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As a member of our town’s Economic Development Commission, we have been pushing buy local, support the local businesses that support your organizations, since March.
Although closed to in person shopping, non-essential businesses have been allowed to take telephone/internet orders for delivery and curbside pickup during limited hours, all orders prepaid co there is no contact at pickup.
The town coordinates the pickup times has marked the spaces along the curb reserved for pickup and special town issued traffic signs. The no parking rules for these zones are suspended for the pickup operations.
When one drives up to the pickup spot, you call the store on the phone number posted on the sign and give your name, car make, model, color and parking space number, pop your trunk or liftgate and wait a minute or two. The employee brings out your purchase comes to the back of the car and places the package inside. You get our and close the trunk or liftgate (if not remote) after the employee as gone back into the building and drive off.Stores that had been closed before this system was up and running have a chance to give employment to a few employees as well as turn inventory into cash.
@AviK
My statement about needing permission to sue a state was made after reading the OP. Later I was able to read the filing and the suit was not against a State, but seeking injunctive relief against a government official acting in his official capacity.
When one sues claiming a law is Unconstitutional it is not a suit against a State it is seeking relief from a legislative act that is believed to be unconstitutional. The State (through its Attorney General) may be named as a defendant, but in reality one is suing the legislation. If Plaintiff wins, the law or parts of it may be struck down, if Plaintiff wins the law stands.Again, my response was to the words of the OP, when it became clear the OP did NOT post accurately, I withdrew my comments, saying it had been a waste of time to have to explain you can’t sue a state without its permission.
I have maintained a home office for decades and only spent about 15 hours a week in our law offices (that is a benefit or perk of being the boss).
The business phone line in my home and those now routed to employees’ homes is answered by an auto-attendant after hours and it states our hours and that we are now closed. Please leave a message and it will be addressed when we are open. We don’t do criminal law, so there has never been a need for after hours emergency phone service and we don’t do personal injury work with commercials telling potential clients we are always there, call 24/7.
Our business email have an auto-reply for after hours that lets the sender know we are closed and the email will be read and addressed during regular hours.I do not intrude on my employees after hours unless it is truly an emergency and then would contact them via text or email to personal account and ask if possible to call me.
Employers do not pay employees for non-working time and have no right to expect them to be on call 24/7.
That said, at least 3-4 times a week either my eldest son or I are on the phone/computer with clients in China, necessary due to the time difference. BUT, we are owners/partners, not the ‘paid help’ and this is poart of our chosen business model.
Sorry, NOT every Civil Suit is for Monetary Damages and alleges a harm which needs redress through compensation.
In the 1970s, CT passed ERA to its own Constitution. Private clubs continued to discriminate in having things such as Mens Grill Rooms or restrictive tee times and tennis court access. Growing up, I remember women could not tee off before 3 PM on Sunday or get a tennis court before noon. No women could tee off pr play golf Wednesday afternoons (doctors’ traditional afternoon off).
Suits were brought against a number of the country clubs seeking injunctive relief to remove the discriminatory rules. No dollars were sought. Because, the women were members of the clubs, they could not file a suit seeking monetary damages, as rules were available before becoming a member and as members they could vote for new officers and changes in the rules.
The women had standing to sue the private clubs and the state courts had jurisdiction because the clubs held liquor licenses and sales tax permits. Their swimming pools and kitchens required inspection and licenses from local health departments.
Injunctive relief was granted and their could be no discrimination against women in the clubs, despite being private. Their licenses, permits and inspections qualified them as places of public accommodation.
@Joseph
We have had a T1 since about 2006. My ekdest brother was in the telecommunications business from the breakup of AT&T in 1977 until selling out in 2015. I was a part-owner of the corporation and benefited from discounted rates…but still not cheap@n0mesorah
Stop making absolute generalizations for things you are not the authority.
Many companies still issue paychecks with stubs, including my law firm.
