James - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG. - Page 2379 of 3761

Posted on March 31, 2017April 9, 2020 by James — 1 Comment

Mercer County Superior Court judge to Hear Oral Arguments on Teachers Union Motions to Dismiss LIFO Lawsuit

file photo

Oral arguments before a Mercer County Superior Court judge are scheduled for May 3

March 31,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Six Newark parents yesterday opposed motions to dismiss HG v. Harrington, the lawsuit they filed last November challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey’s quality-blind “last in, first out” (LIFO) teacher layoff law. The motions to dismiss the case were filed earlier this month by local and national teachers unions, who intervened as defendants in the case last December. Oral arguments on the motions to dismiss are scheduled for 2pm on May 3 before the Mercer County Superior Court. Defendants from Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education did not move to dismiss the case.

“The teachers unions clearly are not looking out for students’ best interests,” said Kathleen Reilly, attorney with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, one of the law firms representing the Newark parents pro bono. “With education budget deficits in the tens of millions of dollars, the court urgently needs to hear these parents’ concerns about laws that require schools to keep ineffective teachers while letting effective ones go. If students’ educational rights are valued, these laws cannot stand.”

In their answer to the lawsuit, defendants from the Newark Public Schools overwhelmingly conceded that the LIFO law harms students, acknowledging that enforcement of LIFO in Newark will remove quality teachers, which leads to lower test scores, lower high school graduation rates, lower college attendance rates, and sharply reduced lifetime earnings. They also admit that the current practice of keeping ineffective teachers on the district payroll, including those in a pool of “educators without placement sites” (EWPS) is harmful and unsustainable, and that the EWPS pool would be wholly unnecessary were it not for LIFO.

To learn more about the parent-led lawsuit to end LIFO in New Jersey, please go to edjustice.org/nj. All legal filings related to HG v. Harrington are available online here.

Posted on March 31, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

Two Head for Valley Hospital after Thursday Morning Crash at the Intersection of East Glen and North Maple Avenues

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

March 31,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A two (2) vehicle crash at the intersection of East Glen and North Maple Avenues in Ridgewood resulted in ambulance transport to The Valley Hospital for two (2) victims on Thursday morning, 03/30. Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS responded to the incident. Both vehicles were heavily damaged and removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck.

Posted on March 30, 2017January 21, 2019 by James — Leave a comment

Out Of Sight Shouldn’t Be Out Of Mind: A Cautionary Tale About Checking Your Gas Pipes

March 31,2017
DAVID PLOTKIN, PSE&G CUSTOMER

Ridgewood NJ, It’s easy to take things we don’t see for granted – like the gas pipes in our home. I’m sure like many other homeowners, I never thought much about what was going on behind my walls. I had gas service, so everything was surely fine, right? I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It began on a cold January day when a friend dropped off her daughter for a playdate with my daughter. While she was in my house, she thought she smelled gas. We knew this wasn’t something to be taken lightly, so I called PSE&G. Service Specialist Eric (E.G.) Madsen promptly arrived. He took a gas reading and immediately shut off the gas lines to our house. He had a hunch that there might be a leak in the inside gas pipes. He told my wife, who was home alone at the time, that she needed to leave immediately and call an HVAC company to test the pipes.

When the HVAC company arrived what they found was chilling and terrifying. There was indeed a leak in our pipes. In fact a leak is an understatement — there was a substantial hole! Gas was in the ground — and in our walls. The gas pipes inside our house needed to be replaced. We lived in a hotel while the pipes were dug up and replaced. Once that was done a few days later, Mr. Madsen returned to turn on the gas. While I was sitting in my kitchen waiting, I asked him just how much gas was in my walls. His reply sent chills down my spine . “Gas explodes at between 5 percent and 15 percent,” he said. “You were at 15 percent.” We dodged a bullet that day. As a result, the plumbing inspector for the Borough of Tenafly now is checking all the gas pipes in the homes in our neighborhood.

Life lessons are learned every day. With those lessons it’s important to keep things in perspective. We often times get caught up with what’s around us. We focus on what we can see. When things are invisible to the eye, like the gas pipes in our home, we just assume everything is alright. Thankfully, Mr. Madsen didn’t do that. I believe he might have saved our lives, and those of our neighbors. He says that he was just doing his job. It is not often we have the opportunity to thank the people who keep us safe. In fact, we often take them for granted. So, thank you Mr. Madsen.

