photo courtesy of Healthy Choice Organic Mattress of Ridgewood
November 28,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Betsey the sheep had her day in court and according to Healthy Choice organic Mattress of Ridgewood, “Betsy was found guilty for loitering, grazing, sunbathing etc. in front of our Healthy Choice Organic Mattress store on Wilsey Square. The judge at the Ridgewood Municipal Court kindly reduced her excessive fines. Being a peaceful and respectful soul, Betsy has agreed to remain indoors until the day the town ordinances allow her to once again roam free.”
Still seems a bit of selective enforcement on the Village’s part . Now if we could only get the Village to follow through with the same action on the walls and planters that litter the side walks of the Central Business District and at times make it impassable as well as represent a fire hazard.
Ridgewood NJ, On November 13, 2017, the New Jersey Local Finance Board (LFB) issued Notices of Violation to the Village of Ridgewood’s former Mayor and former Village manager for authorizing and appearing in a video that advocated only one side of a referendum question that was pending before Village voters.
The ethics complaint was filed on June 13,2016 by the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project with the Local Finance Board–the agency that enforces the Local Government Ethics Law.
The complaint alleged , “Mayor Aronsohn’s statement in the video that its purpose is to educate and inform the public about this issue, the video goes well beyond providing neutral facts. Rather, the video is clearly an advocacy piece intended to persuade Village residents to vote “yes” on the proposal. For example Mayor Aronsohn made the following statements at the noted times in the video.”
The Notices of Violation, issued against former Mayor Paul Arohnson and former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, both arose out of a June 21, 2016 referendum question which sought $11,500,000 in bonds or notes to finance the cost of constructing a new parking deck. Under New Jersey law, government officials may use public resources to educate ,but not to persuade voters on public issues.
The LFB concurred and found that the one sided video was persuasive and not purely educational because it advocated only one side of the question and “urg[ed] citizens to vote ‘yes.'” Using public resources to persuade voters to vote “yes” on a referendum is unfair because the referendum’s opponents do not have access to those resources and have to use private resources to distribute their message.
Arohnson and Sonenfeld, by supporting and appearing in the video, were found to have “attempt[ed] to use [their] official position[s] to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for [themselves] or others in violation of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5(c).”
Hackensack NJ , Steve Lonegan picked up a key supporter in his quest to break his losing streak and pick up the CD5 House of Representative seat . State Senator Gerry Cardinale, (R-Bergen), today announced his support for conservative Republican Steve Lonegan in his campaign for congress in New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District.
“Steve Lonegan has been a tireless champion of the Republican Party when no one else would step forward to take on the tough battles,” Sen. Cardinale said. “I’m pleased to be the first state legislator to announce my support for his campaign.”
In announcing his support for Lonegan, Sen. Cardinale said it is imperative that Republicans unite to take back the Fifth Congressional District in 2018.
“Prior to 2016, North Jersey had not elected a Democrat congressman since the Depression,” Sen. Cardinale said. “To defeat the incumbent, we need a candidate who is committed to the principles of the Republican Party, courageous in campaigning, and battle-tested. Not only is Steve Lonegan the only candidate in North Jersey who fulfills those criteria, his opponent, John McCann, comes up woefully short.”
Sen. Cardinale, who was first elected to the State Senate in 1981, has long been recognized as the most influential Republican leader in Bergen County and one of the most respected Republican leaders in New Jersey.
“Senator Cardinale has been at the forefront of every worthwhile conservative cause,” Lonegan said. “I’m honored to have earned his endorsement, grateful for his consistent service, and excited by the momentum behind our campaign to take back the Fifth District.”
Lonegan is the only candidate who has been endorsed by the National Republican Congressional Committee having satisfied significant qualifying criteria that only the most elite candidates nationwide are able to do.