I administer a trust that runs 14 McDonald’s (long tern non-Jewish client family) They issue more than 2,000 payroll payments every two weeks. Some employees chose direct deposit, some want checks. A checkstub is attached to the actual paychecks and those with direct deposit get a check marked non-negotiable without the micro-encoding but with a stub with full wages and tax deduction breakdown.@Joseph
Fiber is not available in our town
There are two cable companies available, both of which are in bankruptcy. The speeds are quite slow and now with so many home, even slower. They will not build out new infrastructure to increase speeds when they are broke.
That is why we still have a T1….many times faster than the other available optionsI have had all my grandchildren, grand nieces and nephews here in the CTL compound since about March 12th.
Since they attend different schools in assorted cities and range from 1st graders to Law school, they are using many different platforms for distance learning.Our obervations:
Teleconferencing works best when it is the instructor and no more than 3 students and the call lasts less than 30 minutes. Large groups have too many technology failures and the teacher can not mute the whole group and choose who to unmute. There is no raise a hand feature, so the teacher knows a student wished to ask a question.
I like Zoom and use it reguilarly for business and government meetings. It lets the teacher see the students. It is important to see facial expressions and determine if a concept is understood. The teacher can mute or unmute all. There is a raise a hand feature, so the teacher knows which students to call upon. There is also the capability for those without computers or devices with cameras to call into a Zoom meeting on their phones and a chat feature that lets participants type questions and/or comments for the group to see.Other teachers are using a combination of Google Classroom and Google Meet. The classroom is good because student can check assignments, submit them as wee. They can share documents with teacher or parent for editing. The teacher use this year round in several of the schools and on Friday afternoon parents get an update showing work missing from the week and assignments die the next week, dates for quizzes and tests. Google Meet works like Zoom and allows the teacher to teach live and have students on camera and microphone responding as if they were all sitting in the regular classroom.
Being OOT, all the Day schools have had computer labs for about 40 years and the kids are taught to be proficient from an early age. We are lucky in hosting so many of the family that the older ones can tutor and teach the younger ones.
This past week I was asked by one law school to proctor my grandson’s final exams. The other Law school has a program where they keep the webcam on and can see the student as he types his exam on the laptop.But as a word of warning for schools considering Zoom, there may not be enough bandwidth in a given home or neighborhood with so many working from home plus remote learning. Because I work from home quite often, as does Mrs. CTL we have a dedicated T1 connection and most of the older grands are plugged into the network, not usinf the wireless modems from the cable company which are slower/
@Gadolhadorah
Our local municipal golf course was closed in March and has been reopened this week, It was not about social distancing of the players.
It was done because:
#1 it is within a municipal park, and all parks were closed and the entry gates locked. This closed the tennis, basketball courts, playgrounds and ball fields within that park as well.
#2 It was to protect the employees from exposure to Covid-19 carried by the golfers coming to play. There were shortages of masks and no requirement for people to wear masks in public. Since ordered by the Governor.
#3 The employees were put top work in more essential uses, such as sanitizing and deep cleaning, town hall, other government buildings and the schools, as well as DPW vehicles and equipment
#4 There was a shortage of PPE and cleaning materials and these were diverted to hospitals and first responders. Far more important than using them to sanitize each gold cart between foursomes.
#5 Keeping the golf course and parks closed help enforce stay at home orders. This is not a big city with people in high rise apartments or densely packed houses side by side. It is a small town with 1/2 or 1 acre zoning per house with everyone having private yards and gardens to enjoy. Our grandchildren, here since March 12 have been using our basketball and tennis court, riding bikes in our yard and drives, etc.Mow that supplies and cleaning materials are more readily available, our golf course has reopened. Carts may be used, but only allow 2 in one cart if their Identification proves they live in same household. Golfers may only tee off if the previous golfers are already on the green. Tee times by prior reservation only, and no out of town players permitted.
Sorry, the OP got it WRONG.
The State of NJ is NOT being sued. Phil Murphy, in his official capacity as Governor is being sued. The suit seeks injunctive relief to an Executive Order.
