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>Not yet a registered voter, but want to vote in Village Council election?

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theVillagehall theridgewoodblog.net

Photo by Boyd Loving 


Not yet a registered voter, but want to vote in Village Council election?

For those who have never registered to vote, but would like to, today (Tues., April 17) is the last day to do so and then vote in the May 8 Council election (in precisely 3 weeks). There is a lag period while the records are created.

Those who can’t get to Village Hall before its offices close at 4:30 can register in the Village Hall lobby tonight until 9 PM–a fine municipal service.

Any 17-year-old who will turn 18 by May 8 and can prove it is eligible to register now as well.

From ridgewoodnj.net (also see today’s square on Village calendar):

Final Voter Registration (Municipal Election)

4:30pm – 9:00pm in Village Hall Lobb

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>NJ anti-bullying money: Will there be enough to go around?

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NJ anti-bullying money: Will there be enough to go around?
The Christie administration will give New Jersey school districts until mid-May to seek their share of $1 million in new funding to pay for the rising costs of implementing the state’s anti-bullying law.
But in its five-page application provided to districts yesterday, it also acknowledged it may not be enough to go around and cover all costs.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0416/2104/
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>N.J. lawmakers eye tighter property tax cap

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N.J. lawmakers eye tighter property tax cap

Just two towns have ballot questions before voters today looking to exceed the 2 percent cap on increases in property tax levies, but two state lawmakers are nevertheless prepping bills that would tighten their financial leash a little further.
At issue is the prospect that municipalities will turn to user fees to boost revenue while sidestepping caps on property taxes. Either way, homeowners pay more — perhaps through a fee for having garbage picked up or for calling for emergency services such as the fire department.  (Symoms, Gannett)
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/C0/20120416/NJNEWS1002/304160031/Pols-eye-tighter-property-tax-cap
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>Jim Morgan sets the record straight

>Jim Morgan sets the record straight

SUNSHINE IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY
by Jim Morgan

I have just reviewed the mass mailing that various sports groups made regarding Tuesday’s School Election. This unfortunate piece, especially as regards me, is a combination of falsehoods and misrepresentations. None of the signers had the courtesy to contact me or check their facts
before using their children’s team email lists to spread their inaccuracies.

To set the record straight:

I have never engaged in “harassing, bulling or antagonizing” behavior with the BOE or staff. What I have done is persistently point out their questionable management judgments and sought to have the BOE members do the job we elected them to do as our representatives.

I have never threatened to sue the Village or BOE. What I did do was point out questionable BOE’s procedures that could potentially lead to a lawsuit.

I have never “courted” the teachers. What I have done is urge the BOE to get on with the contract negotiations to reach a settlement ending the unhealthy classroom condition of having teachers working without a contract.

I have never sought to “compromise the BOE’s position in the negotiations.” What I have recommended is that the final agreement must recognize the needs of the taxpayers the Board represents.

When it was pointed out to me that a REF by-law prevents a serving Trustee from running for the BOE, I promptly resigned.

My campaign has focused on the need for every resident of the Village to have a strong voice representing them on the Board of Education. We need a BOE member that will not accept that a 2% annual property tax increase is acceptable without exploring how we can more efficiently use the $90 million annual school budget. My opponent automatically accepts that taxes must go up by the state ceiling. We need a BOE member that will place curriculum needs over hardware needs when planning our school technology budgets. My opponent has allowed the school technology planning to become stale. We need a BOE member that will seek out public participation in Board decisions and not hide in secret committee meetings closed to the public. My opponent prefers the shadows and closing the public out of the BOE’s deliberations. We need a BOE member that will push to resolve the teachers’ contract mess in a way that recognizes the Village’s economic conditions before students begin to suffer.

