Local Gas Stations begin to open
November 3rd, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Readers report to us that the Getty station on North Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue now has gas opening at 11 am and Exxon on Maple has gas but is only dispatching fuel to people with gas cans .
As already reported In an effort to prevent a fuel shortage and ease waiting times at gas stations, Governor Christie enacted odd-even gas rationing beginning at noon Saturday in Bergen, Passaic and 10 other northern New Jersey counties. Motorists with license plates ending with an odd number can purchase gas only on an odd calendar day, while those whose plates end in an even number can go to the pump on even days.
Long lines await patrons at area gas stations with some people telling the Ridgewood blog they waited over 3 hours . The Route 17 corridor between Linwood Ave and Garden State Plaza , had power restored yesterday afternoon but it was a little too late to mitigate gas lines . Other have told us horror stories of waiting in line on the Garden State Parkway and as early as 7am long lines formed throughout Paramus with the only bright spot being the sole gas station on Pascack Road across from the Rite Aid in Washington Twp ,where after several earlier altercations , people have settled down taking under and hour to get gas.
MSNBC really is more partisan than Fox, according to Liberal Think Tank Pew study
How does Comcast allow such wretched bias in presidential coverage?
By David Zurawik
The Baltimore Sun
2:38 p.m. EDT, November 2, 2012
In writing about the Pew study released today, I was struck by the big story of how negative coverage on several levels of presidential politics had become.
I think this is big trouble for democracy, especially the hostile level of discourse in social media. And that it’s something the media need to address collectively after the election.
But here’s one of several fascinating smaller findings of the study that are kind of stunning — even if they seem obvious and ho-hum to some of my more jaded, postmodern, aren’t-we-cleverly-ironic colleagues:
ON MSNBC, the ratio of negative to positive stories on GOP candidate Mitt Romney was 71 to 3.
That’s not a news channel. That’s a propaganda machine, and owner Comcast should probably change Phil Griffin’s title from president to high minister of information, or something equally befitting the work of a party propaganist hack in a totalitarian regime. You wonder how mainstream news organizations allow their reporters and corrdespondents to appear in such a cauldron of bias.
NJT: Updated Rail and Light Rail Service as of November 2, 2012
NJ TRANSIT sustained devastating damage to our rail infrastructure system-wide during Hurricane Sandy. Crews work around the clock to repair and restore sustained damage and only when service is deemed safe and secure will it resume.
RAIL SERVICE:
• Northeast Corridor Line: As of Friday, November 2 service has resumed between Trenton Transit Center and Penn Station New York. Service will operate on a modified schedule until further notice – schedule
PLEASE NOTE: THE SCHEDULE ABOVE APPLIES ONLY TO NEC TRAINS. ALL 7200 SERIES TRAINS ARE SUSPENDED. AT THIS TIME, NORTH JERSEY COAST LINE SERVICE REMAINS SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
• North Jersey Coast Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Raritan Valley Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Montclair-Boonton Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Morris & Essex Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Main/Port Jervis Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Pascack Valley & Bergen Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Atlantic City Rail Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
LIGHT RAIL SERVICE:
• River Line: As of Thursday, November 1 service has resumed and is currently operating on a regular Weekend schedule.
• Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: On Saturday, November 3, test cars will operate on the tracks – please note: service remains suspended until further notice.
• Newark Light Rail: Service remains suspended until further notice.
o The Newark Light Rail experienced flood waters beneath Newark Penn Station. NJ TRANSIT crews work around the clock to pump out water from the system.
*Monthly Pass Extension: NJ TRANSIT has extended the validity period for October monthly passes until Friday, November 9 for our customer’s convenience.
CDC: U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low; 40.7% of Babies Born to Unmarried Women
By Terence P. Jeffrey
October 31, 2012
(CNSNews.com) – The birth rate in the United States hit an all-time low in 2011, according to a report released this month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The 2011 preliminary number of U.S. births was 3,953,593, 1 percent less (or 45,793 fewer) births than in 2010; the general fertility rate (63.3 per 1,000 women age 15-44 years) declined to the lowest rate ever reported for the United States,” said the report.
Facing backlash, Ridgewood stops parking enforcement for next two days
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2012
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Facing backlash and negative feedback from residents and others who patronize Ridgewood’s Central Business District, the village has suspended parking enforcement, particularly ticketing for expired meters, for today and Saturday.
During Hurricane Sandy and in the immediate days after the storm, the village permitted residents and shoppers to park in metered spots within downtown, including streets and lots, for free. Officials initially put enforcement back into effect Thursday morning.
Several village departments and officials advised residents about enforcement through local and social media, but those announcements were greeted with unfriendly responses. A reminder about parking enforcement posted Thursday on the Ridgewood Police Department’s Facebook page has already been removed.
