N.J. governments face risk on ‘backup’ debt, Moody’s says
New Jersey local governments may be exposed to more credit risk as they guarantee the debt of other entities, a strategy that led to default in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Moody’s Investors Service said.
Local governments that pledged their full faith and credit to guarantee the general-obligation debt of enterprises and other municipalities was 7.9 percent of all Moody’s-rated New Jersey local-government issuance in 2008. In 2011, that figure increased to about 29 percent, Moody’s said in a report today. (Young and Chang, Bloomberg)
GIANT FLEA MARKET – GREAT BUYS! SATURDAY, MAY 5, 10AM-4PM Ridgewood’s Old Paramus Reformed Church Barrier-Free Education Building 660 E. Glen Ave. at Rte. 17 South Bake Sale/Refreshments/ Lunch available
Arts and Craft Street Fair – Sunday, May 6th
Sunday, May 6th from 12 Noon to 5PM (Rain or Shine), the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce will sponsor an Arts and Crafts Street Fair on East Ridgewood Avenue starting at Maple Avenue and ending at Oak Street. Lots of activities for children and families. Enjoy the CRAFTS, MUSIC and FOOD!!!
RIDGEWOOD MUNICIPAL ELECTION – TUESDAY, MAY 8th
The Municipal Election, to be held on May 8, 2012, will elect three Councilmembers to the Village Council. There are six candidates running for the three open seats. The polling hours are 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Any questions concerning the Municipal Election should be directed to the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 201 or by email to: hmailander@ridgewoodnj.net
TOUCH A TRUCK – May 10th
Thursday, May 10th – 9AM to 2PM Memorial Park at Van Neste Square.
Treat your kids to a day of hands-on adventure, featuring an opportunity to climb on board to explore the trucks that touch our lives. They’ll also have the change to learn directly from Ridgewood’s emergency and public works workers about the exciting work they perform every day. Am added bonus, they’ll be a Big Wheel Rodeo among the planned interactive activities throughout the park for children of all ages. Don’t miss this great opportunity to Experience Ridgewood!
Ridgewood Sidewalk Sale Days – May 10, 11,12
Chamber of Commerce Sale Days in Ridgewood – Thursday, May 10, Friday, May 11 and Saturday May 12…Shop in Ridgewood for bargins and enjoy the wide variety of foods offered in the restaurants! Experience Ridgewood!
Ridgewood Concert Band Featuring Bucky Pizzarelli – Guitar and Dana Nix
A Spring Fling – May 11 at 8PM at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 south Monroe St, Ridgewood, NJ. Program Highlights – Stomp, Donald Grantham, Irish Tune (Danny Boy), Percy Grainger; Country Gardens, Percy Grainger, Roma, Valerie Goleman; Selections from Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber; and El Capitan March, John Philip Sousa. Tickets at the Door $20; $15; $7 Information call 201/493-9030 or www.ridgewoodband.org
Project Pride Day – May 12th
Project Pride Committe will plant the large containers with a wide variety of colorful flowers for the summer season on Saturday, May 12th starting at 9am at the Clock tower at Van Neste Square. If you are able to volunteer and help, please call 201/670-5560 for more details.
Mayfair at Travell School Calling all Kids!
Don’t miss this year’s Mayfair at Travell School Saturday, May 12th from 10:00am-2:00pm. Fun for kids of all ages! Games, prizes, inflatables, food and more! Watch 5th graders get soaked in the Dunk Tank or maybe win a treat in our popular Cake Walk! New games added every year! Don’t miss this fun-filled annual Spring Event as we help raise funds for our school.
New Jersey’s High School Graduation Rates Drop
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
By Colleen O’Dea : NJ Spotlight
The New Jersey Department of Education Tuesday released 2011 graduation rates for high schools that were largely lower, in some cases significantly lower, than prior years.
Statewide, the rate calculated using the “four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate” formula now required by the federal government was 83 percent for last spring’s high school seniors. For the Class of 2010, the graduation rate — largely self-reported by schools — was 94.7 percent for New Jersey.
Last year, nine of the state’s 392 schools had perfect graduation rates. That’s almost 90 percent fewer than the 82 schools that reported all seniors had graduated in 2010. Similarly, four schools reported that fewer than half of students graduated in 2010, while last year, that number had risen to a dozen.
One in seven thinks end of world is coming: poll
By Chris Michaud
NEW YORK | Tue May 1, 2012 6:46pm EDT
(Reuters) – – Nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify it will happen in 2012, according to a new poll.
The end of the Mayan calendar, which spans about 5,125 years, on December 21, 2012 has sparked interpretations and suggestions that it marks the end of the world.
