May 3, 2026 • 54 mins
(00:00) Lanny Davis, former Special Council to President Bill Clinton, shares stories from his life, political career and presents the elements of a path that can lead to a more unified and effective political process and system.
(11:25) Attorney Anand Dash, partner in the Kennedys Law Firm, tells how a lack of transparency by a NJ town's leadership is leading to the construction of a data center and what concerns residents are expressing about the approval process and plans for the center.
(30:39) Johnathan Morrison, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, examines the tragedy of children dying from being left in cars and how these deaths can be prevented via the new ad campaign from the NHTSA.
(39:01) Leah Van Nieuwburg, Coordinator with Aspire Youth Development, gives details about a program which offers New Jersey youths a path to enter the growing film industry in the state and how this program came about.
(48:43) Chris DeBello looks at how the Bible teaches strength to withstand fear and intimidation.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, welcome to Wish News and Ideas.
I'm Christopher.
America's political landscapehas turned to reflect the
leadership and service to abattlefield of war.
A war between two politicalparties that feeds on anger,
partisanship, created by agreater political swamp, brought
about fewer accomplishments, allof which has turned you, the
(00:20):
voter, pretty much into acasualty when you think about
it.
The first guest today is apolitical veteran who with his
new book places before us, Ibelieve, an accurate analysis of
what it is, how the foundationof a solution remedy is already
being built, and throughhistory, how we can learn about
(00:43):
bringing things to better timesand better ways to actually.
Given a significant amount oftime out with many political
leaders and players, he helps toknow and understand quite a few
of them much better.
Does all this with his book,Finding the Third Way: Lessons
in the Politics of Civility.
There's a nice word for myjourney through history.
He's a veteran politicaloperative, served as President
(01:06):
Bill Clinton's special counsel.
Landy Davis, thanks for beinghere today, Mr.
Davis.
SPEAKER_03 (01:10):
Well, thank you.
And I just want to say that Iappreciate the invitation.
And I'm a Jersey boy, so whoeverin New Jersey is listening to
me, I'm a Jersey City, HudsonCounty, um, born and raised and
went to school in Newark atNewark Academy.
So hello, fellow Jerseyites.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
I was gonna say if you're a Newark Academy alumni,
you'll find many stories I havea feeling you'll relate to in
Finding the Third Way as well.
Yes.
In addition, when reading aboutyour mom and your dad, your
family, talk about theirinfluence because, well, A, I
think first it comes your thosestories bring about a great
parenting guide, as well as whatyou did for mom and dad later in
(01:51):
life, proves to be uh greatlessons in how to be a good son.
But talk about their influencein your life.
SPEAKER_03 (01:57):
Well, if you don't mind, I'll do a positive
influence and uh a a lesson Ilearned from my dad, who I loved
with all my heart, as to not tobe like my dad.
So the let me start with thatone.
Uh my father was a dentist inJersey City, and uh my mom
helped him in the office, and myfather was a highly political,
(02:17):
highly liberal FDR liberalDemocrat.
So I'm sure that doesn'tsurprise anyone who knows a
little bit about me.
But my father used to argue alot about politics over the
dinner table when we invitedfriends over on the golf course
with his friends, and theargument was always about if you
disagreed with my father, hetook it personally and he often
(02:41):
lost friends because ofpolitical differences.
So I watched some of thishappening, and I thought to
myself, at some point later inlife, looking back, especially
when I wrote the book, I learnedto do the opposite.
That and that's the thesis ofthis entire book, is that when
we have political differences,with the exception of racism and
(03:05):
bigotry and extreme uh thinkingthat can't be even dealt with.
And I accept those types ofpeople, they're a very small
percentage of our population whoare bigots and who are racist.
Putting them aside, I learnedfrom my father not to do what he
did.
Is that if somebody is forDonald Trump and I am not, we
(03:28):
can reasonably disagree withoutdemonizing each other and
calling each other names.
So the interesting story aboutmy dad, as much as I loved him,
and he taught me to love the NewYork Giants when they were
Giants back in New York and todespise the New York Yankees.
Why, Dad?
I love the Yankees.
Mickey Mannell, Babe Ruth, LouGarrick, Pinstripes, I love the
(03:50):
Yankees.
And he said, which is thechapter of my book, long answer
to your question.
You can't be for the Yankees.
Why not, Dad?
They're winning all the time.
When I grew up, they won all theWorld Series in the 1950s.
They have all the money, andthey're Republicans.
So that's why I wasn't allowedto root for the Yankees, and I
(04:12):
decided to grow up and bedifferent.
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
Plus, you know, when you look at uh Billy Martin,
Mickey Meantal Yogi, they weretough guys.
Willie Mays Will Willie Mays wascool, though.
I mean, that's that's the bigdifference there.
SPEAKER_03 (04:23):
Now listen, he was just to interrupt for a second
because of the word cool, if youdon't mind, it was uh exactly
the right word, but for a youngkid, I was young, and Willie was
at his prime in the 1950s.
He was fun.
He enjoyed life, he enjoyed hissport, he was at his happiest on
(04:46):
the baseball field, and I saw aphotograph of him, I'll never
forget it, I was eight or nineyears old, it sticks with me as
if it was yesterday.
After a long and sweaty baseballgame in the summer of whatever
the year was, there was aphotograph of Willie Mays in the
streets of Harlem where helived.
He couldn't live in whiteneighborhoods, and he was out on
(05:07):
the street after an exhaustingbaseball game with a stick ball,
playing stick ball with the kidson the street.
So they captured thatphotograph.
That photograph stuck with mefrom that day until the day I
met him, 50 years later, at aBill Clinton, it was actually a
Hillary Clinton fundraiser, andBill Clinton brought Willie Mays
(05:28):
for me to meet as a surprisebecause uh Willie had helped uh
Mr.
Clinton raise money for hisfoundation.
And the surprise guest of theHillary Clinton fundraiser in
San Francisco, after all thoseyears of worship, was Willie
Mays.
And like a boiling, a ballingkid, I cried my eyes out as he
(05:50):
signed the autograph for me.
And there's a photograph ofWillie signing the autograph 50
years later, and I was crying.
SPEAKER_00 (05:59):
Moving into politics, and like I said back
in the intro, what we're seeingnow, it wasn't always this way.
And one of the lessons I think,one of the many lessons the
reader gains from your book isthere's a difference between
knowing somebody that is on theway up, is in the seat of power,
whatever the case may be, versuslearning from that person.
(06:19):
How important is thatdifference?
SPEAKER_03 (06:22):
It's very important.
It's the essential message of mybook, and thank you for catching
that and asking the question.
My advice to people like me, I'ma liberal Democrat, I oppose
almost every policy that DonaldTrump stands for, especially the
Iran war.
I still advise everyone like mewho is in opposition to Mr.
(06:43):
Trump, listen to Trump votersbefore you talk.
Ask a Trump voter who maybe usedto be a Democrat and switched
over to Donald Trump.
Why?
And listen.
And then see if you can findcommon ground.
It's as simple as that.
Listen and look for commonground.
(07:04):
And by the way, if you did thattoday, if you're listening to
this program and you don't likeDonald Trump and you know
someone who does, why don't yousay, why did you vote for Trump?
And listen, and you're going tofind common ground.
You're going to say, Well, he'snow broken his campaign promise
about endless wars.
I'm against the Iran War.
(07:24):
Well, we can agree on that one.
So looking for common ground isthe theme of my book.
SPEAKER_00 (07:30):
Which is Finding the Third Way Lessons in the
Politics of Civility from myjourney through history.
Lanny's website, by the way, isLannyJDavis.com.
We have the link at ourhomepage, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
And again, turning back theclock, not really that far.
It's not unheard of for oppositesides to work together.
You go back to Ronald Reagan,Tip O'Neill, another
(07:52):
accommodation that you're veryfamiliar with.
President Bill Clinton and NewtGingrich.
They might not have liked eachother or agreed with each other,
but when you look at the whatthey got done and the sizable
things that got done versus thethe stuck in neutral that we see
today, quite a differencebetween uh then and now, isn't
it?
SPEAKER_03 (08:10):
Well, thank you for mentioning that's one of the
best examples.
I would say that Newt Gingrichand Bill Clinton didn't exactly
like each other.
But when it came time to BillClinton being a fiscal
conservative, because asgovernor of Arkansas, he didn't
(08:30):
have the opportunity to borrowmoney to pay for current bills.
He had to pay for his budgetevery year and balance his
budget.
So he went to Gingrich or viceversa, and they decided we're
spending our children's money byusing credit cards, by deficit
spending, we're borrowing money,and then we dump all the
(08:52):
receipts on the beds of ourchildren and we say you pay.
Well, that was just plainimmoral.
For Bill Clinton, it was immoralto use deficit spending and tell
our children or grandchildren topay the bills, and Newt Gingrich
agreed.
So they had common ground onbalancing the budget.
So when Bill Clinton went toGingrich and Joe Scarborough, I
(09:15):
would add, and a bunch ofconservatives, they were shocked
that he said, Let's figure thisout.
Let's not spend more than we'retaking in like every household.
So Bill Clinton was a fiscalconservative.
He balanced the budget in hislast years as president, and he
and Newt Gingrich deserve thecredit.
He left a surplus.
(09:36):
Do you believe the word surplus,which is never used?
Which is that they were takingin more money than they were
spending by the time BillClinton left.
He had a$30 billion surplus,which means he reduced the
national debt.
So there's the third way thatI'm talking about.
Democrats do not have to be bigspending, big government, high
taxing as an alternative toTrump.
(09:59):
A lot of people voted for Trumpbecause they didn't want that
type of alternative.
We have an alternative hiding inplain sight.
It's the Bill Clinton third way.
SPEAKER_00 (10:08):
And it's just a matter of because there's a
growing number of frustratedvoters that are cast adrift
right now.
And about 30 seconds here.
What does a Democrat or even anindependent have to do to say,
hey, come on over here.
I got something for you.
SPEAKER_03 (10:24):
They have to just the three parts of the Bill
Clinton third way.
Fiscal conservative, supportbalanced budgets, and stop
spending more than we take in.
Secondly, on cultural issuesthat make people uncomfortable
without having the time toidentify them.
Be tolerant, not only tolerantof people who are in favor of
(10:46):
certain cultural changes, butthey should be tolerant of you.
And then the third mostimportant thing of all is to be
civil and civilly disagree andfind common ground.
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
And Lane expands on all those ideas and finding the
third way, lessons in thepolitics of civility from my
journey through history, LaneJDavis.com, the website.
Mr.
Davis, your book is an educationand insight in so many different
ways that everyone who reads itwill gain from it.
Thanks for the book and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_03 (11:17):
Thank you, and hello to my fellow Jerseyites.
I'm still a New Jersey boy.
Thank you for the invitationtoday.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Back in the day, as cell phone technology and use
expanded, you might remember thecell towers started springing up
all across the country, whilebeing a useful and obvious
necessity.
Many people objected to theirpresence for reasons ranging
from environmental, even healthconcerns, to just how they look
bad.
These objections were heard, inmost cases, addressed through a
(11:47):
fair and transparent localgovernment process.
Are we seeing history repeatingitself today as the number of
data centers continues to grownationwide?
For local residents who assumethat these data centers are
going to be established in largeareas where the infrastructure
can handle the load they create,being caught by surprise when
they learn that, in fact, one isgoing to be in their small town
(12:09):
backyard literally andfiguratively.
Such is the case in AndoverTownship, New Jersey.
And yes, residents areobjecting.
Joining us to explain thissituation is the attorney for
one of the Andover Townshipresidents, partner in the
Kennedy Law Firm.
Anand, thanks for being heretoday, sir.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Chris, uh, thank you very much for having me.
I appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_00 (12:33):
And to learn more about the legal services of the
Kennedy Law Firm,Kennedyslaw.com, we do have that
link posted at our homepage aswell.