Your editorial today misses several points. If Murphy wants to spend more, then all New Jerseyans should pay higher taxes. Your support of his tax hike on upper income individuals and families is nothing less than “Willie Sutton” economics. In addition, I have been living in a Fort Lee 171 family co-op for ten years, about 25% of the shareholders leave for FL for half the year. They have been FL residents for many years, from what I gather. A higher top marginal rate will really accelerate the exodus.
Murphy’s tax and spending plan will face a fundamental economic reality, government spending does not boost an economy. Less regulations will make New Jersey more attractive to the business community as will lower marginal tax rates.
New Jersey should have one of the best state economies in the nation based on several factors. Instead, both Republicans and Democrats have implemented policies that in the final analysis have driven businesses out of the state in the 40 years I have been living here. In addition, New Jersey is far down on the list of companies that are looking to expand. The laws of economics and principles of finance cannot be overridden by statist politicians. In short, Murphy should check his premises about how an economy works.
Ridgewood NJ, Murphy transition maintained a pretty low profile during Thanksgiving week, and the governor-elect himself made just one photo op feeding the down and out and less fortunate.
But there is plenty to be done behind the scenes: speeches to write, interviews to conduct, names to vet for jobs and Phil Murphy needs you to help out.
Phil Murphy rolled out his transition website, complete with a “Help Wanted ” sign and many job opportunities. Much like the official governor’s website, the transition site contains news and biography information for Murphy and his leadership team. But it was announced on Tuesday with a focus on finding people to fill out the functions of his administration.
“New Jersey’s greatest asset is its people,” Murphy said in a statement. “I call for all those interested in serving our administration to visit the Transition2018 website and submit their résumé for consideration. We will put an administration together that reflects New Jersey’s rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to making those opportunities open to all.”
Ridgewood NJ, At a recent NYU debate, psychologist Jonathan Haidt was one of several panelist who discussed free speech and the exchange of ideas on college campuses, as well as the rise of microaggressions (ideas or statements that might be subtly offensive to some people or groups).
Haidt offers several explanations as to how campuses transformed from places where ideas were freely exchanged into “safe spaces” where professors cannot interject ideas that might be deemed controversial.
People born before 1980, Haidt said, generally accept the following principles regarding life on a university:
“You are here to come to terms with ideas that might be upsetting or disconcerting.”
“We need opposition to help us learn and help us grow.”
“We know we are imperfect and prone to bias and ad hoc reasoning.”
These are individuals who generally grew up in environments in which they often were forced to confront challenges and dangers on their own. “If someone called you a stupid idiot, you either called him a stupid idiot back or you punch him,” Haidt said.
That is in stark contrast to how children were raised by helicopter parents after 1980, he said, when children were given less independence. They were taught to resolve conflicts through figures of authority. Another words they “rat” on the perpetrator of the perceived wrong .
Haidt claims , “People born after 1980 are much more likely to be in a state of moral dependency,” he said. “If somebody has done something to me, I won’t deal with it myself. I will get an adult authority, a bureaucratic authority, a diversity a department, something to punish the person who did this to me.”
American campuses are now overwhelmingly made up of students born after 1980, many of whom are incapable resolving conflict on their own.
The result is a process Haidt calls erasure, in which universities and educators strip away anything that could possibly be construed as unsettling or offensive. Eventually, ideological conformity (on campuses that implies progressivism) replaces original thought.
“This makes it impossible to teach. This makes it impossible to have an intellectual community,” he said. “I’m a liberal Professor and my liberal students scare me.”
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey scientists are urging the state to impose a strict limit on a chemical that has been linked to cancer, developmental problems, and changes to the human immune system in the latest move to curb the presence of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in drinking water.
The Drinking Water Quality Institute will this week consider a recommendation to set a limit of 13 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) as the level at which human health would be protected over a lifetime of exposure.
The limit, proposed by the DWQI’s health effects subcommittee, would be the strictest set by any state, and would build on New Jersey’s growing status as a national leader in the regulation of a family of chemicals that are found at higher concentrations in New Jersey’s drinking water than in most other places.