My opponent prefers to draw out negotiations for no discernable benefit to the taxpayers. There are important issues at stake in this election that will impact our children’s futures and  the values of our homes for years to come. If you really feel that BOE’s lack of transparency and initiative in demanding cost effective answers to our schools’ needs is acceptable to you, by all means vote for my opponent. I believe that BOE’s decisions are too critical to leave to an individual that does not approach every decision with an open, inquiring mind and understands that he is your representative. If you want a strong voice that represents your interests as a parent and taxpayer, please vote for me in the election for the one year BOE term.Finally, I want to comment on the gratuitous way these authors went out of their way to attack

Gina Damasco. This was just plain mean. I met Gina during the campaign and quickly learned that she is a well informed individual that has a genuine desire to be of service to her community.

Since she is an experienced education attorney, she decided that our BOE could benefit from her background and willingness to serve. She had not participated in a previous campaign in Ridgewood and was unaware of all the electioneering that a Village election requires. The letter writers never asked her why she did not participate in the early campaign. So they chose to  pick on mechanics rather than substance. This group should be ashamed of themselves for their arrogant comments. Attitudes like theirs are a major reason why many well qualified Village citizens are unwilling to run for office and be the subject of such ill-informed trash.

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>Readers concerned for people who don’t know enough to come in out of the rain

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High School Flood theridgewoodblog.net

 Photo by Boyd Loving

Readers concerned for people who don’t know enough to come in out of the rain

The Ridgewood News article says it will allow coaches to receive emails of impending lightning.

Coaches (etc) can receive alerts for free via many things like weather bug.

You can also go to weather.gov and get frequently updated “pointcasts” specific to any zip code. The information is usually updated very often when there are weather events affecting the area you select to monitor.

You can also look up in the sky and get people off fields or close a pool based on common sense observations.

Of course with those approaches you don’t get rotating lights and horns though.

Don’t we have a big staff of police, emergency services people, fire fighters and other officials who can assist with closing fields etc. if no one else will when there’s danger from impending storms?

And what about the unintended consequences?
What happens after you spend a pile of money for such a system and it malfunctions? People will say “well, I relied on the system and it failed” and then sue.

In Summit NJ, though they decided to seek bids for such a system, their own muni attorney advised that municipal liability could result from implementing it

.https://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2011/12/summit_goes_to_bid_for_lightni.html

Relying on your brain and common sense skills seems a better idea and more cost-effective, perhaps augmented by the free warnings you can get as noted above.

I suppose next someone will want taxpayers to provide smart phones and plans for them to all coaches and other officials so they can receive those emails at taxpayer expense.

More info at the link below from the mfr of one such system– which says it’s a lightning PREDICTION system and not just a DETECTION system.

Wonder which type they want for here– detection or prediction?
Or which one they’ve already bought components for with tax dollars?

Read the FAQs at the mfrs. web site too, and to hear what the thing sounds like, there’s a recording in the “downloads” section (on the “products” page) there too.

https://www.thorguard.com/

Lastly, from reading the owner manuals for that system from its mfr, a certain amount of maintenance is required especially for the sensors both in cleaning and also moisture removal – the manuals seem to say without that, it won’t work right.

Things like spider webs, nearby trees and several others (per this partic. system’s manual) will also adversely affect its operation and claimed capabilities.

The mfrs documentation also cautions that although their system is designed to provide reliable lightning prediction, if you ever feel uncomfortable with incoming weather and the system has not issued a “red alert” you should not wait. It advises to either sound the horns manually or issue a warning to cease activities in your area.

That kinda says a lot too .. doesn’t it?

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>Port Authority reforms leave critics skeptical

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Port Authority reforms leave critics skeptical

At the end of the Port Authority’s March meeting, after passing reforms about how public information is shared and trimming nonunion worker compensation and benefits, vice chairman Scott Rechler proclaimed “the days of doing business as usual at the Port Authority are over.”

How far future reforms need to go at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is likely to be the topic of a bistate legislative hearing scheduled for April 20 in Staten Island. But some activists and watchdog groups who have dealt with the agency said the days of business as usual aren’t over at an authority with a reputation of not being very open with the public.  (Higgs, Gannett)

https://www.app.com/article/20120415/NJNEWS/304150024/Port-Authority-reforms-leave-critics-skeptical
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>State expected to unveil revises to strategic investment plan in coming week

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State expected to unveil revises to strategic investment plan in coming week

The Christie administration is expected this week to unveil changes to its draft strategic investment plan, its blueprint for spurring economic growth in New Jersey and for preserving open space.

