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>Early feedback about new teacher evaluation system generally positive

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Early feedback about new teacher evaluation system generally positive

It’s still very early days for New Jersey’s controversial teacher evaluation system — now in limited pilot projects across the state — but reports from the front lines are starting to filter in.

Most of the feedback from teachers and administrators has been positive. Both relish the renewed focus on what’s happening in the classroom and their renewed dialogue, at least that’s the upshot of the latest NJ Spotlight Roundtable, held this past weekend.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

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>The beginning of the End for Ridgewood Water ?

>The beginning of the End for Ridgewood Water ?

RFP – Feasibility Divestiture Real Property Assets

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For Professional Engineering Services For Feasibility of Divestiture of Real Property Assets

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Ridgewood Water (RW) requests proposals for professional engineering and planning services

for determining the feasibility of divestiture of real property assets. Background information, the

scope of work, required contents of the proposal, and evaluation criteria are presented in the

remainder of this Request for Proposals (RFP).

Proposal Schedule – Three copies of the proposal are due in the offices of RW’s Director at

(Ridgewood Water, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07451 Attn. – Frank J. Moritz) on

Thursday, March 29, 2012, by 10:00 a.m. (an electronic version can be submitted by this date to

[email protected], (hard copies to follow). It is anticipated that the Village will provide a

notice to proceed with the project by April 11, 2012.

A mandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held on March 15, 2012 at 10:00 am in the Director’s

office to provide additional materials and to answer any questions from potential proposers.

Click Here for complete RFP : https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2012FeasabilityDivestRealProperty.pdf

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>Minimum-wage hike advances in N.J. Senate

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Minimum-wage hike advances in N.J. Senate

A plan to hike New Jersey’s minimum wage by $1.25 to $8.50 an hour is a step closer to approval after the Senate Labor Committee passed it, 3-1, Thursday.

The bill, which would peg the wage rate to inflation, passed an Assembly committee last month.
Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego (R., Burlington) said she opposed the bill this is not the right time to hit businesses with a payroll increase. Employers might lay off the very people the bill aims to assist, she said.  (Farrell, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

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>We always said Trenton is full of Sh@t : Toilet paper may run out at Trenton city offices

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We always said Trenton is full of Sh@t : Toilet paper may run out at Trenton city offices

The capital of New Jersey, the third-wealthiest U.S. state, may run out of toilet paper in city buildings because Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and the council are sparring over a purchasing contract.
Trenton, midway between Philadelphia and New York, has money set aside to buy the bathroom tissue, yet the council won’t sign off on the purchase, said Lauren Ira, a spokeswoman for the mayor. City Hall has enough toilet paper to last until March 16, though supplies at other buildings may run out by early next week, Mack said in a statement.  (Dopp, Bloomberg)

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>New Jersey’s February tax-revenue collections jump 20%, narrowing shortage

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New Jersey’s February tax-revenue collections jump 20%, narrowing shortage

New Jersey’s revenue collections jumped 20 percent last month, narrowing the state’s shortfall from budget projections.

February revenue was 9.5 percent above forecasts, Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff said in a statement today. For the first eight months of this fiscal year, collections were up 4.3 percent from the same period of 2011, and are running 1.7 percent below projections.  (Young, Bloomberg)

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>N.J. unemployment flat at 9 percent

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N.J. unemployment flat at 9 percent

While the state’s unemployment rate held the line at 9 percent in January, private-sector employment increased and job growth in 2011 outpaced job losses in 2010, according to a report issued today by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

According to preliminary estimates of nonfarm wages and salaries in January, 13,300 jobs were added in both the private and public sectors of the state economy, to reach a seasonally adjusted total of more than 3.8 million.  (Eder, NJBIZ)
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>Do Audit Report Recommendations Suggest Sloppy Money Management Procedures At Village Hall?

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theVillagehall theridgewoodblog.net

photo by Boyd Loving


Do Audit Report Recommendations Suggest Sloppy Money Management Procedures At Village Hall?

Public Notice:

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD SUMMARY OF AUDIT REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS DECEMBER 31, 2010 Synopsis of Audit Report of the Village of Ridgewood as required
by N.J.S. 40A:5-7

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD RECOMMENDATIONS:

Finance Department – The integrated general ledger system should be implemented to replace the spreadsheet software general ledger currently used. The cost allocation plan should be updated. The armored car service should be scheduled in a manner to comply with the state statute deposit requirement.

Vital Statistics – All licenses should be issued in sequential order. Cash receipts should be deposited within 48 hours of receipt. Documentation for all voids should be maintained.

Municipal Court  – Individuals who enter in tickets and receive payments should not have the authority to enter in dispositions. All payments received should be entered in under the user name of the individual processing the payment. Each person processing payments should have their own locked cashbox that is proved out to their individual journal on a daily basis and verified by a supervisor. Cash receipts should be deposited within 48 hours of receipt. Bail recognizance forms should be obtained for all bail receipts.

