Category Archives: Info

🙄 “Making Lambertville Better” & “Stopping Over-Development” are only Acceptable if Achieved by LU & Former/Incoming Councilman Stegman

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LU’s Supposed “Survey” about Closson Farm Leads you to Oppose It

Lambertville Mayor Julia Fahl, proposes that the City purchase the Closson Property and protect it before it becomes another tract of houses and condos on one of the last remaining open spaces in Lambertville. Her proposal includes purchase using existing funds and partners to limit the taxpayer cost to .63/household/year. (That’s cents.) Housing conversion estimates of the idyllic and historic farm vary from 12 units (current zoning) to 28 units (with variances). The property is currently on the market and could be purchased by a developer at any time. (See the City’s FAQ.)

Self-proclaimed “watchdog group” and 1st Amendment advocates “Lambertville United” apparently think this is a bad idea—especially if it is done before former Council Person Steve Stegman returns to his seat on the Council. Stegman you may recall, after many years on Council, and serving as Council President, resigned “to spend more time with his family” when the Fahl administration’s budget work revealed years of mismanagement, incompetence, and hidden costs in City budgets resulting in a crushing debt burden for at least the next ten years. (Many details available on the City web site.) With the endorsement and support of LU, Stegman, and his conveniently-named running mate, Benedetta Lambert, won election, returning the fox to the henhouse starting in 2021.

In mid-November, the “watchdog group” distributed a “survey” requesting feedback on “the Mayor’s Closson Farm” proposal.

I have screenshotted the entire survey (LU Closson Survey Questions) if you would rather not subject yourself to the trackers associated with it.

As in previous “surveys” from the Stegman, er, LU group, the very leading questions are intended to rile and misinform people about an issue, as opposed to actually getting feedback. Please read the City’s FAQ first.

For example the first real question in the survey begins with:

“In the past, all City of Lambertville purchases blah, blah were put to a vote through public referendum…”

REALLY? ALL? IS THAT TRUE? I’m not sure that is really true. Are we talking about the hills above Ely Field? Maybe this just doesn’t seem right due to the way it is phrased, because:

“Voters in November 2008 approved, by almost a 3-1 margin, extending the city’s open space tax, in part to purchase the McCann tract.”—NJ.com, (see link following)

BUT that referendum was not specifically on the purchase of the tract, it was about extending the tax.

The City condemned the hillside above Ely field, so technically the City didn’t purchase it, the city was obligated to pay market value, and you might recall there was a big controversy because the City paid way more than market value…another of Dave and Steve’s expensive adventures requiring a Google search to reveal the details: <https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/2013/04/discussion_of_condemnation_for.html>

But was there a referendum about every other purchase?

Nevertheless, the “survey” doesn’t let me say, “You idiots, the Clossons aren’t going to wait for your stupid referendum, time is clearly of the essence!”

And the next question leads with assuming higher taxes, bonds, and debt, and uses the term “redevelopment” without mentioning “open space” or “historic preservation” or even suggesting that there are some creative options for buying the property. (Again, I suggest you read the FAQ—the truth is out there.)

Someone needs to ask LU to be honest about what they really want, because when you offer them something that—based on their anonymous public statements, press releases, and lawn signs all over town—it seems we all could agree on, their concerns appear to be way more about personalities than issues or facts. It would be good to get clear on that.

But, uh, oh yeah, they don’t have any names on their web site. You can’t actually talk to anyone from LU. They’re not a public non-profit. They’re a secret society. Darn.

If you’d like to participate in the City’s public discussion of the topic, where speakers are required to reveal their identities, the meeting is Monday evening…

https://www.lambertvillenj.org/component/dpcalendar/event/2011

Peace out,

— Christo

😷 Covid-19 Info & Resources Update Sunday November 30, 2020 (USA)

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Info and updates for friends and Loved Ones— Vaccines are on the way!! Wahoo!! Dr. Atlas has resigned!! (Barring a coup), the imposter in the People’s House will be leaving on January 20th! WE can see that things will get better, but unfortunately we have MONTHS to get through first. And, the advice is the same: wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance, and don’t be an idiot! Oh, that’s new!? But you know what I mean, right? No super spreader orgies or rallies. You have the idea. BE SAFE.

