Author: James

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Deputy Mayor Michael Sedon Beats the Heat at Ridgewood’s Graydon Pool

Deputy Mayor Michael Sedon

photos by Boyd Loving

July 27,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Like a lot of residents ,Deputy Mayor Michael Sedon spent a day at Graydon trying to beat the heat .

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2016 SEASON GRAYDON POOL SEASON
Regular Season
Saturday, June 4 through August 14, 2016
Daily, 10 am to 7:30 pm
**Holiday** – July 4th, close 4 pm
Late Season
Monday, August 15 through Labor Day, September 5, 2016
Weekdays – 12 noon to 7:30 pm
Weekends/Holiday – 10 am to 7:30 pm

CONTACTS
Pool Manager’s Office – 201-670-5500, ext 7002 (in season)
Badge Office – 201-670-5500, ext 7003 (in season only)
Recreation Office at The Stable- 201-670-5560
[email protected]

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RESIDENT MEMBERSHIPS – Village priced memberships are available to Ridgewood residents, non-residents who pay local property taxes to the Village of Ridgewood, and employees of the Village of Ridgewood and Board of Education.  Proof is required.
ADULT – $120.00
CHILD – (ages 2-15, under 2 free) $110.00
SENIOR – $30.00 (62 and older)
PERMANENT DISABLED – $30.00
DAILY PASS – $10.00
BADGE REPLACEMENT – $5.00

NON-RESIDENT MEMBERSHIPS – The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation are pleased to invite all families in the surrounding area to join the Graydon Pool facility for the 2016 summer season.
ADULT (ages 16 and up) – $200.00
CHILD (ages 2-15) – $175.00
GUEST PASSES (must be accompanied by 2016 season member)- $10.00
BADGE REPLACEMENT – $5.00

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Readers say There is no room for your NJEA style tactics in our Village of Ridgewood

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

Picketing our BOE with red shirts and signs is a union thug tactic . There is no room for your NJEA style tactics in our Village. Tell the full-time NJEA lawyers, activists and lobbyists advising the REA that we have no room for their thug-like tactics in our beautiful Village. Take it back to Hudson County.

I think the term “thugs” was used referring to union tactics but our teachers are not behaving professionally. If you look at the faces in the middle picture above none of them look very happy. I’d say malcontent is an accurate description. If I made a face like that at my job, I’d be placed on a PIP for having a bad attitude! I believe the majority of Ridgewood residents support the BOE holding the line given that we already pay our teachers very generously. We live in a beautiful town and we value education but a lot of us are struggling to make ends meet and our property taxes are getting out of hand. We don’t speak openly because we do not want our children punished in the classroom for our opinions.

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Two More Ridgewood Residents Report Identity Theft Incidents

Nigerian scam michael-scott-
July 27,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Ridgewood Police Department would like to remind citizens of the increased amount of scams. Always investigate communications made through postal mail, telephone, and/or the internet to prevent fraud and deceptive activity. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Ridgewood Police Department to ensure you’re not becoming a victim of these scams.

A Unadilla Road resident responded to headquarters on 7/20/16 to report identity theft in the past. The victim reported an unknown person utilized his personal identity to open a Comcast account in the state of Maryland between 10/07/15 and 12/31/15. The victim reported Comcast is in the process of clearing the victim’s name from balance of $2777.44.

A Hamilton Road resident responded to police headquarters on 7/23/16 to report a fraud in the past. The victim reported an unknown person utilized his personal identification to open Verizon Wireless account without authorization. The victim reported he began receiving letters from a collection agency in reference to the fraudulent account. Verizon was notified and advised the victim the situation is being taken care of.

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Ridgewood Motor Vehicle Stop Results in Stolen Car and Drug Arrest

ridgewood_police_theridgewoodblog
file photo by Boyd Loving
July 27,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ptl. Elwood conducted a motor vehicle stop on 7/22/16 which led to the arrest of Matthew Clancey Jr., age 50, 267 Hamilton Avenue Paterson, N.J. and Jordan R. Stevens, age 27, 88 North Street, Saddle Brook, N.J.

The vehicle was reported and confirmed to be a stolen motor vehicle operated by Mr. Clancey. Mr. Clancey was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and provided a false name in attempts to conceal a criminal history. Mr. Clancey was arrested and charged with Receiving Stolen Property, Hindering Apprehension, and Possession with intent to use Drug Paraphernalia .

The passenger, Mr. Stevens was arrested and charged with Possession with intent to use Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Hypodermic Syringe. Both arrestees were transported to headquarters, processed, provided criminal complaints and transported to the Bergen County Jail after failing to post bail.
All actors are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Julian Assange: ‘A lot more material’ coming on US elections

Hillary Clinton

By Matthew Chance, CNN

Updated 4:16 PM ET, Tue July 26, 2016

(CNN)Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said Tuesday his whistleblowing website might release “a lot more material” relevant to the US electoral campaign.

