporters of marriage equality in New Jersey, including Garden State Equality and the sponsors of bills that would legalize same-sex marriage in…
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Group argues that 2012 election is critical for environment and public health
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
By Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com The New Jersey Environmental Federation is not showing much love for the GOP these days. The group, one of the largest environmental organizations active in the state, yesterday endorsed Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep Frank Pallone, a couple of Democrats it has backed in the past. The federation, long considered a key ally of the Democrats, raised eyebrows when it endorsed Republican Chris Christie for governor three years ago. It seems to have rediscovered its roots, saving its most blistering criticism for the Republican members of Congress in a statement announcing its endorsements yesterday. “Since January 2011, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has voted 297 times to weaken public health and …
Monday, September 24, 2012
NJ household’s income drops for fifth straight year as ranks of poor rise
- LOCAL CONNECTIONS
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Monday, September 24, 2012
By Colleen O'Dea of NJ Spotlight The typical New Jersey household’s income dropped again last year, the fifth consecutive decline, according to new data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Not surprisingly, as incomes fell, the ranks of the poor rose. “The latest federal statistics show there are more people in our state struggling in poverty than during any period in half a century,” says Melville D. Miller Jr., president of Legal Services of New Jersey. “That can cripple the development of our children and our state’s economic and social future.” Click here to see an interactive map on the change in household income across the state from 2008-2011. The latest Census estimates put the median household income in the state at $67,…
Monday, September 17, 2012
Union officials say while Englewood downsizes, other hospitals in the state are hiring
- NEWS
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Monday, September 17, 2012
by Anthony Vecchione, NJSpotlight.com The union that represents nurses at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (EHMC) charge that the facility's decision to lay off nurses is "shortsighted" and runs counter to a hiring trend at other New Jersey hospitals. It's unclear how many positions will be affected, although earlier reports put the number at 70. Jean Otersen, policy director for the Health Professional and Allied Employees Union (HPAE)based in Emerson, said that the layoffs are scheduled to take effect around September 26. "We won't know the exact number until we are finished reviewing open positions," she said. Among the options that are being negotiated with the hospital are voluntary retirement and shift or unit changes. HPEA …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
With teacher’s tenure now tied to the evaluations, state sets deadlines for districts to decide on the process and performance models
New Jersey’s plans for having a statewide teacher evaluation system in place by 2013-2014 goes full throttle this year, with every school district in the state being required to start putting the key pieces in place. Much of the attention has been on the more than two dozen districts that have signed on to be pilots of the new program, 11 last year and another 10 this year. An additional 14 districts are also piloting a new principal evaluation system. But the balance of the state’s nearly 600 districts are hardly off the hook, as the state has begun rolling out timelines and regulations that they will need to follow in preparation for having the statewide system ready by next year. It will start with every district and school putting …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
With seven bills pending, advocates press for ban and fees on plastic grocery bags
- NEWS
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
By Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com When you go into a supermarket, you are usually given a choice: Paper or plastic bags to cart your groceries home, unless you are carrying in your own reusable grocery bag. In some states, the choice you make could cost you a few pennies more. That would include New Jersey if bills pending in the Legislature are enacted into law. What decision you make, however, is subject to a lot of debate as whether which one is better for the environment. In what may be shaping up as a big battle in the fall legislative session, environmental groups and clean ocean advocates are pushing lawmakers to either ban single-use plastic bags or impose a fee on consumers who choose to opt for that choice. The issue emerged as a …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Despite opposition by environmentalists, Transco project poised to move forward
- NEWS
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Thursday, August 2, 2012
by Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com A much-contested natural gas pipeline expansion project in northern New Jersey cleared an important hurdle yesterday when the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission found it would have no significant impact on the environment if constructed. The finding by the federal agency basically clears the way for the commission to issue a certificate of necessity that would allow the project to move forward and be operational by November 2013. The project by the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline LLC (Transco) is one of a series of natural gas line expansions which have come under intense opposition from environmentalists and local communities as the industry tries to tap into new supplies from neighboring Pennsylvania and …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Utility company investing $883 million over the next five years to build an additional 233 megawatts of solar capacity in New Jersey.
- NEWS
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012
By Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com Public Service Electric & Gas is hoping to remain a big player in helping New Jersey achieve its ambitious solar energy goals. In a groundbreaking for a new solar farm at a brownfield next to the Hackensack River, the company announced this week it wants to invest $883 million over the next five years to build an additional 233 megawatts (mw) of solar capacity in New Jersey. The event in Hackensack meshed well with a top priority of the Christie administration -- trying to reclaim abandoned industrial properties and landfills and converting them into facilities producing clean solar power to help meet the state’s electricity needs and creating well-paying jobs in the process. The utility’s latest proposal, …
Utente
12:42 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
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