The plan to regulate PFOS follows similar recommendations for two related chemicals, PFNA and PFOA, which are being assigned “Maximum Contaminant Limits” (MCLs) by the Department of Environmental Protection after research by DWQI scientists over the past three years.
PFOS and other PFCs were made for consumer products like fabric coatings and nonstick cookware over more than 50 years and were phased out by the main U.S. manufacturer in the early 2000s because of concerns about their health effects.
According to Ridgewood Water , “PFOA and PFNA are contaminants that belong to a class of man-made chemicals called PFASs. PFASs are not found in the natural environment and have historically been used in nonstick cookware, upholstery, carpets, waterproof materials, fire-fighting materials, and food packaging. PFASs do not break down easily and remain in the environment for a long period of time. ”
Ridgewood Water has been participating in DEP unregulated contaminant testing for PFASs since 2009. Ridgewood Water has been proactively working to introduce treatment for PFASs in our system long before this announcement, beginning with the decommissioning of the Carr wells in Ridgewood in January 2017, which possessed the highest level of PFOA in the system. Ridgewood Water is scheduled to install a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter to strip the water supply of PFASs, and we expect that the Carr facility will be back online producing treated water by the last quarter of 2018. Ridgewood Water will be initiating a robust testing protocol by the end of 2017 to determine if other system locations require treatment.
Ridgewood NJ, according to Kerry McDonald is a Senior Contributor for Intellectual Takeout , ” Parents are fed up. As mass schooling becomes more restrictive, more standardized and more far-reaching into a child’s young life, many parents are choosing alternatives. Increasingly, these parents are reclaiming their child’s education and are refocusing learning around children, family, and community in several different ways.”
It started as a trickle but now over two million U.S. children will be avoiding the school bus altogether in favor of homeschooling, an educational choice that has accelerated in recent years among both liberal and conservative families.
On top of homeschooling, an additional two million children will be educated this fall in charter schools. According to recent U.S. Department of Education data, the number of students currently enrolled in charter schools increased from 0.9 million in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2014, while the number of children enrolled in traditional public schools declined by 0.4 million during that same period. Taxpayer-funded but administered by predominantly private educational organizations, charter schools allow parents flexibility in choosing a school that is better aligned with their expectations and their child’s needs. Charter schools are often exempt from district policies and collective bargaining agreements that can halt innovation and experimentation, allowing them more instructional and organizational freedom. Demand for charter schools often outweighs current supply, with statewide charter caps, admissions lotteries, and long waiting lists leaving many parents discouraged and angry.
When Gov. Chris Christie leaves office , one of his clear legacies will be the growth of charter schools in New Jersey, with school enrollment more than doubling in his eight years in office.In July , his administration finished the job, announcing the final approval of five more schools to open this fall. That brings to 89 the number of charters that will be open when Christie steps down in January.
There will be close to 50,000 students enrolled in charters this fall, according to the state, up from less than 25,000 when he took office. More than 56,000 seats will be authorized with the latest approvals.
Advancing technology has also played a key roll . As online learning improves and expands, more parents are choosing virtual schools for their children over traditional public schools. Data from the non-profit organization, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, find that 310,000 young people in grades kindergarten through 12th grade participated in fully online programming in 2013, up from 200,000 in 2010. In addition to homeschoolers, charter school students, and virtual learners, more than four million children will avoid a traditional district school this fall to attend a U.S. private school.
Ridgewood NJ, More people are leaving the New York region than any other major metropolitan area in the country. The New York Metro region includes Northern New Jersey, Connecticut, the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island .The out flow has in one year swelled from 187,034 in 2015 to 223,423 in 2016. Records also show the number of international immigrants settling in the tristate area dwindled from 181,551 to 160,324 over the same period.
Over 1 million people moved out of the New York area to other parts of the country since 2010, a rate of 4.4 percent, that’s the highest negative net migration rate among the nation’s large population centers, US Census records show.
