As we look back on the past year on this Thanksgiving Day, there are many blessings we can count.
As we look back on the past year on this Thanksgiving Day, there are many blessings we can count.
On the economic front, we can thankfully see a turnaround in jobs as the Great Recession recedes into the history books. In the spring, New Jersey could boast adding 3,400 jobs to the private sector. A good many of those jobs were created with the opening of the Amazon.com distribution center in Robbinsville.
The improved economy helped New Jersey accomplish a rare milestone: meeting or surpassing revenue projections. The state is expected to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpected taxes this year and next.
Continuing on an economic theme, taxpayers in Fieldsboro hopefully will get a break now that the borough has decided to disband its three-position police force. And Hamilton could see some nice tax benefits if the movement to consolidate fire districts comes to fruition.
Speaking of Hamilton, residents there received very good news this year when they learned that the crime rate for 2014 dropped to its lowest level since the township began keeping such records in 1977.
MORE: New Jersey tax collections exceed governor's expectations
It also was a good year for foodies. Competing Pork Roll festivals in Trenton drew large crowds, proving that you can never have too much of the delicacy that originated in New Jersey's capital city. The city also offered fast-food aficionados a chance to enjoy fine finger food at two back-to-back food truck festivals.
Lovers of bivalve mollusks, and there are many, could get their fill at the 16th annual Oyster Bowl competition in Princeton.
And let's not forget the ever-popular spring Shad Festival in Lambertville that celebrates the annual return of the bony member of the herring family.
The comeback of the shad migration in the Delaware River is but one of the environmental achievements we can put on our thanks list. We will be able to breathe a little easier after it was announced earlier this year that a foul-smelling landfill just across the river in Bucks County will shut down by 2017.
Birders can now crow about having a better chance of spotting the majestic bald eagle, our national bird, which once was on the verge of extinction in New Jersey. In January, we learned that the bald eagle population continued its comeback last year with more than 200 born in the state.
And green kudos to HomeFront, which installed 275 solar panels at its new Family Campus in Ewing. That will help the organization lower electric bills and use those savings to help families dealing with homelessness.
MORE: Residents near Pennington Circle oppose New Jersey DOT's plans
On the travel front, motorists got some good news this year. The state began preliminary work to make safety improvements on the always challenging Pennington Circle in Hopewell Township; and a traffic light was approved for the "most dangerous intersection" in Robbinsville at Sharon and Gordon roads.
Thankfully, the list of blessings could go on and on. One only has to look around to find them.
So, on this happy occasion, we wish all a happy Thanksgiving.