Month: September 2019

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Whistleblower risks are real

Whistleblower risks are real! I know first hand the real dangers of being a government whistle blower. It happened right here in Cumberland County New Jersey in 2006.

The truck used in the vehicular assault November 2006.

As I laid badly injured on my lawn at the side of the road we heard the attacker yelling “What did you think would happen for fucking with Riland” as he drove away from the scene. I was intentionally stuck by a neighbor’s truck that veered off the road and accelerated toward me on my lawn. By luck and miracle I vaulted over it as it stuck me to avoid being run over. I broke ribs when the truck grill hit me and that was the first thing I felt when I hit the ground.

Riland was a local politician who repeatedly threatened me to not spread information about local government’s liability in failing to mitigate basic climate change impact here at Money Island. He had at least one prior police record for assault for a violent political retaliation.

Later multiple witness testimony confirmed that the politician and the assailant had colluded to “take me out” shortly before the attack. The politician was heard neighbors screaming at me and threatening me for distributing written information about local government’s liability for ignoring climate change impact to my neighbors about an hour before the attack. I was an early whistleblower in the area of environmental justice and didn’t even know it at the time. I was just trying to get local government to admit their errors in failing to deal with water level rise that already washed away houses and part of our road.

I had also reported receiving a telephone death threat to New Jersey State police for the same matter two months earlier. Even though I reported the caller’s number to police, I don’t think the political retaliation threat was ever investigated.

The assailant told his employee minutes before the attack that “I’m going to jail tonight” before getting into the truck. The assailant fled the state the next day (or shortly thereafter) with funds from his family, was arraigned by a grand jury in his absence, but was never formally charged or tried because Cumberland County prosecutors missed key hearings and twice “misplaced” the file.

Our current District Attorney disclaimed responsibility for the prosecutorial errors because the case began prior to her appointment. The politician also fled the state and was never charged for his role in the crime. Local government did not contest and quickly settled the civil charges for its indirect liability in the attempted murder.

I expect (but don’t know for sure) that some of this is covered in the new documentary book “The Drowning of Money Island” scheduled for release by Beacon House Publishing on October 1. The legal case records are available as public information. I lost many years of work recovering from those injuries and still struggle with the impact today. Only now, after all these years, do I have the courage to stand up to talk about the pervasive government corruption that still reigns powerful today. In most cases there are no real protections for whistleblowers and corrupt politicians have shown again and again that they are willing to commit violent crimes and murder to protect their power base.

https://apple.news/ATZ4OuS8iQ8OolVrGLJnseg

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Eminent domain at the bayshore

“Little else raises fear in property owners like eminent domain powers of government”.

I remember back years ago when we didn’t worry that our children might be murdered in a mass killing by crazy guy with a military style machine gun in their school. Back then we didn’t worry that people from another country were stealing our anything. In fact, we even welcomed them and benefited from the relationships. And we mostly believed that when our president said something the result was based in fact. Back then, I still recall, that one thing that did make an ordinary American’s blood boil was the topic of eminent domain. The government’s right to take private property for the public good scared us to an extreme. Little else raises fear in property owners like eminent domain powers of government. The topic of eminent domain was a prevailing social paranoia among NJ and PA property owners in the communities where I grew up as a child and lived as a homeowner for decades more.

Bayshore residents give up a lot in order to live here. No modern conveniences, fierce bugs, storms, flooding, heat and more. Yet we make those sacrifices for a reason; the ability to remain in our own part of heaven. Yet eminent domain threatens to rob us of the value of these years of sacrifice by offering the depleted cash value of our homes and businesses and leaving little option to restore a quality of life elsewhere. Eminent domain is the ultimate environmental injustice. Eminent domain is one of the legally endorsed techniques to accelerate the overall long term trend of rich people displacing poor people at the coast. I understand this larger concept of government displacement of poor people at the bayshore is a theme of the book “The Drowning of Money Island” that I have not read yet.

Since Superstorm Sandy in 2012 thousands of New Jersey shorefront property owners – mostly in rich Atlantic coastal towns – have felt the effect of eminent domain law. Many hated it and think of it as legalized theft. But the government’s perceived need to make immediate infrastructure changes to save our shore towns was held as a higher priority than individual property rights.

Most people acknowledge a need to relocate populations away from the coast but some human workforce is still needed at the bayshore to support fisheries, aquaculture, marine trades and other support services. I’ve always assumed that I might be floating on a boat, but that my presence would always be valued in these capacities at the bayshore.

