>N.J.’s anti-bullying law gets slow start as school violence grows
Bullying can happen anywhere, anyplace or anytime. Whether bullies choose to taunt face-to-face, by text message or over the internet, it is not limited by age, gender, or education.
Law enforcement officials as well as educators agree it is neither a phase some young people may experience, nor a joke. Experts say bullying can cause lasting harm when not stopped in its tracks, where young bullies in the schoolyard can grow-up to be big bullies in the workplace.
Despite the Garden State’s latest efforts to fight back against bullies with a stronger anti-bullying law that took effect in September, its public schools reported an increase in violence as well as drug, weapons and alcohol abuse. (Sammarco, New Jersey Newsroom)
Two Northeast lawmakers aren’t too pleased with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for raising tolls to cross bridges into New York City. They are angry enough that they want the federal government to step in. The Port Authority announced in August that cash tolls for cars will go from $8.00 to $15.00 by 2015. Five-axle trucks that currently pay $40 dollars will have to pay up to $125.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican from New York, introduced legislation to restore the Transportation Department’s authority to determine whether toll hikes are “just and reasonable.” The toll-review authority was eliminated in 1987 under a deregulation law. Without going into detail, Lautenberg and Grimm cited “fiscal mismanagement” at the Port Authority as one reason their bill is needed. The measure would order a report from the Government Accountability Office on the transparency and accountability of tolling authority budgeting practices. (Johnson, National Journal)
Update – The work on Grove street is for a traffic calming. I believe it is for concrete island to slow traffic down when entering Ridgewood . Grove street is not a county road. Weather permitting work will begin in the next few week.
Brick Lane Curry House Group is proud to announce the fourth addition to its group of British style Indian restaurants. The other locations, two in Manhattan, are located at 6th and 53rd Streets respectively and third being Monctlair is at 540 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, NJ. Chef turned restaurateur Sati Sharma brings his mastery of Indian cuisine to the Brick Lane Curry House kitchen along with Group Executive Chef Karthik Kumar. Sati attended the Culinary Institute of Merit Inn in Ooty, India and then honed his skills as an apprentice chef at various top end restaurants in New Delhi, followed by Carnival Cruise Ships. He later came to New York and partnered with Ajit Bains opening the very first Brick Lane Curry House on 6th Street. Ajit Bains is the British connection to Brick Lane Group. A software Engineer by profession, he grew up in London, and moved to New York City about 15 years ago. The absence of a curry house in NYC was felt by him and his buddies all the years he has been here. A true lover of food decided to do the good thing himself: this is when he met Sati and his friends who were young Indian chefs. Together as a team they partnered up and Bricklane curry house was established in Feb 2002 at East 6th street in the East Village.
Some of our signature dishes are: Vindaloo – A favorite from the southern peninsula of India Bhuna – A technique extracting maximum flavor of the main ingredient, robustly flavored Chicken Tikka Masala – A rich, velvety tomato, cashewnut and cream based curry PHAAL – We claim this to be the cpiciest curry in North America Dal Makhan i – Buttery black lentils, cooked overnight with tomatoes, ginger and garlic Mixed Sizzler – A delectable assortment of clay oven (Tandoor) grilled kebabs Imli ke Champe – Succulent, juicy, smoky lamb chops infused with tamarind Methi Salmon – A delightful Tandoor grilled fenugreek crusted salmon Our famous “PHAAL” curry (BLCH boasts to have the spiciest curry in the world, made from the famous ‘ghost chilli peppers’. The PHAAL has also been featured on Food Network’s hit series “Man vs. Food”.)
Be sure to watch out for some fabulous lunch specials similar to our flagship restaurant on 6th street downtown, which has been serving guests for nearly a decade.
While we will not be serving alcohol, the restaurant is a BYOB. So please feel free to bring your own choice of beer or wine. Brick Lane Curry House Ridgewood occupies a 2000 square foot space in a handsome brick building typical of Ridgewood’s historic commercial district.
Dinner: Monday to Thursday 5:30pm – 9:30pm Friday and Saturday 5:30pm – 10:00pm Sunday 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Our menu is dedicated to those with a passion for fine food.
This Passion for food is what drives our team to create what Zagat has called “Sophisticated” and “High Quality”.
Located in a historic building on Prospect Street, off to the side of the bustling traffic of Ridgewood Avenue. This charming New American BYO, offers a calm and relaxing atmosphere, while serving cuisine that excites the senses and pleases the palate.
Here at the Village Green we offer an extensive a la carte menu, as well as tasting menus that inspire culinary creativity in our kitchen, and allow the customer to sample a variety of our dishes.
After end of ARC, NJ Transit focuses on privatizing parking, expanding rail lines
The halting of the ARC rail tunnel project last year has allowed NJ Transit to focus on areas such as customer service, expanding existing rail lines and finding alternative revenue sources, the head of the agency told business leaders Friday.
Executive Director Jim Weinstein said the agency is currently in a 14-month process of studying how to privatize or outsource the state’s nearly 100 parking facilities. The initiative has drawn interest from several firms and parking operators, along with members of the banking industry, Weinstein said at a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce roundtable breakfast on transportation. (Burd, NJBIZ)
Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
Chanukah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.
The story of Chanukah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Judea, but allowed the people under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated, adopting much of Hellenistic culture, including the language, customs, dress, etc., in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.
