To whomever posted -Anonymous January 12, 2017 at 8:05 pm- that put my AirBNB listing up with my address-which incidentally is kept totally confidential until AFTER the guest passes a 5-point security check. But Thank You for noticing that I am a hard-working professional who is willing to share her beautiful home with others. As an immigrant to this country, I founded a national association to help women. I help them achieve their national credential in order to find jobs, and get better ones, then I help them continue their education with one-on-one mentoring (some of the cars that are “in and out of there all the time”.)…so I guess I just like helping people. My guests park on my property and I have had no complaints from neighbors. AirBnb has helped me pay for taxes, repairs on my home, upgrade plumbing etc., so that the value is maintained. And who are the guests that stay with me? I have three different grandparents that come to visit their grandchildren, nurses that work long shifts at Valley Hospital, a son who lives in California that comes regularly to visit his mother in a nursing home, a self-employed marketing consultant who comes here for business, and then I have had two different couples who have stayed here while they bought a home in the area-they wanted to see what it was like living in Ridgewood–without this experience, they may not have chosen to live here! The sharing economy is an international model that can be found in small cities all over the world that only enhances the diversity and value of the community.
PANAMA CITY: “Obama has screwed all Cubans,” Yadiel Cruz, a Cuban in Panama bitterly told Agence France-Presse on Thursday upon learning the US president has suddenly made it tougher for migrants like him to get into America.
The 33-year-old summed up what many compatriots were feeling as they digested the news in a Catholic shelter in Panama’s capital, a waypoint on their overland trek to the United States.
But, he declared, “for me, I’m not going back.”
Around him, dozens of other Cubans expressed sadness or anger.
Much of the fury was directed personally at US President Barack Obama for announcing that he has scrapped, with immediate effect, a 1995 policy that had given near-automatic entry to the US to Cubans who set foot on American soil, regardless of their visa status.
Now, like those who attempted to cross by water, they could face deportation back to Cuba unless they convince US officials they were afraid of being persecuted or had valid humanitarian reasons to be let in.
The move, made just days before Obama leaves office and hands the reins over to Donald Trump, known for his anti-immigration stance, rattled nerves, sparked frustration and evoked tears here.
Barack Obama promised hope and change when he became the nation’s 44th president eight years ago. He delivered on the change, but leaves a nation still struggling for hope.
He departs office after leading the United States out of its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and as the country enjoys its most robust economy in years.
His policies helped revive the auto industry, clamp down on financial industry abuses and provide health insurance coverage to millions. And his very ascension to the White House “sent a strong signal about America as the land of opportunity,” said former South Carolina Gov. James Hodges, a Democrat.
Yet Obama leaves not with a country united and eager for what comes next, but one divided between rural and urban, left and right, lower-skilled workers and the more educated. Huge numbers of people are not confident about their financial futures. They’re deeply concerned about whether the government can keep them safe. Overwhelming numbers of Republicans continue to dismiss Obama as too liberal and out of touch.
The Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump see Obamacare as emblematic of much that’s gone wrong, a costly big-government disaster spawning higher premiums and less quality care.
It’s one reason why we can’t rationally discuss things
Devin Foley | December 11, 2015
As we and many others have pointed out, many policy debates these days devolve quickly into emotionalism. Should we be surprised when too many American students lack the tools with which to engage in public discourse?
According to the Nation’s Report Card, produced by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) which is considered the gold-standard for evaluating the job schools are doing educating students, only a paltry percentage of high school seniors know their history.
Yes, only a meager 12% of high school seniors are considered “proficient” in U.S. history. If you’d like to examine the test, you can do so here. We’ll probably do some separate posts on it.
Hawthorne NJ, A hit and run collision at the intersection of Goffle Road and Goffle Hill Road in Hawthorne resulted in a traffic light stanchion being knocked into the Goffle Brook on Thursday afternoon, 01/17. A Hawthorne PD supervisor caught the fleeing vehicle, a tractor trailer, minutes later on Route 208 northbound in Franklin Lakes. No injuries were reported in the mishap and an electrician from the Borough of Hawthorne was summoned to begin removing the damaged equipment and installing replacements. No word from police on the scene as to whether any summonses were issued to the truck driver.
By Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author
on January 12, 2017 at 5:18 PM, updated January 12, 2017 at 5:48 PM
Online retailing giant Amazon is planning to add 100,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. over the next year and a half, including 2,500 in New Jersey, the company said in a statement Thursday.
The jobs include entry-level work and skilled positions like engineers and software developers. The full-time positions will also come with benefits.
The company already employs 11,000 people at seven sites in the state. The new hires will work at additional “fulfillment centers,” the company said.
The remainder of the new hires will staff facilities in Washington, Texas, California, Kentucky, Illinois and Florida.
The news comes as Amazon also announced it would be opening a bookstore at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, one of five stores the company plans to open in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.
In July, the company announced plans to lease a 617,000-square-foot warehouse in Teterboro as part of its plan to grow its footprint in the state. In 2015, the company cut the ribbon on a massive shipping facility in Robbinsville.
WASHINGTON – The House approved bipartisan legislation on Thursday to ensure that the benefits of proposed regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) justify the costs to jobs, economic growth, and capital formation.
The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, sponsored by Financial Services Committee member Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), passed 243-184.
“Ill-advised laws like the Dodd-Frank Act empower unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to callously hand down crushing regulations without adequately considering what impact those regulations have on jobs,” said Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). “The true cost of Washington red tape includes the jobs not created, the small businesses not started and the dreams of our children not fulfilled.”
Under the bill, before issuing a regulation the SEC will be required to:
identify the nature and source of the problem its proposed regulation is meant to address;
utilize the SEC’s Chief Economist to assess the costs and benefits of a proposed regulation to ensure the benefits justify the costs;
identify and assess available alternatives; and
ensure that any regulations are consistent and written in plain language.
Further, the legislation requires the SEC to engage in a retrospective review of its regulations every five years and conduct post-adoption impact assessments of major rules.
By Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com and Associated Press
PUBLISHED: 14:47 EST, 12 January 2017 | UPDATED: 19:09 EST, 12 January 2017
Marijuana does raise the risk of getting schizophrenia and triggers heart attacks, according to the most significant study on the drug’s effects to date.
A federal advisory panel admitted cannabis can almost certainly ease chronic pain, and might help some people sleep.
But it dismisses most of the drug’s other supposedly ‘medical benefits’ as unproven.
Crucially, the researchers concluded there is not enough research to say whether marijuana effectively treats epilepsy – one of the most widely-recognized reasons for cannabis prescriptions.
The report also casts doubt on using cannabis to treat cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, or certain symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, or helping people beat addictions.
I continue to believe that Mayor Knudsen, Deputy Mayor Sedon and Councilman Hache are decent, reasonable people who want to do what is right for the village. Here is my appeal to them.
Please do not assume that the few loudest and most frequent voices you hear from are representative of the entire village, irrespective of what they say.
I, and a lot of people I know, did not vote against the previous council and for the current one because we had much of a view on the Valley expansion, Graydon, Schedler, or the parking garage. Neither did we vote because of those loud voices. What we voted against was the dismissive attitude of those council members against residents.
Now I do not believe that those council members were very being dismissive on purpose. They did very much want to win elections. However, they kept hearing from a specific group that their actions were popular, and that those opposing their proposals were a vocal and disruptive minority.
Unfortunately, I get the sense that the new council has become beholden to a different coterie with its own agenda. That coterie is openly dismissive of regular residents in extremely caustic terms. It is as if we have traded the tzar for the politburo. Questioning actions of the new council is dismissed as the handiwork of the Aronson crew.
I urge you to work for the wider village, and not just those voices and their interests. For example, on this issue it appears that the lack of commuters and abundance of casual diners in the coterie has led to this disastrous decision. I urge you to reverse this decision and in future, think about the outcome for all residents based on wider feedback, and not just based on what you hear from a few.
