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OurJieaders Write

opinion

Herald & Lantern 28 December '83

Over-building: What Effect? To The Editor: The Lower Township Committee will tonight adopt Or- •\ dinance No. 83-39. This ordinance is the result of secret litigation involving township officials and developer Carl Mitnick. Solicitor Bruce Gorman has stated that development cannot be legally stopped. He cited the Mt Laurel decision as the' primary motivating factor in the “out of court'settlement.’’ During July, 1983, the borough of Avalon declared a moratorium on building, caused by a “proliferation of hqfne building," which overloaded its sewage treatment planf and created a water shortage The legality of the ban, according to borough solicitor Robert Fineberg, "would be upheld by any court, because of the immediate z— health hazard." To aviod such a situation in Lower Township, the governing body should never adopt an ordinance which will allow developers to exceed the recommended dwelling units by at least 372. AVALON EXCEEDED its recommended number of dwellings by only one percent in 1982. The emergency water and sewer problem surfaced less than a year later. No evidence exists that its problems have been resolved, especially the water shortage. The argument that Lower Township is not providing enough low-income housing is moot. The committee is tur- ** ning its back on all the inforrriStijjn and facts available, N which indicate over-building of dvPCfling units. Growth limit of dwelling units recommended by professional planning groups is 11,451 units. We presently have 11,109 units U982 figures;. The addition of 714 new units will, according to published statistics, create a water shortage problem jn our township. The assumption by the Township Committee that new home construction will give us tax ratables and thus stabilize <jr reduce taxes is only an assumption. The facts available do not support this reasoning. I AM GREATLY DISTRUBED by the fact that I have not heard ar^y reference made.to the impact this settlement will have on our environment. No public statement has been forthcoming, either by our local Environmental Commission or the Township Board of Health I cannot perceive how the “lame duck” Township Committee canVverlook these facts, plus a wealth of similar information at their disposal, and allow a development of this size to proceed. This action, taken prior to the results of the latest testing of our drinking water sources, is a blatant disregard of the present residents of Lower Township, their investment in property, and hopes for the future of this community. SAMUEL M. STUBBS Worth Cape May

Identical Views . To The Editor: In my letter to the editor published Dec. 14,1 criticized Frank McCall, Wildwood Crest Commissioner. Later I had an opportunity to discuss his views on the possibility of a trash transfer station in Lower as well as MiQdle Township. He explained that the reason he had recorhmended a trash transfer station in Lower Township was to lessen the tremendous flow of trash trucks through Middle Township to the transfer station. After our conversation, we bothrealized our views and wishes were identical. I tojd McCall that I was sorry I had made the unfair remarks about him $n my letter.

JOSEPH H. DAVIS Villas

Heralii

Joseph R. Zelnik Editor Bonnie Reina General Manager Gary L. Rudy Advertising Director; John Dunwoody Special Promotions Director Darrell Kopp Publisher • S«o~o»« Cofp 1983 AH 'igfctt <•>•>.»d All prop*n y r.ghu lor ih« •ntna o* rtu» publication tKall b. prop**, of 'K. S*o-a»« Coip No port koioof mo y b* (oprociucod without pr.or wf,rt*> contom DEADLINES " News & Photos Thursday Advertising Friday - 3 p.ni. Classified Advertfaing Friday - 3 p.m. 465-5055 For News Or Advertising Information 1 \rithrr portiripaUnit advrrtnrr* «or tht pubiithrn of (hr HKR AIJl ASH I.AyTKKS' Mill be mputuiblr or liablr lor mKmformalion. mitprialfr t\pofraphiral rrrorv rlr.. in an> ttiur. Tbr rdiior rrtmr* (hr riiehl lo rdil an* IrUrr or artirlr* tubmiUrd fur publira-

Lower

Township

LANTERN

Hello 1 Credit Department 7 I Have A Lady Here Who Has Lost Her Purse She Remembers Her Charge Account Number However. She Has Forgotten Her Name "

‘Flower’ Sissy; ‘Power’ Better To The Editor: Regarding the proposed changing of the name of our • beloved township, I have received some belittling comments with respect to my proposal that the township be called “Flower.” Some state that it is too “sissy," and others have made even more derogatory comments. Therefore, I have now come up with another name, which I believe is much better: Power. 'Hys would be much superior and, in addition, would only make it necessary to change one letter in the present name: L to P; much easier to change ofl signs, stationery, etc. How about it? Power, New Jersey. It would be just the opposite of Lower. And. there are only two other towns in the country with the same name in Montana and West Virginia. Change the name, please, and may the force be with us, POWERfully. GEORGE S. PULLMAN North Cape May

At the Mercy of the Machine

Plea'se warn your reader^ that soon the only indication of what they will have to pay at the supermarket checkout will be that series of black lines on the bottoms or backs of food packages called the UPC code A While mapy stores using electronic^ scanners are continuing to affix prices to most items, consumers should not be misled: It is the announced ultimate goal of the food industry in New Jersey to remove all prices from food packages.

