A glimpse at the short-lived victory of EVs a century before debut of first Tesla sedan

EARLY ELECTRIC CARS: About a century before the debut of the all-electric Tesla Model S, the 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47, above, and the 1911 Detroit Electric Model L-1, below, were popular. They are on display at Glenmont, inventor Thomas A. Edison's West Orange estate. The Model 47 had a range of 80 miles between charges at the station visible behind the 4-passenger vehicle, which was driven by Edison's wife.

NO NEED TO CRANK START: Electric cars such as the 2-passenger 1911 Detroit Electric Model L-1, above, were popular with women and physicians, because they were easy to start: Just turn on the batteries. Until, the development of the electric starter, "early gasoline cars had to be started by cranking the engine with a handle in the front of the car," according to the National Park Service. "This took a certain amount of strength and could take some time."

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

WEST ORANGE, N.J. -- I got a good laugh when a park ranger opened the doors to the garage where inventor Thomas A. Edison kept his electric cars.

As the owner of a 2015 Tesla Model S, I have heard the company drum into the head of devotees to charge their EVs overnight in their garages just as they do their smartphones, so they'll reduce the chance of running out of range.

And now, inside the poured-concrete garage at Glenmont, the Edison estate, the park ranger pointed out the charging station the staff used to give Mrs. Edison's 1914 electric car its top range of 80 miles.

"During development testing, one vehicle ran 211 miles on a single charge," according to the National Park Service.

THE EDISONS AT GLENMONT: A 29-room red-brick-and-wood mansion known as Glenmont was the home of Thomas and Mina Edison until the inventor's death in 1931. She remarried and lived there until her death in 1947. Glenmont, part of the oldest gated community in the United States, now is a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.

TOGETHER AGAIN: Thomas and Mina Edison are buried side by side in a simple plot behind their home.

Rechargeable batteries

Edison, who personified the age of invention, experimented for 10 long years before he introduced the rechargeable nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery for electric automobiles in 1910.

But "with [the] demise of electric cars, the battery eventually [was] used in other industrial applications," according to the National Park Service.

The invention of an electric starter for gasoline cars likely was one factor in the death of electric vehicles or EVs. 

The first electric starter was installed in a Cadillac in 1912, ending the need to crank start the gas engine, and within 5 years nearly every gas car had such a starter.

Porsche EV in 1898

That's not a typo: 

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the sports car company that carries his name, developed an electric car called the P1 in 1898.

Around the same time, he created the world's first gas-electric hybrid car, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (Click on the link to "The History of the Electric Car" below.)

Now, Porsche (the car company) has taken the wraps off of the 2020 Taycan, its first all-electric car, and the sticker shock is reverberating around the world ($150,900 to $241,500).

Remember how many auto writers -- so poorly paid they accept bribes of free travel, lodging and fine dining to see new car models -- smeared the Tesla Model S as too "expensive"?

Rise and fall of EVs

"At the turn of the 20th century, the horse was still the primary mode of transportation," according to 'The History of the Electric Car.'"

"But as Americans became more prosperous, they turned to the newly invented motor vehicle -- available in steam, gasoline or electric versions -- to get around.

 "Electric cars didn't have any of the issues associated with steam or gasoline. They were quiet, easy to drive and didn't emit a smelly pollutant like the other cars of the time."

In what must have been a bitter pill to swallow for Edison and others who championed the electric car, it was Henry Ford -- one of Edison's friend -- whose "Model T made gasoline-powered cars widely available and affordable."

"By 1912, the gasoline car cost only $650, while the electric roadster sold for $1,750," and that same year, Charles Kettering "introduced the electric starter," eliminating the need for the hand crank and spurring gas-vehicle sales.

By the 1920s, better roads, cheaper gas, and more and more filling stations hurt electric car sales, and "electric vehicles all but disappeared by 1935,"

READ: The History of the Electric Car

1,093 PATENTS: Thomas Edison earned 1,093 U.S. patents in his lifetime, most for inventions that came from his industrial and research development laboratory in West Orange, above, preserved as Thomas Edison National Historic Park. A poured-concrete battery factory across a side street has been converted into luxury apartments called Edison Lofts.

EDISON'S OFFICE: The 3-story brick building held a research library, machine shops for building models, space for experiments, various research projects and Edison's office, according to the National Park Service.