11/30/20 How Covid can Cause Neurological Problems Unfortunately, it appears it gets into your brain. —Read on https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/30/world/covid-19-coronavirus/new-study-gives-clues-to-how-covid-19-can-cause-neurological-problems

11/29/2020 Long Covid: ‘Is this now me forever?’ A disturbing number of people continue to have symptoms for months after Covid… — Read on https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/eleanor-morgan-is-still-struggling-with-long-covid-months-after-catching-the-virus

11/18/2020 Take at home Covid test Approved! Whoohoo! Something to look forward to!! 🙄 — Read on https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/18/world/covid-19-coronavirus/fda-authorizes-the-first-at-home-coronavirus-test

11/21/20 Why Are States Imposing Coronavirus Curfews? – New York State and city leaders are trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus without full lockdowns. But whether curfews will help remains unclear. Or from my view, why close restaurants and bars at 10pm? Does Covid only come out after that? Jeez. If you’re going to close them, just do it! — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/11/21/us/coronavirus-curfew.html

11/21/20 A (Not so) Nostalgic Look at Thanksgiving in the Flu Pandemic of 1918. Not so different… — Read on https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/11/21/covid-and-thanksgiving-how-we-celebrated-during-1918-flu-pandemic/6264231002/?build=native-web_i_t

11/18/2020 If Covid is Airborne, why are we still Scrubbing Things?! “Fomite” transmission does not seem as hazardous as it did months ago. But you should still wash your hands!! — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/world/asia/covid-cleaning.html

11/14/2020 The hottest of the Covid-19 hot spots in the United States.—Yet another example of how quickly things change in this pandemic. Today, two weeks after the article, the WHOLE COUNTRY is a hot spot. Well, pretty much…— Read on www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2020/11/14/covid-19-alert-the-10-riskiest-states-to-visit-right-now-ranked/

Wear a mask, find some stillness, and be patient,

—Christo

😷 Covid-19 Info & Resources Update October 25, 2020 SUNDAY (USA)

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keep-calm-wash-your-hands_8.5x11

Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones
Wow, I lost a whole month! Where did it go? (I wasn’t sick, just working, and living..) And that’s life in the pandemic. I like to keep this information hopeful and upbeat, if possible. Honestly, things are going to get worse before they get much better. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, wear a mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive. As the imposter in the People’s House has proven, relying on testing alone can get everyone sick. VOTE if you haven’t. There is still time.

Why this is not the time to ease up, as much as we want and need to –

“…government ineptitude, rampant misinformation and outright lies from our own president are still thwarting efforts to stomp the virus out. And the death toll will soon surpass 200,000.”
9/18/20—www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/opinion/coronavirus-fall-winter.html

“As of Sunday morning <snip> at least 224,800 have died…The national trajectory is worsening rapidly. Wisconsin has opened a field hospital. North Dakota, which not long ago had relatively few cases, has grown so overwhelmed that it has now ended most contact tracing. Cases have reached record levels recently in more than 20 states, including Illinois, Tennessee, New Mexico, Nebraska and Utah.”—
10/25/20—https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html

Why Pooled Testing for the Coronavirus Isn’t Working in America? (Short answer: Because there are too many positive tests!)
8/18/2020—Read in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/health/coronavirus-pool-testing.html

What the Fall and Winter of the Pandemic Will Look Like Commentary and some predictions, – The New York Times
9/18/20—www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/opinion/coronavirus-fall-winter.html

Coronavirus symptoms: How to tell if you have a common cold, Covid or the flu? Runny nose, headache? Your guide to differentiating between the three illnesses.- The Guardian
9/18/20—Read on www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/18/coronavirus-symptoms-common-cold-covid-19-flu-nhs-guide

‘I Just Kind of Lost It’: As Coronavirus Cases Soar, One Montana Town Reels – The New York Times. In the Mountain West, an outbreak has revealed the danger that the virus poses to jails and rural communities.
10/16/20—Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/us/rural-jails-coronavirus-mountain-west.html

How the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have spread coronavirus across the Upper Midwest: Within weeks of the gathering that drew nearly half a million bikers, the Dakotas, along with Wyoming, Minnesota and Montana, were leading the nation in new coronavirus infections per capita. – The Washington Post
10/17/20—Read on www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/17/sturgis-rally-spread/