“I just figured that there were no meters today,” Marcus DiNallo, a Midland Park resident, said Friday morning after parking his Toyota in the Chestnut Street lot. “I don’t know why [Ridgewood] would ticket people who probably are going through enough stress.”
Ridgewood Updates its Polling Places due to continued Power Outages
November 2,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Due to continued power outages Election Day polling stations for some Ridgewood voters have been changed . Late Friday afternoon the Bergen County Clerk’s Office approved the alternate sites that were proposed by Ridgewood officials earlier Friday.
Registered voters who typically go to polling stations at Hawes, Orchard, Somerville and George Washington Middle School (GW) will continue to report to those locations next Tuesday.
Hawes School will also accommodate residents who traditional voted at Travell School and Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Somerville School will accommodate those who traditionally vote at Ridgewood High School. Willard School voters will vote at George Washington Middle school .
The fire department headquarters on East Glen Avenue will host voters who voted at Glen School and the Ridgewood Public Library during previous elections.
Additionally, the Bergen County Clerk’s Office has extended its hours for walk-in absentee ballots. The office, located at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack, is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 4, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5.
Outage update: We are making steady progress. In three days, we have restored service to more than 1 million PSE&G customers following Hurricane Sandy. The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers. We’ve also increased the stability of our transmission system to ensure that the high-voltage lines can deliver the power.
Our estimate is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the coming week. The majority of customers will be restored before then. After Nov. 9, there may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.
The storm surge flooded a large number of substations along the Passaic, Hackensack and Hudson rivers, and the Arthur Kill, disrupting service to customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service, wait for the flood waters to recede to assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. We continue to make progress on the substations affected by flood waters from the tidal surge. This is a painstaking process to thoroughly clean the equipment so that it can be safely re-energized.
The total number of people who have come from other states to assist is now more than 2,000. This includes additional line personnel, tree crews and substation operators.
PSE&G’s key areas of focus are:
• Repairing our damaged switching stations and substations in Hudson and Essex Counties so we
can energize them and deliver the power to customers.
• Gas refineries – We have restored power to the Conoco Phillips and Buckeye Pipeline gas
refineries. We are making progress on restoring the other two refineries that we serve in the area.
• Gas stations – We are working with the NJ Gasoline Service Association to identify gas stations
that have the commodity, but need power restored to get the gas flowing.
• Overhead infrastructure – We continue to clear trees, debris and downed wires from state, county and municipal roadways so we can begin repairing overhead infrastructure in Bergen and Passaic
Counties.
NJ Senator Bob Menendez gets amnesia after sex scandal?
November 02, 2012 11:55 AM EDT
According to a news report on Wednesday, NJ Senator Bob Menendez was recently back from his own alleged illicit sexual encounter with two women prostitutes in the Dominican Republic when he called for the firing of the Secret Service agents involved in the Cartagena sex scandal.
The Washington Times reports that Menendez was being interviewed by Michael Schneider of NJ Today about the tunnels that could exist between New Jersey and New York, as well as other news topics at the time, which included the Secret Service sex scandal in Cartagena, Columbia.
Schneider asked Sen. Menendez if he was shocked about the advance Secret Service team’s alleged activities with prostitutes in Cartagena, and Menendez said he was and that “If the facts are true, they should all be fired.”
At that time the NJ senator didn’t know that the facts were true, and that eventually eight members of the Secret Service detail would be forced from the Obama advance team detail. What two prostitutes in the Dominican Republic say he did know, however, was that he had told them he would give them $500 each for sex acts during his Easter trip to their country while he was staying at Casa de Campo.
The women say they got the short end of the deal, as he reneged and only paid $100 to each of them, which, as Americans now know was the reason the Secret Service sex scandal came to light as well, since it involved an angry prostitute not getting paid as she was promised. And now Obama battles this new sex scandal too as the election nears.
Senator Kevin O’Toole
Phone: 973-237-1360
Web: https://otoole.senatenj.com
Email: senotoole@njleg.org
November 02, 2012 Important Post-Hurricane Information
Dear Friends:
As we all begin the process of coming up from under a storm that none of us has ever seen in our lifetimes, I’d like to begin by expressing my deepest sympathies and condolences to our fellow New Jerseyans in the Southern part of our state. The devastation that they are experiencing just can not be put into words.
As the clean up process begins and power is starting to be restored to many of us here in District 40, it is important to note that over 2 million homes in New Jersey lost power as a result of Hurricane Sandy. I and my office are on conference calls with all of the utilities multiple times a day getting status updates as to their progress. As your local elected officials contact me with power outage information, we are forwarding that information along to the appropriate utilities.
