Author: James

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Judicial Watch : is the FBI Protecting James Comey?

james-comey

February 13,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Allendale NJ, according to Judicial Watch , “the more we learn about the FBI under Allendale native James Comey’s supervision the more we have reason to question the activities of the fired FBI Director. Because he has left a trail of suspicious activities in is wake, Comey now stands out as key figure in the Deep State’s illicit attempts to target President Trump.”

And it looks like the Deep State is protecting Comey still. We were forced to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for FBI records about former Director Comey’s book, which he signed to write in August 2017 and is set for publication in April 2018 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice, (No. 1:18-cv-00220)).
Our suit also seeks records of communications between Comey and the FBI prior to and regarding Comey’s controversial June 2017 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Judicial Watch filed on January 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Justice Department failed to respond to our August 14, 2017, FOIA request for:
All records of communications between the FBI and Comey prior to and regarding Comey’s testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 8, 2017.
All records of communications between the FBI and Comey relating to an upcoming book to be authored by Comey and published.
All records, including but not limited to forms completed by Comey, relating to the requirement for prepublication review by the FBI of any book to be authored by Comey with the intent to be published or otherwise publicly available.

Comey reportedly received an advance in excess of $2 million for his book, Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, reportedly set for publication on April 17th. Former FBI agents and officials intending to write books concerning their tenure are customarily required to submit the entire transcript for pre-publication review.

A month after President Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, Comey provided highly controversial testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the circumstances that led to his dismissal, the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s illicit email server. During that testimony, Comey admitted he leaked information about his conversations with President Donald Trump in order to get a special prosecutor appointed. (In November, we filed a separate FOIA lawsuit against the Justice Department for its records about Comey’s testimony.)
Comey seems to have protected status for any misconduct, and we want to know if he had a special deal for his book from his friends in the FBI. The Deep State is in cover-up mode. The FBI, DOJ, and the Special Counsel are stonewalling our requests for Comey documents.

We have several other lawsuits pending for Comey-related records:
Two lawsuits (hereand here) seek specifically the “Comey memos” ((Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice(No. 1:17-cv-01189)) and (Daily Caller News Foundation v. U.S. Department Justice (No. 1:17-cv-01830));
Onelawsuit seeks metadata of the “Comey memos” and related records-management information ((Judicial Watch, Inc., v. U.S. Department of Justice(No. 17-cv-01520));
And anotherlawsuit seeks non-disclosure agreements pertaining to the handling, storage, protection, dissemination, and/or return of classified information signed by Comey ((Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-01624)).

On January 11, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg the FBI to turn over the “Comey memos” for in camera review by the court. In doing so, the court rejected arguments by the Sessions Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuits seeking the Comey information.

Unfortunately, on February 2, Boasberg ruled that the “Comey memos” would not be made public. Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller News Foundation almost immediately appealed the ruling. We don’t intend to let up in our pursuit of the truth about the egregious conduct of the FBI’s former director.

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Assemblywomen Threatened at Unemployment Office

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi

February 13,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ , Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi intervenes in a constituents unemployment claim is almost tossed from the building.

According to Schepisi’s Facebook post  , “Over the past two weeks I watched through social media the struggles of Monica Brinson as she attempts to have an unemployment claim fixed. Today I went to the unemployment office to see firsthand how it operates. I almost got physically removed for videotaping the attached but afterwards did get a comprehensive tour and analysis of the good, bad and ugly of these offices. First, the State needs to provide additional personnel. There is currently 1 employee working today in this office to service a county of almost 1 million people. They stopped handing out tickets to see people at number 7. That is right, for the entire day they will only be able to service 7 people. The group of people to the far right in the video against the wall are there to try to reach a live person at the Department of Labor. These are “dedicated phone lines” that are supposed to allow people to reach a human being but the minimum wait time on these phones is in excess of 1 1/2 hours. Many of the people I spoke to this morning wait outside in the cold for upwards of several hours because only 5 people at a time are generally allowed in the building. People will wait for 3-4 hours inside and then find out that they cannot be seen that day. We must find a better way to provide staffing.
On the upside I was provided with a comprehensive tour of the building, including the employment opportunities, the Bergen One-Stop Career Center and the available training programs. In a separate post I will provide some of the resources given to me today.
Finally I am glad that I did not need bail money today. The armed guard with the weapon on his side did tell me that if I continued to hand out my assembly business card to those seeking help that I would be physically removed from the premises. An exciting way to begin a Monday morning.”

