Byram police union attacks town manager over health care issue

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By JOE CARLSON

jcarlson@njherald.com

BYRAM Health care negotiations between PBA Local 138, the union that represents Byram police officers, and the township, which have been in progress since August 2012, heated up last week when the PBA accused Township Manager Joe Sabatini of a conflict of interest in not accepting a PBA proposed health care plan.

The PBA can only conclude that the rejection was in direct connection with the Town Manager receiving 50 percent of the annual cost ($34,000) of the health care policy, read a PBA postcard mailed to Byram residents last week. The PBA believe allowing the Manager to negotiate health care is a conflict due to his large cash payment for opting out of health care.

Byram Police Officers Association (Byrams branch of the PBA) Vice President Daniel DeWald said on Friday the postcard was sent out because the negotiation talks broke off in November and the PBA wanted residents to know what it (the PBA) believed was going on.

The postcard was received by many residents between Tuesday and Thursday.

In response to the postcard, Mayor Jim Oscovitch addressed the claims in a statement to the New Jersey Herald.

All actions and decisions by our Township Manager during negotiations with the PBA have been made with the direction and approval of the Mayor and Council, the statement read. We stand united behind our Manager and the decisions weve made throughout this process. We are disappointed that the PBA has chosen public personal attack over respectful collaborative negotiation.

Following the mass mailing of the postcards, the township sent an email blast to residents and posted a statement on its website refuting the claims.

Sabatini, who does not get his health insurance through the township, receives cash compensation each year. Receiving cash compensation instead of insurance is a Byram policy that is available to all employees. On Friday, Sabatini said for 2014 his compensation for not taking insurance would be $13,785.12.

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Byram police union attacks town manager over health care issue

State health care enrollment fair draws hundreds

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BALTIMORE A health care enrollment fair on Saturday drew hundreds of Maryland residents who lined up and waited to beat Mondays midnight deadline to enroll in a health care plan.

People said they generally waited about an hour at the Baltimore Convention Center before sitting down with a navigator to help guide them through the process. Several said it then took between 15 and 30 minutes to enroll.

LaVerne Henson, a 49-year-old Baltimore resident who hasnt had health insurance since 2009, said she decided to take advantage of the in-person help after trying six frustrating times to enroll herself through the states troubled online exchange website.

Coming here, we had no problem, Henson said. We went straight through it in less than 20 minutes.

Amber LeSane, 33, said she had had trouble understanding how different health care plans worked when she used the website, and she wanted to meet with someone to get more information about deductions and tax credits. After waiting an hour to see a navigator, LeSane said she enrolled in a plan in 30 minutes.

It was actually pretty good, LeSane, of Randallstown, said. The wait time wasnt as long as I expected, and the navigator was very friendly, very helpful, so it was overall a good experience.

Organizers reported a steady stream of people attending.

Very easily well see 500 today, said Kathleen Westcoat, CEO of HealthCare Access Maryland.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, spoke to a roomful of people who were sitting down with 33 navigators. He implored them to tell friends and neighbors who dont have health insurance to enroll by the deadline.

I am not asking you to talk to them. I am begging you to, Cummings said.

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State health care enrollment fair draws hundreds

A Vision of the Future of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Students of Professors of MIT – Video

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A Vision of the Future of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Students of Professors of MIT
CEEVideo DimasBrommerGiesa Lyrics: Leon: Oh golly! 3D printers, genetic engineering, atomistic modelling, are these the new tools of a civil engineer? Rapper...

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A Vision of the Future of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Students of Professors of MIT - Video

Association of Professional Futurists – What Is A Futurist?

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A professional futurist is a person who studies the future in order to help people understand, anticipate, prepare for and gain advantage from coming changes. It is not the goal of a futurist to predict what will happen in the future. The futurist uses foresight to describe what could happen in the future and, in some cases, what should happen in the future.

Most people use some sort of foresight all the time - something as simple as listening to the weather forecast to prepare for the next day. A professional futurist uses formal methods to develop descriptions of possible futures. The output of a futures study may include the driving forces, assumptions, evidence or indicators of the futures. A futurist is more likely to say how or why a future could appear rather than to say what the future will be.

