Local Author Louisa Luis at Bookends May 5th
Sunday, May 5th @ 1:00pm
Local Author Louisa Luisi will be signing: Your Best Coaches
Ridgewood Street Fair Today as well!
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt. Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change. Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings. Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Fed Keeps Interest Rates Low, Continues Bond Buying Program
Published: Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 2:21 PM ET
By: Jeff Cox
CNBC.com Senior Writer
The Federal Reserve held fast to its ultra-accommodative monetary policy Wednesday, solidified by what board members described as an economy weakened by fiscal policy.
Interest rates will remain at historically low levels while the U.S. central bank will not alter its $85 billion a month asset purchasing program, the Fed’s Open Markets Committee decided at this week’s meeting.
While recent meetings have been remarkable for signs of dissent over the long-standing Fed policy, the sentiment this month turned towards concerns about “downside risks” to growth, though the FOMC made no mention of the recent set of weak economic data.
Despite Public Pressure Bergen county Freeholders Amend county Pay-To-Play Laws
Amending County Pay-to_Play Law
John Ensslin – The Record
By a bipartisan 6-1 vote, the Bergen County Freeholders on Wednesday night increased the amount no-bid contractors can contribute to county political organizations: an additional $5,200, a compromise from the original limit of $20,000 introduced two weeks ago.
Ridgewood YMCA Swim Programs Offer a Mix of Fun, Physical Activity and Safety
As swim season approaches, the Ridgewood YMCA encourages children and parents in the local community to explore the many benefits of swimming, while also keeping safety top of mind. In the Y’s swim programs, participants can enjoy water sports, enhance or learn new techniques, meet new friends, and develop confidence, while also learning safety skills that can save lives.
“Swimming is a fun and enjoyable activity for children and adults alike, and it’s an easy way to stay physically active and improve strength, flexibility and stamina,” said Janet Oliver, Aquatics Director at the Ridgewood YMCA. “The Y is committed to providing as many opportunities as possible for everyone to swim and learn water safety practices.”
As part of National Water Safety Month in May, the Ridgewood YMCA recommends children and adults practice the following safety tips when in and around the water:
• Only swim when and where there is a lifeguard on duty; never swim alone.
• Adults should constantly and actively watch their children.
• Inexperienced or non-swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Parents or guardians of young children should be within an arm’s reach.
• Children and adults should not engage in breath holding activities.
In addition to learning lifesaving water safety skills, children can increase their physical activity by swimming. Only 19 percent of U.S. children get 60 minutes of physical activity a day, according to the latest findings of the YMCA’s Family Health Snapshot – a survey that gauges children’s activity levels during the school year. Swimming also motivates children to strive for self-improvement, teaches goal orientation, and cultivates a positive mental attitude and high self-esteem. It also teaches life lessons of sport and sportsmanship, so that children can learn how to work well with teammates and coaches and how to deal with winning and losing.
Valley Hospital promises less traffic in expansion????????????????
Thursday, May 2, 2013
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The Valley Hospital’s expansion will lead to a decrease in traffic at the Ridgewood campus and improved traffic flow at clogged intersections, the hospital’s traffic expert has told the village Planning Board.
Valley would move some high volume outpatient treatment to other properties it owns, eliminating 430 trips a day to the Ridgewood hospital, Charles D. Olivo testified Tuesday night. Despite the increase in square footage at the hospital, traffic will improve and congestion will be eased, especially at Linwood and North Van Dien avenues, he said.
“The hospital will experience a decrease during all peak hours as well as a decrease of 430 trips a day compared to the existing conditions,” Olivo concluded in a report submitted to the board.
The Planning Board is weighing a change in the master plan to permit the hospital to expand by 77 percent — from 562,000 square feet to 995,000 square feet. Adding in the 245,000-square-foot parking garage, the hospital would more than double in size. The 451-bed facility would feature all private rooms and upgraded treatment areas.
Opponents of the expansion of the hospital, located in the middle of a residential area, were skeptical that traffic would improve, given the scope of the upgrade.
