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Reader says Former Ridgewood Mayor Arohnson has left us a blight that needs to be remediated now

Paul_Aronsohn_dunking_theridgewoodblog

One of two or three of the most important issues facing Ridgewood right now. The massive apartments that are about to be built will forever change the Village. They can be stopped. But in order for that to happen, we need answers and actions now from our Government. Go to the meeting. Write your council representatives.

Arohnson has left us a blight that needs to be remediated now. Go to the planning board meeting – – write the town council. But speak up today before the Aronson projects are approved and built. Do you really want to look at the cover of the Ridgewood news six months or a year from now and see a picture of Aronson’s smug face sneering at you as he stands in front of the “Aronson Arms Apartments” or whatever moniker the land speculators are going to give their new buildings in tribute to their friend who enabled them to build?

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Ridgewood Planning Board Meeting at 7:30pm

CBD high density housing

Dear Friend,

Please come tonight, 7:30pm at Village Hall, to help remind the Planning Board who they really represent.

If you cannot attend, please consider emailing the secretary of the Planning Board, Mike Cafarelli, ([email protected]) to share with the Planning Board that we need these questions formally investigated per the complaint filed on September 20th:

Why didn’t our former deputy mayor recuse himself from March 23rd’s vote on High Density Housing, when, as a member of the Planning Board, he had previously recused himself for the same issue?

Why was an unvetted/unsubstantiated letter from the Fair Share Housing Center written into the record as fact/evidence by the former Planning Board Attorney?

Lastly, on the same day a resident complaint was filed against the Planning Board, one of its members who was named as having a conflict of interest, should happen to resign. Is that just a coincidence?

These are questions that we as residents deserve answers to. According to their By Laws, the Planning Board has the right to stop the pending high density housing site plan review and investigate these matters. Let’s hold them to doing so.

Thanks for doing your part to protect Ridgewood.

Dana

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Ridgewood Seeks New Village Manager

village-hall-theridgewoodblog

JOB POSTING – VILLAGE MANAGER

Salary DOQ. 25,000 population. Council Manager form of government, operating under Faulkner Act. Five member non-partisan Council elected for staggered four-year terms. $47.7 million budget, 264 full-time and 39 part-time Civil Service and an additional 175 seasonal employees. Full-service residential community with AAA bond rating in Northwest Bergen County, with own paid police and fire departments, sanitation division, sewage treatment facility, parking utility ($1.8 million budget) and water utility ($16.5 million budget). Five years managerial/supervisory experience in municipal government including budgeting, Civil Service, union and contract negotiations, and a strong ability to communicate with both staff and members of the public. Candidates should have some familiarity with Ridgewood, its neighborhoods and operations. Bachelor’s degree required; MPA or equivalent experience helpful. Send informative cover letter, resume, salary history, and salary requirements to: Heather Mailander, Acting Village Manager, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07451. Applications must be received by October 26, 2016.

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NJT Service Plans for Tuesday October 4th

lasttraintoclarksville_theridgewoodblog

NJ TRANSIT Service Plan for Tuesday Commute – Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Main/Bergen County/Pascack Valley/Port Jervis Lines Remain on Weekend Schedule

Ridgewood Nj, NJ TRANSIT has announced service plans for tomorrow, Tuesday October 4th, and until further notice, following the commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal.  All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate on a full weekday schedule.

Cross honoring with PATH, ferries, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers will continue until further notice.

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

  • Customers who normally travel to Hoboken should still purchase tickets and passes to Hoboken, so that they may be cross honored by rail into New York Penn Station or by shuttle bus from Secaucus to Liberty State Park.
  • Customers for trains normally bound for Hoboken are advised NOT to use Trip Planner on njtransit.com or on the mobile app.  Please use the latest customer notice by clicking on the “Critical Service Advisory” located on njtransit.com. 

Rail

View printable schedules HERE.

  • Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines will continue to operate on a weekend schedule originating/terminating in Secaucus, with stops at Teterboro and Woodcliff Lake stations (weekdays only).
  • Two additional peak-period trains will operate from Port Jervis in each direction:
    • In the morning, two trains will depart Port Jervis at 5:33 a.m. and 6:33 a.m. These trains will make all stops to Suffern, then stop only at Route 17, Ridgewood, Glen Rock-Boro Hall, and Radburn before operating express to Secaucus.Connecting trains depart Secaucus at 7:48 a.m. and 8:46 a.m. and arrive in New York at 8:03 a.m. and 9:01 a.m.
    • In the afternoon/evening, two trains will depart Secaucus at 5:19 p.m. and 7:27 p.m. (connections from New York at 5:03 p.m. and 7:08 p.m.). These trains will operate express to Radburn, then stop at Glen Rock-Boro Hall, Route 17 and Suffern. After Suffern, these trains will make all stops to Port Jervis, arriving there at 7:29 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., respectively.
  • All rail service to and from New YorkPenn Station will operate on a normal weekday schedule.  This includes Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and MidTOWN DIRECT trains.
  • Raritan Valley and Atlantic City Rail Lines will operate on normal weekday schedules.
  • Customers in New York City who need to access Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station or use the Port Authority Bus Terminal forNJ TRANSIT and private carrier busing alternatives.
  • Customers in Hoboken and Jersey City who need to access Secaucus are urged to use Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park, where shuttle buses will take them to Secaucus.
  • Morris & Essex Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will have limited service running every two hours for points west of Montclair State University and west of Dover, in addition to regular MidTOWN DIRECT service.
  • Please note: MidTOWN DIRECT service will make additional stops east of Summit.
  • Additional Note:  All Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast Line trains scheduled to terminate in Hoboken will terminate at Newark Penn Station

Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion. 

  • NJ TRANSIT urges customers to check njtransit.com for service updates and sign up for MyTransit alerts, which provide service updates via text or email.
  • The Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) located near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station at Hoboken now sell bus tickets and passes.

Metro North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Customers

  • Two additional peak-period trains will operate between Port Jervis and Hoboken in each direction:
  • In the morning, two trains will depart Port Jervis at 5:33 a.m. and 6:33 a.m. These trains will make all stops to Suffern, then stop only at Route 17, Ridgewood, Glen Rock-Boro Hall, and Radburn before operating express to Secaucus. Connecting trains depart Secaucus at 7:48a.m. and 8:46 a.m. and arrive in New York at 8:03 a.m. and9:01 a.m.
  • In the afternoon/evening, two trains will depart Secaucus at 5:19 p.m. and 7:27 p.m. (connections from New York at 5:03 p.m. and 7:08 p.m.). These trains willoperate express to Radburn, then stop at Glen Rock-Boro Hall, Route 17 and Suffern. After Suffern, these trains will make all stops to Port Jervis, arriving there at 7:29 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., respectively.
  • For additional information, click HERE.

Bus

  • Extra service on select bus routes which run parallel to Main/Bergen and Pascack Valley rail lines.
  • Shuttle buses will operate between Liberty State Park light rail station in Jersey City and Secaucus Junction.

Light Rail

  • All Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate on a normal weekday schedule.
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The U.S. isn’t one of the top 10 most free countries in the world, study says

uncle_sam_old_school_theridgewoodblog

BY KATE IRBY

[email protected]

With costly healthcare, a stereotype of obesity and a culture of creatively fatty foods, “healthy” probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of the United States.

But according to the Legatum Prosperity Index’s findings for 2015, the U.S. is the healthiest country in the world. However, when it comes to freedom, an ideal most Americans pride themselves on, the U.S. falls to 15.

So what’s the country with the most personal freedom? Canada, followed by New Zealand, Norway, Luxembourg and Iceland.

Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article105618381.html#storylink=cpy

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Ailing Obama Health Care Act May Have to Change to Survive

obamacare_theridgewoodblog

By ROBERT PEAROCT. 2, 2016

WASHINGTON — The fierce struggle to enact and carry out the Affordable Care Act was supposed to put an end to 75 years of fighting for a health care system to insure all Americans. Instead, the law’s troubles could make it just a way station on the road to another, more stable health care system, the shape of which could be determined on Election Day.

Seeing a lack of competition in many of the health law’s online insurance marketplaces, Hillary Clinton, President Obama and much of theDemocratic Party are calling for more government, not less.

