Ridgewood NJ, today Graydon features the Great Duck Derby!
Embrace the national “Come Alive Outside” campaign and join us for an afternoon of family fun and activity . . . and the famous rubber duck race!
Saturday, July 23, 12 noon to 4 pm, Graydon Pool (rain date is 7/24)
Sponsored by Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction, the Ridgewood Fire Departmetn FMBA #47 and Ridgewood Parks and Recreation: 2016 Duck Derby Registration/Details
On May 18, 2010, Graydon Pool was honored as one of the year’s “10 Most Endangered Historic Sites” in the state by Preservation New Jersey. Ridgewood should be proud that this independent nonprofit organization considers Graydon irreplaceable for its historical significance,environmental and fiscal sustainability, and contribution to local residents’ quality of life.
No sharks , no jelly fish and no parkway traffic !
2016 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 pmCONTACTS
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] MEMBERSHIP RATESRESIDENT 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 – $5.00NON-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
Purchase all badges from the comfort of home via CommunityPass (Visa and Mastercard accepted).
In person assistance will be available pre-season on Saturday, May 14, 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday, May 21, 10 am to 12 noon at the Graydon Badge Office, on site at the pool facility.
Paypal founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel spoke on the fourth night of the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Good evening. I’m Peter Thiel.
I build companies and I support people who are building new things, from social networks to rocket ships.
I’m not a politician.
But neither is Donald Trump.
He is a builder, and it’s time to rebuild America.
Where I work in Silicon Valley, it’s hard to see where America has gone wrong.
My industry has made a lot of progress in computers and in software, and, of course, it’s made a lot of money.
But Silicon Valley is a small place.
Drive out to Sacramento, or even across the bridge to Oakland, and you won’t see the same prosperity. That’s just how small it is.
Across the country, wages are flat.
Americans get paid less today than 10 years ago. But healthcare and college tuition cost more every year. Meanwhile Wall Street bankers inflate bubbles in everything from government bonds to Hillary Clinton’s speaking fees.
Our economy is broken. If you’re watching me right now, you understand this better than any politician in Washington. And you know this isn’t the dream we looked forward to. Back when my parents came to America looking for that dream, they found it—right here in Cleveland.
They brought me here as a one-year-old, and this is where I became an American.
Opportunity was everywhere.
My Dad studied engineering at Case Western Reserve University, just down the road from where we are now. Because in 1968, the world’s high tech capital wasn’t just one city: all of America was high tech.
It’s hard to remember this, but our government was once high tech, too. When I moved to Cleveland, defense research was laying the foundations for the Internet. The Apollo program was just about to put a man on the moon—and it was Neil Armstrong, from right here in Ohio.
The future felt limitless.
But today our government is broken. Our nuclear bases still use floppy disks. Our newest fighter jets can’t even fly in the rain. And it would be kind to say the government’s software works poorly, because much of the time it doesn’t even work at all.
That is a staggering decline for the country that completed the Manhattan Project. We don’t accept such incompetence in Silicon Valley, and we must not accept it from our government.
Instead of going to Mars, we have invaded the Middle East. We don’t need to see Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails: her incompetence is in plain sight. She pushed for a war in Libya, and today it’s a training ground for ISIS. On this most important issue, Donald Trump is right. It’s time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country.
When I was a kid, the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union. And we won. Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom.
This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?
Of course, every American has a unique identity.
I am proud to be gay.
I am proud to be a Republican.
But most of all I am proud to be an American.
I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform. But fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline.
And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.
While it is fitting to talk about who we are, today it’s even more important to remember where we came from. For me that is Cleveland, and the bright future it promised.
When Donald Trump asks us to Make America Great Again, he’s not suggesting a return to the past. He’s running to lead us back to that bright future.
Tonight I urge all of my fellow Americans to stand up and vote for Donald Trump.
How perfectly ironic is it, that the civility and civic harmony that Ex-mayor Aronsohn was purportedly seeking, and supposedly trying to engender, by way of his signature series of so-called “civility forums”, has at long last come, almost like the break of dawn, the contrast being so stark and the transition so swift, and the only change that was required to bring it about was to dislodge his and his sidekicks’ sorry arses out of office!!! Ahhhh…. change is good. Change we can believe in. Si se puede! GO SCRATCH, P.A.! And let us enjoy our permanent vacation from watching you look down your nose at the rest of us from the VC dais.
Dear nattering nabobs of negativism,
Recently you received in the mail our Consumer Confidence Report. We would like to have an opportunity to explain this report to you as well as to answer any of your questions regarding Ridgewood Water.
