No "Little Houses" in the attic

My 8-year-old daughter has discovered the "Little House" series of books. She's wrapping up "Little House in the Big Woods" on Sunday and dove right into "Little House on the Prairie." Couldn't wait to bring it to school this morning to show her teacher.
I'm thrilled. I devoured those books too. And when the TV series came out, I was roughly the same age as the actresses who played Laura and Mary Ingalls, so I watched -- with a sympathetic eye -- their escapades with the evil Nellie Olsen.
Only thing I'm NOT thrilled about is that I didn't hang onto my books. We pass down pieces of jewelry and other family heirlooms. Is there anything from your childhood that you held onto for your children? Anything you wish you did?
We've got a great tradition still going in the family -- a Christening gown and the wicker basinet first used by my father, uncle and aunt. They're both carefully preserved and have been used by three generations now.
I wish I held onto those books, but sometime, long ago, they were given away. So I'm starting a new collection of the hard-covers for my daughter -- at 18 bucks a pop, we're picking them up one by one, but that adds to her excitement too. Then her little sister can read them when she's ready. Then I'm putting them away until a granddaughter arrives.

Who cares who tosses the carcass? Just do it. Fast.

The state, counties and municipalities are in a squabble over who should be responsible for removing dead deer carcasses from the sides of roadways. The state Department of Transportation has been doing it for years, but now said in its cost-cutting efforts, the towns or counties will have to take over the responsibility.

It makes sense to me, especially if it means quicker disposal. How many times do you pass the same carcass for days before it's finally gone? The state has 12 workers statewide who clear the deer. That gets pretty nasty. If the towns can haul it off the roadway the same day, that's got to be better for the sanitary protection of residents, pets that may get loose or other stray animals. And it will be much better on the stomachs of drivers who now have to watch a carcass rot for several days when they pass by.

Crime can pay. So can punishment, apparently.

In the mid-'90s, William Starling Jr. managed to defraud the government -- and those of us who pay taxes -- out of millions in about three years. Through a program that sets a certain number of government jobs aside for minority contractors, he obtained nearly $12 million worth of government work, saying he had a dozen employees, extensive equipment and experience. He had none of that, and instead he subcontracted out those jobs, and kept 10-15 percent of the money for himself. When he realized he was under investigation, he took $150,000 in contract money and took off to New Orleans.

You'd hope justice would eventually catch up to him. It did, but it didn't. Starling wound up pleading guilty to five counts of fraud, and faced up to 35 years and $2.25 million in fines. This month, he was sentenced. This is the killer: His "sentence" is three years' probation. And he has to pay back $796,855 to compensate the Army Corps of Engineers for finishing one of his projects. But he has to pay only $100 a month, and the judgment is up in 30 years, so he could end up paying a total of only $36,000. And he wasn't asked to pay back the $150,000 he took off with.

If that's not bad enough, add this: he's not barred from getting any more government contracts, not even while he's on probation. The judge said that's because of Starling's "need to make restitution." He needs a government contract to come up with $100 a month? That's just sick. He's now running a construction business in New Orleans. I'll bet he's salivating at all the government contract money for post-Katrina jobs. He left most of his work up here unfinished. If he gets another dime of government money, whoever signs off on it should have a brain scan -- to see if one exists.

Bring home the home remedies.

So tonight I'm going to put mayonnaise in my hair and rub my shedding cat with a fabric softener sheet. I'm going to send the kids out with spray bottles filled with white vinegar and tell them to spray the sidewalk weeds. And the calendar that keeps falling off the wall because the nail hole is too loose will get a dose of toothpaste into the wall. Those are some of the suggestions collected from readers by Press staff writer Patti Martin, in her story on alternate uses for household products:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/LIFE/604200419/1006

One of my favorite tricks was found on the Crayola.com Web site: how to remove crayon from just about anything. I've had it all over my walls -- a shot of WD40 breaks it up, then you can wash it off with soapy water. Any other home remedy-type tips, fixes and cures that anyone swears by? These fixes can prevent headaches. But if they don't, try rubbing a lime on your head instead of aspirin.

I like Dunkin' Donuts coffee, too!!

One reason you might not want to be Monmouth Beach Patrolman Jeff Godwin this week: the old, groaner jokes about cops in doughnut shops must be really wearing thin.

