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ARTIST Dave Wolfe
Vol. 6 No. 28 (Jan. 5, 2019)
Editor\’s Note: Each Sunday morning we post a weekly comic strip provided by cartoonist Dave Wolfe. Dave has been drawing since he was 5 years old, he knew he wanted to be a cartoonist at the age of 8. He’s been distributing his comics in school since 3rd grade. (click image to enlarge)
By Dave Fidlin |
The Center Square
Homebuyers snapping up residential properties and subsequently selling them in short order were able to more than double what they initially paid in two areas of Pennsylvania, according to a recent report.
Researchers with ATTOM Data Solutions, a company specializing in property and real estate records, stated home flippers in the metropolitan statistical areas within Pittsburgh and Scranton were able to sell homes at greater price points in the third quarter of 2019.
The information is included in ATTOM’s
recently released report
on home flipping trends across the U.S.
Home flippers historically have bought and quickly resold homes for a profit, typically after making a series of repairs or improvements to raise the property’s value.
Between July and September, homebuyers who flipped homes and condos in the Pittsburgh area saw overall margins of 132.6 percent, while homebuyers in the Scranton area experienced overall margins of 122.5 percent.
The high flipping yields in the Pittsburgh and Scranton areas bucked a national trend, according to ATTOM researchers, where profit margins in most areas of the country were on the downswing.
The two Pennsylvania metropolitan areas were among eight across the U.S. where home flippers experienced returns on investment of 100 percent or more during the same statistical period. Pittsburgh and Scranton also topped the list.
Other areas of the country with high yields, close behind the two Pennsylvania areas, included Flint, Mich., at 111.2 percent; Cleveland, at 109.8 percent; and Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown, N.C., at 109.7 percent.
In
a separate report
from the same statistical period, ATTOM researchers also revealed the Pittsburgh area had some of the largest amounts of all-cash purchases for home flipping.
In metro areas with populations of 1 million or more, Pittsburgh ranked third for all-cash purchases, according to the report, clocking in at 77.2 percent.
The metropolitan area with the greatest preponderance of all-cash purchases was Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, at 79.2 percent, followed by the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA, at 78.9 percent.
On the whole, 56,566 single-family homes and condos were flipped across the U.S. in the third quarter of 2019, according to ATTOM’s analysis. The figure represented a 12.9 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 6.8 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2018.
In a statement, Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions, said the home flipping declines point to narrowing profits across many areas of the country.
“The retreat back to more normal levels of sales comes amid broader market forces that are making it harder and harder for investors to complete the kinds of deals they were getting as recently as last year,” Teta said.
In the ATTOM report, Maksim Stavinsky, co-founder and chief operating officer of Roc Capital, said homebuyers in a number of areas of the country have opted to hang on to renovated properties and rent them, rather than sell them at a loss in the current marketplace.
“We have been seeing a decline in projected and realized profits for borrowers on projects, despite the fact that borrower financing costs have been meaningfully coming down,” Stavinsky said in the report.
published here with permission of The Center Square
LATHAM, NY (01/03/2020)– Major General Ray Shields, the Adjutant General, announces the recent reenlistment of members of the State National Guard in recognition of their continuing commitment to serve community, state and nation as part of the Army National Guard.
Staff Sergeant Dillion Rodney from Pemberton, N.J. reenlisted to continue service with the Battery B, 1-258th Field Artillery.
\”It\’s great to see Soldiers staying in the Army and continuing to serve their State and Nation in the New York Army National Guard,\” Shields said. \”The most important Army asset we have is the individual Soldier. The dedication, skills, and leadership traits they bring to our community and their employers are invaluable.\”
\”By choosing to stay in the Army National Guard they directly contribute to our nation\’s security and to the governor\’s ability to respond to disasters, all while building a bright future for their family through the Guard\’s retirement, education, and health insurance programs,\” Shields said.
For more information about the New York Army National Guard, visit
www.dmna.ny.gov
or
www.1800goguard.com
.