We have scheduled two forums – Wednesday July 27 at 9:00 A.M. in the Courtroom at Village Hall and Tuesday, August 2 at 7:00 P.M. in the Youth Center at Village Hall. We have sent mailers to each household announcing these forums but I thought that it would also be fitting to send an e-notice.
Space is limited so please register by contacting Donna Omelianuk at 201-670-5500 ext 271 or by email at [email protected]. We will also be videotaping a session and will subsequently have it available on our website.
I would also like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on our collective water conservation efforts. In terms of usage, we have seen a significant drop on days we are not allowed to water to about 10 million gallons. Just for your information, water usage in months where we are not watering our lawns averages about 5 million gallons; this dramatically increases to about 15 million gallons per day in lawn watering season. If we can continue to keep this usage lower, we should be able to sustain Stage 2 for the remainder of the season unless we have continual hot/dry weather or a mechanical failure.
I want to thank each of you who have taken this seriously. We continue on heightened enforcement but I am really happy to see so many of our friends and neighbors doing their part for our community.
P.S. There is a heat advisory in effect for today from noon to 7 P.M. with the heat index reaching 100 degrees. The forecast is for hot weather to continue throughout the weekend. Please look out for yourself and your neighbors. Please make sure your vehicles are locked so that children cannot climb in on their own. Please note that Bergen County has opened cooling centers with the closest being at NW Bergen Senior Center at 46 Center Street Midland Park (201-445-5690). Also remember that our library is available seven days per week (201-670-5600).
SEEKING RESIDENTS AND OTHER PERSONS TO VOLUNTEER TO SERVE ON THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Village Council is looking for residents who are interested in volunteering to serve on the Financial Advisory Committee and the Central Business District Advisory Committee (CBDAC).
The Financial Advisory Committee assists in the review and understanding of the financial considerations necessary to the operation of the Village and the Village’s preparation of the Annual and Capital Budgets; provides review, advice and recommendations to the Village Council on Village financial and budgetary matters; and prepares an annual report for the Village Council to assist the Councilmembers in their budget preparation. Members will preferably have strong finance, accounting, government and/or business backgrounds.
The Central Business District Advisory Committee (CBDAC) will work with the Village Council, business owners and residents to evaluate and initiate enhancements to improve the viability of the CBD, including traffic flow and patterns, parking, pedestrian safety and the balance of commercial uses; while maintaining and refining the historic and aesthetic elements to create a more desirable, vibrant and memorable destination for all visitors. The CBDAC is made up of one representative from the Chamber of Commerce; one representative from the Ridgewood Guild; five Ridgewood residents (one of whom shall be a member of the Citizens Safety Advisory Committee); and three business owners, one of whom is a property owner in the CBD.
All interested residents and others wishing to serve on these committees should send the following:
A cover letter indicating on which committee(s)the person wishes to serve
A Citizen Volunteer Leadership form (found on the Village website under forms)
A biography or resume
Ridgewood NJ, For six hours on Wednesday evening, July 20, the Board of Education members and the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) Negotiating Team met with Tim Huntley, the state-appointed super conciliator. The contract remains unsettled.
At the meeting, the Board reviewed its three-year contract proposal and the district’s finances with the super conciliator. The Board’s proposal included:
· Salary increases over three years of 1.1%, 2.8% and 2.8%;
· For the highest paid teachers, payments to offset a portion of the cost of their health insurance premium contributions. These amounts would be $500 year one, $1,000 year two, and $1,500 year three;
· A change in the health insurance plan from NJ Direct 10 to NJ Direct 15. According to our estimates, the change in the health insurance plan, if it happened by January 1, 2017, would reduce the cost of premium for the district by $722,878 and for the REA members by $250,040.
Contrary to the REA’s statement that was released after the meeting, this proposal is not the same proposal offered to them in February.
The current proposal reflects our sincere attempt to compromise and address the contract requests from the REA.
The Board’s offer is structured to keep salaries above the county average and maintain our standing as having the highest salaries in the county for new teachers. The district’s great reputation and our competitive salaries continue to attract job applicants. That is why eleven hundred applicants applied for open teaching positions in the last twelve months.
The Board’s offer also speaks to the REA’s request for relief for the highest paid teachers contributing 35% of the cost of their health care premiums. The proposal of one-time yearly payments of $500, $1,000, and $1,500 would provide this requested relief from increased contributions.
The change to the health insurance plan would lower premium costs and give further relief to all REA members.
The REA Negotiating Team did not come to the table with a contract proposal on Wednesday night. There was no willingness to negotiate or compromise. Rather, the team told us that they would only accept the settlement recommended by the fact-finder as outlined in his May 15th report and again said that the district has the money to fund those recommendations.
