Think Your Property Taxes Are High? See the Most—and Least—Expensive States
New Jersey is the state with the highest property taxes in the nation
By Clare Trapasso | Mar 2, 2017
If your property tax bill is mind-blowingly high, just be thankful you don’t live in New Jersey. And if you do, well, that’s got to hurt your bank account.
For the third year in a row, New Jersey is the state with the highest property taxes in the nation, according to a recent WalletHub report, with an effective real estate tax rate of 2.35%. This totals about $7,410 annually on a nearly $316,000 home, the median price in the state.
WalletHub analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data to figure out the real estate tax rates by dividing the median annual property tax payment for the state by the state’s median home price. Property taxes are typically levied at the county level, and go toward things like local schools, police and fire services, and parks.
Special interests spent $68.3 million last year lobbying the public, state lawmakers and Gov. Chris Christie’s administration. While total spending was down 2.5 percent from 2015, “spending to promote more funding for state transportation improvement kept lobbying expenditures relatively high,” according to the Election Law Enforcement Commission, which compiled the data.
You remember that one: the fight to replenish the broke fund that pays for road and rail improvements by hiking the gas tax for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president.
Health care was another issue that prompted lots of lobbying.
Ridgewood NJ, The Friends of the Library Author Luncheon is less than 2 weeks away! If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, now’s the time!
The day will be jam-packed with an insightful Author talk, book signing and fabulous auction.
Auction highlights include: a beautiful condo for a weekend to ski Stratton, VT, bike-to-beach and relax at Hilton Head Sea Pines resort, sports tickets from the Devils, Mets and Nets, and the opportunity to train with a fantastic tennis pro! For our foodies, there are opportunities to treat the gourmand in you with a food and wine experience at Astor Center in NYC, Happy hour for 20 with a CIA-trained chef, and more!
The Author is Jamie Ford , “Ford is a first-rate novelist whose bestselling debut, ‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,’ was a joy to read. With his new book, he takes a great leap forward and demonstrates the uncanny ability to move me to tears.” -Pat Conroy, author of “South of Broad”
Join us on March 15th to support our amazing programs at the Ridgewood Public Library!
Ridgewood NJ, For those age 55+, let us help you redefine your free time and connect with just the right volunteer opportunity to match your skills, interests and availability. Please stop by our Volunteer Fair on Sunday, March 5 from 2-4pm in the Library’s Auditorium and meet representatives from many organizations. A great chance to sign up or explore some options. We hope to see you there. Sponsored by the Ridgewood Library and Age Friendly Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, yesterday, President Donald Trump claimed on twitter that former President Obama had his phones tapped during the 2016 presidential election. This revelation released a firestorm of accusations including the claim that if the wire tapping is true this will be a bigger scandal than Watergate.
After months of Democrat run media attacks on the President claiming Russian involvement in the 2016 election, no hard evidence has as of yet come to light to prove the accusations.
But the Obama wire taps on Trump are a totally different matter and this is what we know so far :
1, The Intelligence Community -at the direction of President Obama- made a request to a FISA court for the NSA to spy on Donald Trump in June 2016. It was denied.
2, In October the Intelligence Community (NSA) -at the direction of President Obama- made a second request to the FISA court for the NSA to spy on Donald Trump. It was approved.
3. At around the same time (October), as the second request to FISA, (Def Sec) Ash Carter and (DNI) James Clapper tell President Obama to dump NSA Director Mike Rogers.
4. A week after the election, Mike Rogers makes a trip to Trump Tower without telling his superior, James Clapper; which brings about new calls (November media leaks to WaPo) for President Obama to dump Mike Rogers.
5, According to the Executive Order rule changes DNI James Clapper signed off on December 15th.
6. General Michael Flynn spoke to the Russian Ambassador on December 29th
Dec 29th 2016 – Obama announces sanctions on Russia
7, VERY IMPORTANT January: Obama expands NSA sharing. As Michael Walsh later notes, and as the New York Times reports, the outgoing Obama administration “expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.” The new powers, and reduced protections, could make it easier for intelligence on private citizens to be circulated improperly or leaked.
8. Jan 3rd 2017 – Loretta Lynch signs off on rule changes for phone taps.
9. Jan 12th 2017 – WaPo reports On Phone Calls Anonymous Intel Sources
10. Jan 15th 2017 – VP Pence appears on Face the nation.
11. Jan 20th 2017 – Inauguration
12. Jan 23rd 2017 – FBI reports nothing unlawful in content of Flynn call
13. Jan 26th 2017 – Sally Yates (acting DOJ) informs President Trump there might be a conflict between VP Pence’s stated TV version (was told by Flynn), and what Intel community communicate to Yates that Flynn actually expressed to Russia.