Throughout this process I have been in contact with your Mayors and Council members and the amount of work they are putting in to coordinate any and all information, as it develops, has been nothing short of extraordinary. In this time of confusion, frustration and difficulty the coordination that has occurred, beginning with the Governor, my office, the county Freeholders, and local officials has been remarkable. Every level of government and all elected officials are solely focused on ensuring that every resident gets their power back and life begins to return to normal as quickly as possible.
There is a lot of information being disseminated on an almost hourly basis. Here are some important numbers and resources for your reference:
For non-immediate health matters or other assistance:
Call 211 or go online at www.nj211.org for help with non-emergency issues, including basic human needs, support for seniors or persons with disabilities, children, or mental health issues.
To file a claim with FEMA:
Call 800-621-FEMA (800-621-3362). Make sure you register with FEMA. For a printable form, click here.
Information on Federal Aid Programs for State of New Jersey Disaster Recovery
To report a downed electrical line:
Contact your local energy provider (info below). Be prepared to give the nearest cross street or the number of a nearby pole that has not been damaged and is away from any downed wires; the pole number can be found on the metal tag attached to the pole.
PSE&G: 800-436-7734
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L): 800-662-3115
Atlantic City Electric: 800-642-3780
Orange Rockland Electric: 1-877-434-4100
To report a gas leak, contact your local gas provider:
New Jersey Natural Gas: 800-427-5325
PSE&G: 800-436-7734
Road and Driving Conditions:
https://511nj.org/
To file an insurance claim, if you can’t find the company or agent’s number:
Call the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance at 1-800-446-7467 or go to www.dobi.nj.gov.
To report complaints about insurance companies:
Call the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance at 1-800-446-7467, click here to file a complaint online.
A printable complaint form is here: https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/complain.pdf
To report complaints about electric or gas utilities:
Call the NJ Board of Public Utilities: (800) 624-0241 or (609) 341-9188.
To report possible consumer fraud or price gouging by contractors or others:
State law makes excessive price increases illegal during a state of emergency, and for 30 days following the end of the emergency. Call the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs at 862-209-0130 or 973-220-3474.
To provide volunteer assistance in the cleanup and restoration effort:
Call 1-800-JERSEY-7 (1-800-537-7397). Backup numbers: 609-775-5236 or 908-303-0471.
Volunteers may also send an email to rowena.madden@sos.state.nj.us. This service is managed by the NJ Business Action Center and the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism, both divisions within the NJ Department of State.
To request volunteer assistance:
Call ’211′ or go online at www.nj211.org.
Extension of motor vehicle document deadlines:
To ease the burden on customers who did not have a chance to visit a motor vehicle office in October, MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez has issued Administrative Order 2012-03 authorizing a 30-day extension for all driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and vehicle inspection stickers that expired on October 31.
State Aid:
Department of Health and Senior Services
New Jersey Department of Health – Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey
NJ DEP’s Hurricane Sandy Page – precautionary wastewater measures, how municipalities can apply for emergency land use permits, when to boil their water, and much more.
As more information becomes available, my office will provide you with that information. As is always the case, if you are having any difficulties, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 973-237-1360 or via email at senotoole@njleg.org.
Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday
Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday
Northeast Corridor Service to Operation on a Special Schedule Between Trenton and Newark Penn Station
North Jersey Coast Line Service to Operate Between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station
Raritan Valley Line Service to Operate Between Raritan and Newark
Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration announced the restoration of limited rail service on three of NJ TRANSIT’s rail lines starting Friday, November 2, as part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to restore NJ TRANSIT service as soon as it becomes possible. This service restoration includes service along three lines: Northeast Corridor service between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, North Jersey Coast Line service between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, and Raritan Valley Line service between Raritan and Newark Penn Station. A special schedule will be posted on njtransit.com by 7:00 p.m. this evening.
“As the backbone of the NJ TRANSIT rail system, the restoration of Northeast Corridor service is a significant step in providing a level of service to NJ TRANSIT’s customers,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson. “Our work is far from done, as we still face a number of operational challenges, but we will continue working tirelessly to further restore service where we can safely do so.”
Service to Penn Station New York will resume following Amtrak’s restoration of the Hudson River Tunnels and it’s signal system is complete.On Thursday, November 1, NJ TRANSIT restored the majority of bus service throughout the state, operating full service on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, and restoring partial service on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey. Also on Thursday, River Line service was restored between the Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden, operating on a Sunday schedule. Limited Access Link paratransit service resumed operation as well.
NJ TRANSIT is advising customers of the following:
Rail Service:
Northeast Corridor: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule.
North Jersey Coast Line: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule. Rail service between Bay Head and Woodbridge remains suspended. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
Morgan Drawbridge in South Amboy sustained damage from boats and a trailer that collided into the bridge.