The fact-finding report was made public and is posted on the district’s website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
The fact-finder’s recommended settlement would cost the district $4.4 million over and above the state-mandated 2% cap during the life of the contract. For this reason, to fund that settlement and to balance the budget, the Board would have to make critical cuts to staff and programs that would severely diminish the quality of the instructional and extra-curricular programs for our students.
Cuts would include firing teachers, secretaries and administrators; reducing the number of athletic and co-curricular activities; and lowering the amount spent for custodial services, textbooks, professional development, and technology.
When by the end of the July 20th meeting settlement was not reached, the super conciliator set the date of September 6 for our next meeting. The full Board will be there. In the meantime, the Board is preparing documents to share with the REA verifying that breakage — the cost difference between the salary of retirees and salaries of new employees — is not available revenue to fund the settlement proposed by the fact-finder.
The REA has accused the Board of not caring about our students, the district, and the staff. These charges are false. In fact, the Board’s concern for our students and their educational well being is the reason why we did not originally accept the fact-finder’s recommendations and continue to maintain our position.
The BOE assures residents that , “as we look forward to the new school year and welcoming our teachers back to work on September 1, all of the terms and conditions of the expired contract continue. There has not been, nor will there be, any interruption or reduction in REA staff salaries or benefits. Stipends paid to those who are advisers to our clubs, sports and performing arts extra-curricular programs will also continue to be fully funded in accordance with the expired contract.”
More taxes in NJ to fund more corruption. What a deal! Why doesn’t anyone come up with a plan to cut waste and expenses………..
Sweeney & Prieto Announce Agreement on a gas tax increase 23 cents a gallon for Renewed Transportation Trust Fund
July 22,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
TRENTON NJ, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto today announced that they have reached agreement on a new plan to fund the Transportation Trust Fund and enact a series of tax cuts designed to make New Jersey more competitive.
“We have an agreement on a plan that is needed to address the state’s critical transportation needs at the same time it provides targeted tax savings for retirees, the working poor and middle class families,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “This is a bipartisan plan that supports a $2 billion a year Transportation Trust Fund and provides affordable tax cuts that will allow us to meet the state’s pension obligations without creating a fiscal crisis. This is an investment plan that will create jobs and support immediate and long-term economic growth.”
“The Assembly acted to fund transportation, but this stalemate cannot continue,” said Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen). “As I’ve been saying for more than two years, New Jersey needs a viable Transportation Trust Fund or we risk economic disaster. With efforts to negotiate a compromise with the governor stalled, I’m pleased to reach this new compromise that will provide much-needed investment in our state’s infrastructure and tax relief. I will now look for a firm commitment of strong support from Assembly Republicans to keep our roads and bridges safe and workers on the job. This is too important for our economy. We must get this done for the benefit of our state’s future.”
Senator Sweeney said that he is calling in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to convene next week to amend the bill passed by the Assembly at the end of June to reflect the new plan.
The agreement includes a 12.5 percent increase in the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax, a four-cent diesel surcharge and a seven percent tax on non-motor-fuel petroleum products to fund the TTF, which has essentially run out of money for new transportation projects after years of over borrowing. The new gas tax revenue would cover old debt payments, freeing up $347 million from the general fund for other needs.
If passed along to motorists, the gas tax would increase by 23 cents a gallon. An estimated 35 percent would be paid by out-of-state motorists. The dedicated revenue would generate $1.2 billion annually, which would support $2 billion in infrastructure investments each year.
A sustained investment of $2 billion annually would produce an estimated $4.7 billion a year in economic activity and create more than 34,000 jobs directly and indirectly, with annual payrolls of $1.4 billion. Each dollar spent from the TTF generates $2.35 in economic activity.
The plan also includes five tax cuts worked out over the past several months during ongoing negotiations involving Democratic and Republican lawmakers from both the Senate and the Assembly. The plan does not include any changes in jet fuel taxation.
The tax cuts would provide:
Tax Savings for the Working Poor: Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor to 40 percent of the federal benefit amount beginning in Tax Year 2016. Total tax savings of $137 million annually.
Tax Savings for Retirees: Increase the New Jersey gross income tax exclusion on pension and retirement income over four years to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married/filing separately. In the fifth year, seniors earning up to $125,000 can take a 50 percent credit on up to $100,000 in retirement income and those making up to $150,000 can take a 25 percent credit. Total tax savings of $75 million the first year and $164 million annually when fully phased in.
Eliminate the Estate Tax To Make NJ More Competitive: Phase out the estate tax over 3 1/2 years, replacing the current $675,000 threshold with a $2 million exclusion after January 1, 2017, going to the federal $5.4 million level from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019, and eliminating the estate tax altogether as of January 1, 2020. Total tax savings of $109 million the first year and $552 million annually when fully phased in.