YWN posted a news article about a Lakewood Rabbi joining the suit and posted the actual suit filed in US District Court.All my previous comments about needing the state’s permission to sue the state were a waste of my time, since the state was not being sued.
@Millhouse
BASIC RULE OF AMERICAN LAW
a ruling by the Federal Courts in one circuit is NOT binding on other circuits. Only SCOTUS decisions bind all circuits.
New Jersey is not in the 6th and is not bound by that decision. They may take it under advisement and decide to follow it but are not bound by it.@commonsaychel
I do not practice in Federal Court. My practice is limited to Family Law, wills estates, Trusts and some contract/real estate work for the trust. I was admitted before the First Circuit about 35 years ago, but have not appeared in decades.
We specifically have never expanded into a general practice firm, very happy in our niche.Our eldest grandson is engaged and was supposed to be married right after Shavous. All plans for the big wedding of the Kallah’s dreams have gone out the window. Mrs, CTL and I offered a wedding in our gardens for immediate family and a few very close friends with proper social distancing.
We have hosted a number of weddings here including our youngest daughter a couple of years ago.The couple has decided to take us up on our offer.
@Joseph
States waive immunity for many reasons, often so an insurance company can be forced to pay.
The OP didn’t say this was filed in Federal court but said that in response to my first comment.Disclaimer: I am not licensed in New Jersey (just CT, MA, NY, FL)
That said states enjoy Sovereign Immunity and generally one needs to get permission to sue a state from the state.
I haven’t read the filings, but question if the State of New Jersey has agreed to waive Sovereign Immunity and allow this lawsuitI am in the minority here in that I believe a couple should not marry until they have the ability to be self supporting. It is not the responsibility of invited guests to ensure the couple has enough money to establish a household.
I am not against parents giving a helping hand (should they choose), but feel no obligation to finance a newly married couple.
Delay marriage until after your education is advanced enough so you can provide the necessities of food, clothing and shelter.and contrary to commonsaychel’s opinion, Mrs. CTL enjoys choosing a gift for the couple getting married. We generally only give money to a couple who is marrying far from there new home and would find transporting gifts a burden.
As to whether you could write off the tuition paid to a now closed seminary as a charitable tax deduction.
If you are American and the seminary is in Israel.
#1 you paid the seminary directly…NOT deductible under any circumstances
#2 you paid “the American Friends of Seminary XXXX” would be deductible if the American group is a registered 501c3 charityDonations to foreign charities are deductible on US income tax returns, which is why all these American Friends of 5013cs were created.
Because there are some things best said/run by people you don’t know who don’t live in your immediate surroundings
Biden cannot pick AOC as his running mate even if he wanted to and the Dems wanted her.
The VP candidate MUST meet the constitutional requirements for the office of President. AOC is not old enough (35 on Jan 20, 2021) to be sworn in as VP, this she cannot be on the ballot/ticket.@Joseph
13 weeks is a quarter of the year
Many of these schools closed for what would be the final three months of the school yearMany of the Federal relief programs are likely to be extended
Some schools OOT may be able to reopen in late May or June depending on circumstances and the state governor’s directivesThese are hard and trying times and all Americans suffer in different ways
My bank manager called me immediately when the PPP money became available and said as a preferred customer they had moved my firm’s name to the top of the list. I told him that we would not be taking these government funds and that they should be used for companies not in great financial shape with low income employees who need their paychecks and jobs.
It is a shame that banks played favorites with Federal aid and many businesses who did not truly need the money took it and small and newly established businesses who needed the aid didn’t even have their applications processed.Here in CT law firms and accountants were on the list of ‘essential’ businesses allowed to operate. The CTL firm is operating remotely with our offices closed to the public. Only the one designated employee may enter the premises to access hard files.
Between keeping the firm operating, being in our town’s emergency management committee and trying to educate and raise all our grandchildren and grand nieces and nephews who have been in the compound since about the 10th of March I am busier than ever and look forward to a return to normalcy and a bit of a rest.
