Month: June 2011

>Christie’s treasurer blasts N.J. Dems, calls their $30.6B proposed budget ‘unconstitutional,’ ‘irresponsible’

>New Jersey’s landmark bill hailed as ‘model for America’

>By the numbers: N.J. pension and benefit changes

>Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury struggling since Ford Motor Co. discontinued the Mercury brand
Ridgewood Lincoln dealership struggling

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011
BY RICHARD NEWMAN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Mike Smith, owner of Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury, a fixture in downtown Ridgewood for 62 years, says the business is struggling since Ford Motor Co. discontinued the Mercury brand on Jan. 1 and that the automaker is “picking on” him.

The automaker will give him no more than six Lincolns a month, he says, and even those few are hard to sell. Lincoln ranked eighth last year among all luxury brands in sales.

Loyal Mercury customers are trading in their leased vehicles and he has no replacement cars to offer in their price range, so Smith wants to add hot-selling Ford Fusions, Fiestas and Explorers to the showroom, but the manufacturer denied his requests for an additional franchise agreement that would allow him to sell Fords.

Making matters worse, the automaker wants Smith to spend about $1 million on renovations. If he doesn’t, he will lose important cash incentives, making it hard, if not impossible, to compete with other Lincoln dealers on price, he says.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/124693143_Lincoln_dealer__Ford_at_odds__Longtime_seller_says_he_s_being_targeted_in_denial_of_requests.html

>Celebrate the Constitution : Benjamin Franklin


Franklin was born in 1706 at Boston. He was the tenth son of a soap and candlemaker. He received some formal education but was principally self-taught. After serving an apprenticeship to his father between the ages of 10 and 12, he went to work for his half-brother James, a printer. In 1721 the latter founded the New England Courant, the fourth newspaper in the colonies. Benjamin secretly contributed 14 essays to it, his first published writings.


In 1723, because of dissension with his half-brother, Franklin moved to Philadelphia, where he obtained employment as a printer. He spent only a year there and then sailed to London for 2 more years. Back in Philadelphia, he rose rapidly in the printing industry. He published The Pennsylvania Gazette (1730-48), which had been founded by another man in 1728, but his most successful literary venture was the annual Poor Richard ‘s Almanac (1733-58). It won a popularity in the colonies second only to the Bible, and its fame eventually spread to Europe.


Meantime, in 1730 Franklin had taken a common-law wife, Deborah Read, who was to bear him a son and daughter, and he also apparently had children with another nameless woman out of wedlock. By 1748 he had achieved financial independence and gained recognition for his philanthropy and the stimulus he provided to such civic causes as libraries, educational institutions, and hospitals. Energetic and tireless, he also found time to pursue his interest in science, as well as to enter politics.


Franklin served as clerk (1736-51) and member (1751-64) of the colonial legislature and as deputy postmaster of Philadelphia (1737-53) and deputy postmaster general of the colonies (1753-74). In addition, he represented Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress (1754), called to unite the colonies during the French and Indian War. The congress adopted his “Plan of Union,” but the colonial assemblies rejected it because it encroached on their powers.


During the years 1757-62 and 1764-75, Franklin resided in England, originally in the capacity of agent for Pennsylvania and later for Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. During the latter period, which coincided with the growth of colonial unrest, he underwent a political metamorphosis. Until then a contented Englishman in outlook, primarily concerned with Pennsylvania provincial politics, he distrusted popular movements and saw little purpose to be served in carrying principle to extremes. Until the issue of parliamentary taxation undermined the old alliances, he led the Quaker party attack on the Anglican proprietary party and its Presbyterian frontier allies. His purpose throughout the years at London in fact had been displacement of the Penn family administration by royal authority-the conversion of the province from a proprietary to a royal colony.