Here at the bayshore state government has emphasized voluntary property acquisitions rather than eminent domain. The words eminent domain are still considered taboo by many politicians. One of our former mayors emphasized that this township would never use eminent domain to acquire properties. That’s partly why I was surprised when conservative Downe Township in Cumberland County proposed a series of land acquisition ordinances that included eminent domain provisions. The ordinances do not require that the properties utilize eminent domain law, but rather that they open the door to that possibility.

This blog post is written simply to document the little bit that I’ve learned about eminent domain as it applies (or not) to our situation.

I presume that small township solicitors use prototype ordinances in his daily work for our township. This seems to be the case for a number of proposed land acquisition ordinances that include the term “EMINENT DOMAIN” in the title section. More concerning is that each proposed ordinance includes this phrase:

“WHEREAS, the Township has determined that it is necessary, beneficial and in the public’s interest to acquire all or a portion of the subject Property for public use as proposed;”

I’ve learned from other sources that this is boilerplate language and, in fact, no actual determination that would meet the requirements of that clause under the Eminent Domain Act of 1971 as interpreted by the courts, has actually been made.

Here are my concerns:

First, I wish that we would be more precise in our wording of proposed ordinances to avoid miscommunication and legal tussles later. The fact is that it is highly unlikely that local government could meet this specific legal requirement. To say that government already did this is misleading.

Second, I wish that we would completely avoid the use of the term “eminent domain” unless it is absolutely necessary as determined by due public process.

Third, I wish that we would address the real problem: scarcity of funding to accomplish all of these well-intended municipal goals. While I know that a few people work hard to find funding, the pattern is to ignore possibilities of public private partnerships like the ones my company Baysave develops to accomplish community goals. We need to get the community involved and build consensus among diverse interests to accomplish our challenging climate change adjustments ahead.

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A celebration of bravery

Today is a mile mark, maybe even a celebration, of personal bravery. Earlier this year after suffering a dismal series of government attacks, I decided to take my family’s advice and get out of New Jersey permanently. I won’t enumerate the litany and range of problems again now; it’s depressing enough just to have them back in memory. But it has been a long year of personal and professional threats and attacks, physical, legal and otherwise. It’s clear that I’ve really pissed some government people off and that there might be more problems ahead as long as I remain committed to talking about government misbehavior and environmental justice issues.

Over the past few months a handful of things have improved. Two of my antagonists died. In July the Attorney General’s office sent a letter to the Superior Court judge in my open case that the state does not intend to take further action. That means, as far as I know, that in two years I am entitled to ask for dismissal of the charges. I’ve heard confirmation from a number of sources that government is backing off its active prosecutions of the poor rural bayshore residents. Maybe my activism in environmental justice even played a role in that shift in paradigm. I had to go through CPA license reviews in two states. That meant rehashing all of the details of my legal history. Both boards were OK with it.

Today I rejoined the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. I submitted the application and paid the fee. The association members and staff have been fabulously supportive through my crazy journey as an environmental activist. I had resigned in June, in fear and while planning an exit from the state. In the meanwhile I’ve cancelled all of my NJ memberships and affiliations and moved my personal and business licenses out of the state. I am now willing to consider finding a new home here and we will move cautiously in that direction. For now, those other things can remain out-of-state and move slowly to return.

Whether my bravery is smart or foolish remains to be seen. Time will tell. Bu I’ve survived the wrath of an attempted political assassination, endure an ongoing smear campaign, targeting by the seafood industry, avoided drowning under the legal might of the Attorney General’s office, handled millions of dollars in legal claims, loss of all of my net worth, am dealing with a deterioration of health and personal relationships. But I’m still here, still trying to rebuild a life, a business and a community. The way I see it is that there is little down side remaining. I might as well stay and enjoy the view.

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Evolution of the local oyster industry

More than a century ago there were over 300 oyster boats operating on the Delaware Bay employing approximately 1,500 people. The oyster industry led our maritime trades that were one of the four primary industries in our country forming the backbone of employment, tax revenue and overall economic stability.

