>New Jersey bill eliminates permit for home-brewing and winemaking Published: Saturday, December 31, 2011, 4:30 AM By Kurt Bresswein | The Express-Times
Tucked into a flurry of late-session voting Dec. 15 in the New Jersey Legislature was a measure cutting home brewers and winemakers a break.
No longer, under the bill awaiting Gov. Chris Christie’s signature, would they need to buy a $20 annual permit.
Chris Sloan, a home brewer from Mansfield Township, admitted he was caught off guard when he learned of the requirement shortly after starting his hobby in 2000.
>Consumer Confidence : Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas
Americans bought record numbers of guns last month amid an apparent surge in popularity for weapons as Christmas presents. By Nick Allen, Los Angeles7:17PM GMT 01 Jan 2012
According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December. Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas.
It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November.
On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history.
>Big Brother :40,000 signed bills: No happy hours in Utah, safer golf carts in Georgia
About 40,000 state laws taking effect at the start of the new year will change rules about getting abortions in New Hampshire, learning about gays and lesbians in California, getting jobs in Alabama and even driving golf carts in Georgia.
Several federal rules change with the new year, too, including a Social Security increase amounting to $450 a year for the average recipients and stiff fines up to $2,700 per offense for truckers and bus drivers caught using hand-held cellphones while driving.
>Mayor Killion simply has the best interest of Ridgewood in the forefront of his mind
Mayor Killion is wonderful, he is dedicated and hard-working. He does not have his own agenda (unlike Aronsohn, who clearly is “me me me,” witness the stupid self-serving article in the Ridgewood News this week).
Keith simply has the best interest of Ridgewood in the forefront of his mind at all times and he most certainly does have backbone.
I do not think we have EVER had a mayor who works harder than Keith. As a retired man, he has the time to devote to the job, and he gives 110%. Previous mayors had full-time jobs and could not give as much as Keith does. I hope he runs again. I will definitely support.
>Help in Locating 1969 Ridgewood High School Ring Owner John Cupak jcupak744@comcast.net 10:50 PM
I am writing in hopes you can help me find the owner of a ring in my possession.
My father was a custodian at Rome Free Academy (“RFA”) in Rome, New York until his retirement. After he passed away, I found a 10-caret gold 1969 high school ring from Ridgewood, NJ in his effects which he probably found while cleaning out lockers at the end of the school year. The ring is by Balfour, and has the engraving “W A W” and the number “2” inside. I suspect the ring was either owned by someone with those initials, or given to a girl at RFA with those initials.
I have contacted Ridgewood High School, but have not heard from anyone.
I contacted Balfour who replied that they do not have records that far back.
I checked classringfinder.com, but could not find anyone who was looking for the lost ring.
I would appreciate any assistance you may possibly provide in helping me locate the owner of the ring.
NJT :On Monday, January 2, trains will operate on an enhanced weekend schedule
On Monday, January 2, trains will operate on an enhanced weekend schedule, with additional trains to and from New York/Hoboken during “peak periods” on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line, Morris & Essex Lines, Montclair-Boonton Line and Port Jervis lines.
Light rail service will operate as follows: Newark Light Rail will operate on a Saturday schedule. River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekday schedule.
Bus schedules vary by route—customers are advised to check their timetables or view holiday service information for Monday, January 2 .
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2011 BY SAMANTHA FELLER STAFF WRITER MAHWAH SUBURBAN NEWS
Mahwah — The Township Council passed a resolution on Thursday, Dec. 15, that would eliminate health benefits for all elected officials beginning in 2013.
According to the resolution, elected officials who don’t receive benefits will no longer have the option to. However, the two council members who currently receive benefits — Lisa DiGiulio and John Spiech — will continue receiving them through the end of next year.
Six members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, with an abstention by Spiech, at around 12:30 a.m. after an executive session. Before the executive session, Council President John Roth had said the governing body would not reconvene afterward.
Mayor William Laforet had voiced the lone objection to the resolution, saying he wanted the council to eliminate health benefits for all elected officials immediately.
>GOP hopefuls have been thoroughly queried on a laundry list of issues Yet, the man they hope to defeat next November has rarely been asked by news reporters about many of these issues. By Richard Benedetto – December 30, 2011
Over the past five months, the Republican presidential candidates participated in 13 debates where they fielded dozens of penetrating questions on every major issue facing the nation, and some not so major.
The nationally televised and/or Internet-streamed forums each drew an average of 5 million to 6 million viewers, along with breathless wall-to-wall coverage, commentary and criticism from the news media, radio and TV talk shows, Internet blogs and partisan websites.
Indeed, the GOP hopefuls have been thoroughly queried on a laundry list of issues ranging from immigration problems to the faltering economy, Iran’s nuclear program to trade deficits with China, the intricacies of climate change to strategies to combat terrorism, exploding government regulations to skyrocketing public debt, plus some uncomfortable questions about their pasts and their personal lives.
Yet, during all that time, the man they hope to defeat next November has rarely been asked by news reporters about many of these issues. Since August, President Obama has held only one formal White House news conference. That came on Oct. 6, nearly three months ago. It lasted 74 minutes, shorter than any single Republican debate, and the president was asked 17 questions, most of them softballs on the economy and his latest legislative proposals to create jobs.
>Obama’s Signing Statement on NDAA: I have the power to detain Americans… but I won’t Aaron Dykes Infowars.com January 1, 2012
As Americans look upon the treacherous legislation passed under NDAA 2012, it it should first be remembered that the very bill President Obama threatened to veto was controversial due to the language the Obama White House itself pressured Congress to add to the bill, according to Sen. Carl Levin.
Second, signing statements are not law, and are not a Constitutional power granted to the executive branch; any reassuring (or troubling) language within has no binding status– though it may shed light on the intent/character of the chief executive. However, the statement itself does not indicate any deviation of intent from the law as written and signed.
>The spectre of 1932: How a loss of faith in politicians and democracy could make 2012 the most frightening year in living memory By DOMINIC SANDBROOK Last updated at 10:47 AM on 31st December 2011
The dawn of a new year is usually a time of hope and ambition, of dreams for the future and thoughts of a better life. But it is a long time since many of us looked forward to the new year with such anxiety, even dread.
Here in Britain, many economists believe that by the end of 2012 we could well have slipped into a second devastating recession. The Coalition remains delicately poised; it would take only one or two resignations to provoke a wider schism and a general election. But the real dangers lie overseas. In the Middle East, the excitement of the Arab Spring has long since curdled into sectarian tension and fears of Islamic fundamentalism. And with so many of the world’s oil supplies concentrated in the Persian Gulf, British families will be keeping an anxious eye on events in the Arab world.