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Reader questions Shared services when Ridgewood Has a Paid Fire Department

ridgewood fire department theridgewoodblog.net 1

file photo by Boyd Loving

Shared services? You mean the fact that we allow our Fire Department, EMS to respond to Glen Rock free of charge while we bill our own residents?

Continue reading Reader questions Shared services when Ridgewood Has a Paid Fire Department

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Treasury Secretary Calls individuals looking to skirt new limits on deducting state and local taxes “ridiculous,”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

February 13,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, The idea that individuals will skirt new limits on deducting state and local taxes is “ridiculous,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in January, highlighting concerns that people might be able to pay property taxes and claim them as a charitable deduction.

The Secretary continued ,“Let me just say again from a Treasury standpoint and IRS, I don’t want to speculate on what people will do, but I think it’s one of the more ridiculous comments to think you can take a real estate tax that you are required to make and dress that up as a charitable contribution,”

Mnuchin told reporters at the daily White House press briefing. “I hope that the states are more focused on cutting their budgets and giving tax cuts to their people in their states than they are in trying to evade the law.”

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State Senator Gerald Cardinale Says Governor’s Sanctuary State Plan Would Protect Accused Rapists

Senator Gerald Cardinale

February 13,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Senator Gerald Cardinale (R- Bergen and Passaic) said that the arrest of three sexual assault suspects in Bergen County shows the need for cooperation among local and federal law enforcement agencies.

“A woman was gang-raped by three men Bergen County, while ‘incapacitated and physically helpless.’ This makes me physically ill,” said Cardinale, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We need to do everything we can to protect and ensure justice for this helpless victim.”
On February 5th, an adult female victim reported she was gang-raped in Bergen County. An investigation was conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the East Rutherford Police Department, leading to the arrest of three suspects.The three accused have been charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault and Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have placed detainers on the three men who are believed to be in the country illegally.

According to ICE, detainers are placed on people who have been arrested on local criminal charges and for whom ICE possesses probable cause to believe that they are removable from the United States so that ICE can take custody of the person when he or she is released from local custody.

“It’s clear that the suspects in this horrific sexual assault should not be set free, even if local authorities choose not to keep them in detention until trial. I’m glad that ICE is stepping up to keep these accused rapists off the streets. This horrible tragedy provides a clear example of why we need local, state, and federal law enforcement officials to work together to ensure public safety.”

Governor Murphy has proposed making New Jersey a “sanctuary state,” preventing local law enforcement agencies from coordinating in this fashion.

“Survivors of sexual assault need to know that their perpetrators will be held accountable, and communities need to know that criminals won’t escape justice and end up back on the streets,” added Cardinale. “The Governor’s sanctuary state plan is contrary to those needs. In this case, he’d protect the accused rapists by preventing the coordination need to keep them in custody of law enforcement. That’s not good for the victim, and it’s not good for public safety in New Jersey. While defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, I hope and pray this victim receives the justice she deserves.”

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Department of Homeland Security Calls NBC’s Election Hacking Story “irresponsible reporting”

NBC

February 13,2018

Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON DC, Today, Jeanette Manfra, National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, released the following statement regarding the recent NBC news coverage on the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to combat election hacking.