“Whether they think it will come to an end through the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, one in seven thinks the end of the world is coming,” said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global Public Affairs which conducted the poll for Reuters.
The “other Blog”, who by all accounts has been the Paul Aronsohn “mouthpiece” has joined the ranks of PA defectors.
Straight from their BLOG: Others say Aronsohn threw Mayor Keith Killion under the proverbial bus in his quest to become mayor, a calculated power play to overtake Killion, Deputy Mayor Tom Riche and Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh and oust Village Manager Ken Gabbert, whom they say he’s obsessed with.
The “other BLOG” has previously refused to tell both sides of the Aronsohn story. Those in the know, understand his deceitful, calculating and self-absorbed ways. It looks like James is finally recognizing that a PA defeat is in the making and has been summarily ‘spanked” by his editor and told to hedge their bets by jumping off the PA bandwagon. Insiders, who always assumed that PA would at least get re-elected as an incumbent, now fully believe that the “DUMP PAUL” coalition has a substantial chance of defeating PA next Tuesday. Word on the street is that he should be “sent packing:” back to his political pals and their union $. PA may have called for a clean sweep and now it looks like he will get exactly what he wished for… with HIM on the end of the broom!!
Survey: N.J. outpaces nation in small-business job growth
New Jersey small businesses hired at a slightly higher rate than the national average last month, though growth remains slow, according to a new survey.
Intuit Inc.released the results of its latest Small Business Employment Index today. The survey, which is based on data from Intuit Online Payroll customers, showed small businesses added about 40,000 jobs in April nationally, for an increase of 0.2 percent. In New Jersey, small business employment grew by 0.3 percent, beating out neighboring states New York and Pennsylvania. (Kaltwasser, NJBIZ)
Can state-subsidized power generation succeed in New Jersey
Within the next couple of weeks, New Jersey should know how its efforts to subsidize new power plant construction in the state have fared.
By May 18, the state will know if any of the three power plants awarded ratepayer subsidies to spur their construction have cleared — energy industry jargon for being granted significant payments to provide capacity to keep the lights on — in the most recent auction held by the operator of the regional power grid. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
State agency boosts utility bills to help finance infrastructure upgrades
Before an unusually large audience, the state Board of Public Utilities yesterday unanimously approved a series of measures to increase monthly bills for millions of gas and water customers — all with the aim of fixing an aging infrastructure used to deliver service to consumers.
In a packed room in the Statehouse Annex, the five commissioners boosted rates for the 350,000 customers of South Jersey Gas by about $10 a year, while they also approved a 5.3 percent increase for the 640,000 customers of New Jersey American Water. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
State business still on the hook for billions in unemployment
Republican lawmakers today painted a rosy picture of the state’s unemployment insurance situation, lauding the governor for “stabilizing” the insurance trust while increasing private-sector jobs.
In a release, five Republican senators touted Gov. Chris Christie’s handling of the state’s employment picture and said New Jersey is on a road to recovery.
“Through a combination of tax reforms, efficiencies, and aggressive prosecution of fraud and abuse, this Governor has fixed the mess he inherited as a result of years of diversions and fiscal irresponsibility by an unchecked Democratic Majority in Trenton,” said Sen. Anthony Bucco, the GOP budget officer. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
Valley Hospital , shouldn’t still be the main issue in this town but it is
Enough already, please rescind the H-Zone so we can tackle other issues. How can we do this without lawsuits? Let me guess, you can’t?
Valley has, and still is, causing this town a lot of pain and taxpayers money! Do they really have $350 Million dollars to get what they want? Wow, we as a town need to and must unite against Valley’s over expansion. Pascack Valley, re-opening should make them renew within their structure now! They are putting themselves in danger and will blame us if they did fail. Which they won’t. They are a non-profit, non-taxpaying, trust fund-baby.
They have heard about PILOT but think that’s the person who will be PILOTing only paying victims to their Helipad once they get this McMansion of a hospital. Are you awake Ridgewood? Does over 30-60 years of No, now mean Yes? The H-Zone is there to protect us. The existing Valley structure is already too large for this piece of land. Do not drink the Valley Kool-Aid, we will all die and we can’t reverse this mistake!
The intelligent voters will vote for Shinozuka and Killion only. The people who are making big money off of Valley, are the other candidates. Right Al Pucciarelli? etc, etc
Those who are so vehemently opposed to Graydon as a swimming facility are hysteria-inducing alarmists
Regarding whether Graydon Pool is a swimming facility: it most definitely is! No, it is not sterilized with tons of chlorine or bromine each day, as concrete pools are, and in many ways that may make it better all around for a human body. Why in the world do people think that submerging oneself in water that has been heavily treated with chemicals is “safe?” Yes, of course there are some microbes in Graydon, but the water is tested regularly to ascertain that safe conditions are in place. From what I understand, the water is aerated with diffusers and treated with natural chemicals, making it cleaner than a sedentary lake. Moreover, the natural flow of water from the brook keeps it moving, which keeps the microbe levels lower.