A decade or so ago, the Ridgewood village tried, via an arguably aggressive application of eminent domain principles, simply to take by forced sale the property upon which the “Ridgewood Garage” building stands. This was hot on the heels of the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision which, in order to find lawful the use by a Connecticut municipality of eminent domain to boot ordinary fee simple owners of residential properties in an “underperforming” (ahem!) neigborhood to make room for a proposed factory that mysteriously never got built, conveniently expanded the scope of the word “public” in the U.S. Constitution’s term “public use” to include a scheme that, at its heart, was nothing but a naked multistep attempt to eventually boost property tax revenue. The idea at the time was that the new U.S Supreme Court constitutional precedent rendered legitimate any property condemnation scheme that municipal powerbrokers could rig together that gave off the faintest whiff of a public benefit in the distant future, regardless of the immediately applicable common law rights of the owner of the targeted property or properties. One presumes the now battle-hardened owners of the Franklin Avenue parcel under discussion have been waiting to receive, at long last, a decent offer from the Village to purchase the lot that does not involve the coercion inherent in the use of the municipsl eminent domain power. Can it fairly be said that that particular lot, or, more broadly, that the “parking lottish” parts of the larger block defined by Ridgewood Avenue, Oak Street, Franklin Avenue and Walnut Street, is “blighted” to such a degree as to justify municipal action to use the eminent domain power to initiate a process by which it is redeveloped into a modern parking facility? The decision that was eventually taken years ago was that, despite the fact that the Village had already raised some $15 million via a corresponding municipal bond issuance to build a parking garage, the village would nevertheless relent, and not follow through on its threats to use its eminent domain power. We’ve since spent the proceeds of that bond issuance on other priorities. Unfortunately, we are still paying off the debt for a parking garage that, for good or ill, was never built.
Heading to Raymond’s for lunch. That’s Ridgewood all right. The “caring” community.”
Apparently no one gives a flying fuck that Raymond’s cheated their employees, waiters and waitresses, out of wages and tips and was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I remember, because I care about waiters and waitresses trying to make an honest living, and I won’t EAT at Raymond’s. Fuck with the word “dine.”
Also, the residents who complained that commuters should get priority parking in the CBD. Hey, those commuters, they are trying to support their families and spend time with their kids….. trying to find a work/life balance and commute to the Big Apple. The town should bend over backwards for them. They are the best people this country has to offer. And they cried cried cried in front of the council and I don’t think they got the sympathy , compassion and immediate help that they desperately need and deserve.
I am a senior and there is no skin off my nose for my opinion.
But if those commuters arrive late to their jobs they could be fired and end up homeless. Homelessness is a real problem. And no one gives a shit about the homeless. They blame the people who are homeless for not being responsible.
These Ridgewood commuters are the best that America produces …hard working responsible workers and parents. And my heart goes out to them. If I lived near the CBD I would offer my driveway for them. Those workers who live in Ridgewood , if they can’t find a parking space in town for lunch some day, they can brown bag it. Trust me, eating apples, walnuts, egg, and celery for lunch, health care costs would go down. The commuters cannot brown bag their commute.
Ridgewood NJ, like many of you we have been concerned over the State of New Jersey’s sustainability . The tax base in New Jersey has been under precipitous decline since Jon Corzine. Soon there will be no one here left to pay all the taxes .
In 2017, New Jersey voters will elect a new governor to succeed Chris Christie. So far many of the potentials are same old same old from ,Murphy (Corzine2.0) to our Lt .Gov.
One of the people vying for the Republican Joe Rullo you can find him on Facebook ; Rullo for Governor 2017. He is running a very Trump inspired unorthodox campaign relying heavily on social media .
Basically we went to his website and let him speak for himself ; “As Governor I will reduce property taxes, repeal the $.23 gas tax, dissolve the transportation SLUSH fund, Veto all tax increases, cut billions in political earmarked jobs and contracts, eliminate state income taxes on pensions for retirees and add 1 billion in new revenue sources to further lower taxes. I Will dissolve the Transportation Trust Fund and consolidate all highway authorities eliminating redundant high level management positions, eliminate high cost earmark & specialty contracts tied to contributors.. It will produce millions in savings with shared services and purchases.
I will eliminate tolls and repeal the gas tax with the savings from the new efficient transparent highway entity. I will also eliminate 1.3 billion in pension fees to NYC politically connected brokerage houses and replace with licensed brokers in the state investors division to pay towards pension payment.