Tax Deductions for NJ Motorists: Provide an annual income tax deduction on up to $500 in state gas taxes paid for all New Jersey motorists with incomes up to $100,000. Total tax savings of $20 million annually.
Tax Savings for Veterans: Provide a $3,000 personal exemption on state income taxes for all New Jersey veterans honorably discharged from active service in the military or the National Guard. Total tax savings of $23 million annually.
‘Boom boom boom – he’s killing the kids’: Gunman shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ executed children in Munich McDonald’s before rampaging through mall killing NINE with police now hunting three attackers
A number of people have been killed and another 10 people are injured after gunmen went on a shooting rampage
Police operation is ongoing in Munich, with the force warning people to stay in their homes and avoid public spaces
Terrified shoppers were seen running for their lives from the Olympia Shopping Centre after hearing gunshots
Witnesses said that the shopping centre gunman screamed ‘I’m German’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ before shooting
Gunman reportedly fled after his shooting spree on the city underground network, which has now been shut down
City is in lockdown as police say they are searching for up to three gunmen, who are all on the run, after the attack
By ANTHONY JOSEPH and PATRICK LION and ALAN HALL IN BERLIN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:33 EST, 22 July 2016 | UPDATED: 17:24 EST, 22 July 2016
A gunman shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ opened fire at children in McDonald’s before rampaging through a shopping mall, killing at least eight people.
Munich is in lockdown tonight, as a major police operation is ongoing around the city’s Olympic Park, with the force warning people to stay in their homes and avoid public spaces.
A ninth body has been found tonight and investigators are looking into the possibility of it being the attacker.
Terrified shoppers were seen running for their lives from the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre, in the district of Moosach, after hearing gunshots.
Witnesses said that the gunman screamed ‘I’m German’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ before shooting at children.
A woman named Loretta said she was in the McDonald’s when the man with a gun came out of a bathroom and began shooting.
She told CNN: ‘I come out of the toilet and I hear like an alarm, boom, boom, boom. He’s killing the children. The children were sitting to eat. They can’t run.’
Loretta said she had been in the bathroom at the same time as the shooter, with her eight-year-old son. She said the man yelled: ‘Allahu Akbar!’
Gunman in Munich opens fire at a McDonalds by the Olympia shopping centre
Unconfirmed reports that there could be shootings in city centre
Unconfirmed reports that there were three locations
Interior ministry says at least three killed
Gunmen still on the loose
Islamic State supporters celebrate on social media
Munich police are hunting for three gunmen who they believe have carried out attacks at three locations in the city.
On Twitter, the local forces said shootings had taken place at Hanauer Straße, then the Riesstraße, and also at the Olympia shopping center.
Yet the local state broadcaster said there was only one location – the shopping centre.
A copy of Donald Trump’s speech to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night appears to be circulating ahead of his address.
Friends, delegates and fellow Americans: I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace.
We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.
Our Convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country. Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities.
Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored.
The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.
It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation. I will present the facts plainly and honestly We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.
So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media Myths the Democrats are holding their convention next week.
But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else. These are the facts decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this Administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.
Homicides last year increased by 17% in America’s fifty largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years.
In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60% in nearby Baltimore.
In the President’s hometown of Chicago more than 2,000 have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And more than 3,600 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office.
The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50% compared to this point last year.
Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.
The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total from 2015.
They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources. One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years-old, and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 Grade Point Average. Her killer was then released a second time, and he is now a fugitive from the law.
I’ve met Sarah’s beautiful family. But to this Administration, their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn’t worth protecting. One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders. What about our economy? Again, I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper: Nearly Four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58% of African-American youth are not employed. 2 million more Latinos are in poverty today than when the President took his oath of office less than eight years ago. Another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely.
Household incomes are down more than $4,000 since the year 2000. Our manufacturing trade deficit has reached an all-time high – nearly $800 billion in a single year.
The budget is no better. President Obama has doubled our national debt to more than $19 trillion, and growing. Yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are in Third World condition, and forty-three million Americans are on food stamps.
Now let us consider the state of affairs abroad. Not only have our citizens endured domestic disaster, but they have lived through one international humiliation after another. We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint. This was just prior to the signing of the Iran deal, which gave back to Iran $150 billion and gave us nothing – it will go down in history as one of the worst deals ever made.
Another humiliation came when president Obama drew a red line in Syria – and the whole world knew it meant nothing. In Libya, our consulate – the symbol of American prestige around the globe – was brought down in flames.
America is far less safe – and the world is far less stable – than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge ofAmerica’s foreign policy. I am certain it is a decision he truly regrets. Her bad instincts and her bad judgment – something pointed out by Bernie Sanders – are what caused the disasters unfolding today.