Background for our discussion,there are over at this point in
time 4,000 data centers in thenation.
And at last count, 84 uh alreadyconstructed in New Jersey, and
(12:57):
more on the way as we talk andgive some more examples of
exactly what some of these uhpending data centers are going
to be.
But specifically with AndoverTownship.
Give a give a summary of what ishappening because it basically
is involving zoning, zoningcodes, and believe it or not, a
(13:18):
a I believe it's a land boardmeeting where the term data
center was prohibited from beingused by anyone speaking.
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
Yes, uh Chris, you you you're right.
You're absolutely right.
Chris, we've acknowledged myclient and I, and the community
have acknowledged that there isvalue and need for data centers,
not only in New Jersey, butthroughout the country, to
support the technology thatrequires them.
The issue that the community hasin Andover uh is not y
(13:48):
necessarily unique to Andover,but it's the idea that there is
an appropriate process thatrequires a due process when a
municipality such as Andoverseeks to introduce an a very
controversial land use thatimpacts the the economy, it
impacts the environment, itimpacts the the both the the
(14:12):
geographical and naturallandscape.
And the the real objection,while it may first be with
respect to data centers, Chris,really surrounds the process.
Have the community members, theconstituents of Andover Township
been given a fair process.
And I'm disappointed to say thatwe are witnessing again yet
another municipality in SussexCounty that believes that they
(14:36):
know better than theirconstituents and and has
effectively removed the idea ofthe consent of the governed by
having uh a a theta compl, asI've called it, with respect to
this this data centerapplication.
The idea being, Chris, thatbefore there is an actual
(14:57):
vetting process for this datacenter in front of the land use
board, the town council, thetown committee in Andover has
has really allowed for this typeof use, this data center use,
without any variances, Chris.
And without any variances, underNew Jersey land use law, an
application really cannot bedenied, very limited
(15:20):
circumstances.
And that's the affront to theresidents that I think is is
really unacceptable on a numberof levels, Chris.
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
There are a couple of ordinances I guess the key
focus here of how they've servedas the tools for this to happen.
Ordinance 2025-15, ordinance2026-08.
Talk about what they are openingthe door to.
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Sure.
Chris, um in April of 2025, uhthe Township Committee uh had a
rewrite, a comprehensive rewriteof its master plan.
In essence, in plain terms, themaster plan is the blueprint of
any township, any community.
That blueprint is supposed toset the goals and objectives of
the municipality as to the typesof uses that the township wants
(16:08):
to see.
That master plan, uhcomprehensive plan was written
in April of 2025.
Ordinance 2025-15 shows up inAugust of 2025, four months
later, introducing a data centeruse.
Why that's egregious, uh, Chris,is because when the township has
just undergone the expensiveprocess and the time-consuming
(16:30):
process of a master planrewrite, comprehensive rewrite,
if data centers were to becontemplated as part of the
goals and objectives of thetownship, it should have been
made a part of that master plan.
Yet, out of the blue, uh, inAugust uh seventh, twenty
twenty-five, the town council inAndover introduces a data
(16:52):
center.
Um, it's not part of thecomprehensive planning of the
town, clearly because the worddata center is not found
anywhere in the master plan forAndover Township.
And then you find a data centeruh as part of ordinance twenty
twenty five-fifteen uh to be apermitted use.
A permitted use is is w what thename suggests, a use that is
(17:15):
allowed by right in thecommunity.
And uh had it been a more of acomprehensive planning, the
controversial use of a datacenter would have had additional
conditions surrounding it.
Conditions that would haveabated the the the significant
concerns nationwide related toelectricity consumption and
(17:36):
water consumption and noiseconsum consumption.
If you look at ordinance twentytwenty-five, Chris, you'll find
none of those conditions arepresent.
In fact, there are no conditionsuh attached to this this very
debatable uh uh data center use.
Um so that's that leads a lawyerlike myself who has experience
(17:58):
in this matter in this type of Ihate to use the word Chris but
I'll use it, in this type ofland use type scheme where
you're basically allowing anordinance to be tailored for a
specific lot and block excuseme, lot and block, in this case
uh two forty eight Sickles PondRoad.
Okay?
They're they're spot zoning aparticular law and block for a
(18:20):
specific developer.
How do we know that, Chris?
Well, if that wasn't enough,fast forward to ordinance twenty
twenty-six-zero eight that wasintroduced in March of this
year, March of 2026.
The developer had uh uhallegedly said to the town,
look, town, we cannot get ourheight uh uh uh the necessary
(18:43):
height we need for this uhproject for our our our data
center to sixty-five feetbecause your zone only allows
fifty feet.
Please, Andover, would youincrease the height for us to
sixty-five feet?
And the town obliged, Chris.
Uh that is the textbookdefinition of spot zoning.
When you alleviate the burdensof zoning for a specific
(19:04):
developer, Chris, that is notallowed under the municipal land
use law in New Jersey.
SPEAKER_00 (19:10):
So with attorney Adnan Dash, partner with the
Kennedy's law firm,Kennedyslaw.com.
He's also representing aresident of Andover Township,
New Jersey, regarding a pendingdata center.
And uh it's uh I fear this isnot a an issue exclusive to
Andover Township.
Now, you mentioned the address,248 Stickles Pond Road.
(19:33):
Paint a verbal picture of whatthat area is.
Is it residential, is itbusiness, is it empty land?
What what's the what's thewhat's the area look like?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Chris, uh that that that particular property is part
of the redevelopment area ofAndover Township.
It is um it is uh undevelopedland.
It is for those who are familiarwith Sussex County, it's uh
colloquially referred to as theJump Airport.
Uh it was uh for many years anairport for for aeronautics.
Um it subsequently uh uh manyapplications have come forward.
(20:06):
One was the the uh relativelyknown BHT application for the uh
auction for junkyard uh and andautomobiles.
That application failed uh forfor a number of reasons.
There was a more recent uhapplication for a warehouse.
So that particular process ofland is perhaps suitable for
(20:27):
some type of industrialdevelopment, Chris, but without
the proper comprehensive uhplanning and forethought, it is
ripe for a a controversialproject like a data center to go
in there.
And so the the real issue isthat that property may be
suitable at some point in time,and I think that Andover
residents are reasonable-mindedpeople who understand the value
(20:50):
of rateables to a town and why atown needs rateables to exist.
The issue again, however, is isthat you cannot make the
exception to the rule the rule.
In this case, Andover is seekingto make the exception to the
rule, namely the variance, therule for a specific lot and
block and for a specificdeveloper.
(21:11):
Um that really is, as I said,the a violation of fundamental
fairness and due process uh inthis specific case.
And um i it it really is is Itake umbrage to that, Chris,
because it's insulting to theintelligence of of goodwilled,
honest working handover uhresidents.
SPEAKER_00 (21:32):
You mentioned rateables.
Um did I hear correctly thatthere was I'll call it a
sweetheart deal made for thiscompany to bring in this data
center where they are going toget a sizable tax break.
SPEAKER_01 (21:46):
Yes, that's exactly right.
You you may have heard of the uhpilot, uh Chris, the payment in
lieu of taxes.
What we're hearing, although not100% confirmed, and I uh is that
a uh this particular uh lotblock has been perhaps given.
In preliminary appro prpreliminary approval for a
pilot, which is effectively aprogram where the developer
makes an arrangement with thetownship to pay something less
(22:10):
than the market rate taxes thatthey would otherwise have to pay
over a long-term period.
And uh the common knowledge onthe pilot suggests that those
payments often do not go towardthe very critical need of the
school system's budget.
Um it is exclusively left forthe municipality to use and
therefore it has a inverseeffect by not helping to uh
(22:34):
relieve the burden of the costof the school system, and uh
that only ultimately benefitsthe developer and narrow
interests of the municipality.
SPEAKER_00 (22:44):
Now, for you listening, you might be thinking
wherever you are in New Jerseyand Andover Township or
anywhere, as I said, there'sover 4,000 data centers with
many more to come forjustifiable reasons.
I I understand that, but as theysay in real estate location,
location, location, by 2030, AIdata centers are going to be
consuming as much as ninepercent of U.S.
(23:04):
electricity annually.
That's according to the ElectricPower Research Institute in New
Jersey.
Back in June, ele electricitybills rose about 20 percent due
in part to the increasing demandand a regional supply system in
danger of losing the generatingcapacity needed to keep up.
Mentioned that we haveeighty-four uh data centers in
(23:28):
New Jersey.
A planned one in Vineland is, byestimates, going to wind up
using about 350 megawatts ofpower.
That's nearly double theelectrical capacity of the
entire city of Vineland.
So I guess the question becomeshave there been studies done,
environmental um infrastructurecapabilities done to determine
(23:51):
and confirm that AndoverTownship can withstand what is
going to be a very heavy load onits electrical infrastructure?
SPEAKER_01 (23:58):
Chris, you your astute uh question, uh very
astute question, because that'sexactly the point that I have
made to the township attorney inAndover, that there has been no
planning with respect to the uhenergy consumption, the water
consumption, the noise uh outputof these uh projected data
centers.
Uh and and that really is um uhregrettably to say reckless.
(24:22):
Uh yes, the the Vineland uh uhhas is is a is a is a project
that has been on everyone'sradar.
And it's a shame that we're notlearning from those um from
those other uh townships andprojects.
Uh this is a type of use thatabsolutely requires conditions
being placed on it.
(24:43):
It requires study, uh itrequires experts to opine on the
impact to a rural community likeAndover or Christmas.
These roads and the the theenvironment, you have the uh you
have a C1 stream running uhbehind on that property.
I believe it's the Peak West uhRiver, uh is a C1 protected
stream.
There are many, manyconsiderations uh as to why uh
(25:07):
this needs to be approached withmature reflection and serious
planning.
Chris, none of that has been, tomy knowledge and to my
discovery, yet been employed bythe township of Andover, and it
is very uh disappointing to seethat for the residents.
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
So what I I've already seen where numerous
organizations have been formedby people, and by the way, if
you have a land use boardmeeting that has more than a
hundred people showing up, thatalone should be a wake-up call
for the people sitting behindthe tables on the dais.
That's people are not exactlyhappy with what's going on here.
So what is what are theimmediate next steps in in
(25:44):
response there?
SPEAKER_01 (25:45):
Uh Chris, um Chris, the l as I've uh as I indicated
to the uh land use board at thelast meeting, I believe it was
uh April um twenty second, thelawyer's role as negotiator is
just as important as thelawyer's role as litigator.
I have given them, as we do inall cases, an opportunity to do
the right thing by theirconstituents, by the people of
(26:08):
Andover, by the people of SussexCounty.
And what I have asked them to doby May 7th is I've asked them
respectfully to rescindordinance 2025-15 and 2026-08.
Simple terms, non-legalese,remove those ordinances from the
books of Andover Township sothat a developer cannot file an
(26:29):
application under thatframework.
Then take the time to havesufficient, reasonable,
cool-headed discussions with thecommunity as to whether or not
this type of intensive use isappropriate from the committee.
If they do not remove theordinances by rescision, I have
indicated that I will be takinglegal action by way of an action
(26:51):
in lieu of prerogative writsbefore the Sussex County
Superior Court, demanding thatthis process they have followed
is illegal, unlawful, spotzoning, and that there will be
legal consequences.
But I don't take say thatlightly, Chris.
I want to give them anopportunity to do the right
thing by their constituents andand let not a mistake become an
(27:16):
unforced error.
SPEAKER_00 (27:18):
By the way, for you listening, the next township
community meeting for AndoverTownship is May 7th, as Mr.
Dash said.
So if you are a resident of notjust Andover Township, but
Sussex County, and this is anissue that is certainly going to
have a wide-ranging impact allthroughout the state and the
nation if you want to lend yourvoice to the effort of
(27:39):
transparency.
