More than 500 participants in the American Horticultural Society’s “Growing Fertile Minds and Communities”conference will visit the Camden Children’s Garden from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 26. The Garden is co-hosting the conference along with Longwood Gardens, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. This is the 16th annual National Children and Youth Garden Symposium sponsored by AHS, the largest and oldest organization of its kind in the nation.

Who killed the electric car? If it wasn't GM, Dick Cheney, Halliburton or the Shriners, it may well have been the sheer weight of film festival screenings these days and the dinosaur juice required to try and see them all.

Don't let that deter you, however, from checking out this FREE screening of the acclaimed documentary by filmmaker/director Chris Paine. It's a sordid story of the life and mysterious death of the GM EV1, among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert?

Chris Paine will present a keynote address at 1:00pm, followed by this free screening and followed by an informal Q&A. (Or hang out for the free post-screening nosh to rub elbows..)

It's all part of Rutgers-Camden's second annual New Century Cinema Film Festival, a showcase for college and independent filmmakers from across the nation. For a complete schedule of screenings and events, check out www.gordontheater.com.

Where: The Gordon Theater, 3rd and Pearl Streets @ the Ben Franklin Bridge
Rutgers-Camden campus, Camden NJ
(856) 225-2700 or www.gordontheater.com

When: 1:00pm

Admission and Parking is FREE!

News Item:
State Troopers bring calm to Camden High

Full Story: Courier Post

Cartoon from Sid in the City

From December 16th to the 23rd, at the Gordon Theater at Rutgers University in Camden:

Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts and the Knight Foundation are proud to present the stage debut of new holiday tradition - A Camden Christmas Carol. Directed by Barry Moore and written by local playwright Sarah O'Neill, this production re-interprets Dickens' tale of historic Camden Towne and the journey of Ben Scrooge from darkness into light.

Featuring renowned performance artist Jean-Ronald LaFond in the lead role, a creative team of multimedia experts bring the City of Camden to life with historic images, film, sound and dazzling special effects that will transport you back and forth through time with Scrooge and the three spirits - from the hustle and bustle of Camden's industrial heyday right up to the present day.

The result is an innovative interpretation of the classic tale that holds special meaning - not just for the City of Camden, but for the entire Delaware Valley region. Experience a new tradition that will bring home the true meaning of the holidays - A Camden Christmas Carol!

On Sunday, Nov. 5th the Ben Franklin Bridge will be closed to vehicles. Instead people from all over the country will be participating in the 2006 AmeriHealth Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge, a 10K run and 2 mile bridge walk. According to the Run the Bridge website:

The 10K course (USATF Certified) begins at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge on the New Jersey side, crosses the bridge, doubles back and continues along the scenic Camden Water Front passing such attractions as Campbell’s Field, the Adventure Aquarium, the Battleship New Jersey and the Tweeter Center finishing next to the Rutgers Camden Campus.

The event benefits the Larc School.

(cross posted to Crossing the Delaware)

The Camden Courier Post is reporting that several people were injured today when a fire broke out in the 5th and Market PATCO station in Camden.

When I left work in Camden today at about 5:35 p.m., there were several fire trucks near the station, plus a number of ambulances and three hovering news helicopters.

The station is underground; you walk down steps, through the gate, down more steps, to the platform. Eastbound trains are on one side, westbound on the other. When I got to the station a small crowd of people were sitting on the curb, a few were being given oxygen. I saw one woman being loaded into an ambulance. A woman who had been on the train told me the lights went out, the train stopped and they had to walk to the station.

People were still coming up the stairs and firemen were taking ladders down. You could smell the smoke (very acrid) coming up the street gates along 5th street. A very kind soul gave a carful of people (including me) a ride across the river.

PATCO is preparing to roll out a new card system. No idea on when exactly this will happen, but some of the new smart card machines are on display in the PATCO station at Market East. The new cards could be used for parking lot fees as well as train fare. There are a few options for adding money onto the card. You can set up a credit card system, similar to EZPAss or add money on at machines in the stations. More info inConnections.

description:

The 2006 Rutgers Camden Summer Writer's Conference features evening readings by the staff members and students. These affairs with refreshments begin at 7pm and are free and open to the general public.

