>“Occupy” protests degenerate into chaos in California Nov 3, 7:21 AM (ET)
By TERENCE CHEA, LISA LEFF and TERRY COLLINS
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – A day of demonstrations in Oakland that began as a significant step toward expanding the political and economic influence of the Occupy Wall Street movement, ended with police in riot gear arresting dozens of protesters who had marched through downtown to break into a vacant building, shattering windows, spraying graffiti and setting fires along the way.
“We go from having a peaceful movement to now just chaos,” said protester Monique Agnew, 40.
Since the Master Plan’s Hospital Zone is already amended, the question, now, is whether the council adopts ordinances that reflect consistency with those changes, according to Village Attorney Matt Rogers.
The council has many options upon the completion of its public hearings, Rogers noted: it may decide to introduce the ordinance as written; take action to recommend changes or to resolve or deny changes; or decide not to introduce the ordinance at all.
“There may even be other options, depending on the way the hearings go,” he said.
He explained that the council’s task is to decide whether the planning board’s amendment is consistent with “sound principles of planning and zoning” as outlined by state municipal land use law.
“It must be noted that in order to have a viable, effective and enforceable land use policy, presumed to be valid against any challenge, the adopted ordinances must be substantially consistent with the Master Plan’s land use code,” Rogers said.
Should the council opt for approving ordinances that are inconsistent with the planning board’s amendment to the Master Plan, it must pass by majority a resolution outlining those inconsistencies and stating the reasons for them. The meeting’s minutes must also reflect that legal reasoning, he said.”
>Grades and achievement gap: Nation’s Report Card scores NJ on both
The annual numbers from the Nation’s Report Card can be confounding. Test scores cutting across grades, subjects, incomes, and racial groups . . . .
That makes it easier to understand how by some measures — according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released yesterday — New Jersey is tops in the nation. Or close. By others, it’s in the middle of the pack. Or worse.
Bottom line: New Jersey’s public school students once again did quite well overall, arguably as well as any.
The new NAEP numbers are for Grades 4 and 8 in reading and math. As they typically do, New Jersey students finished in the top three in both grades and on both tests. New Jersey’s scores were as good as any state’s in the country except, arguably, Massachusetts. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>NJDOT Chief James Simpson says ARC Tunnel was flawed from start and not backed by NY
The canceled second rail tunnel under the Hudson River wasn’t supported by New York and lost some of its value when NJ Transit decided not to route it to Penn Station, New Jersey’s state transportation commissioner said Tuesday.
James Simpson made the remarks as part of a panel discussing transportation funding with former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley and Anthony Coscia, former Port Authority board chairman and current Amtrak board member. His reply was to a direct question about the Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel project, canceled in October 2010. (Higgs, Gannett)
>To survive, medical companies in New Jersey are building new hospitals
The dazzling new hospital that will open here on Sunday looks more like a five-star resort than a medical center. It may also be the best hope for survival of its corporate parent, Capital Health, a nonprofit company that operates three health care facilities in New Jersey.
The $540 million hospital is set on a pastoral campus with a weeping fieldstone wall fountain, all private rooms, an Italian limestone staircase and amenities like a spa for cancer patients. It will replace Capital Health’s Mercer campus, a 19th-century medical center in nearby Trenton that has dingy, crowded waiting rooms and triaged gurneys lining the emergency department hallways. (Kaysen, The New York Times)
>11.02.11 STORM NEWS: WILLARD WILL OPEN ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3
WILLARD SCHOOL WILL BE OPEN TOMORROW, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3: Please help to spread the word that power has been restored and Willard School will be open on Thursday, November 3. Please continue to exercise caution when walking or driving to and from all schools
>U.S. Senate approves $15M for work on proposed Amtrak tunnel spanning from Secaucus to N.Y. Penn Station
One option gives New Jersey commuters more trains to midtown Manhattan and greater control of rail schedules. The other provides better East Side access and a direct ride to see the Mets at Citi Field.
