A top-ranking Republican congressman said yesterday he expects the feds to make more arrests in their ever-widening probe of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, which took a new frightening turn yesterday when officials revealed the accused terrorist brothers made “spontaneous” plans to launch an attack on Times Square.
“I hear a lot of definitive statements out there that it was just these two men and it’s over, but I will tell you I hear these briefings every day, and I don’t think this is over,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Committee on Intelligence. “There are clearly more persons of interest, and they’re not 100 percent sure if there aren’t other explosives.”
Rogers also blasted officials for Mirandizing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, saying he could have given more information about the potential attack on Times Square by him and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev — and whether others were involved in the marathon attack.
Oops! Economic Growth Wasn’t So Great After All
Published: Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 9:06 AM ET
U.S. economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, but not as much as expected, which could heighten fears the already weakening economy could struggle to handle deep government spending cuts and higher taxes.
Gross domestic product expanded at 2.5 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, after growth nearly stalled at 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. The increase, however, missed economists’ expectations for a 3.0 percent growth pace.
Part of the acceleration in activity reflected farmers’ filling up silos after a drought last summer decimated crop output. Removing inventories, the growth rate was a tepid 1.5 percent.
Ridgewood Art Institute : Oil Painting Workshop with Lorraine Minetto
Sunday, May 5th, 2013 – 10am-4pm
Mix a Palette that Blooms with the Brilliance with Spring!
201-214-3481
email: lorraine.minetto@gmail.com
Tuition $100
Lorraine Minetto studied still life and floral painting with Betty Kaytes for five years and studied portraiture, still life, and landscape painting with John Osborne for 7 years.
Lorraine teaches the traditional principles of oil painting with an emphasis on form, value, and the prismatic flow of light. Her class is attended by painters of all levels.
Mrs. Minetto’s paintings are represented by several galleries and are featured in various private and corporate collections. Her work has been exhibited in New York at the Hudson Valley Art Association and at the Ridgewood Art Institute.
She has won several awards at The Ridgewood Art Institute’s juried shows, including The Hudson Valley Art Association Award, The New Jersey Frame and Moulding Award, and The Catherine Lorillard Award.
Mom of Boston Marathon bomb suspects also in terror database
From ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 2:20 PM, April 26, 2013
Posted: 1:18 PM, April 26, 2013
BOSTON — The mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects had been added to a federal terrorism database about 18 months before the attack, government officials said Thursday.
Two government officials said the CIA had Zubeidat Tsarnaeva’s name added along with that of her son Tamerlan Tsarnaev after Russia contacted the agency in 2011 with concerns that the two were religious militants about to travel to Russia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Being in the classified TIDE database does not automatically mean a person is suspected by the US of terrorist activity and does not automatically subject someone to surveillance, security screening or travel restrictions.
At Cyberbullying Conference, Experts and Educators Try to Define Line Between Texting and Trouble
One of the most vexing legal questions raised by New Jersey’s two-year-old anti-bullying law remains how to address incidents that occur online and off school grounds — including nights and weekends.
Cyberbullying was the focus of a daylong conference yesterday at Rutgers University in Newark, where lawyers, scholars, educators, and others discussed the difficulties of drawing a legal line that determines if schools — or parents — are culpable. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
Ridgewood officials: Apathy to blame for low voter turnout?
Thursday April 25, 2013, 4:43 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood school officials and residents discussed possible reasons for the particularly low voter turnout at last week’s Board of Education (BOE) elections and budget vote.
Many questions were raised at this week’s BOE meeting, among them whether eligible voters were feeling apathetic this year, and if so, why.
According to Village Clerk Heather Mailander, about 12 percent of voters cast ballots, about 2,000 people. This is the district’s lowest voter turnout in recent years.
BOE President Sheila Brogan, who was first elected to the board in 1996 and retained her position after Monday’s BOE reorganization meeting, told The Ridgewood News last week that the turnout was “the lowest” that she had ever seen in her time on the board.
Ridgewood Board of Education names new business administrator
Thursday April 25, 2013, 5:21 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) has named a new district business administrator to replace retiring Assistant Superintendent of Business Angelo DeSimone.
“I just want to thank everyone for this opportunity. I think it’s going to be a really great fit,” said Michael Falkowski, who has worked since 2010 as a school business administrator in West Essex Regional School district. He has also worked in the private sector.
“I think he’s a great choice. We did some pretty extensive interviewing. He’s certainly the best candidate,” DeSimone told The Ridgewood News, noting that the district did “a day’s worth” of interviews, speaking to about six candidates after they “paper-screened a lot more than that.”
PSEG may take over Long Island electric utility
Thursday, April 25, 2013 Last updated: Thursday April 25, 2013, 11:38 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
New York State officials are considering turning over operation of Long Island’s troubled electric authority — harshly criticized for its response to superstorm Sandy — to Public Service Enterprise Group, parent company of New Jersey’s largest utility.
It’s among several options being discussed concerning the Long Island Power Authority, including the possibility of selling it to a private utility, a spokesman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.
A unit of Public Service Enterprise Group, PSEG Long Island LLC, already won a 10-year contract to distribute electricity to LIPA’s 1.1 million customers in late 2011. New York officials have begun talking to PSEG about possibly expanding that agreement to include most other LIPA functions, including budgets, customer service, computer systems and storm response. The discussions with PSEG were first reported by Newsday on Thursday.
