NYC Mayor Bloomberg: Government has right to ‘infringe on your freedom’
By Cheryl K. Chumley
The Washington Times
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday: Sometimes government does know best. And in those cases, Americans should just cede their rights.
“I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom,” Mr. Bloomberg said, during an appearance on NBC. He made the statement during discussion of his soda ban — just shot down by the courts — and insistence that his fight to control sugary drink portion sizes in the city would go forth.
All across the nation, there are strange, unheard of laws that sit in the back of the books and most people go their entire lives without knowing they exist. Even with a Morgan Chu resume containing years of legal experience, one still might not know about all of these stipulations. Here are some of the strangest laws from all over the United States:
In California, they have recently restructured one of their long-standing laws that had to do with hunting. Specifically, there was a law saying California residents could use dogs in order to hunt mammals. Now that they’re reworded the law, the state of California has decided that while hunting is still legal, dogs are no longer allowed to be used to hunt bears or bobcats.
Back in the 1800s, New York created a law that is still very much valid today. This law states that under no circumstances are people allowed to walk around New York wearing masks, scarves, or anything that might hinder others’ abilities to see their identity. Sometimes exceptions are made for large events, especially on Halloween, but ninety percent of the time, no masks are allowed in New York.
In an effort to keep the state safe in the case of an emergency, Florida actually has a law written in the books that dictates all public doors must open outwards. It’s designed so people can quickly leave a building in a panic rather than fiddling trying to figure out how to open the door. Anyone who owns a public building but doesn’t adhere to this regulation will be found guilty of a third degree felony.
In Maryland, motorists need to be careful what they say. While driving down any highway or street, or walking down a sidewalk, no one is allowed to behave in any type of disturbing or offensive manner. This includes excessive anger and profanity. If Maryland law finds out that a resident behaved improperly within earshot of someone else, they will be charged with a misdemeanor.
In Illinois, there is a law that mandates certain homeowners pay what is essentially a rain tax. What this law means is that those homeowners who – at the discretion of the law – have areas on their property where excessive water can collect after a storm will need to pay a special tax. High roofs and long paved driveways are the two most common reasons people need to pay this tax, and the money being paid into it is allegedly going toward the extra work the city has to take in order to deal with the run-off from these properties.
Traffic upgrades in Ridgewood may come from developers’ pockets
Monday March 25, 2013, 10:36 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
A comprehensive, village-wide traffic analysis will eventually be required to establish an all-encompassing transportation improvement district (TID) in Ridgewood, but until then, the Planning Board can move forward with a smaller scale study to jumpstart the process.
Under a proposed transportation improvement district, developers will contribute to a fund to pay for future traffic improvements, which can include installation of new traffic signals, signs and sidewalks.
Traffic consultant John Jahr this week offered an overview of the benefits that a TID can bring to any given municipality and briefly detailed a course of action that the village can follow if it chooses to proceed in that direction.
A TID is generally described as a method of collecting money from a private developer to offset the strain that the development will have on local infrastructure, particularly streets. The funding collected is typically banked in an account until needed to pay for traffic and other road improvements in the area.
Winning $338M Powerball jackpot ticket sold in N.J.
John Bacon, USA TODAY12:01a.m. EDT March 25, 2013
A jackpot dream has come true for the lucky owner of one Powerball ticket worth $338.3 million, and lottery officials in New Jersey are holding a press conference Monday to reveal some details about the matching ticket from Saturday’s drawing.
At the Soda King in Manalapan, N.J., clerk Govind Patel said he is hoping the store’s recent good fortune will continue. A week ago a lucky customer hit five numbers — and won $1 million.
“We are very excited,” Patel said. “It would amazing if we sold another winner.”
It would also bring a small financial windfall — the store that sells the winning ticket claims a $10,000 check. The winning numbers from Saturday night’s drawing: 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31. It’s the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history. A lump sum payout would be $221 million.
RIDGEWOOD SUMMER DAY CAMP REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 1
Fresh air, sunshine, new friends, fun, games, and special memories all add up to Ridgewood Summer Day Camp.
Camp will open for the 2013 summer season Tuesday, July 2nd, and run for six weeks through Friday, August 9th. Children entering grades 1 through 6 will enjoy arts and crafts, organized games, swimming, special events and optional trips. Camp will be held at The Stable, Graydon Pool, Maple Park, Veteran’s Field, the Community Center at Village Hall and Leuning Park, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Children are to bring a bag lunch and beverage. Bus transportation from Village locations is available to all.
The day camp registration fee for Ridgewood children is $525.00, non-resident children $700.00, which includes two camp T-shirts and optional bus transportation.
All campers must possess a 2013 Graydon Pool membership badge (visit www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon for details).
Off-site trips are optional with limited space; prices vary and registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Registration will be accepted from April 1 through June 10, 2013 as space allows. You may register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (payment by Visa/Mastercard). For registration assistance and/or special needs, please visit the Recreation Office, The Stable, 259 North Maple Avenue, or call the office at 201-670-5560.
