Ridgewood NJ, Annually the Ridgewood Arts Foundation honors two organizations in the Village that contribute to artistic appreciation and accessibility to artistic programs.
For 2018 the Honorees are:
Reel Voices Film Festival at The Rdgiewood Public Library
Tic Toc (To Introduce Culture to Our Children)
Ridgewood NJ, In a letter to Hopewell Valley Central High School parents this week, district Superintendent Thomas Smith spelled out his intention to propose a random drug-testing program for students next school year.
Given the events of the last few months some observers think it would be prudent for the Ridgewood School district to follow suit.
According to NJ.COM , The proposed plan comes after officials at the Hopewell Valley Central High School saw an increase in students under the influence of marijuana, prescription drugs and alcohol, he said. Smith also said the district has discovered middle school students under the influence.
During the 2015-16 school year, seven students violated the substance abuse policy, and in the 2016-17 year, the number rose to 24.
Under the proposed policy, a student who tests positive under the random test would not receive the current academic suspension, “but rather alternatives that focus on prevention such as meeting with the Student Assistance Counselor (SAC) and attending and completing an Early Intervention Program,” Smith wrote.
Superintendent Thomas Smith claimed that no test results would initiate criminal charges or an investigation. The district will not share test results with any law enforcement agency.
The policy would apply to all students in grades 9-12 who are in any extra-curricular or co-curricular activities, or any student who holds a permit to park on school property.It will also apply to any student who voluntarily elects to the program with parental consent.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood has a new property tax savings program that aims to encourage residents to think and shop locally in exchange for a break on their tax bill. Property taxes in Ridgewood, New Jersey are among the highest in the state.
The Village of Ridgewood is now offering prepaid debit cards and instead of points or miles, you get property tax relief. The new program is called the Estate Card. It’s run by Municipal Cards, LLC.
Every time you are out and about in the Village you can save money. Debit Cardholders add money every month to their accounts to receive a base .25 percent on purchases towards their property taxes plus as much as an additional 30% at participating national retailers like Walmart, and local merchants like Trattoria La Bocca.
Traditionally businesses are usually charged a fee for swiping a credit card, but with the Estate Card this fee, in part, is rebated back to the customer towards their third quarter property taxes.
Businesses hope it will lure shoppers in to the central business district and for the Village it comes with an added advantage of revenue coming in sooner.
For consumers there is no monthly cost, spending requirement, or limit on the cards. The more you shop, the more tax dollars you save. The Estate Card is also available in other New Jersey towns such as Bridgewater, East Brunswick and South Plainfield.
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council voted to terminate its contract with Parkmobile this week, after it was discovered that the Village had incurred huge service fees with the parking app they have used since 2015.
The Fee issue was first raised publicly during an October meeting when CFO Robert Rooney told the council that the parking utility loses about 30 cents on the dollar every time the smartphone app is used. He said that since signing its contract with Parkmobile in February 2015, the village has paid $140,000 in service fees to the company.
Resolution 15-52 , the resolutions granting ParkMobile a 2 year contract ,clearly states that the Village will incur no additional service fees or contract fees .
Most of the blame has fallen on Roberta Sonenfeld who was the Village Manager, although she thought she was an elected official. The fact is she should never EVER have signed that contract when she was only authorized by resolution to sign a contract with NO ADDITIONAL FEES.
Reader stated , “that She bragged about her business prowess and being a Six Sigma expert. Based on her acrimonious, arrogant and ignorant behavior, she proved to be a Five Phi Failure!”
Glen Rock NJ, No injuries were reported following a crash in which the driver of a older model, 4-door Geo/Chevrolet Prizm drove up the front steps of a Bank of America branch located at 208 Harristown Road, Glen Rock on Friday morning, 12/15. The wrecked vehicle was removed by a flatbed tow truck. No structural damage to the building was evident. However, damage was observed to some concrete steps and ornamental hand railings. Glen Rock Police responded to investigate and file the required State of NJ accident report.
Hahaha, read the Ridgewood News today that Ms. Sonenfeld says (and I quote)….
“The misinformation currently circulating about the Parkmobile contract is curious at best. No Village money goes to Parkmobile.” So speaks Ms. Roberta Sonenfeld.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the many reasons why Ms. Sonenfeld was poison to our Village. Yes, Roberta, Village money DOES got to Parkmobile. Did you even read the contract you signed in March of 2015? Fifteen cents on each transaction goes to Parkmobile. So does 3% of the total transaction paid by the user (which includes the 35 cent fee the user pays, so Parkmobile collects twice). It has amounted to a TON of money over the past 2+ years.
