August 24, 2012

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

CLASSIFIEDS!
•Do YOU have equipment for sale or are you looking for a new employee?!

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•Christie makes Rutgers merger, higher education reorganization official
•Presidential candidates talk off shore drilling
•New Jersey to get federal transportation money
•Drought conditions may impede ethanol production

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
•New Emission Inspector Training Class available -- SIGN UP TODAY!

BAN ON UNREGISTERED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
MARKETPLACE MADNESS
NJ EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS

I intended to start off this week’s message by discussing the marketplace, but something else has taken greater precedence. I was contacted today by the Attorney General’s Office and asked to inform our members of recent news that could impact your small business.

All retailers who may be selling a beverage called “Extracto de Malta” are to remove and cease the sale of the drink immediately. Though some retailers believe this item is a soft drink or soda, it is actually an unregistered alcoholic beverage. Shop owners may unknowingly be illegally selling it to patrons among other, non-alcoholic items. Attorney General Jeff Chiesa orders that all retailers selling “Extracto de Malta” to pull it from their locations.

As of this writing, criminal charges have been filed against two individuals attempting to sell the beverage drink to retail shops across New Jersey that do not possess a liquor license. Authorities says that sales have targeted, but aren’t limited to, the Hispanic community.

I’ve been asked to share this information with you as well as pass along an “Alert to Retailers” poster which you can use to educate yourself and your patrons. You can find the poster (in English and Spanish) and a letter to me from the Attorney General’s Office with further details by clicking HERE

The NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is going to give retailers a 10-day window to comply with the order and remove “Extracto de Malta” from their shelves. If the product isn’t removed by September 1st, small business owners will face charges for selling alcohol without a license. Penalties of up to $1,000 and/or a maximum jail term of three years for selling alcohol without a license may be imposed.

If your station or convenience store currently has this product for sale, please comply with the Attorney General’s order. For further information, you can visit http://www.nj.gov/oag/abc/index.html or visit the poster/letter link above for more details.

Finding someone who can accurately predict the marketplace is almost like taking the word of a tarot card reader – they’re only right a part of the time, but deep down inside, you have a suspicion that they’re making it up as they go along!

While there are certainly some very good market forecasters out there (you happen to be reading the words of one of them), most can’t really make heads or tails about what’s going on right now. I can, however, tell you the facts.

There’s been a significant draw down in crude oil and gasoline inventories this week. The outlook is still pretty gloomy, due in part to the fact that demand is flat. Analysts anticipate that next week’s weather conditions (i.e. hurricanes brewing in the Gulf of Mexico) will also have an impact on prices and inventory numbers.

As in the past, I can assure that the speculators are taking all of this in, watching the news 24/7, and trying to figure out how they can make a few bucks from the current conditions out there. In fact, I bet dollars to donuts that there are a group of speculators watching the National Hurricane Center right now, eagerly hoping that the forecast will interrupt crude, gasoline, and diesel fuel supplies so they can bet the price higher. That’s what they do, and they’re very good at it.

Of course, that’s only the “small view” of the marketplace. To really dive into speculation, you have to consider domestic politics, geopolitics, and human psychology.

Though it has been vacillating in between the front and final pages in priority, we have been hearing (again) that our allies in Israel maybe preparing a preemptory strike on Iran. The idea has been out there for well over a year, but the latest round of gossip says that the strike may come before the presidential election this fall.

Then of course, you have the presidential election itself – and all the childishness and absurdity that the silly season brings with it. This week’s news says the White House is considering releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) – an idea that I’ve criticized in the past since those resources are to be tapped ONLY in emergency situations. Earlier this year, when crude was released from SPR in an effort to lower gasoline prices, it dipped ever-so-slightly for a week and but really had NO affect on medium-to-long term prices. I’m honestly flabbergasted that this idea keeps coming up when it always fails.

