FILE PHOTO: Downtown Toms River by Erik Weber, dated March 17th, 2012. (c) Ocean Signal Media Group

The following was submitted by Ward 4 Councilman Alfonso Manforti and is published unedited per our letters policy.

While some say the only certainties in life are death and taxes, what happens after death is a matter of intense debate. What happens after you don’t pay your property taxes –that’s something else- a lien is sold at a municipal tax sale.
Historically the traditional tax sale process in NJ was slow and antiquated with very limited participation from the public while at the same time tying up township resources before and during the sale.
That was until recent changes to the tax sale law.
In yet another effort to move the township forward the governing body at the April 23, 2013 Township Council meeting unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the township tax collector to complete an application to participate in the electronic tax sale program.
In 2012 the Division of Local Government Services under N.J.S.A. 54:5-519.1, authorized electronic tax sales for the first time. The internet has helped increase sales of everything from automobiles to homes and anything in between.
With the passage of this timely and innovative resolution the township takes another positive step in the right direction for Toms River. By conducting the sale online we will reduce administrative costs and increase the efficiency of the tax sale. At the same time we will be increasing the bidding pool to include potential buyers from all over the country.
The sales are conducted by realauction.com which answers all questions concerning the online procedures and even provides online webinars to learn how to participate in the auction. The entire process from registration to bidding is done online in your favorite chair from the comfort of your home or office.
The first electronic tax sale in NJ was held in Red Bank on October 29th 2012. If that date sounds familiar it should. That was the morning Hurricane Sandy made landfall. The town had no power, no employees, and no computers yet the sale went off without problem and every lien sold, many at a premium, netting the town $600,000.

Today the flow of traffic is usually anywhere from 5 to 15 mph over the posted speed limit.  In some cases driving at the speed limit when the flow is above it is more dangerous than speeding itself.  Radar Detectors over the years have also become very smart and many detectors now integrate GPS as part of their operation.   You can download locations of red light cameras, fixed speed cameras and even known dangerous intersections right into your detectors memory.

When you travel you get warning of these locations before you get to them so you can be more cautious.  If you have a smartphone there are tons off app’s such as Escort Live, Waze, Trapster and more apps to make your driving even safer.

The Beltronics PRO-500 is just about the best overall radar detector on the market if you are looking for a simple windshield mounted unit with integrated GPS at under $400.  You can learn more about it and get more information by visiting Best Radar Detector.

The Cobra Vedetta Ultimate Detection Systems Series set the new standard in radar/laser detection system.  The revolutionary detection system boasts a 30 percent increase in performance over Cobra’s current flagship model, providing stellar range and more than ample time to react to potential threats. The Vedetta line sports a 2.4-inch TFT color LCD display on a multi-axis hinge and a ball-socket suction cup mounting bracket, which allows the driver to mount the detector virtually anywhere on the windshield or dash of their automobile. The display can be rotated 270 degrees vertically and 60 degrees horizontally. The Vedetta Series are Cobra’s most sensitive radar detectors yet.

The new Line consists of the 3 new models:

Cobra Vedetta SLR-500

Cobra Vedetta SLR-600

Cobra Vedetta SLR-650

The SLR-650 is their new flagship model with integrated GPS for advanced warning for know speed trap locations, fixed speed cameras and red light cameras.  For more information on these new models and comparison information visit Best Radar Detectors.

I have been using the Escort Live product for a few months now and as more and more users have joined the network I have started to see live radar and laser hits being reported automatically by other drivers in my area. Besides just Live radar and laser alerts the Escort Defender Database warns you of verified speed traps, speed cameras, and red light cameras.

For folks that do not yet have Escort Live Escort is planning a Trial version of the Escort Live App for your smartphone so you can try it out and see what its all about.  Look for the Trial app soon.

If you do not yet own an Escort or Beltronics radar detector for more information on radar detectors and the Escort Live Product visit Best Radar Detector!

When a driver gets a speeding ticket they are automatically labeled as a “high risk driver” or at least a higher risk driver than those drivers without a moving violation. In fact, some car insurance companies even place you in the “reckless driver” category depending on the type and details of why you were ticketed. Either way, any driver with a speeding ticket needs to pay special attention to how it will affect their insurance rates.

Radar Detectors are not expensive and might be something you might want to consider.  Today the flow of traffic always seems to be over the speed limit so at any point just about anyone can get pulled over and issued a speeding ticket even if you are only 1 mile over the speed limit.  A radar detector can give you an advantage that other drivers don’t have and can give you enough time to check and adjust your speed when necessary.

If you want to read about the many other benefits of radar detectors you can visit Best Radar Detectors and they can help you choose a detector that matches your driving habits.  You can also compare radar detectors right on the same site.

If you are unsure if your radar detector is current you can visit Best Radar Detectors and drop them an email and they will let you know if it can detect all the guns on the market today.  They also have all the replacement accessories you might need if your detector is still fairly current.  You can also see what are the current Best Radar Detectors for 2012 and other valuable information.

I was puzzled why they did not just call it the Passport Qi45 Plus but then again they named the Qi45 based on the premise that it could be installed in around 45 minutes.  (Quick Install 45)  I guess with the added GPS antenna install they figured it would take longer than 45 minutes so they opted for a new name of the 8500ci Plus.  Now it looks like the Qi45 is going to be discontinued and replaced with 8500ci.  So there will be the current Passport 8500ci Plus and now a new Passport 8500ci (8500ci Plus without the GPS antenna.)

