News Links

After School Directory

PSEG has teamed up with New Jersey After 3 to launch the New Jersey Afterschool Directory. It's a free online comprehensive directory with listings for hundreds of afterschool, before school, school vacation and summer programs. You can check it out at www.njafterschool.org.

Volunteering for Cancer Society

If you are willing to volunteer to help someone with cancer get to treatment, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or go to the ACS website www.cancer.org.

Tips for Keeping Cool & Rebates for Saving Energy

• Turn off everything you’re not using, including TVs and computers.
• Use fans to draw cooler air inside during the night and circulate air during the day. Even if you have air conditioning, ceiling and other fans provide additional cooling and better circulation so that you can raise the thermostat and reduce air conditioning costs.
• Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun to block summer light and help fans and air conditioners cool more efficiently.
• Close doors leading to uncooled parts of your home. If you have central air conditioning, close off vents to unused rooms.
• Delay heat-producing tasks such as doing laundry until later in the day. Wait until loads are full and wash with cold water whenever possible, using cold water laundry detergent.
• Wash only full loads in the dishwasher and use the shortest cycle that will get your dishes clean. If operating instructions permit, turn off the dishwasher before the drying cycle, open the door, and let the dishes dry naturally.
• If possible, install a programmable thermostat and set it to your daily and weekend schedule. If health permits, raise your thermostat from 73 to 78 degrees, which can save as much as 15% in cooling costs this summer. Remember to clean and replace air conditioner filters regularly, following manufacturer's instructions.
• Convert to energy-efficient, low wattage, compact fluorescent lighting and fixtures to lower your lighting costs. Remember to recycle the light bulbs at stores like Ikea or take them to your county’s hazardous waste collection facility on drop-off days.

For more energy saving tips and as well as information about cash rebates for energy-saving equipment, visit www.pseg.com/saveenergy.

Fuel Overcharges
If you think your landlord is overcharging for fuel increases, you can go to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal web site in New York State to file a complaint.

Jersey City Free Concerts

The Summerfest series will be held at Liberty House Gardens at Liberty State Park on Tuesdays from 7 tp 9 p.m. and Sundays from 5 to 7 p.m.

July 13: Jimmy Sturr
July 15: B Street
July 20: Jersey Sounds
July 22: Los Seis Del Sol
July 27: Teenagers
July 29: Moonlighters
Aug. 3: Harlem Renaissance
Aug. 5: Barbara Sharpe
Aug. 12: Reminisce
Aug. 17: NY Expectations
Aug. 19: Gordon James
Aug. 24: Don Carter
Aug. 26: Spirit of Life
Aug. 31: Soul Finger

The Jazz for Lunch concerts, sponsored by Goldman Sachs, will be on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. at J. Owen Grundy Pier:

July 10: David Robinson
July 17: Linda Ipanema
July 24: James Dean
July 31: Don Carter
Aug. 7: Bryan Beninghove
Aug. 14: Harry Glogower
Aug. 21: Rimli Roy
Aug. 28: Steward Grant

Concerts at the Hub will take place at the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Hub fromm 6 to 8 p.m. on Fridays:

July 18: Barbara Sharpe
July 25: Don Carter
Aug. 1: Mohammad Bilal
Aug. 8: Rudy Snelling
Aug. 15: Los Seis Del Son
Aug. 22: TBA

Operation Lifesaver
For information or details about how to enroll an autistic child in Bergen County in Operation Lifesaver, call Sgt. John Calabrese of the Bergen County Sheriff's Department's "Community Outreach Unit" at 201-336-3540 or online at www.bcsd.us.

Search for Cheap Gas
GasBuddy.com

NY/NJ Cooling Centers
gis.nyc.gov/oem/cc/index.htm

Jersey City
Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center
140 Martin Luther King Drive.
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pershing Field Community Center
From noon to 5 p.m.

Summit Avenue and Pershing Field Plaza, will also be open.

