Alan Halpern

The Philadelphia Daily News yesterday (Wednesday, December 14, 2005) reported the death of Alan Halpern, the long-time editor of PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE. The obituary on Page 32, in a featured article, said Alan died Tuesday after a lengthy illness. He was 79.

The article ran two columns, full page. It noted how nothing was sacred or off limits to the magazine. He served from 1951 to 1980, taking the magazine from a Chamber of Commerce mouthpiece to a publication that grabbed many local institutions by the scruff of the neck and gave them a good shaking.

Said the Daily News: “It (PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE) practically shut down the Pearl Buck Foundation for mismanagement and sent Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Harry Karafin to prison for extortion.”

The latter story was so remarkable, my station, KYW-TV, assigned me to cover the Harry Karafin trial, which ran for two full weeks. It was my assignment (from station management) to report the day’s court developments for TWO FULL MINUTES on the six o’clock news every night.

I met Alan Halpern once. In April, 1970, we were both selected to be two of five representatives from Philadelphia to fly on the so-called inaugural flight of Pan American’s FIRST 747. Yes, the big jumbo jet. Alan and I and one other Pan Am invitee were taken by big long limousine from Philadelphia to JFK International, Jamaica, NY. We were treated royally.

We were seated together on the plane. Row 6. And this is the main reason I am noting his passing. The qualities described in his obituary were evident to me in that one night with him. The obituary quoted from an Inquirer description of him as “shy and soft-spoken”, a cigarette addict who seemed to hide in a cloud of smoke”.

I do not recall that he smoked. What I remember is how frightened he was. He was terrified of the thought that this was the first flight of a 747. In addition, he did not like it one bit that he could not see the right wing of the plane. We were seated so far forward, we couldn’t see the wings.

Because it was obvious he was in a panic, I told him I would check things out for him. I left my seat for a minute, walked back in the plane until I could see the right wing.

I returned to my seat and told Alan the wing is about one-third back on the fuselage, but very definitely there. He seemed to appreciate the important tidbit.

Later, he became concerned because we didn’t leave on time. So, because the pre-flight time was quite casual (no security in those days!), we walked to the area just behind the pilots, whose cockpit door was open. The pilots seemed to be quite busy checking their instruments, and Alan was especially concerned that the departure time already had passed. One of the pilots turned around and smiled.

This made Alan feel alot better.

He asked a crew person (possibly the same stewardess, I do not recall) if this really is to be the first 747 flight.

“Oh, yes,” he was told. “The first WITH PASSENGERS. This crew already has flown back and forth to Paris about 20 times.”

Alan returned with me to Row 6. The plane backed away from the gate 45 minutes late. Alan Halpern enjoyed the flight, especially the landing in Paris. It felt as though a feather had touched the runway.

What a great airplane! What a nice man.

Weather Weary

Last Monday (December 5, 2005), the company phone rang at 5:36 a.m. (We handle day and overnight bus tours, among various trips, including cruises.) The caller was group leader for a casino bus trip departing at 11:30 a.m. She wanted to cancel the trip. In recent days, the TV weather forecasters were predicting the winter’s first major storm. Her trip did not leave Philadelphia until 11:30 a.m., but presumably people already were calling her regarding the ominous warnings. She said she had heard it already was snowing heavily in Atlantic City (the report was untrue). She agreed to wait until 9:00 a.m. when a final decision to cancel could be made. And at that time, she canceled the trip.

Another Atlantic City trip that morning, from a Philadelphia suburb, did proceed. Its group leader said he was not overly-concerned by the forecast, but he asked that the departure from the casino be moved up one hour (in other words, he wanted to leave Atlantic City at 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:00). The casino agreed. The rest of this particular part of the story is that the trip proceeded without incident.

But that first trip was postponed until mid-January.

The main cause of the above developments was not the weather. It was the weather foretellers. The TV weather guys. During the past decade, they have succeeded in scaring the hell out of many people, and the damage likely has amounted to millions of dollars. And yet nobody will be able to develop an appropriate money loss total, and nobody at the TV stations cares.

So many times, the forecast has been ominous; the eventual result: not nearly as severe. This is not a direct slap at meteorologists. They are more accurate than the TV weather prognosticators (some of whom also are meteorologists). Weather reporting on the TV newscasts seems to involve personnel who relish dwelling on the most severe possibilities. And the viewing public has been sold a bill of goods. The obvious theory here is that the TV weathercasters want to boost the ratings.

And it all comes at a considerable cost.