The oyster industry was eventually depleted by over-harvesting and disease. Once wealthy bayshore towns like Newport, Bivalve and Port Norris reflect this economic decline with all of the ills commonly associated with modern economic blight. We have lower than average income, employment rates and education with higher than average substance abuse, foreclosures and political extremism. Sadly, our area is cited as a hotbed of alt-right activism and KKK activity typically associated with reaction from displaced socio-economic expectations. Our local population is older and declining in comparison to regions that are growing through technology and other revitalization.

Today the Delaware Bay oyster industry is making a strong comeback through the use of well proven aquaculture methods. Yield could increase tenfold or twentyfold within a decade according to an industry consultant. Harvesting operations are now mostly through the port at Money Island. Some of the local oyster harvest is shipped out-of-state with fewer local processors remaining. Branding is important in the oyster industry and some of our local oysters are sold at higher prices under brands associated with other regions. The former oyster docks and processing areas at Bivalve are now mostly historic tourist attractions.

For benchmarking purposes, the local oyster industry dock value is at least ten times larger than the second largest Delaware Bay fishery – blue claw crabs. (I’m not considering menhaden that is mostly harvested off-shore but some catch is reportedly taken from the lower bay).

The days of small independent harvesters are gone. Today the Delaware Bay oyster industry is controlled by a small group of people, mostly through out-of state corporations, employs far fewer people, and provides less public economic benefit to this region than in the past. This change reflects the broad trend we see in industry overall where wealth and power has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of the 1%. In that respect, it is not unique or unexpected. It simply reflects the common trend where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer through the mechanism of industry and the controlled use of public resources. It requires large capital to be in the oyster industry today and only the largest companies can justify that cost.

In sharp contrast, the oyster industry on the east coast of New Jersey is built upon diversity and small enterprises. As a small business advocate, naturally I tend to support the latter model. Efforts to support small oyster start-up operation s here have not been successful.

While might seem obvious and benign to an outsider, these statements are considered a threat to the local oyster industry. Even just the publication of this statement puts me at personal risk of retaliation. In the past, my mentions of ideas like this through a consultant or a small business industry association, including possible reforms to the oyster industry, have drawn direct adverse business consequences.

Citizen requests to the current Governor and his predecessor that a representative member serving the public interest be included in Delaware Bay decision-making have been ignored. Government has little incentive or ability to change the status quo. I’m not aware of any viable means to change the current system.

To its credit, the current economic system results in a safe, reliable, high quality product. Oysters consumed raw must be handled in a consistently safe manner. Safety standards are rigorously enforced by the big oyster firms. They made significant investment in improved safety equipment over the past year or so. Additional product handling improvements are coming. Anecdotal experience suggests that smaller harvesters may lack the same level of internal process control or might be incentivized to ‘cut corners’ in a way that increases public’s food safety risk. The large oyster operations can not afford to take this risk.

We expect the local oyster industry to grow thrive and prosper in the years ahead under the current system. Economic impact of Delaware Bay oysters will increase from $20 million annually to $40 million annually within a few short years. Investment in infrastructure is evident here at Money Island in 2019 alongside political posturing for a dredged Nantuxent channel and elevated Money Island roadway. There is also some discussion within state and local government of moving the oyster industry away from Money Island but that appears to be a long term consideration more than a decade away.

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”Elitist”

We face threats to our quality of life and even our continued existence in two primary realms: 1) democracy and 2) planet. The proven effective strategy of those in control of the status quo is to repress history and current science by replacing these with emotionally driven memes that support their own agendas. We see that happening now at a shocking level.

The attack can be deterred by improving the quality of information we absorb. Education weakens the power of propaganda and big money interests. Our salvation does not require change in everyone. If only 5% more people based their positions on quality information sources like primary peer reviewed journals, conventions, the classic arts and books rather than social media then the entire world could be saved.

I’m not saying that I believe that we will actually reverse the dumbing down and decline in the intellect of the mass population. I am just saying that there is a clear possible path to save ourselves. Yet this solution is increasingly attacked as “elitist”, both by the elites already in power and the masses influenced by their propaganda. I hear some version of this label frequently in attempts to repress this thinking.

Being labeled as an elitist and independent thinker can even be dangerous. My community campaign of handing out information to influence local government to follow scientific standards for environmental sustainability triggered death threats and a hit attempt by a local politician in 2006.

Today the repression of democratic process and deliberate repression of information in locally important issues is worse than any other time of my life. This ongoing effort to address this catastrophe remains my primary life focus despite my admission that we are losing the war.

the unlikely elitist