It's not to prohibit or block,it's just transparency.
That's uh that's not a lot toask for and not a lot to expect
from anyone at any level ofelected or chosen or selected
leadership.
But it seems to be a challengein this specific case.
But I I always bet on the willand the voice of the people, and
(27:59):
I think that is going to be thethe the final say in whatever
comes forth as this movesforward.
And for you listening via thepodcast and wherever you're
listening, just be aware becauseuh what is happening in Andover
Township, New Jersey, just mightbe happening in your literal
(28:20):
backyard.
So when you uh hear meetings orsee m postings of meetings,
which even that's becoming lessand less transparent as we've
seen too many times, as try to ffind out the reason why you're
not having that access toinformation and try to demand it
every way that you uh politelyand professionally can and be a
difference voice in in thataspect.
(28:43):
And uh it's it's challenging.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Well, Cher, thank you for your s uh program, which
is vital to informing yourlisteners uh across the county
and the state uh who m who maybe listening to your program
because we need folks like youand your services to educate
people.
Uh that is the single greatesttool that the community can
(29:08):
have.
And I'm I I know I, my client inthe community are tremendously
appreciative for the servicethat you are providing to the
community.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Well it is indeed a team effort, a team of voices
that bring up volume, strength,and confidence, and you are
certainly adding to that voiceas well.
It's something to watch out forand be aware of, and that's the
call I leave in this segment.
Uh Mr.
Adnan Dash, thank you so muchfor the work you're doing and
the education you give as well.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_01 (29:36):
Thank you, Chris.
Much appreciated.
SPEAKER_00 (29:38):
Uh by coincidence, Landy Davis in his book mentions
a speech by Teddy Roosevelt,which he made in Paris Trans
back in 1910 called The Man inthe Arena, which really ties
into the conversation just hadabout the data centers.
Let me read it here.
It is not the critic who counts,not the one who points out how
(29:59):
the strong man stumbled or howthe doer of deeds might have
done them better.
The credit belongs to the manwho is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred with sweatand dust and blood, who strives
valiantly, who errs and comesshort again and again, who knows
the great enthusiasms, the greatdevotions and spends himself in
(30:20):
a worthy cause, who, if he wins,knows the triumph of high
achievement, and who, if hefails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that hisplace shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who knowneither victory nor defeat.
All right, now admit it.
We've all done it.
(30:41):
We rush through something, wemake a mistake.
We think it'll take a couple ofminutes to do something, but it
winds up taking longer.
Now, if that involves you, yeah,you'll you'll get through it.
But if it involves your child,who you left in the car out
there in the parking lot in thehot sun, the results can be
deadly.
It's called pediatric vehicularheat stroke.
And thirty children,thirty-seven children rather,
(31:05):
die from it every year.
It's also a deadly danger whichcan be easily prevented.
My next guest is with us todiscuss this issue how education
is the key to prevention.
He's the administrator of theNational Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Jonathan Morrison, how are youtoday, sir?
SPEAKER_02 (31:22):
Doing fantastic.
Thank you for having me, uh,Chris, and uh thanks for helping
get the important message out.
SPEAKER_00 (31:27):
Absolutely.
And there's also a website too,which I have linked at our
homepage, nhtasa.gov forwardslash heat stroke.
And as I said, Jonathan, it'sit's maddening, it's sad, it's
frustrating.
Put in the whatever emotion youwant because over a thousand
children, since this has beenmeasured, averaging 37 a year,
have died from something thatcan be absolutely, totally
(31:49):
easily prevented.
Talk about the the seriousnessof this and what the National
Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration is doing to raise
awareness, make people moreresponsible.
SPEAKER_02 (32:01):
Absolutely.
Thanks uh so much, because youare hitting all the right notes
on this.
Uh, this is a 100% preventabletragedy, and no parent ever
wants to put their children indanger, and nobody's going to do
that intentionally.
But like you say, uh thingshappen, and we've launched a
campaign as temperatures areincreasing.
We're looking to remindeverybody of the dangers that
(32:22):
heat stroke poses to children,and we're really, really uh
focusing on those children thatare from newborn to five years
old because they're the mostsusceptible to heat stroke.
So, what we've launched is a newcampaign that's called Never
Happens.
Uh, and it's really a three-partcampaign to focus on the three
different ways that we primarilyuh see hot car deaths take
(32:47):
place.
SPEAKER_00 (32:48):
And when you look too it's people think here's a
great example.
70 degrees.
That's a comfortabletemperature.
You can pretty much get a longfine without that, except in a
car if it's if it's 70 degreesoutside, within 10 minutes the
interior temperature is almostninety, and within thirty
minutes it's over a hundreddegrees.
That's that's easy science toread, but but Jonathan, trying
(33:13):
to retain that and remember thatuh again, people just keep
seeming to miss the obvious.
So talk talk about the elementsof the of the campaign and how
how the word is going to bespread.
SPEAKER_02 (33:26):
I I think that's right.
And uh, you know, I think partof it comes from our
understanding of what it's liketo be in those situations.
Like you say, uh, you know, 20uh 20 degree increase in a
10-minute period.
Uh and people might think thatcracking a window will help or
parking the shade is gonna help,and it really doesn't.
Uh so uh part of it again is youknow, we uh we know what it's
(33:47):
like to be in a hot car and it'sawful, it's really
uncomfortable.
We'll start sweating after a fewminutes uh and uh and you know
we'll we'll get through it,we'll turn on air conditioner,
whatever it might be.
But people don't realize thatwe're adults, we have the
ability in our bodies toregulate temperatures.
With children, their bodytemperature rises three to times
(34:08):
three to five times faster.
So our campaign is reallylooking to hit those three main
contributing factors, or thethree main causes.
And those are situations A, theprimary cause is that uh uh
children are forgotten in thevehicle by their parents or
caregivers.
Uh, and that's something whereit's it can be common when
there's a change in routine, uh,such as one parent dropping off
(34:31):
the kid at daycare or preschooluh instead of the other.
They just might forget thatthey're they're doing that just
with our busy lives.
Like you said, uh people uh loseattention.
Uh the second uh uh situationhappens very frequently is that
children may gain access into anunlocked vehicle and get trapped
inside because the child locksare activated.
(34:52):
And then third, sometimeschildren are knowingly left
inside the car uh because theythink it's only gonna be a quick
errand.
It's gonna be 10 minutes, 20minutes into uh the grocery
store, uh, and and as you uh socorrectly noted, uh that's
enough time to really uh resultin the tragedy.
So our campaign is focused onreminding parents the way to
(35:13):
prevent these is to always kindof check yourself when you're
getting out of the vehicle.
You stop, take account of thesituation, you look in the back
seat, and then you lock your caras you leave.
We really want this to be addedto every parent's routine.
SPEAKER_00 (35:28):
Jonathan Morrison, who is the administrator of the
National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration, NHTSA.gov,
forward slash heat stroke forthe campaign that we are talking
about, the awareness that it'sraising, and you're listening to
issues and ideas.
I see where you're you'reteaming with the uh with the ad
council.
Is this going to be somethingwhere there's videos available?
(35:48):
Because I'm thinking in our dayof looking for content for our
personal social media pages, ifthere's a video that someone can
link to from YouTube, forexample, and share on their
social media pages, I think thatwould add to the volume of your
message.
SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
Absolutely.
And we we have that right onthat website that you uh that
you uh mentioned.
It's uh Nitsa.gov forward slashheatstroke, n htsa.gov forward
slash heatstroke.
We have now videos um reallypowerful, powerful videos.
Uh if you haven't had a chanceto take a look, I'd recommend
you do so, and I hope yourlisteners do as well, that
really drive this message home.
(36:23):
And ad council, uh as always,does a fantastic job.
Uh, and these are some powerfulmessages that really get at each
of these three causes for hotcar deaths.
SPEAKER_00 (36:35):
How important is it for the states to take action in
this cause?
Because I was surprised to findout that I believe the count was
only 23 states have laws whichmake it legal.
If you're walking through aparking lot and you see a kid in
the car and it's 90 degreesoutside, there's only 23 states
where you can rescue that childand not face criminal charges.
(36:55):
Is that something that reallyhas to change?
SPEAKER_02 (36:58):
You know, I think different states are gonna have
to go through their own processand and debate those issues.
Uh, but what I would hammer honefor all of your listeners is if
you're in a parking lot, ifyou're anywhere, and you see a
child in distress, actimmediately.
You know, call 911, uh, and thatthat's the very first thing you
should do.
SPEAKER_00 (37:18):
And like Jonathan mentioned too, the younger child
is the most prone to be placedin this situation, usually
unintentionally.
There's about a one in fivechance where it's done
intentionally, thinking thatit's running in the store and be
back out fast, and that doesn'talways work out that way.
But 38%, according to a study,of kids are under the age of one
(37:41):
year old that are left or are orare killed by a pediatric
vehicular heat stroke.
Again, it's something that canbe easily prevented through
awareness, through payingattention.
Think about it when you put anold refrigerator out here almost
by law in some states, you haveto take the door off so a kid
can't climb into therefrigerator that's going to go
out into the garbage.
(38:02):
Same idea with the car.
If you're parking your car onthe street in the driveway, lock
the doors.
Some neighborhoods you have todo for you know the obvious
reasons, but here's maybe a notas obvious reason, which has to
be more obvious than the summeras we're getting into it.
A kid might find it a place tohide, a place to explore, and
tragedy can happen.
Learn more about the campaign toraise awareness, about
(38:25):
preventing the deaths ofchildren in this needless way.
Courtesy of the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration,
NHTSA.gov forward slash heatstroke.
He is her administrator,Jonathan Morrison.
Mr.
Morrison, thank you for bringingthis to the attention of
everyone in every way possibleto make a difference and to save
the lives of those thirty-sevenchildren that we needlessly lose
(38:46):
every year, and that's just anaverage, and see that number go
down to zero sooner versuslater.
Thanks for the work and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_02 (38:53):
Thank you so much for having me, uh, Chris, and
and thank you uh uh truly uh touh uh to help get this word out,
and thanks for your listenersfor paying attention.
SPEAKER_00 (39:01):
Okay, time for some movie making history.
Before Hollywood became the homefor motion picture production,
film companies had studios inNew York City.
And even before that, it was NewJersey that was the home for the
very early film productions,even Westerns, come to think of
it.
Today, through the efforts ofthe New Jersey Film Commission,
New Jersey is looking to onceagain be a major location of
(39:24):
film production.
That means there'll be a needfor people to work on film sets
in a variety of roles.
Next guest joins us to share howan upcoming training and
education program can open upthis new opportunity for you via
the Frame program.
Frame stands for Film Readinessand Media Education.
She's program coordinator forFrame through the Aspire Youth
(39:45):
Development Organization.
Lee Van Uberg, how are youtoday, Lee?
SPEAKER_04 (39:50):
I'm doing great.
Thank you for having me.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (39:53):
Well, great to have you here and to talk about what
is a really interesting program,which you listen to learn more
at aspireyouth.com.
We have the link at ourhomepage.
Because as I said, New Jersey isindeed looking to re-establish
its roots as a uh a filmmakinghub.
Just recently, the New JerseyMotion Picture and Television
Commission made it official todesignate 15 towns in New Jersey
(40:16):
as what they call film-readycommunities.
Real fast, they're edited inFanwood, Garwood, Hamilton,
Hanover, Highland Park, HeightsTown, Lambertville, New
Brunswick, Newton, Oceanport,Phillipsburg, Randolph,
Robbinsville, and Shrewsbury.
So that brings to the total oftowns, now fifty-eight in the
state with more to come that arefilm-ready communities.
(40:36):
So Lee, that really puts theneed out there.
How is how is that need for forskilled people on movie sets
being answered with this programframe coming up?
