Month: June 2013

IRS accused of granting $500 mln in suspicious contracts
Published time: June 26, 2013 16:47

A Virginia IT company inappropriately secured $500 million worth of IRS contracts based on false statements and ties to an agency official, according to a congressional staff report released on Tuesday.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report accusing an Internal Revenue Service employee of procuring inappropriate contracts for a small business called Strong Castle, which was founded in 2011 by a man named Braulio Castillo.

In 2012, Castillo received more than $500 million in IRS awards for his technology firm and a mere $465,780 from other federal government agencies. The report accuses IRS deputy director Greg Roseman, a close friend of Castillo’s, of “influencing the selection process” to benefit his friend.

“The IRS – where Strong Castle received well over 99 percent of its 2012 revenues – employs Castillo’s long-time friend, Greg Roseman, who oversaw each and every contract awarded to Strong Castle by the IRS in 2012,” the report’s authors wrote.

The congressional committee also found that before launching the IT company, Castillo filed for “disability rating” with the Veterans Administration, claiming he suffered from a foot injury he obtained at a military prep school in 1984. The rating qualified Strong Castle as a “service-disabled, veteran-owned small business,” which gave it preferential treatment in bidding competitions. But Castillo never served on active duty, and played college sports after the alleged injury.

“The case of Strong Castle and its cozy relationship with the IRS is but one example of a deeply flawed procurement process in the federal government,” the report says.

https://rt.com/usa/irs-contractor-bids-castillo-279/

Readers says Mayor Aronsohn missed a prime opportunity to clear the air

I tuned in just after the meeting began last night when they were honoring some crossing guards. I do not think Aronsohn made any statement prior to that, but maybe he did. If the tape ever goes up on the website maybe I can see, but that seems to be a very delayed process.

Last night they approved a new contractor to manage the tasks that Riche’s company used to do. OK, fine, that is completed and everyone agrees that it is the right way to go. This would have been the PRIME opportunity for Aronsohn to then make a brief statement that while he was glad that the situation with employing an elected official was resolved, he was sorry for the public manner in which it was managed. He could have re-gained a lot of credibility if he had done this.

As to the very strong likelihood that Aronshon called the Ridgewood News to pull a resident’s letter, this needs to be investigated. Such an underhanded tactic is outrageous and the public needs to know that our elected official stooped so low. I hope the Ridgewood News comes clean on this or I hope the letter writer pursues this.

Global Warming as a 21st Century Religion
Posted: 22/06/2013 00:00
Peter Lilley
Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, former Cabinet minister

G.K. Chesterton said that “when people stop believing in orthodox religion, rather than believe in nothing, they will believe in anything”. One of the ersatz religions which fills the void in recent years is belief in Catastrophic Man-Made Global Warming. It claims to be based on science. But it has all the characteristics of an eschatological cult.

It has its own priesthood and ecclesiastical establishment – the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; they alone can interpret its sacred scriptures – the Assessment Reports; it anathematises as ‘deniers’ anyone who casts doubt on its certainties; above all it predicts imminent doom if we do not follow its precepts and make the sacrifices it prescribes.

What most clearly distinguishes the Catastrophic Global Warming cult from science is that it is not refutable by facts. As Parliament enacted the Climate Change Bill, on the presumption that the world was getting warmer, it snowed in London in October – the first time in 74 years. Supporters explained “extreme cold is a symptom of global warming”!

The Met Office – whose climate model is the cult’s crystal ball to forecast centuries ahead – has made a series of spectacularly unreliable short term forecasts: “Our children will not experience snow” (that was 2000, before the recent run of cold winters), a barbecue summer (before the dismal 2011 summer), the drought will continue (last spring before the wettest summer on record). Now they say that rain and floods are the new normal. But – hot or cold, wet or dry – global warming is always to blame.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/peter-lilley/global-warming-religion_b_3463878.html

Volunteer Center of Bergen County announces new officers and directors
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Pascack Valley Community Life

Bergen County — The Volunteer Center of Bergen County has announced newly elected officers and directors.

Michael Stern of Ridgewood, was elected first vice president. Stern is president and CEO of Kreisler Manufacturing and member of the Bergen LEADS Class of 2009.

