Mayor Paul Aronsohn’s old boss Jim McGreevey denies rumors of possible return to politics
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey sounded like a man certain about his intentions when asked about rumors flying around his home city that he has been mulling a return to politics after nearly eight years out of the public eye.
“Absolutely not,” McGreevey said Friday.
McGreevey and his longtime partner, Mark O’Donnell, moved to Plainfield in 2006, settling into a breathtaking, ivy-covered Colonial mansion on Prospect Avenue. The former governor had stepped down from that post about two years earlier with the bombshell admission that he is “a gay American,” words he used during a nationally broadcast television appearance in which he revealed his sexual orientation and an intent to resign. (Spivey, Asbury Park Press)
Reality TV bill would prevent N.J. towns from creating a ‘Situation’
While local companies throughout the state see a business boost when reality shows are filmed in their communities, Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (R-Jackson) today announced plans to introduce legislation that would allow municipalities to control the shows’ production.
“Life is more than ‘gym, tanning and laundry’ to communities hosting reality TV shows,” Dancer said in a statement. “The reality is these shows may cost taxpayers money by requiring additional services when cameras are rolling in town and town leaders should have the option to license and regulate if deemed necessary.” (Eder, NJBIZ)
Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit : NJ job program criticized
New Jersey’s signature tax-incentive program, designed to cluster economic growth around transit hubs, has not lived up to its promise and may contribute to “job sprawl,” researchers for the non-profit center Good Jobs First said in a report issued last week.
Researchers looked into how states’ economic-development incentives have fared in targeting job growth, focusing on programs run by California, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey.
They described New Jersey’s 2008 Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit as “noteworthy” nationwide for having a “singular focus on providing incentives to businesses making large investments accessible by transit.” But, citing what they said were a lack of safeguards in the original program rules and newly weakened rules to divert some benefits to suburban areas rather than high-traffic urban centers, the report’s authors concluded that the changes have “perverted the program so badly that it can no longer be considered smarter economic development policy.” (Fletcher, The Record)
Can someone enlighten all of us about Ken Smith property?
September 17,2012
Ridgewood NJ , Readers continue to speculate on the fate of the Ken Smith property. There are lost of theory’s but not many answers .
Who owns it, how is it zoned, are there any concrete plans right now or all speculation? Rumors have it that the person that owns this property is well connected. He is one of the five member of the self appoint parking garage committee. He is also the head of the Library Board and gave a large campaign contribution to our new Mayor. You should see what other names pop up on the Ridgewood Library Board. This is the politics Ridgewood residents wanted.
With Ken Smith Motors closed, I’ve heard the Town of Ridgewood might make a play of Eminent Domain to purchase the property and create a giant parking lot. I believe it may be worth 3 million for the approx. 1.7 acre lot. Should be cheaper than building 2 parking garages in the parts of town the town has discussed.”
I think the price will be higher that is why he published his income. My understanding that the town does not get it for what the property is assessed but rather what is fair and equitable value . Hence the money published in the Ridgewood News. Even with the price of $3 mil then you have to do site remediation because you best better believe that there is oil in the soil from the lifts and what ever else the dump there all those years. Then you have to build that big structure . NJTV money has dried up.
I think the die is already case for the for the plan that is on the table. Deals have been made and promises have to be kept.
We doubt it ,there’s no money in the budget to make such a purchase and having such a huge property off of the tax rolls would prove problematic from a budgeting standpoint.
What seems more realistic at the moment is that All American Ford might be planning to move their used car operation into the Ridgewood property and sell only new cars on Route 17. Looks like work taking place now on the property in terms of painting, spruce up, etc.
Dr. Fishbein reports on Ridgewood Schools revised curricula in over 100 courses
September 15,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , in Superintendent Dr. Fishbein’s Opening of School Report, Dr. Fishbein presented to the Ridgewood Board of Education what he called “many important changes in our curricula and programs” .
Accoring to Dr. Fishbein .” last year, teachers and administrators revised curricula in over 100 courses, most for the purpose of aligning to the newest version of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards or the New Jersey Common Core State Standards. ”
Dr. Fishbein offered the key initiatives in this area are the implementation of a new science program in grades k to 8, continued refinement to math curricula in grades k to 8, and the expansion of the sail program to 12th grade.
New courses at RHS include Forensics, Flash Animation, Project-based Probability and Statistics, NonFiction Creative Writing, Spanish III, and Music Rewind.