Village Council Special Public Budget Meeting – March 26th 6PM Mancuso Senior Lounge
MEETING NOTICE
VILLAGE COUNCIL
Pursuant to the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975, notice is hereby given that the Village Council will hold a Special Public Meeting on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in the Patrick A. Mancuso Senior Center on the ground floor of the Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.
The purpose of this Special Public Meeting is to discuss and review the 2013 Annual Budget with various Department Directors.
Formal action may be taken by the Village Council at this Special Public Meeting.
Gun deaths shaped by race in America
Posted by Dan Keating on March 22, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Gun deaths are shaped by race in America. Whites are far more likely to shoot themselves, and African Americans are far more likely to be shot by someone else.
The statistical difference is dramatic, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A white person is five times as likely to commit suicide with a gun as to be shot with a gun; for each African American who uses a gun to commit suicide, five are killed by other people with guns.
Where a person lives matters, too. Gun deaths in urban areas are much more likely to be homicides, while suicide is far and away the dominant form of gun death in rural areas. States with the most guns per capita, such as Montana and Wyoming, have the highest suicide rates; states with low gun ownership rates, such as Massachusetts and New York, have far fewer suicides per capita.
Suicides and homicides are highly charged human dramas. Both acts shatter families, friends and sometimes communities. But the reactions are as different as black and white, and those differences shape the nation’s divided attitudes toward gun control.
For instance, African Americans tend to be stronger backers of tough gun controls than whites. A Washington Post-ABC News poll this month found that about three-quarters of blacks support stronger controls, compared with about half of whites. The poll also found that two-thirds of city dwellers support stronger gun controls, while only about a third of rural residents back them.
WINTER STORM TO IMPACT THE TRI-STATE TODAY AND TONIGHT...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT
TONIGHT...
* LOCATIONS...NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY...NEW YORK CITY...AND LONG
ISLAND.
* HAZARD TYPES...WET SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 3 INCHES WITH
ISOLATED AREAS UP TO 4 INCHES.
* WINDS...NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.
* TEMPERATURES...AROUND 40.
* VISIBILITIES...LESS THAN 1 MILE AT TIMES.
* TIMING...LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS MORNING...AND
CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT.
* IMPACTS...ANY ACCUMULATING WET SNOW ON UNTREATED SURFACES WILL
RESULT IN DIFFICULT AND SLIPPERY DRIVING CONDITIONS.
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.
NJ TRANSIT PREPARES FOR MONDAY’S EXPECTED WINTER BLAST
Full System Wide Cross-Honoring in Effect Monday to Offer Customers Additional Travel Options
March 24, 2013
NEWARK, NJ — With another winter blast zeroing in on the Garden State starting late tonight, NJ TRANSIT operations, customer service and police personnel are again taking steps to minimize delays and ensure service reliability and safety. All customers are strongly advised to check njtransit.com before traveling for up-to-the-minute service information before starting their trip.
To offer customers additional travel options during the expected inclement weather conditions, NJ TRANSIT will offer full system wide cross-honoring on Monday, March 25, enabling NJ TRANSIT customers to reach their final ticketed destination through an alternate travel mode—rail, light rail, as well as on both NJ TRANSIT bus and private bus carriers.
For example, customers who normally take the bus from Rutherford to the Port Authority Bus Terminal may use their ticketed bus pass on the train from Rutherford to New York Penn Station. Similarly, customers who normally take the bus between Atlantic City and Lindenwold may use their ticketed bus pass on the train instead. Customers using their tickets or passes to travel to a destination other than the destination printed on their original ticket will be subject to the appropriate additional fare if applicable.NJ TRANSIT is preparing to minimize disruptions and delays to the extent possible, particularly in light of the potential for icy conditions and heavy, wet snow which are both expected across portions of the Garden State. Locomotives will be strategically positioned across the rail system to rapidly respond in the event of a disabled train.
Additionally, the agency will closely monitor the crowds at New York Penn Station, Hoboken Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and make adjustments to service as necessary.
Customers are advised of the following:
• Systemwide: NJ TRANSIT plans to operate a regular weekday schedule Monday, March 25. Depending on the impact of the storm, it may be necessary for NJ TRANSIT to modify service as conditions change.
• Bus Service: While every effort will be made to continue operating bus service throughout the state, customers may experience delays or detours on their routes in the event of extreme winter weather conditions. Customers are advised to plan accordingly and anticipate disruptions to bus service.
Travel Advice:
• For the latest travel information, visit njtransit.com or access our Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT prior to starting your trip. In the event of delays or service adjustments, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system, which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. (If you are not yet a My Transit subscriber, we encourage you to sign up at www.njtransit.com/mytransit) Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555 or from broadcast traffic reports.
• Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.
• Build additional travel time into your trip to a station, terminal or bus stop.
• Stairs, flooring and platforms can be slippery, so please use caution when walking along wet surfaces or any outdoor surface exposed to the weather. Use extra care when boarding or exiting buses and trains.
• Report slippery or unsafe conditions to bus operators, train crews or NJ TRANSIT staff.
