CasaSugar

Whitney Houston Lists Her Round House

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:57:15 -0700

Whitney Houston has put her 12,561-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-and-one-half-bath Mendham, NJ, house on the market for $2.5 million. The most notable element of the house, which was featured on her short-lived reality show Being Bobby Brown, is that it's entirely round. It also has soaring ceilings and beautiful natural light, but if you have a thing for angles, this house won't do. According to the listing, it was built in 1992, while Real Estalker says Houston snapped up the mansion at the height of her fame in 1987. But regardless, it looks pretty '80s to me! I do like her Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired glass panes, but the vertical blinds, peach-colored décor, and drapey window valances are beyond tacky. Take a look at the photos, and tell me what you think when you read more.

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City Officials Fail to Prevent Porn Star Invasion

TresSugar — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:00:00 -0700

The Exxxotica Expo opened today in Edison, NJ, for the second year in a row, meaning that blushing city officials failed in their attempt to prevent the porn convention from coming to town.

The city, hell-bent on keeping local fans from meeting their favorite porn stars, passed an ordinance that prohibited sexually oriented products at gatherings within 1,000 feet of a school, church, hospital, or playground. Only problem? The convention is being held more than 1,000 feet from any of those sites. Score one for the porn stars.

The city's focus on the annual convention borders on an obsession. It's become a major issue in the town's mayoral race, and one candidate produced ads that say: "Mayor Candidate Says YES to PORNO!" The candidate under fire for not getting on board the anti-porn convention train responded by saying, "No, it's not something that I would personally approve of. By the same token, I don't think we should be foisting our personal values upon everyone else, unless they're harmful.”

Do you agree, or would you be bothered if a porn convention came to town?

How to Make a New Jersey Sloppy Joe

partysugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:50:45 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, Brian Sugar, came to my desk with an incredibly giddy look on his face. He had purchased 10 pounds of turkey and 10 more of pastrami, quarts of coleslaw and Russian dressing, and countless loaves of Rye bread. He was going to make a "New Jersey Sloppy Joe." According to Mr. Sugar, in New Jersey, a sloppy joe isn't the common combination of ground beef and juicy tomato sauce, it is rather, a wet sandwich somewhere between the classic Reuben and a pastrami sandwich. Intrigued, I followed him to the conference room where a makeshift assembly line was set up. Naturally, I had to document the technique to share with you. To learn how to make Brian Sugar's New Jersey Sloppy Joe, simply start clicking!

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Top 5 Most Dangerous Cities List Puts New Orleans at No. 1

CitizenSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:30:45 -0800

With a murder every 40 hours, New Orleans crime rate is hard to beat. The latest City Crime Rankings looked at reported incidents of six major crimes to determine the most dangerous dwellings in the US. With a population of only 250,000 that changed drastically after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans came out on top.

Rounding out the list, the top-five cities with the highest crime rate include:

New Orleans, LA
Camden, NJ
Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO
Oakland, CA

The FBI warns that ranking cities head-to-head fails to paint a realistic picture. In addition, local mayors and law enforcement officials maintain that such a superficial ranking irresponsibly misuses crime data by ignoring complex factors. Do you think rankings of the most dangerous cities help hold law enforcement accountable or are they counterproductive?

Source

Coveted Crib: Eli Manning's Jersey Digs

CasaSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:00:49 -0700

Electronic House recently toured the home of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his wife Abby in Hoboken, NJ (although he's actually a New Orleans boy), which is decked to the nines in the latest technologies. Although the condo is decidedly high-tech, it's also quite understated, traditional, and sophisticated. To see for yourself, check out this slideshow. Source

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New Jersey Law to Require Organ Donor Decision, Education

LibertySugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:00:37 -0700

Ever thought of being an organ donor? Well pretty soon New Jersey drivers will be forced to confront that question - a new law will require drivers to say yes or no to organ donation.

Under the "New Jersey Hero Act" those who say no will have to review information about it, and check a box that says: "I have reviewed the importance of organ donation.” Individuals who can't decide may designate someone else to decide for them (that's a lot of pressure!). Hoping to dispel myths, the law also includes mandatory organ donation education in New Jersey high schools, and colleges will have to provide information at campus health centers.

