Month: February 2013

NJ is directed to suspend enrollment in insurance program for people with preexisting conditions
Friday February 22, 2013, 8:12 PM
BY  LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

New Jersey next Friday will suspend enrollment in an insurance program for people with preexisting medical conditions mandated by the new federal health care law, officials said.

The state was directed to do so by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, which received limited funding from Congress to provide coverage in each of the 50 states. Without the suspension, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan would be in danger of running out of money to cover those currently enrolled, according to a message posted on the program’s website.

“Those who have been considering purchasing health coverage … need to know that now is your last chance to enroll,” said Ellen DeRosa, executive director of the state’s Individual Health Coverage Program. To be eligible, New Jersey residents must have been uninsured for at least the previous six months and have a preexisting medical condition. Applications will be accepted through the close of business on Friday.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_is_directed_to_suspend_enrollment_in_insurance_program_for_people_with_preexisting_conditions.html

Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D. Partnership The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News
on February 22 , 2013.

It’s the half-way point of the school year and the district is bursting as usual with good news. College acceptances are beginning to pour in, accolades in academics, the arts and athletics are accruing, and our teachers and students are working hard to accomplish their learning goals in the classroom.

In the central offices and at the Board table, it’s also that time when we begin to finalize our budget for next year. This process can be a moody task, but there’s always one set of figures that, although outside of the budget, never fails to bring a smile to my face and a sense of renewed optimism.

CLICK BELOW TO KEEP READING DAN’S MONTHLY COLUMN FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS, 2.22.13:

https://tinyurl.com/aqrjen4

Valley, Ridgewood gearing up for new proposal
Friday February 22, 2013, 1:21 PM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

New plans for expansion at The Valley Hospital have yet to be filed, Ridgewood Planning Board officials said this week, but residents are already noticing physical evidence that a second attempt at a Renewal proposal is imminent.

For the past two weeks, automated as well as manned traffic counters have been set up along Linwood Avenue and stress points in the vicinity of Valley’s 15-acre campus. Ridgewood municipal officials confirmed Thursday that the counters are in place to collect data for the hospital’s application.

A Superior Court ruling last week essentially reopened the door for a new Valley expansion plan. The path had been blocked, in part, by a lawsuit filed by a Ridgewood grassroots group against the Planning Board and hospital.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/192531271_Valley__Ridgewood_gearing_up_for_new_proposal.html

Obamacare: Why your boss is dumping your wife
Companies are dropping health coverage for spouses to cut costs
By Jen Wieczner

Companies have a new solution to rising health-insurance costs: Break up their employees’ marriages.

By denying coverage to spouses, employers not only save the annual premiums, but also the new fees that went into effect as part of the Affordable Care Act. This year, companies have to pay $1 or $2 “per life” covered on its plans, a sum that jumps to $65 in 2014. And health law guidelines proposed recently mandate coverage of employees’ dependent children (up to age 26), but husbands and wives are optional. “The question about whether it’s obligatory to cover the family of the employee is being thought through more than ever before,” says Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-your-boss-is-dumping-your-wife-2013-02-22

file photo

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO
7 AM EST SUNDAY…
343 AM EST SAT FEB 23 2013

…SLIPPERY ROADS TONIGHT OVER INTERIOR PORTIONS OF THE TRI-STATE…

CTZ005>008-NJZ002-004-103-NYZ067>070-231645-

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO
7 AM EST SUNDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM
THIS EVENING TO 7 AM EST SUNDAY.

* LOCATIONS…INTERIOR SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT…INTERIOR PORTIONS OF
THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY…AND PORTIONS OF INTERIOR NORTHEAST
NEW JERSEY.

* HAZARD TYPES…FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS…SNOW ACCUMULATION OF UP TO 1 INCH…ALONG WITH
LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE.

* TEMPERATURES…AROUND 30.

* TIMING…AS TEMPERATURES FALL TO AT OR JUST BELOW FREEZING
TONIGHT…A MIXTURE OF FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW WILL FALL ACROSS
THE ADVISORY AREA.

* IMPACTS…THE COMBINATION OF THE SNOW AND GLAZE OF ICE WILL MAKE
TRAVEL DIFFICULT TONIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CA– USE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND — USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

Fewer Americans Getting Health Insurance From Employer
Medicare, Medicaid, and military or veterans’ insurance inching higher
by Elizabeth Mendes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fewer Americans reported having employer-based health insurance in 2012 than did in 2008, 2009, and 2010, but at 44.5% it is unchanged from 2011. At the same time, more Americans continue to report having a government-based health plan — Medicare, Medicaid, or military or veterans’ benefits — with the 25.6% who did so in 2012 up from 23.4% in 2008.

https://www.gallup.com/poll/160676/fewer-americans-getting-health-insurance-employer.aspx

Photo by Boyd Loving

Ridgewood Council to meet with department leaders
Friday February 22, 2013, 1:45 PM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

The heads of Ridgewood’s |various departments will begin meeting with the Village Council next week to discuss their specific portions of the 2013 municipal budget.