In my business, a postponement or cancellation always costs money. If it is a postponement, the bus driver (based on the rugged rules of being a charter/tour motorcoach operator) loses a day’s pay. It is the rub of the green. The purpose of the trip may not be replaceable. If you are going to New York to see the Rockettes in the “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall, you are out of luck. Only once in its 75 years has the weather resulted in a show cancellation.

In extraordinary cases, Radio City would seek to offer another show date, but because the Rockettes and their annual show are so popular (they do about 200 performances at Christmastime), it may be impossible to provide a makegood.

If you cannot “make good” on the trip, you have to open your wallet, one way or another.

Yes, there are times when the storm is severe enough to cause a group to cancel. But these situations are in the minority. Even so, because of the scare tactics on the TV weather reports during newscasts, the public has become panic-stricken. Surely there are times when passengers cannot get out of their driveways to get to the trip pickup point, but in a majority of situations, the people are just too scared to venture out. And the snow may be an inch, or such as last Monday, less. When the forecast is updated by weather events, the people do not listen; they go by the prior scare and stay home.

In other words, the “storm of the century” mentality has become so rampant, people are quick to cancel. Last winter, one major storm did shut down trips for a few days, causing one group leader to cancel his trip scheduled nearly one week after the snowstorm.  By the time of the trip day, the church parking lot had been completely cleared, and of course the streets and highways were open. But the people canceled, anyway.

There is some justification for being scared to death, but it is completely overblown. And the implications of the TV weather reports affect many industries, not just the bus business. It seems that practically everybody anticipates coming disastrous results if you don’t stay home.

John Bolaris, former weathercaster at Channel 10, Philadelphia, probably will be for years ahead the most infamous TV weather scarer. A couple of years ago, he was so convinced a major storm was poised to strike Philadelphia some days later, he succeeded in convincing his station to allow him to announce during the evening entertainment fare (before the 11 o’clock news) that he would have a report on “the storm of the century” at 11 o’clock.

This prompted other stations to provide similar ominous forecasts, and people were canceling things all over the place.

Isn’t it time to stop this stuff ??

November 22 42 years ago

In April, 1945, when I was 11 years old, I recall being shocked by the news of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. I was delivering newspapers for a neighborhood newspaper about six blocks from my home. It was warm enough that people were outside their homes as I walked from house to apartment house to house. Several people along my route told me of the news, apparently figuring an 11-year-old could understand.

Just about everybody you talk with, if they were old enough in 1963, can tell you where they were and what they were doing when they first heard news of the assassination of President John Kennedy.

I had the unique experience of reporting it on the radio.

I was a reporter-newscaster for WRCV in Philadelphia, an NBC-owned station (it is now KYW NewsRadio). In those days, I did the morning news starting at 5:30 a.m. so I was near the end of my work day in the newsroom, along with John Schubeck, who at the time did the morning cut-ins during the TODAY SHOW. The Copy Boy in the small room where the teletype machines were located heard highly unusual loud bell sounds coming from one of the machines.

The Copy Boy gave me the copy, something to the effect that “shots rang out at the Kennedy motorcade in Dallas”. Soon thereafter, the follow-up said President Kennedy had been shot. I told John Schubeck of the brief item, and he said at once: “You take it on radio, I’ll take it to the announce booth (television).”

John had been employed there before I joined the station just three months prior to November 22. So I was not about to question his judgment. He “beat” the NBC network to the news on Channel 3, where Chet Huntley and David Brinkley soon took over non-stop coverage.

I had seen first-hand how popular President Kennedy was. For the TV news side (Channel 3), I was assigned to politics, and took one of the station’s crews to Convention Hall one night in October when the main speaker at the Democratic City Committee Annual Dinner was John Kennedy. I never will forget the thunderous ovation he received when he walked into the hall and over to the head table. He was a very, very handsome man. And his smile was unbelievable. The place just came apart, there was such adoration.

About a month after that, I walked into the radio studio where a disc jockey was playing music. I told him President Kennedy had been shot, and I needed the air at once. The disk jockey introduced me with a brief mention that I had a major news bulletin. By the time I was on the air, the teletype machine account had given additional details, which I read on the air. The disc jockey had the unfortunate predicament of following the bulletin with a comment, and he said, I thought quite nervously, that WRCV would provide further details as soon as we had them. I know both of us were in a kind of shock.

I left the studio and went back to the newsroom, and walked into the teletype room and watched in further shock, by myself, as a teletype writer, somewhere, manually and very slowly and carefully typed that the President had been shot, “PERHAPS FATALLY”, or words to that effect.