Shaking my head. She really thinks that by stating outright lies it will somehow make them come true.
Miss Willett is in the same bitter school as Evan Weitz,and Roberta Sonenfeld from the failed FAC. That FAC was Aronsohn’s breeding ground for his little puppets. Sonenfeld got a hefty 6-figure job out of her tenure on the Financial Advisory Committee, Wow, that was a huge error for our village. She cannot get out from behind her own mathmatical errors. Evan Weitz and Janice Willett, two nasty failed candidates for Village Council who we all hope will run again because they will lose again.
Washington DC , President Trump is touting his administration’s progress on deregulation, according to the President for every one new regulation an amazing 22 are eliminated. Trump said the goal is to get the stack of regulations smaller than that of the 1960’s.
According to the Wall Street Journal ,” the biggest change has been in U.S. economic policy, notably the Trump Administration’s deregulatory efforts and the boost they have given business confidence.”
The Labor Department reported Friday December 8th that the U.S. created 228,000 net new jobs in November, in the latest sign that the American economy is growing at a healthier pace.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that nonfarm payrolls grew by 228,000 jobs in November, with gains across all sectors except information and utilities. The pace in November is higher than the 2017 average of 174,000 per month, and 1.7 million jobs have been added since January. The November unemployment rate matched October’s rate of 4.1 percent, which was the lowest rate in more than 16 years (since December 2000).
For Hispanic workers, the 4.7 percent unemployment rate in November was the lowest in at least 44 years.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department revealed Wednesday that the GDP expanded at a 3.3 percent rate in the third quarter after being adjusted for seasonal factors and inflation. That’s the first time since 2007 that quarterly economic output exceeded the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of its “maximum sustainable level,” the Wall Street Journal reported .
Washington Twp NJ, For the second time in less than one (1) week, an inexperienced tractor trailer driver was unable to safely negotiate a steep hill on Washington Avenue in Washington Township, requiring Washington Township Police to close a portion of the busy roadway on Thursday morning, 12/14, until the rig could be removed. Following consultation with an officer from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Police Services, Traffic Division, Washington Township PD issued two (2) summonses to the rig’s driver. After issuing the summonses, patrol officers directed the truck’s driver to turn around in a nearby cul-de-sac in order to safely re-enter Washington Avenue. However, the driver was unable to successfully complete the turn around maneuver and the rig became stuck in a pile of snow covered leaves. A heavy duty wrecker was then summoned to free the truck from its predicament.
Mahwah NJ, Multiple injuries were reported in late Thursday afternoon, 12/14, three (3) vehicle crash on Route 17 northbound in Mahwah. The accident occurred at a highway work site being guarded by NJSP Troopers. Mahwah Fire Department resources were required to free an individual who was trapped in the rear of a utility vehicle working at the guarded job site. A loaded passenger van and a 4-door sedan were also involved in the crash Several ambulances were called to the scene. Occupants of the passenger van sought shelter in the lobby of a nearby office building A flatbed tow truck was standing by at the site to begin removing the wreckage. Mahwah Police and Mahwah EMS also responded, along with mutual aid ambulances from commercial providers.
Washington DC, The FCC voted 3-2 on Thursday to approve chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to repeal “net neutrality” rules backed by the Obama Administration that reclassified internet-service providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Title II prohibits “any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services.”
The Net Neutrality rules effectively deemed the internet a utility, former chairman Tom Wheeler turned the FCC ie the Federal Government into a political gatekeeper. The rules prohibited broadband providers from blocking, throttling and favoring content, which Mr. Wheeler ostensibly intended to help large content providers like Google , and Netflix gain leverage against cable companies.
Bans on throttling content may poll well, but the regulations have created uncertainty about what the FCC would or wouldn’t allow. This has in tern throttled investment. Price discrimination and paid prioritization are used by many businesses. Netflix charges higher prices to subscribers who stream content on multiple devices. Has this made the internet less free?
Mr. Pai’s rules require that broadband providers disclose discriminatory practices unlike now. Thus cable companies would have to be transparent if they throttle content when users reach a data cap or if they speed up live sports programming. Consumers can choose broadband providers and plans accordingly. The Federal Trade Commission will have authority to police predatory and monopolistic practices, as it had prior to Mr. Wheeler’s power grab.
Despite the screams from the left Mr. Pai’s net-neutrality rollback will also support growth in content. Both content producers and consumers will benefit from increased investment in faster wireless and fiber technology. Apple is pouring $1 billion into original content to compete with Amazon, Netflix and YouTube.
