Things to Do if You Have Doubts about the Used Car You Want to Buy

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 9, 2020)–As you try to decide which used car you want to purchase, you realize that the ones on your shortlist aren’t necessarily the best choices. They check some standards on your list, but not all of them. These are the

image credit unsplash.com

things you need to do if you still doubt the quality of the used car you consider buying.

Ask for help from a mechanic

It helps if you can work with a mechanic to check the quality of the vehicle. Mechanics are experts in assessing the quality of cars. You will know if there are recurring issues you need to be mindful of. The mechanic will also advise you if the vehicle is worth the price, or if it\’s way too expensive. You will feel more confident about your decision after talking to a mechanic.

Review the car history report

Even if you already looked at the car history report, it pays to have another look. Check every detail to see if there are patterns. If you don’t understand the report, you can ask someone else to interpret it for you. Since you have no idea about what the car went through in the past, this report is your only glimpse into its history.

Look at other options

There’s no need to hurry when buying a used car. Take your time to look at other choices, and determine if they’re worth buying. There could still be other choices that you might want to consider. You should wait until you find the perfect match rather than settle for a car that’s not worth it. You will end up with lots of repair expenses. Even if you save money buying the car, it might be nothing compared to how much you spend repairing it later.

Partner with a different company

Perhaps, there’s no problem with the specific model that you’re looking at. The issue is with the used car company. There’s no proper screening done on the cars they sell. They also don’t do the necessary repairs. If you\’re into a certain model, you might want to try other used car shops. You can find the same model with much better quality.

Suspend your plans

You can reconsider your plans to buy a car later when there’s a better model available. You don’t want to rush this decision since it’s a major investment. Even if you save money by choosing a used car over a brand-new model, it’s still a significant amount. You don’t want to regret it because you settled for an option you were doubtful about.

Why not consider

Used Cars Layton Utah

if you want a quality used car? With the positive reviews received by the company and their proven track record, you won\’t go wrong. Start by looking at the choices online. You can visit the shop to see the vehicles. Take a test drive in the model you like and decide if it’s worth buying.

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EPA Holds Public Meeting Monday on Ringwood Superfund Cleanup Plan

RINGWOOD, NJ (February 8, 2020)–The EPA are proposing a cleanup plan to address groundwater and mine water contamination at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site in Ringwood, New Jersey. EPA’s proposed plan to address contaminants in groundwater at the site provides for the installation of wells near the Peters Mine Pit and Peters Mine Pit Airshaft, perpendicular to the direction of groundwater flow, to introduce an oxygen-releasing compound into the aquifer to enhance the breakdown of contaminants. EPA reached a $21 million settlement with Ford Motor Co. and Ringwood on a cleanup plan for the Superfund site. Almost 166,000 tons of paint sludge and toxic chemicals from the company\’s plant are still prevalent.

Who:

The Environmental Protection Agency

What:

Public Meeting on the Ringwood Superfund Cleanup Plan

Where:

Martin J. Ryerson Middle School, 130 Valley Road, Ringwood, New Jersey.

When:

Monday, February 10, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

“EPA’s proposal to address contaminates at the Ringwood Superfund site is not good enough and will not end the toxic nightmare for the people of Upper Ringwood. The agency is letting Ford off the hook while they save millions of dollars at the expense of the health of the people of Ringwood. The only way to remove toxins out of water is it pump it out, EPA’s plan to pump in oxygen into the water will take time and may not work. We should not be experimenting on the community,”

said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

“It is important for the public to come out to the meeting and demand a full cleanup plan that will protect their health and safety. It’s too important for too many people.”

source New Jersey Sierra Club

NJBIA Supports Tax Incentive Report on Economic Growth Strategies

New Jersey Business & Industry Association Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz issued the following statement today regarding the release of the Senate Select Committee on Economic Growth Strategies (SEGS) report.

\”NJBIA thanks the Special Committee for its report and recommendations. We also appreciate the opportunity to participate in the SEGS hearings and are pleased to see some of our ideas on the next generation of this important economic development tool in the report.

\”NJBIA strongly supports the report\’s recommendations of no annual overall cap combined with enhanced net benefit tests. If a net benefit test shows that the state is benefitting, then why would we want to cap success?