Currently 24.5 percent (1.75 million) of New Jersey drivers authorize organ donation. To find out how many people need transplants, and how this law could go even further, read more.

Estimates show that 99,000 Americans (3,050 in New Jersey) need organ donations, and 85,000 Americans have died since 1995 while waiting.

Some may think this law, the first of its kind in the US, guilt-trips residents into consenting to organ donation; but, I can imagine a law that goes even further - what if donation was automatic, unless otherwise objected to? One could argue that by requiring the expressed prior consent of the deceased, we condemn others to unnecessary death. Even so, this new New Jersey law that requires some decision seems to blend education, responsibility, and respect for everyone involved.

Source

Americans Drive Much, Much Less - and Roads Are Suffering

CitizenSugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:45:38 -0700

Well, you know what they say, you can't win for losing. "They" would be my mom, and I just realized that doesn't actually make sense. But! In the world of gas, doing good is coming back to haunt us. The steep gas prices and/or environmental concern led to 1.4 billion fewer highway miles driven by Americans in April this year than the same time last year, so says the Department of Transportation.

It's the sixth consecutive monthly drop in miles driven and is more than three times larger than the drop from March 2007 to March of this year, which was 400 million fewer highway miles. Yay for us conserving and all that, right? Not if you want nice roads and no traffic when you do drive. Less driving = less gas purchased = fewer taxes on gasoline, which go to fund the federal Highway Trust Fund that gets 18.4 cents per gallon from gasoline, and is used to improve the roads. Sigh. To see tiny cars come out of a vending machine, read more.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters also said sales of midsize SUV fell 38 percent last month compared with last year. The love of tiny autos did lead to the creation of these amazing Smart Car vending machines, so there's that.

And when you do buy gas, you might want to bring your own measuring cup. In New Jersey, 350 gas stations have received tickets for cheating customers out of the full amount of gas they purchased.

Do we need to come up with an alternate way to pay for roads? Or are we just heading away from cars altogether?

Source

Teen in New Jersey Torches Fellow Student's Turban

CitizenSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:00:59 -0700

A high school senior was in court yesterday on charges of arson and criminal mischief after he was charged with setting fire to a fellow student's turban.

Authorities say Garrett Green set a 16-year-old junior's turban alight with a cigarette lighter during a fire drill last week. The Sikh student suffered patches of burnt hair but was not seriously hurt.

The culturally insensitive act came with some big consequences. In addition to legal proceedings, school officials are banning the high school senior from campus and won't be allowed to attend prom or graduation at the school just east of Trenton. The district will give the 18-year-old home schooling instead.

The turban-wearing student was a Sikh. Sikhism calls for long hair on men who commonly wear turbans. Is this just an isolated incident of schoolyard mischief or dangerous religious intolerance? Though Turkey has banned and then reallowed the wearing of headscarves in schools, should schools have a more neutral dress code? Are articles like turbans detrimental to a learning environment?

Source

Should Wives of Scandal Stand by Their Men?

LibertySugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:52:51 -0700

Whether their husbands are denying illicit affairs or asking for forgiveness, the wives of politicians wrapped up in scandals always seem to stand - literally - by their men.

Today, while I was watching New York Governor Eliot Spitzer briefly apologize to his family and the public for his involvement in a prostitution ring, I couldn't help but imagine his wife's humiliation. It always strikes me as cruel to make a woman who's been betrayed by infidelity, stand next to her husband for the sake of making him look better. Perhaps they're too in shock to protest serving as a political tool? Or maybe they're just used to it, and take it as part of life in the public eye.

Cindy McCain did it after the Times's musings about her husband's ties to a lobbyist recently, and Larry Craig's wife stood by after her husband's bathroom run-in last summer. In 2004, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announced his resignation and love affair with a male aide. His wife stood by his side. I don't know if it's just me, but in cases like these I can't help but feel mortified for the silent partner made to stand by, basking in her husband's shame.

What's your reaction? Can you imagine doing it?

Seven Year Old Caught With Crack Cocaine. Are You Shocked?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:28 -0800

In Trenton, NJ, yesterday police said a 7-year-old boy brought 2.5 ounces of crack cocaine to school.

The boy and his 10-year-old sister both attend Parker Elementary School. The children are now in the care of the Office of the Division of Youth and Family Services. The parents, along with two of the children's uncles were arrested immediately.