I don't know if he's being upbeat or delusional, but Mayor McDonough still thinks that we're going to move there. http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/harrison/index.ssf?/base/news-0/104150647849310.xml "The events of 9/11 have put a hold on many proposed business developments in the area, but I am confident that the stadium will be the jump start we need."
Better than no mention. btw for what it's worth, qwest is making a modest comeback. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=q&d=c
Obie, Do you honestly believe that the proposal is off the table completely? And if so, why? Is the fact the state believes that Phil Anschutz was fraudulent to the state of NY the only reason why it was put off in december? Was it out of spite for Uncle Phil? This is all frustrating because i believed as well as many other supporters believed that by this time it would be a done deal. And we are all in the blind without any legit reasons as to why this is the way it is. Whats going to be the process now for the Metros and Uncle Phil to get this project off the ground, for the 100th time? any thoughts, thanks obie.
Anschutz suddenly became a political liability 1 day before the vote when the Star-Ledger (I think) published something about him stealing from some pension fund, which swayed the NJ state senators (despite the fact that the proposed loan wouldn't actually benefit him). It all smells rotten to me.
Dead? Yeah, for now I'd say that it's dead. The NJ Senate is equally split 20-20 between Democrats and Republicans. Since Harrison is a Dem stronghold, the Democrats have generally supported the bill. Republicans have not for a variety of reasons, most of which deal with "fiscal responsibility" which is really just griping that the only people who benefit from this and other stadium bills are Democratic supporters. There's no tiebreaking system in New Jersey legislature; a 20-20 vote in the Senate (or a 3-3 vote in committee) means the bill fails. So, AEG's goal has been to find that one Republican who will stick his/her neck out for it and vote for it. Given Phil's financial issues and new statewide elections at the end of this year, I doubt there's anyone on the Republican side who's willing to stick their neck out for this, and fewer Democrats are willing to fight for it either.
You're assuming that the bill would have passed had that story not run. I think that AEG & Bernie Kenny knew it would have died in committee on a 3-3 vote, and they used the article as an excuse to withdraw the bill and search more for a sympathetic vote.
To clarify: No one was accused of stealing from the pension fund. The pension fund lost a lot of money on investments in Qwest. Frequently, when lots of money is lost on investments, investors implicate management for the loss, alleging anything from misleading statements that inflated the price of the stock and bonds to outright fraud. Many times, these lawsuits are settled for cash without an admission of guilt by the company, so investors can benefit from bringing such a lawsuit whether or not it has any merit. Also, I think a case can definitely be made that the proposed loan would benefit Anschutz by supporting his investment in the team/MLS/SUM, even thought the loan is not made directly to him. It is very rare for any entity to provide funding in the form of a loan or otherwise to benefit another party that it is currently suing.
Just because a bill will only help Democrats hasn't stoped New Jersey Republicans before. Actually, they're very good at helping out Democrats. I wouldn't be so pessimistic that the bill is dead. Once the heat dies down on the lawsuit I think it could easily come back and pass, maybe in an end of session flurry. They may be able to get a Republican in the area (if there are any) later in the year.
Oh really??!!He is huh? Why didn't that piece of crap warn someone that his Democratic buddies were going to drop that bomb less than 24 hours before the vote. Alot of smoke and mirrors. YOu can forget about a stadium for NJ for a few years now!!!!