Special public meetings have been planned for Monday, Feb. 25 and Tuesday, Feb. 26, when representatives from each department will present their wish lists and proposed expenditures for the year. Those lists were submitted to the Ridgewood manager and chief financial officer late last year, but have not been reviewed extensively by the village’s governing body.

Council members, after they review the separate presentations, will have the opportunity to suggest changes and spending cuts to reach their desired budget amounts and any tax increases or decreases.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/192536281_Ridgewood_Council_to_meet_with_department_leaders.html

Illinois state senator Ira Silverstein looks to squelsh free speech pushes anti-anonymity bill

The bill, called the Internet Posting Removal Act, is sponsored by Illinois state Sen. Ira Silverstein. It states that a “web site administrator upon request shall remove any comments posted on his or her web site by an anonymous poster unless the anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name, and home address are accurate.”

The Democratic lawmaker’s bill, which does not ask for or clarify requirements from entities requesting the comment removal, would take effect 90 days after becoming law.

Pseudonymous and anonymous comments have long been a critical part of U.S. public discourse, though, and the bill may be on shaky legal ground.

Read more: https://dailycaller.com/2013/02/21/illinois-state-senator-pushes-anti-anonymity-bill/#ixzz2LdM5j4JX

Sook Pastry

Rival bakeries welcome ‘Cake Boss’ to Ridgewood
Myles Ma/NJ.com By Myles Ma/NJ.com
on February 21, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated February 21, 2013 at 7:58 AM

RIDGEWOOD — Carlo’s Bakery opened with a lot of fanfare.

The bake shop at the center of TLC’S “Cake Boss” drew long lines as it opened its second location after more than 100 years in Hoboken. The new shop has almost 6,000 likes on Facebook.

It might sound hard to compete with such star power. But the owners of two other Ridgewood bakeries say they’re not worried.

In fact, they welcome owner Buddy Valastro.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/02/rival_bakeries_welcome_carlos_bakery_to_ridgewood.html

Ridgewood resident Frank Nestor on ‘Millionaire’s Countdown to the Oscars’
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Ridgewood News

Frank Nestor of Ridgewood will be a contestant on “Millionaire’s Countdown To The OSCARS®” Week, in the episode airing Friday, Feb. 22. Hosted by the Emmy Award-winning Meredith Vieira, Millionaire can be seen on WABC weekdays at 12:30 p.m.
Frank Nestor of Ridgewood is a contestant on the ABC program, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire,’ with Meredith Vieira. Nestor is a dedicated movie buff.

Frank, 24, is the son of Frank and Sandra Nestor. He grew up in a unique household. His mother is deaf and Spanish is her primary language. Frank’s father traveled a lot for work, so movies connected their family. When everyone was home, they watched films, which brought them together despite their language differences. Frank even learned to read Spanish and English by watching closed captioning.

https://www.northjersey.com/ridgewood/192427851_Ridgewood_resident_on__Millionaire_s_Countdown_to_the_Oscars_.html

RHS has four Students Named as Finalists for National Merit Scholarship competition
Febuary 22,2013

Ridgewood NJ, The following four of the five RHS semi-finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition have been named finalists: Kyo San Ku, Thomas Lum, Anna Lenore Nathanson, and Vidushi Sharma.

Former Fairleigh Dickinson ‘neo-Nazi’ professor files brutality suit against state police
By Dan Ivers/NJ.com
on February 21, 2013 at 11:40 AM, updated February 21, 2013 at 11:43 AM

NEWARK — A former Fairleigh Dickinson professor with ties to neo-Nazi organizations has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he and his girlfriend were brutalized during a police search of his Ridgewood apartment in 2011.

Jacques Pluss said officers from the State Police and Ridgewood Police Department dragged him across the floor, threw him into a pile of ice and snow and burned him with a cigarette.

The suit also says Jessica Stephens, who is now married to Pluss, suffered injuries to her wrists and shoulders while police tied and handcuffed her. The two are seeking unspecified damages.

The allegations stem from a warrant police served at Pluss’ Heights Road apartment in January 2011, after police learned that he made several threats over the Internet against Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman. Pluss was later charged with bias intimidation and harassment.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/02/former_fairleigh_dickinson_neo-nazi_professor_files_brutality_suit_against_state_police.html