14, Jan 27th 2017 – White House counsel begins investigation to discrepancy.
15 January: Times report. The New York Times reports, on the eve of Inauguration Day, that several agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Treasury Department are monitoring several associates of the Trump campaign suspected of Russian ties.
Occam’s Razor. NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers didn’t want to participate in the spying scheme (Clapper, Brennan, Etc.), which was the baseline for President Obama’s post presidency efforts to undermine Donald Trump and keep Trump from digging into the Obama labyrinth underlying his remaining loyalists. After the October spying operation went into effect, Rogers unknown loyalty was a risk to the Obama objective. 10 Days after the election Rogers travels to President-Elect Trump without notifying those who were involved in the intel scheme.
Did NSA Director Mike Rogers wait for a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) to be set up in Trump Tower, and then notify the President-elect he was being monitored by President Obama?
Here is my personal favorite, President Obama found his private moment of political candor caught by a live microphone on Monday as he told President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia that he would have “more flexibility” to negotiate on the delicate issue of missile defense after the November election. So what is really going on with the Democrats?
“Kindergarten is the place for young children to learn. It must be ready for them so that their learning is unhampered and they can try out new skills without fear of mistakes. Kindergarten is a time of growth, experimentation, and a budding understanding of the world and their place in it.” New Jersey Department of Education
Full-day Kindergarten update from the Ridgewood BOE 2.27.17 meeting
March 5,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Elementary school principals are getting ready for full-day Kindergarten this fall. The goal is to expand the day so that the children can have better time to apply what they are learning rather add more to the curriculum. There will be continuing professional development on May 12 for all teachers, including the newly hired, and six teachers will go to the Paramus Parkway School to observe the program there. Furnishings and libraries are also being carefully researched. Click here for the presentation.
Ongoing registration for fall entrance to Kindergarten and First Grade continues at the Ridgewood Public Schools. Early registration helps ensure that principals and staff have quality time for planning for September.
To schedule an appointment to register, or for more information, parents and guardians should contact their designated district elementary school. More registration information and printable forms may be found under the Parents tab of the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us. Click hereto go directly to that page.
Children who will be five years of age on or before October 1 are eligible to enter Kindergarten in September.
Ridgewood NJ, readers are questioning why has the Ridgewood Financial Advisory Committee still not met commonly accepted standards used throughout the world?
While the rumor and innuendo spending in an attempt to undermine the Mayor and the current council are being sprinkled around town, the fact is the Ridgewood Financial Advisory Committee continues not to meet the most minimum commonly excepted practices in the Finance and accounting industries.
This taints any advice given by the committee and could open the Village to a whole host of law suits.
Once again in order for the Financial Advisory Committee to be an effective part of the Village governance the following criteria have to be met:
Publish clear and realistic by-laws Post agenda’s of all meetings Post minutes of all meetings promptly All members must sign Financial disclosure forms All members must sign NDA’s or non-disclosure forms
These are professional standards that are used and commonly accepted everywhere in the world.
Fair Lawn NJ, a multiple-alarm fire destroyed a single family home located at 11-06 Alexander Avenue in Fair Lawn on the morning of Saturday, 03/04. The fire reportedly started on an outside rear deck. Fair Lawn FD was assisted at the scene by firefighters from Saddle Brook FD. Fair Lawn Heavy Rescue, Fair Lawn PD, and Fair Lawn EMS personnel were also put into service.
Barack Obama denies ‘ever ordering surveillance on any US citizen’ following bombshell accusations he tapped Donald Trump’s phone during US presidential election
Trump claims ‘sick’ ex-president involved in surveillance during heated election campaign
By Brittany Vonow, Mark Hodge and Patrick Knox
4th March 2017, 8:06 pm
Updated: 4th March 2017, 10:44 pm
DONALD Trump’s allegation that his predecessor ordered his phone to be tapped is “simply false”, Barack Obama’s spokesman says.
In an astonishing salvo of early morning tweets, the firebrand President claimed his predecessor had bugged his phones during the “very sacred election process”, slamming the allegations as a “Nixon/Watergate” scandal.
Technology companies have been a driving force behind the U.S. stock market’s recent record rally, and despite mounting evidence of stretched valuations the sector remains a top pick for investors expecting a wave of capital expenditures by U.S. corporations.