SPEAKER_04 (40:48):
Well, the NJEDA put out some grants, and we were
lucky to receive a grant.
So we're able to do a free,fully free 18-week hands-on
training program, and it's inpartnership with Creative
Content on Demand, so they havea ton of experience in the
industry.
Um, and it's designed for uhadults in Burlington, Camden,
and Gloucester who are justreally ready to actually get
into the industry.
(41:09):
Um, and really they're going totrain in camera, lighting,
sound, editing, production, andthen also get professional
development from real industryum professionals and have
exposure into all of these greatopportunities.
We've been having meetings withthe unions and with the
different production companies,and it's been really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
And when we say filmmaking too, we always think
of the major films, butindependent filmmaking, as we've
seen with the growing number ofindependent film festivals here
in New Jersey and elsewhere,there there are a ton of film
projects that are always in theworks, whether it's documentary
to features, to shorts, toeverything in between, where new
(41:47):
talent is as as the number ofproductions increases, new
talent will certainly be indemand.
And this will be a great programto help fill that need and give
people a whole new idea of apath for their life.
SPEAKER_04 (41:59):
That's great.
And it's honestly it's thischance for New Jersey to
actually get their hands intosomething like you said that has
you know really originated hereand um it was moved away from
us, but there's such a passionin this area for people who love
film and love where it's comefrom and where it's going.
So it's so cool to see thesekind of programs give you know
access into places that justhaven't seen it before.
(42:20):
So we're really, really excitedfor this full circle moment.
SPEAKER_00 (42:23):
They mentioned too creative content on demand is
the partner for this for thisproject.
What is their contribution goingto be and how what kind of
experience, what kind of focusare they going to provide in
these in these training classesand sessions?
SPEAKER_04 (42:37):
Absolutely.
They're gonna lead the classesevery Tuesday and Thursday
night, and they've developedthis beautiful curriculum, which
is just so well-rounded.
Um it really touches base onevery different thing from set
procedures to set safety.
Um, and really they've they'vebeen, you know, I I know that
James was out, um, he's fromPurdue Study, he's with uh
(42:58):
creative content on demand, I'msorry.
And he was out just doing anacting gig this past weekend.
He's filmed some majorcommercials, some uh, you know,
documentary and narrative filmwork.
So really they have such awell-rounded um background and
they've they've developed thisexcellent curriculum.
And then I'm also there tosupport the students as well.
And then I, you know, I've haduh screenplays circulate through
(43:20):
the industry and some, you know,narrative film and documentary
work myself.
So they really are coming from agreat team of people with
excellent um backgrounds, and sowe're really, really excited to
see everything there.
But creative content on demandum really has put their heart
and soul into this project andgotten it off the ground, and
we're so excited to you know getstarted on these Tuesdays,
(43:41):
Thursday nights.
SPEAKER_00 (43:42):
It's more to note, too, that we're talking about
film production and movies thatcome and go, the start, finish,
and move on to the next projectin another area.
But we also have here in NewJersey, Netflix is putting down,
let us say, some pretty sizableroutes because they're building
a huge studio production complexin Mammoth County, so there
could be some long-termpermanent work for people who
(44:04):
come out of this class.
SPEAKER_04 (44:06):
Absolutely.
And we were actually discussingwith with them yesterday.
So we have really greatpartnerships already building to
help these students get rightinto the industry.
SPEAKER_00 (44:14):
So that's really what we're looking for is people
who, you know, not just have aninterest in film, but they want
to start working in theindustry.com.
(44:36):
We have the link at ourhomepage, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
And regarding that gettinginvolved, time is short.
We have to make that point.
Yes.
But as far as getting involved,what's the process?
SPEAKER_04 (44:50):
Yes, so they can go to the website.
We have we extended theapplication deadline through
this weekend.
So everyone is still welcome toapply for this coming cohort.
And then we have two moreadditional cohorts coming and
hopefully expansion after that.
So please still reach out ifyou're not able to do this first
round that runs over the summer.
It will end in September.
In the fall, we're going tostart our second cohort.
So you can get in on the nextone if you're ready for the next
(45:12):
one and join our wait list.
Um and then also just reach outto me, Leah at aspireyouth.com,
and I'm happy to you know giveyou different ways you can get
involved with everything goingon.
SPEAKER_00 (45:21):
So this frame program is not going to be a one
and done deal, but assuming thatall works and everything and the
and the and the demand is high,this could be a regular process
where since you have theconnections with so many
elements of the film community,that this could be an ongoing
situation.
SPEAKER_04 (45:38):
That is our hope.
We truly hope to expand it downthe road as as large as we can
get it.
We would really love to see ummore counties covered as well.
So, you know, the the demand hasbeen really promising to this
one, and people are reallyexcited about the program.
So we're really hoping we canexpand it.
So, you know, the more that youreach out, let us know that
you're interested, the more thatwe can do.
So please do reach out and getinvolved.
SPEAKER_00 (45:59):
Is this something too that you're hearing from
other parts of the state, otherstates where where they're
trying to do what New Jersey isdoing as well?
Or are you being washed to seehow how is it how are they doing
and how can we do what they'redoing?
SPEAKER_04 (46:12):
Absolutely.
Well, there are actually fivefunded programs right now from
the NJEDA.
There is a RealWorks as well,and uh Newark Film Academy, New
Jersey Film Academy.
Right now, it seems that they'rereally covering, you know, North
and South Jersey.
So there's this that space inCentral Jersey.
We we still really want to get,you know, people the training
that they need.
(46:33):
So, you know, again, reach out,tell the NJEDA that you love
these programs and and theseFilmWorks grants can keep coming
and we can keep training peoplebecause you know it's really
fantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (46:43):
It's always great too when we hear about these
programs and grant programs thatare based upon taxpayer funds
for the most part.
It's great to hear when they goto something like this because
it really helps us understandtoo the the value of our tax
dollar.
And as far as the Aspire YouthDevelopment Organization, that
this is just one part of thework that you do.
SPEAKER_04 (47:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's um youth developmentworkforce training.
Right now we're having ourtrades day, which is um uh to
get women in construction, soit's really exciting.
If you go to the website, youcan see a ton of different trade
opportunities that we can helpyou out with in getting
training.
Um, but we primarily focus onthe youth, but again, our frame
program's really excitingbecause that's 18 plus, so
(47:25):
that's really anybody can getinvolved.
So at this point, we're really,you know, got our hands in
workforce development.
It's really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (47:32):
And for you listening, if you're a member of
a town leadership in some way,shape, or form, I mentioned Film
Ready Community Program in NewJersey.
You can find out more about thatat film.nj.gov about what that
designation gaining it entailsto be uh a film ready community,
to be added to that list of 58that I mentioned before, and be
(47:53):
uh be a job creator too, becauseas I said, film production
happens in always and all sizes,and the frame program is looking
to fill the needs that arecontinuing to grow in this
industry.
Find out more atAspireYouth.com.
And we've been joined by fromthe uh Aspire Youth Development
Organization, Lee Van Uberg.
Lee, thanks thanks for cluing usinto what is a great program and
(48:16):
a great opportunity for peoplewho always thought about some
part of the movie industry, andthis is a door that hopefully
those people will hear open andwalk through it quickly and
successfully.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_04 (48:30):
Thank you so so much.
I really am so excited to shareit because this is one of those
programs where, you know, youhear film, but this one they
really are.
The industry is ready to trainus up, and so you know, I hope
New Jersey gets working.
SPEAKER_00 (48:43):
Fear and intimidation.
For too many people, it's whatthey believe they need to lash
out with in order to matter inour world.
You've probably experienced itwhere you work, maybe at school.
We've certainly seen it frompeople in elected office.
When someone tries to inflictfear or intimidation on you,
that most likely makes you thinkit's because they don't like
you.
Truth is that these peoplereally don't like themselves
(49:04):
much.
Inside they feel frustrated,maybe angry because they don't
believe life worked out for themthe way that they hoped, so
instead of trying to changetheir ways, they instead take it
out on you.
James chapter three versesixteen reveals the truth about
these people, for where envy andself-seeking exist, confusion
and every evil thing are there.
(49:26):
Paul in Romans chapter two verseeight also reveals this to us,
but to those who areself-seeking and do not obey the
truth but obey unrighteousness,indignation, and wrath.
In most cases it's ego, reallythat compels people to great
fear and intimidation.
These are people who have turnedaway from the truth that we read
(49:48):
in first Peter chapter five,verses six and seven.
Therefore, humble yourselvesunder the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in duetime, casting all your care upon
him, for he cares about you.
When someone tries to instillfear or intimidation against
you, don't let their anger pressdown on you because it's not you
who they're angry with.
(50:09):
Again, they're angry atthemselves over what they see
when they look at their life.
James chapter one versesnineteen and twenty explains
exactly what these people arecreating.
So then, my beloved brethren,let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath,for the wrath of man does not
produce the righteousness ofGod.
(50:29):
There's no doubt that our worldis filled with a growing number
of people seeking to create fearand intimidation, mentioned
before, work location, schools.
It's not limited to those twolocations, obviously, stores,
hospitals, the roads we driveon.
Too many people are too easilytriggered into anger, and that
leads them to respond withcreating fear and intimidation.
(50:52):
If it feels like there are morepeople like this than ever
before, those who know God'sword shouldn't be surprised
because we have been warnedabout these times.
Jesus alerts us to this inMatthew chapter twenty four,
verses ten through twelve, andthen many will be offended, will
betray one another, and willhate one another, and many false
prophets will rise up anddeceive many because lawlessness
(51:15):
will abound, the love of manywill grow cold.
We're also given this warning inSecond Timothy chapter three
verses one through four, butknow this that in the last days
perilous times will come, formen will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money,boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,unthankful, unholy, unloving,
(51:36):
unforgiving, slandering withoutself control, brutal despisers
of God, traitors, headstrong,haughty lovers of pleasure,
rather than lovers of God.
I know that sounds like a heavyload that we're being challenged
by, but as children of God wealso know that He will lighten
our load.
Jesus makes this promise to usin Matthew chapter eleven,
(51:59):
verses twenty eight throughthirty.
Come to me all you who labor andare heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you willfind rest for your souls, for my
yoke is easy, and my burden islight.
At the same time, God will allowus to face challenging times in
(52:21):
order to strengthen us.
Think of it as like the personwho goes to a gym to build
physical strength.
They reach for the five poundweights or the fifty pound
weights.
Same goes for us spiritually, asRomans chapter five, verses
three and four explains.
And not only that, but we alsoglory in tribulations, knowing
that tribulation producesperseverance and perseverance
(52:43):
character and character hope.
James chapter one verses twothrough four adds this My
brethren, count it all joy whenyou fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of yourfaith produces patience, but let
patience have its perfect workthat you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.
(53:04):
We're not to just read the Wordof God, but to live it.
We are called on to live it inways that brings his light into
this world that Satan hascovered in his darkness.
We are to live God's word in anoutward way that will awaken
those who try to project thatfear and intimidation I'm
talking about.
God directs us to this with hiswords in Isaiah chapter fifty
(53:24):
five verse eleven.
So shall my word be that goesforth from my mouth, it shall
not return to me void, but itshall accomplish what I please,
and it shall prosper in thething for which I sent it.
Does that sound like a massiveresponsibility to you?
Then you're fully equipped.
(53:45):
Jesus confirms this in Johnchapter seven, verse thirty
eight.
He who believes in me, as thescripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers of livingwater.
As I said at the start of thisteaching, there are way too many
angry, hostile people in ourworld today.
God isn't asking you to givecounsel to all of them.
(54:05):
But one would be a great start.
If you know his word, then youcan do the work that Jesus
assigns to us in Luke chaptereleven, verse twenty-eight.
But he said, More than that,blessed are those who hear the
word of God and keep it.