The Christie administration is expected this week to unveil changes to its draft strategic investment plan, its blueprint for spurring economic growth in New Jersey and for preserving open space.  (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0415/1920/
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>Report: Democrat-controlled Senate laziest in 20 years

>Report: Democrat-controlled Senate laziest in 20 years

For those who need proof that the Senate was a do-nothing chamber in 2011 beyond the constant partisan bickering and failure to pass a federal budget, there is now hard evidence that it was among the laziest in 20 years.

In her latest report, Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson revealed a slew of data that put the first session of the 112th Senate at the bottom of Senates since 1992 in legislative productivity, an especially damning finding considering that it wasn’t an election year when congressional action is usually lower.

For example, while the Democratically-controlled Senate was in session for 170 days, it spent an average of just 6.5 hours in session on those days, the second lowest since 1992. Only 2008 logged a lower average of 5.4 hours a day, and that’s when action was put off because several senators were running for president, among them Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.

https://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/04/report-democrat-controlled-senate-laziest-20-years/493996

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>Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan Fires NBCUA Commissioners

>Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan Fires NBCUA Commissioners
   
County Executive Kathleen Donovan has notified seven (7) Commissioners of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority (NBCUA) that they have been dismissed.  Ms. Donovan cited the similarity of the state statute used by Governor Christie when he dismissed commissioners of the Passaic Valley Sewage Commission (PVSC) and Bergen County Administrative Code N.J.S.A. 40:41A-37 (c) under Article 3.5 (c) in her notice of dismissal.

The fired, part-time commissioners have defied the County Executive’s order to cease taking stipends and full-time health benefits and ignored Ms. Donovan’s vetoes of Authority minutes which have been upheld by the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services (DLGS). The fired commissioners include Chairman William F. Dator, Vice Chairman Michael Kasparian, Commissioner Brian Chewcaskie, Commissioner Peter Dachnowicz, Commissioner Frank Kelaher, Commissioner Marion Plumley and Commissioner Jason T. Shafron. Newly appointed Commissioners Elizabeth Salazer and Kenneth Gabbert, have not taken stipends or received health benefits and were not included in the mass dismissal.

In letters to the Commissioners dated April 16, 2012 Ms. Donovan said, “I have previously given you an opportunity to rescind your stipend and benefits or resign and you have refused to do either. “Based upon your continued refusal to comply with my vetoes of your stipend and benefits, you are hereby dismissed immediately.”

Ms. Donovan concluded by admonishing the fired commissioners, “Your actions fail to honor your oath of office and are contrary to my administration’s efforts to promote sound fiscal policy which I have pledged to the taxpayers of the County of Bergen.”

Ms. Donovan said that she is forwarding the nomination of replacement commissioners to the Board of Freeholders and will be asking the Board to confirm the nominees immediately.

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>New Fascism : Rental rules in N.J. raise concerns

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New Fascism : Rental rules in N.J. raise concerns

One woman said she was charged when she had her boyfriend over for Thanksgiving dinner. A 57-year-old man said he got into trouble for visiting his sister.

In the crowd waiting for Woodbury Municipal Court to open on a recent Wednesday were these two and others who had run afoul of the town’s requirement that anyone living at a rental property register with authorities.  (Osborne, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20120415_Rental_rules_in_N_J__raise_concerns.html
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>Controversy surrounding South Jersey legislator’s traffic stop leads to internal police investigation

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Controversy surrounding South Jersey legislator’s traffic stop leads to internal police investigation

If there was a soap opera about Trenton, one episode may go something like this:

A State Police trooper pulls over a South Jersey assemblyman one day in February. The lawmaker tries to get out of the ticket, and later complains the trooper targeted him as payback because the Legislature voted to make public employees pay more for health and pension benefits.

