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The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood
10 Chestnut Street
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Phone: 201-447-2204
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
>Mr. Wellinghorst — please lead.
We need closure on Valley — it needs to either curtail its plans or move down the road to route 17 or somewhere else sensible.
Graydon needs to be made more attractive while staying true to what it is — the local swiming hole where the community can gather.
Village Hall needs cleaning. Get rid of Brancheau, Merlino, Rutishauser and the other do nothing department heads. Its too top heavy.
Address the pension and retirement issues that can drag us down to bankruptcy. We can’t renege on existing contracts and obligations (and remain true to the principles of a free market) but we sure as hell can put an end to the gravy train going forward.
Look closely at the people we outsource to — the attorneys, vendors, etc. Are we really getting value?
Work with the Board of Education –don’t listen to the morons who say the budgets are separate and nothing can be done. I pay out of one check book and one pocket, and I want my money spent wisely.
Cut taxes — but only if you can. We are still reeling from years of the pfree spending administration. Village halls and public toilets that came in three or four times over budget took a chunk out our pocket books when we had the money to spend. Now we don’t, but we can’t make up for it with budget reductions that cut off our noses to spite our faces. We need to remain a first class town.
In that vein, keep up our Village services. Cutting the waste at the top is a first start. But, what else can we do? Be creative. Is there a way, say, to charge people for the services they use, like charging per can garbage pick ups? I dn’t know, but I bet collectively we can find all sorts of creative solutions to our issues.
Open space — perhaps the one area where we can’t cut spending even though we may like to. No one is building more land, so when it comes on the market, we need to buy. Perhaps that means things like the schendler property sit vacant for a couple of years while we get the money to do something with it.
Downtown — we need to be careful. Yes, we need more parking and we more stores, but lets not lower standards. And, we need to do somethig about traffic is horrendus. Again, creativity: can we make Ridgewood avenue and other major streets one way with diagonal parking? I don’t think we need to rush to put up another major structure, particularly a mixed use structure that guarantees as many new cars as it does new spaces.
COAH — perhaps its going away, but unless it does, our prior councils, planning board and board of adjustment have let things get way out of hand by allowing the massive overbuilding we have seen in the past few years. This is Ridgewood, not Long Island. We don’t need to keep expanding. Escpecially when the relaxed building standards mean we have to bring in even more housing structures to satisfy COAH.
New Jersey transit — many of us conspiracy theory folks have wondered just why all the changes to our station? Are there plans to make our local station a hub for buses and trains? Stay on top of this one and fight hard.
In closing, I direct this to the other council people as well. Please, let’s get moving. You made promises and frankly, I am not sure they have been kept. What happened to “lets get moving, we’re burning daylight”? Step aside if its gotten to be too much.
Mr. Wellinghorst, I wish you well.
>Congrats to Steve and all who care about Ridgewood!
I think those who voted for Forenza should think again about why the MAJORITY voted for Wellinghorst. Let me help you the majority knows the blight and strain that Valley would cause every taxpayer! Not just the people who live near Valley.
It’s not East vs West either. We can not allow our town fall into ValleyWood. Don’t become aware when it’s too late.
I believe Valley is ready to take legal action and show us they care for only themselves not what expense this will cost the rest of us. Wake up and help CRR and all taxpayers fight this situation. CRR needs donations to properly defend OUR TOWN
MB
>Village Council vote breakdown by district
Hi, Jim. People on the blog are wondering about the Council vote breakdown by district. Here is a picture I took of the board with the final tally at Village Hall last night.
Thanks!
Marcia
>Stephen Wellinghorst wins a decisive and clear victory in Village council race
It is always great to see new faces on the Village council, congratulations to all the candidates .
Once again like it or not the Valley Renewal played a key roll in how people voted.
Readers summed it up best : Steve Wellinghorst won by about 700 vote. Sanity prevails. So much for the so called “minority” who were against the Valley expansion
“Wellinghorst had a solid showing in all districts. I don’t live near the hospital and I voted for Steve.”
“Bottom line is Valley put a ton of money into Forenza’s effort but in the end the people spoke.YES Ridgewood, YES Wellinghorst, NO VALLEY!”
Now its time to move forward.
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
>The League of Women Voters of Ridgewood Reminds YOU: Don’t forget to Vote Today, November 2. Polls open from 6AM-8PM. Your polling location is listed on the sample ballot that was mailed to every registered voter.