The proposed Gateway Tunnel from Secaucus to New York Penn Station and the plan to extend New York City’s No. 7 subway line to Secaucus are chugging along on different tracks, but at some point might be on a collision course. (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger)
Sanitation Crews Busy Cleaning Up Debris Left By Early Snowstorm Boyd A. Loving
A team of the Village’s most efficient municipal employees was seen on South Irving Street early on Wednesday removing debris left behind by the rare Fall snowstorm.
The unofficial word from a member of the busy crew was that debris clean up won’t be completely finished for at least one full month.
Gotta give these guys a big hand; they are extremely hard and dedicated workers! This has got to be the toughest job in the Village.
>Occupy ‘ball’ street : Rush for STD tests By LAURA ITALIANO, FRANK ROSARIO and BOB FREDERICKS Last Updated: 10:39 AM, November 1, 2011 Posted: 12:26 AM, November 1, 2011
It’s the Autumn of Love! Occupy Wall Street protesters are flocking to nearby health clinics for STD and HIV testing after getting their freak on in ’60s-style hookups with crusty strangers, sources told The Post yesterday.
“Last week was free love,” said a medical professional at a clinic located a short walk from Zuccotti Park, referring to the number of people who organizers have referred for sexually transmitted disease testing.
A volunteer at the park admitted concern among protesters about STDs.
>PICKET: Cain campaign has biggest online fundraising day By Kerry Picket
Published on November 1, 2011, 01:50PM
Two sources within the Cain campaign are telling me that although Mr. Cain was hit with sexual harassment accusations in the 90’s from two females who worked for him, when he was president of the National Restaurant Association, Monday’s online campaign fundraising for the campaign was the best ever up to this point.
Human Events is reporting that Cain Campaign Manager Mark Block says the campaign raised $250,000 in online donations in one day. However, one Cain campaign source confirmed to me that the fundraising for Monday is well over $300,000.
>WW I – The Great War – Presentation: Sponsored by American Legion Post 53
The American Legion post 53 will have a presentation at the Ridgewood library on Saturday, November 5th at 12 p.m. It is about “The Great War”.Ridgewood High School teacher John Domville will speak about WW1 and Joe Suplicki, Ridgewood historian will speak about life in Ridgewood during that time. Light refreshments.
Gov. Chris Christie says the state’s utility companies aren’t dropping the ball this time.
The governor praised Jersey Central Power & Light Co. and Public Service Electric & Gas Co. for making adequate progress returning power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses knocked offline by the weekend storm, with Morris and Bergen counties the hardest-hit areas.
Christie said the peak number of utility customers without power “was nearly 750,000,” but the number of locations without lights, and in many cases heat, had been reduced to 380,000 by Monday morning. (Jordan, Gannett)
>Are single patient rooms the reason Valley’s Renewal is 1.2mm square feet?
In August 2011 Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC), a brand new, state of the art, single-patient room hospital opened in rural Middletown NY,. There are differences between this hospital and the Renewal that Valley envisions, but a review of the facts may raise some questions. ORMC’s new facility is not embedded in a residential community and space and land are not its primary constraints. Its 61 acre campus, next to routes 17 and 84 has abundant highway access for patients and visitors alike. But despite having abundant land available, that hospital was able to achieve something Renewal doesn’t on its 15 acre site. ORMC was built at 621,000 square feet, over 500,000 square feet smaller than Renewal. ORMC is less than 100,000 square feet larger than current Valley and within the pre-existing Master Plan’s allowance of what’s reasonable for Ridgewood. Sounds like modernization within limits may be achievable after all.
ORMC is smaller at 374 bed and although it has been said repeatedly over the recent past that there is a surplus of hospital beds in Bergen County this doesn’t suggest Valley reduce bed count. Renewal has 21% more beds than ORMC at 454, but Renewal needs 88% more square feet to achieve the single patient room objective. Square footage per bed, which includes all the diagnostic, surgical and administrative functions of the hospital come in 55% higher for Renewal. Remember ORMC is not space constrained, Valley is, yet Renewal is super-sized. What is Renewal using all that extra space for?