\”Additionally, we support the idea of targeting high-growth projects and industries – but would like to see the manufacturing target be broadened beyond just \”advanced manufacturing.\” We are also supportive of better integrating workforce development resources into the tax incentive program, as this report suggests.

\”We know that the business community, the Legislature and Governor Murphy are all in agreement that a responsible and competitive tax incentive program, with appropriate oversight of its effectiveness, plays a key role in the state\’s economic development strategy.

\”With the report now complete, it is imperative that there is no further delay in our policymakers working together to deliver a comprehensive program that is accountable, responsible and makes New Jersey regionally competitive.

\”New Jersey\’s economy has been damaged by not having an economic incentive program over the past seven months. Absent this program, New Jersey remains without the much-needed mechanism to level the playing field against our regional competitors who have a less challenging business climate.\”

JEROME BY DAVE WOLFE

ARTIST Dave Wolfe

Vol. 6 No. 32 (February 9, 2020)

Editor\’s Note: Each Sunday morning we post a weekly comic strip provided by cartoonist Dave Wolfe. (click image to enlarge)

In Response to Climate Change, the State DEP Begins Reforms Environmental Requirements

TRENTON – One week after Governor Phil Murphy and Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced a comprehensive effort to modernize New Jersey\’s environmental regulations to protect our communities and economy against the threats of climate change, the Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward with a collaborative rule making process, holding several stakeholder events throughout February and March, to make the New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJ PACT) reforms a reality.

The DEP has scheduled a series of stakeholder sessions to gather input from residents, businesses and advocates on the development of new greenhouse gas reduction and environmental land use regulations aimed at reducing the impact of climate change and adapting to the realities of certain impacts, like sea-level rise.

\”New Jersey is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, from sea-level rise that threatens our coastline to air pollution that harms our most vulnerable communities,\” said Governor Murphy. \”We are moving swiftly to enact the regulations outlined in NJ PACT to reduce fossil fuel emissions and ensure investments in our innovation economy and communities. These policies, which will make New Jersey a global leader in the clean energy transition and fight against climate change, will help propel New Jersey to 100 percent clean energy by 2050.\”

\”In New Jersey, we take seriously the science of climate change. We are heeding the warnings about risks like sea-level rise and acting with the urgency that these threats demand,\” said Commissioner McCabe. \”As we work to modernize our environmental regulations to reflect the best available science, DEP is committed to a thoughtful and collaborative approach that engages stakeholders from across all sectors of our economy, non-governmental organizations, academia, and local government. We are all in this together.\”

On Jan. 27, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 100, directing the DEP to make targeted regulatory reforms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change through the NJ PACT initiative. New Jersey is the first state to embark on a such an ambitious framework of measures targeted to both reduce emissions of climate pollutants and reform environmental land use policy to adapt to climate realities and ensure long-term resilience.

With Governor Murphy\’s leadership, New Jersey has been implementing a number of initiatives to both mitigate against future climate change and adapt to its certain effects, including releasing a clean-energy focused Energy Master Plan and ordering the development of a Statewide Climate Resilience Strategy, making New Jersey a national leader in the fight against climate change.

NJ PACT is the next evolution of these efforts, modernizing air quality regulations that will limit emissions of climate pollutants that exacerbate global warming, as well as environmental land use regulations that equip DEP, local governments, residents and businesses with tools to effectively respond to current climate threats. They are also forward looking, seeking to reduce future climate damages through rules for green infrastructure and resilient building that will help New Jersey fight risks like sea-level rise and extreme weather.

Soliciting feedback from the public and stakeholders for proposed environmental regulations is the first step in the rulemaking process that will conclude by January 2022. In advance of that date, DEP will consider all input it receives during its public stakeholder process as it formulates rule proposals. Once proposals are finalized, they will be published in the New Jersey Register for public comment and, after careful consideration of any comments received, finalized for adoption.

The DEP will hold initial stakeholder sessions on the following potential rules:

* Friday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., focusing on periodic monitoring and reporting of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, hosted by the DEP Air Quality, Energy and Sustainability program.

* Tuesday, Feb. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., focusing on ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, hosted by the DEP Air Quality, Energy and Sustainability program.

* Wednesday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to discuss rules to better plan for sea-level rise, extreme weather events and flooding, hosted by the Land Use Management program.