Those who are so vehemently opposed to Graydon as a swimming facility are hysteria-inducing alarmists. For heaven’s sake, such municipal swimming facilities are in use throughout the world. I am a clinical microbiologist and I have never, ever had a concern about swimming in Graydon; we swam in it for many summers when our daughter was growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and now we have the great pleasure of enjoying it once again with our granddaughter. Not once has anyone in my family developed an infection that could have been attributed to swimming in Graydon. Graydon is a lovely placed to spend a summer day; please leave it as is.
Regarding the loss of money, enough already! How much money is spent on electricity to light the sports fields? Every single time a game is played under the lights the Village is “losing” money. I am sure there would be an unbelievable uproar if the Village started charging a fee to those who play the games and those who watch them. Which brings me to my point: why does Graydon have to turn a profit? Indeed, why does it even have to “break even?”
Regarding candidate Hauck’s Monday night quote: “I want to state emphatically for the record that I want to make no changes to Graydon Park. And I’m not interested in building another swimming pool in Ridgewood because we don’t have the funds right now.” This COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS what she stated in her February 21 interview with The Patch, when she said: “ . . . another village-owned clear-water pool would be a nice asset to Ridgewood. A lake is no longer acceptable to people. People want clear-bottom pools. And Graydon is not a clear-bottom pool.” For those voters who wish to preserve Graydon, I would recommend against Ms. Hauck. For those voters who wish to elect candidates who are consistent in their positions on important issues facing the Council, I would recommend against a candidate who cannot even agree with herself.
Village Council Elections: Remember, I started this process by being in FAVOR of Paul
I started this process by initially wanting to support Killion, Shinozuka and Aronsohn. Like most people here, I’m busy and don’t always have the time to spend keeping up with local stuff. I’ve been making a big point to change that lately though –because I feel it’s become very necessary.
Initially , I liked that Aronsohn often seemed the only one questioning things on the VC and so thought it was good to keep him there. I actually believed some of the stuff he said..
I was wrong.
I no longer feel that way. And that’s not just from the Candidate’s Night stuff, it’s the outcome of a much longer process. I did homework, and the more I looked, frankly the less I liked.
That leaves me with a real quandary as to the 3rd seat and who to support for it.
I’m now leaning toward Pucciarelli. He has experience and skills. The Valley situation is a drawback regarding his candidacy, though on the PB he has recused himself from anything involving that issue, honorably so. If Killion and Shinozuka are on the VC with Riche and Walsh and are joined by Pucciarelli, the VC’s existing position on Valley’s current renewal plan would probably prevail. I sure hope so.
After last night, I also sure have new concerns about Aronsohn on the Valley situation too. But though it’s a big one indeed, Valley is not the only issue we face as a Village– far from it. And I have even more concerns about Aronsohn on many other issues too.
So I think all things considered I’ll probably support Pucciarelli for that 3rd seat.
Don’t waste your vote by NOT voting for someone for each seat– that could actually get Aronsohn re-elected. And – at least to me– that would be bad for Ridgewood.
Remember, I started this process by being in FAVOR of Paul.
From my reviewing and studying, he showed me that his way is NOT the right way for me, nor in my view for the Village. .
I actually THANK him for having shown his true colors so clearly and hope others see them as clearly as I do now and vote accordingly. If enough people do, he will no longer be representing us.
Ridgewood Council reviews proposed changes to Graydon Pool
TUESDAY MAY 1, 2012, 10:49 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
With about one month remaining before Graydon Pool’s scheduled opening, village officials pushed forward with discussion over several proposed changes to Ridgewood’s historic swimming park.
During their work session last week, council members reviewed plans to change the hours of operation and privatize the facility’s concession stand, while they received a daunting report of the pool’s current state and overall appearance.
Oil spill in Ridgewood’s Central Business District
Tuesday, May 2, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
( RIDGEWOOD-NJ ) Bergen County Haz-Mat crews and members of the Ridgewood Fire Department and Ridgewood emergency services were called in yesterday to clean up an oil spill in downtown Ridgewood near Van Neste Square on Tuesday morning.
At about 8:30 a.m., Ridgewood police arrived for a traffic detail when the officer spotted a substantial oil spill near the intersection of corner of Dayton and South Walnut streets
The oil spill appeared to began at the top of Dayton and South Walnut streets, moving down Union and Spring Avenue and passing Van Dien Avenue, according to a police officer at the scene.
