URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
652 PM EST SAT JAN 21 2017
...DENSE FOG TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING...
...STRONG EAST WINDS LIKELY ALONG THE COAST FROM LATE SUNDAY
NIGHT INTO MONDAY NIGHT...
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST SUNDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST SUNDAY.
* VISIBILITIES...ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES.
* TIMING...INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS...SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES WILL MAKE
TRAVEL DIFFICULT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE
REDUCED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS. IF DRIVING...SLOW DOWN...USE
YOUR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF
YOU IN CASE A SUDDEN STOP IS NEEDED.
Washington (AFP) – First Lady Melania Trump stunned fashion watchers by donning a sleek, off-the-shoulder cream dress with a daring thigh-high slit to dance with President Donald Trump at the inaugural balls.
Her column dress, finished with a sculpted ruffle that cascaded down the front of the gown and cinched at the waist with a red ribbon, won praise for being fresh, modern, elegant and yet understated.
She won rave reviews for her look and originality in choosing Herve Pierre a New York-based designer who last year struck out on his own after working as creative director for famed label Carolina Herrera.
Her pick is likely to boost sales and publicity for the relatively unknown Pierre, much like her predecessor Michelle Obama’s selection of the then relatively unknown Jason Wu in 2009 turned him into a star.
The 46-year-old former model glowed as she stepped onto the dance floor, her auburn hair hanging around her shoulders, with her husband, dressed in a black tie, to “My Way” the song made popular by Frank Sinatra and considered something of a personal anthem for Trump.
The couple swayed rather gingerly, the Republican president clutching his wife tightly by one hand and placing his other on her back as they nuzzled, and exchanged smiles and laughs.
The former reality TV star, who reportedly refused to practice the dance ahead of time, at times broke away from his wife to wave or flash a thumbs up to unidentified members of the crowd.
They were joined by Trump’s adult children from his two previous marriages, each dancing with their other halfs, and first daughter Ivanka stunning in a pink bead-encrusted princess Herrera gown.
Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.Senior Fellow
Center for Health Policy Studies
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised voters he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Now he and his congressional allies have an obligation to fulfill that promise.
Despite some hysterical claims to the contrary, Congress isn’t going throw millions of Americans out of coverage. Under Obamacare, most newly insured people have been enrolled in Medicaid, a welfare program, while the bulk of those covered in the troubled exchanges are getting generous taxpayer subsidies. Thus far, at least, congressional leaders appear focused on avoiding further disruption and securing a smooth transition, particularly for those enrolled in the exchanges and Medicaid.
Meanwhile, there is another, more pressing, problem. There are more than 10 million people in the individual market who get no ACA taxpayer subsidies for their insurance yet are being hit with staggering premium increases.
Moreover, there are also approximately 15 million Americans in the small group markets – small-business employers and employees – who are likewise facing escalating premiums.
In the Obamacare exchanges, the average increase in the benchmark plan premium will be 25 percent for 2017 in the 39 states using the HealthCare.gov platform, and the exchange deductibles are positively breathtaking. For plans with the lowest premium costs, the so-called bronze plans, the average deductible for single coverage is $6,000 annually, while family coverage climbs to more than $12,000.
Premium subsidies aren’t available for many in the middle class. A single person making more than $47,000 is out of luck for help in offsetting her premium costs. And if she makes roughly $15 an hour, she will likely be ineligible for cost-sharing subsidies.
Trump and Congress are inheriting unstable insurance markets. In droves, millions of Americans expected to sign up in the exchanges have not; middle class folks, especially young folks, clearly don’t see much value in high-priced insurance with crazy deductibles.
So a larger proportion of older and sicker people, whose claims costs are often higher than their premium contributions, are driving costs higher. And the individual mandate penalty, which is riddled with exemptions, isn’t much of an incentive to buy Obamacare coverage.
There has also been the steep reduction in health plan competition since the inception of the exchanges in 2014. By underpricing the product, perhaps in hopes of federal bailouts, and then failing to recover sufficient revenues, many of the plans have been losing money, and major plans have withdrawn from the exchanges altogether.
The Obama administration’s political remedies to enhance competition in the exchanges have either failed or become another excuse for more taxpayer bailouts. Note the stunning collapse of the co-op program – 18 out of 23 have disappeared from the markets – and the equally important but overlooked dismal performance of the federally sponsored multistate plans administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. They enroll just 440,000 people, or 4 percent of the entire exchange population.
The new president and Congress must act decisively to stabilize the insurance markets that exist as well as lay the groundwork for the improved markets they envision. Through a combination of early administrative and legislative actions, they can reduce costs and stabilize the insurance markets. Among the many other provisions to be enacted or implemented, they must do at least the following:
– Reduce the costs in the individual and small group markets by liberalizing insurance rules, particularly the federal benefit and insurance rating rules, which artificially drive up premium costs for young families.