All sessions for both programs are open to public comment. They will be held at the DEP\’s First Floor Public Hearing Room, 401 East State Street, Trenton 08625.

Due to space limitations, the DEP is requesting attendees to RSVP. For more information, including session details, RSVP deadlines and contacts, visit

https://www.nj.gov/dep/njpact/

NJ SIERRA CLUB: Philly Refinery Led Nation in Benzene Pollution

TRENTON NJ (February 7, 2020)–The Environmental Integrity Project released a report today which monitored benzene levels at 100 refinery fence lines across the nation. As of the third quarter of 2019 (which ended on September 30, 2019), fence line benzene levels at 10 refineries exceeded the EPA “action level”. Facilities like the

Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Pennsylvania had the highest benzene levels where net concentrations were 49 and 444% greater than EPA Action Level and three times higher than California’s chronic reference exposure level. The refinery filed for bankruptcy and has been closed since July, they are looking to sell.

“The recent report by the Environmental Integrity Project should be an alarm bell going off to the Murphy Administration. The fenceline at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Facility had benzene levels that are over 5 times the EPA standard. This is the biggest release of benzene in the country and the EPA is not cracking down on mitigating it. Benzene has serious impacts on public health, including respiratory diseases, higher cancer rates, and even premature death. The facility is also right over the Delaware River and prevailing winds could have caused major impacts to South Jersey, including the Camden area. It’s good that the facility shut down but not because the EPA forced it too for polluting our health and environment,”

said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System indicates that inhaling benzene concentrations as low as 13 micrograms per cubic meter over a lifetime is likely to cause one additional cancer case for every 10,000 people exposed. The EPA requirements include if the benzene level at any of the monitoring location exceeds an average of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air over a one-year period, the EPA regulations require the facility to conduct a root cause analysis to determine the source of the toxic emissions and to then take action to fix the problem and lower the concentrations.

“Oil refineries like the one in South Philly need to be held accountable for emitting toxic chemicals like benzene and other toxic pollutants. Benzene is known as a human carcinogenic and Communities living near the fenceline of these facilities can have long term and chronic exposure to this chemical. Since Trump’s EPA have let these facilities get away with putting our environment and health at risk, it is even more important that states step up,”

said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

4th-Graders in Pennsylvania Score 4 Points Above National Avg. on Math; NJ 4th-Graders Score 6 Points Above

The Center Square

Fourth-graders in Pennsylvania on average scored 244 on a standardized math test administered last year, which is four points above the 2019

national average calculated by the National Assessment of Educational Progress

(NAEP).

The Pennsylvania students’ average score ranked in a tie for eighth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Among the fourth-graders in Pennsylvania who took the assessment, 81 percent tested at or above the basic achievement level, while 47 percent tested at or above the proficient level, according to the analysis.

In total, fourth-graders in 15 of the jurisdictions had average scores above the national average. Another 20 jurisdictions had average scores that didn’t vary significantly from the U.S. average, according to the study, while 17 posted average scores that were well below the national average.

The NAEP uses the academic results of such tests to improve public education in the U.S. The effort is carried out under the direction of the U.S. Department of Education.

—

4th-Grade Math Scores, State by State

published here by Gloucestercitynews.net with permission of

The Center Square

How Can CIOs Drive Positive Culture Changes?

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(February 8, 2020)–As accepted leaders in technology, IT professionals have the best chance to model the preferred behaviors. Creating a stirring narrative also helps employees visualize the impetus for culture change and get on board faster.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

Digital technologies have changed the way that we work and live. Organizations are rushing to stay on top of the latest innovations as well as changing customer expectations. Corporate culture must also evolve. In the past, many companies maintained cultures that emphasized stability, predictability, and consistency, but that doesn\’t reflect the reality of businesses that face disruption from more nimble competitors. Therefore, CIOs must stay on top of new technologies in order to respond to the changing marketplace and exceed customer demands.

Business IT services

business owner Gary Harlam from Technology Advisory Group shares three ways CIOs can expedite culture change in their organizations.

How Can CIOs Reinforce the Desired Culture?

CIOs can invest in technologies that reinforce culture changes. Culture heavily influences the outcome of transformation initiatives when it comes to enterprise technology decisions. The more nimble your organization is, the more open your teams will be to try new things. This can shortcut adaption to change, which leads to market, profitability and productivity improvements.