But there's a lot of reasons to envy Godwin ... 51,000 of them. Godwin, 25, was one of two nationwide winners (out of 8,000 entries) of the Dunkin' Donuts "Great Lengths" contest, asking people to describe the obstacles they overcame for a cup of the company's coffee. I don' t think my best effort -- putting all the kids in the car on cold or rainy days -- matches Godwin's sneaking out of training exercises at Fort Dix to walk about a mile to a Dunkin' Donuts because the fort's brew just didn't compare.

So Godwin's taking some good-natured ribbing this week But that's fine by him, as his prize is $51,000. He can laugh all the way to the bank. Or the doughnut shop.

No punctuation in these sentences

Rumson businessman Michael Buonopane was released from state prison Tuesday after serving less than three months of a four-year sentence. Actually, that's for THREE four-year terms to run concurrently. I never liked the idea of "concurrent" sentences. What's the point? The way I see it, he served less than 1/48th of his total sentence for failing to pay $4.6 million in taxes.

On Thursday, Louis Piraino of Stafford pleaded guilty to soliciting seven boys ages 12 through 15 for sex. Charges against him include threatening to kill two of those kids, committing criminal sexual contact upon one of them, possessing a rifle by a convicted person (convicted for a sexual assault 30 years ago for sodomizing a boy younger than 16) and possessing the rifle with the purpose of using it against one of the victims.

The county's going to recommend dismissal of some charges in exchange for his guilty plea to seven counts of child endangerment, possession of pornography and - what's called the most serious charge against him - possession of a weapon by a convicted person. The sentence to be suggested will be 10 years for the weapon charge (with a requirement of five years served before parole) and five years for the child-endangerment counts. At least those will run consecutively. The 18-month charge to be recommended for the pornography will run concurrently. Again, what's the point? Formal sentencing will take place after it's determined if he's a "repetitive or compulsive" offender. That's a no-brainer. He is. And he doesn't deserve to be out in five-plus years.

What message are these sentences sending? Be the subject of one of the state's biggest tax evasion cases, and you'll be out in a few months under the state's "Intensive Supervision Program." Out of jail is out of jail. And be arrested after terrifying several adolescent youths and trying to force yourself on them, and the worst charge against you is that you owned a gun.

Are these sentences nauseating? What crimes actually get sentences that fit?

How many ringgit per text message?

We ran a story in today's paper (page A9) about some guy in Malaysia who had his late father's phone line disconnected in January and paid 84 ringgit - about $23 here - to close the account. But he recently received another bill for 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit. That's about $218 trillion. He was given 10 days to cough it up. It's not clear whether the bill was sent in error or the phone line was used illegally after the father's death.

I think I know what happened here. He has a teenager or two who are text messaging their friends. At least that's what's happening in my house. Our wireless bill hasn't quite reached the trillion-dollar mark, but we're fast approaching it. Our particular offender gets unlimited texts to people who use the same service provider, plus he pays an extra $15 per month for 1,000 more text messages. He's gone way over this month, and he'll be paying for those.

I could increase the non-provider text message allowances, but I think 1,000 - above and beyond our same network - is more than enough and he's gotta learn some self control. It's turning into an expensive lesson for him. I was going to clip the article about the Malaysia bill and leave it for him, but I'm afraid he might take it as a challenge.

Too much of a bargain

I can't blame members of the family of the late Steven Fusciardi if they felt punched in the gut last week. The woman who struck him with her vehicle - and then didn't stop - while he was walking on Route 9 in Stafford last March got probation as the result of a plea bargain.

If she thought she hit a deer, like she told police, why didn't she report the accident that same night? If you think you struck a deer, wouldn't you stop to see if it was OK, or at least out of the road? But this woman waited until the next day. And at one point, she told police she initially thought it was a person. It was - a 43-year-old father of five. Less than a month later, the driver, Carol Ann Mancini, was involved in another accident, this time with her two kids in the car - and she was under the influence of alcohol.

She was sentenced for a combination of those accidents to five years' probation. If the first accident didn't warrant jail time, it should have when combined with the second. We will be writing an editorial on the sentence. Do you think because she has since addressed her alcohol problem, as her lawyer says, that should make even a short jail term unnecessary?

