Gov. Chris Christie won’t rule out toll hikes on Port Authority bridges and tunnels
Gov. Chris Christie today would not rule out a toll increase for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s bridges and tunnels, saying he would first listen to the public and confer with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo before making a decision.
“Gov. Cuomo and I want to do it in concert with each other to make sure that (a toll increase) has the power and authority of both governors who have supervision over the Port Authority,” Christie said. “There are going to be public hearings next week. We’re waiting to see the results of those, get some reaction, some formal reaction from the public.”
A spokesman for Cuomo did not return calls tonight.
The two governors have veto power over all Port Authority actions. (Strunsky and Spoto, The Star-Ledger)
>Ridgewood Schools :The focus of RPS is on social-emotional learning
After reading the BOE minutes of June 13, I sincerely doubt that our schools have the time, nor the resources, to address readiness for college and careers. The focus of RPS is on social-emotional learning.
Forget about math and english. We must teach our children to apply social-emotional learning skills. We must have culturally appropriate instruction and address the social dimensions of academic learning. Our kids must work in small groups baking cookies with a teacher.
This innovative educational agenda does not come cheap. Resources will be used to train teachers in social-emotional learning, and also social skills training for lunch aides. Of course other money will be spent to supplement school libraries with texts about social emotional issues.
Maybe the “alternative homework” being considered can be used to address some of those not-so-important aspects of education, like math and English.
Of Coarse : NJ Transit derailment renews calls for second tunnel under Hudson River to Manhattan
Never let a crisis go to waste
The area between New York Penn Station and the Hudson River train tunnel resembles a big bowl of spaghetti, with wires and tracks and trains veering in every direction.
Even on a normal day, it is a delicate dance to make the system work for the 1,300 trains that pass through the tunnel each day.
But throw in what NJ Transit calls a “minor derailment” and you have two mornings of hellish commutes, overheated train riders and news releases with I-told-you-so’s from advocates of an additional commuter rail tunnel from Secaucus to midtown Manhattan.
Twenty eight hours after two train cars derailed outside the Hudson River train tunnel, rail operations resumed without interruptions at around noon today. (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger)
Jobs: three large manufacturers in South Jersey announced they would shut down
In a span of only a few months, three large manufacturers in South Jersey announced they would shut down, shedding more than 500 jobs and leaving almost 1 million square feet of factory space idle.
It is, in part, a reflection of a sharp decline in consumer spending.
But the closures also are part of a trend toward companies growing still leaner and meaner, jettisoning property and personnel to cut costs.
“People are buying less, so manufacturers are not producing as much,” says Philip Kirschner, CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, a Trenton-based trade group representing 22,000 state businesses. “We also know that companies are looking for cheaper places to operate and in New Jersey real estate and labor are more expensive.” (Smith, Gannett)
Eight states have raised their standards for passing elementary-school math and reading tests in recent years, but these states and most others still fall below national benchmarks, according to a federal report released Wednesday.
The data help explain the disconnect between the relatively high pass rates on many state tests and the low scores on the national exams, known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
In fourth-grade reading, for example, 35 states set passing bars that are below the “basic” level on the national NAEP exam. “Basic” means students have a satisfactory understanding of material, as opposed to “proficient,” which means they have a solid grasp of it. Massachusetts is the only state to set its bar at “proficient”—and that was only in fourth- and eighth-grade math. (Banchero, The Wall Street Journal)
>Start of new NJEA prescription drug plan delayed in N.J.
The new labor-management committee charged with creating new health benefit plans for teachers and educators this week delayed implementation of a new prescription drug plan designed to save New Jersey $49 million.
Representatives of the state’s largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, requested extra time to study the matter. Union members want about half of the savings to be used to lower drug co-pays for retirees.
The move came days after union members of another committee, charged with creating health plans for most rank-and-file state and local government workers, also delayed action on the drug plan, which was recommended by the state’s consultant firm, Aon Hewitt. (Method, Gannett)
Gov. Chris Christie Judges out of order on pension pay protest
Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t think much of the lawsuit seeking to exempt judges from the new pension and benefit reform law.
The argument, when the case is heard by Mercer County Assignment Judge Linda Feinberg on Sept. 16, will center on whether the law violates the state constitution by making the judges pay more into the pension plan.
“This lawsuit by the judges is absurd. They should be ashamed of themselves,’’ Christie said at a news conference in Burlington City this week. “These are the highest-paid people in state government, $165,000 a year, and after 10 years they’re entitled to a full pension. The average judge in New Jersey puts $50,000 into the pension fund and in their first year they get paid $107,000. In the first six months into their retirement they exhaust what they put in and the rest is on the back of the taxpayers. And they’re suing over this?” (Jordan, Gannett)
We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. https://www.physorg.com/news170614271.htmlhttps://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iph….