Mobile Ticketing Coming to New Jersey Transit
Convenient, easy ticket purchases now available through MyTix app
April 25, 2013
NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today introduced a mobile ticketing pilot program that will transform Pascack Valley Line customers’ smart phones into their train tickets, enabling them to purchase one-way tickets and monthly passes anytime, anywhere.
“Giving customers the ability to purchase and display rail tickets right from their phones will make traveling on NJ TRANSIT trains even more convenient for the customers who use our system every day,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson. “Although the initial pilot is for our Pascack Valley and Meadowlands Rail Line customers, our ultimate goal is to put this technology into the hands of all of our rail customers.”
“We are testing mobile ticketing as part of NJ TRANSIT’s ongoing effort to tap into the latest technology to improve the overall experience for our customers,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein. “The mobile ticketing app will give Pascack Valley Line customers, and eventually all of our rail customers, the ability to treat their smart phones as both a ticket vending machine and rail ticket or pass all in one, providing for a seamless travel experience.”
Called MyTix, the app is now available for free download on any web-enabled iOS or Android operating system, via the App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. MyTix allows customers to purchase one-way tickets and monthly passes securely on their mobile devices for travel on the Pascack Valley Line, as well as between Penn Station New York and the Meadowlands Rail Station for special events.
NJ TRANSIT is offering the mobile ticketing option as a pilot program to test the functionality of the app and determine the feasibility of expanding it to include other rail lines. Following a three-month pilot program on the Pascack Valley Line, NJ TRANSIT will evaluate MyTix and make any needed adjustments before expanding the program to additional lines, with the goal of a full systemwide rail rollout by the end of the year.
The Pascack Valley Line was chosen for the pilot because the smaller customer base and more consistent rail crew and equipment assignments provide an ideal testing and training environment. In addition, the Pascack Valley Line allows NJ TRANSIT to test the mobile ticketing technology at the Secaucus Junction fare gates.
To purchase tickets via MyTix, customers must first install the app and then create an account, which will save customers’ profile information and history of ticket purchases for ease of use. Purchased tickets must be activated prior to boarding the train and displayed to train crews upon request (one-way tickets expire two hours after activation; monthly passes self-activate on the first day of the calendar month and remain active for the entire month). Customers transferring at Secaucus Junction will need to scan the ticket barcode on the fare gate readers to pass through the gates.
MyTix was designed with input from customer focus groups, as well as NJ TRANSIT front line rail employees and customer service staff.
For more information on MyTix, visit njtransit.com/mytix, or go to “Ticket Options,” then click on “MyTix” from the drop-down menu.
2013 Film Festival Committee: Lynne Clements, Andres Valenzuela, Gail Mandeli, Tony Damiano, Barbara Kiernan, Marialyse Wostbrock, Sean Mccooe, RJ Konner [missing Dotti Fucito]
2013 Ridgewood Film Festival
The third annual Ridgewood Film Festival was a huge success!
We had some wonderful films shown from very talented filmmakers from all over the world. Thursday night’s Festival screenings where dedicated and focused on Women in Film and was very well received.
Check out our highlight video from the 3rd Annual Ridgewood Film Festival. Exceptionally filmed and edited by Tim at Studio 94.
Experienced professionals in the film and photography industry gave free workshops before the red carpet both nights and we had tremendous support from Mayor Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli, and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck. Thank you all for your support and hope to see you again at next year’s festival! — in Ridgewood.
BOE will hold a Reorganization Meeting and a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Ridgewood NJ, The Board will hold a Reorganization Meeting and a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda for the April 22, 2013 Reorganization Meeting.
Click here to view the agenda for the April 22, 2013 Regular Public Meeting.
Other Ridgewood Schools News :
The RHS Winter Guard concluded a very successful season on Saturday, April 20 with an outstanding performance at the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Championships. The team came in 4th place out of 11 teams in the Scholastic Regional A division.
ANNUAL WIFFLE FOR CANCER TOURNAMENT IS SUNDAY, JUNE 2
The tournament, in memory of RHS alum Nick Currey (Class of 2004) will be held at RHS, starting at noon. For full details on teams and sponsorships, visit www.wiffleforcancer.org.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving A Dog’s Best Friend is a Uniformed Patrol Officer
April 25,2013
Boyd A. Loving
4:22 PM
Ridgewood NJ , Ridgewood Police Department Patrol Officer Jeffrey Kay comforts a dog who was seriously injured after being struck by a car in front of 466 Northern Parkway, Ridgewood on Thursday afternoon.
The 22 year old son of the dog’s owner was quickly located by Officer Kay; the son subsequently transported the dog to a local animal hospital for treatment of leg and hip injuries. The driver of the vehicle involved remained at the accident scene until the dog was identified and on its way for treatment.
First the Pass the Bill without Reading it , now they opt out of it
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and JAKE SHERMAN | 4/24/13 9:49 PM EDT
Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.
Boston Marathon ‘bombers’ planned to set off remaining explosives in New York
By DAVID SEIFMAN and LARRY CELONA
Last Updated: 2:02 PM, April 25, 2013
Posted: 12:57 PM, April 25, 2013
The suspected Boston Marathon bombers wanted to attack New York — and specifically planned to blow up Times Square before they were captured, law enforcement sources told The Post today.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, fled last week, preventing them from carrying out their alleged plans, sources said.