Roberta Sonenfeld of Ridgewood, was elected second vice president. Sonenfeld, formerly Senior VP, Emigrant Bank in New York City, is active in Ridgewood schools and member of Bergen LEADS Class of 2010.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community/announcements/213262261_Volunteer_Center_of_Bergen_County_announces_new_officers_and_directors.html#sthash.s58sS80S.dpuf

Mayor Aronsohn fills key committee and advisory board positions
June 26,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Public Library has big night as Mayor Aronsohn Appoints many friends of the library to key advisory board and committee positions .

Appoint Members to Community Center Advisory Board – Appoints the following members to this Board with terms that will expire 6/30/14: Marilyn Sneirson – Senior Citizen Resident; James Griffith – Senior Citizen  Resident; Liz Kloak – Adult Resident (children in Ridgewood school system); Nancy Friedman – Adult Resident (children in Ridgewood school system);Ryan Peene – Adult Resident; Glenn Jorgensen – Adult Resident; Captain Jacqueline Luthcke or designee – Ridgewood Police Dept. Liaison; Nancy Bigos – Parks &  Recreation Dept. Representative; and Sheila Brogan – Ridgewood Bd. of Education Liaison

Appoint Members to Citizens Safety Advisory Committee – Appoints the following to terms that will expire on  12/31/13:  Patrick Banks and John Lukas

Appoint Village Councilmembers as Liaisons to Various Boards and Committees

Appoints Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck who with her husband has been active in raising money for Ridgewoood Library for some time as the Mayor’s Representative to the  Ridgewood Library Board of Trustees and Councilman

Albert Pucciarelli ,he was a Director of the Ridgewood Library Foundation from 2002 to 2010 as the Council Liaison to the Financial Advisory Committee

Also the wife of Glenn F.Jorgensen, founding president of the library board has been appoint chairwoman of the new tiger team (  Financial Advisory Committee ) Looks like the library is set for awhile.

photo by Boyd Loving

FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY
THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON

FLOOD WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
346 AM EDT THU JUN 27 2013

…FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON…

…FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY
THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON…

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR

* FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON

* LOW PRESSURE WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST TODAY…THEN MOVE NORTH
TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME
INCREASINGLY LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT AS THIS SYSTEM
INTERACTS WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE AREA. THIS
ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY.

* THIS SETUP IS CONDUCIVE TO BANDS OF HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TRAINING OVER THE SAME AREA. LOCALIZED RAINFALL
RATES COULD EXCEED 2 INCHES IN AN HOUR IF THUNDERSTORMS TRAIN
OVER THE SAME AREA FOR AN HOUR…WHICH WOULD CA– USE URBAN AND
SMALL STREAM FLASH FLOODING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

Things That Will Cost More Under Obama’s Climate Change Plan
Amy Payne
June 26, 2013 at 7:20 am

President Obama doesn’t “have time for a meeting of the flat-Earth society.” And he probably considers you a member if you disagree with him on his crushing regulatory approach to climate change.

The heck of it is, the policies he advocates actually would not help the Earth.

Before Obama’s speech yesterday, Heritage’s Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow, Nicolas Loris, explained the President’s dilemma:

But let’s pretend we were able to stop emitting all carbon immediately. Forget the electricity to cool our homes in the summer months. Shut down the power plants. Stop driving our cars. No talking. The Science and Public Policy Institute found that the global temperature would decrease by 0.17 degrees Celsius—by 2100. These regulations are all pain no gain.

That’s what President Obama’s climate change plan would not do.

What President Obama’s climate change plan would do: increase the price of just about everything.

Whether it’s regulating appliances or eliminating coal from the nation’s energy diet, Obama’s plan has the same effect: hiking the cost of living.

Think through your day. Everything you buy, everything you eat, everything you wear… it was all produced using energy. Just a few of the things that will be more expensive under Obama’s plan:

Heating and cooling your home
Buying a car and driving—from your work commute to soccer practice and everywhere in between
Turning on the lights
Washing and drying clothes

But that’s not all. Think even bigger. What will it mean for President Obama’s war on coal to hike natural gas prices by 42 percent?

Sure, you may have a gas-powered furnace or oven. But natural gas is powering much more, as Heritage’s Loris, David Kreutzer, and Kevin Dayaratna explain:

Natural gas is not only a critical source of electricity generation; natural gas and other gases extracted from natural gas provide a feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, food processing, fueling industrial boilers, and much more.

From food processing to waste treatment—the entire cycle of life will cost more!

