You forgot to mention that Gwenn Hauck came to the microphone and asked a question that she should have know the answer to had she been paying attention during the meeting instead of chatting with her buddy Rurik Halaby.
And then the FORMER councilwoman Gwenn Hauck goes flitting up to the microphone and asks a question that made no sense. She asked whether 3066 had been repealed. And it had not. And our Mayor had already explained why it was not being voted on last night. Ummmmm Gwenn…..please pay attention. It’s a shame to see you making a fool of yourself. Oh, that’s right, you always make a fool of yourself, nothing new there. Laughing my ass off from my easy chair with my ipad on my lap.
It really is time for Mrs. Hauck’s family to keep her at home for Council meetings. I feel bad and embarrassed for her at the same time.
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on August 11, 2016 at 7:28 AM, updated August 11, 2016 at 11:32 AM
TRENTON — The Obama administration will uphold the ban on researching the therapeutic benefits of marijuana, once again rebuffing requests to remove the plant from the list of the drugs, like heroin and cocaine, that are considered to be the most addictive and lacking medicinal value.
On Thursday, the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration will publish a notice in the Federal Register, a compilation of government rules, that will announce its decision to keep marijuana as a “schedule 1” drug, according to the Washington Post.
The decision will no doubt disappoint supporters who had hoped the federal government would finally allow research to determine cannabis’ potential. Half of the states in the nation, including New Jersey, as well as Washington D.C. permit the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medical purposes.
As the presidential campaign enters its final stages, probing questions have emerged about the health condition of Hillary Clinton.
Hillary’ bizarre, erratic behavior on the campaign trail (culminating with last week’s perplexing “short-circuit” comment) has left many wondering whether she is seriously ill. Hillary has at multiple times had convulsions that appear to be seizures on camera, including a series of seemingly inexplicable coughing fits.
A company based in the Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center has been advertising online to Russian citizens, encouraging pregnant women to come to the Secaucus facility to give birth — a process that makes the baby automatically eligible for U.S. citizenship and connects the hospital to a growing and relatively unknown international phenomenon known as “birth tourism.” Lilo H. Stainton, NJSpotlightRead more
A group of five long term residents of the small township of Byram in Sussex County have issued a call for a referendum on November’s ballot. The referendum aims to allow voters to reject an approved up to $11 million expenditure for a new municipal building by putting it to a public vote. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
Ranking state legislative leaders announced hearings as early as next month in an effort to fix a failing state computer system that has helped create extra-long lines at many of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission offices this summer. John Chichowski, The Record Read more
Dear Council, I agree that long lines of speakers behind the lectern are a relatively recent development as issues affecting the future of our village arose and contentiousness reigned. In addition, council meeting agendas were absurdly crammed and many pages long, making the hour impossibly late and everyone cranky. This meant that people who had hoped to speak but could not stay up into the wee hours were forced to leave Village Hall without saying a word. At more than one such meeting, people greeted the council with “Good morning” as they began to speak.
For years we were given only three minutes–and there was no second comment period at the end of the meeting. Those of us representing the Graydon group routinely had complicated and timely points to make. I know that I was not alone in having to rewrite and edit my statements for hours, practicing over and over in front of the clock, whittling my comments down to three minutes, often forgoing important points because I couldn’t say them fast enough, and not wanting to come off as the world’s fastest speaker, with my words signifying nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEqRdIbXbtg
It was truly a waste of time and served no one well.
Then we learned that the three-minute limitation had been incorrect all along, and suddenly five minutes was allowed. Remembering how difficult it had been to abide by the shorter limit, I felt both relieved and frustrated: it was too late for the longer time to help us much, since by then we had won our main fight to preserve Graydon. Still, progress is progress. There will always be new issues and comments. I can say from long personal experience that the difference between three and five minutes is enormous, considering that within the allotted time one must adjust the microphone, state and possibly spell one’s name and address, and perhaps interact with one or more persons on the dais. The seconds fly by.