CREATIVE CAT NAPS: Although Edison's palatial home was only a short distance from the complex, the inventor is said to have napped in his library, above.

RAISING THE HOOD: Edison showing the rechargeable batteries in an electric car. The photo is on the side of a National Park Service van.

CHARGING STATION: I plugged in my Tesla Model S for a few minutes at one of the National Historical Park's two charging stations. The chargers, paid for by BMW, add only 10 miles of range per hour, showing what other EV owners go through when they don't have Tesla's nationwide network of much faster Superchargers to rely on.

ON THE CLOCK: A Chevrolet Bolt EV also was plugged in nearby, possibly by a National Park Service employee.

INVENTOR OF THE LIGHT BULB: A statue of Edison shows him raising his best-known invention, the lightbulb, but he also perfected the phonograph, developed motion pictures, and invented a stock ticker and a telegraph device that sent 4 message at the same time, among many other inventions. 

No longer can Trump dodge House probes leading to impeachment, defeat in election

From Bart van Leeuwen, a freelancer who lives in Amsterdam.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Many Democrats who hate President Trump still oppose the House impeachment inquiry.

They claim the investigation will drown out discussion of the environment, health care and other issues in the runup to the 2020 presidential election.

But the news media -- especially the White House reporters for TV stations -- do such a terrible job of covering issues now.

So, even if the House doesn't pursue impeachment of the worst president in U.S. history, voters would be cheated of any intelligent discussion of which policies are best for the nation and the American people.

The reporters seem to be saying, "Our minds are too small for such weighty matters."

I say let's fully expose the traitorous, criminal behavior of Trump for the entire nation to see, and then turn out to vote in record numbers in 2020 to condemn him to the dustbin of history.

"You can't impeach a dictator," says a Trump supporter in this cartoon from Milt Priggee, a freelance political cartoonist who lives in Washington State. See more of his work at Cagle.com.

Dave Granlund of Cagle.com:  "Trump, do us a favor, get out!" 

"This guy makes me look good," says Granlund, invoking the ghost of President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon resigned rather than face a trial in the Senate after he was impeached by the House is August 1974 for the break-in at Democratic National Headquarters, a scandal and coverup known as Watergate. The impeachment process took about 10 months.

Another great cartoon from Dave Granlund. In 2020, voters will be telling Trump to go to hell.

Repaving of Euclid Avenue in Hackensack is complete, and it's smooth and beautiful

LOOKING GOOD: A mixture of asphalt, stone, sand and gravel never looked as good as they did on Thursday evening, when Euclid Avenue between Summit and Prospect avenues was reopened to traffic after being paved for the first time since the early 1990s. Euclid is one of 11 streets in Hackensack being repaved before the end of 2019.

NO DRIVEWAY BUMP: The layer of asphalt appeared to be a little thicker than the original, judging from the elimination of the "bump" when we drove our cars into the driveway and garage. The other 4 blocks of Euclid Avenue, which ends at Main Street, were repaved several years ago.

JULY 2018: Years of patching and pothole repair left parts of Euclid Avenue looking like this in the summer of 2018, above and below.

YEAR-ROUND POTHOLES: The neglect was evident when potholes hung around throughout the year. Read: Use some of hospital's millions to fix streets

Group trying to save the U.S.S. Ling hope final voyage will be to Kentucky museum

Lewis Palmer, above left, and Joseph Sandstrom, below, speaking to a reporter on Saturday in Hackensack about the effort to save the U.S.S. Ling, a World War II submarine that had been open to visitors in what was once called Borg Park from 1972 to late 2012, when the boat was damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Sandstrom, a police officer who lives in South Jersey, posted more than 20 photos of the sub's damaged interior on Facebook.

Editor's note: I've updated this post by adding a link to an earlier report on how the Borg family, which owned The Record of Hackensack, washed their hands of any responsibility for the U.S.S. Ling.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- "She is rough, but salvageable."

Those encouraging words from Lewis Palmer of Save the USS Ling, posted on Facebook, came after he and others boarded the flooded World War II submarine on Saturday to assess the damage from vandalism and weather, and weigh the prospects of  rescuing the boat.

The ultimate goal of Palmer and his fellow enthusiasts is to move the submarine that has worn out its welcome in Hackensack to the proposed Louisville Naval Museum on the Ohio River in Kentucky, as the museum explains:

 "Our centerpiece ship will be the USS Ling, a Balao-class submarine that was commissioned in 1944, had one patrol and then was used as a training ship until donated to the Submarine Association located in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1972.