Assange was speaking in a CNN interview following the release of nearly 20,000 emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee by suspected Russian hackers.

However, Assange refused to confirm or deny a Russian origin for the mass email leak, saying Wikileaks tries to create ambiguity to protect all its sources.

“Perhaps one day the source or sources will step forward and that might be an interesting moment some people may have egg on their faces. But to exclude certain actors is to make it easier to find out who our sources are,” Assange told CNN.

The Kremlin has rejected allegations its behind the hacking, calling suggestions it ordered the release of the emails to influence US politics the “usual fun and games” of the US election campaigns.
“This is not really good for bilateral relations,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, added.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/26/politics/julian-assange-dnc-email-leak-hack/

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Report: Anti-Semitism, Violence Against Jews Surge on College Campuses

Star of David

Jewish students targeted ‘for harm’

BY: Adam Kredo
July 26, 2016 2:35 pm

Anti-Semitism surged on college campuses across the United States during the first part of 2016, according to a new study that found Jewish students supportive of Israel are being targeted “for harm.”

Nearly 100 more anti-Semitic incidents were recorded on U.S. college campuses during the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015, according to the report, published by the AMCHA Initiative, a group that works to combat discrimination against Jews.

In addition, “the number of incidents involving the suppression of Jewish students’ freedom of speech and assembly approximately doubled from 2015 to 2016,” according to the report, which also found that a massive uptick in anti-Israel behavior “was highly correlated with behavior that targeted Jewish students for harm.”

https://freebeacon.com/issues/report-anti-semitism-violence-jews-surges-college-campuses/

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Doctor Cobb Principal of George Washington and “go to” Acting superintendent of Ridgewood Schools Dies

BOE_theridgewoodblog
July 26,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Mahwah NJ, William J. (Bill), Cobb of Mahwah, formerly of Ridgewood and Paramus, died on July 17, 2016. Bill Cobb was born in 1928 in Walton, NY, the second son of Russell Carpenter Cobb and Gertrude Sawyer Cobb. He grew up in Hasbrouck Heights, graduating in 1946 with honors and as class president. After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy. He entered the NROTC program at Princeton University. At graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy on the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Tarawa, in the sixth fleet in the Mediterranean.

In July 1954, he returned to Europe to marry Andree Hammer of Luxembourg. He earned his Master’s degree in Teaching and Administration at Columbia University, and then a Doctorate in Administration. He was employed by the Ridgewood public schools for 30 years serving as a teacher, principal of GW, assistant superintendent, and the “go to “acting superintendent.

Bill was particularly proud of his contribution at the Children’s Therapy Center in Fair Lawn, as well as serving on the school of the board of the Forum School in Waldwick for 25 years, 10 years as Board President.

Bill is survived by his wife Andree Hammer Cobb, his daughter Andree L. Cobb, and his granddaughter Katrina Cobb of Mahwah, NJ; his son Russell P. Cobb and daughter-in-law Cristine and son William J. Cobb and daughter-in-law Patricia of Lake Luzerne, NY; son Paul A. Cobb and his husband Tom Grady of Dartmouth, MA; and grandchildren Brian Cobb and wife Katie and great-grandson Liam of Ridgewood, NJ; Jessica McMahon and husband Christopher of Haskell, NJ; William Cobb and fiancée Kristin Dikun of Midland Park, NJ; Lindsay Moeller and husband Matthew of Haledon, NJ; and his sister Louise Cobb Moore of Highland, NY.

Bill passed away at home surrounded by his family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Valley Hospital Foundation/Hospice, 223 North Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450, in memory of Bill Cobb.

A memorial celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Saturday, September 17 11:30am at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood.
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‘France is at war with ISIS’ after jihadists storm French church during Mass chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’

ISIS Kills Priest Inside French Church

Islamist knifemen forced priest, 84, to kneel and filmed his death as they slit his throat: Hollande says ‘France is at war with ISIS’ after jihadists storm French church during Mass chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’

Priest had throat cut while another hostage is fighting for life after knifemen burst into Normandy church at 9am
Reports that one of the attackers shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they launched attack at Gambetta Church near Rouen
Vatican has condemned the ‘barbaric’ killing of the 84-year-old priest and an anti-terror investigation is underway
ISIS claim responsibility for the atrocity while Francois Hollande says France is ‘at war’ with the terror group
One of the attackers lived locally and had electronic tag having been jailed in France for trying to travel to Syria
French authorities revealed this afternoon that they have arrested a third man in connection with the attack

By PETER ALLEN IN FRANCE and JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 03:55 EST, 26 July 2016 | UPDATED: 10:31 EST, 26 July 2016

The ISIS barbarians who stormed into a church in Normandy filmed themselves butchering an elderly priest after forcing him to the ground at the altar, it has emerged.