Please read the sample ballot carefully. There are three sections: General Election; Public Question; and NonPartisan Municipal.
Ridgewood’s municipal election candidates are listed on the very bottom of the ballot.
Voting is our most basic right!
>CNN POLL: 75 % of Americans who say things are going badly in the country
CNN Poll: Those who say things going poorly higher than 1994 or 2006
Washington (CNN) — The number of Americans who say things are going badly in the country, at 75 percent, is higher than it has been on the eve of any midterm election since the question was first asked in the mid-1970s, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday also indicates that the economy remains, by far, the top issue on the minds of Americans. Fifty-two percent of people questioned say the economy’s the most important issue facing the country.
“That’s more than the deficit, education, health care, terrorism, energy, illegal immigration and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “No other issue was named as the country’s top problem by more than 8 percent.”
https://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/01/poll.election/index.html?hpt=C1
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Where the heck are the candidates’ names on the ballot?
(photos courtesy Preserve Graydon Coalition )
>FACEBOOK AND TEXTING: PRESENTATION TO BE HELD AT BFMS AUDITORIUM ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Generation Text: Facebook and Texting
Are Your Kids Safe?
Free Presentation by Detective Sergeant Tom Rich and Jill Brown, Founder of ItsMyLocker.com
Monday, November 1
7-9 p.m.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium
335 North Van Dien Avenue
>Fed-up small-business owners may use their votes to vent
Leslie Kwoh/The Star-Ledger
Most small-business owners are leaning Republican going into next month’s midterm elections, a sign of their growing frustration with the status quo, according to a study scheduled for release today.
Fifty-one percent of small employers across the nation said a Republican-controlled Congress would be better for the economy, compared to 37 percent who leaned Democrat and 12 percent who said they were unsure, according to the Discover Small Business Watch for October.
The results indicate that small-business owners have a growing desire for change that goes beyond party allegiances, said Jon Drummond, a spokesman for the study. When asked which party best understood the needs of small businesses, for example, 45 percent responded Republican, 30 percent said Democrat and 20 percent chose neither. Five percent said they were unsure.
“It’s not traditionally a very political group,” Drummond said. “These people are economically frustrated, so they’re not so much leaning toward Republican as they are toward change.”
https://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/10/fed-up_small-business_owners_m.html
>Gallup poll points to GOP rout
In a compelling sign that the Republican tide on Tuesday will produce a historic sweep in the House, the final pre-election poll by the Gallup Organization gave the GOP a 55 percent to 40 percent lead over Democrats among likely voters in its generic congressional ballot test. (Cohen, Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44468.html#ixzz141VH46iF
>Clash of ideas in NJ’s 12th District
Rep. Rush Holt and venture capitalist Scott Sipprelle have little in common politically other than their mutual desire to represent the 12th District in Congress. (Delli Santi, The Associated Press)
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20101030/POLITICS/101030004/1098/POLITICS
>New Jersey’s hottest race: Adler v. Runyan
South Jersey’s Third Congressional District is the closest race in the Garden State. It’s a David versus Goliath struggle, but which candidate fits each role depends on whether you’re talking political clout or physical stature. (MacDonald, WHYY)
https://whyy.org/cms/news/government-politics/2010/11/01/new-jerseys-hottest-race-adler-v-runyan/49669
>Statewide ballot question causes confusion
TRENTON, N.J.— It will be up to voters to determine if the state should be prevented from doing something it’s already not supposed to do.
That’s the issue in a statewide referendum Tuesday that addresses whether the state can continue diverting money originally designated for certain employee benefit funds. Such transfers have occurred 22 times since 1993, with $5.4 billion paid by workers being used for other purposes. (Jordan and Symons, Courier Post)
>138th Annual Harvest Fair at Old Paramus Church November 6th
Woman’s Guild of of Old Paramus Church
Come early, shop for the holidays, have lunch and bring friends! Saturday, November 6th from 10am to 4pm at Old Paramus Church, 660 East Glen Avenue at Route 17. Christmas Corner, Farm Stand, Linens & Attic Treasures, Country Kitchen, Baked Goods, Garage Sale, Books and Records, Gift Basket Raffle…and more! FREE ADMISSION! https://www.oldparamus.org/