Newark
Bethany Senior Center (973) 733-5739
275 W. Market Street
Newark, New Jersey 07103

Friendly Senior Center (973) 733-5748
89 Lincoln Street, Box 2H
Newark, New Jersey 07103

Grace West Senior Center (973) 733-5740
*Nutrition Tues/Thurs/Fri only
301 Irvine Turner Boulevard
Newark, New Jersey 07108

Ironbound Senior Center (973) 424-4101
138 Clifford Street
Newark, New Jersey 07105

Newark Libraries
They will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- The Five Corners Library, 678 Newark Avenue
- The Jersey Avenue Library, 472 Jersey Avenue

- Glenn D. Cunningham Branch Library, 275 Martin Luther King Drive
- Greenville Branch, 1841 Kennedy Boulevard
- Miller Branch, 489 Bergen Avenue
- Heights Branch, 14 Zabriskie Street

Beating Debt
For information and help about getting out of debt, you can contact the following organizations:

NovaDebt of New Jersey
800-99-BILLS
www.novadebt.org

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey
888 726-3260
www.cccsnj.org

Consumer Credit Counseling Service
866-889-9347
www.moneymanagement.org

Tips To Beat Debt
1) Don't Spend More Than You Earn
2) Stop Using Credit Cards
3) Save Real Cash For Emergencies

Free Money Information
You can get further information about looking for unclaimed funds or property from these two web sites:
www.missingmoney.com or www.osc.state.ny.us

Identity Theft and What To Do
By Barbara Nevins Taylor —
Unfortunately once your identity has been stolen you may have to do a great deal of work to make sure that you are not harmed financially. We suggest you do five things immediately:

1. Make a police report at your local precinct and be sure to get a copy of the report.

2. Place a fraud alert on your credit repots by notifying the three credit reporting bureaus:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285, www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com

3. After notifying the bureaus ask for a free copy of the report.

4. When you receive the reports check to see if there are charges that shouldn't be there. If there are fraudulent charges you can dispute them. There is information about how to do this on the Federal Trade Commission's website.

4. Close accounts that the thief has used.

5. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission which has additional information about Identity Theft on its website.

Getting Out of Tickets (Unit 9 story)
April 24, 2008 —
- http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/faqs/faqs_traffic.shtml
- http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/parking/park_tickets_dispute.shtml
- http://www.dmv.org/nj-new-jersey/traffic-tickets.php

Fighting Parking Tickets
April 23, 2008 — For information about how to fight parking tickets in New York City or to find out more information about parking rules in New York City, go to these web sites:
- http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/parking/park_tickets_common.shtml
- http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/faqs/faqs_traffic.shtml

Debt Collector Information
April 10, 2008 —
Banks That Voluntarily Refuse to Freeze Accounts with Exempt Funds
(according to Legal Services):
- Citibank
- NY Community Bank
- Atlantic Bank
- Banco Popular
- Astoria Federal

To Protect Yourself
(according to Legal Services):
- Switch to one of these banks
- Set up a direct deposit account
- Don't use the account for anything else

Jersey City Mobility
April 2, 2008 — For more information, go to www.jerseycitymobility2050.com.

Audiobooks for Kids
March 31, 2008 — For more information, to find out which audiobooks other children are listening to, as well as to download audiobooks, go to the Audible Kids website www.audiblekids.com.

Fire Chef's Cook Book
March 14, 2008 — For information about the New Jersey State Firemen's Mutual Benevolent Association's "Official 2008 FMBA Fire Chef's Cookbook", which also contains a recipe for "Beer Butt Chicken" from My9 News Anchor Harry Martin, call (732) 499-9250 or go to their web site www.njfmba.org.

 

Business Clothes for Women in Need
For information on donating gently used clothes for women who need them for job interviews go to www.bottomlessclosetnyc.org.

---

Recalled Beef
To view a list of NJ schools identified as having received shipments of recalled beef visit www.state.nj.us/agriculture/news/press/2008/approved/press080225.html.