"The Ling has been a museum and memorial since then. When Hurricane Sandy struck [in 2012], it left the museum and ship damaged. Vandals have since broken into the submarine, and it is now partially flooded. The museum closed and the ship was left to her demise. 

"Our group is working around the clock to get the submarine and restore her back to as near perfect condition as the day she was launched. She will be the centerpiece of the museum and a memorial to all the sailors who sailed on her, to all the lost sailors of the Silent Service, to the United States Navy, to the United States military and the United States. This museum will operated as a non-profit organization."

On Facebook, Palmer wrote: 

"We are going on no sleep for 2 days and a full day of work. She is rough but salvageable. I will explain more tomorrow after food and sleep." 

READ: First, the Borgs screwed Hackensack;

 now, they've turned their backs on sub veterans

The U.S.S. Ling on Saturday, above and below.

A stroll on Main Street: New restaurants and apartments, but where do you park?

SIGN OF THE TIMES: A sign in the window of Frank's Shoe Repair at 179 Main St. in Hackensack could serve as a theme for the city's ambitious downtown redevelopment.

NOW LEASING: The apartment project at Main and Salem streets is now leasing, according to signs on the building, and on Thursday, a homeless man and woman made themselves at home on one of the new benches. Cap Diner is expected to open in January 2020 with "plans for farm-to-table dining using locally sourced and farm-fresh foods," according to BoozyBurbs.com.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Who doesn't like to eat?

More than a half-dozen new ethnic restaurants opened on or near Main Street this year as work continued to complete nearly a dozen apartment buildings.

Another development in 2019 is that the most ambitious project -- 382 apartments above street-level retail at Main and Mercer streets -- no longer is just a big hole in the ground, where work stopped after damaging an adjacent building in July 2o16.

New parking meters take both coins and credit cards, but to patronize Main Street restaurants and other businesses blocks from free lots on State Street or the municipal garage on Atlantic Street, residents and visitors still have to scramble for parking.

Less parking?

Hackensack may be in the midst of a renaissance, as city officials say, but the long-delayed conversion of Main Street to 2-way traffic is expected to reduce street parking even more.

Other projects include:

• At 150 River St., former headquarters of The Record, the Borgs, who sold the paper to Gannett in July 2016, and their development partners plan to build 654 units in three phases, plus 18,000 square feet of retail.
• On the parking lot near the Midtown Bridge, a building with 374 apartments is planned, and a building with 88 units is going up at 22 Sussex St.
• On the former site of the Oritani Field Club at East Camden and River streets, a developer is finishing a 5-story building with 254 apartments across the street from the Toyota dealer.
• Hackensack, Bergen County and NJ Transit are working on a mixed-use development on the site of the former County Probation Department on River Street. The bus station would be expanded, and the 6-story structure would have 140 apartments and 300 public parking spaces. 
• Two more projects are 389 Main St., where 83 apartments are going up where Main Street turns and connects with State Street; and 435 Main St, where 230 apartments and 5 2-bedroom townhouses are planned.

You can find a complete list on the city's website at Hackensack redevelopment, but many of the so-called fact sheets are woefully out of date.

READ: Ethnic restaurants pop up in Hackensack

MAIN STREET CONSTRUCTION ZONE: Apartment projects stretch from Main and Anderson streets, above -- where 430 Main St. will have 40 1-bedroom apartments -- to Sussex Street, where another building is going up on the former site of the Social Security office.

BIG HEADACHE: 150-170 Main St., a 14-story residential-retail building at Main and Mercer streets, has proven to be a big headache to businesses like Art of Spice, an Indian restaurant that lost parking spaces on Main. In July 2016, pile driving cracked the foundation of a building and day care center next door to the excavation; the day care center was evacuated, and eventually, the building was condemned and torn down.

210 MAIN: The former United Jersey Bank building is being converted into luxury apartments, including 3 duplex penthouses.

CLOSED FOR NOW: Art of Spice at 159 Main St. closed after a fire in an adjacent building, according to a notice on the front door. When the Indian restaurant was open, parking spaces in the rear were far from appetizing so we'd try to find a space on the street or go elsewhere.