NBC-TV had not yet taken the air on our television station, Channel 3. NBC Radio also had not been heard from. I took the additional information including “PERHAPS FATALLY” back into the studio, and asked for the air again. The disc jockey interrupted the music, and introduced me again. This was only two or three minutes after the first bulletin.

I read all the additional information including the PERHAPS FATALLY, explaining that we were updating immediately so as to provide all we knew.

When I finished, the disc jockey said something like “Well, we certainly hope that’s not true.”

What else could he say??

House of Representatives

The Iraq war, of course, is a controversial issue nowadays. Supposedly, the polls have it that two-thirds of Americans oppose the war. If the polling were more structured (i.e., objective and truthful), we would find that two-thirds of Americans oppose the killing of American servicemen…and the other one-third oppose the killing while at the same time recognize that military deaths are a given in time of war. The death toll was 25 times higher in Vietnam than present-day Iraq. This does not justify the Iraqi death toll, but critics do not admit the obvious: we are at war. Last night, the House of Representatives voted on a “non-binding” proposal to call for an immediate pullout of American forces from Iraq. After heated, sometimes juvenile debate, the proposal was overwhelmingly defeated. Only three Democrats voted in favor. We send our representatives to Washington to represent us. After the smoke cleared, they did so last night. But we wouldn’t have seen such a debate had not the liberals advanced their causes: there were no WMD’s in Iraq; there was no connection between Iraq and 9/11, ad nauseum. Let us suppose the House APPROVED that resolution. First, of course, President Bush would have ignored it, as he properly should do. Secondly, somebody would ask the U-S Senate to conduct a similar vote. And President Bush would ignore any Senate approval of such a ridiculous proposal. Congressman John Murtha, an ex-Marine from my state (PA), Thursday called for the pullout “at the earliest practicable time”. That triggered last night’s debacle. “At the earliest practicable time” could be 10 years. Or 15 years. What we are doing in Iraq is fighting a war on terror. The suicide bombers strike daily. They kill people every day. Most of the dead are Iraqis. The ongoing assault by American et al forces against the so-called insurgents is designed to pick them off day by day. It is a struggle. People asked for a “plan” regarding Iraq. It is right before you. No government can put down on paper chapter and verse as to how to eliminate terrorism. The liberals not only demand a “plan” but they also call for a pullout date. The fact that this is crazy does not deter the liberals from constantly presenting this drivel. Terrorism is a war unlike any we ever have seen. Our enemy does not even wear uniforms. Where is the ACLU or somebody to complain that the enemy is in violation of the Geneva Convention in not wearing uniforms? Where is the ACLU or somebody to complain that it is barbaric to cut somebody’s head off? Where is the news media in pointing this out? Where are the polls asking IF YOU OPPOSE THE WAR IN IRAQ, AND THE AMERICANS PULL OUT, are you prepared for daily suicide bombings in the United States? We do not have a specific plan. That is correct. We are ad-libbing to a great extent. We are fighting a war against terrorism. It will take time to win. But win we must.

Polls

The so-called MAINSTREAM MEDIA seek to make a lot of news from polls they or somebody else conduct. Why is it that we never get to see the questions that are asked? The subjective nature of questions certainly can sway the answers.

It seems to me we should not pay attention to, much less trust, any of these polls unless the questions are fully disclosed. Yet the lovely MAINSTREAM MEDIA pounce on polls offered almost as breaking news. We also never know whether the poll is NOT REPORTED if the media source doesn’t like the results.

Dan Rather thinks there is no liberal bias in the news media. Dan Rather himself is part of the problem. The media has a bias. It is left wing. Dan Rather is a typical left-winger. The reader may not agree, but it always seemed, during his newscaster years at CBS, that he enjoyed providing poll information allegedly harmful to the conservative side. He says he is not reporting with a bias. Although his anchoring days are past, in speeches and other commentary, he speaks with a bias. And he knows it. Surely he does, doesn’t he?

Dan Rather and the MAINSTREAM MEDIA love polls when they warp to the left.

Polls should be accurate. Polls should avoid any biases. Polls should tell us the truth. The subject may come up again on thishere blog because we also must question the method of selecting the people who are polled. Ever watch Jay Leno doing a MAN ON THE STREET, or Sean Hannity on the radio. One might think the American public as a generality are…. dumb. Let’s just say they perhaps are less than INFORMED sufficiently to ANSWER a poll and polling questions.