Administrators received two days of training on the Stronge Teacher evaluation system in August, and they turn-keyed the information to their teachers on September 4/5. All reports are that it was successfully received.
In addition to implementing the new evaluation system this year, staff will also be working to pilot measures of student growth, which will be required by the NJDOE as part of teacher evaluations next year.
We are also moving this year to a new online formative assessment system for students in Grades 3-8. Measures of Academic Progress, from the North West Evaluation Association, is an adaptive test, meaning that it identifies instructional levels for students in reading and math, helping teachers to match their instruction more closely to individual needs. Administrators received their final day of training on this in August. Staff will begin to evaluate student results on the upcoming professional day in October.
all sourced form the “SUPERINTENDENT’S OPENING OF SCHOOL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, NEW PROGRAMS, FACILITIES UPDATE”
Libyan president: ‘No doubt’ attack ‘preplanned’
By KEVIN CIRILLI | 9/16/12 9:16 AM EDT
Libya President Mohamed Yousef El-Magariaf said Sunday that 50 arrests have been made in connection with last week’s “preplanned” attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.
“The way these perpetrators acted and moved — I think we, and they’re choosing the specific date for this so-called demonstration, I think we have no, this leaves us with no doubt that this was pre-planned, determined,” Magariaf said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“And you believe that this was the work of Al Qaeda, and you believe that it was led by foreigners. Is that what you’re telling us?” CBS host Bob Schieffer asked.
“It was planned, definitely. It was planned by foreigners, by people who entered the country a few months ago. And they were planning this criminal act since their arrival,” Magariaf said.
More details emerge on U.S. ambassador’s last moments
By Arwa Damon, CNN
updated 10:21 AM EDT, Sun September 16, 2012
Benghazi, Libya (CNN) — Three days before the deadly assault on the United States consulate in Libya, a local security official says he met with American diplomats in the city and warned them about deteriorating security.
Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade, told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and security.
He said they told the diplomats that the security situation wasn’t good for international business.
“The situation is frightening, it scares us,” Mabrouk said they told the U.S. officials. He did not say how they responded.
As intermarriage grows among Jews, the High Holidays represent a tricky negoitation.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
BY SACHI FUJIMORI
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
After graduating from Barnard College, Julie Rosendorf did all the right things to find a good Jewish husband, dating the men her parents would approve of. But matters of the heart can take their own course; Rosendorf ended up falling in love with and marrying a college friend, a Catholic from Oklahoma.
Today Julie and Jay Don Johnson, of Franklin Lakes, are raising two boys: Jake, 9, and Jed, 5. Although Jay Don has not converted to Judaism, he’s on board with Julie’s desire to raise her sons in her faith. “I have a strong Jewish identity and I needed a commitment from him that we would raise our children Jewish,” said Julie, who chairs Barnert Temple’s Interfaith Group.
As Rosh Hashana — the Jewish New Year — begins tonight, commencing a 10-day period of spiritual reflection ending with Yom Kippur, a growing number of interfaith families will be navigating the tricky territory of observing the most sacred holidays on the Jewish calendar.
A long-distance move: Relocating to Bergen County
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
BY VIOLET SNOW
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS
THE RECORD
“This is the sixth move my family has made,” says Steve Klipstein, who recently relocated from Leesburg, Va., to Old Tappan with his wife, Julie, and three children. “This one was probably the most challenging because of all the different towns in Bergen County. It was hard to get a sense of where would be the right place for us.”
A long-distance move can be difficult not only because of the buyer’s unfamiliarity with the new locale but also because past expectations may have to change. Luckily, the Klipsteins had both their own strategy and professional assistance.
Working in the automotive industry, Klipstein says, means that “relocation is standard fare.” He has been bounced from Baltimore to Detroit to Dallas to Virginia, and he began working at Volvo’s North American headquarters in Rockleigh this May, commuting to Virginia on weekends.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012, 3:49 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ken Smith Motors, the family-owned new and used car dealership on Franklin Avenue, has closed after more than six decades of business in Ridgewood.
Customers seeking service and other business are being directed to All American Ford Lincoln on Route 17 in Paramus.
Operations at Ken Smith ceased last Friday following the retirement of longtime owner Michael Smith, according to an All American associate who spoke with The Ridgewood News on Thursday morning.