Let’s review the record. In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map. Libya was cooperating. Egypt was peaceful. Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. Iran was being choked by sanctions. Syria was under control. After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region, and the world. Libya is in ruins, and our
Ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers. Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control.
Iraq is in chaos. Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West.
After fifteen years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before.
This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction and weakness. But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.
The problems we face now – poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad – will last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created them. A change in leadership is required to change these outcomes. Tonight, I will share with you my plan of action for America. The most important difference between our plan and that of our opponents, is that our plan will put America First.
Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo. As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America First, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America witt respect.
This will all change in 2017. The American People will come first once again.
My plan will begin with safety at home – which means safe neighborhoods, secure borders, and protection from terrorism.There can be no prosperity without law and order.
On the economy, I will outline reforms to add millions of new jobs and trillions in new wealth that can be used to rebuild America. A number of these reforms that I will outline tonight will be opposed by some of our nation’s most powerful special interests.
That is because these interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit. Big business, elite media and major donors are lining up behind the campaign of my opponent because they know she will keep our rigged system in place.
They are throwing money at her because they have total control over everything she does.
She is their puppet, and they pull the strings. That is why Hillary Clinton’s message is that things will never change.
My message is that things have to change – and they have to change right now.
Every day I wake up determined to deliver for the people I have met all across this nation that have been neglected, ignored, and abandoned.
I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals. These are the forgotten men and women of our country. People who work hard but no longer have a voice.
I AM YOUR VOICE.
I have embraced crying mothers who have lost their children because our politicians put their personal agendas before the national
good. I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens.
When innocent people suffer, because our political system lacks the will, or the courage, or the basic decency to enforce our laws – or worse still, has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash – I am not able to look the other way.
And when a Secretary of State illegally stores her emails on a private server, deletes 33,000 of them so the authorities can’t see her crime, puts our country at risk, lies about it in every different form and faces no consequence – I know that corruption has reached a level like never before. When the FBI Director says that the Secretary of State was “extremely careless” and “negligent,” in handling our classified secrets, I also know that these terms are minor compared to what she actually did.
They were just used to save her from facing justice for her terrible crimes. In fact, her single greatest accomplishment may be committing such an egregious crime and getting away with it – especially when others have paid so dearly.
When that same Secretary of State rakes in millions of dollars trading access and favors to special interests and foreign powers I know the time for action has come. I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves.
Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance. But his supporters will join our movement, because we will fix his biggest issue: trade.
Millions of Democrats will join our movement, because we are going to fix the system so it works for all Americans. In this cause, I am proud to have at my side the next Vice President of the United States: Governor Mike Pence of Indiana. We will bring the same economic success to America that Mike brought to Indiana. He is a man of character and accomplishment. He is the right man for the job
The first task for our new Administration will be to liberate our citizens from the crime and terrorism and lawlessness that threatens their communities. America was shocked to its core when our police officers in Dallas were brutally executed. In the days after Dallas, we have seen continued threats and violence against our law enforcement officials.
Law officers have been shot or killed in recent days in Georgia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan and Tennessee.
On Sunday, more police were gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three were killed, and four were badly injured.
An attack on law enforcement is an attack on all Americans.
I have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets and the safety of our police: when I take the oath of office next year, I will restore law and order to our country. I will work with, and appoint, the best prosecutors and law enforcement officials in the country to get the job done. In this race for the White House, I am the Law And Order candidate.
The irresponsible rhetoric of our President, who has used the pulpit of the presidency to divide us by race and color, has made America a more dangerous environment for everyone. This Administration has failed America’s inner cities. It’s failed them on education. It’s failed them on jobs. It’s failed them on crime.
It’s failed them at every level. When I am President, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally, and protected equally. Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit,
Ferguson who have as much of a right to live out their dreams as any other child in over and over – at the World Trade Center, at an office party in San Bernardino, at the Boston Marathon, and a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Only weeks ago, in Orlando, Florida, 49 wonderful Americans were savagely murdered by an Islamic terrorist. This time, the terrorist targeted our LGBT community. As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBT citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.
To protect us from terrorism, we need to focus on three things. We must have the best intelligence- gathering operation in the world. We must abandon the failed policy of nation-building and regime change that Hillary Clinton pushed in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria.
Instead, we must work with all of our allies who share our goal of destroying ISIS and stamping out Islamic terror. This includes working with our greatest ally in the region, the State of Israel. Lastly, we must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.
My opponent has called for a radical 550% increase in Syrian refugees on top of existing massive refugee flows coming into our country under President Obama. She proposes this despite the fact that there’s no way to screen these refugees in order to find out who they are or where they come from.