More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.
According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.
Chanukah is not a very important religious holiday. The holiday’s religious significance is far less than that of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavu’ot. It is roughly equivalent to Purim in significance, and you won’t find many non-Jews who have even heard of Purim! Chanukah is not mentioned in Jewish scripture; the story is related in the book of the Maccabbees, which Jews do not accept as scripture.
>Holiday Blues: 39 % Don’t Want to Fly December 19, 2011
If the thought of traveling during the Christmas holidays makes you ill, you’re in good company. A new travel industry survey finds that 39 percent would rather take the bus than fly.
Irked by new travel security requirements, higher traffic and the clutter of presents, many air travelers express frustration about flying.
Lessening the hassles, said the U.S. Travel Association, could win back customers. “Our research shows that reducing hassle without compromising security will encourage more Americans to fly — as many as two to three additional trips a year — leading to an additional $85 billion in spending that would support 900,000 American jobs,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
We are dealers in Ancient & Medieval coins and archaeological objects since 1977, and expert in Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and English Hammered coinage, as well as Viking coins and artifacts. Our inventory includes interesting and lovely ancient Greek & Roman gold and silver coins. We are specialist dealers in Greek Archaic Electrum coins, the very first coinage. Coins of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Offa, Alfred the Great, Eric Bloodaxe, William the Conqueror, Richard III, Elizabeth I and many other important figures of history are usually available in inventory.
We also offer First Edition books. Mysteries by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Agatha Christie and others; Heinlein, Tolkien, Lord Dunsany and others highlight our Science Fiction inventory. Books are often signed or inscribed and we often have book related autographs and original Art.
Please contact us directly often as site updates can be delayed by activity and travel.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Welcome.
Joe Linzalone Wolfshead Gallery PO Box 506 Ridgewood NJ 07451 USA 201-727-1441 [email protected]
>Ridgefield looks to create anti-bullying ordinance
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2011 BY MONSY ALVARADO STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
RIDGEFIELD — The borough could soon become the first town in the state to adopt an ordinance to prevent bullying and harassment in local recreation sports programs, at the library and on other municipal-owned property.
“We should all be making sure that anti-bullying will be implemented for all municipal practices,” said Mayor Anthony Suarez, who proposed the law to the council last week. “We are going to start with what schools are doing and pull that into our local ordinance, and expand it to all levels of our town.”
Borough Attorney Stephen Pellino has been asked by Suarez to craft the ordinance, which could be ready for introduction as early as the Borough Council’s reorganization meeting, which is scheduled for Jan. 6.
New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, which was implemented in schools statewide in September, will be used as a reference for the local ordinance, Pellino said. The ordinance will establish an educational policy against bullying, training for employees, raise awareness and contain mechanisms to address bullying incidents, he said.
>RIDGEWOOD SCHOOLS DISTRICT-WIDE STATE TESTING REPORT 2011
How did the district do relative to our comparison group? How are we doing over time? What are we doing based on the data? Click here to read the report on the results of NJASK, HSPA and NJBCT Spring 2011 testing.
>Ridgewood one of three Bergen County towns on Gov. Chris Christie’s list of biggest payouts for unused sick time Published: Monday, December 19, 2011, 3:41 PM By S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com
Three Bergen County towns are on Gov. Chris Christie’s short list of municipalities where unused sick time for public workers cost the most per household.
In figures released by the Governor’s office Monday, Alpine Borough ranked 3rd, Hackensack 4th and Ridgewood 9th on the list of towns that paid the most per capita in accumulated sick and vacation time owed to public employees.
According to the Governor’s office, residents of Alpine Borough owe the most per family in Bergen County, with a total of $850,523, or $1,169 per household. Hackensack taxpayers are on the hook for $18,875,368 in unused time, or $1,030 per household. The village of Ridgewood owes its public employees $7,203,566, or $861 per household.
>New Jersey’s reliance on natural gas to grow, experts agree
Like it or not, natural gas will probably play a bigger role in New Jersey’s energy future.
That was the consensus of a panel of experts who convened Friday at Rider University for a NJ Spotlight Roundtable on natural gas to debate the pros and cons of promoting greater reliance on the fossil fuel — a stance embraced by the recently adopted Energy Master Plan.
From expanding the state’s network of interstate gas pipelines, to encouraging fleet owners to switch their vehicles from diesel to compressed natural gas, to generating electricity more efficiently and with less pollution, the plan envisions gas replacing more carbon-polluting alternatives. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
>Can we save $2.2M by using private county security in Bergen?
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2011 BY JAMES QUIRK STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
Bergen County’s three law enforcement agencies — the Bergen County Police Department, Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office — deploy civilian security guards in public facilities, a service that a recent report recommended should be outsourced to save taxpayers as much as $2.2 million over the next five years.
Bergen County Police Sgt. John LaDuca outside the Bergen Community College student center in Paramus. A recent report recommended that outsourcing security services to public facilities in the county could save taxpayers as much as $2.2 million over the next five years. The report issued by the New York-based Guidepost Solutions in May is best known for its recommendation that the county police be downsized or eliminated. But many of the other findings within the 192-page report have not been discussed by public officials, including the conclusion that the county could save $365,000 to $440,000 a year if the three agencies hired private companies to provide security guards.
