Source http://www.cityofgloucester.org

 

The path to economic success in Gloucester City starts here, with the Gloucester City Urban Enterprise Zone (GCUEZ) program. The UEZ program was developed by the State of New Jersey to help promote redevelopment in its urban centers. The goal of the UEZ is to promote sustainable growth by helping businesses succeed in city neighborhoods. The GCUEZ offers participating businesses an advantage by providing incentives that encourage growth while stimulating the local economy. Build your business with the help of the GCUEZ program:

 

STATE BENEFITS:

100% sales tax exemption for specified materials and tangible personal property.

Qualified retail businesses may charge 50% of the 6% NJ sales tax on certain \”in person\” purchases.

Revenues generated from the 3% sales tax are maintained in a Zone Assistance Fund (ZAF) dedicated for use within the GCUEZ for certain economic development and/or public service improvement projects.

One-time corporation tax credit of $1,500 for each new, full-time permanent employee who is a resident of Gloucester City and has been unemployed for at least 90 days or dependent upon public assistance.

Subsidized unemployment insurance for certain new employees with gross salaries of less than $4,500 per quarter as per Department of Labor schedule.

Priority financial assistance from the New Jersey Local Development Financing Fund (LDFF) and Department of Labor Job Training Program

LOCAL BENEFITS:

Local Economic Development Loan funds at 3% for 5 years for real estate acquisitions, building renovations, machinery, and equipment. Click here for an application.

Facade Improvement Loan program where businesses can borrow $5,000 for their facade improvement at a fixed rate of 1% payable over a 60 month/5 year period. Click here for an application.

LOCAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

To date the GCUEZ has generated approximately $1.1 million in sales tax revenues with only 50 UEZ certified businesses signed up. We have invested almost $352,645, funding ten (10) projects, deemed to improve the economic climate of the Gloucester City commercial districts. Below is a synopsis of your UEZ dollars at work…

 

1. Marketing Campaign — $10,000 – to create and distribute promotional mailers (postcards and kits) to prospective business owners and developers

 

2. Community Cleanup Campaign — $2,500 – to hire a consultant on how to enhance Gloucester City\’s image

 

3. Entryway Enhancement – $2,345 — to erect a welcoming entryway with signage and landscaping along the Rte. 42 ramp onto Market Street.

 

4. Promotions & Advertising Campaign — $54,000 – for advertisements and events to promote Gloucester City as a great place to live, work, and shop.

 

5. Business Recruitment & Retention Consultants — $109,000 – to hire the JGSC Group to develop a plan for downtown revitalization and to assist with business recruitment and retention.

 

6. Matching Façade Grant (Pilot Program) — $40,000 – a pilot program offering $10,000 in matching façade grants to four (4) Gloucester City UEZ businesses

 

7. Signage Grant — $30,000 – to provide up to $1,000 in sign grants to 30 UEZ businesses for the repair or replacement of their business sign.

 

8. Design Guidelines — $40,000 – to hire a consultant to create façade, signage, and streetscaping design guidelines to assist with the rehabilitation of the commercial and historic districts.

 

9. Crime Prevention Patrols — $24,800 – to pay overtime costs to utilize police foot patrols, bicycle patrols, plain clothes officers in unmarked units, and the K-9 unit to patrol and maintain visability in the business districts.

 

10. Retail Business Incubator — $40,000 – to offer rent subsidies to businesses offering targeted retail goods and services in order to stimulate business recruitment efforts.

For more information contact Gina Dunphy, UEZ coordinator 456-6075 or via email at [email protected] 

RINGLING, Okla. — Cindy Stewart, the mother of 9-year-old Baler Dee Stewart, who bagged a buck with an enormous rack, says he\’s having fun with his fame.

\”He\’s been enjoying it,\” Stewart said.

Baler Stewart was using a .50 caliber rifle on his first muzzleloader hunt in October when he harvested the animal. It has 41 points to hang a ring on, but officials are scoring it closer to 30 points.

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source http://sports.espn.go.com/

By Hank F. Miller Jr.

 

The Coming-of-Age Day, seijin-no-hi, is officially recognized social ceremony when adolescents enter the circle of adults. Under Japanese Civil Law Act, those who reach the age of 20 are considered \”adults,\” and those who marry before the age of twenty are considered \”adults\” as well. The Coming-of-Age Day was established as January 15th under Law no.178 \”The National Holiday Act\” on July 23, 1948, the 23rd year of Showa, as a day congratulating those who reach twenty years of age and thus legally able to enter society with full civil rights and duties. But, the day was changed as the 2nd Monday of January from 2000 as the \”The National Holiday Act\” was amended.

 

The ceremony of \”genpuku,\”an old-style ceremony of assuming manhood, had been held from the era of the Emperor Tenmu

(673-686 A.D.).In such ceremonies, young people from the imperial and noble families would change their child-like hairstyles to that of wearing noble headgear around the age of 15. This ceremony was called \” kakan-no-gi,\”or headgear wearing ceremony. Today, each city, town and village holds a congratulatory ceremony, or ceremony of \”Coming-of-age,\” for those who turn twenty years old. This particular day is a national holiday, and new \”adults\” can be seen dressed-up at various places beginning in the morning.

 

Though western attire is gradually rising in popularity, traditional Japanese wear, such as kimonos are worn by ladies, are just like

Works of art. And hakamas are worn by men.

 

My Daughter won\’t be making the coming -of-age day ceremony due to being at Portland State University, in Portland, Oregon.

