Volleyball tournament to benefit Margaret ‘Rovito’ Hernandez

A volleyball tournament will be held on Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting Margaret “Rovito” Hernandez in her battle with breast cancer.

The tournament will take place at Weehawken Waterfront Park and Recreation Complex. There is a 64-team bracket, six players per team. Registration is $25 per player. Winners will receive prize packages, championship trophies, and t-shirts.

To register, contact Joe Rovito at 201-388-1956.

UBS to get $27M tax credit to stay in Weehawken, JC

On Thursday the state of New Jersey said they would award a $27 million tax break to UBS Financial Services in order to keep 2,000 employees in Weehawken and Jersey City instead of leaving the state.

According to a report in the Record of Hackensack, UBS, headquartered in Switzerland, told the state Economic Development Authority that it was considering moving to Tennessee, Connecticut, and New York City.

The six-year grant of $4.5 million per year was granted under the Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant, which provides tax credits of $2,250 per job for companies considering leaving.

The company must agree to keep the jobs in the state for at least five years.

Weehawken’s officers are located at Lincoln Harbor on the waterfront.

Incidentally, the credit is a different kind than the $102 million credit extended to Panasonic recently to keep the company in the state. The company recently said it would move from Secaucus to Newark. Secaucus officials complained because they believed it was unfair to reward a company for leaving their town. Newark is one of a few towns that are included as destinations in the state's Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit law, so Panasonic was able to get that kind of credit because it is moving to Newark, but not if they stayed in Secaucus.

Two upcoming trips planned for Weekenders

The Weehawken Weekenders are planning two trips in August including “Lucy I’m Home,” a madcap tribute to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lunch and transportation included for this comedy show at The Royal Manor on Aug. 3. Bus departs from Pathmark lot. Ticket price of $45 per person includes everything.

The Weekenders also still have tickets available for the New York Yankees versus the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 23 for $26 per ticket. Attendees can go on their own or take the group bus; transportation is included from the Pathmark lot. The bus will leave at 4:30 promptly. For further information about either event please call the Senior Center at (201) 319-6060.

Fares to remain the same after NJ Transit approves increased budget

NJ Transit’s Board of Directors approved a $1.9 billion operating budget and a $1.16 billion capital budget July 13 for the 2012 fiscal year at a meeting held in Secaucus Junction. Fares will remain stable while NJ Transit focuses on paying down debt.

The operating budget is $85 million higher than last year’s, according to news reports. Chief Financial Officer Kim Vaccari told the Star Ledger that the agency has been funding only its most critical needs, but faces significant increases in the cost of diesel fuel (NJ Transit consumes 36 million gallons a year) and health care.

She said the agency will even have to pay $3 million more to add a day of service because 2012 is a leap year.

The budget also includes spending on new buses, rail cars, dual-powered locomotives, and improvements to the Ridgewood station. The board of directors will also consider stopping the practice of non-union employees cashing out unused sick time.

The board reviewed the first customer satisfaction survey, just released, which asked customers to rate the agency on a scale from zero to 10 for various categories including service schedule and fares. The overall results were mixed: for example, the agency scored a 7.0 for “payment options” and a 4.2 for “on-time performance.” The survey was conducted online among 19,000 customers.