Tuesday, June 20 in the Octagon Room, Campus Center: Lev Raphael and Moira Crone
Wednesday, June 21 in the Faculty Lounge, 3rd Floor Armitage: Rachel Hadas and Lisa Zeidner
Thursday, June 22 in the Faculty Lounge, 3rd Floor Armitage: Sidney Wade and Joe Barbarese
Friday, June 23 in the Faculty Lounge, 3rd Floor Armitage: Peter Murphy and Danielle Trussoni
Monday, June 26 in the Octagon Room, Campus Center: Percival Everett and Owen King
Tuesday, June 27 in the Octagon Room, Campus Center:Lauren Grodstein and Tom Bissell
Wednesday, June 28 in the Octagon Room, Campus Center: Students from the program

BRAVO Daine Allen!

Battle to Revise Eminent Domain Law Escalates in Trenton

TRENTON, June 15 — For weeks, New Jersey legislators have been frantically writing and amending bills to answer widespread complaints that local governments are too quick to condemn property for redevelopment projects.

The lawmakers have been under pressure to tighten New Jersey's law, which is one of the most permissive in the nation, since the United States Supreme Court ruled a year ago that local governments could use eminent domain to acquire land for economic development, in addition to traditional purposes like building roads and schools.

But so far, the lawmakers' efforts have infuriated most of those who called for change — and who now say the legislation does little more than give residents better notice that their property is going to be seized.

Well how about that? The Inquirer is actually covering eminent domain today...'bout damn time (they don't cover it enough):

A 'consensus' eminent-domain plan in N.J.
Critics said the compromise proposal would not go far enough to curtail abuse. Builders and municipalities lauded the bill, which a sponsor expects will pass.
By Elisa Ung
Inquirer Trenton Bureau

TRENTON - After a four-month review of how the most densely populated state allows the seizure of land for private redevelopment, key Democratic lawmakers are working on legislation that would tighten the criteria for exercising eminent domain and require more public notification.

Builders and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities cheered the proposal, while property owners, Republicans, and the state's public advocate said it did not go far enough to curb eminent-domain abuse.

"The real question is: What will this do to stop the abuse taking place now? And the answer is: Nothing," said Bill Potter, a Princeton lawyer who heads the Coalition Against Eminent Domain Abuse.

The state's public advocate, Ronald Chen, released a report last month that said New Jersey made eminent domain far too easy to use. Yesterday, he expressed disappointment that the legislation did not include provisions for more affordable housing or improved ethics.

"When redevelopment occurs, there is a tremendous amount of money at stake, the government assumes awesome powers, and pay-to-play reform is essential to eliminate even the appearance of impropriety," Chen said in a statement.

Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester), who headed the review and is the bill's sponsor, ruled out including ethics language, such as banning campaign contributions from developers. Burzichelli said that was better dealt with by separate, overarching pay-to-play legislation.

...Even before the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision that allowed the seizure of land for private redevelopment, the issue had been controversial in New Jersey, with high-profile lawsuits in Camden, Lawnside, and Long Branch, among other places.

...It would eliminate the power municipalities have to condemn land by simply proving it is underused. Critics have said that could even apply to Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion.

Under the legislation, towns would have to prove specific harmful conditions, such as deterioration in the property that is "detrimental to the safety, health or welfare of the community." They also would have to conduct more studies to prove the necessity of invoking eminent domain.

...Anti-eminent domain activists, many of whom packed the hearing room yesterday, said they were disturbed that the development interests were so pleased.

"I thought the developers did a good job of writing it," said Thom Ammirato, who does public relations work for property owners fighting eminent domain.

Olga Pomar, a South Jersey Legal Services lawyer who has fought Camden's potential use of eminent domain in the Cramer Hill neighborhood, said the bill would still allow towns to target low-income or minority areas and to force those residents to move out of their neighborhoods.

Richard Gober, who battled eminent domain in his Ventnor neighborhood, said: "It's a start, but we need some teeth. ... I think this is political cover."