Developer makes adjustments to the Dayton, a multi-family development proposal in Ridgewood
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012, 12:31 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Changes have been made to the application and site plan for The Dayton, a multi-family development proposal that would be constructed at the former Brogan Cadillac site on South Broad Street.
The developer, Garden Homes, expects to formally present those changes to the Ridgewood Planning Board on Tuesday, Sept. 18, according to attorney Thomas Wells.
Representatives for the developer previously appeared before the Planning Board; however, the application was put on hold during the spring and summer months as the village opted to conduct a series of surveys and traffic studies. After several meetings with Ridgewood’s professional staff during the time off, the developer altered some of the plan.
In a Sept. 12 letter to Charles Nalbantian, chair of the Planning Board, Wells listed the “significant changes” that were made. Included on the list were the developer’s contract to acquire the adjacent property on Broad Street, which is commonly known as the Jiffy Lube building; the reduction of individual dwellings from 120 units to 106; an increase in parking spaces; and changes to the proposed building’s height and aesthetics.
Big jump in home sales reason for optimism, expert says
The number of purchase contracts signed by New Jersey homebuyers in July increased 24 percent from last year, according to a recent report by Otteau Valuation Group Inc.
The increase continues a positive and growing trend for the state’s housing market, the East Brunswick appraisal and consulting firm found. July marked the 10th consecutive month that pending sales have grown, and year-to-date purchase activity through the month was up 23 percent from the same period in 2011. (Burd, NJBIZ)
Alleged ‘Innocence of Muslims’ filmmaker taken in for interview
September 15, 2012 | 12:46 am
Just after midnight Saturday morning, authorities descended on the Cerritos home of the man believed to be the filmmaker behind the anti-Muslim movie that has sparked protests and rioting in the Muslim world.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies escorted a man believed to be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula to an awaiting car. The man declined to answer questions on his way out and wore a hat and a scarf over his face. He kept his hands in the pockets of a winter coat.
Sheriff’s officials could not be reached by The Times, but department spokesman Steve Whitmore told KNBC News that deputies assisting the federal probation department took Nakoula to the sheriff’s substation in Cerritos for interviewing.
[Updated at 1:40 a.m. July 15, 2012: Whitmore told The Times that Nakoula was taken in for a voluntary interview with probation officials and has not been arrested or detained.]
Franklin Lakes Tea Party Meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, September 18 at the Ambulance Building
FRANKLIN LAKES TEA PARTY
PRESENTS
OBAMACARE
DR. RAJNIK RAAB, NEUROSURGEON DR. JENNIFER MARCUS, ANESTHESIOLOGIST DR. GARY BRESLOW, RECONSTRUCTIVE/PLASTIC SURGEON DR. JOSEPH GARCIA, GENERAL SURGEON
AND
JOSEPH F CONNOR AND MICHAEL DUNCAN, AUTHORS OF “THE NEW FOUNDERS”
Thenewfounders.net
FRANKLIN LAKES AMBULANCE CORPS BUILDING BENDER COURT, FRANKLIN LAKES
Obama and Romney on Healthcare Reform: They Don’t Always Disagree
Written by Doug McPherson, Policy Analyst, CiperHealth | September 12, 2012
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act two months ago, a cloud of uncertainty has hung over the healthcare industry, as major players have tried to read the tea leaves and determine what a Romney-Ryan victory in November would mean for the reform law. This past weekend, the sky began to clear when Mitt Romney stated in the clearest terms of the campaign that he does not intend to “[get] rid of all of healthcare reform.”
Mr. Romney has stated that he’d keep key protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but he has been a bit vague about what other provisions may survive if he wins the election. For hospitals, some of the most important provisions of the PPACA are incentives that tie how much a hospital is paid to it how well it is able to meet certain standards for quality care. Mr. Romney and Rep. Ryan have both advocated for the kind of incentive reforms that are a reality under the PPACA, and these reforms are likely to survive in some form, regardless of who wins the White House in November.
Led by Mr. Romney and Rep. Ryan, conservatives have attacked coverage expansions, health insurance mandates and new taxes brought on by the healthcare law. Many of these controversial provisions will not be implemented for years, but other provisions that incorporate ideas that both members of the GOP ticket have defended are going into effect this fall. Starting in October, the PPACA will introduce a new payment system that rewards hospitals that implement clinical best practices and meet other quality standards. Those who do not make the cut will be punished.