The 84-year-old priest, named as Jacques Hamel, had his throat cut while a nun is critically injured in hospital following the raid which saw five people held hostage by ISIS assailants shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

The two killers were ‘neutralised’ by marksmen as they emerged from the building, which is now being searched for explosives. French president Francois Hollande said France is ‘at war’ with ISIS while the terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing.

One of the men who stormed into the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen during mass was a local man, who was being monitored by electronic tag after being jailed for trying to join fanatics in Syria.

This afternoon it emerged that the murdered clergyman was deputising while the parish priest was on holiday. French authorities say they have arrested a third man in connection with the attack.

It comes as it emerged that the building was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist ‘hit list’ found on a suspected ISIS extremist last April.

There are also reports that one of the attackers was a local resident who was under electronic tag surveillance having been jailed in France for trying to travel to Syria in 2015. His bail terms allowed him to be unsupervised between 8.30am and 12.30pm – the attack happened between 9am and 11am.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3708394/Two-men-armed-knives-people-hostage-French-church.html#ixzz4FWtCd5Se

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Homeless Encampments Worry Commuters At Penn Station

NY_penn_station_theridgewoodblog

July 25, 2016 6:07 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — As the New York City homeless problempersists, passengers have been encountering crowds of people camped outside Penn Station.

As CBS2’s Jessica Layton reported, Penn Station commuters said the city needs to do something.

Annette Woods is a frequent visitor to the city from Trenton, New Jersey, and she loves New York City – she even wears an “I love NY” T-shirt. But she said she would rather not be hassled for cash by the homeless people who are hunched over and camped out in the doorway.

“Not clean,” Woods said, “and they need food, shelter or, place or a job.”

“It’s sad, but that’s the reality here, and it’s part of the city,” said Kinneret Ladizinsky of Canada.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refrain has been that when the city sees an uptick of homeless people in a particular spot, police officers or outreach workers are sent to check things out.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/07/25/penn-station-homeless-encampments/

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New Jersey Transit Train Passenger Arrested After Threat

NJTransitLogo

July 26, 2016 9:54 AM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey Transit train passenger is undergoing a psychological evaluation after authorities say he made a threat against the commuter railroad.

NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith says 29-year-old Mohammed Mahmoud of South Amboy was riding on a North Jersey Coast Line train headed for Bay Head when he made the unspecified threat around 6 p.m. Monday.

The train was stopped and searched at the Newark Airport Station. Passengers were evacuated while Mahmoud was detained. Nothing suspicious was found.

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/07/26/new-jersey-transit-train-passenger-arrested-after-threat/

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Free Speech is a Live and Well at Village of Ridgewood Council Meetings

New Ridgewood Village Council
file photo by Boyd Loving
July 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, as previously reported on this blog the new Council has lead to more positive environment at council meetings. A reader said it best ,”it’s amazing to watch the new council meetings. Respect for all those who ask questions. Even questions that are asked are answered or will be researched and followed up on. Keep up the good work.”

In an article in the Hoboken/Weehawken, News by John Heinis July 25, 2016 , Hennis reports on why a Federal Judge denied Hoboken’s motion to dismiss freedom of speech violation suit.

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file photo by Boyd Loving of the 3 amigos 

Its seems that speech can not restricted during public comment at a council meeting . The previous mayor Paul Aronsohn and his administration tried many times either through rules, ordinances ,intimidation or silly anti free speech committees like the “Civility  Committee”.

“A federal court judge in Newark denied the dismissal of a freedom of speech violation lawsuit filed by a political operative against the City of Hoboken after he was ejected from the October 21 city council meeting.

On July 21, Judge Kevin McNulty denied two motions filed by the city to dismiss the complaint, writing that “the same issues of factual interpretation bar dismissal on grounds of qualified immunity.”

In the 11-page ruling, McNulty earlier noted that “qualified immunity issues (such as whether a violation was ‘objectively apparent’ under the circumstances at the time) may often require the kind of factual context that is only available on summary judgement or a trial.”

McNulty also states that although it is not proven that Liebler’s First Amendment rights were violated, “if it happened as plaintiff claims, then a First Amendment violation would have been apparent to a reasonable official in these Council members’ positions.”

https://hudsoncountyview.com/judge-denies-hobokens-motion-to-dismiss-freedom-of-speech-violation-suit/ “

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Garrett Challenger Josh Gottheimer Now Facing his Own “Gay dilemma”

Josh Gottheimer
July 26,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Congressmen Scott Garrett has faced a Democrat led faux protest regarding alleged comments he made a year ago about his refusal to pay dues supporting the House’s fundraising campaign because it supports gay candidates.