Of course, it doesn’t help that you will also have less income. Forthcoming research from these Heritage experts shows that Obama’s anti-coal policies will cause a family of four to lose more than $1,000 in annual income.

https://tinyurl.com/qza6bnz

Parking time limit has support of Ridgewood residents
Wednesday June 26, 2013, 10:13 AM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Proposed changes to restrictions on one residential street will attempt to alleviate homeowners’ complaints while reducing the number of commuters who use the roadway to park their vehicles on weekdays.

An ordinance establishing a three-hour parking time limit on Lynn Street has earned the support of most residents living there, based on results of a survey completed earlier this year by the village’s engineering department. The pending order will prohibit parking for more than three hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on both sides of the street, which is bordered by Franklin Turnpike and Racetrack Road.

The Ridgewood Council will consider the ordinance and vote on the new hours at its July 17 public meeting. A vote in favor of the changes will delete and replace the location’s existing weekday regulations, specifically the 7 to 10 a.m. no stopping or standing restriction, from the village’s traffic code.

Adjustments to the hours were first brought to the Village Council in January, when municipal engineer Chris Rutishauser reported that the majority of Lynn Street homeowners who responded to the survey favored changes. At the time, Rutishauser told council members that residents had previously met with the Ridgewood Citizens’ Safety Advisory Committee requesting action to, among other things, prevent traffic enforcement from ticketing their cars.

Homeowners complained that they had been issued numerous summonses because their own cars had been parked in front of their homes during the current prohibited hours, according to Rutishauser. At the June 5 work session, he further explained the situation in which Lynn Street residents were being ticketed.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/213132141_Parking_time_limit_has_support_of_Ridgewood_residents.html#sthash.2m9dC69r.dpuf

 

Ridgewood High School Graduation Day Class of 2013

RHS Graduation: 5 p.m.

Congratulations to all the Graduates from the Ridgewood Blog !

Ridgewood students help grow community garden at Orchard School
Wednesday June 26, 2013, 1:51 PM
BY  LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

They frolicked in the grass. They wet their hands in the fountain. They drew on their “tree-sels” (tree-shaped easels).

Running around Orchard School’s new community art garden, the only such garden in the district, students were having fun being children. For several supervising teachers, it was a satisfying sight – especially since the students had helped assemble their own play place.

“This isn’t based off a bunch of adults’ ideas. It’s based off of the creativity of the children,” said Orchard third-grade teacher Erin Heider.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/213169291_Ridgewood_students_help_grow_community_garden_at_Orchard_School.html#sthash.4DJJigdd.dpuf

RHS Boys Spring Track and Field Team was named Team of the Year by The Record.

Ridgewood NJ, Coach Josh Saladino reports that the RHS Boys Spring Track and Field Team was named Team of the Year by The Record.

The team won the league, county relays, county and state sectional championship all in the same season for the first time in school history.

Earlier in June, in Greensboro, NC, the team had some tremendous accomplishments: The Sprint Medley relay team of senior Storm Dublirer, and juniors Brian Collins, Doohee Han and Jake Sabatini finished in fourth place in the nation, earning All-American status. The 4x800m relay team of senior Storm Dublirer, juniors Luke Dublirer and David Frering and freshman Michael Thurston came in seventh place in the nation and broke a 40-year-old Bergen County record. The team’s assistant coaches are Holly Martin (BF), Torre Watson (BF), Mia Martinez (class of ’08), and former RHS Guidance Counselor Mike Glynn.

H.S. Boys lacrosse: Noah Pounds, Ridgewood, is player of the year

RHS senior Noah Pounds has been named Lacrosse Player of the Year by The Record. Cick below to read the story.

Sunday, June 23, 2013    Last updated: Sunday June 23, 2013, 11:04 AM
BY  BRIAN A. GIUFFRA
STAFF WRITER
The Record

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/212653001_H_S__Boys_lacrosse__Noah_Pounds__Ridgewood__is_player_of_the_year_.html?page=all#sthash.de7MQUEw.dpuf

Cookies with the Chief

As part of the Ridgewood Police Department’s Community Policing and community outreach efforts we will be partnering with the Ridgewood Public Library for Cookies with the Chief.

The pilot program will be in concert with the Library’s Drop-in Storytimes program. The goal is to provide children and parents the opportunity to meet and speak with the Chief outside of an official setting and to encourage reading among children. The first coordinated event will be at 11:00 am on Thursday 6/27/13 in the library auditorium, immediately after story time.