I only want to admit individuals into our country who will support our values and love our people. Anyone who endorses violence, hatred or oppression is not welcome in our country and never will be. Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers. We are going to have an immigration system that works, but one that works for the American people.
On Monday, we heard from three parents whose children were killed by illegal Immigrants Mary Ann Mendoza, Sabine Durden, and Jamiel Shaw. They are just three brave representatives of many thousands. Of all my travels in this country, nothing has affected me more deeply than the time I have spent with the mothers and fathers who have lost their children to violence spilling across our border. These families have no special interests to represent them. There are no demonstrators to protest on their behalf. My opponent will never meet with them, or share in their pain.
Instead, my opponent wants Sanctuary Cities. But where was sanctuary for Kate Steinle? Where was Sanctuary for the children of Mary Ann, Sabine and Jamiel? Where was sanctuary for all the other Americans who have been so brutally murdered, and who have suffered so horribly? These wounded American families have been alone. But they are alone no longer. Tonight, this candidate and this whole nation stand in their corner to support them, to send them our love, and to pledge in their honor that we will save countless more families from suffering the same awful fate.
We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities. I have been honored to receive the endorsement of America’s Border Patrol Agents, and will work directly with them to protect the integrity of our lawful immigration system.
By ending catch-and-release on the border, we will stop the cycle of human smuggling and violence. Illegal border crossings will go down.
Peace will be restored. By enforcing the rules for the millions who We are going to be considerate and compassionate to everyone.
But my greatest compassion will be for our own struggling citizens. My plan is the exact opposite of the radical and dangerous immigration policy of Hillary Clinton. Americans want relief from uncontrolled immigration. Communities want relief. Yet Hillary Clinton is proposing mass amnesty, mass immigration, and mass lawlessness. Her plan will overwhelm your schools and hospitals, further reduce your jobs and wages, and make it harder for recent immigrants to escape from poverty.
I have a different vision for our workers. It begins with a new, fair trade policy that protects our jobs and stands up to countries that cheat.
It’s been a signature message of my campaign from day one, and it will be a signature feature of my presidency from the moment I take the oath of office.
I have made billions of dollars in business making deals – now I’m going to make our country rich again. I am going to turn our bad trade agreements into great ones. America has lost nearly-one third of its manufacturing jobs since 1997, following the enactment of disastrous trade deals supported including through the use of taxes and tariffs, against any country that cheats. This includes stopping China’s outrageous theft of intellectual property, along with their illegal product dumping, and their devastating currency manipulation.
Our horrible trade agreements with China and many others, will be totally renegotiated. That includes renegotiating NAFTA to get a much better deal for America – and we’ll walk away if we don’t get the deal that we want. We are going to start building and making things again.
Next comes the reform of our tax laws, regulations and energy rules. While Hillary Clinton plans a massive tax increase, I have proposed the largest tax reduction of any candidate who has declared for the presidential race this year – Democrat or Republican. Middle-income Americans will experience profound relief, and taxes will be simplified for everyone.
America is one of the highest-taxed nations in the world. Reducing taxes will cause new companies and new jobs to come roaring back into our country. Then we are going to deal with the issue of regulation, one of the greatest job-killers of them all. Excessive regulation is costing our country as much as $2 trillion a year, and we
I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans.
We can accomplish these great things, and so much else – all we need to do is start believing in ourselves and in our country again. It is time to show the whole world that America Is Back – bigger, and better and stronger than ever before.
In this journey, I’m so lucky to have at my side my wife Melania and my wonderful children, Don, Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron: you will always be my greatest source of pride and joy.
My Dad, Fred Trump, was the smartest and hardest working man I ever knew. I wonder sometimes what he’d say if he were here to see this tonight. It’s because of him that I learned, from my youngest age, to respect the dignity of work and the dignity of working people. He was a History is watching us now. It’s waiting to see if we will rise to the occasion, and if we will show the whole world that America is still free and independent and strong. My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three-word loyalty pledge. It reads: “I’m With Her”.
I choose to recite a different pledge. My pledge reads: “I’M WITH YOU – THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.” I am your voice. So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I’m With You, and I will fight for you, and I will win for you.
To all Americans tonight, in all our cities and towns, I make this promise: We Will Make America Strong Again. We Will Make America Proud Again. We Will Make America Safe Again And We Will Make America Great Again.