There are wires and trees down, as well as rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks), between South Amboy and Bay Head.
Raritan Valley Line: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Raritan and Newark Penn Station only, operating on a special schedule. Rail service between High Bridge and Raritan remains suspended.
Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, Main/Bergen and Atlantic City Rail lines: Service remains suspended. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
There is major damage due to downed trees between Summit and Millburn, as well as in Denville and Morristown. There is also overhead wire damage, including signal wires, with support poles down in Lyons and Bernardsville. In addition, rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks) occurred at Kearny Junction, where Midtown Direct service connects to the Northeast Corridor. Rail washouts also occurred at several tracks in Hoboken Terminal and at Netcong Station.
Elsewhere on the rail system, local power outages have prevented NJ TRANSIT rail operations from being able to further test crossing gates and operating signals. In addition, hundreds of downed trees have fallen across the rail system, which have caused damage to overhead wires and signal wires. Several rail stations have sustained flood damage, including Hoboken Terminal.
Bus Service:
Bus service is operating on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, providing service over the entire routes with no detours or truncations. For a complete list, visit njtransit.com.
Partial service is operating on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey, with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy. For details, visit njtransit.com
Bus service on routes not listed remains suspended until further notice. Power outages in local communities have resulted in the loss of traffic control devices critical to safe operation in some areas. Downed tree limbs and power lines continue to make many roads impassable. Personnel are in the field reviewing and assessing these conditions in order to ensure that service is restored as soon as it becomes safe to do so.
Light Rail Service:
River Line is operating on a Sunday schedule between Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and Newark Light Rail service will remain suspended until further notice. There is currently no estimated time for resumption of service. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
Newark Light Rail sustained flooding in Newark Penn Station, as well as major debris damage between Newark Penn and Branch Brook Park stations.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail experienced track washouts at Port Imperial and West Side Avenue stations, as well as trees in the overhead wire in Weehawken and flooding in Hoboken.
Access Link:
Access Link service is operating in the following regions:
Region 2, which includes Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.
Region 3, which includes Atlantic, Cape May and Southern Ocean County.
Sources, emails point to communication breakdown in Obama administration during Libya attack
By Jennifer Griffin
Published November 02, 2012
FoxNews.com
Senior counterterrorism officials felt cut out of the loop the night of the attack on the Benghazi consulate, according to emails that were shared with Fox News by military sources who are familiar with discussions of how to respond the night of the Sept. 11 attack.
Top State Department officials decided not to send an interagency rapid response unit designed to respond to terrorist attacks known as a FEST team, a Foreign Emergency Support Team. This team from the State Department and CIA has a military Joint Special Operations Command element to it and has been routinely deployed to assist in investigations — for instance, after the USS Cole bombing and the bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
((BOOM)) Burger MAHWAH ,180 Rt 17 S, Mahwah, NJ 07430
(201) 529-1806 & Rochelle Park 375 West Passaic Street Rochelle Park, NJ 07662
(201) 843-2666
Thankfully Our power is back on…
WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN ROCHELLE PARK & MAHWAH
For those still having power issues..
We have a 24 station powerstrip available for you to use and also FREE WI-FI, please feel free to come and use to :
CHARGE YOUR PHONE
CHARGE YOUR COMPUTER
— USE OUR WI-FI
Come one come all.
NJ TRANSIT has extending the validity period for October monthly passes until Wednesday, November 7
For the latest travel information, customers should listen to broadcast traffic reports, visit or access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555.
Last jobs report before election shows economy in ‘virtual standstill’
FOX NEWS
November 2,2012
The final monthly jobs report before Election Day offered a mixed bag of economic evidence that quickly became political putty for the presidential candidates, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 7.9 percent but the economy adding a better-than-expected 171,000 jobs.
At the same time, the number of unemployed grew by 170,000, roughly the same amount — to 12.3 million.
The October numbers allow President Obama to argue the economy is technically growing under his watch. But they also allow Mitt Romney to argue that the new jobs are not making much of a dent in the unemployment problem. Both campaigns quickly set to work putting their spin on data that, if nothing else, underscores the slow pace of the recovery.
“That’s 9 million jobs short of what (Obama) promised,” Romney said at a rally in Wisconsin shortly before noon. “Unemployment is higher today than when Barack Obama took office.”
The rate was 7.8 percent the month Obama took office. “Today’s increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill,” Romney said in a separate written statement. “When I’m president, I’m going to make real changes that lead to a real recovery, so that the next four years are better than the last.”
Former Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Keith Hall told Fox Business Network that at this rate, “we’re still talking nine or 10 years” before the economy gets back to normal.
