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>A complex case’s simple verdict: Ravi guilty on all counts in webcam spying trial

>A complex case’s simple verdict: Ravi guilty on all counts in webcam spying trial
Published: Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8:15 AM     Updated: Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8:22 AM
Star-Ledger Staff By Star-Ledger Staff

NEW BRUNSWICK — The deal was on the table months ago.

Plead guilty, prosecutors told Dharun Ravi, and you likely won’t go to prison.

Ravi, charged in a first-of-its-kind prosecution linking invasion of privacy to a hate crime, rebuffed the offer, opting to take his chances with a jury.

Today, in a New Brunswick courtroom filled to overflow, the 20-year-old Plainsboro man learned the consequence of his choice as a jury forewoman spoke his fate.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/a_complex_cases_simple_verdict.html

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>Student guilty of hate crimes for spying on gay roommate

>Student guilty of hate crimes for spying on gay roommate

By Jonathan Allen and Aman Ali

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey | Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:14pm EDT

(Reuters) – A former Rutgers University student who used a computer webcam to spy on a sexual tryst of his roommate, who later committed suicide, was found guilty of hate crimes on Friday in a case that put a national spotlight on gay bullying.

Dharun Ravi, 20, faces 10 years in prison on the most serious charge of bias intimidation against Tyler Clementi, 18, who committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge three days after learning his gay encounter was seen by webcam.

Ravi, who invited others to watch the feed from the camera mounted on top of his computer, was not charged with causing Clementi’s death.

Ravi, an Indian citizen who has lived most of his life in the United States, will be sentenced on May 21 and remains free on $25,000 bail after surrendering his passport. He faces possible deportation.

Some legal experts said the case elevated the abuse of social media from a common prank, as Ravi’s lawyer argued, to criminal behavior.

https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-crime-rutgers-idUSBRE82F0VP20120316

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Ridgewood Knights of Columbus to Host Annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance.

>Ridgewood Knights of Columbus to Host Annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance.

Ridgewood-NJ-February 20, 2012: The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus are once again proud to be sponsoring their annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 24th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Mount Carmel gymnasium at 52 Passaic Street in Ridgewood.

The Best of Everything will cater a full-course of traditional Irish fare including corned beef and cabbage. The renowned Willie Lynch Band will be playing Irish classics and great dance music. There will also be a special appearance by the Irish Step Dancers from the McLoughlin Dance School.

Tickets are $50 each. Payment can be mailed to: Mark Stappenbeck 452 Hunter Road Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 444 – 3346

Come enjoy this annual celebration as the Knights of Columbus continue the tradition that the People of Ireland started over a thousand years ago.  And what better way to celebrate the life of Saint Patrick then to gather with friends and family, enjoy a fine meal, and dance to great music!

Come out and celebrate St. Patrick’s with the Ridgewood Knights !

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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St.Patrick stained glass theridgewoodblog.net

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint’s religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

St. Patrick and the First St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honor St. Patrick’s Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

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>St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Extra Train Service to/from New York Saturday, March 17

>St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Extra Train Service to/from New York Saturday, March 17, 2012
March 12, 2012

On Saturday, March 17, NJ TRANSIT will provide additional train service to/from New York on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Morris & Essex Lines and Port Jervis Line trains to accommodate customers traveling for the 251st New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Also bus route No. 163 Local & Turnpike Express (Ridgewood-New York) — Additional Turnpike Express (T) service inbound from Paramus (Arcola) via Hackensack from 8:55 a.m. until 10:15 a.m.;
— Additional local service inbound from Hackensack (Summit Avenue and Essex Street) from 9:20 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. operating via the Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights;
— Additional local service outbound from NY-PABT to Paramus (Arcola) operating via the Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights and Hackensack from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.

NJ Transit has offered these travel tips for Saturday:

Ticketing — To speed your return, purchase round-trip tickets at the start of your trip from bus operators inbound to New York or at ticket vending machines where available. Bus customers departing Port Authority Bus Terminal are reminded that tickets must be purchased before boarding the bus.

Allow Extra Travel Time — Traffic congestion during the morning peak period and late morning hours may affect bus travel times to New York City. Customers should plan accordingly.

Plan Ahead — Extra service will operate a few minutes ahead of regularly scheduled trips on the routes listed above. Customers should arrive at their boarding location 10 minutes earlier than the departure time.

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>Ladder truck now on order for Ridgewood fire department

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ridgewoodfiretruck theridgewoodblog.net

Ladder truck now on order for Ridgewood fire department

FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2012, 1:31 PM
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Two key components of the Ridgewood Fire Department’s vehicle fleet are set to see an upgrade over the next year.

Following more than a half decade of capital fundraising, the department’s request to purchase a new mid-mount platform ladder truck was unanimously approved at Wednesday’s Village Council public meeting. Fire Chief Jim Van Goor previously estimated the cost of the ladder truck between $1 million and $1.4 million; however, bids came in under $1 million, much lower than expected, allowing for a swift approval from the council.

