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Ridgewood High School graduate Mike Graifman a solar pioneer
Ridgewood High School graduate uses energy to help in Haiti
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
In 2007, Mike Graifman, a Ridgewood High School senior at the time, made a presentation to the Board of Education about the potential environmental advantages and fiscal savings that could come with the use of renewable energy, specifically solar power.
Ridgewood High School graduate Michael Graifman and several of his classmates and colleagues at Tufts University in Massachusetts installed solar panels at a school in Haiti over winter break.
More than four years later, as the district begins the process of installing solar panels on nine of its buildings, Graifman has just completed a solar energy project of his own, albeit in a place much different from Ridgewood.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/145045285_RHS_graduate_uses_his_energy_to_help_in_Haiti_.html
Regular Public Meeting – Monday, October 8, 2007
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ridgewood Public Schools
Bergen County, New Jersey
October 8, 2007
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education held on Monday,
October 8, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. at the Education Center
Presentation: Solar Power
Michael Graifman, Ridgewood High School senior, made a
presentation about solar power.
Regular Public Meeting – Monday, October 8, 2007
Part I – General Benefits of Use of Solar Energy
Michael explained that a solar panel takes the sun’s energy and
converts it to electricity and said there are many reasons to use
solar energy. He reviewed the following benefits:
Environmental benefits:
• Solar energy is 100% clean and results in no CO2
emissions.
• It does not require strip mining.
National political benefits:
• Alternate energy keeps the money in the U.S. and provides
freedom from dependency on foreign energy sources.
• It is a growing industry that needs support.
Educational benefits:
• More environmentally geared thinking among students is
needed now and in the future.
• It can be worked into the curriculum.
• It makes a public statement that Ridgewood High School is
living up to its reputation for excellence.
Financial benefits:
• Solar energy production is 100% free.
• New Jersey is rated one of the best states for financing
installation of solar energy due to the CORE (Customer
On-site Rebate) program and the SREC (Solar Renewable
Energy Certificate) program.
• It reduces the PSE&G bill.
.
Part 2 – Installation of Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels at
Ridgewood High School
Michael discussed the feasibility of the physical conditions at
Ridgewood High School, showed photographs, described the
proposed system (110.656 KW) and showed how the system size
was calculated. He elaborated on the three possible financial
pathways: 1) CORE rebate, 2) increase in SREC program, and 3)
a combination of the two programs.
Part 3 – Operation of System
Michael presented graphs showing electricity production versus
value of energy produced. He said as the efficiency decreases,
the value of the electricity being produced increases and said this
would be a good investment because the Board would save more
money as the system ages.
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Dear Graydon fan,
Please consider signing the following petition:
Petition to restore normal Graydon hours
We respectfully ask the Village to restore the standard Graydon opening time of 10 AM every day throughout the summer.
The Village website states that Graydon will be closed until noon on 28 days in a three-month swimming season: the first 13 weekdays in June and the last 15 weekdays (3 weeks) in August.
Without a morning swimming option, many may see no point in buying Graydon badges–especially those with young children or grandchildren to amuse on a hot day. Once they’ve gone elsewhere, they may never return.
We believe that simplifying the daily schedule to 10 AM to 7:30 PM, as before, would encourage new and renewed memberships, reduce confusion, and not risk alienating potential patrons.
We love our natural, sand-bottomed pool—our beautiful, unique, safe oasis. We want Graydon to thrive. Our wish, and we hope yours, is for this landmark to remain a quintessentially Ridgewood summer tradition. To attract patrons year after year and generation after generation, Graydon must remain open for business.
If you agree that Graydon should open at 10 AM every day, please “sign” the petition above by replying to [email protected] with the following message text:
Full name(s)
Street address AND TOWN
Number of people in household
Use kiddie pool (children, grandchildren, other)?
PLEASE RESPOND BY TUESDAY, April 3, or no later than Wednesday afternoon.
The petition statement and list of signers will be presented to the Village Council on Wednesday, April 4 (7:30 PM, 4th-floor courtroom, Village Hall). Please come if you can.
Thanks for your support in keeping Graydon natural AND open.
Till soon,
Marcia Ringel and Alan Seiden
Co-Chairs, The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
“It’s clear—we love Graydon!”