Disney is buying the 21st Century Fox assets in an effort to compete with Netflix and other streaming services, build leverage with cable companies and establish a global footprint. Netflix has more than 47 million international subscribers and streams in nearly every country. Fox will keep its news and main sports channels, which can offer “live” content to consumers. The antitrust concerns should be negligible.
More positively consumers will also benefit from the speeding up of the breakdown of the cable monopoly as they offer more customized “bundles” like Hulu or a Disney stream that may cost less and no longer force large expensive packages of channels on customers Americans will also enjoy new distribution options, which could have been barred by the old net-neutrality rules.
This week T-Mobile announced its acquisition of Layer3 TV, a Denver startup that streams high-definition channels online and will compete with AT&T’s DirecTV Now. Verizon Wireless last month said it will start delivering high-speed broadband to homes over its wireless network late next year. Google and AT&T are experimenting with similar services that will be cheaper than digging dirt to lay cable. This could be a boon for rural America.
Google, YouTube and Facebook have vigorously promoted net neutrality in theory but less in practice. While Google says it remains “committed to the net neutrality policies,” the search engine like Facebook uses opaque algorithms to prioritize and discriminate against certain content, sometimes in ways that undercut competitors. Net neutrality for thee, but not me should be Google , YouTube and Facebooks mantra . In simple terms these providers till search results to favor politically correct view points. Google, YouTube as well as Facebook should be far more transparent about these discriminatory practices.
Technology and markets change faster than the speed of regulation, which Ajit Pai’s FCC has recognized by taking a neutral position and restoring the promise of internet freedom.
Trenton NJ, A state Senate panel quickly advanced a Democratic bill that would give some elected officials bigger pensions, pushing through a vote on Thursday in about one minute and without any debate or public testimony.
The New Jersey Pension and Health Benefits Commission has stated that there are a combined $90 billion in unfunded liabilities for future pension and retiree healthcare benefits .
The bill known as (S3620) would allow certain elected officials, such as the outgoing Camden Mayor Dana Redd, to re-enroll in the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) even if they were removed due to switching from one elected office to another.
Effectively, the bill creates a special exemption that allows Redd to cash in on a bigger public pension at a time when public workers who are not politically connected have seen cutbacks to their benefits and a freeze in yearly cost-of-living adjustments for retirees since 2011.
The legislation is moving quickly because Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester), a Redd ally, has given the bill special status, allowing it to move forward without a customary review by a public body that scrutinizes the cost of pension and health benefits legislation and makes recommendations to lawmakers.
In a “hail Mary” the bill could be approved by the Assembly and Senate and signed by Gov. Chris Christie who is another Redd ally during the waning days of the lame-duck Legislature. A full vote in the Assembly and Senate could be held on the bill before the legislative session ends on Jan. 9.
Ridgewood NJ, An additional leaf pick up period for all “areas” of the Village was announced by Village Manager Heather Mailander during the Village Council’s 12/13/2017 Public Meeting.
From December 23, 2017 through and including January 1, 2018, residents of any “area” may deposit leaves at the curb for pick up. Per Ms. Mailander, Village crews will begin picking up leaves on January 2, 2018.
LAST CHANCE FOR LOOSE LEAF PLACEMENT AT THE CURB: December 23, 2017 through and including January 1, 2018.
Janice is trying to say that the “blame game” is useless and we should just move forward and forget this. Really. I’m sorry Ms. willet, but there is a lot of money that was recklessly sent to Park Mobile when it should never have been, and one person is responsible for this. Roberta Sonenfeld was the Village Manager, although she thought she was an elected official. She should never EVER have signed that contract when she was only authorized by resolution to sign a contract with NO ADDITIONAL FEES
I too read the minutes from the March 2015 minutes. I got a completely different take on the iissue than Ms. Willet. It is clear from the transcript that Roberta was pushing for the deal,with ParkMobile. Boyd Loving’s comments and concerns were stated at that meeting and Roberta was extremely dismissive. As VM/ CFO she was responsible for the process and failed miserably as the Council was not made aware ,not to mention the public , of the overall cost of this contract with the village. Where was the resolution that talked of the additional credit card fees? This should have come before the council. Where was the FAC? It is not playing the blame game when tax dollars are spent with an absence of a financial analysis of the expenditure in question is not included as part of the final decision. She did not follow the standard procedures and signed a contract without proper approval from the VC.