If I can leave you with one final thought, it would be not to take your pipes for granted. Get them checked. And, if you think you smell gas, call PSE&G!

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

$1M Norman Rockwell painting stolen in N.J. 40 years ago reportedly found

By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 30, 2017 at 7:16 AM

A Normal Rockwell painting stolen during a home burglary in Cherry Hill more than 40 years ago has been found, according to a report.

In this FBI photo, Norman Rockwell’s “Boy Asleep with Hoe” is pictured.

An attorney for the person who has been in possession of the artwork called the FBI and handed it over, Philly.com said.

https://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2017/03/1m_rockwell_painting_stolen_40_years_ago_is_report.html

Posted on March 30, 2017March 29, 2017 by James — 1 Comment

J Scott Armstrong: Fewer Than 1 Percent Of Papers in Scientific Journals Follow Scientific Method

by ALLUM BOKHARI29 Mar 20172,972

Fewer than 1 percent of papers published in scientific journals follow the scientific method, according to research by Wharton School professor and forecasting expert J. Scott Armstrong.

Professor Armstrong, who co-founded the peer-reviewed Journal of Forecasting in 1982 and the International Journal of Forecasting in 1985, made the claim in a presentation about what he considers to be “alarmism” from forecasters over man-made climate change.

“We also go through journals and rate how well they conform to the scientific method. I used to think that maybe 10 percent of papers in my field … were maybe useful. Now it looks like maybe, one tenth of one percent follow the scientific method” said Armstrong in his presentation, which can be watched in full below. “People just don’t do it.”

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/03/29/j-scott-armstrong-fraction-1-papers-scientific-journals-follow-scientific-method/

Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?

For a science fair project some teachers require that the question be something you can measure, preferably with a number.

Your Question
Do Background Research: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don’t repeat mistakes from the past.

Background Research Plan
Finding Information
Bibliography
Research Paper

Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work. It is an attempt to answer your question with an explanation that can be tested. A good hypothesis allows you to then make a prediction:
“If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen.”

State both your hypothesis and the resulting prediction you will be testing. Predictions must be easy to measure.

Variables
Variables for Beginners
Hypothesis

Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your prediction is accurate and thus your hypothesis is supported or not. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.

You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren’t just an accident.

Experimental Procedure
Materials List
Conducting an Experiment

Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if they support your hypothesis or not.

Scientists often find that their predictions were not accurate and their hypothesis was not supported, and in such cases they will communicate the results of their experiment and then go back and construct a new hypothesis and prediction based on the information they learned during their experiment. This starts much of the process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was supported, they may want to test it again in a new way.

Data Analysis & Graphs
Conclusions

Communicate Your Results: To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster or during a talk at a scientific meeting. In a science fair, judges are interested in your findings regardless of whether or not they support your original hypothesis.

Posted on March 30, 2017March 29, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

‘The Watcher’ strikes again: 4th, more ‘sinister’ letter received, lawyer says

By Tom Haydon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 29, 2017 at 8:45 AM, updated March 29, 2017 at 11:13 AM

WESTFIELD — A mysterious stalker known only as “The Watcher” has sent a fourth threatening letter to a township home that arrived in February, less than three weeks after a renter moved into the infamous home.

Derek and Maria Broaddus, the owners of the six-bedroom house on Boulevard, bought the property for $1.3 million in June 2014 and within days received the first letter from somebody identifying himself as “The Watcher.”

Two more letters arrived in the following weeks, all containing threats, two of them asking if the owners had “young blood,” a reference to children. The owners, who have children, refused to move into the home.

https://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2017/03/watch_strikes_again_4th_letter_sent_feds_prosecuto.html?ath=9c46bfc08d76232bb5a5e00eeaf0bfa2#cmpid=nsltr_strybutton

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — 4 Comments

More older women are drinking hard

More older American women than ever are drinking — and drinking hard, a new study shows.

Most troubling was the finding that the prevalence of binge drinking among older women is increasing dramatically, far faster than it is among older men, the researchers noted.