OPEN AND SHUT CASE: Yasou Paros, which calls itself a Greek rotisserie, opened in the first week of July on the same block as Art of Spice and served big salads and delicious Greek specialties, but closed sometime this month. On Thursday, a sign on the front door said the store was closed for vacation and would reopen after Labor Day (Sept. 2). Guess what? It's still closed.

THE WOOLWORTH: Across the street from 150-170 Main St., The Woolworth will offer 4,000 square foot of retail topped by 4 floors of apartments.

MORE PARKING IN 2 YEARS? The Alcova Cos., many months behind schedule on completion of 150-170 Main St., has purchased a law office and other businesses on Main Street, above, and plans to tear them down for a parking lot, but tenants have been given 2 years to vacate, one said on Thursday.

PUBLIC ART MURAL: In the Demarest Place Walkway just off Main Street, you'll find artist Damien Mitchell's mural, "Greetings from The Sack," above and below. Presumably, "The Sack" is an abbreviation for Hackensack I am not familiar with despite working at The Record for nearly 30 years before the Borgs moved the paper to Woodland Park, and living here since 2007.

WHY COLTRANE? The mural includes legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, above left. Coltrane once was part of the bebop group led by pianist Thelonious Monk, but didn't play on a Monk tune called "Hackensack," which was recorded in 1954 in a home studio on Prospect Avenue that is long gone.

DON'T LITTER: A colorful reminder not to litter at Main and East Salem streets, above and below.

NOT MUCH LITTER: I didn't see much litter on Main Street, but many of the storefronts are run down or empty, and owners seem to be holding onto them, hoping to make a killing by selling out to a developer.

MAIN STREET VETERANS: V&T Salumeria, above left, one of the oldest restaurants on Main Street, and Galapagos Restaurant survived the decision by the Borg family to move more than 1,000 workers out of Hackensack and close The Record's headquarters in 2009.

TODAY'S SPECIALS: The Ecuadorian specials at Galapagos Restaurant on Thursday included Fish Soup and Cow Feet Soup.

MAIN STREET NEWCOMER: Pho Saigon was opened by a young Vietnamese couple who moved to New Jersey from Queens, N.Y., and renovated the space long occupied by Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles.

WRAPPING IT UP: An appetizer of Crispy Veggie Spring Rolls ($7.99) at Pho Saigon.

Paving program arrives on Euclid Avenue after decades of pothole repairs, patching

MUSIC TO OUR EARS: A 3-man crew from Maisano Construction Co. of Hackensack used jackhammers to remove old pavement and curbing on Euclid Avenue, between Prospect and Summit Avenues in Hackensack, above and below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The sound of jackhammers on Euclid Avenue this morning signaled relief, not annoyance.

The street, which forks as it approaches Summit Avenue, is one of the widest in the city's Fairmount section.

But Euclid between Summit and Prospect avenues has been neglected for nearly 3 decades, and wasn't paved when other blocks between Prospect Avenue and Main Street were repaired several years ago.

Instead, numerous pothole repairs and patches left a minefield of rough and broken pavement for residents to navigate even as they were paying some of the highest property taxes in Bergen County.

Now, replacement of catch basins and the installation of wheelchair ramps at Euclid and Summit precede a long-overdue paving of the block.

Euclid Avenue, from Summit to Prospect Avenues, is one of the 11 streets being repaved by the end of the year, according to the city's Fall 2019 newsletter.

READ: A massive traffic jam ruined our night out

HOW OLD? The work includes the replacement of bricks that could be 100 or more years old. The crew took a meal break this morning, below.

A few of AARP's 'great ways to save' sound stupid, but others may actually harm you

The July/August 2019 issue of AARP Bulletin includes a 10th anniversary list of 99 ways to save money.

Buying cheapest meat and poultry

could affect health of older Americans

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- At first glance, many of AARP's great, favorite or timeless ways to save money seem to make sense.

For example, getting dental work for less from dentist-supervised students at a dental school is a practical way to save money, as I discovered using Hackensack University Medical Center's dental clinic in Hackensack.

But I take exception to AARP claiming you can do so "for a fraction of the cost."

Travel savings

See national parks free is another tip, this one listed under "Travel" in the July/August 2019 issue of AARP Bulletin.

But then you'd have to coordinate your vacation with "free entrance days" listed at nps.org, where you'd find only 5 free days listed, and no free entrance days available in February, March, May, June, July, October or December.

