The big subject of the day over at the nj.com Bayonne forum is attempting to solve the question: How much did the Bayonne Economic Development Corporation, a quasi autonomous agency, pay out in it's recent lawsuit settlement. You can read about it here.

Well folks, file this one under "RumorMill" because I don't have any hard evidence as of yet... but here is what I have heard from speaking with a few people. The estimates that were mentioned on NJ.com that have varied between $200K & $400K may be high. I have heard that it is more likely that the number is lower, under $100K.

However, even if I were to file an OPRA request to the agency, I will be unable to yield the actual dollar amount won in the suit, as an insurance agency most certainly paid out the bulk of the sum.

Based on this fact alone, I would make an educated guess that the amount of money actually paid by the BEDC was around $10-20K in the form of a deductible insurance payment.

I am going to attempt to follow up on this story however, as I have been told that there may be some interesting information that might be gotten from using OPRA to get a copy of the original complaint.

neilbarton

Stan Writes: Hi Neil, as the Public Advocate how come you rarely write anything? Just curious!!!

Hey Stan, yes I have been more quiet lately, but that doesn't mean I have stopped caring about the website or it's mission. There are a number of things in the works right now that have taken up a lot of my attention.

As I mentioned last week I am due to be deposed tomorrow by the Port Authority lawyers. Part of my subpoena was to gather documents related to my case, which I have been doing.

In addition to that, my job has been busier than usual. What most people are unaware of is that when I started this website I was between jobs, which meant I had much more time to devote. Since then I have taken on a new consulting opportunity that has been more demanding than I first expected.

Another reason is that I have been looking to improve the format of this website for a while in order to facilitate an easier exchange of ideas. I know that many like how easy it is to use nj.com despite its deletions & censorship. I originally had one redesign idea in mind, but I have sine been in discussions with the owner of http://www.thejcboard.com, who happens to be a friend of mine. He created that website around the same time I created this one. We think that we might be able create a partnership, and I am thinking of utilizing the software that he is using on his website. This would give us more of a discussion board feel, and it would also link up with other area boards. What is taking me time is that I do not want the front page to look the way his does, I want to try and maintain a simple style similar to what I have. Also obviously I want to make sure all the content gets migrated over. Feel free to take a look at his site & play around with it! The discussion forum is here.<

Also, I am still committed to bring an interview with each potential mayor candidate to this website answering public questions. If I can manage it, I may also try to organize a debate, however I need to see what other people would be interested in being involved & helping out.

Finally, I truly appreciate the comments & opinions that everyone brings to this site. It is why I set it up. I think that when I started it was with the intent of being way more opinionated than I have been. However, if I have slowed down in opinion it is only because I realize that I need to listen to everyone else's thoughts more before speaking out.

HappyPolski