Can we expect the same this time around? Probably. Could the move be purely political, in hopes of capturing more votes this close to an election? Probably. Am I surprised this idiotic proposal keeps coming up over and over again? Probably.

Of course, it’s obvious that all of this has an affect on oil prices – and none of it can be ignored. The one thing that you can depend on is that a perfect storm of these factors could seek prices skyrocket. And when world conditions calm down, the price will plummet in a big way.

So don’t let anyone out there tell you they know what’s going to happen, cause they don’t know that anymore than tomorrow’s lottery numbers. Every expert’s prediction is nothing more than their best, educated guess – and that includes mine!

Lastly, if any member or non-member is interested in Emission Inspector Training, NJGCA is offering a class in September. Please find a registration flyer and details below, and then contact Debbie Hill to sign up!

Thanks for listening – See you next week.

After running an ad in the Road Warrior over the last month, NJGCA was able to assist a member in selling his equipment!

If you'd like to list equipment for sale, or have an open position you'd like to make other industry professionals aware of, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066 and let us help you get the word out!

8/23/2012:
Christie makes Rutgers merger, higher education reorganization official
This week, Governor Christie signed the New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act into law. The bill reorganizes higher education in the Garden State, primarily by transferring nearly all of the besieged University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) to Rutgers University. The only exceptions will be the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine and University Hospital. The transfer will enable Rutgers to immediately become among the top 25 grant funding research schools in the nation and the university will gain medical, dental, nursing, and public health schools. In addition, Rowan University will receive research university status, incorporate the School of Osteopathic medical campus in one year, and cooperate with Rutgers-Camden in life sciences education and research.

8/23/2012:
Presidential candidates talk off shore drilling
With the energy independence and unemployment important issues in the election this fall, the presidential candidates are chiming in on the issue of offshore drilling. Republican candidate Mitt Romney recently stated that he would open up more off-shore areas to permit exploratory drilling and grant states the ability to enable permitting in federal waters. Meanwhile, President Obama has also continued to push for the development of natural gas. Click above to read more.

8/19/2012:
New Jersey to get federal transportation money
Unspent federal funds that were earmarked for road projects in New Jersey between 2003 and 2004 will finally be released to the NJ Department of Transportation. New Jersey is expected to received $14 million in funding for road projects.

8/14/2012:
Drought conditions may impede ethanol production
A new report by the U.S. Agriculture Department states that drought conditions throughout the United States may yield a lower corn and soybean harvest this year. The decline in corn and soybean crops will undoubtedly affect ethanol production and could pressure lawmakers to relax stringent ethanol consumption requirements. Click above to read the full article.

TRAINING CLASSES!!
-ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT NJGCA HEADQUARTERS-
66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081 (Union County)

NJ EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING

In order to be licensed as a Motor Vehicle Emission Inspector, you must complete this course and pass a “Written Exam” given by the State of New Jersey. NJGCA offers this training in a ONE DAY State approved training program that will provide an understanding of inspection related issues including EPA Regulations, Safety, Diesel, Customer Service and the New Jersey State Specific Curriculum. This specially tailored NJGCA course fulfills all requirements.

CLASS DETAILS:
Class Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Class Location: NJGCA Headquarters, located at 66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081
Arrival Time: 7:00am
Lunch Break: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda will be served)
NJMVC Test: 1:00pm

Class Fees:
NJGCA Members: $250.00
Non-members: $300.00
Manuals are included and payment is due upon registration. All credit cards are accepted.

License Fee: Bring a $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State’s licensing fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you live out of state, you must bring 6 points of ID with you, such as a license, passport, healthcare card, utility bill, etc.

CLICK HERE to view and complete the registration form with all the required information.

Once complete, please fax it to 973-376-0766. Alternatively, you may also either scan the form or email the details below to Debbie Hill at debbie@njgca.org

PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available.

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund.

Contact GREG CANNON at 973-376-0066 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!
If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. ?

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX

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