Culture certainly affects the success of technology adoption, but technology can influence corporate culture too. For instance, collaboration tools are commonplace in small and large organizations.

With cloud-based file-sharing capability, it’s easier than ever to achieve transparency. This gets information out to employees so they can make data-driven decisions.

How Can You Incubate New Culture in IT?

Effective CIOs know that IT is a great testing ground for corporate culture changes. IT professionals live by the motto “test and learn.” Working in IT involves continuous on-the-job training to evaluate the potential of new technologies and apply them to solve real business problems. This adaptability leaves technology teams open to explore culture initiatives.

One financial service CIO put this to the test in his organization, which faced growing pressure from cloud-first start-ups encroaching on the industry. As digitally-native consumers grew, leaders realized they needed to update their operating model to grow their customer base. New technology and flexible products were needed to meet changing expectations.

According to CIO magazine, a cross-functional team aligned to customer outcomes rolled out a new decision-making process that pushed decision-making authority down to the employees completing the work whenever possible.

IT support

teams were the first to use an enterprise collaboration platform that let everyone share ideas, best practices, and data.

How Can You Muster Top-Level Support for Culture Changes?

For many companies, digital initiatives top their enterprise strategy priorities. Therefore, CIOs have access to their counterparts on the executive team, and they have a hand in strategic decision-making. Additionally, the CIO can use their access to the technology to help drive transformations to corporate culture. This is the cross-functional collaboration needed to create lasting organizational change.

C-level support is essential to the adoption of culture change across the enterprise. However, a top-down approach won’t lead to the genuine interest needed to maintain the culture changes. CIOs should reach out to cross-functional stakeholders to encourage change at a basic level that can influence day-to-day operations.

For executives trying to build grass-roots momentum, the IT team is the right place to begin. As accepted leaders in technology,

IT service professionals

have the best chance to model the preferred behaviors. Creating a stirring narrative also helps employees visualize the impetus for culture change and get on board faster.

Camden County GOP Awards Mehta The Organization Line

Ambrosino: “Mehta in the column helps our down ballot candidates in November.”

HADDON HEIGHTS – Camden County Republican Chairman Rich Ambrosino announced today that after interviewing U.S. Senate candidates over two evenings the organization’s screening committee recommended the organization line be awarded to Rik Mehta. Ambrosino accepted that recommendation and has awarded the organization line to Mehta.

“CCGOP’s by-laws state the chairman has the authority to award the organization line to candidates, but I prefer to be more inclusive and have a screening committee interview candidates and make a recommendation. It’s a system that works well for us.” Rich Ambrosino said, “The screening committee chairman reported to me the recommendation was unanimous, Rik Mehta should be in the column with our candidates.”

“I thank the candidates for taking part in the process.” Ambrosino continued, “All live a considerable distance from our county, their willingness to make the drive shows they understand that with only eight counties having more registered Republicans than Camden County, our 55,000 plus Republicans are very important in a statewide primary.”

“I thank the screening committee for their work and for choosing an excellent U.S. Senate candidate.” Ambrosino said, “Rik Mehta is qualified, has a keen grasp of the issues voters care about, is raising money and has assembled a quality campaign team. Mehta in the column helps our down ballot candidates in November.”

Resident from Southampton Sentenced to Prison for Tax Fraud

PHILADELPHIA PA (February 7, 2020)–On February 6, 2020, DUANE WILSON (WILSON), 66, of Southampton, PA, was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of home confinement. WILSON was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of

$272,742.00 to the IRS. WILSON previously pled guilty to filing a false tax return.

WILSON, who was once employed by Valley Power in Willow Grove, PA, embezzled over $1 million from his former employer. WILSON failed to report some of those funds on his tax return. WILSON’S actions caused a loss of approximately $272,742.00 to the IRS.

“No matter the source, all income is taxable,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Guy Ficco. “There is no better time than tax season to remind the public that knowingly omitting income on a tax return is a felony; one that could result in jail time.”

In fashioning a sentence, United States District Court Judge Joshua D. Wolson referred to this case as a straight forward crime of greed.

WILSON will begin serving his prison sentence on April 06, 2020.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Gray.

source :

Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation-Philadelphia Field Office