Sunday, April 28, 2013
Insurance companies blame 2011's Tropical Storm Irene, Halloween nor'easter — not Sandy — for highest in nation auto rate increase.
New Jersey motorists, who currently pay among the highest rates for auto insurance now, are going to have to dig a bit deeper into their wallets to pay for increases in auto insurance, according to published report Sunday. Insurers and state regulators are saying Hurricane Sandy, which devastated portions of the state including the Jersey Shore, is not the reason for state approving rate increases for 26 insurers thus far in 2013, according to a NorthJersey.com report. Instead, officials blame the rate increases on losses related to Tropical Storm Irene and the Halloween nor’easter from two years ago, medical costs that continue to rise, reinsurance expenses and dim forecasts of investment income, the report said. Allstate, New Jersey …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
What causes them, how they're measured, the worst in recent memory, how to prepare, and more.
Here is a primer on hurricanes, including interesting hurricane facts, an explanation of the Saffir-Simpson scale, descriptions of some of the most devastating hurricanes in recent history, and a guide to how you and your family should prepare in case of a hurricane. What IS a hurricane? A hurricane is a storm with sustained wind speed of at least 74 miles per hour. A tropical storm has wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph. A tropical depression is a storm with a wind speed of 38 mph. The anatomy of a hurricane To have a hurricane, you have to have warm water; this is why hurricanes only happen in the summer. Hurricanes are started by tropical depressions over water that’s at least 80 degrees. Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
JCP&L instituted new communications, repair plans after last year's major storms—will it be enough?
Two months after New Jersey residents recovered from flooding and damage caused by 2011's Hurricane Irene, the area was hit with a severe winter storm. The storm's snowfall piled more than a foot deep in many areas, and the heavy, wet precipitation snapped tree limbs and utility poles, causing massive power outages that in some cases took a week to repair. And on the anniversary of that storm, New Jersey is facing a potentially more dangerous storm: Hurricane Sandy, which has already claimed lives in the Carribean and is currently forecast to reach the area Monday morning—just in time to collide with a possible winter storm. Keeping a close eye on the storms are meteorologists with JCP&L, which says employees have already been put on alert…
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Recently-released state Board of Public Utilities report charges FirstEnergy affiliate with being more concerned with image during Irene.
JCP&L, since Hurricane Irene in August 2011, has said it has committed a lot of money and resources toward improving not only how the utility communicates with its customers, but also how it runs its business. The state Board of Public Utilities, however, handed down a verdict in a recent report that states the FirstEnergy affiliate first spent more energy trying to save face, according to a NJBIZ.com article. The article notes the BPU report cites JCP&L's initial two Irene press releases from Aug. 28 and Aug. 25, 2011, the latter three days before the storm actually hit New Jersey. JCP&L "gave no indication that restoration could take several days or longer. Advice to customers appeared to have secondary importance," according to the BPU …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Additional ways established to communicate with residents and other agencies during emergencies.
Improved communications with residents was established following Hurricane Irene and last October's snowstorm that has become part of Bernards Township's standard operating procedure. Steps taken in that direction are a direct result of the two severe weather incidents in 2011 that each time left many without power for more than a week, wondering what would happen next. Since the storms, social media has become an important part of the township's efforts to improve communications. After the events last Aug. 28 and Oct. 29, Bernards Township has established a Facebook page and a Twitter account, as well as posting additional information on the already-existing Bernards Township website. "There's nothing we can do about Mother Nature," Lt. …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
A year after hurricane, police chief and mayor talk about a concentrated effort to build emergency preparedness on local level.
When Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine approached the Borough Council after last summer's Hurricane Irene seeking funds for improved emergency preparedness, his request was about to be backed up by Mother Nature — who demonstrated her wallop with the October snowstorm, the second natural disaster in two months. Both times, there were trees down, prolonged power outages of a week or more, impassable roads and pockets of homes made inaccessible. What made Bernardsville's lack of electricity even more of a disruption is that two-thirds of the borough's homes are served by private wells — and rely on electric pumps to tap into those water sources, as Valentine pointed out. Valentine said that the August hurricane prepared the borough'…
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Utility company serves 13 counties in New Jersey.
Jersey Central Power & Light announced a plan to invest $200 million in 2012 on projects the utility company said are "designed to improve service reliability and help meet the increasing demand for electricity in northern and central New Jersey." Donald Lynch, president of JCP&L, said Tuesday morning the investment includes the completion of several new substations, including in Andover Township in Sussex County, and in Tewksbury in Hunterdon County, as well as a $2 million investment to upgrade more than 40 distribution circuits within JCP&L's New Jersey service area, which includes 236 municipalities. "The substantial investments we plan to make this year and in the future are part of JCP&L’s ongoing efforts to improve the quality of …
Monday, December 19, 2011
State utilities board plans to hire a consultant to recommend improvements
Last week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ first report on the biggest power outage of the year confirmed what many in the Morris County area already knew: Compared to the state’s other utilities, JCP&L did a lousy job. Issued last Wednesday, the preliminary report gives initial recommendations for changes in procedures based on power companies’ responses to Tropical Storm Irene—the National Weather Service now says it was not a hurricane when it hit New Jersey. It also began to place blame for power outages that lasted for more than a week not once, but twice, in roughly two months, the second being the late October snowstorm. “While all of the utilities experienced challenges during these severe weather events, it was apparent …
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
As deadline approaches, Bernards Chamber of Commerce invites FEMA official to discuss how to file claims for damage aid.
With filing deadlines approaching at the end of October, the Bernards Township Regional Chamber of Commerce has arranged an informational meeting tonight, Wednesday, with a FEMA official who will discuss federal assistance programs available to residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Irene. The meeting, set for 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the Basking Ridge Country Club on Madisonville Road, in Basking Ridge, is open to businesses and residents from other communities that experienced flooding or other storm damage in late August, said Al LiCata, executive director of the chamber. LiCata said he expects the meeting, free of charge, will be attended by multiple business people and residents from nearby Long Hill Township, which experienced …
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Basking Ridge Country Club
185 Madisonville Rd, Basking Ridge, NJ
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Monday, October 10, 2011
Passaic River east of Bernards Township could be subject to $10 million flood remediation project.
The Passaic River as it flows through neighboring Long Hill Township has long overspilled its banks and tributaries to inundate streets, homes and businesses in town. This Wednesday, a $10 million proposal for a flood wall and system designed to protect those flood-prone areas is finally expected to reach a vote for possible approval by Long Hill's Township Committee. Mayor Nan Harrington on Sunday said she is in favor of the proposed flood wall and a series of designed sluices that would slow the flow of floodwaters from small tributaries into the Passaic River as it runs through Long Hill. She said when she was in January appointed by her fellow Township Committee members to serve as mayor for 2011, she decided that this was the in …
Peggy Davison
1:17 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thanks for the link Chris! After reading the article, I too am confused as to why our rates are so high, and rising. It simply does not make any sense! more ›