Faux protest photo ops have been launched usually led by NJ Assemblyman Tim Eustace who clearly has far to much time on his hands.All the while Garrett challenger carpetbagger Josh Gottheimer has been taking money for disgraced former congressmen Bob “the torch” Torricelli and Saudi Arabian wife beaters.

But now Gottheimer has his own “Gay dilemma” , it seems in an internal DNC memo published by WikiLeaks, one party staffer complained in bigoted derogatory stereotypical fashion to colleagues that one of the party’s gay donors was just too high maintenance for her to handle.

The leaked memo, which is titled “Close out memo” and dated April 22, 2016, was authored by DNC staffer Julia Lahl, who recaps much of the work done with the party’s LGBT Leadership Council. The memo contains information on dozens of donors , much of which is not positive.

Lahl goes on to complain that one donor, named as Darrin Glymph, is “extremely high maintenance.” Glymph was one of three hosts for a May 2015 fundraiser in Washington, D.C. that was “wildly successful” “in terms of identifying “black gay men” that are interested in getting involved. However the [three] hosts that filled the room incredibly for this event were extremely hard to wrangle for the actual gala,” Lahl wrote.

“Darrin would like to become more involved but he is hard to get in touch with and is extremely high maintenance,” Lahl went on to complain. “I found him to be too much work for what he is worth (maybe a 5k check).

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Reader says 1,100 applicants for Ridgewood BOE job openings in the past 12 months

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

1,100 applicants for Ridgewood BOE job openings in the past 12 months. Hopefully there are a lot more job openings once we get rid of the thugs pictured above. Can anyone name these people? The look on their faces tells it all: they are smug, self-entitled, and angry about $15 co-pays instead of the current $10… let’s fire the malcontents and replace them with educators who want to work with our kids.

These teachers and their benefits are out of control. Hold the line BOE. Thank goodness most of our volunteer BOE members don’t have kids in the schools anymore – the REA abused previous board members who did have kids with veiled threats and heaped abuse. The REA’s tactics are in BAD faith, and they are selfish. Support our students, support the BOE and support Ridgewood taxpayers.

The greedy teachers don’t $15 co-pays, they want to keep $10. And their platinum coverage covers up to 96% of medical expenses both in and out of network with full family coverage worth $28,000 a year in premiums…. NO ONE in the private sector gets a plan like that, only greedy public sector workers who think it’s their right.

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Central Business District Advisory Committee ,a better approach for inclusive dialogue on the Future of Ridgewood’s Central Business District

CBD Ridgewood by ArtChick

file photo by ArtChick

July 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Many readers have voiced concern and suspicions over Village committees, sighting the fact that several namely the Historic Preservation Commission and the Financial Advisory Committees have acted more like promoters of former Mayor Aronsohn’s special interest agenda than looking out for whats best for Ridgewood .

“I don’t like it and believe we already have too many advisory groups. They have too much clout and are not necessarily to be trusted. REAC’s first pronouncement was that turf is great. FAC said we need the biggest parking garage–and the chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission concurred, no doubt helping the first garage referendum to pass last November. I’d rather see them all disbanded and let the council do its own research. Appropriate people could still help.”

“A real concern is that the new council falls prey to this nonsense. Aronson was a disaster for Ridgewood. Continuing his policies is a mistake. Yes, there is a lot on their plate, but this council really needs to get moving fast to undo the damage he did. Fidgeting isn’t going to carry the day. And if they are not up to the task they said they were capable of performing, then they need to take a good hard look at themselves. Now is the time to appeal the Valley Hospital debacle and undo the Village massive family housing ordinances.”

Councilman Ramon Hache told the Ridgewood blog yesterday that the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce will fill three positions on the Central Business District Advisory Committee . Ramon went on to say the point of the committee is to create a more inclusive dialogue unlike the previous administration that ignored residents wishes ,and only listened to a small group of people or packed committees with developers and or friends of developers creating a situation where Central Business Development plans were “out of whack” with what residents wanted giving Ridgewood residents no voice in the decision making process.

At the end of the day its a leadership issue ,although the new council is green they do appear to have all the necessary ingredients ;an open-mindedness,willing to listen ,independent thinking and a concern for the Village  to lead Ridgewood into the future.

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Reader says I am still very annoyed to read that Gwenn Hauck was so involved in the Duck Derby

Gwenn Hauck Duck Derby Ridgewood

Whoever wrote that about Gwenn Hauck was on point. Why was she there in some kind of official capacity? Does she work for the Village? Is she an elected official? No, she does not and she is not. She is a VOLUNTEER on a committee. The event should have been run by an employee of the Village, not by a committee volunteer. Sorry, Mrs. Hauck, we no longer need or want you around. I was not at the duckie derby, but I am still very annoyed to read that she was so involved in it.