Don't forget to check out ourwebsite, issues and ideas
radio.com.
That's where we have moreinformation about the guests who
(54:27):
are here on the show with ustoday.
And if you've been listening tous via your favorite podcast
platform, make sure yousubscribe and follow us.
Always grateful and thankful foryour time and attention.
Always fun to have you alone forthe ride each and every time.
Look forward to being with youright here this time next week
for our next edition of Issuesand Ideas.
Hello, welcome to Wish News and Ideas.
I'm Christopher.
America's political landscapehas turned to reflect the
leadership and service to abattlefield of war.
A war between two politicalparties that feeds on anger,
partisanship, created by agreater political swamp, brought
about fewer accomplishments, allof which has turned you, the
(00:20):
voter, pretty much into acasualty when you think about
it.
The first guest today is apolitical veteran who with his
new book places before us, Ibelieve, an accurate analysis of
what it is, how the foundationof a solution remedy is already
being built, and throughhistory, how we can learn about
(00:43):
bringing things to better timesand better ways to actually.
Given a significant amount oftime out with many political
leaders and players, he helps toknow and understand quite a few
of them much better.
Does all this with his book,Finding the Third Way: Lessons
in the Politics of Civility.
There's a nice word for myjourney through history.
He's a veteran politicaloperative, served as President
(01:06):
Bill Clinton's special counsel.
Landy Davis, thanks for beinghere today, Mr.
Davis.
SPEAKER_03 (01:10):
Well, thank you.
And I just want to say that Iappreciate the invitation.
And I'm a Jersey boy, so whoeverin New Jersey is listening to
me, I'm a Jersey City, HudsonCounty, um, born and raised and
went to school in Newark atNewark Academy.
So hello, fellow Jerseyites.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
I was gonna say if you're a Newark Academy alumni,
you'll find many stories I havea feeling you'll relate to in
Finding the Third Way as well.
Yes.
In addition, when reading aboutyour mom and your dad, your
family, talk about theirinfluence because, well, A, I
think first it comes your thosestories bring about a great
parenting guide, as well as whatyou did for mom and dad later in
(01:51):
life, proves to be uh greatlessons in how to be a good son.
But talk about their influencein your life.
SPEAKER_03 (01:57):
Well, if you don't mind, I'll do a positive
influence and uh a a lesson Ilearned from my dad, who I loved
with all my heart, as to not tobe like my dad.
So the let me start with thatone.
Uh my father was a dentist inJersey City, and uh my mom
helped him in the office, and myfather was a highly political,
(02:17):
highly liberal FDR liberalDemocrat.
So I'm sure that doesn'tsurprise anyone who knows a
little bit about me.
But my father used to argue alot about politics over the
dinner table when we invitedfriends over on the golf course
with his friends, and theargument was always about if you
disagreed with my father, hetook it personally and he often
(02:41):
lost friends because ofpolitical differences.
So I watched some of thishappening, and I thought to
myself, at some point later inlife, looking back, especially
when I wrote the book, I learnedto do the opposite.
That and that's the thesis ofthis entire book, is that when
we have political differences,with the exception of racism and
(03:05):
bigotry and extreme uh thinkingthat can't be even dealt with.
And I accept those types ofpeople, they're a very small
percentage of our population whoare bigots and who are racist.
Putting them aside, I learnedfrom my father not to do what he
did.
Is that if somebody is forDonald Trump and I am not, we
(03:28):
can reasonably disagree withoutdemonizing each other and
calling each other names.
So the interesting story aboutmy dad, as much as I loved him,
and he taught me to love the NewYork Giants when they were
Giants back in New York and todespise the New York Yankees.
Why, Dad?
I love the Yankees.
Mickey Mannell, Babe Ruth, LouGarrick, Pinstripes, I love the
(03:50):
Yankees.
And he said, which is thechapter of my book, long answer
to your question.
You can't be for the Yankees.
Why not, Dad?
They're winning all the time.
When I grew up, they won all theWorld Series in the 1950s.
They have all the money, andthey're Republicans.
So that's why I wasn't allowedto root for the Yankees, and I
(04:12):
decided to grow up and bedifferent.
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
Plus, you know, when you look at uh Billy Martin,
Mickey Meantal Yogi, they weretough guys.
Willie Mays Will Willie Mays wascool, though.
I mean, that's that's the bigdifference there.
SPEAKER_03 (04:23):
Now listen, he was just to interrupt for a second
because of the word cool, if youdon't mind, it was uh exactly
the right word, but for a youngkid, I was young, and Willie was
at his prime in the 1950s.
He was fun.
He enjoyed life, he enjoyed hissport, he was at his happiest on
(04:46):
the baseball field, and I saw aphotograph of him, I'll never
forget it, I was eight or nineyears old, it sticks with me as
if it was yesterday.
After a long and sweaty baseballgame in the summer of whatever
the year was, there was aphotograph of Willie Mays in the
streets of Harlem where helived.
He couldn't live in whiteneighborhoods, and he was out on
(05:07):
the street after an exhaustingbaseball game with a stick ball,
playing stick ball with the kidson the street.
So they captured thatphotograph.
That photograph stuck with mefrom that day until the day I
met him, 50 years later, at aBill Clinton, it was actually a
Hillary Clinton fundraiser, andBill Clinton brought Willie Mays
(05:28):
for me to meet as a surprisebecause uh Willie had helped uh
Mr.
Clinton raise money for hisfoundation.
And the surprise guest of theHillary Clinton fundraiser in
San Francisco, after all thoseyears of worship, was Willie
Mays.
And like a boiling, a ballingkid, I cried my eyes out as he
(05:50):
signed the autograph for me.
And there's a photograph ofWillie signing the autograph 50
years later, and I was crying.
SPEAKER_00 (05:59):
Moving into politics, and like I said back
in the intro, what we're seeingnow, it wasn't always this way.
And one of the lessons I think,one of the many lessons the
reader gains from your book isthere's a difference between
knowing somebody that is on theway up, is in the seat of power,
whatever the case may be, versuslearning from that person.
(06:19):
How important is thatdifference?
SPEAKER_03 (06:22):
It's very important.
It's the essential message of mybook, and thank you for catching
that and asking the question.
My advice to people like me, I'ma liberal Democrat, I oppose
almost every policy that DonaldTrump stands for, especially the
Iran war.
I still advise everyone like mewho is in opposition to Mr.
(06:43):
Trump, listen to Trump votersbefore you talk.
Ask a Trump voter who maybe usedto be a Democrat and switched
over to Donald Trump.
Why?
And listen.
And then see if you can findcommon ground.
It's as simple as that.
Listen and look for commonground.
(07:04):
And by the way, if you did thattoday, if you're listening to
this program and you don't likeDonald Trump and you know
someone who does, why don't yousay, why did you vote for Trump?
And listen, and you're going tofind common ground.
You're going to say, Well, he'snow broken his campaign promise
about endless wars.
I'm against the Iran War.
(07:24):
Well, we can agree on that one.
So looking for common ground isthe theme of my book.
SPEAKER_00 (07:30):
Which is Finding the Third Way Lessons in the
Politics of Civility from myjourney through history.
Lanny's website, by the way, isLannyJDavis.com.
We have the link at ourhomepage, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
And again, turning back theclock, not really that far.
It's not unheard of for oppositesides to work together.
You go back to Ronald Reagan,Tip O'Neill, another
(07:52):
accommodation that you're veryfamiliar with.
President Bill Clinton and NewtGingrich.
They might not have liked eachother or agreed with each other,
but when you look at the whatthey got done and the sizable
things that got done versus thethe stuck in neutral that we see
today, quite a differencebetween uh then and now, isn't
it?
SPEAKER_03 (08:10):
Well, thank you for mentioning that's one of the
best examples.
I would say that Newt Gingrichand Bill Clinton didn't exactly
like each other.
But when it came time to BillClinton being a fiscal
conservative, because asgovernor of Arkansas, he didn't
(08:30):
have the opportunity to borrowmoney to pay for current bills.
He had to pay for his budgetevery year and balance his
budget.
So he went to Gingrich or viceversa, and they decided we're
spending our children's money byusing credit cards, by deficit
spending, we're borrowing money,and then we dump all the
(08:52):
receipts on the beds of ourchildren and we say you pay.
Well, that was just plainimmoral.
For Bill Clinton, it was immoralto use deficit spending and tell
our children or grandchildren topay the bills, and Newt Gingrich
agreed.
So they had common ground onbalancing the budget.
So when Bill Clinton went toGingrich and Joe Scarborough, I
(09:15):
would add, and a bunch ofconservatives, they were shocked
that he said, Let's figure thisout.
Let's not spend more than we'retaking in like every household.
So Bill Clinton was a fiscalconservative.
He balanced the budget in hislast years as president, and he
and Newt Gingrich deserve thecredit.
He left a surplus.
(09:36):
Do you believe the word surplus,which is never used?
Which is that they were takingin more money than they were
spending by the time BillClinton left.
He had a$30 billion surplus,which means he reduced the
national debt.
So there's the third way thatI'm talking about.
Democrats do not have to be bigspending, big government, high
taxing as an alternative toTrump.
(09:59):
A lot of people voted for Trumpbecause they didn't want that
type of alternative.
We have an alternative hiding inplain sight.
It's the Bill Clinton third way.
SPEAKER_00 (10:08):
And it's just a matter of because there's a
growing number of frustratedvoters that are cast adrift
right now.
And about 30 seconds here.
What does a Democrat or even anindependent have to do to say,
hey, come on over here.
I got something for you.
SPEAKER_03 (10:24):
They have to just the three parts of the Bill
Clinton third way.
Fiscal conservative, supportbalanced budgets, and stop
spending more than we take in.
Secondly, on cultural issuesthat make people uncomfortable
without having the time toidentify them.
Be tolerant, not only tolerantof people who are in favor of
(10:46):
certain cultural changes, butthey should be tolerant of you.
And then the third mostimportant thing of all is to be
civil and civilly disagree andfind common ground.
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
And Lane expands on all those ideas and finding the
third way, lessons in thepolitics of civility from my
journey through history, LaneJDavis.com, the website.
Mr.
Davis, your book is an educationand insight in so many different
ways that everyone who reads itwill gain from it.
Thanks for the book and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_03 (11:17):
Thank you, and hello to my fellow Jerseyites.
I'm still a New Jersey boy.
Thank you for the invitationtoday.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Back in the day, as cell phone technology and use
expanded, you might remember thecell towers started springing up
all across the country, whilebeing a useful and obvious
necessity.
Many people objected to theirpresence for reasons ranging
from environmental, even healthconcerns, to just how they look
bad.
These objections were heard, inmost cases, addressed through a
(11:47):
fair and transparent localgovernment process.
Are we seeing history repeatingitself today as the number of
data centers continues to grownationwide?
For local residents who assumethat these data centers are
going to be established in largeareas where the infrastructure
can handle the load they create,being caught by surprise when
they learn that, in fact, one isgoing to be in their small town
(12:09):
backyard literally andfiguratively.
Such is the case in AndoverTownship, New Jersey.
And yes, residents areobjecting.
Joining us to explain thissituation is the attorney for
one of the Andover Townshipresidents, partner in the
Kennedy Law Firm.
Anand, thanks for being heretoday, sir.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Chris, uh, thank you very much for having me.
I appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_00 (12:33):
And to learn more about the legal services of the
Kennedy Law Firm,Kennedyslaw.com, we do have that
link posted at our homepage aswell.
Background for our discussion,there are over at this point in
time 4,000 data centers in thenation.
And at last count, 84 uh alreadyconstructed in New Jersey, and
(12:57):
more on the way as we talk andgive some more examples of
exactly what some of these uhpending data centers are going
to be.
But specifically with AndoverTownship.