– Reduce the costs of employer-sponsored insurance. Administratively, this can be done by liberalizing the “grandfather rules,” thus allowing employers greater flexibility to alter or modify their plans, delaying the employer mandate reporting and penalty requirements. Legislatively, Congress should kill the employer mandate entirely.
– Provide individual tax relief for Americans buying health insurance if they do not or cannot get health care coverage through the place of work.
Trump and Congress must move quickly to prevent even greater disruption to the badly damaged health insurance markets. While Obamacare was designed to insure the uninsured, now Obamacare costs threaten to un-insure those who are insured. It’s time to act.
Tax policies sometimes have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits.One consequence of high state cigarette taxes is increased smuggling. People procure discounted packs from low-tax states to sell in high-tax states.
Excessive tax rates on cigarettes approach de facto prohibition in some states, inducing black and gray market movement of tobacco products into high tax states from low tax states or foreign sources.
New York has the highest inbound smuggling activity, with an estimated 55.4 percent of cigarettes consumed in the state deriving from smuggled sources in 2014. New York is followed by Arizona (49.6 percent of consumption smuggled), New Mexico (46.2 percent), Washington (45.2 percent), and Minnesota (35.5 percent).
New Hampshire has the highest level of outbound smuggling at 81.1 percent of consumption, likely due to its relatively low tax rates and close proximity to high tax states in the northeastern United States. Following New Hampshire is Idaho (24.8 percent outbound smuggling), Virginia (24.4 percent), Delaware (23.9 percent), and Wyoming (21.2 percent).
Following a cigarette tax increase from $2.51 to $3.51 in midyear of 2013, Massachusetts has seen a substantial increase in cigarette smuggling. Since the last year’s edition of this report, the state has jumped from 12 percent inbound smuggling to 29.3 percent inbound smuggling, the seventh highest in the country.
Cigarette tax rates increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia between 2006 and 2014.
Public policies often have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. One consequence of high state cigarette tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states to sell in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise.
Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.[1] Their most recent report uses 2014 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, however, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates. Table 1 shows the data for each state, comparing 2014 and 2006 smuggling rates and tax changes.
New York is the highest net importer of smuggled cigarettes, totaling 55.4 percent of total cigarette consumption in the state. New York also has the highest state cigarette tax ($4.35 per pack), not counting the additional local New York City cigarette tax (an additional $1.50 per pack). Smuggling in New York has risen sharply since 2006 (+62 percent), as has the tax rate (+190 percent).
Smuggling in Massachusetts has notably increased since the last data release. The state implemented a tax increase from $2.51 to $3.51 per pack in midyear 2013, and smuggling rates increased from 12 percent to 29.3 percent between the 2013 data and 2014 data. Over the same period, outbound smuggling increased in nearby low-tax New Hampshire, from -28.6 percent to -81.1 percent, suggesting that many cartons of cigarettes are crossing the border from one state to the other.
Other peer-reviewed studies provide support for these findings.[2] Recently, a study in Tobacco Control examined littered packs of cigarettes in five Northeast cities, finding that 58.7 percent of packs did not have proper local stamps. The authors estimated 30.5 to 42.1 percent of packs were trafficked.[3]
The study’s authors, LaFaive and Nesbit, note that smuggling comes in different forms: “casual” smuggling, where smaller quantities of cigarettes are purchased in one area and then transported for personal consumption, and “commercial” smuggling, which is large-scale criminal activity that can involve counterfeit state tax stamps, counterfeit versions of legitimate brands, hijacked trucks, or officials turning a blind eye.[4]
The Mackinac Center has cited numerous examples over the many editions of this report, including stories of a Maryland police officer running illicit cigarettes while on duty, a Virginia man hiring a contract killer over a cigarette smuggling dispute, and prison guards caught smuggling cigarettes into prisons.
Policy responses in recent years have included banning common carrier delivery of cigarettes,[5] greater law enforcement activity on interstate roads,[6] differential tax rates near low-tax jurisdictions,[7] and cracking down on tribal reservations that sell tax-free cigarettes.[8] However, the underlying problem remains: high cigarette taxes amount to a “price prohibition” of the product in many U.S. states.[9]
By Johnny Kampis / January 18, 2017 / News / 2 Comments
The Government Accountability Office says many federal agencies’ financial books are in such bad shape that they cannot be audited.
In a report released last week, the GAO said material weaknesses in accounting procedures “hamper the federal government’s ability to reliably report a significant portion of its assets, liabilities, costs and other related information.”
The GAO said those weaknesses also:
Affect the federal government’s ability to reliably measure the full costs and financial performance of certain programs and activities.