One of the founding principles of the field of futures studies is the idea of personal and organizational choice. Although the future is unknown, a person can identify possibilities, select the most favorable outcomes and attempt to influence events to create a desired future.

By considering systems and human agency, futurists help identify choices that affect the future, for ourselves and future generations.

What do futurists do?

Futurists work in large and small businesses, governments and non-profits, as teachers or researchers in education, and as consultants or as permanent staff. Many futurists focus on one topic such as a technology or an industry. Other futurists study broad social changes or global problems. All futurists take a very wide view of the world in both scope and time. Futurists tend to take a much broader perspective, consider longer time horizons, and include many more factors in a study than analysts such as economists, technology specialists, social critics or political commentators.

The foundation of a good futures project is the solid understanding of the present conditions and historical influences. A futurist describes a situation using a deliberate and structured method. This process includes the surface conditions of, for example, an industry, but the futurist also studies the goals and purposes behind the industry.

The second type of scanning looks for anomalies or unusual events that may provide an indication of change or a solid piece of evidence for an emerging trend, called weak signals. Both types of scanning require futurists to be information sponges." Many futurists and organizations use structured methods of sorting and categorizing data to help sort useful information from noise.

Most get information from a wide variety of sources including newspapers, books, periodicals, scientific and trade journals, forecasts, interviews with subject matter experts, electronic media, arts and cultural trends, to name only a few. While most futurists scan broadly for background information, it is most effective when used in combination with a defined, focused framework.

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Association of Professional Futurists - What Is A Futurist?

US Birth Control Mandate and the Fight for Religious Freedom (VOA On Assignment Mar. 28, 2014) – Video

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US Birth Control Mandate and the Fight for Religious Freedom (VOA On Assignment Mar. 28, 2014)
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ASSASSINS CREED 4: FREEDOM CRY [HD] #08 – Neue Informationen – Let’s Play AC: Freedom Cry – Video

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ASSASSINS CREED 4: FREEDOM CRY [HD] #08 - Neue Informationen - Let #39;s Play AC: Freedom Cry
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Trenton Freedom ready to kick off inaugural season

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TRENTON Professional football is back in Trenton this afternoon as the Trenton Freedom kick off their season at the Sun National Bank Center at 2 p.m., but this first-year team is planning on competing right from the start.

Featuring a roster of players from all different walks of life, the Freedom have a lot of experience and speed, and a lot of players with aspirations of the Arena Football League and even the NFL.

Fostering an environment where family comes first has been important in the teams mission for this first season, especially with so many players that might not be with the team for the entire season.

We want them to use us as a stepping stone, team general manager and part-owner Megan Williams said.

The Freedoms going to be here, but these guys hopefully wont be, and hopefully in a good way. Because we want them to be able to progress with their careers and that kind of stuff, and we want to be able to give them the tools that they need, work on whatever it is thats holding them back.

The team, which has only had a few weeks to practice together and get to know each other, has gelled nicely to this point and looks like it is ready to step right in and compete.

I think were ready, I think were prepared, Freedom head coach Kevin OHanlon said. We had to make some changes, injuries, and just guys not fitting in and not playing where we needed them to be. But I think were ready to go.

I think theyre really tight, theres a lot of camaraderie. Theyre always doing something together, which is nice. Us providing them with transportation, they get to do some things together from time to time, which is nice instead of just being locked up in their rooms.

The players are ready to get on the field, as a lot of them are looking to jump from the Freedom to a higher-level football league like the AFL or the NFL.

I scratch your back, you scratch mine, defensive back Muhammad Shamsid-Deen said. Im here for the community, to make sure Trenton gets back on the map, and Im hoping to go to the next level, and thats the NFL. I feel that the coaches are great here, they know what theyre doing. They know how to accommodate players, and thats a big aspect of the game.

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Trenton Freedom ready to kick off inaugural season