Some residents and others truly have complicated statements to make; others may be nervous and unaccustomed to public speaking, and end up pausing a lot, or not know how to stop talking until the bell rings; yet others simply like to hear themselves talk, and go on and on, meeting after meeting, about what they want and do not want personally, annoying and boring all present, and probably an important motivation for considering shortening the time for all. Those making comments would do well to make their points and leave the lectern rather than feeling obliged to use the full time allowed. (I can’t claim to have always succeeded in this, but it has happened far more often when I had five minutes than three.) Perhaps it would help if the mayor noted from time to time that the speaker who does so tends to make a stronger impression.
I hope you will not restore the shorter maximum speaking time. In some important situations, that limitation prevents speakers from making their points at all. Sincerely, Marcia Ringel
Ridgewood NJ, Pro Arte Chorale is holding auditions for the upcoming 2016-2017 concert season. Pro Arte has a spectacular season ahead, starting with Brahms and Haydn. The second concert will be a fabulous selection of Opera Choruses with the talented choral students from an area high school. The final concert is an all Bruckner performance including six of his beautiful Motets. Do you love to sing? Are you free Monday nights for rehearsals in Ridgewood? All voice parts are welcome to audition. All concerts and rehearsals are scheduled to be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ridgewood, NJ. Auditions are scheduled through the Chorale Administrator. Please email [email protected] for more information or visit our website at www.proartechroale.org.
Ridgewood NJ, More than a quarter million jobs were added to the U.S. economy in July, and the official unemployment rate remained unchanged at just under 5%, according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, some of these jobs were undesired part-time positions, and the official unemployment rate often gives an incomplete picture of the nation’s labor market.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the underemployment rate in every state. Nevada is the hardest state in which to find full-time work, with an underemployment rate of 13.1%. South Dakota is arguably the best state for job seekers, with an underemployment rate of 5.0%.
Click here to see the easiest (and hardest) states to find full-time work.
New Jersey ranked 25 among the states. Right in the middle of the pack. While the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in June, if you add people who are either discouraged or underemployed, the rate rises to 9.6 percent, but that’s down from 11.9 percent a year earlier.
“Nearly every industry in New Jersey expanded over the last year,” the report said. “The trade, transportation, and utilities sector accounted for nearly a third of the growth, adding 20,800 workers.
New Jersey was ranked between Wyoming (No. 24) and Ohio (No. 26).
Ridgewood NJ, Congressman Scott Garrett has been a strong advocate for Israel. He has sponsored or cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation supporting Israel’s right to defend its sovereignty, recognizing Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, and condemning Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. He was an outspoken member of the Iran Sanctions Conference Committee, calling for full implementation of strong sanctions against the Iranian regime, and he strongly opposed the Iran Nuclear Deal. In contrast, our Democrat challenger, Josh Gottheimer, claims to be a supporter of Israel, but he waited weeks before publicly stating his position, obviously waiting to see which way the wind was blowing. That’s not leadership, that’s political opportunism.
What You Won’t Read in the Liberal Media: Gottheimer Praises Obama on Iran
Despite his recent political positioning otherwise, Josh Gottheimer has a track record of being a vocal supporter of President Obama’s Iran policy. You would have no way of knowing that, because despite being provided this information, The Record, Star Ledger, NJ Herald, and other NJ papers have refused to write about this important issue.
The Iranian government just wrapped up some impressive “fundraising” this past quarter. Usually their “donors” are terrorist organizations and states that threaten our security. Well, apparently that “donor list” now includes President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s State Department. Recently, it has been reported that the Obama Administration gave $400 million to the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
Before he was a congressional candidate, Gottheimer was a political strategist who served as a surrogate for Obama/Clinton foreign policies as a frequent contributor on cable news.
Voters in the Fifth District are curious to know – what does Josh Gottheimer really think? Is he saying one thing just to get elected, when really, he’s just a mouthpiece for a Democrat Administration?
Ridgewood NJ, Siobhan Winograd, self-appointed Mistress of Niceness, went to the podium and started whining about why can’t everyone be nice and how people’s comments are not pleasant and then she suggested that people’s comments should be cut to three minutes from five. Said she had done a bunch of research about other towns and we have more time allowed than many towns. And then she went on past the buzzer for more than five minutes.