The departing president, the woman who seeks to replace him and nearly one-third of the Senate have endorsed a new government-sponsored health plan, the so-called public option, to give consumers an additional choice. A significant number of Democrats, for whom Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in the primaries, favor a single-payer arrangement, which could take the form of Medicare for all.

Donald J. Trump and Republicans in Congress would go in the direction of less government, reducing federal regulation and requirements so insurance would cost less and no-frills options could proliferate. Mr. Trump would, for example, encourage greater use of health savings accounts, allow insurance policies to be purchased across state lines and let people take tax deductions for insurance premium payments.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/us/politics/obama-health-care-act.html?_r=0

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Hungary Referendum: EU Humiliated as 95 Percent Say NO to Migrant Quotas

Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orban

by CHRIS TOMLINSON 2 Oct 2016

Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orban has delivered a huge blow to the European Union after 95 per cent of the Hungarian public soundly rejected EU migrant redistribution plans.

The Hungarian referendum on the redistribution of migrants and asylum seekers by the European Union has faced an almost unanimous result among Hungarian voters. An overwhelming majority of those who cast their ballot agree with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Hungary should not be forced by the European Union to accept migrants via redistribution.

The victory could set in motion the Orban government’s plans to create laws that may be even more stringent toward asylum seekers who enter the country and possibly those who are residing there today. Spokesman for Orban, Zoltan Kovacs, told press in Brussels last month that he expected the result to affirm the position of the government and be used as a stepping stone to create more laws.

https://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/10/02/hungary-referendum-95-percent-no-5-percent-yes/

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Bill Clinton accuser Kathleen Willey: Hillary was complicit in his sexual misconduct

Kathleen Willey

By SARAH WESTWOOD (@SARAHCWESTWOOD) • 10/2/16 12:01 AM

One of several women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct is speaking out, saying Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be exempt from criticism over her handling of the affairs that nearly ended her husband’s presidency in the 1990s.

Kathleen Willey — a former volunteer White House aide who accused Bill Clinton of making aggressive, unwanted advances during a private meeting in 1993 — said she holds Hillary Clinton responsible for smearing her and the many other women who have come forward with stories about their treatment at the hands of her husband.

“This no longer about Bill Clinton’s transgressions or his infidelities or girlfriends or sex … it’s not about that anymore,” Willey told the Washington Examiner. “What it’s about is the actions that his wife has taken against the women that he has raped and assaulted.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/bill-clinton-accuser-kathleen-willey-hillary-was-complicit-in-his-sexual-misconduct/article/2603352

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Helping Your Sons And Daughters Prepare For The Business World

RHS_ Graduation_theridgewoodblog

October 2,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Each year, parents send their sons and daughters off to college with high hopes that in four years – give or take – they will earn a degree and embark on successful careers.

But while moms and dads may fret most about grades and study habits, they can give their offspring a real boost if they also insist the students carry some of the financial burden for college, says Matt Stewart, an entrepreneur and co-founder of College Works Painting (www.collegeworks.com/about), an internship program that provides practical business experience for college students.

That means getting a job – either during the school year or over the summer break, or both.

“College students are much more invested in the experience if they have to help pay for college, rather than have mom and dad take care of everything for them,” Stewart says. “There’s a natural tendency to work a little harder on classwork when at least a part of the tuition or dorm room costs come out of your own pocket.”

But beyond that personal-responsibility aspect, it’s worth noting that businesses are seeking job candidates with real-world work experience.

“Those on-the-job lessons are invaluable,” Stewart says.

For example, interns with College Works Painting operate their own house-painting business with hands-on guidance from mentors.

The benefits for students of working their way through college include:

• A regular paycheck. The rising cost of higher education has put paying the full price of college out of reach for many parents, and scholarships and grants often provide only a small percentage of the costs. The more students can pay themselves, the lower their student-loan debt will be when they enter the workforce.
• Practical experience. Nothing prepares you for work like work, Stewart says. A classroom can train students on certain skills necessary for their career choice, but on-the-job experience is just as valuable. Even if a part-time job is unrelated to career aspirations, a student might learn such skills as collaboration, time management and customer relations.
• Resume enhancement. One of the weaknesses recent college graduates sometimes have is their resumes can be skimpy. A few summer jobs can help tremendously, Stewart says, giving managers who might consider hiring you more confidence that you have experience beyond listening to professorial lectures and cramming for final exams.
• Additional references. Hiring managers want to talk with people who know your work habits, and while it’s nice that a favorite professor or a high school football coach is willing to say good things, it’s even better to have references who can discuss relevant job skills.