Mary Clare ReimResearch Associate
Domestic Policy Studies
College students understandably bemoan the costs of higher education. During the 2015–2016 school year, annual costs[1] at four-year public universities reached $19,548 for in-state students and $34,031 for out-of-state students. Annual costs at private institutions reached $43,921.[2] Federal student aid has likely exacerbated the college cost problem, providing short-term relief to students in the form of loans and grants, while enabling universities to increase tuition across the board.[3]
There is an additional consequence to taxpayer-subsidized federal student loans. The average full-time college student spends only 2.76 hours per day on all education-related activities. This helps explain why most full-time students today do not graduate in four years and rack up increasingly high loan debt during their extended enrollment. Taxpayers, who are increasingly on the hook for borrower defaults and loan forgiveness programs, deserve to know what their tax dollars subsidize.
Full-Time College Is Typically a Part-Time Endeavor
Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s American Time Use Survey from 2003–2014, during the academic year, the average full-time college student spent only 2.76 hours per day on all education-related activities, including 1.18 hours in class and 1.53 hours of research and homework, for a total of 19.3 hours per week.[4]
Full-time high school students, in comparison, spent 4.32 hours per day on all education-related activities, including 3.42 hours in class and 0.80 hours of research and homework, for a total of 30.2 hours per week. Thus, full-time college students spend 10.9 fewer hours per week on educational activities than full-time high school students.
Employment eliminates this gap between college and high school students.
Full-time college students work an average of 16.3 hours per week.
Full-time high school students work an average of 4.0 hours per week.
Full-time college students, then, spend 35.6 hours per week on education-related and work-related activities, while full-time high school students spend 34.2 hours per week.
However, full-time college students spend significantly less combined time on education and work than do full-time employees. The average full-time employee works 41.7 hours per week. To match that, the typical college student would need 22.4 work hours per week, in addition to the 19.3 educational hours.
Non-employed full-time college students spend more time per week on educational activities than part-time or full-time employed students.
Non-employed and full-time student: 24.9 hours;
Employed part-time and full-time student: 19.9; and
Employed full-time and full-time student: 8.5.
In combined education and work hours, however, there remains a deficit between non-employed and employed students:
Non-employed and full-time student: 25.8 hours;
Employed part-time and full-time student: 36.8; and
Employed full-time and full-time student: 47.7 hours per week.
The combined education and work effort of the average non-employed, full-time college student (25.8 hours per week) most closely matches that of a non-student, part-time employee (22.9 hours per week), but remains substantially less than that of a high school student (34.0 hours per week) or even a part-time employee, part-time college student (33.8 hours per week).
In order to match the combined work and education effort of the average full-time employee, the average non-employed, full-time college student would need to work 16.9 hours per week, in addition to the 24.9 hours spent on educational activities.
Although expectations undoubtedly vary across institutions and fields of study, on average, full-time college demands substantially less time commitment than do high school or regular full-time employment. 60.5 percent of full-time students and 79.9 percent of part-time students work at least part-time while in school, suggesting many students recognize the merits of minimizing the debt incurred to finance their degrees. However, nearly 40 percent of full-time students do not work at all while in college.
Subsidizing Low Education-Work Efforts
The average 17-year-old, who is generally in high school, spends 31.2 hours per week on education and work activities. For 19-year-olds, total hours per week for education and work activities decrease to 26.0, and do not exceed the efforts of a 17-year-old again until age 23, after the end of the traditional college years. Total hours of education and work activities per week peak at 34.8 among 29-year-olds.
On average, Americans will not work as little as they did at age 19 until they reach age 59, when significant numbers cut back on their work hours or enter retirement. With outstanding student loan debt currently at more than $1.2 trillion, these findings raise an important question: Why are taxpayers heavily subsidizing a period in some people’s lives when combined education and work efforts are at their lowest?
Loan Forgiveness Programs Leave Taxpayers on the Hook for Generous Leisure Hours
Among the 39.5 percent of full-time college students who are not employed, the average time spent engaged in education-related activities (both class and studying) is only 24.9 hours per week, or 3.56 hours per day.
In the context of a student loan system in which students borrowed primarily through private lenders and paid back their loans themselves, evaluation of time use would largely only be an issue for the individual student, who would accrue higher levels of debt the longer it took him to complete college.
