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editorial Assessing The Beneficiary Assemblyman Guy Muziani v a freshman legislator but veteran Wildwood mayor, resort businessman and former accountant — has introduced enabling legislation,so resort.communities can raise funds, individually or in concert, to promote tourism. The beauty of the Muziani legislation, A 1153. is.its simplicity, utilization of long established procedures that are already in place, and local control. Under his proposal, advertising and public relations funds for promoting tourism — the largest industry jn South Jersey and among the top three in the state — woul^be derived thru an added assessment on new and existing mercantile and other licenses granted by municipalities. The add-on fee, not to exceed 50 per cent of the licence cost, would be established by the local governing body — ■ presumably after consultation with- the business community —and the administration of the tourism, promotion fund would be overseen by a commission consisting of one member Of the local governing body and several representatives of the business cOmmunity • THIS LEGISLATION WOULD ENABLE communities to charge those who benefit the most frofif tourism - hotel, restaurant, and store owners — for additional promotion costs. The general taxpayer wouldn't be asked to foot the bill," the assemblyman notes. It remains to be seen if the Muziani bill gets beyond committee, since there is the legal •question'ef whether fees from' licenses may be Used for expenses other than those directly associated with the issuance and piaintenance Of the license. On its face, however, the bill not only seems to provide an equitable and ihnocuous way of deriving funds for a legitimate need, it is a fine example of how the legislative process should work: A peed is matched with a solution whose viability if perceived by a legislator with a clear understanding of the situation. Ah understanding gained thru experience — not on the state legislative level, but on the local plateau , whence legislation should ideally stem, because it is the market place where the need arises and the solution either sinks or swims.

Herald A lantern 24 Match '82

"Th* Only Honorable Thing To Do Wo* To Gracefully Step DOiwn..."

reader's forum The Cost of Betrayal by Arthur R. Hall President Reagan and the Administration are to be congratulated on catching Sen Hgrrison Williams in his illegal activity Let this be a lesson to all publicjjfficials that when v they betray the public trust, the? run the risk of being caught Keep up the good work. Arthur R. Hall, a resident of Wildwood Crest, sent this letter to the President. y • if-

■ NOTICE ,T ()— setter Writers Opinions for our Reader'* Fm-utn should: ’ a • Be signed by the writer arid include the writer’s address and phone number. Letters can be printed anonymously, but the newspaper must have writer verification 1 ‘ , • Deal with one topic or issue in an accurate, .nonlibelous manner • Be typewritten or legibly handwritten, doublespaced on one side of the paper • Be received by the newspaper prior to Friday.

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PoWWnU Krrry WerUe^.v By P O B TW Sroaore CorpfroliM (oM Spring. N J 0

Holly Robins

by Mrs. Herbert Francis Calnpbell Every'* year someone reports to their favorite newspaper that they’ve seen “the first robin!” Surely the individual gets a thrill from that, for the bird’s said to be a sign of spring The truth is, robins are here year ground. It’s believed they winter over in the deep swamps, but I can't-prove that * To see one at any time is a joy; the/irat robin really lifts the spirit. You can thus imagine the thrill of seeing upwards of a couple hundred robins all at once! This glorious miracle Jiappens in our yard $very March. Years ago we planted quite a number of hollies, looking forward to the reward of ruby-red berries. THEN THE ROBINS DESCENDED! ♦ The first time, we thought we must be dreaming. They drifted down into our deciduous trees first, as if reconnoitering and regrouping simultaneously. Then, as if upon command, they -swooped in unison into the holly trees and began devouring the berries. .- ■ * v. . We were doubly overjoyed. That we could have provided such a feast for so many red-breasted Visitors and be on hand to behold the banquet gave us a great satisfaction. TheiT feast lasted about an hour, and during that time I thought of Jesus feeding the five thousand people. They did tat and were filled, the Bible tells us, and after their meal seven basketsful were picked up. (Oh, the bounty of His kindness). Of course, He did all that knowingly. We, never having seen a veritable cloud of robins, fed them by chance. No comparison, mind you, but being reminded of the five thousand brought a humble thought and thus improved our live*. LITTLE HAD WE KNOWN when we were digging the holes for our hollies that the magnificent robbins in numbers would someday be our guests, finding much needed nourishment at our homeeach March. Since that discovery of seeing the red berries filling the orange breasts, our consideration of the holly has changed. Where we were once host to the holly, now the berried trees have become an extension of ourselves; human and holly co-hosts to the robins. ' In May, the^rearfiy white holly blossoms open, then the green berries^Swell till cold weather, when they “irlet, a focal point against the grey or white pe. The berries delight, both in winter beauty icipation of the.&rly spring feast they shaij Come March, we make a dozen trips daily to the window, watching for the rribins’ invasion, (isn’t it nice to use the word invasion to refer to sUch a sight). For having once seen this miraculous multitude, .we would .not give up being witness^M) it again. Mrs. Campbell is p/freelance writer Hying in Ocean View.