The difference was striking: Among men, the average prevalence of binge drinking remained stable from 1997 to 2014, while it increased an average of nearly 4 percent per year among women, the researchers found.

Increased drinking and binge drinking can be a serious health problem for women, said study author Rosalind Breslow, an epidemiologist at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-older-women-baby-boomers-binge-drinking/

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

Students eyed ‘Columbine-like’ attack on N.J. elementary school, cops say

By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 29, 2017 at 6:16 AM, updated March 29, 2017 at 1:33 PM

PATERSON – Two high school students have been arrested on terrorist threat charges after they allegedly talked about killing their former elementary school teachers.

The students, who both attend Eastside High School, made statements about “engaging in a Columbine-like attack,” according to NorthJersey.com.

The students are a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, according to Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.

https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2017/03/2_north_jersey_students_talked_about_columbine-lik.html#incart_most-read_bergen_article

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

N.J. public pension investments get some better news

By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 29, 2017 at 4:49 PM, updated March 29, 2017 at 4:59 PM

TRENTON — After a year that saw New Jersey’s public worker pensionslose nearly a percent on their investments, state officials reported the fund posted a 8.62 percent gain since the fiscal year began in July.

The $71.6 billion pension fund, which is in the process of slashing its stake in hedge funds, in fiscal 2016 beat the long-term rate of return needed for the system to avoid piling on additional unfunded liabilities.

“It is nice to be able to report on a period that offers good news,” Tom Byrne, chairman of the State Investment Council said Wednesday, noting that the pension fund “remains prudently diversified.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/03/nj_public_pension_investments_up_86_percent_last_y.html?utm_campaign=new-jersey-politics&utm_content=2017-30-03-9272265&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=New%20Jersey%20Politics#incart_river_home

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — 6 Comments

AirBnb: Protect Home Sharing in New Jersey

By Josh Meltzer • 03/29/17 3:15pm

Fresh off of their victory in the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army led by George Washington, encamped in Morristown for the winter of 1780. For the months that the army rested, a widow named Theodosia Ford opened up her home to General Washington, his family and his aides, who used her home as military headquarters until the war could resume.

Mrs. Ford’s decision to share her home was not unusual at the time. In fact, from the time of the Revolution and the growth of summer vacation rentals on the Jersey Shore in the 20th century to Portuguese immigrants helping one another find a home and build a community in 21st century Newark, home sharing has a long and storied history in the Garden State.

https://observer.com/2017/03/protect-home-sharing-new-jersey-airbnb/

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — 7 Comments

ACCUMULATED SICK-DAY PAYOUTS: ‘LOCAL’ PROBLEM HITS $2 BILLION AND COUNTING

COLLEEN O’DEA | MARCH 30, 2017

Pay for unused absences was capped at $15,000 in 2010, but public employees hired before that at school districts, towns, and counties across the state can still rack up six-figure payouts

Public workers in a majority of New Jersey’s municipalities, school districts, and all but two of its counties are due almost $1.9 billion in pay for unused absences when they retire, with at least one employee slated to receive as much as $500,000.

To put things in perspective: If this obligation were spread throughout the state, every New Jerseyan would have to chip in $207 to cover the public-employee version of Wall Street’s golden parachute — according to an NJ Spotlight analysis of local budgets.

Or think of it this way: In this state with the highest property taxes in the nation, the $929 million owed to municipal workers alone, if it were paid out immediately by property-tax payers, would lead to an increase of 11 percent over last year’s total local levy.

Part of the problem can be traced to the way benefits are typically negotiated by local officials, be it with a union or with individuals. According to Jon Moran, senior legislative analyst with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, it can be difficult for elected officials to take a hard line when facing the realities of what neighboring towns give and a town’s own precedent.

Follow this link for an interactive table of sick-day payout liabilities for New Jersey’s school districts, towns, and counties.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/03/30/accumulated-sick-day-payouts-a-local-problem-hits-2-billion-and-counting/

Posted on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 by James — 8 Comments

What exactly does the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands Conserve?

March 30,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,Ridgewood resident Jacqueline Hone asks ,”What exactly does the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands conserve? Maybe someone can help clarify.”

She goes on to point out ,”This self appointed group and president support clear cutting/bulldozing of the Schedler Woods (7 acres). The irreparable damage, permanent loss of green space and expose endangered/threatened wildlife and residents to toxic conditions. All to make way for a sports complex & 90′ baseball field.”