Its partially the same old story Americans have been increasingly relocating from the eastern US and the Rust Belt to warm weather cities in Florida, Texas and the quite of the Northwest. A better nationwide economy has also attracted a lot of talent to lower cost destinations.
Trenton NJ, according to Michael Lilley in the article New Jersey Public Unions, Ascendant https://www.city-journal.org/html/new-jersey-public-unions-ascendant-15568.html ,
“New Jersey’s public-pension system currently holds less than 38 percent of what the state owes its retirees, which amounts to a $135 billion shortfall. Adding to this unfunded liability, the state also owes retirees $67 billion for future health-care payments, and has set aside no money for that obligation. That’s a combined tab of $202 billion. The entire state budget, by contrast, is $35 billion. To fund its obligations properly, the state would have to put aside $4.8 billion a year, or almost 15 percent of the budget; those costs are expected to grow to $11.3 billion by 2027. Unreformed, the cost of these benefits is unsustainable. During his campaign, Murphy promised to fix the pension system by fully funding it, though he wouldn’t give specifics.”
A very ugly reality for the governor elect , but even uglier for taxpayers is the fact that ,” Murphy’s problem, however, is that his biggest allies, especially the teachers’ union, contributed mightily to the pension mess over the years by winning plush benefits, acquiescing to accounting gimmicks that made the system look well-funded, and fighting against cost-saving reforms. Murphy has already proposed $1.3 billion in new taxes, and without making the changes to the pension system that the unions oppose, the state’s taxpayers face years of additional tax increases and spending cuts to pay the pension bill.”
Lilley goes on , “Murphy’s pledge helped win endorsements from the NJEA and other public-sector unions. By law, public school teachers must join the NJEA or, if they decline, pay a so-called agency fee to the union representing 85 percent of dues. The money is deducted from their paychecks, which are largely funded by local property taxes. Last year, the NJEA took in over $120 million in union dues and agency fees. Since 1994, the union has collected $1.85 billion, and it has invested much of this money in New Jersey politics: since 1994, the NJEA has spent $874 million on political activities, or about 56 percent of its annual operational expenditures, an average of $38 million a year.”
A beholden bought ad paid for politician and a massive pension short fall can mean only one thing ,massive new taxes .
Ridgewood NJ, Pro Arte Chorale will be joined by members of the NJ Wind Symphony in a concert featuring Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata, Vaughn Williams’ The Blessed Son of God, favorite traditional carols and more!
For more information and advance discounted ticket sales
please visit: www.proartechorale.org [email protected] or 201-497-8400
Tickets: Adult $25 / Senior $20 / Student $10
Paramus NJ, after a two day manhunt Paramus Police report that Dennis Meenan has been located at Bellevue hospital. The Paramus police also wanted to thank you everyone for their assistance.
Paramus Police requested the public’s assistance in locating a missing person: Dennis Meeman, a 56 yo white male. He left Paramus Park Mall around 415 pm on Wednesday, November 22, 2017. He was last seen by the west entrance by Urban Coal restaurant .On November 23, Police Helicopters were brought in for the search .
Paramus NJ, Black Friday and Thanksgiving online sales in the United States surged to record highs as shoppers reached for discounts and bought more on their mobile devices.U.S. consumer confidence has been strengthening over this past year, due to a labor market that is churning out jobs, rising home prices and stock markets that are hovering at record highs.
Stores were less crowed but U.S. shoppers spent more than $1.52 billion online by Thanksgiving evening. This accounted for a 16.8 percent year-over-year increase in online spending, by 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving alone.
In combined Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales U.S. retailers raked in a record $7.9 billion in online sales on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, up 17.9 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions at the largest 100 U.S. web retailers, on Saturday.
Adobe said Cyber Monday is expected to drive $6.6 billion in internet sales, which would make it the largest U.S. online shopping day in history.
