Here's a Johnny stocking stuffer for our wonderful readers

Here's a little something for your stockings tonight from Johnny. A video stocking stuffer if you will as a thank-you to all our terrific readers as a small token of our appreciation that you're out there and hopefully enjoying what you read (Johnny has one of the original Romper Room mirrors so yes, he can see you when you drop by).

Tidbits from far and wide today

Tidbits, not to be confused with 'Timbits" the tasty little donut holes at Tim Horton's.

* A New Jersey principal is being shamed herself by the local parents after she tried "slut-shaming" young girls by telling them they were forbidden to wear *gasp* strapless dresses to an 8th grade event.

* Jersey City says they are working hard on clearing up the backlog and tearing down abandoned buildings throughout the city. If you're wondering when you last heard about such a plan it was 2009 a few weeks before they mayoral electi -- HEY, what a coincidence!

* You citizen will soon be able to pull out your smartphone and hail a cab in NYC. The temporary injunction has been lifted so this brave new world of cell phone e-hails is on the way.

* No Fleet Week this year. And we all has a sad.

* Finally today the worst President in American history dedicates his presidential libarry in Texas. No word on if one of the two books will be My Pet Goat.

If you wanna know what's REALLY happening in NYC, who would you ask?

Well of course you'd ask a cab driver. These guys and gals have their fingers SO on the pulse of the city. Reddit interviewed a cab driver who told some pretty amazing stories of the big city. One story you won't want to miss is what kind of customer makes him intentionally TRY to hit potholes.

Click the link to Gothamist and read what is a very interesting interview.

It is as official as official can be -- NYC has chosen the cab of the future and boy is it lacking

For whatever reason Mayor Bloomberg and the NY TLC have decided that the taxi of tomorrow is the Nissan NV200 no matter that it looks like the awkward minivan of yesterday. We still do not know why NYC decided that the Nissan was the answer (Not handicap accessible) when there was a better choice available from Ford. So thanks to Mayor Mike and the TLC for turning their backs on a US automaker (The Nissan dumpmobile will be built in Cuernavaca, Mexico). The new Nissan "taxis" will be required to replace all retiring taxis as of late 2013.

So what about it Mayor Bloomberg, how is it possible that you are most likely violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not requiring ANY of these new taxis be handicap accessible? ONE percent of NYC taxis are wheelchair accessible. ONE percent. Mayor, have you ever had to hail a wheelchair accessible cab? Try it. They don't run window A/C units out to keep them cool like you get.

The city sure blew this one, and one wonders about just how this too good to be true for Nissan deal came into being. We wonder what came of Marty Markowitz and Bill de Blasio asking Comptroller John Liu to investigate the whole bidding process. That'd be a great question for John Liu as he runs for mayor.

The cost of a taxi in NYC is going up

17% as of today as a matter of fact. This will be the first rise in taxi fare costs in eight years. What does this mean and how will it impact you? Here are some numbers:

The new medallion taxicab rates are as follows:

For trips in New York City:
- $2.50 initial charge (first 1/5 mile);
- $0.50 MTA tax;
- $0.50 per each additional 1/5 mile;
- $0.50 per 60 seconds in stopped or slow traffic;
- $1.00 surcharge from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays;
- $0.50 night surcharge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

Trips to/from JFK International Airport and Manhattan:
- $52.00, plus any tolls and/or tip;
- the $0.50 night surcharge shall not be added to this flat rate;
- the $1.00 peak surcharge shall not be added to this flat rate;
- the $0.50 MTA tax SHALL be added to this flat rate.

Trips to Newark Airport:
- the amount shown on the taximeter plus a surcharge of $17.50; and
- all necessary tolls to and from the destination.

According to the story on Gothamist not every cab is charging the new rates, some may still be charging the old rate until September 30th. Be advised

Quite a few New York City taxi drivers have been taking us for a ride....monetarily

The town with all the big buildings, subways stops and great food has an issue they're probably not crazy about people like us telling you, the NYC taxi pool has been overcharging passengers by $8.3 million over the past two years by setting their meters at a rate that was supposed to be used for trips to the suburbs.

Isn't that kind of them? We're sure none of these cabbies ever told riders they were setting the fare at the higher rate which makes this an el grande ripoff. According to our good friends at the Associated Press:

The city has about 48,300 licensed cabbies, and data shows that 35,558 have illegally charged a rider at least once, the city said.

Super, that's soooo very nice of these slimy bastards. The city has taken one step to rectify this problem and it seems like a good one, now when you get in the NYC taxi and the Taxi TV comes on in the back it will alert passengers; In a few weeks, taxi riders will see an alert on the television screen in the back seat when the higher rate code has been activated.

Mayor Bloomberg is promising hefty fines and other penalties for the over 35,558 offending drivers who pulled this scam. The average overcharge to passengers was $4.45 per trip.

In honor of the Jersey Journal's annual big time spelling Bee...

Johnny's (who was and is a great speller and did very well at these things--a mom with a Master's Degree in English will do that) favorite spelling bee of all time...

Louie DePalma is alive and well and working near Journal Square

Even after passing new rules regarding taxis in Jersey City, JC residents and officials are still having big problems getting cab drivers to follow them at Journal Square.

Last August City Council passed new laws forbidding such practices as filling up taxis with multiple passengers going to different places. They're still doing it. Cab drivers turn down passengers wanting to go only a few blocks. They're also ripping off senior citizens by not offering the senior discount which they should be doing. There is even a report of a cabbie assaulting a passenger. Nice.

It's gotten so bad at least one resident is calling for a boycott. Jersey City's Director of the Division of Commerce Paul Barna says the problem is not imagined. Barna says since they began enforcing the new rules last year over 400 summonses have been handed out to offending drivers.

Good for you Mr. Barna, crack the whip. Keep the pressure on. There's zero excuse for actions like these drivers are trying to get away with. Sometimes a cab driver is the first impression of a city, especially possible in a spot as busy as Journal Square. We'd like our visitors and residents to see more Alex Riegers and less Louie DePalmas...