Superintendents and business administrators need to be reduced drastically. Instead of having one superintendent and business administrator per school district, we need to cut the number to one per county. By consolidating superintendents & business administrators, we can save $50 million per year by eliminating superintendents alone. And will work to also eliminate municipal tax assessors to one per county. I will fire hundreds of high-salary patronage jobs like indicted Port Authority’s David Wildstein, as an example, saving hundreds of millions of dollars to cut taxes.
Second Amendment Stance
First – I will appoint 2A justices. Governor Christie just appointed a liberal Democrat. Silence from everyone?
Second. I will elect Republicans to control both houses instead of running for President.
Third. I will appoint Pro 2A/ Carry Conceal NJ AG for the obvious reasons.
Fourth. I will exhaust executive process and test courts. And like I have more than proven will work with expert 2A resources to reach the goal of Carry Conceal without justifiable need in NJ. Most importantly, I will present the argument of the change in times with domestic terrorist, shooters, and gangs all carrying illegally regardless of the law – leaving the law abiding sitting ducks.
Veterans
I want to make NJ the capital of where veterans can count on love, respect, and the care a hero deserves. I want NJ to be the model of how veterans should be treated.
As Governor I pledge:
To fight to eliminate state income taxes on all veterans pension regardless of age.
Transition NJ hospitals to accept VA health benefits.
Hire unemployed veterans to protect NJ against terrorist & domestic shooters.
Create a cabinet position, “No Veteran Left Behind”.
Our US Senator Booker visits prisons to advocate for cheaper phone calls for prisoners, but has not visited a NJ VA hospital. I will fight for the heroes who gave us our happiness and freedom.
Education:
Since the start of No Child Left Behind and continued under Race to the Top, NJ parents and students have been saddled with the Common Core Standards. Parents feel like they can’t help their children with their homework because it is something they have never learned before and the children are left floundering in schools with too many children and not enough teachers to explain things to them. The State then decided to force the PARCC (Partnership for Readiness for College and Careers) test on our children. This has resulted in schools and teachers focusing their teaching efforts, not on learning, but on test results. This is wrong and only hurts our children who deserve a comprehensive learning program not a regimen of tests.
As Governor I will end PARCC testing completely and direct the Department of Education to draw up new, independent education standards that will return NJ to the top of the best educated Students in the Country.
Students come out of High School and don’t know how to balance a checkbook, write a resume or know anything about personal credit. Common Core needs to become Common Sense. Teachers need to be allowed to teach and not recite facts mandated from Washington, or some Corporation making money from our tax dollars. We need to provide better opportunities for students who decide to enter the workforce directly from high school with expanded vocational schools. The future of New Jersey depends on it!
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration destroyed the Landscaping industry for legal businesses following the laws, and is just as devastating to NJ jobs. It’s difficult to compete with a business not paying payroll taxes, employee comp, and not following the same rules. All the jobs lost are directly proportional to NJ unemployment. Just ask business owners following the rules. Ask the employees unemployed or underemployed. Imagine the losses to employee comp insurance revenue and state income taxes. The impact on rates for businesses following the law!
Many illegal immigrants are now running businesses themselves with illegal employees charging less than half of what a job is worth. This summer I couldn’t do a job for cost what an illegal competitor was charging. One of these illegal business owners drives around with a fraudulent license from Mexico with a New Jersey address. He built his business stealing accounts from his former employer for 10 plus years who also used illegal immigrants. The company was fined 13k for failing to have a home improvement license last year. The courts are buried in old warrants from illegal immigrants who never show up to court. They don’t exist.
Our police are overburdened with hands virtually tied because NJ is a sanctuary state. Out of state license plates and DMV fraud are the law of the land. As Governor I will implement E- Verify for all employees working in New Jersey and work with President Donald Trump to eliminate sanctuary cities across NJ. Everyone must follow the same rules in business and follow the law. Our veterans will of NJ will be first priority in NJ hospitals not illegal immigrants.