It was during the Stamp Act crisis that Franklin evolved from leader of a shattered provincial party’s faction to celebrated spokesman at London for American rights. Although as agent for Pennsylvania he opposed by every conceivable means the enactment of the bill in 1765, he did not at first realize the depth of colonial hostility. He regarded passage as unavoidable and preferred to submit to it while actually working for its repeal.
Franklin’s nomination of a friend and political ally as stamp distributor for Pennsylvania, coupled with his apparent acceptance of the legislation, armed his proprietary opponents with explosive issues. Their energetic exploitation of them endangered his reputation at home until reliable information was published demonstrating his unabated opposition to the act. For a time, mob resentment threatened his family and new home in Philadelphia until his tradesmen supporters rallied. Subsequently, Franklin’s defense of the American position in the House of Commons during the debates over the Stamp Act’s repeal restored his prestige at home.


Franklin returned to Philadelphia in May 1775 and immediately became a distinguished member of the Continental Congress. Thirteen months later, he served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He subsequently contributed to the government in other important ways, including service as postmaster general, and took over the duties of president of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention.


But, within less than a year and a half after his return, the aged statesman set sail once again for Europe, beginning a career as diplomat that would occupy him for most of the rest of his life. In the years 1776-79, as one of three commissioners, he directed the negotiations that led to treaties of commerce and alliance with France, where the people adulated him, but he and the other commissioners squabbled constantly. While he was sole commissioner to France (1779-85), he and John Jay and John Adams negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the War for Independence.


Back in the United States, in 1785 Franklin became president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. At the Constitutional Convention, though he did not approve of many aspects of the finished document and was hampered by his age and ill-health, he missed few if any sessions, lent his prestige, soothed passions, and compromised disputes.


In his twilight years, working on his Autobiography, Franklin could look back on a fruitful life as the toast of two continents. Energetic nearly to the last, in 1787 he was elected as first president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery-a cause to which he had committed himself as early as the 1730s. His final public act was signing a memorial to Congress recommending dissolution of the slavery system. Shortly thereafter, in 1790 at the age of 84, Franklin passed away in Philadelphia and was laid to rest in Christ Church Burial Ground.

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers_pennsylvania.html#Franklin

>Sook Pastry

The delicate Korean pastries from my mother’s kitchen had captured my imagination at a young age and set my path in life.” Keum-Sook

Sook began her education in high school, apprenticing in Seoul’’s finest bakeries and patisseries. While learning the craft, she was fascinated with combining pastry styles and flavors from different cuisines.

It took almost a year to renovate the shop.  Our vision was to deliver a rustic, cozy bistro, and to equip the elaborate pastry kitchen with the proper ovens, mixers and sheeters.

Sook Pastry is proud to offer many different pastries, French Style, Breakfast Bake croissants, scones, and danishes.  We also offer a variety of soups, gelatos & sorbets, savory and sweet Crêpes, salads and sandwiches.

Everything is made here, in our kitchen.  We have added a large viewing window, through which customers can watch how everything is being made, right in front of their eyes.

Sook Pastry is open daily from the early morning hours, before 6:00am, into late evening.  Our purpose is for commuters to take their coffee and croissants to the train, and for Diners to enjoy an after dinner dessert.

Open 7 days a week 6am (or before) to 10pm (or after) for our customers. Just let us know if you have any special requests.

Please visit our shop at :

24 South Broad Street
Ridgewood, NJ 07450

P: 201-493-2500
F: 201-493-8500

Email: sook@sookpastry.com

Open 7 days/ Week 6am – 10pm!
Ample Parking Across the Street

>BOE terminates 5 employees


Just days after the close of the school year the BOE  has terminated 5 employees at the same time?   All we know is what we read and it simply states the BOE has received background information .


Any ideas as to what went wrong?  Sounds like something big?

>
Flags at Half-Staff – Frederick Charles Krenrich Jr

FREDERICK CHARLES KRENRICH JR., 65

CARY, N.C. — Frederick Charles Krenrich Jr., 65, of Cary, N.C., passed away on Friday, June 24, 2011, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Passaic, N.J., and raised in Fair Lawn, he resided in Glen Rock, N.J., and Cape Cod before moving to North Carolina. A proud veteran of the U.S. Navy Expeditionary Forces during Vietnam, he was a life member of V.F.W. Post 281 of Fair Lawn. A 1976 graduate of Bergen Community College in Paramus with an associate’s degree in Police Science, Fred earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Administration and Urban Education from William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., where he graduated cum laude in 1978.