The trooper says that after he refused to throw out the lawmaker’s ticket, his own union leaders pressured him to make it disappear as a favor to a “personal friend.”  (Baxter, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/controversey_surrounding_south.html
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>Twitter users ‘thought Titanic disaster was just a film plot’

>Twitter users ‘thought Titanic disaster was just a film plot’

It may have been one of the most iconic disasters of the twentieth century but it appears that some Twitter users are only now waking up to the fact that the sinking of the Titanic was not just the plot of a blockbuster film.

While subscribers to the microblogging site may be kept constantly up to date with the latest news and gossip, it is appears that some are less than familiar with the major events of the more distant past.

The sinking of the White Star liner with the loss of 1,500 lives in 1912 stunned the world and became a byword for tragedy.

But it appears that it has become so enmeshed in popular culture – particularly with the recently re-released film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet – that some were not aware of the historical reality.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/titanic-anniversary/9199970/Twitter-users-thought-Titanic-disaster-was-just-a-film-plot.html

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>The 2012 New Jersey Trout Season officially opened at 8:00 am on April 7

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Saddle River theridgewoodblog.net



The 2012 New Jersey Trout Season officially opened at 8:00 am on April 7

The 2012 New Jersey Trout Season officially opened at 8:00 am on April 7. The opening day of Trout Season is the most anticipated day on the annual fishing calendar and by that day, more than 180,000 trout stocked in nearly 200 waterways will be waiting for eager trout anglers.

After opening day, the Pequest Trout Hatchery will stock nearly a half million more trout during the 7-week stocking season, which extends to May 25. The in-season stocking schedule, covering the seven weeks following opening day, is available online at www.njfishandwildlife.com/trtstk12.htm and through the Trout Stocking Hotline at 609-633-6765.

The “production trout” average 10.5 inches but more than 5,000 three-pound to eight-pound breeder trout are mixed in with the production fish during the spring stocking runs. Big trout hunters will also be pleased to hear that every year an increasing number of anglers discover that plenty of the 26,000 fall-stocked 17″ to 24″ bruisers don’t get landed until the spring.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2012
Trout fishing in New Jersey continues to be some of the best available on the East Coast. Feedback from nonresident anglers suggests that the average size of the trout stocked in New Jersey is larger than trout stocked in neighboring states, and the Bonus Broodstock Lakes and the breeder stocking programs provide plenty of trophy size fish within a short drive from anywhere in the state. The 2012 season is expected to provide the normally superb trout fishing opportunities New Jersey anglers have grown to expect and appreciate.

SPRING TROUT SEASON BASICS

Anglers should be aware that most trout-stocked waters are closed to fishing during the 3 weeks leading up to opening day (March 19 – April 7 at 8 a.m.). During this time most trout-stocked waters are stocked with trout to provide anglers with great fishing opportunities on Opening Day, April 7.

During this pre-season period you might want to try fishing one of a handful of trout-stocked waters that remain open for fishing. Farrington Lake (Middlesex Co.), Lake Hopatcong (Morris/Sussex counties), Lake Shenandoah (Ocean Co.), and Swartswood Lake (Sussex Co.) are open year round to fishing. Designated Trout Conservation Areas (Seasonal and Year Round) and Holdover Trout Lakes also remain open to fishing. (Note that fishing is not permitted on Seasonal Trout Conservation Areas from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. on April 7, 2012). Trout caught in any of these waters during the pre-season period must be released immediately.

Those looking to fish during the pre-season period and keep their catch can cast a line in either of the state’s two Trophy Trout Lakes, Merrill Creek and Round Valley Reservoirs.

Be sure to check the trout regulations (pdf, 185kb) pertaining to all the above waters.

On Opening Day and the days that follow, there are a few regulations to keep in mind. On most waters anglers may keep 6 trout per day, and the trout must be at least 9 inches long. Since the trout reared at the Pequest Trout Hatchery average 10½ inches when stocked, most of the stocked trout you catch can be harvested if you chose to. June 1 is an important date, as the daily creel limit for trout on most trout waters drops from 6 to 4 per day.