The New York National Guard (New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs) is the state\’s executive agency responsible to the Governor for managing New York\’s Military Forces, which consists of nearly 20,000 members of the New York Army National Guard, the New York Air National Guard, the New York Naval Militia and the New York Guard.
\”Planned Parenthood is a vicious, racist institution whose actions are diametrically opposed to Catholic moral and social teaching\”~
American Life League president Judie Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. (03 January 2020) —
American Life League president Judie Brown
issued the following statement calling on Bishop James F. Checchio of the Catholic Diocese of Metuchen to impose canonical sanctions against New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy:
Planned Parenthood is a vicious, racist institution whose actions are diametrically opposed to Catholic moral and social teaching. For Murphy to shovel $9.5 million of New Jersey’s taxpayer dollars into the maw of the nation’s #1 abortion machine is abhorrent.
Such actions taken by Catholic public figures do more than just scandalize the faithful. They present to Catholics the idea that they too can create their own private version of truth. Such a condition not only coarsens society, but further erodes the authority of the Catholic bishops in the United States who continue to allow pro-abortion public figures, such as Governor Murphy, to profane the Holy Eucharist.
On behalf of the millions of pro-life Catholics whom we represent and the over 70,000 families who support our work, American Life League calls on Bishop James Checchio to take the sad but necessary step of enforcing Canon 915 and formally instructing Governor Murphy that he is not to present himself to Holy Communion.
Catholics need to be bold enough to realize the link between abortion and the Real Presence of Christ. It should be no small wonder that only 1 in 6 Catholics actually believe in the Real Presence when we do so little to defend Christ’s image in the womb.
Bishop Checchio, millions of Catholics across America are looking to you to see whether or not the Real Presence is more than what the world sees. Murphy’s mockery should not be met with silence, but correction. What would St. Thomas Becket do?
American Life League is the nation’s oldest grassroots, Catholic, pro-life organization. Its president, Judie Brown, has led the organization since its 1979 beginning. She has served three terms on the Pontifical Academy for Life—appointed twice by Pope John Paul II and again by Pope Benedict XVI.
ICE arrests 17 criminal aliens on 5-day operation
PHILADELPHIA – Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia arrested 17 criminal aliens during a 5-day enforcement operation ending Dec. 13.
Five of the criminal aliens apprehended were previously released by the city of Philadelphia due to the sanctuary city policies. The crimes of these individuals ranged from multiple DUIs to possession and intent to distribute Heroin, as well as violating U.S. immigration law.
Arrests include:
A 33 years-old citizen of Ecuador, who has pending criminal charges for DUI and Endangering the Welfare of Children;
A 30 years-old citizen of Honduras, who has been convicted of three separate DUI offenses;
A 53 years-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, who has been convicted Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin;
A 20-year old citizen of Jamaica, who has multiple convictions for Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Carrying Firearms without a license;
A 38 years-old citizen of India, who has pending charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property
“During this operation, our officers were able to locate and apprehend more than a dozen individuals who have committed crimes in our country, while seeking sanctuary in our cities,” said ICE Philadelphia Field Office Director Simona Flores-Lund. “One-third of these individuals could have been off our streets earlier, however, the city of Philadelphia believes that allowing criminals and drug dealers to roam freely in their communities outweighs cooperating with federal law enforcement.”
ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement actions every day in locations around the country as part of the agency\’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls. These operations involve existing, established Fugitive Operations Teams.
About Detainers
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodges detainers on individuals who have been arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe are removable aliens. The detainer asks the other law enforcement agency to notify ICE in advance of release and to maintain custody of the alien for a brief period of time so that ICE can take custody of that person in a safe and secure setting upon release from that agency’s custody.
When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission. This negatively impacts public safety and ICE’s efficiency in the apprehension of criminal aliens. Federal immigration laws authorize DHS to issue detainers and provide ICE broad authority to detain removable aliens.
Congress has established no process, requirement, or expectation directing ICE to seek a judicial warrant from already overburdened federal courts before taking custody of an alien on civil immigration violations. This idea is simply a figment created by those who wish to undermine immigration enforcement and excuse the ill-conceived practices of sanctuary jurisdictions that put politics before public safety.