Corporate tax cuts and reduced regulations planned by President Donald Trump will give companies reason to spend more on cloud computing, factory automation and smart connectivity that will directly benefit Silicon Valley, many on Wall Street believe.
“The tax cuts are going to promote business investment across all industries, and the business investment is largely going to be in technology,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management in New York.
President Donald Trump branded Democrats “hypocrites” over calls for an investigation into his administration’s contacts with Russia, posting a photograph on the internet of one of the opposition party’s leaders sharing doughnuts and coffee with Vladimir Putin.
It came after half a dozen Trump officials and advisers were revealed to have met Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to Washington, in the six months before the president took office.
Mr Trump responded by posting the picture on Twitter showing Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the US Senate, smiling alongside Mr Putin during his trip to New York in 2003.
The president said: “We should start an immediate investigation into Senator Schumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite!”
Wesley Learns to Invest
by Prince Dykes MBA (Author), Wesley Dykes (Author)
March 4,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, For the first time ever a fiction book offers a kid-friendly introduction to the stock market and investing. In “Wesley Learns to Invest”a father teaches his son about the ins and outs of saving and investing.
Young Wesley is about to turn eleven years old, and he really wants a new GS4 gaming system. But money doesn’t grow on trees, so Wesley will have to work hard and save his money to be able to make that purchase. Wesley’s dad helps him out by teaching him the importance of investing and how stocks work.
Wesley Learns to Invest follows Wesley and his dad as they walk through a financial journey—from discovering what the stock market is, to choosing the right stocks, making a purchase, and receiving a dividend check. With his dad’s advice, Wesley is able to set goals and work toward them. Offering a gentle introduction to stocks and long-term goals, Wesley Learns to Invest offers a fun and engaging way for adults to demonstrate to children the value of making smart decisions and spending money in a way that will yield the best benefit rather than simply seeking instant gratification.
The author Prince Dykes, MBA, IAR, SA , is an award-winning author /podcast host/youtuber and International Speaker.
Prince hosts the Investor Show (Podcast). After completing my MBA, in 2012 and earning his series 63, series 65, and insurance licenses while serving active duty in the military, Prince dedicated his life to educating children and adults on the power of investing.
With his Investor Show where he interviews investors from all over the world Prince has gained thousands of followers, hundreds in sales/downloads and even was a ABC Shank Tank Finalist. Currently, he is raising money to fund the cartoon based on the book Wesley Learns to Invest which will educate kids and adults on the world of investing.
Fri, March 10, 2017 – Sat, March 11, 2017
Time: 7:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: Benjamin Franklin Middle School, E Glen Ave N. Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Ridgewood NJ, Entering our 73rd year, Dads’ Night puts on an annual fundraising show for the Ridgewood Somerville/
Hawes Elementary Schools and general public. Our show is the result of a massive effort from over 280 dads
who donate their time and “talents”.
Our dads are responsible for all aspects of the production of the show, from script writing and making costumes to playing all the parts, providing all the music and of course the hilarious acting! Obviously, it has had some success because it’s been here for 73 years. But the show is just the beginning, Dads’ Night is a year-round organization that is very involved with our community from coat, turkey and blood drives to parent educational speakers and outreach programs just to mention a few.
The funds we raise are divided out between the two elementary schools funding various projects that the schools’ budget may not accommodate. We have recently installed chrome books in classrooms, outdoor community classrooms, eco-friendly water fountains and eco-center. Additionally, monies from the funds raised allow us to help support local and national charitable efforts too.
Our purpose is to give back something a little extra to our children’s learning and educational experiences by following our slogan “Family. Friends. Community.” Our children are our future and ultimately our legacy.
Are there health benefits to staying in the work force longer?
The scientific research is inconclusive, though it tends to tilt toward “yes.” This is particularly pronounced among people who find work fulfilling in the first place, who tend to be office workers, teachers and others whose workplace is not, say, a factory or a construction site.
More so than people in most previous generations, baby boomers are continuing to work past their early 60s, often well beyond. Sometimes, this means delaying retirement from a longtime job, but it can instead involve some kind of bridge job, part-time employment or self-employment. It turns out that, these days, older Americans who retire — in the sense of completely withdrawing from the paid labor force — are increasingly in the minority.
“What is the benefit of work? Activation of the brain and activation of social networks may be critical,” Nicole Maestas, an associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, said in an interview.
Researchers have long assumed that only well-educated and healthier people benefit from working after a certain age. Lately, however, scholars and retirees themselves have been exploring an intriguing question with implications for both potential workers and policy makers: Is a job a force for keeping older people mentally and physically healthy?