Give a give a summary of what ishappening because it basically
is involving zoning, zoningcodes, and believe it or not, a
(13:18):
a I believe it's a land boardmeeting where the term data
center was prohibited from beingused by anyone speaking.
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
Yes, uh Chris, you you you're right.
You're absolutely right.
Chris, we've acknowledged myclient and I, and the community
have acknowledged that there isvalue and need for data centers,
not only in New Jersey, butthroughout the country, to
support the technology thatrequires them.
The issue that the community hasin Andover uh is not y
(13:48):
necessarily unique to Andover,but it's the idea that there is
an appropriate process thatrequires a due process when a
municipality such as Andoverseeks to introduce an a very
controversial land use thatimpacts the the economy, it
impacts the environment, itimpacts the the both the the
(14:12):
geographical and naturallandscape.
And the the real objection,while it may first be with
respect to data centers, Chris,really surrounds the process.
Have the community members, theconstituents of Andover Township
been given a fair process.
And I'm disappointed to say thatwe are witnessing again yet
another municipality in SussexCounty that believes that they
(14:36):
know better than theirconstituents and and has
effectively removed the idea ofthe consent of the governed by
having uh a a theta compl, asI've called it, with respect to
this this data centerapplication.
The idea being, Chris, thatbefore there is an actual
(14:57):
vetting process for this datacenter in front of the land use
board, the town council, thetown committee in Andover has
has really allowed for this typeof use, this data center use,
without any variances, Chris.
And without any variances, underNew Jersey land use law, an
application really cannot bedenied, very limited
(15:20):
circumstances.
And that's the affront to theresidents that I think is is
really unacceptable on a numberof levels, Chris.
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
There are a couple of ordinances I guess the key
focus here of how they've servedas the tools for this to happen.
Ordinance 2025-15, ordinance2026-08.
Talk about what they are openingthe door to.
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Sure.
Chris, um in April of 2025, uhthe Township Committee uh had a
rewrite, a comprehensive rewriteof its master plan.
In essence, in plain terms, themaster plan is the blueprint of
any township, any community.
That blueprint is supposed toset the goals and objectives of
the municipality as to the typesof uses that the township wants
(16:08):
to see.
That master plan, uhcomprehensive plan was written
in April of 2025.
Ordinance 2025-15 shows up inAugust of 2025, four months
later, introducing a data centeruse.
Why that's egregious, uh, Chris,is because when the township has
just undergone the expensiveprocess and the time-consuming
(16:30):
process of a master planrewrite, comprehensive rewrite,
if data centers were to becontemplated as part of the
goals and objectives of thetownship, it should have been
made a part of that master plan.
Yet, out of the blue, uh, inAugust uh seventh, twenty
twenty-five, the town council inAndover introduces a data
(16:52):
center.
Um, it's not part of thecomprehensive planning of the
town, clearly because the worddata center is not found
anywhere in the master plan forAndover Township.
And then you find a data centeruh as part of ordinance twenty
twenty five-fifteen uh to be apermitted use.
A permitted use is is w what thename suggests, a use that is
(17:15):
allowed by right in thecommunity.
And uh had it been a more of acomprehensive planning, the
controversial use of a datacenter would have had additional
conditions surrounding it.
Conditions that would haveabated the the the significant
concerns nationwide related toelectricity consumption and
(17:36):
water consumption and noiseconsum consumption.
If you look at ordinance twentytwenty-five, Chris, you'll find
none of those conditions arepresent.
In fact, there are no conditionsuh attached to this this very
debatable uh uh data center use.
Um so that's that leads a lawyerlike myself who has experience
(17:58):
in this matter in this type of Ihate to use the word Chris but
I'll use it, in this type ofland use type scheme where
you're basically allowing anordinance to be tailored for a
specific lot and block excuseme, lot and block, in this case
uh two forty eight Sickles PondRoad.
Okay?
They're they're spot zoning aparticular law and block for a
(18:20):
specific developer.
How do we know that, Chris?
Well, if that wasn't enough,fast forward to ordinance twenty
twenty-six-zero eight that wasintroduced in March of this
year, March of 2026.
The developer had uh uhallegedly said to the town,
look, town, we cannot get ourheight uh uh uh the necessary
(18:43):
height we need for this uhproject for our our our data
center to sixty-five feetbecause your zone only allows
fifty feet.
Please, Andover, would youincrease the height for us to
sixty-five feet?
And the town obliged, Chris.
Uh that is the textbookdefinition of spot zoning.
When you alleviate the burdensof zoning for a specific
(19:04):
developer, Chris, that is notallowed under the municipal land
use law in New Jersey.
SPEAKER_00 (19:10):
So with attorney Adnan Dash, partner with the
Kennedy's law firm,Kennedyslaw.com.
He's also representing aresident of Andover Township,
New Jersey, regarding a pendingdata center.
And uh it's uh I fear this isnot a an issue exclusive to
Andover Township.
Now, you mentioned the address,248 Stickles Pond Road.
(19:33):
Paint a verbal picture of whatthat area is.
Is it residential, is itbusiness, is it empty land?
What what's the what's thewhat's the area look like?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Chris, uh that that that particular property is part
of the redevelopment area ofAndover Township.
It is um it is uh undevelopedland.
It is for those who are familiarwith Sussex County, it's uh
colloquially referred to as theJump Airport.
Uh it was uh for many years anairport for for aeronautics.
Um it subsequently uh uh manyapplications have come forward.
(20:06):
One was the the uh relativelyknown BHT application for the uh
auction for junkyard uh and andautomobiles.
That application failed uh forfor a number of reasons.
There was a more recent uhapplication for a warehouse.
So that particular process ofland is perhaps suitable for
(20:27):
some type of industrialdevelopment, Chris, but without
the proper comprehensive uhplanning and forethought, it is
ripe for a a controversialproject like a data center to go
in there.
And so the the real issue isthat that property may be
suitable at some point in time,and I think that Andover
residents are reasonable-mindedpeople who understand the value
(20:50):
of rateables to a town and why atown needs rateables to exist.
The issue again, however, is isthat you cannot make the
exception to the rule the rule.
In this case, Andover is seekingto make the exception to the
rule, namely the variance, therule for a specific lot and
block and for a specificdeveloper.
(21:11):
Um that really is, as I said,the a violation of fundamental
fairness and due process uh inthis specific case.
And um i it it really is is Itake umbrage to that, Chris,
because it's insulting to theintelligence of of goodwilled,
honest working handover uhresidents.
SPEAKER_00 (21:32):
You mentioned rateables.
Um did I hear correctly thatthere was I'll call it a
sweetheart deal made for thiscompany to bring in this data
center where they are going toget a sizable tax break.
SPEAKER_01 (21:46):
Yes, that's exactly right.
You you may have heard of the uhpilot, uh Chris, the payment in
lieu of taxes.
What we're hearing, although not100% confirmed, and I uh is that
a uh this particular uh lotblock has been perhaps given.
In preliminary appro prpreliminary approval for a
pilot, which is effectively aprogram where the developer
makes an arrangement with thetownship to pay something less
(22:10):
than the market rate taxes thatthey would otherwise have to pay
over a long-term period.
And uh the common knowledge onthe pilot suggests that those
payments often do not go towardthe very critical need of the
school system's budget.
Um it is exclusively left forthe municipality to use and
therefore it has a inverseeffect by not helping to uh
(22:34):
relieve the burden of the costof the school system, and uh
that only ultimately benefitsthe developer and narrow
interests of the municipality.
SPEAKER_00 (22:44):
Now, for you listening, you might be thinking
wherever you are in New Jerseyand Andover Township or
anywhere, as I said, there'sover 4,000 data centers with
many more to come forjustifiable reasons.
I I understand that, but as theysay in real estate location,
location, location, by 2030, AIdata centers are going to be
consuming as much as ninepercent of U.S.
(23:04):
electricity annually.
That's according to the ElectricPower Research Institute in New
Jersey.
Back in June, ele electricitybills rose about 20 percent due
in part to the increasing demandand a regional supply system in
danger of losing the generatingcapacity needed to keep up.
Mentioned that we haveeighty-four uh data centers in
(23:28):
New Jersey.
A planned one in Vineland is, byestimates, going to wind up
using about 350 megawatts ofpower.
That's nearly double theelectrical capacity of the
entire city of Vineland.
So I guess the question becomeshave there been studies done,
environmental um infrastructurecapabilities done to determine
(23:51):
and confirm that AndoverTownship can withstand what is
going to be a very heavy load onits electrical infrastructure?
SPEAKER_01 (23:58):
Chris, you your astute uh question, uh very
astute question, because that'sexactly the point that I have
made to the township attorney inAndover, that there has been no
planning with respect to the uhenergy consumption, the water
consumption, the noise uh outputof these uh projected data
centers.
Uh and and that really is um uhregrettably to say reckless.
(24:22):
Uh yes, the the Vineland uh uhhas is is a is a is a project
that has been on everyone'sradar.
And it's a shame that we're notlearning from those um from
those other uh townships andprojects.
Uh this is a type of use thatabsolutely requires conditions
being placed on it.
(24:43):
It requires study, uh itrequires experts to opine on the
impact to a rural community likeAndover or Christmas.
These roads and the the theenvironment, you have the uh you
have a C1 stream running uhbehind on that property.
I believe it's the Peak West uhRiver, uh is a C1 protected
stream.
There are many, manyconsiderations uh as to why uh
(25:07):
this needs to be approached withmature reflection and serious
planning.
Chris, none of that has been, tomy knowledge and to my
discovery, yet been employed bythe township of Andover, and it
is very uh disappointing to seethat for the residents.
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
So what I I've already seen where numerous
organizations have been formedby people, and by the way, if
you have a land use boardmeeting that has more than a
hundred people showing up, thatalone should be a wake-up call
for the people sitting behindthe tables on the dais.
That's people are not exactlyhappy with what's going on here.
So what is what are theimmediate next steps in in
(25:44):
response there?
SPEAKER_01 (25:45):
Uh Chris, um Chris, the l as I've uh as I indicated
to the uh land use board at thelast meeting, I believe it was
uh April um twenty second, thelawyer's role as negotiator is
just as important as thelawyer's role as litigator.
I have given them, as we do inall cases, an opportunity to do
the right thing by theirconstituents, by the people of
(26:08):
Andover, by the people of SussexCounty.
And what I have asked them to doby May 7th is I've asked them
respectfully to rescindordinance 2025-15 and 2026-08.
Simple terms, non-legalese,remove those ordinances from the
books of Andover Township sothat a developer cannot file an
(26:29):
application under thatframework.
Then take the time to havesufficient, reasonable,
cool-headed discussions with thecommunity as to whether or not
this type of intensive use isappropriate from the committee.
If they do not remove theordinances by rescision, I have
indicated that I will be takinglegal action by way of an action
(26:51):
in lieu of prerogative writsbefore the Sussex County
Superior Court, demanding thatthis process they have followed
is illegal, unlawful, spotzoning, and that there will be
legal consequences.
But I don't take say thatlightly, Chris.
I want to give them anopportunity to do the right
thing by their constituents andand let not a mistake become an
(27:16):
unforced error.
SPEAKER_00 (27:18):
By the way, for you listening, the next township
community meeting for AndoverTownship is May 7th, as Mr.
Dash said.
So if you are a resident of notjust Andover Township, but
Sussex County, and this is anissue that is certainly going to
have a wide-ranging impact allthroughout the state and the
nation if you want to lend yourvoice to the effort of
(27:39):
transparency.
It's not to prohibit or block,it's just transparency.
That's uh that's not a lot toask for and not a lot to expect
from anyone at any level ofelected or chosen or selected
leadership.
But it seems to be a challengein this specific case.
But I I always bet on the willand the voice of the people, and
(27:59):
I think that is going to be thethe the final say in whatever
comes forth as this movesforward.