I guess we will have to wait and see if there are any improvement in the new 8500ci.   For more information on the Best Radar Detectors and a listing of the Best Radar Detectors of 2011 you can visit Best Radar Detectors for more information.

In most situations some of the Best Radar Detectors can give you well over a mile notice of an upcoming speed trap but there are other simple ways you can be clocked and your detector will not go off.

1. VASCAR – Police can clock you by aircraft by finding the average time it takes you to get from point A to point B.  There is usually a starting line and an ending line in the road that you will cross so look out for these lines in some areas.  No radar needed here only simple math is needed here.

2.  The most easiest way to get a speeding ticket is from a patrol car pulling up behind you and trailing at the same speed.  If they are driving at 80MPH then so are you if they are in front of you.  No radar needed in this case all they need is their speedometer.

There are other ways such as laser, etc.  My point here is that a radar detector is a very useful tool but you need common sense when driving.  Since the flow of traffic is most cases causes almost everyone to speed take a look at the best radar detectors for 2011-2012 and stay away from junk detectors and keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings when driving.

“Closing Patch, which operates in 850 towns around the country, would make AOL instantly profitable.” That was the main attention grabber in a recent CNN Money article by Dan Mitchell.    Like Yahoo, AOL is in the process of rediscovering itself.  Once the king of online dialup for the novice internet user, time is slowly passing AOL, but CEO Tim Armstrong has seemingly put a lot of eggs in one basket, AOL Patch.   Each one of those eggs represents the money, savings and future of investors who want to see profits before pipe dreams and with an expected loss of $160 million this year for Patch, investors are starting to become worried.

In August, AOL reported declines in revenue and spikes in overhead, due in part mostly to cover the costs of manning Patch outlets in over 800 cities in America.   The company’s stock was riding around $20 per share, consistently for several months.   However, that changed, and AOL’s stock price tanked in August and hit bottom at $10.22 in just a matter of days, prompting the AOL board of directors to issue a stock buy back program on August 11th which gave this internet Titanic a brief reprieve.  As costs for the new service continue to increase, investors want to see profits, not visions or ideas.   They want to know how the huge investment into AOL Patch is going to pay off for them.

All of the uncertainty has now cast shadows on Armstrong’s visions of a new era for AOL.   “Tim Armstrong, the CEO of AOL (AOL), is a romantic. That’s laudable, not to mention rare in modern American business. Unfortunately, modern American investors don’t look favorably on romantics if they can’t bring profits along with their lofty ideals — especially modern American” CNN reported.

Problems are now mounting for AOL.   According to a Reuters article this past week, one potential back up plan to save AOL may be slowly crawling off the table.  “Interest in AOL from private equity firms ramped up after the company’s stock  plummeted about 30 percent on dismal earnings results last month.  Allen & Co and Bank of America Securities are advising AOL on strategic  alternatives, including a possible sale, sources said. Problem is, the private equity firms have now turned their attention to  Yahoo, which is reportedly seeking its own sale after firing Chief Executive  Carol Bartz on September 6 and attracting the ire of activist investor Daniel Loeb.”  Reuters reported in their feature “PE firms circling AOL turn attention to Yahoo“.

As if financial problems were not enough for AOL and Patch, senior executives within the startup are starting to jump ship. “Our parent company AOL is having a rough time making money from Patch, its rapidly expanding network of local news sites, and that’s not its only problem. Today, group buying website BuyWithMe announced that it has recruited Charlie Gray, formerly Executive Vice President at Patch, as its new ‘Chief People Officer’.”, reported Tech Crunch, a subsidiary of AOL.

As AOL closes out the third quarter and heads into the fourth, investors will be watching closely to see if there’s any light at the end of the tunnel, or will have to decide whether the grass truly is greener outside of the Patch.  How much longer are investors willing to hang on to AOL stock as they watch the value of their portfolio plummet, while the company continues investing tens of millions of dollars into a dream project by the CEO?  At some point, there has to be an indication of a financial pulse in the Patch startup.

What do you think of AOL Patch?   Can Patch really save AOL or is AOL better off shutting down the project and selling their remaining assetts to a company who can give this media dinosaur a nice and profitable end of life hopsice for its investors?

Escort & Beltronics will ONLY warranty and support units sold through authorized dealers. As quoted directly from the Escort website under “Warranty Exclusions” and it states “Your receipt or proof-of-purchase is from a non-authorized dealer or internet auction site including eBay, uBid, or other non-authorized resellers.”

So essentially all radar detectors purchased from Ebay and other auction sites come with no warranty and no support. Besides auction sites Escort lists over 100 online stores that are not Authorized to sell their products.   All Escort & Beltronics products have MAP pricing which means that all Authorized Dealers can not advertise any detector for a lower price then the MAP Price.   

This means that EVERY site selling the item lower than the MAP price is an Unauthorized dealer.  This is why when searching for example an Escort 9500ix Radar Detector you will find $499.95 on most sites and then a few advertising it for lower.  Stay away from the sites advertising it for less as they are clearly not Authorized Dealers. 

When looking for an Escort or Beltronics radar detector only buy from an Authorized dealer that has been around a long time.  Is it worth saving $50 on a $500 detector to get no warranty and no support? For information on the Best Radar Detectors a good authorized dealer in business for over 8 years is Best Radar Detectors.  They can help you choose the best detector for you needs and get you the lowest allowed prices.