Stay Healthy and #WearAMask

— Christo

😷 Covid-19 Info & Resources Update August 27, 2020 (USA)

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keep-calm-wash-your-hands_8.5x11

Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones
New tests and testing info! More relatively current updates about Life in the Age of Covid arranged roughly by topic with newest articles first. Explainers about transmission in the air. Should I wear a mask? Is that really still a question!? The big question: Will the Pandemic ever end in the USA? Answer: If the current administration remains in power, the pandemic never EVEN happened. With actual leadership, Covid-19 should be under control within 18 months. PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE, VOTE EARLY, AND DON’T COUNT ON THE USPS TO DELIVER YOUR BALLOT.

Get Tested for COVID-19 at Home! Mail-in kit from Pixel by LabCorp (Not an Antibody test. A test to see if you are currently infected. You will have to come up with a reason for being tested if you don’t have symptoms.)
8/25/2020 — Read on –  www.pixel.labcorp.com/covid-19 Read on

Coronavirus Antibody Tests? It would be great if they worked and told us what we needed to know. But so far, they don’t.
8/21/2020 — Read on NYT – www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/health/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html

Should I get tested for COVID-19 antibodies? Can antibody testing tell whether someone has been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19?.
8/x/2020 — Read on NJ Health Department – covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/testing-information/should-i-get-tested-for-covid-19-antibodies-can-antibody-testing-tell-whether-someone-has-been-exposed-to-the-virus-that-causes-covid-19

Europe lockdown: New coronavirus rules country by country (Americans stay home until you can manage your Covid better.)
8/20/2020 — Read on BBC NEWS – www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53640249

What Happens to Viral Particles on the Subway – Very cool Graphic Explainer!
8/10/2020 Read on NYT – www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/10/nyregion/nyc-subway-coronavirus.html

Covid 19 is airborne [Don’t you want to just say “Duh!!”. But it was only the beginning of July that scientists could prove it and the CDC began to accept it.—Christo]
7/4/2020 Read on NYT – www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/239-experts-with-1-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html

Could my symptoms be Covid 19? (Yes, whatever they are. A great Graphic Explainer.)
8/5/2020  Read on NYT – www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/05/well/covid-19-symptoms.html

Face masks: How to wear a covering and stop coronavirus (Video)
8/25/20 Read on BBC – www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53517968

Coronavirus: which way round to wear a face mask? (Video)
07/15/20 Read on BBC – www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52606128

Coronavirus: ‘The masks you throw away could end up killing a whale’, [So RECYCLE, or put them in the trash for heaven’s sake!!—Christo]
7/7/2020 Read on  BBC – www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53287940

Nurses Who Battled Virus in New York Confront Friends Back Home Who Say It’s a Hoax (I include this because to me it is unfathomable that people could believe this is a hoax. You probably have neighbors, as I do, who still treat it like it is a hoax. RANT FOLLOWS: And that the wing nuts could think this is a Leftist Conspiracy? When the damage, the death, is being wrought on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations—seriously, the “Democrat”, liberals, poor, seniors, and people of color— those populations. While the government is compensating giant corporations and banks and billionaires? Who is benefitting from this disease? People on Social Security? Sounds more like a conspiracy of the Republicants to wipe out their troublesome opponents. But, NO, I don’t believe that. “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”—Christo)
07/07/20 Read in NYT: www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/us/coronavirus-nurses.html

Stay Healthy #WearAMask and #VOTE!!

— Christo

😷 Covid-19 Info & Resources Update June 6, 2020 (USA)

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keep-calm-wash-your-hands_8.5x11Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones
More relatively current updates about Life in the Age of Covid: As businesses open, valiant warriors peacefully confront racism and Police Violence, and the unwanted visitor in the People’s House relishes any #Diversion as he refuses to #WearAMask.

