Daily chart: The amount of insured losses in 2012 exceeded $77 billion, making it the third costliest year since 1970. Losses from man-made disasters amounted to $6 billion. The sum includes the partial sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, fires at offshore drilling platforms in Nigeria and the North Sea, and an explosion at a Venezuelan oil refinery. View today’s chart on insured losses since 1970 https://econ.st/XHjExh
Do politicians eyeball every catastrophe as a money maker ?
Planning Board Special Public Meeting – April 1, 2013 at 7:30PM
PLANNING BOARD
AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE
Called: Work Session & Special Public Meeting: Monday, April 1, 2013
In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013, in the VILLAGE HALL COURT ROOM, 4th Floor, 131 NORTH MAPLE AVENUE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The Board may take official action during this Work and Public Meeting at which time the Board will have discussion/approval of consultants for H Zone Amendment Hearings.
All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.
Girl Scout Troop 353 with the County Executive. The Park Ridge Scouts lead the K9 Veterans Day Crowd in the Pledge. — at Bergen County, NJ.
Bergen County Executive Donovan recovering from mild stroke triggered by back pain
Last updated: Thursday March 28, 2013, 10:03 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan suffered a mild stroke brought on by intense pain caused by multiple stress fractures in her back, county officials said Thursday.
The stroke occurred last Friday, the same day she was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center for the back pain. It was triggered by a spike in Donovan’s blood pressure, but the symptoms, which included slurred speech, were not immediately apparent because of the medication doctors gave her to ease her pain, said Jeanne Baratta, Donovan’s chief of staff.
As Donovan’s blood pressure returned to normal levels, the stroke symptoms subsided, Baratta said. A battery of tests that followed found no signs of any permanent damage, she said.
“She’s doing very well,” Baratta said. “She’s text messaging me, she’s sending emails”
Ridgewood NJ , Come enjoy the taste of spring on Tuesday, April 2 at Ben and Jerry’s. The Ridgewood High School Baseball team will be there scooping up your favorite flavors starting at 7:30 p.m. Please come out and support Ridgewood Baseball.
Congressman Scott Garrett Presented the Silver Medal for Outstanding Service to RHS Senior Heesung Son
Ridgewood NJ, Congressman Scott Garrett Presented the Silver Medal for Outstanding Public Service to RHS Senior Heesung Son .
RHS senior Heesung Son received the Congressional Award Silver Metal for his voluntary public services.
To earn the award, Heesung completed over 200 hours of public service by playing his violin for the elderly in nursing homes and spending time with physically disabled children at Camp Sunshine. He also completed physical fitness and exploration goals. Congressman Scott Garrett presented the award at a ceremony at The Little Theatre on March 27.
Carlos Frías Art featured at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, Carlos Frías long thought he would be spending his days painting and exhibiting his latest artisticendeavors, but his life’s work took a back seat to the working life.
Fortunately, all that opportunity also pays for lots of art supplies and offers a fresh perspective, and so returning to his formal training as a fine artist,Carlos has enhanced his repertoire with new series and conceptual images.
Not too long ago, Carlos earned his BFA in Painting from Parsons School of Design in New York City.It was the next natural step after receiving his Associates in Painting and Illustration from Altos de Chavón School of Design in the Dominican Republic. Carlos’s many accolades serve as a testament to his commitment and talent as an artist, but what he now craves is the personal success that comes only with time and experience.
Carlos’s latest works reflect a new intention. They incorporate his desire to create subtly stimulating and provoking pieces with the aim of reminding his audience of humanity’s ties to its fleeting present and ensuing past. In his pieces Carlos evokes his childhood in the Dominican Republic, then a journey to a new life, and his constant endeavor to coalesce yet appreciate all of the individual elements that have brought him to where he is today, somewhere between here and there.( https://carlosfrias.com/biography.html )
The exhibit runs through April 7 at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place. Hours are by appointment. Call 201-444-6625.
More Details : Ridgewood fire official has legal fees reimbursed
Thursday March 28, 2013, 3:33 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The appeal included letters from the current and former fire chiefs, which were favorable toward DuFloucq and Albano, as well as a note from DuFloucq.
DuFloucq’s letter, according to the ruling, stated that he was not brought in for a second interview “but rather was offered the second vacancy when he was called into the village manager’s office during the week of July 18.”
The commission found that Gabbert made the promotions without proper reasoning for two separate dates. Both promotions should have the same appointment date of June 27, 2011, according to the report.
The promotions were also made despite regulations set forth in the New Jersey Administrative Code, specifically rules regarding preference to veterans if no other candidate was ranked ahead, the ruling said. Had DuFloucq earned the first promotion, Albano would have been next in line and would have been the preferred selection, based on his veteran status, for the second vacancy. But since Kozielski was promoted ahead of DuFloucq, Albano was never the first on the list.