[email protected] www.PreserveGraydon.org
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Unpaid bloggers’ lawsuit versus Huffington Post tossed
By Jonathan Stempel
Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:42pm EDT
(Reuters) – AOL Inc on Friday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by unpaid bloggers who complained they were deprived of their fair share of the roughly $315 million that the company paid last March to buy The Huffington Post website.
U.S. District Judge John Koeltl rejected claims by social activist and commentator Jonathan Tasini and an estimated 9,000 other bloggers that they deserved $105 million, or about one-third, of the purchase price.
The lawsuit contended that the work of unpaid content providers like bloggers gave The Huffington Post much of its value, and that the website’s sale allowed co-founder Arianna Huffington to profit at their expense. Tasini said he alone had made 216 submissions to the website over more than five years.
https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/30/us-aol-huffingtonpost-bloggers-idUSBRE82T17L20120330
>Passaic, N.J. Considers Charging For Emergency Calls
How Does $1,000 For House Fires And $600 For Car Fires Grab You?
March 30, 2012 5:00 PM
ASSAIC, NJ (CBSNewYork) – When emergency crews respond to a car or building fire in Passaic, a bill might soon be sent out.
When the Passaic City Council meets next Tuesday, Mayor Alex Blanco said what they will not decide to do is levy fees against people in car accidents or building owners whose structures catch fire.
What they will do is go after the insurance companies.
“If you are a policy owner, you are already paying for it — this fire department service charge provision,” the mayor told WCBS 880 reporter Levon Putney on Friday.
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/passaic-considers-charging-for-emergency-calls/
>A Real Plan for a Balanced Budget
Garrett speaks on House floor in support of RSC budget .
I find it troubling that our country’s budget crisis is so out of control that the notion of a balanced budget has become a novel idea in Washington, DC, something many of my colleagues on both sides of Capitol Hill view as the impossible dream. To address this misconception, my colleagues and I at the the Republican Study Committee (RSC) have stood up again this year to prove once and for all fiscal sanity is not out of reach—we introduced a budget that balances by 2017 without raising taxes.
The RSC’s budget, Cut, Cap and Balance: A Fiscal Year 2013 Budget, which I authored and introduced as the Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman for the RSC, is the most fiscally conservative budget proposal introduced in the House this year. While it builds on many of the ideas in Chairman Ryan’s plan, we wanted to go further to ensure it will actually balance within our lifetimes. Our primary focus was adhering to a number of common-sense principles we should require of our national budget:
Our national budget should balance within ten years without raising any taxes.
The RSC plan balances the federal budget in 2017.
Our national budget should strengthen Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to ensure their long-term sustainability.
The RSC plan makes common-sense reforms to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid by offering increased choices and improved services, and saves Social Security by strengthening the program’s bank account. There are no changes for seniors currently 55 years and older.
Our national budget should reduce spending and trim down the size of the federal government to make it more effective and efficient.
The RSC plan cuts agency spending below 2008 levels and gets government out of the way so America’s businesses have the ability to grow and create jobs.
Our national budget should terminate federal programs that are unconstitutional, duplicative, or harmful.
The RSC plan does what American families across the country have been required to do in these tough economic times.
Our national budget should prohibit earmarks.
The RSC plan prohibits earmarks and eliminates pork-barrel spending.
Our national budget should embrace reforms that make it is easier to reduce spending than it is to increase it.
The RSC plan puts fair rules in place to prevent out-of-control Washington spending that stifles private-sector job creation.
Our national budget should keep taxes low and include pro-jobs tax reform.
The RSC plan prevents tax increases, repeals ObamaCare tax hikes, keeps the tax burden at its historic average, and makes the tax code simpler, flatter, and fairer.
Fiscal discipline is still within our grasp, but our window to take action grows smaller by the day. Our enormous national debt and skyrocketing budget deficits were not created overnight, but the responsibility to fix the problem has fallen at our feet.
Through my dual roles as Vice Chairman of the House Budget Committee and Chairman of the RSC Budget and Spending Task Force, I will never stop fighting to bring spending sanity to Washington, DC.