In fact we have never heard or seen the group raise a finger on any “turf field ” project in town. Frankly you could not support something worse for the environment . Turf fields are not only suspect for safety , but recent news reveals shorter life span than expected . Not to mention increase run off creating more local flooding and durring the summer months they become a heat a sink in summer raising ground temperatures significantly. Folks what happened to all Ridgewood’s true believers in “global warming “?

Hone also points out , “Why? Interestingly, this organization’s secretary is also a Trustee for the Baseball Association behind the exact same sports complex. Where is the conservancy?”

And finally shes get to the magic question, “Why are they calling for a witch hunt and so worried about a slight reduction (few sq ft) of grass, in the middle of the train station parking lot, but willing to bulldoze more than 7acres of true green space? Hypocrisy at its best. What is really going on here?”

Just a case of another misguided committee ,no whats really going on is the mindless support by Aronsohn flunkies for “Garagezilla” . After all “Garagezilla” is the answer to everything and especially for some that are looking forward to being nestled into a new apartments that will require taxpayer funded parking.

Letter: Ridgewood parking plan would diminish green space
https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/03/27/letter-ridgewood-parking-plan-would-diminish-green-space/99694186/

Posted on March 30, 2017January 20, 2019 by James — Leave a comment

Women Missing In Ridgewood Found at Home in Oakland

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

March 30,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,Ridgewood Police, Fire department, EMS, OEM, Parking Enforcement and Emergency Services personnel all participated in the search for an adult female dementia patient who went missing while on foot in Ridgewood’s Central Business District on Wednesday afternoon, 03/29. The missing woman was located safe & sound at her home in Oakland, two (2) hours after having last been seen by her spouse on Franklin Avenue in Ridgewood.

Posted on March 30, 2017January 20, 2019 by James — Leave a comment

PSE&G to paving in Ridgewood

March 30,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, After PSE&G upgrades the gas lines in your neighborhood, we first wait for the ground to settle and then return to restore roads with permanent paving in accordance with each town’s ordinance and paving requirements. Our goal is to complete this work with minimal impact to customers. Police will be directing traffic, and residents will be able to drive on the roads once paving is complete. You will have access to your driveway throughout the work.

If you have any questions about the restoration process, you may call and leave a voicemail (Oakland Gas District 201-337-2519)

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to complete these important upgrades to your gas service – ensuring the safety and reliability of your gas service now, and for many years to come.

The streets below are scheduled to be paved, with an approximate start date of March 28th and completion date of April 4th. Please remember that this work is weather dependent and the schedule may be adjusted if necessary.

Alpine Terrace

East Glen

West Glen

Posted on March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 by James — Leave a comment

Ridgewood Art Institute Sponsors Show

March 29,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Become a Sponsor and Take Home a Beautiful Original Framed Painting. Every Sponsor goes home with a painting.
Reception: Sunday, April 9th, 2017 2-4pm
Exhibition Dates: Friday, April 7th- Friday, May 5th, 2017
Gala Drawing: Friday, May 5th, 2017 8pm

The Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood NJ 07450
201-652-9615 www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org

Ridgewood NJ, The Sponsor Show is our most popular annual event at the Ridgewood Art Institute, providing sponsors an opportunity to acquire a beautifully framed original painting, from the collection donated by our outstanding artists and instructors. In addition to wonderful landscapes and still lifes, several of our professional artists offer the chance to commission a portrait or pet painting. On the night of the Gala Drawing, the name of each sponsor is randomly called to choose their favorite painting. For only $275, become a sponsor and begin creating your painting “wish list” at our Opening Reception, or anytime during the exhibition dates. Proceeds from the show go directly toward the Institute’s efforts to promote fine arts in our community.

Once again we are offering gift certificates. You can become a sponsor yourself, and you can purchase a gift certificate for a friend or family member to join you as a sponsor. A personally selected painting is a wonderful gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, weddings, or any special occasion.

A limited number of sponsorships are sold each year, so don’t miss out on this exciting event! Sponsorships can be purchased on line at www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org.
For more information , visit our website www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org and click “Art Exhibits”.

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)