@acolyte
Our Day Schools are not different
Many have furloughed/laid off staff
Office staff, some janitorial help and kitchen/cafeteria help are not receiving paychecks and collecting unemployment. Many of these low paid workers are actually to receive more money for not working because f the $600 week Federal add on to state unemployment amounts.In most cases teachers are working, directing distance learning, phone calls with parents and students, creating lesson plans for home education, etc. while supervising their own kids who would normally be in another classroom during the school day.
Some janitorial staff must work. You can’t just lock the doors and walk away, The buildings must be maintained. The absence of students and most staff allows deferred maintenance to take place as well as the required deep cleaning and sanitizing required by health departments.
We want the buildings ready to go when the government allows opening, not having to wait weeks to bring them into operation.Spring has arrived, non-urban schools have lawns and playgrounds, plantings, etc. that have to be maintained. They can’t be allowed to become overgrown breeding grounds for mosquitoes and West Nile Virus.
I do not know why you think most day schools have bloated payroll. I’ve been on the Boards of a few over 40 years and salaries are quite low
@Coffee Addict
The insurance Broker system while common in NY State is not in many places.
Here in CT the insurance company is paid directly and they pay the commission to the sales agent/broker (if there is one due a commission).A insurance broker in NY may choose to front the money for the Yeshiva until paid, or may have a positive commission balance with the insurance company, so the premium is paid from the float.
This can’t happen with direct payment situations.
Well, I read these 14 posts and it is time for a reality check.
If Yeshivos are behind on payroll, which is very common, how can they be trusted to make life insurance premium payments?
We would soon see staff receiving notifications that their policies were canceled for non-payment.
In October I was at the pharmacy in the nearby city. A rebbi at the local yeshiva was attempting to pick up some medication for his family member. The pharmacy clerk said to him that the insurance declined the prescription. I motioned to the pharmacist to put it on my bill and give out the medicine.
When I got to my office I called the President of the Yeshiva Board (a friend of mine) and asked what’s going on? He said he;d investigate and get back to me.
It seems the bookkeeper was paying the health insurance bill just before the cancellation date of the end of the second month (Bill due Jan 1 can be paid by Feb 29 without policy being cancelled) but didn’t know that the Prescription component had coverage lapse when the bill was 30 days past due.Yeshivos regularly struggle to pay bills, a vendor might wait to be paid for paper, pencils, cleaning supplies, etc. But insurance companies are quick to cancel past due policies.
Even if a camp managed to open getting campers and staff and their belongings there would be both a logistical nightmare and super expensive.
No yellow school buses loaded with 42 kids and a driver. One child every other row on each side of the bus means 10 or 11 kids per bus. No families loading the SUV or minivan with 8 kids and driving upstate. Who will disinfect the campers, clothing, bedding, supplies upon entry to camp.
This may be harsh, but the required inspection, separation, segregation and sanitizing would be reminiscent of a different type of cam Jews went to in the last century.
I would not trust my grandchildren to be subject to the inspections of overworked health department employees in the little towns of the Catskills.1lb raw weight for adults, 10 ounces for children above toddler stage. 6 ounces for toddlers.
The brisket will shrink approx 50% in cooking
From my years in the catering and deli business, so long ago, and hosting a huge family for Yomin Tovim for 35+ years.
@Mrs. P
Throwback recipe from the 1970s that my mother Z”L would make for the second seder.Mix one bottle Russian dressing, one cup apricot jam and and one envelope of onion soup mix (for each chicken)
coat chicken parts well and allow to marinate for a couple of hours, Place in baking/roasting pan, pour the remaining marinade over the top and bake at 325 for about an hour.Don’t have KP Russian dressing?, then use equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise with a little bit of diced pickle.
Keeps food extremely moist and as it is somewhat sweet it goes well with the vinegar based new kraut and relishes that are found on our Pesach table.