Another travel tip is looking for Restaurant Week promotions "during a slack season for tourism," but again, you'd have to coordinate your vacation to take advantage of the savings.

I've long enjoyed the steep lunch discounts during Restaurant Weeks in Manhattan in winter and summer.

And on a recent 4-day vacation in Miami, I was delighted to discover the Miami Spice restaurant promotion there runs for 2 whole months (Aug. 1 through Sept. 30).

Another travel tip is to use ATMs overseas for the lowest exchange fees on foreign currency, but AARP doesn't mention you can get the best exchange rate by charging your purchases to a credit card with no foreign-currency exchange fee.

Auto savings

"Buy gas on Mondays," AARP says, claiming "it's the cheapest day in 29 states," according to GasBuddy.

What do you do in the 21 other states? Walk?

AARP doesn't tell you Costco Wholesale gas stations in every state sell top-tier gasoline for about 20 cents less per gallon every day, and if you use a no-fee Costco Visa credit card to pay for fuel, you get another 4% back on each dollar.

In New Jersey, you don't have to be a Costco member to use the gas station at warehouses in Teterboro, Clifton and Wayne.

A wildly exaggerated illustration from the AARP article on saving money. No. The money you might save won't come anywhere near filling a real shopping cart.

Food savings

Eating healthy doesn't figure into AARP's tips on saving money in restaurants and at supermarkets.

AARP members are urged to get discounts of 10% at Bonefish Grill on food and non-alcoholic beverages, and 15% on their check at Denny's, but the latter sells mostly crappy, low-quality food, so that's no bargain.

Under "Slow Cooker Savings" on Page 17 of the AARP Bulletin, you are urged "to make tough cuts of meat tender and flavorful," noting "stew meat" averages $5.60 a pound vs. $8.30 for sirloin steak.

But what you save at the market you might have to spend at the doctor's office after many years of eating "mystery meat" raised on harmful antibiotics and growth hormones.

You're also urged to "max out couponing," but the vast majority of grocery coupons are for food of questionable quality or with lots of salt and sugar, and few are for organics or antibiotic-free meat and poultry.

AARP also suggests you only buy organic produce after looking at the annual Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists from the Environmental Working Group.

This advice ignores year-round discounts on organics, wild-caught fish and many other items at Whole Foods Markets, if you are an Amazon Prime member.

And when you use your Amazon Prime credit card at Whole Foods, you get 5% cash back.

Money savings 

The July/August issue of AARP Bulletin repeats advice from Allan Roth, a so-called financial planner, about "a friend with over $200,000 in a bank account that paid no interest."

Roth urges his friend to move the money to a "high-paying ... savings account ... paying 2.25%" and make about $4,500 a year."

Really? How many AARP Bulletin readers have $200,000 just laying around to park in a savings account for an entire year?

Roth's advice is useless to the vast majority of AARP members, and to call him a "financial planner" is a disservice to older Americans who belong to AARP.

And the same exact Roth advice appeared in the December 2018/January 2019 issue of AARP The Magazine. 

It wasn't worth repeating.

And AARP doesn't mention such cash-back credit cards as the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, which returns 6% cash back at supermarkets; or Citi's Double Cash Card, good for 2% back on all your purchases.

Travel advice

Pauline Frommer is quoted as saying "travelers who buy airline tickets on Sundays save some 20% over those who buy midweek, according to a study by the Airlines Reporting Corp.

Gee. How many times have you seen advice to save money by buying airline tickets on Tuesday?

Members' advice

An AARP member in Atlanta, Ga., urges others to "butcher the meat bill" by buying family size packages of mystery beef, pork and chicken.

Again, if you're eating meat and poultry raised with harmful antibiotics and growth hormones, you're health might suffer because you could become resistant to antibiotics prescribed to cure an infection. 

An AARP member in Idaho urges you to do without cable TV by buying a $20 antenna and getting "27 channels for free."

An AARP member in New Mexico claims "our 14 solar panels can produce more electricity than we use," but in the Northeast and many other parts of the country without sunshine nearly every day, 14 solar panels would be far too few.

Another member, this one in Minnesota, says she called the manufacturer after her bathroom faucet corroded within 10 years of use, and she was sent a brand-new faucet free of charge, saving $152.

But she didn't mention most manufacturers only warrant the faucet to the original homeowner.

READ: AARP thinks we're clueless