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Mt. Arlington Grows in Population, Shrinks in Students

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Once upon a time I lived in Mount Arlington in Northwest New Jersey. This is where my family lives (kinda, we’re stuck in between two towns) and I was surprised to read a report in yesterday’s Daily Record that claimed Mount Arlington is the leader in Morris County growth, with a population of just over 5700. From the article:

One of Morris County’s smallest municipalities is among the fastest growing in New Jersey, according to the latest population estimates.

Mount Arlington was the state’s third fastest growing community between 2005 and 2006, data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show. The population in this municipality of less than 3 square miles rose by more than 7 percent in a year and 22 percent since the 2000 Census. Over the six-year period, 1,045 have moved into the borough, bringing its population to just over 5,700, the bureau estimates.

What is also interesting about these numbers is that the amount of kids attending school in Mount Arlington at either the Edith M. Decker Elementary School or the Mount Arlington Public School is down, overall. This is a result of what the Mayor said is the increased number of age-restricted housing in the municipality. As for the public school numbers, they look something like this:

In fact, school enrollment in Mount Arlington has been declining steadily. In 2000-01, the K-8 district had 468 students. In 2005-06, enrollment had dropped to 415. It had dropped further, to 405, in the school year that just ended.

I’m a little torn over whether or not this is a good thing for Mount Arlington. Home prices in the town have gone through the roof and many young professionals and young couples simply cannot afford to live in the township. That’s a bad thing in terms of public schools because you don’t see too many 55+ year olds having kids these days. The end result of a continued decline in the township’s school-age population may lead to results such as the school district condensing with Roxbury Township (which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world) or lay-offs for the excellent teaching staff in Mount Arlington.

In the past, the condensing with Roxbury option has been looked down upon. However, with the state’s recent push for municipalities to condense services now may be a good time to reconsider this option. It wouldn’t mean that the existing schools would need to be shut down or no longer used. In fact, I would assume that these schools would see their numbers stabilize as Roxbury Township students who live near them began to attend. Doesn’t seem like a bad end-result in terms of practicality.

However, I am not a professional in condensed services so this is just one man’s opinion. Anyway, congratulations to Mount Arlington for your population growth.

Monmouth University Can Build New Dorm, Tennis Courts

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The local news media are reporting that the West Long Branch Zoning Board vote of 5 to 1 in favor of expanding the Monmouth University campus has been upheld by a State Appellate Panel. Some of the folks living around the university took it upon themselves to fight against this approval, citing petty collusion between the university and township officials. Someone even blasted a local Committeeman because his daughter received an academic scholarship from the university. What a disgraceful charge to levy at the Committeeman…

That’s the problem with local politics in America today – anyone with a voice feels that they are entitled to their day in court and this holds up the progress of the greater good. An article in today’s Asbury Park Press cites that 36 families have been fighting against the expansion of the university…but you do NOT see it listed anywhere that well over 200 families in the town have supported the university and many more families just don’t care either way. I live down the street from the university and while I do not publicly support Monmouth’s desire to expand, I can certainly agree with the vast silent majority in West Long Branch that we don’t mind the expansion.

Now, some people will claim, “Well I live across the street from the university and quality of life is low and blah blah blah.” Sorry, but if you live next a community swimming pool, do you complain that people are swimming there? If you live next to a gym, do you complain that people are coming and going all day to work out? If you live next to a university do you complain that college students are being college students?

No.

And this is obvious – none of these thoughts are new in the debate. The small minority who feel that their opinion outweighs the majority in West Long Branch oftentimes comes back with the statement that they were in town before the “university” was. In this argument, the word “university” is key. In 1994, Monmouth College became Monmouth University. So many of the locals take 1994 as the starting point of the “university” not mentioning that the college was started in 1933.

Yes – this “We were here first” argument HAS been used to defend the minority’s right to blast the university. I’ve even had it used against me in informal discussions about the university with other people in town. It’s mind-boggling, really.

Anyway, congratulations to Monmouth University for winning the right to expand their campus. Best of luck.

Vince McMahon Ends Fake Death Storyline on RAW

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WWE Chairman Vincent K. McMahon opened up RAW tonight standing in the middle of the ring in an empty arena. He immediately ended the “Mr. McMahon” Death angle by saying that it was a storyline and that a real tragedy has struck with the loss of Chris Benoit and his family.

For more coverage on Chris Benoit’s untimely death, please visit TBLWrestling.com.

