August Sun, 1995
QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: MOBILITY AND SOCIABILITY
While there is pessimism about the overall quality of life in New Jersey, most residents plan to stay in the state. Overall, 7-in-10 residents feel there is increasing anger about the quality of life in New Jersey. However, half say New Jersey residents rate their quality of life the same as people in other states. In the past decade there has been a 12 percentage point decline in the percentage who say the state has become a better place to live.
July Sun, 1995
SUMMER FUN: THE VIEW FROM NEW JERSEY
New Jerseyans are planning to enjoy a wide range of different summer activities. The most popular ones are picnics and barbecues, visits to parks, and trips to the beach. Fewer state residents expect to play golf, enjoy tennis, attend a New Jersey farm team baseball game, or coach youth athletic teams.
June Sun, 1995
DIVORCE SETTLEMENTS IN NEW JERSEY REFORMS AND PERCEPTIONS
The New Jersey State Legislature is currently discussing a range of different reforms for divorce settlements. Two of the six possible reforms reviewed by state residents get overwhelming approval: 9-in-10 support giving both parents equal access to their children's records, and 8-in-10 approve of requiring divorcing parents to develop a parenting plan. Also, a majority of New Jerseyans approve of having penalties for parents who interfere with the visitation rights of the non-custodial parent (66%), including alimony as part of the custodial parent's income before deciding on the amount of child support payments (59%), and allowing alimony to be directly withdrawn from the non-custodial parent's paycheck (57%). Less than a majority — about 1-in-3 — state residents approve of automatically cutting off child support payments at age 18 even if the child is attending college.
June Sun, 1995
POSITIVE WHITMAN LEGISLATIVE RATINGS STABLE NEITHER PARTY HAS AN EARLY ADVANTAGE IN 1995 ASSEMBLY RACES
Governor Christie Whitman's positive job performance ratings remain stable at just above 50 percent. And positive ratings for the New Jersey State Legislature are consistent with a year ago with about 1-in-3 state residents giving excellent or good evaluations.