And for you listening via thepodcast and wherever you're
listening, just be aware becauseuh what is happening in Andover
Township, New Jersey, just mightbe happening in your literal
(28:20):
backyard.
So when you uh hear meetings orsee m postings of meetings,
which even that's becoming lessand less transparent as we've
seen too many times, as try to ffind out the reason why you're
not having that access toinformation and try to demand it
every way that you uh politelyand professionally can and be a
difference voice in in thataspect.
(28:43):
And uh it's it's challenging.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Well, Cher, thank you for your s uh program, which
is vital to informing yourlisteners uh across the county
and the state uh who m who maybe listening to your program
because we need folks like youand your services to educate
people.
Uh that is the single greatesttool that the community can
(29:08):
have.
And I'm I I know I, my client inthe community are tremendously
appreciative for the servicethat you are providing to the
community.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Well it is indeed a team effort, a team of voices
that bring up volume, strength,and confidence, and you are
certainly adding to that voiceas well.
It's something to watch out forand be aware of, and that's the
call I leave in this segment.
Uh Mr.
Adnan Dash, thank you so muchfor the work you're doing and
the education you give as well.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_01 (29:36):
Thank you, Chris.
Much appreciated.
SPEAKER_00 (29:38):
Uh by coincidence, Landy Davis in his book mentions
a speech by Teddy Roosevelt,which he made in Paris Trans
back in 1910 called The Man inthe Arena, which really ties
into the conversation just hadabout the data centers.
Let me read it here.
It is not the critic who counts,not the one who points out how
(29:59):
the strong man stumbled or howthe doer of deeds might have
done them better.
The credit belongs to the manwho is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred with sweatand dust and blood, who strives
valiantly, who errs and comesshort again and again, who knows
the great enthusiasms, the greatdevotions and spends himself in
(30:20):
a worthy cause, who, if he wins,knows the triumph of high
achievement, and who, if hefails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that hisplace shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who knowneither victory nor defeat.
All right, now admit it.
We've all done it.
(30:41):
We rush through something, wemake a mistake.
We think it'll take a couple ofminutes to do something, but it
winds up taking longer.
Now, if that involves you, yeah,you'll you'll get through it.
But if it involves your child,who you left in the car out
there in the parking lot in thehot sun, the results can be
deadly.
It's called pediatric vehicularheat stroke.
And thirty children,thirty-seven children rather,
(31:05):
die from it every year.
It's also a deadly danger whichcan be easily prevented.
My next guest is with us todiscuss this issue how education
is the key to prevention.
He's the administrator of theNational Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Jonathan Morrison, how are youtoday, sir?
SPEAKER_02 (31:22):
Doing fantastic.
Thank you for having me, uh,Chris, and uh thanks for helping
get the important message out.
SPEAKER_00 (31:27):
Absolutely.
And there's also a website too,which I have linked at our
homepage, nhtasa.gov forwardslash heat stroke.
And as I said, Jonathan, it'sit's maddening, it's sad, it's
frustrating.
Put in the whatever emotion youwant because over a thousand
children, since this has beenmeasured, averaging 37 a year,
have died from something thatcan be absolutely, totally
(31:49):
easily prevented.
Talk about the the seriousnessof this and what the National
Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration is doing to raise
awareness, make people moreresponsible.
SPEAKER_02 (32:01):
Absolutely.
Thanks uh so much, because youare hitting all the right notes
on this.
Uh, this is a 100% preventabletragedy, and no parent ever
wants to put their children indanger, and nobody's going to do
that intentionally.
But like you say, uh thingshappen, and we've launched a
campaign as temperatures areincreasing.
We're looking to remindeverybody of the dangers that
(32:22):
heat stroke poses to children,and we're really, really uh
focusing on those children thatare from newborn to five years
old because they're the mostsusceptible to heat stroke.
So, what we've launched is a newcampaign that's called Never
Happens.
Uh, and it's really a three-partcampaign to focus on the three
different ways that we primarilyuh see hot car deaths take
(32:47):
place.
SPEAKER_00 (32:48):
And when you look too it's people think here's a
great example.
70 degrees.
That's a comfortabletemperature.
You can pretty much get a longfine without that, except in a
car if it's if it's 70 degreesoutside, within 10 minutes the
interior temperature is almostninety, and within thirty
minutes it's over a hundreddegrees.
That's that's easy science toread, but but Jonathan, trying
(33:13):
to retain that and remember thatuh again, people just keep
seeming to miss the obvious.
So talk talk about the elementsof the of the campaign and how
how the word is going to bespread.
SPEAKER_02 (33:26):
I I think that's right.
And uh, you know, I think partof it comes from our
understanding of what it's liketo be in those situations.
Like you say, uh, you know, 20uh 20 degree increase in a
10-minute period.
Uh and people might think thatcracking a window will help or
parking the shade is gonna help,and it really doesn't.
Uh so uh part of it again is youknow, we uh we know what it's
(33:47):
like to be in a hot car and it'sawful, it's really
uncomfortable.
We'll start sweating after a fewminutes uh and uh and you know
we'll we'll get through it,we'll turn on air conditioner,
whatever it might be.
But people don't realize thatwe're adults, we have the
ability in our bodies toregulate temperatures.
With children, their bodytemperature rises three to times
(34:08):
three to five times faster.
So our campaign is reallylooking to hit those three main
contributing factors, or thethree main causes.
And those are situations A, theprimary cause is that uh uh
children are forgotten in thevehicle by their parents or
caregivers.
Uh, and that's something whereit's it can be common when
there's a change in routine, uh,such as one parent dropping off
(34:31):
the kid at daycare or preschooluh instead of the other.
They just might forget thatthey're they're doing that just
with our busy lives.
Like you said, uh people uh loseattention.
Uh the second uh uh situationhappens very frequently is that
children may gain access into anunlocked vehicle and get trapped
inside because the child locksare activated.
(34:52):
And then third, sometimeschildren are knowingly left
inside the car uh because theythink it's only gonna be a quick
errand.
It's gonna be 10 minutes, 20minutes into uh the grocery
store, uh, and and as you uh socorrectly noted, uh that's
enough time to really uh resultin the tragedy.
So our campaign is focused onreminding parents the way to
(35:13):
prevent these is to always kindof check yourself when you're
getting out of the vehicle.
You stop, take account of thesituation, you look in the back
seat, and then you lock your caras you leave.
We really want this to be addedto every parent's routine.
SPEAKER_00 (35:28):
Jonathan Morrison, who is the administrator of the
National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration, NHTSA.gov,
forward slash heat stroke forthe campaign that we are talking
about, the awareness that it'sraising, and you're listening to
issues and ideas.
I see where you're you'reteaming with the uh with the ad
council.
Is this going to be somethingwhere there's videos available?
(35:48):
Because I'm thinking in our dayof looking for content for our
personal social media pages, ifthere's a video that someone can
link to from YouTube, forexample, and share on their
social media pages, I think thatwould add to the volume of your
message.
SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
Absolutely.
And we we have that right onthat website that you uh that
you uh mentioned.
It's uh Nitsa.gov forward slashheatstroke, n htsa.gov forward
slash heatstroke.
We have now videos um reallypowerful, powerful videos.
Uh if you haven't had a chanceto take a look, I'd recommend
you do so, and I hope yourlisteners do as well, that
really drive this message home.
(36:23):
And ad council, uh as always,does a fantastic job.
Uh, and these are some powerfulmessages that really get at each
of these three causes for hotcar deaths.
SPEAKER_00 (36:35):
How important is it for the states to take action in
this cause?
Because I was surprised to findout that I believe the count was
only 23 states have laws whichmake it legal.
If you're walking through aparking lot and you see a kid in
the car and it's 90 degreesoutside, there's only 23 states
where you can rescue that childand not face criminal charges.
(36:55):
Is that something that reallyhas to change?
SPEAKER_02 (36:58):
You know, I think different states are gonna have
to go through their own processand and debate those issues.
Uh, but what I would hammer honefor all of your listeners is if
you're in a parking lot, ifyou're anywhere, and you see a
child in distress, actimmediately.
You know, call 911, uh, and thatthat's the very first thing you
should do.
SPEAKER_00 (37:18):
And like Jonathan mentioned too, the younger child
is the most prone to be placedin this situation, usually
unintentionally.
There's about a one in fivechance where it's done
intentionally, thinking thatit's running in the store and be
back out fast, and that doesn'talways work out that way.
But 38%, according to a study,of kids are under the age of one
(37:41):
year old that are left or are orare killed by a pediatric
vehicular heat stroke.
Again, it's something that canbe easily prevented through
awareness, through payingattention.
Think about it when you put anold refrigerator out here almost
by law in some states, you haveto take the door off so a kid
can't climb into therefrigerator that's going to go
out into the garbage.
(38:02):
Same idea with the car.
If you're parking your car onthe street in the driveway, lock
the doors.
Some neighborhoods you have todo for you know the obvious
reasons, but here's maybe a notas obvious reason, which has to
be more obvious than the summeras we're getting into it.
A kid might find it a place tohide, a place to explore, and
tragedy can happen.
Learn more about the campaign toraise awareness, about
(38:25):
preventing the deaths ofchildren in this needless way.
Courtesy of the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration,
NHTSA.gov forward slash heatstroke.
He is her administrator,Jonathan Morrison.
Mr.
Morrison, thank you for bringingthis to the attention of
everyone in every way possibleto make a difference and to save
the lives of those thirty-sevenchildren that we needlessly lose
(38:46):
every year, and that's just anaverage, and see that number go
down to zero sooner versuslater.
Thanks for the work and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_02 (38:53):
Thank you so much for having me, uh, Chris, and
and thank you uh uh truly uh touh uh to help get this word out,
and thanks for your listenersfor paying attention.
SPEAKER_00 (39:01):
Okay, time for some movie making history.
Before Hollywood became the homefor motion picture production,
film companies had studios inNew York City.
And even before that, it was NewJersey that was the home for the
very early film productions,even Westerns, come to think of
it.
Today, through the efforts ofthe New Jersey Film Commission,
New Jersey is looking to onceagain be a major location of
(39:24):
film production.
That means there'll be a needfor people to work on film sets
in a variety of roles.
Next guest joins us to share howan upcoming training and
education program can open upthis new opportunity for you via
the Frame program.
Frame stands for Film Readinessand Media Education.
She's program coordinator forFrame through the Aspire Youth
(39:45):
Development Organization.
Lee Van Uberg, how are youtoday, Lee?
SPEAKER_04 (39:50):
I'm doing great.
Thank you for having me.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (39:53):
Well, great to have you here and to talk about what
is a really interesting program,which you listen to learn more
at aspireyouth.com.
We have the link at ourhomepage.
Because as I said, New Jersey isindeed looking to re-establish
its roots as a uh a filmmakinghub.
Just recently, the New JerseyMotion Picture and Television
Commission made it official todesignate 15 towns in New Jersey
(40:16):
as what they call film-readycommunities.
Real fast, they're edited inFanwood, Garwood, Hamilton,
Hanover, Highland Park, HeightsTown, Lambertville, New
Brunswick, Newton, Oceanport,Phillipsburg, Randolph,
Robbinsville, and Shrewsbury.
So that brings to the total oftowns, now fifty-eight in the
state with more to come that arefilm-ready communities.
(40:36):
So Lee, that really puts theneed out there.
How is how is that need for forskilled people on movie sets
being answered with this programframe coming up?
SPEAKER_04 (40:48):
Well, the NJEDA put out some grants, and we were
lucky to receive a grant.
So we're able to do a free,fully free 18-week hands-on
training program, and it's inpartnership with Creative
Content on Demand, so they havea ton of experience in the
industry.
Um, and it's designed for uhadults in Burlington, Camden,
and Gloucester who are justreally ready to actually get
into the industry.