@ZD
There is one court. It has painted lines for tennis, and basketball. The poles and hoops are installed at each end. The poles for the net are set to handle tennis or volleyball or badminton.I make no bones about the fact that Mrs. CTL and I sank our money into improving and expanding the compound over 30+ years…doing much of the work ourselves and that our children and grandchildren spent their summers here, not shipped off to camp. The cost was far less than sleep away camp for all the children over the decades.
We bought our house for $110,000 back when. The main section was built in 1803 with additions in 1903. It was a fixer upper. I cut and hammered plenty of wood. Mrs. CTL and I hung and taped sheet rock and I painted and plumbed. Our fathers taught is these skills. They were homeowners here in CT, not apartment dwellers in NY dependent upon a super to do repairs.
The house grew as out family did….very common in this area, many homes in our neighborhood have additions that have been added over the years. Our mortgage is long paid off, so as we approach retirement, we own it for taxes, insurance and repairs. Last year, we added solar for electric supply. We are saving more than $8000 per year on that bill.
Everyone makes choices, we like living in small town CT and not in the city. We like having land and space to breathe. True, there are no local kosher restaurants, takeouts, etc. and the money not spent on prepared food pays for many amenities.
My parents were happy top leave NYC in 1950 and leave the hustle, bustle and dirt behind. They moved to New Haven which had a long history of Jewish schooling, mikvah, bakers, butchers and was a great place to raise a family.
The grandchildren and great nieces and nephews have all been ensconced in the CTL compound since schools even thought of closing. No one has been allowed in or out.
Chol HaMoed they can play basketball, tennis, volleyball, badminton, hopscotch, jacks etc in our yard and courts.
This year, I have decided that it may be cold, but I’ll open the swimming pool and crank up the heater.
Being in the fresh air is good for them. NO excursions to parks or public playgrounds. Just the family who is already here. No other members of the family will join us for Pesach this year, safety first.
I have planned some projects that will have the kids help prepare the gardens for spring planting. As part of math and science we’ll build a tree fort, calculating loads, figuring angles to cut and mitre, area for how much paint or stain needed to cover, etc.
This is a great time to teach life skills and self sufficiency.The joys of being the youngest, not an issue for me
@Charlie Hall
We have spent thousands on Pesach at home, but have hosted the entire extended family including in-laws at the CTL Compound.
This year we now have to abide by the 50 person limit on gatherings and social distancing and possibly travel restrictions and an 8 PM curfew.
So CHL Pesach will be limited to those who live in the compound, are within walking distance (a couple of siblings) and those who can stay here. Already we have 8 grandchildren moved in since schools/colleges have closed so they can be taught as a small group.
Shopping may be the hardest part of making Pesach. But we have a separate Pesach kitchen and the freezers are full of meat and poultry and the pantry stocked with sealed canned, boxed and jarred food, It is fresh dairy and perishables that may be an issue, We don’t buy any prepared foods (ready to eat cooked food),I remember my great grandfather talking about Pesach: On the first day we had potatoes and eggs, on the second day we had eggs and potatoes.
The Pesach Program at the CTL will go on as scheduled (I”H), BUT we are enforcing a 75 person limit. SO>>>none of the pregnant family members should give birth until after Pesach.
We will hold all davening here and not walk to shul, as it would make the Yuntif services at shul exceed the 100 person suggested limit (soon to be mandatory) on public gatherings,
@Yehudayona.
NOT Foreign Nationals………………………………
US residents, not just citizens can come to the US from the EU under the ban.Tell him the invitations all end up in the trash (except for the few saved by parents and grandparents) and it is literally thrown out money.
Fewer, envelopes, inserts, tissues, etc. are better for the environment.@1
always looking to argue. You need to get a life‘Doesn’t’>>>>DOES NOT is present tense, not past tense. 1968 was a violent time in America. MLK and RFK assassinated. Mayor Daley attacked convention goers with his goon squads in Chicago. Major Social unrest and anti-war protests.