Sanctuary Policies Put Public Safety at Risk
When law enforcement agencies don’t honor ICE detainers, these individuals, who often have significant criminal histories, are released onto the street, presenting a potential public safety threat.
Any local jurisdiction thinking that refusing to cooperate with ICE will result in a decrease in local immigration enforcement is mistaken. Local jurisdictions that choose to not cooperate with ICE are likely to see an increase in ICE enforcement activity, as ICE the agency has no choice but to conduct more at-large arrest operations. A consequence of ICE being forced to make more arrests on the streets is the agency is likely to encounter other unlawfully present foreign nationals that wouldn’t have been encountered had we been allowed to take custody of a criminal target within the confines of a local jail.
Additionally, once these criminals are out on the street, confirming their whereabouts is often time consuming and resource intensive. Many of our arrest targets are seasoned criminals who are savvy about eluding law enforcement.
NEWARK, N.J. – The former acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP) has been charged with embezzling JCETP funds, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Sudhan M. Thomas, 44, (photo) of Jersey City, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with embezzling funds from an organization receiving federal funds. Thomas is expected to make his initial appearance on Jan. 9, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Thomas served as JCETP’s acting executive director from January 2019 until his resignation in July 2019. JCETP is a nonprofit organization that operated to assist Jersey City residents to prepare for and enter the work force. JCETP received substantial amounts of its funding from federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Using his access to JCETP funds and control of JCETP’s bank accounts, from March 2019 through July 2019, Thomas embezzled more than $45,000 from JCETP. Thomas caused checks to be drawn from JCETP accounts that were made payable to others, but ultimately received by Thomas. He also embezzled JCETP funds by issuing JCETP checks made out to cash that Thomas either cashed himself or used to obtain bank checks that Thomas made payable to his entity, Next Glocal, which were deposited into a Next Glocal bank account that Thomas controlled. Thomas used the JCETP funds deposited to Next Glocal’s bank account to pay for his personal expenses, including payments to Thomas’s landlord in Jersey City and airfare and hotel expenses for a trip to Hawaii, and to fund transfers to Thomas’ family trust account.
The count of theft from an organization receiving federal funds carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Michael Mikulka; and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Supervisory Special Agent Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tazneen Shahabuddin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr., Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit, in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
20-003
Defense counsel: Christopher D. Adams Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
CAMDEN CITY, NJ (January 5, 2020)–Dyheam Williams, 18, of Lindenwold, NJ, was charged this morning in connection with the fatal stabbing of Jerome Pastore in Haddon Township. Williams was charged with Murder,
Jerome Pastore
(image source social media)
Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, according to Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer and Haddon Township Police Chief Mark Cavallo.
On January 3, 2020, at approximately 4:50 p.m., officers from Oaklyn, Audubon and Haddon Township Police Departments responded to the Shamrock Delicatessen, located on South Davis Avenue in Audubon, in response to 911 calls reporting a male who had been stabbed. On their arrival, officers found the victim, Jerome Pastore, 52, of West Berlin, lying on the 100 block of Cuthbert Boulevard in Haddon Township, just across the street from the deli he owned. Jerome Pastore was suffering from apparent stab wounds throughout his body. He was pronounced deceased at 5:07 p.m. at Cooper University Hospital.
Dyheam Williams was arrested at his home in Lindenwold and remanded to the Camden County Jail pending a pretrial detention hearing.
All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Released Sunday, January 5, 2020.
Local Publisher Set to Reduce Community Coverage After Being Fined by State for Using Independent Contractors
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (photo) called on the Murphy Administration to end its attacks on
independent contractors and the media after the Westfield Leader was fined for not classifying freelance reporters and photographers as employees.
“Many people choose to freelance for a variety of reasons, and those self-employed individuals make it possible for small media outlets like the Westfield Leader to offer comprehensive coverage of local government meetings, school sports, and community events,” said Kean. “Unfortunately, the Westfield Leader has been forced to end its freelance program completely after being fined by the Murphy Administration. I’d like for Governor Murphy to explain to the Leader’s many former contributors how his assault on the company that paid them has improved their situation or that of the community they proudly served. This is a clear example of how the Governor’s flawed labor policies will hurt New Jersey families and further erode a media industry that is already struggling to survive.”