 

Warm Regards from Kitakyushu City, Japan

Hank F. Miller Jr.

More When East Meets West

DOUBLE-DOUBLE AS LIONS BEAT ELIZABETHTOWN, 72 -64

Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team hosted the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College in a non-conference game in Packer Hall on Monday night. TCNJ tallied the 72-64 win to notch their fifth straight win and improve to 11-3 overall, while Elizabethtown drops to 8-5.

TCNJ’s while junior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) added her 11th double-double of the season as she racked up 20 points with a team and game-high 14 rebounds. She had 12 second half points with seven rebounds in each half and a pair of blocks.

TCNJ led 34-33 at the break. The Blue Jays scored the first basket of the game, but TCNJ would build a 10-point lead, up 16-6 before Elizabethtown would take the lead 31-29 at 2:45. The Blue Jays hit 50.0% of their shots from three-point range in the first stanza, 5-10 and were a perfect 2-2 from the line. Pacing the visiting Blue Jays was junior Megan Quinn (Millersville, PA/Penn Manor) as she had 11 points and hit 3-of-5 shots from three-point range, while adding three assists in the first half. Quinn would finish with 20 points and was 7-9 from the line with five rebounds, three assists and a steal on the night.

TCNJ got 12 points from rookie forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) including 10 in the first half. Junior guard Alyssa Michella (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) added 15 points, one shy of her personal best, while senior Sara Best (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) added 12 points with seven rebounds.

After the two teams exchanged leads and several ties, TCNJ would take a 66-56 lead with three minutes left to play. During that time the Lions would hit six of seven free throws. TCNJ finished the night having hit 13-of-18 shots from the line, while making 11 of 16 in the second half to help the Lions on the night. Elizabethtown had made nine straight free throws in the game, before their first miss at 10:31 in the second half. For the game, the Blue Jays hit 15-of-19 from the charity stripe and made 45.0% of their three-point attempts as well (9-20).

Elizabethtown College’s senior guard Erin Walton (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington County) became the third all-time leading scorer for the Blue Jay women’s basketball program as she moved ahead of Abbie Fabian (1,503 points) and now has 1515 points after adding 13 points in the contest.

Sophomore guard Courtney Kofeldt (Coatesville, PA/Holy Spirit (NJ) added 11 points and hit three-of-four from beyond the arch to help her team on the night.

TCNJ returns to action on January 16 when they travel to No. 14 ranked Kean University for a 6 p.m. NJAC contest, while Elizabethtown College faces Immaculata College on January 19 on the road at 1 p.m.

John L. Dunn Jr., of Blackwood, formerly of Bellmawr passed away on January 12, 2008 at the age of 64.
Jack was a member of Local #1107, DC21 for over 40 years. He was a former member of Bellmawr Volunteer Fire and Rescue #1 Company and Bellmawr Ambulance Company.

Beloved husband of Patricia (nee Devlin). Lovingfatherof Kimberly Alicea, James Dunn and Shannen Dunn. Devoted grandfather of Gabrielle, Desiree, RJ, Alexa, Eric and the late Kayley. Also survived by brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the viewing Thursday morning from 10 to 11 am at GARDNER FUNERAL HOME, RUNNEMEDE. Funeral Service 11 am at the funeral home. Interment New St. Mary\’s Cemetery, Bellmawr.

Bill,

I was watching Channel 6 and they ran a story about Glassboro\’s new law. It created a voluntary partnership with rental property owners and Glassboro\’s housing and police departments. The law requires better background checks prior to renting, adds a lease addendum to keep the rental properties \”crime-free\”, and gives property owners a better chance to evict tenants who commit crimes in their properties.

 

Most tenant-owner laws in Gloucester County are \”pro-tenant\” making evictions difficult.

When the property owners comply with the law, they get a certification from Glassboro making their property more attractive for tenants.

It sounds like a law that could be adopted here in Gloucester City.

Thanks,

Bob Eberle, Gloucester City…………………………..

if you have a NEWS Tip write [email protected]

New housing program aims to reduce crime

By Cathy Gandolfo source http://abclocal.go.com

GLASSBORO, N.J. – January 14, 2008 — If you break the rules – you get evicted. That\’s the premise of a new program aimed to reduce crime in one South Jersey community.

The program will aim to designate Glassboro\’s rental properties as crime-free. It\’s the first effort of its kind to reduce crime in the Gloucester County town. Today, officials released details on the plan.

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Gloucester City has somewhere near 1000 plus rental properties. Some of which are owned by out-of-town landlords who don\’t maintain them. The problem is not unique to Gloucester City.

In today\’s Philadelphia Inquirer (January 13) Staff Writer Nancy Petersen writes about a unique program being tried in Pottstown PA and in nearby Collingswood NJ to cut down on rental properties in those communities changing them into single family owned homes.

Buyers of houses in a district that covers about a third of Pottstown immediately qualify for $5,000. If the house is a single-family home that has been carved up into apartments, the borough will lend up to $15,000 to remove one apartment, an additional $10,000 to remove the second, and $5,000 for any additional unit.

\”We are trying to entice people to come to Pottstown to buy residences and live in them,\” economic-development director Terri Lampe said. \”There is no criteria for income eligibility or anything like that.\”

In Collingswood, next door to Camden, the program \”took off,\” said John Kane, director of community development. \”About 150 homes have been converted back to single-family homes, and the most blighted properties have all gone. Basically, property values have tripled.\”

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News tip submitted by Theresa Ritchie…..send your NEWS tip to [email protected]