The incumbent chose not to run.
It was the first Democrat National Convention I attended. I was too young to vote or be a delegate, but my cousin was a DNC member and I was an invited floor guest.@Coffeeaddict
Yes Sanders supporters will be upset if he has a delegate lead on the first ballot and after delegates are released he loses to Biden on a subsequent ballot.
That doesn’t mean those who are loyal Democrats will not vote for Biden against Trump.
That doesn’t mean some of the diehard Bernie supporters who did not vote for Clinton in 2016 won’t vote for Biden BECAUSE they have detested the Trump Presidency and realize had they not sat out in 2016 Trump might have lost,All of the ardent Sanders supporters I know well have pledged to vote Blue no matter who this year.
So far it looks like a Biden/Sanders race, but in the past surprise candidates have been nominated by the National Convention. Too early and too close to call.
My post this morning was submitted before Bloomberg withdrew and endorsed Biden. I don’t know when the moderators approved and posted, as I was in court today from 10:15 on.
Sanders has previously said he would support the Democratic nominee, he won;t run as a third party candidate.
Brokered conventions were the norm for more than 100 years. Having a candidate with enough delegates for the nomination on the first ballot was unusual (unless an incumbent running for reelection).
It does not mean a party cannot get along, rather that they came to choose a candidate who garnered the needed number of delegates.
State delegates to the National Convention (and I have been one) are only pledge to a specific candidate for the first ballot. Then the horse trading begins
#1
Always so sure, always so wrong.Time to get rid of that cheap knock off crystal ball you bought at the flea market.
February 24th you posted Sanders was my nominee. I disputed it then and Democrat primary voters overwhelmingly chose other candidates on Super Tuesday.The moderate wing of the party has coalesced behind Joe Biden.
I have made no commitment to any candidate and as I have repeatedly stated I’ll wait to see my choices when the CT primary is held on April 28.
I like some things Sanders has proposed but have said from the beginning I did not think the old, white haired Jew representing Vermont could win the national election.
The south has been the key to elections since the Bush Gore Fiasco in Florida (2000). Biden can turn out voters in the south; Sanders cannot. Sanders is dangerous to the underticket and could lose Senate and House seats. That;s why Trump wants Sanders as the D candidate.
I wrote earlier that I was considering not going to the D national Convention (as I have done for many decades, as our town D chairman expressed interest ion attending. BUT, he is an ardent Sanders supporter, so i may hold onto my seat if there is not a candidate with the required pledged delegates before the convention to win on the first.
Last night I met with 2 CT members of the DNC and 2 congress members who are super delegates, all 6 have stated they will support Biden if it goes to a second ballot. A brokered convention will not go for Sanders.Bloomberg has been an embarrassment, but he has got voters to turn out and his anti Trump advertising is strong. He says if not nominated he will continue to spend his personal fortune to defeat Trump. He has spent $500 million so far. It sounds like a lot of money, but he is a real mulit-billionaire who has an income stream of $107 million per day.
Like Sanders, he is an old northeast Jew who cannot be elected by middle America.
Biden is not my first choice (it would have been None of the above) but he may be the best choice to unseat Trump. Only time will tell.@1
NY followed my state of CT which has had this since last July.
Easy adjustments
Cleaner streets and byways
Our local supermarket even gives a 2 cent per bag credit for each bag the customer provides.You just like to complain
@Health
Wikipedia is NOT an accepted source…too many people can edit entries and they are not verified
The quote says known as…that is not the same as ‘is’
SWP is an irrelevant and small splinter party not worth bothering withI am in favor of putting Donald Trump on Alcatraz………..”the Rock”
Lock him in a cell and throw away the key
@1
keep posting liesSanders didn’t mot defend Fidel Castro. SAnders said Castro brought literacy to the Cuban people. That was a good thing. Most of what Castro did was terrible.
And Sanders is not the nominee as of now.