The ladder truck, a 95-foot platform model, will cost $962,106, according to Van Goor. It will be furnished and delivered by Pierce Manufacturing, a custom fire truck manufacturer based in Wisconsin.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/142953035_Ladder_truck_now_on_order_for_Ridgewood_fire_department.html

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>Ridgewood Chamber Spotlight: Camp Wekeela

>Ridgewood Chamber Spotlight: Camp Wekeela

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Hundreds of miles from the shores of Little Bear Pond in Maine, the owners of Camp Wekeela are hard at work in their winter office in Ridgewood.

The summer camp runs from June to August in Hartford, Maine, but the heart of the operation from September to May is in Ridgewood, where Ephram and Lori Caflun recruit new campers, hire staff, place supply orders, keep in constant contact with their maintenance crew in Maine who make repairs and renovations in the off season, and much more.

The couple worked at Camp Wekeela since 1997 and bought the business in 2008, but they live most of the year in Ridgewood.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/142888805_Summer_camp_s_heart_lies_in_village.html

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>CBO: Obamacare Could Make 20 Million People Lose Employer Based Insurance

>CBO: Obamacare Could Make 20 Million People Lose Employer Based Insurance

The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation have prepared a new analysis of the ramifications of President Obama’s health care law on employer-based insurance. Outlining multiple scenarios for the ramifications of the act, based on the level of employer buy-in to shifting their employees to the exchanges, the CBO and JCT find that the number of Americans losing employer-based coverage could be dramatically larger than previously estimated.

Their analysis finds that approximately 3-5 million people will lose their employer based insurance under what they view as the likeliest outcome of the law, noting that “because of the ACA, about 3 million to 5 million fewer people, on net, will obtain coverage through their employer each year from 2019 through 2022 than would have been the case under prior law.”

https://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/03/15/cbo-obamacare-could-make-20-million-people-lose-employer-based-insuranc

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>Bill requiring N.J. towns to approve charter schools get approved by state Assembly

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Bill requiring N.J. towns to approve charter schools get approved by state Assembly

The Assembly has passed a measure that would require local approval of charter schools, even after they’ve been given the green light by the state commissioner of education.

Under the bill (A1877), which last year passed the Assembly but never made it through the Senate, either a school district’s voters or the local board of school estimate – school boards that are appointed by a town’s governing body — would have to grant final approval to the school.  (Friedman, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/nj_assembly_passes_bill_requir_1.html
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>Bill that would give $1M to schools for anti-bullying program passes in Assembly, Senate

>Bill that would give $1M to schools for anti-bullying program passes in Assembly, Senate


Both houses of the state Legislature today swiftly passed a bill aimed at rescuing New Jersey’s new anti bullying law, which a state panel said forces mandates on schools without providing state funds to pay for them.
Instead of leaving school districts on their own to meet the strict new requirements for handling bullying cases, the bill (S1879) would appropriate $1 million that school districts would apply for to fund anti-bullying programs.  (Friedman, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/nj_assembly_passes_bill_that_w_1.html
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>Long debated, Legislature revives talk of charter school vouchers

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Long debated, Legislature revives talk of charter school vouchers

After a winter hiatus, a trimmed-down Opportunity Scholarship Act proposal is back in the legislature with a prominent new sponsor in the state Assembly but the loss of another in the Senate.

State Assemblyman Angel Fuentes (D-Camden) yesterday said he filed a new bill that would include just seven districts as part of the pilot to provide scholarships — or vouchers — to low-income students to go to schools of their choice, public or private.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0316/0145/
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>Hermansen and Watkins win Bergen GOP line for Freeholder

>Hermansen and Watkins win Bergen GOP line for Freeholder


Freeholder Rob Hermansen won the backing of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) tonight.
He will have the line with Peg Watkins.

The victory represernted one each from a divided party, with members usually denying publicly but siding behind the scenes with either Bergen County Executive Kathe Donovan or BCRO Chairman Bob Yudin.  (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/55613/hermansen-and-watkins-win-bergen-gop-line
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>Yudin plans to run for re-election

>Yudin plans to run for re-election


The freeholder ticket he wanted to win tonight didn’t win.
But Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) said he does not intend to submit.
“I’m running again,” said Yudin, referring to the June reorganization meeting when he must again face county committee members for another term as chairman.  (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/55615/yudin-plans-run-re-election
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>Building Dept Alert to Residents

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Building Dept Alert to Residents

Please contact the Building Department before entering into an agreement with a chimney contractor who tells you that your chimney liner needs to be replaced. Doing this work when it really is not needed, or doing it improperly can cause dangerous conditions in your home which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Permits are required before chimney liner installation takes place. Please contact the Building Department at [email protected]t for further information or if you have any questions.

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>Sellout Republican Bateman breaks ranks, votes to rejoin job killing greenhouse gas initiative

>Sellout Republican Bateman breaks ranks, votes to rejoin job killing greenhouse gas initiative


As is his style, Sen. Kip Bateman didn’t have much to say about a bill (S-1322) narrowly approved by the Senate yesterday in a party-line vote — except for his.
His “yes” vote, however, spoke volumes.

For the past two months, the Republican from Somerset County has been the focus of a conservative group’s intense campaign blitz. He has been hammered in thousands of robocalls to constituents, in direct mailings to his district, and in ads on New Jersey and New York radio stations.  (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0316/0102/