Mr. Krenrich’s long and successful career in law enforcement included service with the Village of Ridgewood Police Department from 1972-1989, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, County Court House in Hackensack from 1989-1994, Barnstable County Sheriffs Department in and as a deputy sheriff with Barnstable. His career continued beyond the scope of law enforcement serving as In-School Suspension Supervisor, Remedial English/Social Studies Teacher, Anti-Violence Team Member and Assistant Freshman Football Coach with Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich. Fred was also the proprietor of Daisy’s Olde Fashioned Ice Cream Shoppe in Chatham.

Fred was a life member of Order of Demolay in Ridgewood, member of Fidelity Lodge #113, F & A Masons in Ridgewood and P.B.A Local #221 in Hackensack and a former member of P.B.A. Local #20 in Ridgewood and the Village of Ridgewood Volunteer Fire Department.

Beloved husband of Lonni Schwartz Krenrich. Loving and devoted father of Jeffrey Krenrich and wife Michelle, Barbara Stewart and husband Michael, Stephanie Krenrich and Abby Krenrich Russo. Cherished grandfather of Sam and Lucy Stewart, Emily Krenrich and Isabella and Maggie Russo. Dear brother of Emily Jeanne Decker and late husband David, Betty Stephens and husband Elmer and Violet Susan Emker and husband Hans. He is predeceased by his beloved parents Frederick C. Sr. and Violet E. Krenrich.
A funeral service is planned for Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 11 a.m. at Vander Plaat Colonial Home, 13-31 Saddle River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ, 201-797-3500. Interment will follow at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Newtown, Penn. The family will receive relatives and friends Monday 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Frederick may be made to The Lung Transplant Foundation, P.O. Box 33126, Raleigh, NC 27636-3126, Duke Center for Living, 1300 Morreene Road, Pulmonary Rehab, Durham, NC 27705-4509 or Community Hospice of Greenwood House, 50 Walter Street, Ewing, NJ 08628. For additional information, please visit www.vpfairlawn.com.

>
Linker Chastises Obama and Menendez on Afghanistan

(Ridgewood, NJ): On Thursday, conservative Republican U.S. Senate candidate from New Jersey Ian Linker criticized President Obama’s plan to withdraw from Afghanistan 10,000 troops by the end of the year and another 23,000 by the summer of 2012 just in time for the presidential election against the advice of his military commanders, and Sen. Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) support of Obama’s plan.

“This is a political decision plain and simple. The American people and our men and women in uniform deserve better than this. Withdrawing in such a manner may be popular and it may even save money and lives in the short run, but leaving Afghanistan in such a precarious situation in the east along the border with Pakistan and south could cost us far more if President Karzai’s government falls and the insurgent Taliban fill the void, again allowing al Qaida to use the country as a base to plot terrorist attacks against us,” Linker explained.

Linker said he is “all for ending our mission in Afghanistan but only after we have achieved our goals: The Afghan security forces must be sufficiently prepared to protect the country and the government must be stable enough to survive on its own. Only then can we leave knowing that Afghanistan is stable and closed for business to al Qaida.”

Of course Bob Menendez supports the President’s politically expedient plan to withdraw troops. “We have drained the swamp and our task now is not nation-building in Afghanistan, but ensuring that the swamp does not fill again. We can accomplish that mission with a fraction of the current force.”  Menendez said in an op-ed on June 21, 2011.

Linker responded, “Ensuring the swamp doesn’t fill up again as Bob Menendez suggests absolutely requires that we stay as long as necessary to stabilize the country. Anything less would be patently irresponsible.”

Linker further stated that “withdrawing as the President plans and as Bob Menendez suggests could surrender our sizable achievements in Afghanistan and leave us vulnerable to terrorist attack. The President should spend less time acting as campaigner in chief and defer in this situation to his commanders. Arbitrary withdrawal timeframes will not help us achieve our goals.”

>

>Package of four controversial charter bills to come before Assembly

>