Heroin Epidemic
There are numerous examples of heroin dealers getting probation for first time offenses in NJ. All it takes is one time to kill someone with this poison they call heroin. Tell the families who have lost loved ones to this poison that first time dealers should get a break. No heroin dealer should get off with probation fo non violent first offense. I will do everything in my power as Governor to make it a living hell for heroin dealers in NJ. With that being said they should be charged for attempt of murder for distribution and automatic manslaughter if someone dies from their distribution. Backed up court systems enabling these criminals to poison our society for court dates as long as one year or more will be another main focus.
by
Chris Strohm
and
Tom Schoenberg
January 12, 2017, 1:09 PM EST January 12, 2017, 4:39 PM EST
Pre-election decision to reopen Clinton probe to be examined
Comey’s pronouncements angered Trump and Clinton in turn
New questions were raised Thursday about whether FBI Director James Comey will be able to keep his job after the Justice Department’s internal watchdog opened an investigation into his handling of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server.
The investigation by the department’s inspector general will examine whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to follow appropriate procedures and improperly released information about the Clinton probe — renewing scrutiny of one of the most contested developments of the 2016 election campaign.
Public pronouncements by Comey at different points last year drew denunciations from Donald Trump, who will become president next week, and from Hillary Clinton, who has blamed her defeat in part on Comey’s statements.
“What Comey did, commenting on an investigation, was totally improper,” said Nick Akerman, a partner at the law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP and a former federal prosecutor. “There is no need to have an inspector general investigation to justify the president firing him.”
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a statement Thursday that his investigation will examine actions leading up to Comey’s decision to announce findings of his probe on July 5, when he said that Clinton and her top aides were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” but that no criminal prosecution should be pursued.
He said it also includes a review of actions surrounding Comey’s later announcements that he was reopening and then again closing the probe, both made days before the Nov. 8 election. Democrats say those moves damaged Clinton’s candidacy at a crucial moment and helped hand the presidency to Trump.
By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 12, 2017 at 7:15 AM, updated January 12, 2017 at 8:56 AM
TRENTON — In what legal experts are calling an important decision, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday to overhaul the way New Jersey judges sentence juveniles convicted in violent crimes that could keep them in prison until they are elderly or dead.
The state’s highest court ruled 7-0 that judges must consider a number of factors — including age, family environment, and peer pressure — before issuing lengthy sentences to youths in serious cases.
Peter Verniero, a former state Supreme Court justice and state attorney general, said this is “one of the most significant sentencing decisions” the court has made in “many years.”
Ridgewood NJ, What do Eleanor Roosevelt, Bernard Gimbel, Chef Julia Child and Chef Emeril Lagasse all have in common? Kings Food Markets!
Kings Food Market has been a New Jersey staple since it opened in 1936. In fact, did you know the first Kings was located in Summit, NJ right next to the train station so customers could conveniently grocery shop? This strategy was wildly successful that as Kings continued to grow, it would build all its locations with close proximity to train stations throughout the state.
As the end of Kings’ 80th anniversary year comes to a close, we’d like to reflect on our past 80 years with you, and look ahead to being your specialty and gourmet market for years to come. We included links to popular recipes pertaining to the below decades to inspire your reader’s cooking creativity:
· 1940s – By combining a flare for thriftiness and creativeness, the 1940s home cook continued
to make the most of their food habits by crafting more meals without the use of meat, eggs or sugar like Braised Cauliflower with Spicy Tomato Sauce.
o Kings opened in Summit in 1936 and continued opening stores through the New Jersey commuter train line. Kings was the first market to introduce air conditioning and automatic doors.
· 1950s – As American pantries began to overflow in a post-war 1950s, new convenient foods were introduced into the kitchen in the form of pre-packaged goods, like condensed soup and Deviled Eggs.
o Kings was named Brand Name Retailer of The Year, award presented by Bernard Gimbel and Eleanor Roosevelt.
· 1980s – The term “Tex-Mex” was introduced in 1980s. Americans loved these flavors so much that they named the American Southwest Pesto, the quiche of the 80s. One-Pot Mexican Quinoa became all the rage.
o Kings was also one of the first to start its own cooking schools, which is located in our Short Hills location, featured renowned chefs as Julia Child & Emeril Lagasse.
· 2000s – The culinary lexicon expands to include “EVOO” and “locavore” thanks to an increased awareness of what chefs are cooking. Smoothies also grow in popularity like this Going Green Smoothie.
o Kings Community Outreach remains the cornerstone of the Kings philosophy donating over 20 tons since 1970 of food to those in need.