Impair the federal government’s ability to adequately safeguard significant assets and properly record various transactions.
Hinder the federal government from having reliable financial information to operate in an efficient and effective manner.
The GAO said its report on the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 “underscores that much work remains to improve federal financial management.” The agency couldn’t even express an opinion on the balance sheets because of the weak financial reporting.
“It’s another way of saying ‘we wash our hands of this,’” Bill Bergman, director of research for Truth in Accounting, said of the internal government watchdog.
Bergman said the sorry situation is nothing new. The GAO has highlighted such sloppy record-keeping for two decades. And he said such dismal reports wouldn’t fly in the private sector.
“A private corporation wouldn’t have a record like this for so many years,” Bergman told Watchdog.org.
GAO noted that 34 percent of the federal government’s reported assets and 18 percent of its reported net cost relate to federal entities that were unable to issue audited financial statements, were unable to receive audit opinions on the complete set of financial statements or received a disclaimer of opinion on their statements.
The GAO called out the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense, in particular, for weak internal controls.
The agency also took a shot at the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget, noting that some of the “numerous recommendations” GAO made to those agencies in previous years to address internal control deficiencies remain unaddressed. The secretary of the Treasury and director of OMB are required to annually submit financial statements for the U.S. government, audited by the GAO, to the president and Congress.
“It’s a sad state of affairs,” Bergman said. “It comes with the territory when you’ve got a government this big and this complex.”
Ridgewood NJ, The NJ Sharing Network recently presented Valley with the Platinum-Level Recognition certificate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Promoting Organ Donation. The Valley Hospital’s awareness and registry campaigns educated staff, patients, visitors, and community members on the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donors, and thereby increased the number of potential donors on the state’s donor registry. In 2016, Valley’s efforts resulted in three organ donors , 17 lives saved, 34 tissue donors and 1,548 life enhancing gifts.
Pictured above (from left to right): Betty Ann Kempin, Assistant Vice President for Medical and Surgical Services, The Valley Hospital; Ron Roberto, liver donation recipient; Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System; and Amanda Trabilsy, Hospital Services Manager, NJ Sharing Network.
Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Parks Department initiated a master planning process for the Bergen County Park system. The goal is to identify the characteristics of the Bergen County recreation and open space system, accommodate the needs of current residents, and respond to projected future growth of the County.
CUES is leading the project team that will analyze existing strengths, programs, and opportunities, as well as future active and passive recreational options for each of the individual park properties. This analysis will consider how the various parks can best be integrated into the overall Bergen County open space and recreational context. In order to meet future needs of Bergen County residents, demographic and economic trends will be considered. The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public policy will provide input for these scenarios using existing data and forecasts describing future population and demographic trends in Bergen County.
By Adam Clark and Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 20, 2017 at 4:47 PM, updated January 20, 2017 at 9:12 PM
NEW BRUNSWICK — The FBI has interviewed a Rutgers University computer science student who has been identified by a well-known cyber security blogger as the likely author of the malicious code that caused a massive Internet disruption in October. The expert said the student also may be linked to repeated attacks on Rutgers’ computer system starting in late 2014.
While he says he does not know who may have actually launched the massive “denial of service” or DDoS attacks last fall, the security researcher said the coding language used and other anecdotal evidence seemed to point to the 20-year-old-student, Paras Jha, as an author of the malware used to shut down hundreds of computer servers.
The student’s father, Anand Jha, confirmed that federal investigators have questioned his son, but he adamantly denied he had any knowledge of the attacks or was involved in any way.
The recent NJ Supreme court case pinning untold thousands of units of affordable housing obligations on “recalcitrant” municipalities who fought against them in court shows without any doubt that the judiciary in New Jersey has arrogated to itself governmental powers that, if they could be legitimately be exercised at all, should have been committed exclusively to the legislative branch. Heaven help us, because whatever real differences that exist between New Jersey and the average banana republic state are becoming very difficult to find. The unfortunate exodus of decent citizens from New Jersey can only increase from here on out.
These judges are like gods. They can take decisions without much worry about people’s lives in the name of “common good”. How is it possible to not take residents’ concerns into consideration but just shove it to them?!?! HoHoKus may be asked to build close to 300 affordable units. How crazy is this? A tiny , nice place right next door to Ridgewood. How can 300 units fit in there. If HHK is asked for 300 how many will Ridgewood be asked for? It has to be over 1000. There are plans to build where Granny’s attic is and also to take away the lower parking lot by the train station. Add to this the looming Valley building by N Maple and you don’t have a village anymore. In a few years if nobody does something about this (residents are all asleep or occupied with Trump’s upcoming “disasters”) we won’t have a village anymore but a city called Ridgehokus.
