This is all true.

Also:

They tend to (but not always) use the minimal detergent requirements under the law. So more buildup in your engine. Vs a “Top Tier” gas, which is what your owners manual will recommend you use.

All gas is the same (there’s laws on this). The additive package they add to the fuel can vary slightly as long as it at least meets a minimum standard.

There’s some evidence this is actually a material difference:

https://www.consumerreports.org/fuel-economy-efficiency/top-tier-gasoline-worth-the-extra-price-a7682471234/

Lastly, gas is intentionally sold slightly cheaper to unaffiliated stations to keep them afloat. They are the primary defense against anticompetitive claims. Gas companies can say “well look at their price”. That’s a really cheap insurance policy to keep US courts off their backs.

State has been warning this was coming for at least 10 years now (I think it’s actually quite a bit longer).

JC had a long time to prepare, but felt things like a blank check for a museum was a higher priority.

They’ll send you a letter with your options go fund it.

Just wait until all the “my rent went up” posts start trickling in.

Budget is basically retroactive so Q4 will always be higher if there is an increase. I think it basically is Q4 + what you owe for Q3.

Q1 onward will be your total tax bill /4.

Remember a few years ago when Reddit was convinced taxes would never go up in JC because… reasons.

Yea… good times.

And the correction still has a ways to go. JC is below state averages and still gets a lot of state funding by right should be allocated to poorer places. This ride is far from over.

But don’t worry, homestead rebate, or whatever they call it now will offset a couple percent.

Right answer.

If you’re physically in a public place, you can photograph it. There’s no expectation of privacy. Sidewalk is a public easement so it’s considered public.

If you step on their door step, you now crossed that line.

If someone wants privacy in their bedroom they can install curtains. IIRC JC requires window coverings on all windows for just this reason.

Unless you’re using a kit transistor radio almost every radio sold is an “HD” radio. Even most alarm clocks are now. The ones with a radio, some are just Bluetooth speakers now.

They all seem to use the Si468x chip which is in short supply at the moment, so good luck finding something in stock.

Yea… from worth nothing to worth something. It’s all relative.

JSQ seems to have appreciated the most in recent years with all the speculation.

Average is still dragged down heavily by BL.

Most downtown rentals are worth way more than the average property in JC (certain neighborhoods hold the averages down).

Even if a unit is at city average valuation that’s $190/month rent increase not even factoring in inflation. So realistically more like $250-275/mo for a small 1 bedroom. Before inflation.

Get ready for a ton of “is $200/mo+ rent increase unconscionable?” posts.

They only did that because it’s purely posturing.

This isn't so much the command strips as the paint adhesion. They're effectively hanging on the paint.

Generally if they fail, it's because someone didn't prep the surface right before applying another coat of paint, and it separates there.

Otherwise, they really do a good job.

Yup. It’s all bullshit. It’s not like they even store those pdf’s. They’re generated on demand from the database.

Depends what it is. Things with variable billing? Absolutely not. I want to audit the bill before I pay.

Do I want to pay a $10 surcharge to Verizon every month for a set payment? Not really. They call it an "autopay discount", but it's really a surcharge since they advertise pricing with the discount already included. FTC if they really wanted could step in on this bullshit, but it's too small and they're too toothless to do anything. Easy enough have the bank block transactions and threaten them with small claims court if necessary.

Yea, meanwhile they're supposed to do that "6 points of ID" thing at the MVC for years now, and I've never needed more than my old license every time I bothered to gather all those documents.

FWIW I refuse paperless billing on many principles:

1. Some don't let you opt back to paper without a fee, and some now insist on a fee for paper, which sucks for older people who may not be comfortable doing stuff online.
2. Way to many things still want a bill or statement for proof of residence (including the library).
3. The banks saves money, they pass on 0 savings to me. That's bullshit. At least split it, even if it's a $0.10 credit every month. At scale it's a good boost to a CEO's bonus. But I don't really feel like the negatives are worth me making a sacrifice to help a needy CEO.

I'm doing my part by keeping paper bills alive. If enough people stop getting them, expect to pay for paper.

Yup.

All the streets used to be pavers too. Damn shame they paved over them.

Environmentally they’re way better, but less stress on the storm drains, more traction with less road salt, easier to repair streets back to original condition after utility work.

It’s also cheaper in the long run. You can go a century+ between replacement. Some streets in Europe still have scratches in pavers from tanks in wwii.

It’s clearly superior, and lots of European cities do exactly this for low speed roadways.

But asphalt is made with petroleum byproducts they’d otherwise need to properly dispose of, so lobbyists like asphalt to be used as often as possible. Selling it as a product is profitable rather than a cost.

Home Depot normally has a decent selection. Not sure when that starts normally. Should be soon-ish.

Their version of crop circles.

They must call it “pumpkin buffet season”.

Below is a 100% no-go. A half decent real estate agent won't even show it to you without having a talk.

That just means they're deferring maintenance and savings. Normally that's because multiple board members are hoping to flip their unit in the next few years and want to keep things low to maximize their sale price. Next owners will be stuck with insane assessments to fix the neglect.

Some banks even want to know about assessments in past 5 years when you apply for a mortgage.

A fair number of universities do this around the country.

It’s more efficient to have a steam plant than to have separate systems in each building. You get both heat and cooling with just a small steam plant on campus.

You save not just in energy, but also maintenance. If you have dozens of buildings each with several AC and furnaces, it’s a lot to keep running and replace every 20 years. Cranes needed for roof units etc. Steam systems are simple systems mechanically.

There’s likely other places where it’s economical to do this, but that’s the one that stands out in my mind.

If you went to a college with a large campus, there’s a decent chance they used steam.

Yup. It’s gross.

Same with trying to dismantle USPS or privatize parts of the military, or even NASA.

These things were setup as public institutions for very clear reasons. To avoid profit being the primary goal rather than achieving objectives and to ensure public has input and accountability.

These institutions were setup that way to prevent profiteering, and now they’re being modified to allow political donors to fill their wallets.

Profit shouldn’t be the motive. The finances these things should be worried about is getting the most out of their budget, avoiding overruns, and demonstrating results.

It’s part of why they’re a shit show.

They take the more profitable easy to teach students and leave the more expensive ones in public schools.

Then everyone complains that public schools spend too much per child and have poorer outcomes ignoring how many barriers are put into place to avoid letting kids with expensive issues get into charter schools.

It’s like a hospital who claims cost effective treatment compared to other hospitals but only treats skinned knees. Everyone else gets sent to other ER’s.

And it should be way more than 20%. Average income in Manhattan is insanely high, a little more taxes won’t hurt.

Should be at least 60:40 to help improve transit in/out of the city.

The benefit being there’s less need to drive in with improved transit.

Transit within the city is relatively speaking adequate. Getting in and out is still bad.