• If you park, ensure your car is stocked with a snow brush and ice scraper so you can clear your car upon returning to the lot.
NJ TRANSIT is well prepared to handle the impending winter weather:
• Snow plows and salt spreaders are ready for service and snow-removal contracts are in place with outside vendors.
• NJ TRANSIT is well-stocked with 16,000 bags of snow-melting supplies, and hundreds of shovels and snow blowers.
• NJ TRANSIT has performed maintenance and testing on its two rail-mounted jet snow blowers in the event they are needed to help clear train tracks of snow and ice, particularly in rail yards.
• More than 750 rail switches, switch heaters and overhead wires were inspected as part of NJ TRANSIT’s preventative maintenance program.
• Onboard heating systems, thermostats, weather stripping and electronic components have been inspected on NJ TRANSIT rail cars, light rail cars and locomotives.
• Bus maintenance personnel have inspected and performed necessary maintenance on a fleet of nearly 2,200 buses – from the heating and airbrake systems, to the engine fluids, tires, windshield wipers and doors.
..WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MONDAY TO MIDNIGHT
EDT MONDAY NIGHT…
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND
SOUTHEAST NEW YORK.
.DAY ONE…THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.
A COASTAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE AREA LATE TONIGHT
INTO MONDAY NIGHT…WITH A FEW INCHES OF HEAVY WET SNOW EXPECTED
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. PLEASE FOLLOW THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR
UPDATES REGARDING THIS STORM.
Despite Yahoo, Bergen firms increasingly embrace telecommuting
Last updated: Sunday March 24, 2013, 10:31 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Hackensack lawyer Randi Kochman was drafting telecommuting policies for two companies when the news broke in late February that Yahoo! Inc. was reeling in employees who work from home.
Kochman said she thought to herself that her clients were moving in exactly the opposite direction as Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who rescinded the Internet company’s broad telecommuting policy.
In fact, it appears North Jersey companies are not only not following Yahoo’s lead, they are formally sanctioning telecommuting as company policy.
Great opportunity to Network with people in your area!
Northern NJ Networking Group will host a Business Card exchange on Thursday March 28th Thursday from 6pm-8:30pm at The Courtyard Marriot in Montvale, located at 100 Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale NJ 07645.. If you would like to meet other professionals in the North Jersey area and extend your personal network of professionals, this event is for you. The cost to attend is $15 at the door, which includes; delicious appetizers, buffet & Happy Hour drink special from the Fire & Oak Bar.
Please RSVP to scott.scarpelli@gtoriginations.com if you can attend and if you will bring a guest so the restaurant can accommodate for enough food.
Scott Scarpelli
Green Tree | Area Sales Manager
NMLS# 243165
33 Wood Ave, Suite 424 Iselin, NJ 08830
M + 201-470-9962 F + 866-767-8414
EMAIL: Scott.Scarpelli@gtoriginations.com
Ridgewood to explore improving traffic flow
Sunday, March 24, 2013
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — The members of the Planning Board want to see examples of where traffic improvement districts have worked as they consider designating such an area in the village.
The board, which is currently considering four developments proposed for the village’s downtown, asked its traffic consultant, John Jahr, for an analysis of where these districts have succeeded and failed and why. Jahr told board members at a recent meeting that towns use these designations to resolve lingering and future traffic safety issues.
Created in 1989, the New Jersey Transportation Development District Act permits the levying of development fees by municipalities.
You have just heard that a family member has been diagnosed with a rare nerve disease. Where do you turn for information and help?
A friend has been diagnosed with diabetes. You are concerned that you too may be at risk. Where would you turn to learn about the signs and symptoms of this or any other disease?
A relative is suffering from a chronic illness and you have heard that complementary therapies may assist to relieve stress. Where would you go to research the pros and cons?
The answer to these and many other questions relating to obtaining health information is the Valley Hospital’s Consumer Health Information Service as provided by the highly trained staff of the hospital’s Medical Library.Claudia Allocco
The Valley Hospital’s Consumer Health Information Service is available to all members of the communities the hospital serves. A person may take advantage of the service by simply phoning in a request or stopping by the main desk of the library located on the first floor of the hospital’s Phillips Building. Requests can also be e-mailed. Once a request is received and clarified, the library’s trained staff completes a comprehensive literature search, selects and photocopies all pertinent materials, and sends the packet of information to the person who has made the request. The service is both confidential and free of charge.
“We believe that by providing the public with up-to-date and comprehensive information about illnesses and associated treatment options, we assist them to be better informed about their health-care” said Claudia Allocco, M.L.S., Director of Library Services. “It is well known that when a person knows more about a subject, they can feel more confident about their decision. In addition, many of our users tell us that the service allows them to relieve anxiety and stress at a time when they may be very vulnerable.”
The Valley Hospital’s Consumer Health Information Service can be reached by calling 201-447-8285 or by faxing 201-447-8602. You may also visit the library in the Phillips Building on the hospital campus each weekday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can also e-mail the hospital librarian at callocc@valleyhealth.com.