A U. S. President recently authorized a poll to tell him where to take his next vacation. This craziness is self-explanatory.

Thank God we have a President today who does NOT make his decisions on what the polls say.

My First Blog Fri 11/18/05

My son David “installed” this blog for me. Took him only a few minutes last night. He has had his own blog for two years: davidpierron.com He just talks on there from time to time . . . . . about computers or whatever else comes to his attention. He makes a grammatical error here and there but I think it is mostly because he is in a hurry. David, you should proof your copy before you send it to China! But maybe they wouldn’t be paying attention in China, anyway. And what do they know? They still are ruled by Communists, who basically do not like our country.

And why did I get on the subject of China?? Oh yeah… because David used incorrect grammar once or twice. So, why did I ask him to install a blog for me ??? Well, there are two reasons: one is that I don’t know where this will lead, and the other is that I want to put in writing some things that have happened over the years that otherwise would go unreported forever. That may not be the least bit tragic for the history of the world, but I would ask the reader to decide if proper use is being made of this blog.

SO WHY ARE WE NOT SURPRISED?

From the Philadelphia Daily News Thursday, June 27, 2002

HEADLINE:  “Most in Jersey poll have dim view of officials”

Many New Jersey residents are skeptical of those in political and governmental positions.  In fact, they think they’re downright selfish and crooked.

One-third of the respondents to a Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll said there is “a lot” of political corruption in New Jersey, and 51 per cent said there is “some”.

Sixty-four percent said they believe most people go into politics for personal gain, and nearly seven of 10 residents feel that politicians look out more for themselves than their constituents.

Yet when asked how they would rate the quality of government in New Jersey, 43 per cent of respondents said it was “good”.

Forty-two per cent said “only fair”, 9 per cent said “poor” and 4 per cent said “excellent”.

A MINOR HIT

A few nights before Christmas, 2001, I believe it was Friday night, what did the Philadelphia TV stations lead with??  THERE ARE SNOWFLAKES in Chester County.

This is big news to local TV stations.  Last March, Channel 10 became infamous for weather reporting when the station broke into NBC-TV’s hit show “ER” to forecast the STORM OF THE CENTURY for the next week.  You remember the rest of that.  The storm would bring two to three feet of snow.  And it brought nada.  Despite changes in the day-to-day forecast, Channel l0 clung to the STORM OF THE CENTURY.

The viewing public, according to the TV focus groups, tune into the news for the weather.  Is that sad, or what?  That tells you of the significance of today’s local TV news, which concentrates on fender-benders that years ago were only the fodder of small market stations.

The weather forecast can be covered in 30 seconds or less, and the possibility of a storm three or four days hence deserves another 30 seconds.  But STORM OF THE CENTURY?  When nothing happens?

Well, the reason for mentioning this is that the same thing happened last week.  We were due to get a snowstorm Sunday night and Monday morning.  Supposedly.  The stations rushed to advise you that THEY were the ones to tune to for the school closing announcements.  Yet, on Saturday morning, Accu-Weather on KYW was giving the same forecast as the day before, rain Sunday afternoon into early Monday with the possibility of light snow.  Come Saturday morning, the Accu-Weather feller said Philadelphia would be getting “a minor hit”.

As people say nowadays, “HELLO!”

Into Saturday night and even Sunday morning, the TV stations still carried the big storm forecast, and spent nearly 10 minutes showing people preparing, such as the guy who bought a bunch of snow shovels.

What is NOT reported is the REASON for this coverage.  And also what is not reported are the negatives this reporting fosters.

First, the REASON for the coverage is that scaring the hell out of the people supposedly means they will tune into every newscast for weather updates, and the TV stations can show how many snowplows the City has, and how many tons of salt, and so on.  But what about Accu-Weather’s forecast of a “minor hit”?  Well, just ignore it, as the storm could switch directions and in no time we will be facing the STORM OF THE CENTURY.  So, the first reason is to attract viewers.

The “negatives” hurt alot of businesses affected by bad weather.  If you happen to operate bus trips, charter motorcoach day trips, for example, the people figuratively or actually frightened by the TV stations are afraid to travel on their scheduled trip date.  Especially senior citizens do not want to chance going out when a storm is a-comin’.  How can you blame them?  The TV newscasts would have you thinking that you will be marooned for a week.  And this serves to cancel trips, and this affects not only the bus company, but also the various attractions involved in the trip.