Fixed Assets – A review of the fixed asset inventory should be performed.

The above summary or synopsis was prepared from the report of audit of the Village of Ridgewood, County of Bergen for the calendar year 2010. This report of audit, submitted by Louis C Mai, Registered Municipal Accountant of the firm of Louis C Mai CPA & Associates, and a copy of it will be placed on file and made available for public inspection in the Office of the Village Clerk in the Village of Ridgewood. A Corrective Action Plan, which outlines actions the Village of Ridgewood will take to correct the findings listed above, will be prepared in accordance with the state requirements. A copy of it will be placed on file and made available for public inspection in the Office of the Village Clerk in the Village of Ridgewood.

Heather A. Mailander Village Clerk Ridgewood News-3253388 Fee: $138.80 March 9, 2012

Make Spring Smiles Bloom with flowers & gifts starting at $29.99 from 1800flowers.com - 300x250show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=216823

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>Joy in Westwood, frustration in Ridgewood

>Joy in Westwood, frustration in Ridgewood

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012
By JAMES AHEARN
RECORD COLUMNIST

Hackensack UMC at Pascack Valley will be the first for-profit, all-private-room hospital in Bergen County.

NEWS THAT the shuttered Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood would reopen was greeted locally with jubilation. The mayors and governing bodies of towns served by the hospital had supported the move unanimously.

Residents had planted signs in their front yards demanding “Reopen Our Hospital.” It was hard to find anyone who disagreed. If someone did, chances were that he or she worked at rival Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, six miles away, or had a spouse who did.

The contrast between the two communities was marked.

Valley had recently suffered defeat of a planned reconstruction. It called for doubling the hospital’s floor space, making all patient rooms private. More parking would have been necessary, much of it underground. The walls of the new structures would be 94 feet high, compared to 65 feet at present.

The project encountered determined community opposition. After years of controversy, the Ridgewood Village Council voted three months ago against the hospital’s $750-million proposal, terming it “aggressive overexpansion.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/141711983_In_Westwood_joy__Ridgewood_frustration.html

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>Meat Loaf punished for political views

>Meat Loaf punished for political views


Meat Loaf has lost a few gigs thanks to politics, he tells Esquire.
 “I’ve been banned from two TV shows,” the musician said. “Because USA Today has me listed as a Republican.”

“I’ve heard those stories,” he added “But I didn’t really believe they’d do that.”
Though he’s often described as conservative and said he wanted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for president last year, Meat Loaf says his politics are just plain complicated.  (McDevitt, Politico)

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>Pro Arte Chorale:G. Rossini’s "Petite Messe Solennelle"

>Pro Arte Chorale:G. Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle”

Saturday, March 17th at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 S. Monroe St., Ridgewood. A recitel will take place 7:15 – 7:45 and the concert will begin at 8pm. Tickets are $20 for adults; $18 Senior/students/disabled; $10 children. Tickets purchased before March 14 will receive a discount. Website: www.proarteechorale.org or 201/497-8400. Pro Arte Chorale is a 70-member all volunteer chorus based in Ridgewood, NJ.

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>Expert: Foreclosure backlog too mighty to be solved by proposed bill

>Expert: Foreclosure backlog too mighty to be solved by proposed bill


A bill advancing in the Assembly that would use affordable housing funds to purchase foreclosed homes would not address the severity of the foreclosure backlog, an industry expert said.

Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group Inc., said there are more than 170,000 homes in the process of foreclosure and more than 188,000 homes with delinquent mortgage payments, while the state estimates that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 homes in foreclosure. If the state were to pay the median price of homes in the fourth quarter of 2011 — which was $249,000 — it would only be able to finance 1,216 foreclosed homes.  (Eder, NJBIZ)

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>N.J. takes action on bills to convert foreclosed homes into affordable housing

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N.J. takes action on bills to convert foreclosed homes into affordable housing
An Assembly panel Monday approved a bill intended to transform foreclosed homes into affordable housing.
Under the bill (A2168), which was passed 4-1 by the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee, municipalities would have 45 days to decide whether to buy houses situated in their jurisdiction through the state’s $268 million affordable housing trust fund.
If they do, municipalities would receive a two-for-one credit against affordable housing obligations.  (Staff, The Star-Ledger)
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>Foreclosure Sales Flood Market

>Foreclosure Sales Flood Market
By AnnaMaria Andriotis

Foreclosures and other distressed properties account for more than a third of all home sales, and data released today suggests that figure may soon grow even bigger.

Lenders in January took back nearly 91,100 distressed properties, which includes foreclosures and short sales, up 29% from the previous month, according to data released this morning by LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks mortgage performance.  In the next few months, experts say those homes will make their way back to the market to join the already high percentage of distressed homes being snatched up by buyers.

https://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2012/03/06/how-foreclosures-distort-home-sales/