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It’s unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don’t understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us
> Summer Sizzles at A Mano: Mozzarella Making and Homemade
Pasta Demonstration – August 18th
Delivery to Ridgewood Residents Begins August 15
Ridgewood New Jersey’s authentic Neapolitan trattoria A Mano, will host a delicious demonstration featuring the tasty techniques of preparing fresh pasta and mouthwatering mozzarella, from traditional ingredients to classic methods. Taking place on Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at 6:00 PM by reservation only, the demonstration will reveal some of the savory secrets behind A Mano’s key dishes.Guests will take an up close look at the art of making fresh egg pasta, from dough making and rolling, to pasta cutting and other expert techniques used to create favorite homemade pastas featured on A Mano’s menu which includes: Homemade Lasagna Bolognese, Vegetable Lasagna, Pappardelle ai Funghi (wide ribbon pasta with assorted wild mushrooms),
Tagliatelle Bolognese (ribbon pasta with classic meat sauce) and Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce, basil and homemade
mozzarella).
Also to be demonstrated, is the craft of making melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella, including stretching, forming and setting the cheese. In addition to topping A Mano’s authentic Neapolitan wood fired pizzas with mozzarella that is made on site daily, the fresh cheese also appears in recipes of signature dishes such as the Mozzarella Pinwheel (handcrafted mozzarella roll with proscuitto and grilled vegetables), Caprese Salad (mozzarella, vine-ripe tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil) and more.The cost of the demonstration is $10 per person, which will be credited towards dinner immediately following the event, should guests choose to enjoy a meal at A Mano.
In other news, soon A Mano will bring the taste of Naples to the door steps of Ridgewood residents. Mondays through Thursdays beginning August 15th, A Mano will deliver it’s authentic Neapolitan cuisine to homes in the Village, with plans to expand delivery in the future.
What: Educational homemade pasta and mozzarella making demonstration ($10 per person) at A Mano, in Ridgewood, NJ
When: Thursday, August 18th, 6:00 PM, by reservation only
Where: A Mano – 24 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Telephone: 201.493.2000
Website: www.amanopizza.com
Reservations Required: Limited engagement. Please call A Mano for reservations.
The state’s senior economist said Tuesday that despite growing unease over the nation’s shaky economy, he is not revising his positive outlook for New Jersey.
“We expect the unemployment rate to go down and incomes to rise, maybe not as rapidly as we would like, but that’s what we expect,” said Charles Steindel, chief economist for the New Jersey Department of Treasury.
Steindel’s cautious optimism comes in the wake of a dizzying dose of bad economic news, starting with Standard & Poor’s historic decision Friday to downgrade the federal government’s credit rating, which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting by 635 points on Monday, the sixth-largest decline in its history. (Renshaw, The Star-Ledger)
Every school year brings changes and challenges, but few are as formidable as the one now facing administrators: implementing the state’s new anti-bullying law.
The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights requires districts to have a host of new procedures and protocols in place when schools open their doors, strengthening the rules put in place in 2002 and 2007.
These include requirements that spell out the specific number of days allowed for a case to be reported, investigated and resolved. The law also expands the definitions of bullying, including the tricky issue of online or electronic harassment taking place outside of school.
More than 1,000 school administrators have gone to day-long training sessions across the state over the past month, organized by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the New Jersey School Boards Association. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Fine Print: Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) draft curriculum frameworks
What it is: New Jersey has joined nearly two dozen other states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), a consortium developing an assessment system to match the new national Common Core State Standards in math and language arts. PARCC released its draft frameworks of what those assessments would measure and what students should learn.
What it means: On the idea that teachers teach what is tested, this is the first look at what will be tested under the PARCC model. There is still a long way to go, with the assessments not expected to be online until 2014, at the earliest, and much work to be done in terms of design and development. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a proposal to raise toll prices ‘doesn’t work for me’
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday the proposed steep toll hikes at bridges and tunnels to New Jersey are a “non-starter,” but he didn’t rule out increases after further review.
“I think the proposal is a non-starter for obvious reasons,” Cuomo said Tuesday of the tentative plan, which could be killed by him or by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. He said that now isn’t a good time to be raising tolls and that the kneejerk response of putting “our hand in the taxpayer’s pocket” when money is needed “doesn’t work for me.”
The proposal by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates area bridges, tunnels and transit hubs, would as much as double the tolls at the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, at the George Washington Bridge and at three other bridges between New Jersey and Staten Island. (Gormely, The Associated Press)
UNIONS: The real story on the PA toll hikes comes out
Labor to Dems: Don’t slam toll hike
As the barrage of press releases from labor unions and others supporting the Port Authority’s proposed toll hike make their way into the public domain, one voice – or rather a host of voices – is missing from the chorus.
Since the proposed toll and fare hike was announced Friday, Democratic state lawmakers have been almost universally absent from the criticism of the plan, which would raise the cost to cross the Hudson by 50 percent for some motorists. Sources tell PolitickerNJ the reason for the silence is twofold. First, organized labor has come out overwhelmingly in favor of the plan. The revenue generated from the hike will fund some $30 billion in capital improvements over the next decade, creating much needed jobs for labor’s rank and file, who have seen their unemployment rise as high as 40 percent. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Pay-to-play reform in Bergen County was impractical because of likely legal challenges, Democrats contended last year. But such reform was essential to dispel the perception that county government was for sale, Republicans countered.
The county’s political landscape has shifted significantly since then and so have the dynamics of a pay-to-play debate that has dominated local and state politics for more than a decade.
Republicans took control of the county freeholder board in January for the first time in eight years, and all but one of them voted in June to delay the latest pay-to-play reform proposal. The reason? Legal considerations.