“Recent NBC reporting has misrepresented facts and confused the public with regard to Department of Homeland Security and state and local government efforts to combat election hacking. First off, let me be clear: we have no evidence – old or new – that any votes in the 2016 elections were manipulated by Russian hackers. NBC News continues to falsely report my recent comments on attempted election hacking – which clearly mirror my testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last summer – as some kind of “breaking news,” incorrectly claiming a shift in the administration’s position on cyber threats. As I said eight months ago, a number of states were the target of Russian government cyber actors seeking vulnerabilities and access to U.S. election infrastructure. In the majority of cases, only preparatory activity like scanning was observed, while in a small number of cases, actors were able to access the system but we have no evidence votes were changed or otherwise impacted.

“NBC’s irresponsible reporting, which is being roundly criticized elsewhere in the media and by security experts alike, undermines the ability of the Department of Homeland Security, our partners at the Election Assistance Commission, and state and local officials across the nation to do our incredibly important jobs. While we’ll continue our part to educate NBC and others on the threat, more importantly, the Department of Homeland Security and our state and local partners will continue our mission to secure the nation’s election systems.

“To our state and local partners in the election community: there’s no question we’re making real and meaningful progress together. States will do their part in how they responsibly manage and implement secure voting processes. For our part, we’re going to continue to support with risk and vulnerability assessments, offer cyber hygiene scans, provide real-time threat intel feeds, issue security clearances to state officials, partner on incident response planning, and deliver cybersecurity training. The list goes on of how we’re leaning forward and helping our partners in the election community. We will not stop, and will stand by our partners to protect our nation’s election infrastructure and ensure that all Americans can have confidence in our democratic elections.”

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Tips to weather a storm

snowstorm_theridgewoodblog

February 12,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, we lifted these tips from the Wyckoff Police Department Facebook page and thought they were god advice given that the ground hog saw his shadow .

Tips to weather a storm:

• Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity of the downed wire and keep pets on a leash. Assume all downed wires are live and that touching them poses a risk of serious injury or death.

• If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car to make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away, and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.

• Stock up on non-perishable food, bottled water, manual can opener, baby supplies and pet food. Set your refrigerator and freezer controls to their coldest settings. Fill the bathtub with water.

• Have emergency equipment within reach — portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Update your personal list of emergency phone numbers.

• If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that the power company automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. The more information you can provide, the more it can help.

• Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.

• If a family member relies on electrically operated medical devices, secure a portable generator or make alternate arrangements for care.

• Keep at least a half-tank of gas in your car. Consider having extra cash on-hand, in case ATM machines don’t work.

• Learn how to manually open and close any electrically powered garage door, security door or gate.

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All Village offices will be closed on February 12, 2018 in observance of Lincoln’s Birthday

Abraham_Lincoln_seated,_Feb_9,_1864

Village Office Closed – February 12, 2018

February 12,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, All Village offices will be closed on February 12, 2018 in observance of Lincoln’s Birthday. There will be no garbage or recycling pickup on this day, and the Recycling Center will also be closed. All Village offices will open on February 13, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. As always, the Police Department, on the second floor of Village Hall, will be open on this Holiday.

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Reader Accuses Village of Ridgewood of Breaking Shared Services Agreement With Glen Rock

tub grinder

file photo tube grinder

I’m a resident in the borough of Glenrock for 37 years. The past 30 years the village and Glenrock have had a shared services with grinding leaves in yard waste throughout the year, whatever happened to that. Nothing was brought to any council meetings in the borough of Glenrock that I know about, I’ve been attending council meetings for 20 years what the hell is going on in Ridgewood. I have asked this question to borrow members and they say we don’t know we’re in limbo. My god what is going on in Ridgewood kid you get your daily business in order. The bar of Glenrock just shelled out a good $30,000 for an outside contractor to come in and handle the leaves from the past fall that’s our tax money that went down the t The bar of Glenrock just shelled out a good $30,000 for an outside contractor to come in and handle the leaves from the past fault that our tax money that went down the The tubes that was never voted for, talk about a waste of tax money. First the water department , now that the public public works what’s next surprises surprises. You people are not nice terrible what goes on.