Little Recreation, But More Condos by Fed Up As a twelve-year-olcTboy living in Avalon, I have } noticed that there is very little for a child to do. Forexample, the Stone Harbor-Arcade has just been tom down Tt used to be a great place to have fun. The ■Avalon Movie Theater has been tom down also. Now it seems that thtf only things there are to do in AvjjJojrts go to school, do homework, and watch televiEvery other Wednesday we can go roller skating at the Community Hall. Other than that, there is literally nothing to do. THE CONDOMINIUMS IN AVALON and STONE HARBOR arc! taking the places of some very nice homes and stores. The role that the Seven Mile Beach plays as a “nice little seashore town” ip going to pot with all these condomininms, and there are more going up. I feel that something should be done about this ruining of our island. ; ’ • ' Fed up. by parental 8u§gestlon, wishes to remain anonymous, , ’• ' •. „ y ■ 1 . The State We're In Where the v Trash Tax Goes If you have garbage collection at yoof house, you've been paying an extra 36 cents per month since the first of this year, and it’s one of the biggest bargains you’ll ever get! \ xv It’s the riew recycling end landfill'closure tax, apd it’s one of the most intelligent governmental responses to a set of complicated problems {hat has been devised; in this state we’re in, or anywhere else. K Basically, most of the tax is earmarked for a kitty held by the operator of the landfill to which your garbage g6es This dedicated, interest-bearing escrow account is establish^ to guarantee that when the landfill is full and has to be closed, it will have been engineered to be secure against leaking its poisoned waters into your and my water supply. ' t'

IN THE PAST. DUMPS AND/OR .LANDFILLS have been smoothed over and abandoned, With leachate oozing merrily into the surrounding landscape because no barriers to this were installed. These batriers are impermeable layers which keep the leachate where it originates. Tne tax goes for the same purposes whether the landfill is publicly or privately -owned and operated, and even if the owner slinks away in bankruptcy. I admit," it seems late to start something this smart iq polluted New Jersey, but-better late than never! But there’s more about t^e new tax you should know. About 15 percent of it goes into the practical encouragement of recycling. That means that money will be spent by the state—from the tax—to promote the recycling of things which otherwise would get buried in a landfill. This extends landfill life, saves energy (due to it being less energy expensive to recycle than to fabricate from raw materials) and makes money for those who sell the recyclables to their re-fabricators, who also should make money. THE FUND WILL PROVIDE GRANTS to eligible towns (those increasing the volune of their recycling from year to year), which in effect will help to subsidize the town’s action. By increasing our recycling, we stand to save* many hundreds of times as much money as we have forked out for the tax. Savings will come through reduced collection, disposal, energy and cleanup costs. And we will be on a pay-as-you-go system far landfill closings. We’re,beginnJng to realize at last that) throwing away costs a heck of a lot more than we thought! An accounting system is emerging to let Os know exactly what’s happening with the new tax. We pay it on our tax bill if the landfill collection operation is publicly owned, or to ouT collection contractor ifit’s private. But wait—that little tax has another useful feature. Minimal amounts of the collected tax will be dedicated to a campaign to make all of us stop littering our countryside (and cityside) with the junk that we should either be recycling or else putting into proper disposal channels. MAKING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC grow up that much is admittedly a formidable tksk, as we realize when glancing at any roadside. vacant lot or even beach. But an ongoing anti-litter program is needed and will be funded this way. So will its related education campaign They say beauty is only skin deep; but the public’s attifude toward this state is a lot shallower Ahan thaf! Step one in improving this sad situation must, come through developing edmmunity pride. That’s hard for people who regard.New Jersey as a rtace nobody wants to be from. I, for one, am sick and tired of the lousy image New Jersey has allowed itself to acquire. Turning it around should logically start with a cleaner environment. - David Moore Is executive director of the N.J. Conservation Foundation.

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