“It appears that DuFloucq’s later appointment date was aimed at circumventing the Civil Service rules governing veteran’s preference. In this regard, as a result of the determination that both appointees should have the same appointment date, [Albano] was improperly bypassed,” the ruling stated.
Budget number crunch continues in Ridgewood
Thursday March 28, 2013, 3:36 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Of the 13 personnel reductions proposed to trim the fat from a working $44 million spending plan and reduce this year’s municipal tax levy, Ridgewood officials will consider eliminating at least one department supervisory position.
Ridgewood Chief Financial Officer Stephen Sanzari and Village Manager Ken Gabbert go over budget numbers at a meeting on Tuesday.
Village council members expect to discuss that move as well as other budgetary bullet points, which were identified during a special meeting earlier this week. The potential restructuring of three specific jobs and how the salary shift will impact the feasibility of realizing a zero percent tax increase for 2013 will also be discussed, likely at the council’s April 3 work session.
At press time, the council and village finance officials were still seeking a combination of new revenue and expense reductions totaling between $470,000 and $500,000, the threshold needed to equal last year’s tax levy. Based on the preliminary budget numbers used this week, the average Ridgewood taxpayer would see a 1.5 percent increase over last year’s taxes, or roughly $70.
The Secret Republican Plan to Repeal ‘Obamacare’
And why the fight is far from over.
By Chris Frates
March 28, 2013 | 6:09 p.m.
A few minutes after the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision upholding President Obama’s health care law last summer, a senior adviser to Mitch McConnell walked into the Senate Republican leader’s office to gauge his reaction.
McConnell was clearly disappointed, and for good reason. For many conservatives, the decision was the death knell in a three-year fight to defeat reforms that epitomized everything they thought was wrong with Obama’s governing philosophy. But where some saw finality, McConnell saw opportunity — and still does.
Sitting at his desk a stone’s throw from the Senate chamber, McConnell turned to the aide and, with characteristic directness, said: “This decision is too cute. But I think we got something with this tax issue.”
He was referring to the court’s ruling that the heart of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the so-called individual mandate that requires everyone in the country to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, was a tax. And while McConnell thought calling the mandate a tax was “a rather creative way” to uphold the law, it also opened a new front in his battle to repeal it.
Ridgewood school board sends spending plan to voters
Thursday March 28, 2013, 3:39 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The quality of education provided by the Ridgewood School District’s 2013-14 budget is not disputed, but the budget-making process received some criticism from Board of Education (BOE) trustee Jim Morgan.
BOE members on Wednesday asked taxpayers to approve the budget on April 16. The budget includes the state maximum 2 percent tax increase of $204 for the average homeowner.
“I will be voting for the budget tonight with a sense of disappointment that the district has missed an opportunity to address several fundamental problems it faces: escalating costs and limited resources,” Morgan said.
Utility rep outlines steps to improve breakdowns in Ridgewood
Thursday March 28, 2013, 3:48 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The state’s largest public utility company is taking steps to avoid future communication failures and prolonged power outages, particularly the same breakdowns that plagued most of Bergen County in the wake of superstorm Sandy.
A presentation by a Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) official at Wednesday’s Ridgewood Council meeting touched on the multi-stepped improvement process and coincided with an email sent earlier this week to some of the company’s customers. Both delivered the same message that urged support for PSE&G’s $3.9 billion Energy Strong campaign, which would bolster communications and deliver needed upgrades to aging substations, wires and utility poles.
Now that voters in Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana use, dope smokers there can light up without the usual paranoid fear that the cops are at the door. Politico
Reader Asks How can we get the message across that don’t want these papers littering our property and our town?
Over the years I’ve written letters to The Bergen Record/North Jersey Deals on behalf of us and our neighbors who asked me to and the papers will stop for about a month but then they’re back with a vengeance. Phone calls have the same lame effect. How can we get the message across that don’t want these papers littering our property and our town? Any ideas?
Information to End Delivery of Non Requested Newspapers
Residents have called Village Hall asking for a way to stop the unrequested newspapers in their driveways – we recommend resident personally contact the appropriate company at the phone number listed on the publication.
To contact The Record – call 888-473-2673; ask to be placed on the “Non Subscriber’s List”.
It may take a few calls to stop the delivery.
The Village of Ridgewood cannot regulate these deliveries as it is a “Freedom of Speech” issue
Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J. fuels debate on ammo stockpiling by feds
A Central Jersey congressman wants federal Homeland Security officials to explain why the agency wants to stockpile nearly 2 billion rounds of ammunition. Home News Tribune