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Reader says Ridgewood has obviously been using the water department as a favorable placement for all their patronage appointments

RidgewoodWaterLogo_061912_rn_tif_

Ridgewood has obviously been using the water department as a favorable placement for all their patronage appointments. Unfortunately, none of their patronage appointments know the first thing about managing a water utility. We set ourselves up for a justified suit, and when we lose we scurry rapidly to find someone who hopefully has a brain. If the council actually thinks that not only are the other towns going to happily withdraw their suits and may even be forced to pay more because “Sorry, we made yet another mistake.” I have a bridge I can sell you. Council members don’t run on their expertise. As a result, the Village should hire people who do have the expertise. And that is a major failing. The idea that the town can save money by letting unqualified people without the proper backgrounds and ability run things has cost us a fortune in the past. It’s time to put a stop to it before it costs us fortunes in the future. (Saving the Schedler house is an example. Very little, if any, of that house is original and fixing all it’s deficits would be a financial nightmare .)

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Cub Scout Pack 44 from Ridgewood Visits the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Cub Scout Pack 44 from Ridgewood Visits the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

photos courtesy of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

February 12,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, on February 5th the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was honored to host Cub Scout Pack 44 from Ridgewood at Two Bergen Plaza. The Scouts learned about the criminal justice system and the sheer size of Bergen County and were encouraged by our Cyber Crimes Unit to make good choices online.

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The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was also grateful to their law enforcement partners at the BCSO who described the rigorous training all K-9s and their human partners must complete, and demonstrated Murphy’s exceptional training sniffing out narcotics and Radar’s bite work. Thank you for coming in, Pack 44!

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Tub grinder “system” jointly owned by Glen Rock and Ridgewood has been Out of Service Since July 2017

tub grinder

file photo

February 12,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Glen Rock and Ridgewood share use of a tub grinder. We have heard that the tub grinder has been broken for quite some time now and Ridgewood is responsible for fixing it.

Our source has informed us that the tub grinder “system” is jointly owned by Glen Rock and Ridgewood. Glen Rock owns the tractor and Ridgewood owns the trailer (the tub grinder itself). The “system” can be transported back and forth between Glen Rock’s composting location and Ridgewood’s composting location.

The trailer (tub grinder apparatus) hasn’t been functioning properly since July of 2017. Several attempts were made to fix the device, but no fix lasted for any significant length of time. As of now, it’s out of service, that’s why an outside contractor was called in to grind leaves. Collected leaves can’t sit until the machine is back in service because the NJDEP has rules that limit the time collected leaves can remain in place prior to processing.

Our source also indicated that in all likelihood, the tub grinder is beyond repair and will need to be replaced by a new machine. No bid specifications have yet been advertised for a replacement.

 

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Bergen County Sheriff’s Office offering Vivitrol to eligible inmates

Bergen County Shefifs department

February 12,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office announced  that, effective this week, we have begun offering Vivitrol to eligible inmates as part of our reentry program and specifically to those individual who are struggling with opioid / heroin addiction. The first two participants have already been enrolled and we will be monitoring these individuals to support them and to measure the impact of this initiative.

Vivitrol is an injectable medicine used to block the effects and cravings for both opioids and alcohol for a period of one month. Participants are often prescribed this medication for up to one year in conjunction with out-patient therapy for best results. We are excited to offer this program in partnership with two outstanding local agencies, www.transitionprofessionals.org, and www.cbhcare.com .

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Reader asks Where’s the humanity?

hit and Run

It always amazes me when someone who has hit someone with a car, presumably by accident, drives away. Everybody knows that’s a crime. Maybe drivers who have been drinking, using drugs, or even texting are too scared that they will get in trouble. But to leave the person lying in the street is almost unimaginable. In this case the driver “stopped to check on the victim” but didn’t wait for emergency help to arrive before departing. Where’s the humanity?