At the time of Channel 10’s STORM OF THE CENTURY, GSS TOURS lost four trips, even though there was no snow on the ground.  The people going on trips usually do not wait until the last day to decide NOT to go.  So, with the STORM OF THE CENTURY a-comin’, it’s best to go buy the snow shovels, stock up on food for at least a week, and pull the covers up to the neck.

For a minor hit????

OH, NO, NOT ANOTHER AC STOP??????

On Friday, December 28, 2001, the same bus (Panoramic #3) was stopped for the fourth time in two months.  C’mon, fellas!

ON THE PRIVATE PROPERTY AT THE SHOWBOAT CASINO. an NJDOT inspector stopped our driver just after arrival at the casino.

It was about 10:45 a.m.  There were three other buses on either side of P#3.  The NJDOT inspector asked our driver if he had been inspected before, and recently.

It meant nothing to the inspector that this was the fourth time in two months.

The inspector says the ICC and DOT numbers on the side of our bus do not match the NJDOT computer.  Our driver was ordered to drive to New Jersey Avenue for a safety inspection.

Upon arrival at the inspection site, now infamously well-known to our driver, there were two other buses already in line for another random inspection.  The NJDOT inspector boarded our P#3 to inspect the interior from 11:10 to 11:15 a.m. and then the undercarriage from 11:25 to 11:35.  The NJDOT inspector returned to our driver at 11:55 a.m. with paperwork.  We were allowed to leave after being given various citations.  There was one other bus being inspected at the time (11:55 a.m.) our driver departed.

The NJDOT inspector’s report states that the inspection started at 10:42 and ended at 11:42 a.m.

One citation was:  Drivers (sic) record of duty status not current/no record for 12/28/01 — and — Drivers (sic) record of duty status not current/no recorded (sic) for 12/24/01.  Our driver explained that as soon as he was approached, he started to complete his log for Christmas Eve day (when he did not work).  The inspector demanded to see the driver’s logs at that moment.  It used to be that state troopers and equivalent would allow a truck driver or bus driver 10 minutes to bring the logs up to date.  Things are getting tougher, apparently.

COURTS ARE SCARY PLACES

December 4, 2001

In connection with the New Jersey bus inspections, described in great detail elsewhere in this NEWS section, on November 1 GSS Tours received three tickets from a state trooper conducting an on-the-spot inspection near casinos in Atlantic City.  The court date was yesterday  (December 3, 2001).

The state troopers did not show up.

The Judge postponed the hearing.  The writer was advised to prepare for ANOTHER 70-mile trip to the City-By-The-Sea.  The Judge said his office staff had made a mistake.

According to the tickets, if you wish to plead “not guilty” (we did), you had to phone the Violations Bureau at least seven days prior to the court date.  On 11/15/01, the writer phoned the number listed on the back of the tickets.  The time was 3:40 p.m.  The automated system directs you to the appropriate department.

On this date (11/15/01), the phone rang and rang and rang.  No answer.

Another attempt was made 11/21/01 at 11:40 a.m.  This time, the call was answered.  We asked what the “fines” would be, and immediately the response was that this would be up to the Judge.  We confirmed that we wished to plead “not guilty”.  We said our court date was 12/3/01.  The woman in the Violations Bureau said we would need to appear on that date.

In court Monday, the Judge did not call the name of GSS Tours, which is listed on each ticket.  He asked if there was anyone present whose name was not called.  Several, including GSS, came forward.

The Judge wanted to inspect the tickets.  The “box” to be checked (“Court Appearance Required”) was blank, said the Judge.  We replied that we were instructed to be present in court 12/3/01, as the date showed on the ticket.

Having experienced the Courtroom One situation December 20, 2000 (described elsewhere on this website), we had no reason not to expect a one-day hearing.  In fact, the trooper had specified “1:30 p.m.” as the time of the NOTICE TO APPEAR.  If you do not have to appear, why was a time listed?

You have to understand that Judges are sacrosanct.  From their years as sharks, they have developed an air enabling their comfort with a completely dictatorial demeanor.  After all, it’s the law.  And they are schooled in it.

After inspecting the tickets, the Judge directed GSS to report to “Window Number One” outside the courtroom.  There, a clerk looked up in her computer for information on the three tickets (#960382, #960383 and #960384).  She then turned her monitor around so it could be viewed by the defendant.  She pointed to the line which stated:  COURT APPEARANCE REQUIRED.

She then rather ordered:  “Stay right there.”  And she left the large room.

She was not unpleasant, but nevertheless did not say “Please”.  Perhaps that’s the way of the court system.

She returned and said:  “Go back in the courtroom.  Your hearing is coming up today.”