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett
>Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan Vetoes NBCUA for Forcing County Taxpayers to Pay Twice
the staff of the ridgewood blog
March 29,2012
(RIDGEWOOD-NJ ) Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan is announcing a veto of the minutes of the Board of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority (NBCUA). During an emergency meeting on March 28, the NBCUA voted to approve the hiring of a lawyer to file an appeal to the Local Finance Board. Twice the Division of Local Government Service (DLGS) upheld the County Executive’s vetoes demanding that the agency end the practice of receiving stipends and benefits paid for by the taxpayers. The Authority was given a deadline, by the DLGS, of March 23, 2012 to end the practice.
County Executive Donovan said this is proof of this Board’s “abject failure to comply with the County of Bergen’s fiscal policies.” She further stated that Bergen County taxpayers will not be paying the legal fees for this appeal.
Donovan has warned the part-time commissioners of the NBCUA that she will not allow them to stick local residents with legal fees associated with their campaign to retain taxpayer funded cash stipends and health benefits.
According to Donovan, “This would be the worst ‘double dip’ imaginable. Part-time commissioner’s rip-off full time benefits and cash stipends and then charge the taxpayers again for their legal fees. We are not going to allow the commissioners to force taxpayers to fund a legal challenge which is not in the taxpayers’ best interests.”
“If the commissioners insist on pursuing a legal challenge to my efforts to halt the practice of them lining their pockets, they will do so on their own dime,” said Donovan. “What hubris! We are not going to allow them to have Bergen County residents pay twice!”
>Dr. Fishbein: Please Vote on April 17
Friday, March 30, 2012
By DANIEL FISHBEIN
COLUMNIST
One of my primary responsibilities as superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools is to prepare a district budget that is approved by the Board of Education, then presented to the public, each year.
To meet the high standards of both these entities, much number crunching is necessarily involved. But truly solid budgeting starts long before the numbers come into play. It starts first and foremost with a thorough reflection on district and board goals, then a review of programs relative to those goals.
Together, our district administrators, school principals and I have undertaken that process to prepare the 2012-2013 budget, working diligently to assure that it reflects the needs and costs of carrying out our continued commitment to our mission of a tradition of excellence.
I am happy to report that Ridgewood students continue to perform extremely well on all measures of success, both during their time in the district as well as after graduation. Pick up a copy of the local paper, sign on to the district’s Facebook page, or visit our schools and you will see that our students are high achievers in competitive academic activities, athletics, the arts, music and theater. Their accomplishments point to the makeup of a truly outstanding educational system. But, we don’t rest on our laurels; we always work to continue to improve.
In order to foster achievement, it is imperative that our curriculum and programs are reviewed and improved and we make sure to provide for the professional development of our teachers and administrators. The 2012-2013 proposed budget includes funding for new science programs in grades K-8, new textbooks and new courses at the middle and high school levels.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/145045455_Please_cast_a_vote_April_17.html
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Rachel Dratch ,Monday, April 2nd @ 7:00pm
SNL Alum best know as Debbie Downer, Rachel Dratch, will sign ther new book: Girl Walks into a Bar
Books available March 29th.
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
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>Up-front costs causing towns to hit brakes on consolidation
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>Port Authority to cut bonuses
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School trustees in Ridgewood urge support for spending plan
THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2012, 3:40 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Though the school district has entered “uncharted waters” with respect to teachers’ contracts, Board of Education (BOE) trustees on Monday urged voters to approve the 2012-13 budget. Described by supporters as “responsible” and “prudent,” the $90.6 million spending plan, specifically the $82 million school tax levy, is up for a vote on April 17.
The proposed budget represents a 2 percent increase over the current year and will raise the annual school tax bill by $195.50 based on the average assessed home in the village. That increase, Ridgewood Schools Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said, is necessary to prevent cuts to jobs and programs.
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Potential changes to Ridgewood’s Graydon Pool schedule are criticized
THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2012, 4:52 PM
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Graydon Pool schedule for the 2012 season shows reduced hours in the early part of the summer and has drawn some criticism from residents, but Village Council members say the discussion is far from over.
Earlier this week, the 2012 schedule of operations for Graydon Pool was posted on the village website, indicating reduced operational hours on weekdays from June 2 to 20, the early part of the summer when a majority of Ridgewood children are still in school. The new opening time for the first three weeks as indicated on the website is 3 p.m. on weekdays, a three-hour delay from the noon opening of previous seasons.
For the period from Aug. 13 to Sept. 3, the pool would open at noon on weekdays, a delay from 10 a.m