DVD Review: Dead Silence (Unrated)

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Who doesn’t love a good horror movie? And who doesn’t think that wooden marionettes with their big bulbous eyes aren’t creepy? Same goes for creepy looking clowns (see below)! I had the opportunity to review a pre-released version of Dead Silence this weekend and I have to say that I enjoyed it. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of horror movies mainly because I feel there are too many swerves, but Dead Silence mixed great acting with an interesting story tied together by a family curse. Really good stuff here, folks.

In talking about this movie, first things first: Ryan Kwanten does an AWESOME job as Jamie Ashen, the main character of the film (pictured to the left). The movie starts with Kwanten undergoing a huge family loss (his wife is killed) – his search for answers occupies the remainder of the film. As you soon find out, he has been pegged as the main suspect in his wife’s death and he’s out to prove himself innocent. A lot of the suspense and drama in the film are the sole result of Kwanten’s performances. His facial expressions and deep breathing make one of the early scenes in a hotel room especially creepy. Many of the scenes actually show Kwanten with only a wooden doll to share the scene with. Being able to pull good performances out of a wooden co-star is pretty spectacular! Good job!

Also in this movie is former New Kid on the Block, Donnie Wahlberg. It is interesting that Donnie plays a detective since his brother, Mark Wahlberg, just got done playing a detective in the “Departed.” Regardless of what you thought about Mark’s performance, Donnie is just as good if not better in some respects in his role as Det. Jim Lipton in “Dead Silence.” I was pleasantly surprised by Donnie’s acting acumen.

Now this may sound weird, but one of the best features of this film was the camera work and the set design. I mean it was just magnificent. Good job to the director and production team all around. The camera work really did a great job of enhancing the suspense and drama of the movie and that’s a hard thing to accomplish.

The DVD also comes with some “extras” including an alternate opening and alternate ending as well as some commentary from the filmmakers. Just like everyone else out there, I like seeing a little something extra after a movie is over and these features along with the deleted scenes did not disappoint. And for you uber nerds out there, one of the extras is a timeline of how one scene goes from a CGI graphic to an actual scene in the movie – pretty interesting stuff, really.

The cover art on the box of the DVD says, “You Scream. You Die.” Such is the curse of Mary Shaw (Mary Shaw is the hottie in the photo above) – but why is the curse in existence? Who does it effect? How can it be stopped? How do Kwanten and Wahlberg all fit into this horror movie? Well folks, Dead Silence comes out on DVD this Tuesday, July 26th.

I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of this film and giving it a whirl one night. But before you do that, go to the top of this post and click on the movie’s official website – it’s pretty creepy and very well done. My favorite part of the site is the Dumm-E Mail you can send people. The people who are promoting this film sent me one and it’s pretty damn freaky (then again, I think that marionettes and clowns are scary as hell anyway). Once again, go out and get a copy of this movie – you won’t be disappointed!

You Think Bush’s Approval Is Low…

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If you thought President Bush’s approval was low as it hovers in the mid-30’s, then you don’t want to even know about the Nancy Pelosi-controlled Congress and their rating. A recent Gallup poll exposed this do-nothing Congress for what it is by showing a public approval rating of just 14%.

FOURTEEN PERCENT!

I don’t care how much you dislike President Bush or how far to the left you are – you have GOT to be disgusted with that approval rating! The article linked above talks more about the rating, but if I had to opine on why Congress’ rating is so low, I would like straight at the Iraq War and the lack of the Democrats to pull us out of action there.

But you know what? The Democrats did their job on this issue! You see, Americans are brainwashed by the mass media (and to a large degree by the very political extremists who want their votes) to believe that if you elected a new Congress or a new politician, something different will be done.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

That is not what public policy “is” in 21st Century America. Sure, I’d like to see the troops come home yesterday and for us to give Iraq to the Iraqis, but it is not the job of the Democratic Congress or the Republican President to make this happen simply because of their election. Anyone with a basic knowledge of Congressional standards can tell you that much.

The Democrats did their job with Iraq and they did it with the stem cell debate. They used their power to push the “people’s” legislative wants and desires. They passed an Iraq bill with a timetable for withdrawal and they passed stem cell funding legislation. Both were vetoed. Folks, that’s the most they can do with their current positions! This isn’t an anarchy where we go bonkers when we don’t get our way!

For the American people to blast the Congress shows that our public’s education on American government is poor at best. I’m not defending the Democratic Congress (and I probably never would), but they certainly don’t deserve the 14% approval rating. Just like President Bush doesn’t deserve his thirty-something rating, either.