No Salt in the City
April 30, 2010 – Columbia News Tonight
Reporter: Saskya Vandoorne
Producer: Kethevane Gorjestani
Our Focus story this week looks at the city’s efforts to reduce the amount of salt we eat. So far 16 food companies have agreed to cut the amount of salt in bacon, rice, ketchup and other foods.
One Response to “No Salt in the City”
nycer:As someone who has lived the mrjaoity of his adult life in Montclair and someone who still owns property there, the uniqueness of living with diversity wares off all too quickly when you realize how much it ends up impacting one’s quality of life.For example, we used to use the town pools. Due to the recession, they have cut the pool hours back to 1-7 on weekdays and noon-7 on weekends. You are not allowed to bring food or drink to the pools and they lack any amenity besides the pools themselves. There are no slides or diving boards. Just a large unsheltered rectangle with a shortage of lounges. Why? Well we have three identical pool complexes that since they were originally built to keep the undesirables away from the Upper Montclair pool. When families wanted the prices increased to pay for amenities, the town refuses as the poorer resident’s couldn’t afford it. Even though the poorer residents use it for free. So the pools and the hours suck. Go check out the Westfield pool which costs the same but rivals a Wet & Wild in amenities, comfort and hours. And the pools are merely one example. You will find more drug abuse counselors at the schools than guidance counselors for example. You will pay more for your trash hauling since the town refuses to outsource since a few of the local poor might lose their job. And the local debt is not similar to surrounding towns. Montclair’s debt is somewhere between 230 and 300 million which is staggering for a town that only has 37,000 residents. If you fancy yourself as Meathead and Julia hipsters, then Montclair is perfect for you. It’s a magnet for mixed race couples, same sex parents and hippy-dippy people who swear by alternative medicine. If you believe that Democrats are on a mission to save the world and that people should abandon their gas guzzling autos and take to the streets on pogo sticks, then it’s the place for you.I was personally not impressed with our son’s kindergarten. I felt they had to teach to the lowest common denominator (diversity again) so my son who knew how to read and do math ended up relearning colors and numbers and the alphabet since about a fifth of the class probably didn’t do pre-K. Oh yeah, the tax-subsidized Pre-K is very pricey since the poor kids go on scholarship. We paid significantly less at a private day care center in Bloomfield. Also, government services there STINK!!!! In Glen Ridge they are 1000% better (or the way they should be).Ultimately, it’s the debt that scared me more than anything. One out of every five dollars collected in municipal tax revenue goes to pay the debt service. Every dollar of my tax revenue in Glen Ridge goes to pay for the actual service provided. In the past few years, Montclair’s debt has been downgraded twice. If you think there’s a chance that the muni market is going to implode a la Whitney, then you don’t want to live in Montclair when it happens.Are there great restaurants, great housing stock and liberal families? Absolutely. If that’s your end all be all. Go for it. I chose not to be there when it implodes under the weight of good will. No librarians in the elementary schools, but there are three different places to charge your electric car. The priorities in the town are completely F’ed up.