“Having any job can be beneficial, but if you can you should try to land an especially challenging job or internship,” Stewart says. “When you graduate, you’re going to face stiff competition in the job market. The more you’ve been able to stretch yourself past your comfort zone and develop new skills, the greater the odds are that you’ll be the one picked out of all the applications that come pouring in.”

About Matt Stewart

Matt Stewart is co-founder of College Works Painting (www.collegeworks.com/about), which provides business experience for thousands of college students each year. The award-winning program also offers high-quality house-painting services for homeowners.

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N.J. residents owe $15K per person in pension debt

Sweeney & Prieto

N.J. residents owe $15K per person in pension debt. Compromise is the only fix | Opinion

By  Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

on October 02, 2016 at 9:30 AM

By Steven Malanga

New Jersey residents have absorbed so much bad news about our state government pension fund that they don’t need much more to convince them the situation has become critical.

But a new report applying stricter standards to all state pension accounting is sobering nonetheless, because it now estimates that New Jersey has the nation’s worst problem, with average debt per resident that’s highest among states, and a funding level below every state but one.

https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/10/without_political_compromise_theres_no_way_out_of.html?utm_content=New%20Campaign&utm_campaign=Observer_NJ_Politics&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=New%20Jersey%20Politics#incart_most-comments

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Reader says Gas Tax Deal , The only common sense was reduction in the estate tax

ridgewood real estste

The only common sense was reduction in the estate tax. It should be immediately eliminated if the full gas hike is immediate. Everyone I know has already changed their domicile to Florida and “self-exiled” for 182 days per year in order to preserve their money.
Forcing those with expendable income to go elsewhere for 6 months a year hurts nj economy but you can’t explain that to some moron democrat .
The gas tax massive increase will get pissed away by the democrats who control the state legislature.
The proper way to get more bang for the buck is to allow non Union construction companies to perform the work. I see the same 3 contractors doing the majority of the work.
That explains why it costs nj 2 million per mile, the most in the USA

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Reader says Aronsohn regime left to us to disentangle and nullify any progress made because it never corresponded with what was best for the village of Ridgewood

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ

Essential to understand that everything proposed and pushed for under the Aronsohn regime, including his years on the council before becoming mayor, and no doubt before he ran in the first place shortly after moving here, was a Lego block in his long game to power. All along he was advised by paid marketing professionals who cared nothing for the populace but were paid to further one person’s career (sound like the Bridgegate trials?).The connections, machinations, and deals could fill a book. It’s left to us to disentangle what happened and to rescind and nullify any progress made in that direction, because it never corresponded with what was best for our village.

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Reader says grass is financially responsible and is less toxic to the environment

maple+field1-300x19911

New grass blends are water retentive and need much less pesticide treatments. Grass does not need to be treated with antibacterial solutions and temperatures on the field NEVER reach the temperatures that artificial turf does when exposed to direct sunlight. But the biggest problem is that Maple Field is in an active flood plain. The extensive damage to the field was predictable and as we knew in 2004-2005 , it would be costly. Recent articles on the subject state that grass is financially responsible and is less toxic to the environment.

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Full-Day Kindergarten: Public Vote is November 8 Public Presentations are October 5 and 27 at 7 p.m.

home alone
October 3,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, FAQ on Full-Day Kindergarten: Public Vote is November 8 Public Presentations are October 5 and 27 at 7 p.m.
The November 8 election ballot will include a question for residents about implementing full-day Kindergarten (FDK) in Ridgewood.
Public presentations will be held on FDK at 7 p.m.. at BFMS on Wednesday, October 5 and at GWMS on Thursday, October 27. To learn more about full-day Kindergarten, please click here for the FAQ sheet. Please click here to view other FDK documents, located in the Full-day Kindergarten Exploratory Committee folder on the Curriculum web page.