On the wall behind the Judge, an emblem declares that the Atlantic City Municipal Court advocates “INTEGRITY – FAIRNESS – SERVICE”.  What happened later Monday afternoon challenged the vow of fairness.

The Judge sorted all the defendants into those who required the assistance of the Public Defender, and those who should discuss their case with the Prosecutor.  GSS was in the latter class.  All were asked to line up outside the courtroom to meet with the Prosecutor in the small mediation room.  It was a 45-minute line.  There were alot of people there who faced a wide variety of motor vehicle charges; only one bus company.  The NJDOT usually was scheduled for Wednesday afternoons, but this was a gig by state troopers, so, would you not assume that maybe the troopers knew what they were doing when they specified 1:30 p.m. 12/3/01?  And wouldn’t you assume the Violations Bureau would know what a “not guilty” plea required involving the three tickets?  The Assisant City Prosecutor, Michael R. Mosca, was a nice enough fellow, obviously beleaguered (read that:  too many cases to handle).  When he got to GSS 40 minutes after he started, you could tell he was a bit bedraggled, but nonetheless he said he had no paperwork for the GSS case.  We should tell the Judge, the Assistant City Prosecutor said, that his office (Judge Powals’)instructed us to appear on the date specified.

After a court recess, several cases were called up for brief actions, and then the Prosecutor told the Judge that GSS was represented but it did not appear the state troopers were there.  The Judge asked GSS what the circumstances were.

The GSS response was that we had followed all the instructions on the ticket, and had phoned the Violations Bureau more than seven days in advance of the hearing date.  The Judge wanted to know how we felt all instructions had been followed.

So at the witness station, we read the red portion of the ticket, which states:  “PLEA OF NOT GUILTY   If you intend to plead not guilty to the offense charged in the Complaint and Summons and have a trial, you must notify the Court Administrator, whose address and telephone number are shown below, of your intention at least 7 days prior to your scheduled court date.  If you fail to notify the Court Administrator, it may be necessary for you to make 2 court appearances.”

Fancy that.

Although there was a second paragraph, the Judge had heard enough.  He said he did not want to engage in a “shouting match”.  He said that obviously his court staff had made a mistake, and he was sorry, but that the case would have to be re-scheduled so the troopers could be notified.

Tough, fella.

There was no “shouting match” and for the Judge to imply this was anything but an exhibition of “FAIRNESS”, as it says on the emblem behind him.

Had the Judge allowed further “testimony”, he would have heard further proof that the court’s rules had been complied with.  Paragraph 2 states:  “COURT APPEARANCE REQUIRED   If ‘Court Appearance Required’ is checked on this Complaint and Summons (at the bottom of the other side) you must appear in court at the time and place indicated, even if you wish to plead guilty.  If ‘Court Appearance Required’ is not checked on this Complaint and Summons you must still appear in court if:  a.  you wish to have a trial; or b. the charge is not listed on the State or Local Supplemental Violations Bureau Schedule.”

The three tickets were for the following allegations:  1)  Axle 3 at brake out of adjustment  2) Passenger side emergency exit window blocked by TV  3)  Missing emergency exit stickers on windows.

We had with us for presentation to the Judge two separate write-ups of billings for replacement of Axle 3 brakes performed 9/19/01.  Could the state troopers be in error, as the NJDOT inspectors were at Liberty State Park perhaps a decade ago (for what happened a decade ago, please look elsewhere on this site … see THREE TICKETS BY NJDOT  2000 VERSION).

The TV monitor has been in the same place since the bus was new.  The NJDOT inspected the bus on many occasions after it was placed in service, most of them the required twice-a-year inspections since, at the time, the bus was registered in New Jersey, as that is where the bus was garaged.

The third ticket was a nit-picker.  The red handles on the emergency windows are far more evident than the sticker warnings.  If there were an emergency, passengers would be looking for escape and would go immediately to the large red handle.  By the way, the TV monitor was not close to the red handle, either.  A representative of the NJDOT explains that the ticket likely was issued in error by the state trooper, as the law only requires that the bus have 40% or more of escape space.  We have more than 90%.

So, according to the Judge, we must return to court at some later date . . . . . because his staff made a mistake.  Well, so did the state troopers.  Another case of New Jersey and You, NOT PERFECT TOGETHER.

And there is a Post Script to the above.  On December 10, 2001, an OFFICIAL LEGAL NOTICE came from Atlantic City Municipal Court.  A new hearing date has been set for Friday, January 11, 2002, at 1:30 p.m.