(41:09):
Um, and really they're going totrain in camera, lighting,
sound, editing, production, andthen also get professional
development from real industryum professionals and have
exposure into all of these greatopportunities.
We've been having meetings withthe unions and with the
different production companies,and it's been really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
And when we say filmmaking too, we always think
of the major films, butindependent filmmaking, as we've
seen with the growing number ofindependent film festivals here
in New Jersey and elsewhere,there there are a ton of film
projects that are always in theworks, whether it's documentary
to features, to shorts, toeverything in between, where new
(41:47):
talent is as as the number ofproductions increases, new
talent will certainly be indemand.
And this will be a great programto help fill that need and give
people a whole new idea of apath for their life.
SPEAKER_04 (41:59):
That's great.
And it's honestly it's thischance for New Jersey to
actually get their hands intosomething like you said that has
you know really originated hereand um it was moved away from
us, but there's such a passionin this area for people who love
film and love where it's comefrom and where it's going.
So it's so cool to see thesekind of programs give you know
access into places that justhaven't seen it before.
(42:20):
So we're really, really excitedfor this full circle moment.
SPEAKER_00 (42:23):
They mentioned too creative content on demand is
the partner for this for thisproject.
What is their contribution goingto be and how what kind of
experience, what kind of focusare they going to provide in
these in these training classesand sessions?
SPEAKER_04 (42:37):
Absolutely.
They're gonna lead the classesevery Tuesday and Thursday
night, and they've developedthis beautiful curriculum, which
is just so well-rounded.
Um it really touches base onevery different thing from set
procedures to set safety.
Um, and really they've they'vebeen, you know, I I know that
James was out, um, he's fromPurdue Study, he's with uh
(42:58):
creative content on demand, I'msorry.
And he was out just doing anacting gig this past weekend.
He's filmed some majorcommercials, some uh, you know,
documentary and narrative filmwork.
So really they have such awell-rounded um background and
they've they've developed thisexcellent curriculum.
And then I'm also there tosupport the students as well.
And then I, you know, I've haduh screenplays circulate through
(43:20):
the industry and some, you know,narrative film and documentary
work myself.
So they really are coming from agreat team of people with
excellent um backgrounds, and sowe're really, really excited to
see everything there.
But creative content on demandum really has put their heart
and soul into this project andgotten it off the ground, and
we're so excited to you know getstarted on these Tuesdays,
(43:41):
Thursday nights.
SPEAKER_00 (43:42):
It's more to note, too, that we're talking about
film production and movies thatcome and go, the start, finish,
and move on to the next projectin another area.
But we also have here in NewJersey, Netflix is putting down,
let us say, some pretty sizableroutes because they're building
a huge studio production complexin Mammoth County, so there
could be some long-termpermanent work for people who
(44:04):
come out of this class.
SPEAKER_04 (44:06):
Absolutely.
And we were actually discussingwith with them yesterday.
So we have really greatpartnerships already building to
help these students get rightinto the industry.
SPEAKER_00 (44:14):
So that's really what we're looking for is people
who, you know, not just have aninterest in film, but they want
to start working in theindustry.com.
(44:36):
We have the link at ourhomepage, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
And regarding that gettinginvolved, time is short.
We have to make that point.
Yes.
But as far as getting involved,what's the process?
SPEAKER_04 (44:50):
Yes, so they can go to the website.
We have we extended theapplication deadline through
this weekend.
So everyone is still welcome toapply for this coming cohort.
And then we have two moreadditional cohorts coming and
hopefully expansion after that.
So please still reach out ifyou're not able to do this first
round that runs over the summer.
It will end in September.
In the fall, we're going tostart our second cohort.
So you can get in on the nextone if you're ready for the next
(45:12):
one and join our wait list.
Um and then also just reach outto me, Leah at aspireyouth.com,
and I'm happy to you know giveyou different ways you can get
involved with everything goingon.
SPEAKER_00 (45:21):
So this frame program is not going to be a one
and done deal, but assuming thatall works and everything and the
and the and the demand is high,this could be a regular process
where since you have theconnections with so many
elements of the film community,that this could be an ongoing
situation.
SPEAKER_04 (45:38):
That is our hope.
We truly hope to expand it downthe road as as large as we can
get it.
We would really love to see ummore counties covered as well.
So, you know, the the demand hasbeen really promising to this
one, and people are reallyexcited about the program.
So we're really hoping we canexpand it.
So, you know, the more that youreach out, let us know that
you're interested, the more thatwe can do.
So please do reach out and getinvolved.
SPEAKER_00 (45:59):
Is this something too that you're hearing from
other parts of the state, otherstates where where they're
trying to do what New Jersey isdoing as well?
Or are you being washed to seehow how is it how are they doing
and how can we do what they'redoing?
SPEAKER_04 (46:12):
Absolutely.
Well, there are actually fivefunded programs right now from
the NJEDA.
There is a RealWorks as well,and uh Newark Film Academy, New
Jersey Film Academy.
Right now, it seems that they'rereally covering, you know, North
and South Jersey.
So there's this that space inCentral Jersey.
We we still really want to get,you know, people the training
that they need.
(46:33):
So, you know, again, reach out,tell the NJEDA that you love
these programs and and theseFilmWorks grants can keep coming
and we can keep training peoplebecause you know it's really
fantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (46:43):
It's always great too when we hear about these
programs and grant programs thatare based upon taxpayer funds
for the most part.
It's great to hear when they goto something like this because
it really helps us understandtoo the the value of our tax
dollar.
And as far as the Aspire YouthDevelopment Organization, that
this is just one part of thework that you do.
SPEAKER_04 (47:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's um youth developmentworkforce training.
Right now we're having ourtrades day, which is um uh to
get women in construction, soit's really exciting.
If you go to the website, youcan see a ton of different trade
opportunities that we can helpyou out with in getting
training.
Um, but we primarily focus onthe youth, but again, our frame
program's really excitingbecause that's 18 plus, so
(47:25):
that's really anybody can getinvolved.
So at this point, we're really,you know, got our hands in
workforce development.
It's really exciting.
SPEAKER_00 (47:32):
And for you listening, if you're a member of
a town leadership in some way,shape, or form, I mentioned Film
Ready Community Program in NewJersey.
You can find out more about thatat film.nj.gov about what that
designation gaining it entailsto be uh a film ready community,
to be added to that list of 58that I mentioned before, and be
(47:53):
uh be a job creator too, becauseas I said, film production
happens in always and all sizes,and the frame program is looking
to fill the needs that arecontinuing to grow in this
industry.
Find out more atAspireYouth.com.
And we've been joined by fromthe uh Aspire Youth Development
Organization, Lee Van Uberg.
Lee, thanks thanks for cluing usinto what is a great program and
(48:16):
a great opportunity for peoplewho always thought about some
part of the movie industry, andthis is a door that hopefully
those people will hear open andwalk through it quickly and
successfully.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_04 (48:30):
Thank you so so much.
I really am so excited to shareit because this is one of those
programs where, you know, youhear film, but this one they
really are.
The industry is ready to trainus up, and so you know, I hope
New Jersey gets working.
SPEAKER_00 (48:43):
Fear and intimidation.
For too many people, it's whatthey believe they need to lash
out with in order to matter inour world.
You've probably experienced itwhere you work, maybe at school.
We've certainly seen it frompeople in elected office.
When someone tries to inflictfear or intimidation on you,
that most likely makes you thinkit's because they don't like
you.
Truth is that these peoplereally don't like themselves
(49:04):
much.
Inside they feel frustrated,maybe angry because they don't
believe life worked out for themthe way that they hoped, so
instead of trying to changetheir ways, they instead take it
out on you.
James chapter three versesixteen reveals the truth about
these people, for where envy andself-seeking exist, confusion
and every evil thing are there.
(49:26):
Paul in Romans chapter two verseeight also reveals this to us,
but to those who areself-seeking and do not obey the
truth but obey unrighteousness,indignation, and wrath.
In most cases it's ego, reallythat compels people to great
fear and intimidation.
These are people who have turnedaway from the truth that we read
(49:48):
in first Peter chapter five,verses six and seven.
Therefore, humble yourselvesunder the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in duetime, casting all your care upon
him, for he cares about you.
When someone tries to instillfear or intimidation against
you, don't let their anger pressdown on you because it's not you
who they're angry with.
(50:09):
Again, they're angry atthemselves over what they see
when they look at their life.
James chapter one versesnineteen and twenty explains
exactly what these people arecreating.
So then, my beloved brethren,let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath,for the wrath of man does not
produce the righteousness ofGod.
(50:29):
There's no doubt that our worldis filled with a growing number
of people seeking to create fearand intimidation, mentioned
before, work location, schools.
It's not limited to those twolocations, obviously, stores,
hospitals, the roads we driveon.
Too many people are too easilytriggered into anger, and that
leads them to respond withcreating fear and intimidation.
(50:52):
If it feels like there are morepeople like this than ever
before, those who know God'sword shouldn't be surprised
because we have been warnedabout these times.
Jesus alerts us to this inMatthew chapter twenty four,
verses ten through twelve, andthen many will be offended, will
betray one another, and willhate one another, and many false
prophets will rise up anddeceive many because lawlessness
(51:15):
will abound, the love of manywill grow cold.
We're also given this warning inSecond Timothy chapter three
verses one through four, butknow this that in the last days
perilous times will come, formen will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money,boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,unthankful, unholy, unloving,
(51:36):
unforgiving, slandering withoutself control, brutal despisers
of God, traitors, headstrong,haughty lovers of pleasure,
rather than lovers of God.
I know that sounds like a heavyload that we're being challenged
by, but as children of God wealso know that He will lighten
our load.
Jesus makes this promise to usin Matthew chapter eleven,
(51:59):
verses twenty eight throughthirty.
Come to me all you who labor andare heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you willfind rest for your souls, for my
yoke is easy, and my burden islight.
At the same time, God will allowus to face challenging times in
(52:21):
order to strengthen us.
Think of it as like the personwho goes to a gym to build
physical strength.
They reach for the five poundweights or the fifty pound
weights.
Same goes for us spiritually, asRomans chapter five, verses
three and four explains.
And not only that, but we alsoglory in tribulations, knowing
that tribulation producesperseverance and perseverance
(52:43):
character and character hope.
James chapter one verses twothrough four adds this My
brethren, count it all joy whenyou fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of yourfaith produces patience, but let
patience have its perfect workthat you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.
(53:04):
We're not to just read the Wordof God, but to live it.
We are called on to live it inways that brings his light into
this world that Satan hascovered in his darkness.
We are to live God's word in anoutward way that will awaken
those who try to project thatfear and intimidation I'm
talking about.
God directs us to this with hiswords in Isaiah chapter fifty
(53:24):
five verse eleven.
So shall my word be that goesforth from my mouth, it shall
not return to me void, but itshall accomplish what I please,
and it shall prosper in thething for which I sent it.
Does that sound like a massiveresponsibility to you?
Then you're fully equipped.
(53:45):
Jesus confirms this in Johnchapter seven, verse thirty
eight.
He who believes in me, as thescripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers of livingwater.
As I said at the start of thisteaching, there are way too many
angry, hostile people in ourworld today.
God isn't asking you to givecounsel to all of them.
(54:05):
But one would be a great start.
If you know his word, then youcan do the work that Jesus
assigns to us in Luke chaptereleven, verse twenty-eight.
But he said, More than that,blessed are those who hear the
word of God and keep it.
Don't forget to check out ourwebsite, issues and ideas
radio.com.
That's where we have moreinformation about the guests who
(54:27):
are here on the show with ustoday.
And if you've been listening tous via your favorite podcast
platform, make sure yousubscribe and follow us.
Always grateful and thankful foryour time and attention.
Always fun to have you alone forthe ride each and every time.
Look forward to being with youright here this time next week
for our next edition of Issuesand Ideas.
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