 

Should Runners wear a mask?
6/5/2020 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/health/running-exercising-masks-coronavirus.html

What’s the risk of catching Coronavirus from a surface?
5/28/2020 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/well/live/whats-the-risk-of-catching-coronavirus-from-a-surface.html

Where and how do I get tested for COVID-19 in New Jersey? Who should get testing? FAQ.
5/27/2020— Read on covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/general-public/where-and-how-do-i-get-tested-for-covid-19-in-new-jersey-who-should-get-testing

The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them — Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time  It seems many people are breathing some relief, and I’m not sure why. An epidemic curve has a relatively predictable upslope and once the peak is reached, the back slope can also be predicted. We have robust data from the outbreaks in China and Italy, that shows the backside of the mortality curve declines slowly, with
5/20/20— Read on www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, a Regimen for Reëntry | The New Yorker A four-part strategy of hygiene, distancing, screening, and masks will not return us to normal life. But, when signs indicate that the virus is under control, it could get people out of their homes and moving again.
5/17/20— Read on www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/amid-the-coronavirus-crisis-a-regimen-for-reentry

QR codes and dramatic vistas: travel tips during the pandemic Marketplace’s China correspondent reports on bureaucracy and beauty far from Shanghai.
5/15/2020— Read on www.marketplace.org/2020/05/15/qr-codes-dramatic-vistas-tips-for-traveling-during-the-pandemic/

U.S. officials are preparing to begin checking passengers’ temperatures at roughly a dozen airports as soon as next week, as the coronavirus pandemic has heightened anxieties about travel.
5/15/20— (Paywall) Read on www.wsj.com/articles/tsa-preparing-to-check-passenger-temperatures-11589579570

How to keep your glasses or sunglasses from fogging up while wearing a face mask – nj.com
4/2020 — Read on www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/how-to-keep-your-glasses-or-sunglasses-from-fogging-up-while-wearing-a-face-mask.html

Supermarkets, grocery stores are shifting hours, adding hours for seniors and have purchase limits. What you need to know. (April 18, 2020) – nj.com
4/18/2020 — Read on www.nj.com/business/2020/04/supermarkets-grocery-stores-are-shifting-hours-adding-hours-for-seniors-and-have-purchase-limits-what-you-need-to-know-april-18-2020.html

 

Stay Healthy and #WearAMask

— Christo

COVID-19 Info and Resources (USA)

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keep-calm-wash-your-hands_8.5x11Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones

It’s been almost a year since I’ve posted anything. I noticed I keep emailing this info to people and update it every couple of days when someone sends me something of value. Silly me! It’s easier to put it on the blob. So here it is…
March 22, 2020, A doctor in New York recommended this video by another doctor. A bit long, PLEASE watch the whole thing, important and hopeful information throughout. “Dr. David Price of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City shares information in a Mar. 22 Zoom call with family and friends on empowering and protecting families during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
March 17, 2020 Web Blog entry, by Dr. Hyman. Mark Hyman, MD is the Founder and Director of The UltraWellness Center, the Head of Strategy and Innovation of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, and a 13-time New York Times Bestselling author.
March 24, 2020, The Guardian, web page article.
March 26, 2020 New York Times Web Page, broken into 4 sections:
  1. Prevent Infection
  2. Prepare
  3. Stay Home
  4. Recover from Illness
April 19, 2020, Web Page is dynamic, I can’t find the “permalink” so you might have to follow it from this page. If you don’t want all the latest news, scroll down, to the bottom of the page to “Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions”, and click “Read More” and pick a topic.
April 1, 2020 Dr. Jeffrey VanWingen

April 18, 2020 Supermarkets, grocery stores are shifting hours, adding hours for seniors and have purchase limits. What you need to know. – nj.com
— Read on www.nj.com/business/2020/04/supermarkets-grocery-stores-are-shifting-hours-adding-hours-for-seniors-and-have-purchase-limits-what-you-need-to-know-april-18-2020.html

No-Sew Face Mask with Handkerchief and Hair Tie-2
April 1, 2020 Article, No sewing required!!

How to keep your glasses or sunglasses from fogging up while wearing a face mask – nj.com
— Read on www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/how-to-keep-your-glasses-or-sunglasses-from-fogging-up-while-wearing-a-face-mask.html

April 1, 2020 A computer model. Only look at this if you can handle the news. Big numbers. Fascinating and depressing information.
After that serious model, everyone should watch this!!

BTW: No. COVID-19 is not caused by 5G. Seriously? C’mon people, now, smile on your brother, everybody get together (with social distancing), right now.

 

Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands, and Wear a Mask! — Christo