Ridgewood NJ, As part of our electric reliability improvements in Bergen County, PSE&G will be performing utility underground work in the Village of Ridgewood. As of mid-January 2017, PSE&G will be performing the following activities in your area:
Safety is our primary concern. PSE&G will work with the Ridgewood Police Department to minimize any traffic concerns or inconveniences to the public. Please be advised that Ridgewood Police Department may close additional spaces to ensure public safety. In addition, during construction, please refrain from going near our construction work zones.
The upgrades will enhance your electric capacity, system redundancy, and service reliability within the Village of Ridgewood, as well as surrounding communities. If you have questions or concerns, please call our toll free number at 1-877-678-5784
Westwood NJ, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi released the following statement on the state Supreme Court decision requiring municipalities to provide affordable housing for the “gap period:”
“I am deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to enforce a gap-period. This ruling will devastate all 23 municipalities I represent and suburban municipalities throughout the state. The failure of the legislature to address the social engineering of the court should not result in changing communities forever.”
“I implore our Senate President and Assembly Speaker to do everything in their power to move forward with bi-partisan legislation addressing this issue. The court rules on what is constitutional, not aggressively ruling what it thinks is best for the state. We cannot let the court legislate what is best for individual communities.”
Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi goes on, “While ideologically I think our communities want to welcome all regardless of income levels the mandates of COAH have implications far beyond that. Many of our communities with populations under 10,000 people are facing the threat of population increases of 10 percent or more without the infrastructure, schools or services to support massive population increases. We currently receive virtually no money from the state to support our schools, our Municipalities, our infrastructure. Mandating massive building in our communities (many of which are done with PILOT agreements) without any financial help to do so will cause a significant financial burden on all. As an example the new 150 unit apartment complex with commercial components will be paying less than $1,750 per average unit per year (in property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes combined) for 30 years with slight increases based upon rental incomes received by the developers. Meanwhile every other home in the Borough is paying an average of about $12,000 per year in property taxes . That $12,000 figure is guaranteed to rise in order to make up for the shortfalls. Further, people have chosen to live in the suburbs for a reason. Prior to moving back to Bergen County I lived many years in cities including Washington, New York and London. I choose where we live today because of the open space, the small class sizes, the fact that there weren’t five or six story buildings around me. Why should the Courts be able to change the entire character of the community I live in?”
by DAVID HARSANYI January 20, 2017 12:00 AM @DAVIDHARSANYI
Betsy DeVos wants better education for minority and low-income kids. There’s something perverse about an ideology that views the disposing of an unborn child in the third trimester of pregnancy as an indisputable right but the desire of parents to choose a school for their kids as zealotry. Watching President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, answer an array of frivolous questions this week was just another reminder of how irrational liberalism has become.
Democrats often tell us that racism is one of the most pressing problems in America. And yet, few things have hurt African Americans more over the past 40 years than inner-city public-school systems. If President Obama is correct and educational attainment is the key to breaking out of a lower economic stratum, then no institution is driving inequality quite as effectively as public schools.
Actually, teachers’ unions are the only organizations in America that openly support segregated schools. In districts across the country — even ones in cities with some form of limited movement for kids — poor parents, typically those who are black or Hispanic, are forced to enroll their kids in underperforming schools when there are good ones nearby, sometimes just blocks away.
Warren Buffett said he “overwhelmingly” supports President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for cabinet positions as the incoming commander-in-chief’s selections face confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate.
“I feel that way no matter who is president,” the billionaire Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman and chief executive officer said Thursday in New York at the premiere of a documentary about his life. “The CEO — which I am — should have the ability to pick people that help you run a place.”
“If they fail, then it’s your fault and you got to get somebody new,” Buffett said. “Maybe you change cabinet members or something.”
Buffett, 86, backed Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election, stumping for her in Omaha, Nebraska, and headlining fundraisers. The billionaire frequently clashed with Trump and scolded him for not releasing income-tax returns, as major party presidential candidates have done for roughly four decades.
Trump’s cabinet picks include Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker; former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state; and retired Marine Corps General James Mattis as Defense secretary.
Since the election, Buffett has struck a more conciliatory tone toward Trump and called for unity. In an interview with CNN in November, he said that people could disagree with the president-elect, but ultimately he “deserves everybody’s respect.”
By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 19, 2017 at 5:43 PM
TRENTON — The head of the New Jersey State Police on Thursday decried a deal struck between the United States and Cuba because it did not require the return of convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard.
Earlier this week, the White House announced an agreement on law enforcement cooperation with Cuba, part of President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize relations between the two countries.
The Associated Press reported the State Department and Cuba’s Interior Ministry agreed to share information on international criminal activity including human trafficking and terrorism.