Do you ever sleep well again after having kids?

Do parents ever really sleep well? Those commercials for sleep-aids are looking mighty appealing. Not to whine, well, maybe to whine a little ... it's been one of those sleep-free weeks for the mother in the McDowell household.

A sick 6-year-old has me remembering the first month home from the hospital ... waking up every two hours or so. But this time, instead of getting up for feedings it was to check temperatures and levels of congestion. It was tough getting any sleep at all, worrying and feeling helpless against the virus that was making my little one so sick, and I couldn't do much about it except try to help her feel better while she battled it off.

On top of that, my teenager got my blood boiling by trying to stretch his wings a little too far and ignoring my calls to his cell phone. It was the wrong week to mess with my temper. But for the teen, a few days sans cell phone service - along with a lecture on the topic that "You have a cell phone so we can reach you, not so you can text message your girlfriend and ignore your parents' calls" - helped him see the light. Eventually.

It boggles my mind that the lack of a cell phone was seen as such a tragedy. My next threat is to empty his Ipod file and fill it only with elevator music. Or replace his XBox games with all early childhood-rated ones. (And he says he's not spoiled??) These are the plots I hatch at 3 a.m. after being up with a sick child.

Public relations, or public outcry?

The assistant director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling said results from a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Tuesday suggest Gov. Corzine's public relations campaign may be working, as more state residents say they know more about the state budget.

But although the number of people who say they know quite a bit about the budget rose, they don't necessarily like what they know, with only 33 percent saying the budget is fair. And the governor's job approval rating was at 43 percent. Is that the result of an effort toward education, or have state residents simply decided to stop turning a blind eye as government spending runs amok?

Is it outreach, or has a good part of the public started paying much more attention on their own, after seeing their taxes skyrocket over the last several years, coupled with more and more stories of corruption, overspending and unethical practices that pull more and more dollars out of their wallets, often far more than any wage increases they receive?

Only 5 percent blamed Corzine for the state's budget problems. But with constant campaign promises of seeing taxes lowered, then taxpayers get hit with higher taxes and fees, is it any wonder that more and more people are banging their heads against the wall, paying more attention to the state budget and considering moves out of state?

Recuse yourself, then excuse yourself

Keyport Mayor John Merla said Monday he would recuse himself from Tuesday's hearing on an application to expand a liquor license for his brother's bar. Yet at that hearing, he interjected comments defending the application, sometimes in an agitated voice. That was totally inappropriate. Even if he sat in the audience and wore a paper bag over his head, people still know he's the mayor, and he's pushing his influence on a family member's business with his remarks and his tone.

Merla should have stayed home, or at least kept his thoughts to himself regarding a liquor license for one of the bars owned by his family, particularly when there were several neighbors on hand to voice concerns about noise, crowds and parking.

But Merla doesn't seem to give a hoot about what's right for the town or the concerns of residents, or what's ethical. He was indicted on a charge of extortion in February, the eighth count against him filed in the Operation Bid Rig scandal that broke last year. He's the only official in that group who remains in office, despite calls from the rest of the Borough Council that he step down. Those calls were repeated in February when Merla was indicted on the eighth count, this one charging him with extorting money from a solid waste disposal company doing business in the borough. But Merla just seems to grip more tightly to his chair. It's time that he let go.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign . . .

Spotted on a local soccer field: A hefty State of New Jersey Green Acres project sign, with the names of Gov. Corzine and DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson up high. Local politicos were listed lower. Now, if Green Acres funds are being used to provide upgrades to local sporting fields, parks or any Green Acres site, fine. But do the governor and the DEP chief have to take credit for it? We're paying for it anyway.

Can't politicians do anything without shoving their names out in front? How many times have we seen signs claiming "Your (county/state/local) tax dollars at work." (And isn't it a riot when you catch the workers in the middle of a coffee/smoke break right by the signs?)

I can understand putting the governor's name at the main thoroughfares coming into the state. A snappy sign (although they rarely are) at each end of the Parkway, Turnpike, the entrance of 195, that stuff doesn't bother me. But do we have to have to have these big, ugly metal rectangles on every sporting field, park, construction site and filled pothole?? Corzine pledged to cut spending. How about eliminating these ego-driven signs?