“It is refreshing to hear the hospital acknowledge their activity impacts local traffic, but we have no guarantees this volume of traffic, or more, won’t return once 400,000 square feet of additional hospital space is built,” Peter McKenna, president of the Concerned Residents of Ridgewood said after the meeting.
McKenna said even though the hospital is adding only three beds, “bed count is a lousy predictor of traffic. Bed count has not changed in the last 15 years, but hospital-generated traffic has increased substantially,” he said.
Appeals court affirms decision to reduce Ridgewood firefighter’s award to $500,000 from $3.5M
Wednesday May 1, 2013, 12:29 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — A panel of appellate court judges agreed the village only has to pay one of its firefighters half-a-million dollars — far less than the $3.5 million a jury awarded him in 2012 for emotional distress.
The decision, issued Tuesday, upholds a Superior Court judge’s May 2, 2012 ruling, reducing Kevin Reilly’s damages to $500,000.
Officials in Wyckoff, Midland Park and Glen Rock deposed in litigation against Ridgewood Water
Thursday, May 2, 2013
BY REBECCA GREENE
STAFF WRITER
Wyckoff Suburban News
Municipal officials of Midland Park, Wyckoff and Glen Rock are being deposed in the class-action lawsuit the towns filed against the Village of Ridgewood on May 11, 2012, claiming it was using water utility fees to shore up its municipal budget.
The lawsuit states that rate payers of the water utility of each town has been “saddled with the burden of increased costs to pay for things such as health insurance for village employees, police expenses, fire expenses, municipal attorney’s fees and engineering costs, none of which relate to the operation of the water utility, but, rather, directly benefit only the Village of Ridgewood.”
Reader says interesting that Valley is now refusing to answer questions about its business model
I find it interesting that Valley is now refusing to answer questions about its business model when understanding Valley’s business model is critical to the Planning Board’s ability to render an informed decision on the Master Plan.
If Valley is only adding 3 beds, then how exactly do they plan to recoup their $750 million investment? They can’t publicly say that they’ll increase outpatient services since resulting increase in traffic would overwhelm municipal infrastructure. It would be difficult even for Valley to find a traffic expert to testify that there would be no negative impact with this strategy.
Is the $750 million investment necessary to keep pace with Hackensack which has already won the battle over Pascack and has a 5 year head start in the modernization race? What if Valley’s 2012 assertion that Bergen County can’t support another hospital was right? $750 million starts to look like a huge gamble and the Planning Board should absolutely understand the risks associated with it.
It seems (again) like Valley is hiding something. Good for the Mayor for asking tough questions – let’s just hope he follows through and is not just grandstanding.
Reader says Every Ridgewood taxpayer should have their name on a plaque
RHS is funded by high property taxes. I have been paying them for more than 25 years. Is it right that someone who pays $1,000 gets their name on a plaque when others have paid (overpaid) for years.
And correct me if I am wrong, but would these plaque people donate if their name were not going to be posted in a place of prominence? Like Maple Park where folks write cute things about their kids?
Every Ridgewood taxpayer should have their name on a plaque. Some should have their names on multiple plaques just for paying high taxes or for paying taxes without a kid in the system.
Reader says just a profit driven business entity trying to constantly bully their way with the help of some self interested power brokers
More Valley double talk, it should be clear to everyone that Valley spins, distorts and downright lies instead of being forthright and consistent.
At least this Mayor is pointing out the inconsistencies unlike the previous circus act of our ‘representatives’. Actions still speak louder than words. If the Valley Board and its” leadership” had been pragmatic, responsible, and responsive from the start of this charade then this community would have been more receptive and a compromise would have been found.
Valley instead reminds all that they are just a profit driven business entity trying to constantly bully their way with the help of some self interested power brokers. My vote will be for what is best for the Village of Ridgewood and not what is best for Valley. Modernize wisely yes, expand outside reason no.
Foreign Holdings of US Securities Have Exploded
Published: Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 12:37 PM ET
Foreigners now hold more than $13 trillion in American securities, a record set as the U.S. seeks to assert itself as the safest port in troubled global waters.
China and Japan combined owned more than $3.4 trillion, including $2.4 trillion in debt, a number that has grown since the data set was compiled.