A few months ago, many newspapers carried stories regarding consumers being overcharged by the scanning devices. No less a person than Attorney General Irwin Kimmelman was one such consumer, which resulted in his requesting a probe by the Division of Consumer Affairs into the accuracy of scanners. The investigation is complete, and I’ve been informed that many inaccuracies were found.

ONE NEWS STORY stated that the investigation “could lead the Division to propose legislation requiring stores to mark prices on goods.. ’’ While we are .hopeful that the division will take a strong public stand for such legislation, the facts are these: The existing Consumer Fraud Act requires all merchandise offered for sale at retail either bear a price or have one posted at the point of sale. In October, 1982, a bill amending the act to require individual prices be affixed was introduced by Assemblyman Raymond Lesniak. It was referred to the Assembly’s Committee of Commerce and Industry, and all efforts to have it released failed.

FROM THE OUTSET, the bill has been fought by the New Jersey Food Council, the food industry’s powerful and wealthy lobby. Shortly before the legislative elections; this

Cape May Court Houst.

i' ttox 430 J N.J OQIbJ

Blame Miss Travato

group held breakfasts and luncheons to “brieF’ incumbents on mandatory item pricing legislation. A “white paper” outlining their opposition was circulated at one such affair. While this “paper” admits that scanners have “enabled the industry to increase their productivity and reduce supermarket operating costs” it also states that removal of individually marked prices is part of the concept. The direct quote from this white paper is: “Individual item price removal is an integral part of the total scanning system.”

What this translates into for the consumer is this: The supermarkets will be able to hide behind the shelf price as their “compliance” with the existing law, and we consumers will be at the mercy of the machine It may be that computers don’t make mistakes, but they are programmed by human beings, who

sometimes do. Division of Consumer Affiars spokesman George J. Danco, Jr. has stated publicly that “we’re finding many stores using scanners aren’t marking prices” and that unless shoppers remember the shelf price, there is no way of knowing if the computer charged the correct price. CHALLENGE even the most gifted shopper to remember every shelf price of each item in the shopping cart or on the conveyor. Informed shoppers know that shelf prices are frequently missing, usually not uptodate, and sometimes a foot away from the described item. I earnestly urge all concerned consumers to act now. Call or write your assemblypersons and senators requesting that action on item pricing legislation be taken during this session of the legislature. - LORRAINE YODER State Coordinator National Alliance of Supermarket Shoppers

Cape May Is So An Island

BY JOE ZELNIK The holidays apparently make some people really testy. Look at some of the mail I’ve received lately: A.M., Potato Island: Your advice is the pits. You recently recommended a TV exercise show called “Twenty Minute Workout. " My husband has taken to watching it at 9 every morning. He’s always pawing me now, but he hasn’t lost any weight. Answer: Don’t be so fussy. Be thankful he is willing to watch this dull show in order to improve your relationship. F. C., Cape May: A few weeks ago you said Cape May isn t an island. It is so, surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic, Cape May Harbor, and Cape May Creek Answer: You are absolutely right. What I meant was, it didn t FEEL like an island. An island is like Avalon, where you walk down Dune drive and can feel the whole place sway, or Stone Harbor where a small child with a spoon digs one inch into the ground and water sprouts up. T. T.. NUMMY: How did a nerd like you ever settle in Cape May County? Answer Last year was a difficuh time for me; I had lost two jobs. First I’d been in charge of quality control for Kraft, responsible for the consistency and texture of its Velveeta cheese. I was canned after I fell asleep on the job and it overaged. From there I went to the Eagles as a cleat-cleaner. Those were glorious days, running onto a field in front of thousands of cheering fans at every timeout to knock the snow or mud from the players’ cleats Then they eliminated tl?e position. When the Peace Corps offered me an opportunity to work with the natives in Cape May County, I jumped at the chance. G. S. Cedar Spring: I am offended by the undercurrent of cynicism in your column. Are you so negaUve because of the horrible experiences you’ve had as a journalist’ Answer: No, I was an idealist until a shattering event when I was a 12-year-old seventh grader. I was in love with my beautiful, dark-eyed homeroom teacher Miss Travato. One day she gazed into my eyes and asked me to meet her after school. It turned out she just wanted me to clean her erasers.

B. R. t GULL ISLAND: How dare a newcomer like you criticize local Christmas decorations. Maybe yours are better? Answer. Since you asked, my home is third only to Meerwald’s and Lambert’s in tasteful holiday adornments. Stone Harbor police have had to hire part-time help just to direct traffic around my 123rd Street beachfront home. My display is a simple, understated, blue neon sign in my picture window proclaiming, “Season's Greetings." A.C., Strathmere: Your smart-alec columns have angered me all year. What really took the cake was trying to pass yourself off as Elvis Presley,! dare you to nm your real picture, showing the “ZelnikWirl.” Answer: (Mi, all right.