According to the Westfield Leader
, it was forced to end its freelance program after the New Jersey Department of Labor fined the paper’s publisher going back to 2015 for not treating freelance reporters and photographers as employees.
Under the Governor’s direction, the State has fined a variety of businesses and services,
including Uber
, that have allowed freelancers and independent contractors the freedom to work when they want and the opportunity to earn extra income at their own pace.
Kean has been a vocal opponent
of efforts by Democrats in the Legislature to codify through
S-4204
the Murphy Administration’s treatment of independent contractors as employees under State law.
“Some people have a full-time job and want the opportunity to freelance to earn extra income to support their families, and others have caregiver responsibilities that prevent them from working traditional 9 to 5 jobs,” added Kean. “In 2020, we shouldn’t limit people’s ability to work based on some outdated 1950s mentality of what a job should be. Governor Murphy should stop denying the overtaxed people of New Jersey any opportunity to work.”
The Camden County Board of Freeholders, the Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Senior and Disabled Services, and the Surrogate’s Office are holding free legal workshops for senior and disabled residents of Camden County. Those attending the workshop receive, at no cost, a Last Will and Testament, an Advance Directive for Health Care (Living Will), and Power of Attorney.
Senior participants are required to be Camden County residents aged 60 and over, while disabled citizens must be aged 18 and over. Workshops are limited to 35 people per session and pre-registration is required. All workshops are held at the Camden County Store at the Voorhees Town Center. To register, please call (856) 566-2920.
Read More
.
January Workshops:
Monday,
January 6th at 2 PM
– pick up February 6th
Monday
January 13th at 2 PM
– pick up February 13th
Monday,
January 21st at 2 PM
– pick up February 20th
Monday,
January 27th at 6 PM
– pick up February 27th
By Steve Bittenbender |
The Center Square
The number of Americans on the move might have reached a 65-year-low in 2019, but Census Bureau data shows Pennsylvania ranked among the top states for both attracting and losing residents.
A recent report
by STORAGECafé, which bills itself as a storage rental marketplace, reports that Pennsylvania is the 10th most popular destination for people moving from another
state. In 2018, the state attracted 253,000 newcomers.
Pennsylvania attracted more residents from New Jersey than anywhere else. The site reported that 44,000 people crossed the Delaware River to make the Keystone State their new home.
Yet, the report, which uses Census Bureau data, indicates only six states lost more residents. Pennsylvania saw 240,832 move out, with 17,000 moving next door to Ohio.
Part of the reason why so many may be making those moves is due to the fact they’re inexpensive. Moving the possessions from a two-bedroom home in New Jersey to Pennsylvania cost, on average, about $2,400. That was the least expensive interstate move.
Pennsylvanians moving to Ohio paid average moving costs of about $2,500. Nearly 10,000 people moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware, at an average cost of up to $3,700 per move.
STORAGECafé worked with United Van Lines in determining the moving costs and did not factor packing or insurance.
Earlier this year, the Pew Charitable Trusts
released a study
about the migration patterns for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city. The study noted that about 60,000 residents leave the city annually, roughly 10,000 more than it attracts.
Of those who left the region, the main reason for moving elsewhere was because of job opportunities. Pew research indicated that 44 percent moved away for work; the next highest response – moving closer to friends and family – garnered just 11 percent of respondents.
Pew said since it was the first time such a study had been conducted, it was uncertain if these issues are lingering ones within the city.
“What is clear is that there is not one overarching reason for relocating,” the Pew report states. “Most of those who left Philadelphia characterized themselves not as fleeing the city but, rather, as seeking new opportunities elsewhere.”
The Census Bureau reported that 31.4 million Americans moved in 2019. That’s the lowest total since 1954, and the percentage of Americans who moved, just 9.8 was an all-time low since the bureau began tracking residential moves in 1947.
Of those who moved, about 4.6 million moved to a new state.
published here with permission of The Center Square