Where is ORMC putting the gigantic new, state of the art equipment that Renewal claims as the other reason so much space is needed? If Valley built Renewal’s 454 beds at ORMC’s per bed square footage, it would be 754,000 square feet. That’s 400,000 square feet smaller than Renewal. Can someone explain why Valley needs 400,000 square feet more to achieve the same objectives when they are constrained by their surroundings? Is Valley being inefficient with space or are they doing more than ORMC? Some of the difference may be attributable to retrofitting in older buildings, but the Bergen and Phillips buildings are being removed as part of Renewal, therefore at least 700,000 square feet of new construction is included in Renewal’s 1.2mm total and the retained buildings are less than 20 years old.
ORMC was built for $264mm, while Renewal comes in fully-loaded at $750mm. On a per bed basis that is over $930,000 or 2.2x more per Renewal bed than per ORMC bed. Some of that is explained by Northern NJ vs more rural NY state, and some may be explained by the subterranean floors of Renewal, but does that explain it all?
Despite its location in a residential neighborhood, accessed by single-lane roads, Valley generates far more traffic than an “average” hospital today. From the traffic expert’s testimony Valley traffic, as it exists today, is 8% higher per square foot, 31% higher per bed and 53% higher per employee than an average hospital. Growth in hospital traffic since the last major expansion is 3.4x more than Valley projected at approval without adding an additional bed in that time. What is Valley doing that makes it so much busier today than it said it would be? Is that what makes Renewal so much larger than ORMC?
In conclusion, this document should be considered by everyone involved in this debate and decision. The hospital’s trustees, doctors, nurses, employees and supporters need to have Valley’s management explain to them and Ridgewood, whose quality of life will be compromised by Renewal, to explain the reasons for Renewal being so much larger. This explanation needs to be in clear language without PR “spin”. We need to know what ORMC is doing right or what Renewal is doing wrong that there is this large a disconnect. Our elected officials need to consider both what is said and what is not said by the hospital about its plans, its current operations and how it intends to generate the funds to repay the Renewal related debt. ORMC specifically states that there won’t be higher charges for single patient rooms, so that isn’t how Renewal is funded. You can see for yourself at ORMC’s website or the attachment that showcases the new building.
The Planning Board, after their hearings and procedures, voted “yes” on an ordinance to change the Master Plan. This now goes up to the Village Council. They can either approve the ordinance, disapprove the ordinance, or remain undecided on the ordinance.
If the VC votes “yes”, the reality is that CRR will sue and continue their present suit against the Planning Board.If the VC votes “yes”, the don’t have to explain anything, they will be saying the Planning Board did their job.
If the VC votes “no”, The Valley will sue. Legally, the VC has to explain why, in writing, they are saying “no” to the result of the Planning Board process – and the Village Attorney has advised the VC that legally it can only be for planning, zoning related reasons. It is reviewing facts and process of Planning Board decision.
The VC isn’t obliged to vote “yes”, but they are obliged to follow the procedures and laws, and decide based on the planning and zoning issues.
If you want to do your own legal research, do it now, and get up at one of the public meetings at tell your findings.
>October Snow Days Force NJ Spring Breaks to Shorten Some districts will have to shorten spring break after calling snow days in October
Some New Jersey school districts are still reeling from the Halloween-weekend snowstorm that cut off power to well over 2 million residents, and they now face an uncertain schedule heading into winter.
In West Orange, students will have to miss a third day of school Wednesday, already going over the maximum number of two allowable snow days. As a result, their weeklong spring vacation will be shortened by at least one day, said spokeswoman Jeannine Genauer.
And if more snowstorms force school districts to close once winter comes roaring through, more questions of how to squeeze in the state-required 180 days of instruction will arise.