The total value of U.S. stocks and bonds under foreign ownership rose 6.5 percent in 2012, with stocks actually rising more on a percentage basis, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Treasury.
Foreign holdings have more than doubled since 2005 and are getting close to the $15 trillion total size of the U.S. economy
Of the $13.26 trillion total, $4.2 billion was held in stocks, a 10.6 percent increase from 2011. Long-term debt holdings grew to $8.2 trillion, a 6.2 percent annual rise.
Christie Administration Pushing for Sweeping Civil Service Changes
Rebuffed by Legislature, Christie goes for major regulatory changes through Civil Service Commission
Tired of waiting for the Democratic-controlled Legislature to send him a new civil service bill to replace the one he vetoed two years ago, Gov. Chris Christie is pushing sweeping changes through a Civil Service Commission he effectively controls.
Christie’s civil service overhaul is the latest in a series of high-profile battles with public employee unions that have defined his governorship and propelled him to national prominence. These have ranged from school vouchers and merit pay for teachers to a landmark pension and health benefits bill that not only forced public employees to pay more, but also eliminated the right of unions to bargain on health benefits for four years.
The Christie administration’s proposed civil service regulation would effectively reduce and consolidate the number of job titles by eliminating competitive examinations for promotions within broad “job bands,” giving managers greater flexibility in deciding which employees to promote.
Christie asserts that stripping away civil service restrictions will make government more efficient and thereby enable local governments to lower property taxes. But union officials say the proposed changes will substitute patronage and favoritism for merit in the promotional process.
Obamanomics : Wealth Gap Among Races Has Widened Since Recession
By ANNIE LOWREY
Published: April 28, 2013
WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans suffered a loss of wealth during the recession and the sluggish recovery that followed. But the last half-decade has proved far worse for black and Hispanic families than for white families, starkly widening the already large gulf in wealth between non-Hispanic white Americans and most minority groups, according to a new study from the Urban Institute.
“It was already dismal,” Darrick Hamilton, a professor at the New School in New York, said of the wealth gap between black and white households. “It got even worse.”
Given the dynamics of the housing recovery and the rebound in the stock market, the wealth gap might still be growing, experts said, further dimming the prospects for economic advancement for current and future generations of Americans from minority groups.
The Urban Institute study found that the racial wealth gap yawned during the recession, even as the income gap between white Americans and nonwhite Americans remained stable. As of 2010, white families, on average, earned about $2 for every $1 that black and Hispanic families earned, a ratio that has remained roughly constant for the last 30 years. But when it comes to wealth — as measured by assets, like cash savings, homes and retirement accounts, minus debts, like mortgages and credit card balances — white families have far outpaced black and Hispanic ones. Before the recession, non-Hispanic white families, on average, were about four times as wealthy as nonwhite families, according to the Urban Institute’s analysis of Federal Reserve data. By 2010, whites were about six times as wealthy.
Obamacare Poll Finds 42% of Americans Unaware It’s Law
Apr 30, 2013 4:03pm
A new poll finds that many Americans are confused about the health care overhaul legislation commonly called “Obamacare.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation released results of a non-partisan study today finding more than 40 percent did not even know the law was in place.
“Four in ten Americans (42%) are unaware that the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is still the law of the land,” the report says, “including 12 percent who believe the law has been repealed by Congress, 7 percent who believe it has been overturned by the Supreme Court and 23 percent who say they don’t know enough to say what the status of the law is.”
The survey showed public opinion on Obamacare is at its second-lowest rating in the past two years.
Less than half – 40 percent – of adults viewed the ACA favorably, whereas 35 percent said they viewed it unfavorably. Another 24 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.
Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, one of the original crafters of the bill, earlier this month predicted a chaotic implementation process for the Affordable Care Act. “I just see a huge train wreck coming down,” Baucus, D-Mont., said.
Boston police: 3 more suspects in custody in bombing case
Published: May 1, 2013 11:35 AM
Boston police say three more suspects have been taken into custody in the marathon bombings.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, the police department says only that three more suspects are in custody and more details will follow. Police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca confirmed the tweet but referred all other questions to the FBI.