Mayor Knudsen stated that she was trying to think of how to accommodate MORE speakers, not fewer. She was considering one possibility of shortening each speaker’s time but lengthening the time slot to 40 minutes. Clearly the Mayor is an advocate for the people and wants to hear from all of us.
The meeting went really smoothly and was very business like. Even residents who had frustrations to air were treated respectfully. All the former moaning and groaning about CIVILITY was completely unnecessary because really all we had to do was get rid of Aronsohn-Pucciarelli-Hauck and the air in the room cleared instantly.
Ridgewood NJ, an odd occurrence at the Village Council meeting last night Siobhan Crann Winograd who has recently joined the League of Women Voters along with some other notables including Paul Aronsohn. Asked to curtail public comment at Village Council meetings . Given the former mayor and his cronies tried engineer the turning the Village into Union City despite the public out cry . The 3 amigos were famous for presenting done deals to residents then ignoring both their questions and objections. Siobhan who was involved with the horrible “civility committee ” also spoke in praise of Roberta as well as Rurik Halaby.
Jim Griffith also spoke about the garage and some ambiguities in Susan’s position but the new mayor handled it very well. One other thing of particular interest was when the council was going over bills and the one for the garage video came up Mike and Susan both stated that they had never been informed of the decision to pay for the video and voiced real discomfort about. Jeff Voigt also voiced his concern and Bernie abstained from voting without comment. It was 4 yeses and one abstain but with vocal criticism.
Anne Loving asked whether the authorization of this video should be investigated and that those responsible should foot the bill. Boyd Loving also spoke about not reducing public comment.
Having been around forever and remembering all the long battles to increase opportunities for public comment both at the council level and at the Board of Education, I would like to make an observation . Public comment only becomes a bit unwieldy when there are hot button issues. Years can go by when the only people at the mic are the regulars. I can’t remember a time like these last several months when there were so many controversial issues on the agenda at the same time: housing density ordinances, Schedler, Parking Garage, Habernickel Park to name a few. Everyone and there brother had an opinion and felt the necessity to voice it. Limiting public comment in situations like this only leaves people more frustrated and when that happens the tone of a meeting can alter. It was like ” The Perfect Storm”.
I think the council does a great job in allowing multiple opportunities to speak. I would hate to see that change because of the past several months. The council can always allow for more public comment or curtail it due to the late hour or hold special meetings when necessary.If someone becomes somewhat contentious or too personal, that person can be asked to refrain from that behavior. Last, Marcia Ringle made a great point regarding the location of the speakers podium. Many of us have commented that having it directly in the center aisle makes it difficult for those attending the meeting to hear and also for the home viewers. That simple change to place it back on the side wouldn’t cost a penny. How rare! A cheap fix! Thank you to all for your service both at the dais and attendance at meetings.
Sincerely,
Jersey City NJ, Port Authority Police Officer Chris Johnson pulled over a car at the Holland Tunnel Tuesday morning and discovered more than $30,000 in unpaid tolls and fees at all three Hudson River crossings, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, according to Port Authority Police spokesman Joseph Pentangelo.
The woman, identified as Shakeema N. North, 38, of Orange NJ, had 5 different EZ pass accounts and $30,000 in unpaid tolls and resulting fees from more than 400 separate incidents of toll evasion,
North was arrested on a charge of theft of services and given a summons requiring her to appear in court next Tuesday.
Hillary Clinton put the State Department up for sale, with top aides pulling strings and doing favors for fat-cat donors to the Clinton Foundation — including a shady billionaire, according to smoking-gun emails released Tuesday.
The stunning revelations include how wealthy contributors seeking influence or prestigious government gigs could fork over piles of cash to get access to Clinton’s inner circle, including top aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills.
In an April 2009 message to Abedin and Mills, Doug Band, who was overseeing the Clinton Foundation at the time, urgently asked for a meeting between a top US official and Gilbert Chagoury — a major donor to the Clinton family charity.
