Letters to the Editor, July 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, July 3

Veggie burgers on The Fourth
To the editor:
   
Whatever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the Fourth of July was traffic jams and wayward fireworks?
   According to the government’s Meat & Poultry Hotline, this year’s top fear is food poisoning from inadequately grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. They don’t mention that high-temperature grilling forms cancer-causing compounds.
   Enterprising food manufacturers have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious, convenient, veggie burgers and soy dogs. They are available in every supermarket, and they don’t harbor nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds.
   Let’s stay safe and healthy on this 4th of July. Let’s declare our independence from the meat industry and enjoy wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs at our holiday feast.
Ivan Slotsky
Ewing Street
Princeton
Risky business for borough
To the editor:
   
Based on disclosures at a recent Princeton Borough Council meeting, the borough is considering accepting personal guarantees from the principals of the downtown developer as a condition of the borough approving Phase 2 of the development. Accepting the personal guarantee in a public project poses serious and unwarranted risks to borough taxpayers, and therefore, the borough should not accept the developer’s personal guarantees but, instead, require the developer to post a proper completion bond issued by a highly-rated insurer, as is standard in public projects.
   It’s easy to understand why the developer’s principals want to post a personal guarantee and not a bond. The personal guarantee costs nothing; but it’s axiomatic that what costs nothing is worthless. Conversely, a completion bond will cost the developer some small percentage of the value of the project while protecting the taxpayers against a potential financial catastrophe.
   Typically, before municipalities authorize the commencement of a public project, they require the developer to purchase a completion bond from an insurance company. Then if the developer does not complete the project for any reason, including financial insolvency, the insurer is obligated to finish the project. It would be irresponsible from a fiduciary perspective for Princeton Borough to depart from this well-established practice.
   Yes, Phase 2 of the project is a building that will be wholly owned by the developer, not the borough. So it might be argued that Phase 2 of the project is a private development, not a public development, and it should be exempt from the general rule that public projects be bonded.
   But that argument ignores the reality of the situation: (1) the borough owns the land on which the Phase 2 building is be built and if the building is not finished by the developer there will remain a big hole in the ground that could blight the downtown for years, not to mention the significant financial ramifications; and (2) the inadequate past performance of the developer warrants additional, independent protection for the borough.
   The borough would take many unquantifiable risks if it were to accept a personal guarantee from the developer’s principals in lieu of a bond. For example, the principals may not financially survive any collapse of the project, and in that case their guarantees are worthless. The principals may suffer any number of adverse circumstances that could substantially impair their ability to make good on their personal guarantee in a timely fashion, including, death, divorce, and/or litigation having nothing to do with the downtown project.
   In all events, if the downtown developer were to default in Phase 2, the developer’s lender will certainly act more quickly than the borough in making claims against the developer’s principals, leaving the borough in a subordinated position at the creditor’s table, which is likely to lead to an unsatisfactory resolution.
   Indeed, there is no apparent reason for the borough to accept a personal guarantee from the developer’s principals as a condition for authorizing Phase 2 of the project – unless, of course, it’s simply to enhance the developer’s returns, while saddling the borough taxpayers with all risk.
Mark G. Alexandridis
Princeton Avenue
Princeton
Leave fireworks to professionals
To the editor:
   
In 2005, emergency physicians treated almost 11,000 people for injuries related to fireworks, and nearly half of those injured were children. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks is sending this safety message to Fourth of July revelers: Leave the fireworks to the professionals.
   Dr. Brian Keaton, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians says: "Every year, we treat children and adults who have been burned or injured by legal fireworks."
   Here are some facts and figures related to fireworks injuries:
   • Males suffer twice the number of fireworks-related injuries that females do.
   • Children between the ages of 10 and 14 have the highest injury rate for fireworks.
   • Nearly one-third of fireworks injuries involve hands and fingers.
   • One-quarter of fireworks injuries involve the eyes.
   • More than half of fireworks injuries are burns.
   • The three top sources for fireworks injuries are small firecrackers, fireworks rockets and sparklers.
   • Sparklers burn at temperatures in excess of 1000 degree Fahrenheit.
   ACEP and the Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks have called for a ban on consumer fireworks use before Independence Day celebrations get under way. This year, the Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks has produced a video currently appearing on YouTube –www.youtube.com— featuring the story of Michael Shannon, a three-year-old boy who was killed when a legal consumer firework struck him in the head during a July Fourth family celebration.
Julie Lloyd
American College
of Emergency Physicians
K Street NW
Washington DC
NJ fireworks ban is ‘out-of-date’
To the editor:
   
New Jersey is one of only five states that outlaw consumer fireworks. Many of the laws in this country are constantly changing, but the laws in New Jersey regarding the use of consumer fireworks remain antiquated, out-of-date and non-responsive to the demands of its citizens. The time has come to change the law and legalize consumer fireworks in New Jersey.
   The fireworks-related injuries in America have dropped dramatically, and the use of consumer fireworks has gone up several fold. Based on injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks consumed in this country, the fireworks-related injury rate has dropped an amazing 73 percent since 1992 according to information taken from Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics. The imperative to protect people by maintaining the prohibition against the use of consumer fireworks has long since passed.
   Fireworks provide the citizens of this state and this nation a means to celebrate their freedoms. Countless Americans, past and present, have fought for this freedom, but in the Garden State they are still not able to celebrate this cherished right with fireworks.
   The outdated law that makes fireworks illegal is a violation of every citizen’s right to celebrate Independence Day as former president John Adams predicted in 1776 when he wrote to his wife, Abigail, that Independence Day "ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade … bonfires and illuminations (fireworks) from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward forevermore."
   President Adams would probably take a good deal of satisfaction in the knowledge that his prediction came true and American families do celebrate Independence Day today with the modern-day equivalent of "bonfires and illuminations" — family cook-outs and fireworks.
   Celebrating Independence Day in the United States without fireworks would be like celebrating Thanksgiving without turkeys or New Years without the ball dropping. Traditions are passed down within families, nations and cultures. The tradition of celebrating Independence Day and freedom with fireworks is ingrained in the very soul of our country.
   Americans of all ages and all walks of life love fireworks. The use of fireworks on July 4th is truly a celebration of and by the American family. There is nothing more strongly associated with the tradition of Independence Day than fireworks.
   The time has come to change the outdated New Jersey law and legalize consumer fireworks. Let the home of Woodrow Wilson, the Stocktons, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark, the Livingstons, the Patersons, and the Dickersons show that it truly is the bastion of freedom in America.
   Please enjoy the Independence Day holiday with your family and celebrate safely.
William A. Weimer
Vice President
Phantom Fireworks
Youngstown, Ohio