The state’s sixteen major trout streams are stocked every week after Opening Day for the next seven weeks and they are closed to fishing from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of stocking. This allows the trout a chance to disperse following stocking and gives anglers an equal opportunity to fish for freshly stocked trout. All other waters may be fished at any time following Opening Day, including the day they are stocked. Many are stocked at least three times after Opening Day so be sure to check the trout stocking schedule to determine the stocking dates for the waters you plan to fish. Since every county has waters that are stocked with trout, spring trout fishing opportunities are never too far away.

“Hook-a-Winner” jaw-tags are placed on 1,000 brook trout by hatchery staff prior to stocking each spring. Anglers who catch a Hook-a-Winner trout should send their name, address, fish tag number and location of catch to:

Hook-a-Winner Program
Pequest Trout Hatchery
605 Pequest Road
Oxford, NJ 07863
In recognition of your catch you will be mailed a certificate and a patch.

Don’t forget that a fishing license and trout stamp are required to fish for trout and salmon if you are 16 years of age or older. Children under 16 and New Jersey residents 70 years and older can fish for free. Licenses and stamps may be obtained through one of the many license agents statewide, or online.

https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/trtinfo_spring.htm

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>Village and schools would partner to install lightning detection system in Ridgewood

>Village and schools would partner to install lightning detection system in Ridgewood

MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2012
BY EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — A lightning detection system could be installed at Graydon Pool and some of the sports fields in town if the Village Council agrees that the equipment will benefit the public.

Some of the components of the system, which has already been tested at Veterans Field, are in hand. It was purchased seven months ago through the school district, Mayor Keith Killion said. A presentation and demonstration of the system will follow Wednesday’s public meeting on the budget and will allow the council to determine if the system is worthwhile.

Many towns and county facilities have installed lightning detection systems on fields and golf courses in recent years. East Rutherford bought a system five years ago. Dumont and Wayne installed systems two years ago for $29,000 and $31,000, respectively. Teaneck installed a system in 2009. Other towns have followed suit, following the deaths in 2006 of two teenagers leaving a soccer field in Montvale.

“The device works off a national grid — similar to television weather channels where lightning strikes are recorded,” Killion said. “The system has rotating lights and it allows coaches to receive emails of impending lightning.”

It detects lightning activity within 20 miles and lightning strikes within 10 miles, Killion said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/147540705_Ridgewood_weighs_lightning_detector.html

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>Spring’s No Break for Tuesday’s School Vote Holdouts

>Spring’s No Break for Tuesday’s School Vote Holdouts
With most districts opting for move to November, a handful of voters head to polls
By John Mooney, April 16, 2012 in Education

The sudden move this winter by a vast majority of New Jersey school districts to November elections has drawn much of the public’s attention, but don’t tell that to a handful of districts still heading to the polls this Tuesday.

More than 70 districts have opted to stay with April elections — at least for this year — putting their budgets and school board members up for vote tomorrow, just as they have for decades before.

They are the clear exception to the rule this year, with more than 460 districts taking advantage of a new law that allowed the switch to November school board votes and the exemption of a budget vote altogether if property tax increases stay within state caps.

That leaves no districts at all voting on Tuesday from Burlington, Cape May and Union counties. Another six counties will each only have a single district go to the polls. Bergen County is one outlier, with 20 districts — almost a third of the county — still voting Tuesday. No other has more than eight.

Under the new law, a district moving the election to November cannot move it back to April for four years.

In Bergen County, Ridgewood, among the districts voting tomorrow, is trying to sell a $86 million budget that is within the 2 percent property tax cap after the board decided to hold back a switch for now. To move this year, “the notification to voters would have been really late in the process, and the board decided that it would have been better to just revisit it after this election,” said Daniel Fishbein, the district’s superintendent.
The odds are still good for the Ridgewood budget, where voters have approved 14 of the past 15 spending plans. But while a majority of his peers will sit the election week out, Fishbein has had extra work — and uncertainty — on his hands to get the word out to voters through newsletters, phone calls and the like.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0415/2118/