Today, however, the federal government originates and manages 93 percent of all student loans, and taxpayers underwrite generous loan forgiveness programs along with the cost of defaulted student loans.[5]
In 2016, 43 percent of individuals with federal student loans (or about 9.3 million borrowers) were either in default, were delinquent, or had postponed payments, owing more than $200 billion.[6] A long and more expensive path to the bachelor’s degree may seem relatively harmless to the individual student, but federal subsidies put taxpayers on the hook for this more expensive route if students default on their debt or enter loan forgiveness. Nationwide, fewer than 19 percent of full-time students attending non-flagship public universities earn a bachelor’s degree within four years; meanwhile, just 36 percent of students attending selective public research-based institutions will earn their degrees within four years.[7]
A study by researchers from Northwestern University suggests that, among other reasons such as lost transfer credits and remedial coursework, “most full-time students do not take the credits necessary to graduate on schedule (15 credits per semester or 30 credits per year), opting instead for lighter course loads that put them on five- and six-year plans.”[8]
Many colleges charge students based on whether a student is full-time or part-time, and in-state or out-of-state, so a full-time student who does not optimize the amount of credits he is taking would spend substantially more over a five- or six-year period in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree than the student who acquires the degree in four years, particularly if the student is paying room and board. The per-credit cost for a full-time student is typically lower than that of a part-time student. Further, at many universities, tuition for a full-time student is a fixed rate that then allows a student to enroll in a chosen number of credit hours, typically ranging from 12 to 18 per semester. With full-time tuition typically set as a flat rate, students minimize their per-credit cost as a full time student the more hours they take. Not maximizing credit hours can translate into considerable additional spending and debt for students. Estimates show that every extra year a student spends at a public four-year college costs an additional $22,826.[9]
Burden of Student Loan Costs on the Shoulders of Taxpayers
Students are accruing more debt to earn a bachelor’s degree, and the burden of loan repayment is increasingly being shifted to taxpayers. Not only do taxpayers bear the burden of defaults, but thanks to an expansion of federal loan forgiveness programs, they are also responsible for an increasing number of student loans that now qualify for forgiveness.[10] In 2015, the Obama Administration promulgated regulations expanding the income-based repayment program, which caps at 10 percent of discretionary income the amount borrowers can be required to repay per month, to all individuals with federal Direct Loans. All borrowers with undergraduate loans also have any remaining debt forgiven after 20 years. For graduates entering public-sector work upon college completion, loans are eligible for forgiveness after just 10 years. Some parent borrowers qualify for loan forgiveness of their Parent PLUS loan after 10 years if they work in the public sector.[11]
Loan forgiveness and repayment caps increase the likelihood that taxpayers will bear responsibility for a portion of students’ extended time taken to earn a degree. Loan forgiveness is bad policy in general, further enabling colleges to increase tuition and fees and shifting the burden of paying for college from the student who benefits from the education they receive to the taxpayers.
The limited amount of time spent engaged in education-related activities on average suggests that, for some students, the amount of debt accumulated finances a significant amount of non-education hours. When loans are forgiven, then, both education and non-education time is financed by taxpayers. Although numerous exogenous factors play into time to degree, such as when courses are offered and the mitigating circumstances of individual students, time-use data suggest that taxpayers end up generously subsidizing the non-education time of many college students.
Conclusion
An examination of the typical college student’s day reveals that the average full-time college student spends only 2.76 hours per day on all education-related activities. With the federal government today originating and managing 93 percent of all student loans, these data add to questions about the type of time use federal assistance is subsidizing. Taxpayers deserve to know.
Lindsey M. Burke is the Will Skillman Fellow in Education Policy in Domestic Policy Studies, of the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, at The Heritage Foundation. Jamie Bryan Hallis Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis, of the Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, at The Heritage Foundation. Mary Clare Reim is Research Associate in Education Policy in Domestic Policy Studies.
(3TV) -The lights of Broadway are shining brightly on a free camp for kids in Arizona. For ten weeks each summer in Pine-Top Lakeside, there’s a camp for special needs kids called Camp Tatiyee. This summer, they received a surprise guest, all the way from the Big Apple.
“Spring Awakening” was one of the hottest shows on Broadway. The musical revival opened in New York last year and earned eight Tony Awards. One of its stand-out stars is 29-year-old Ali Stroker. And after spending just a few moments with her, she’ll have you believing anything is possible. “First of all, if there is a will, there is a way,” Ali shared with us right away.
Ali’s smashing all obstacles and making history, as the first actor in a wheelchair on Broadway. This accomplishment, Stroker says, brings her great joy, and a sense of pride to be an advocate for her community.
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Poké fever has hit Ridgewood.
With the release of the wildly popular app Pokémon Go, and based on the hordes of people walking the streets in search of their favorite creatures, it does not look like it will go away anytime soon.
I have been filled with too much pain and emotion to share my concerns and outrage in any coherent manner over the past few weeks. But here it goes.
Where was MoveOn.org, NAACP, and Black Lives Matter when Alton Sterling, the criminal shot while fighting against arrest in Baton Rouge, joined the Crips? Why didn’t they help this callous and dead-beat dad with the irresponsible $25,000 he owed in back child-support for his 5 children? Why did these “leaders” refuse to mentor this soulless predator who had robbed and assaulted black folks in his community non-stop for the past 20 years?
Here is the answer: They were too busy blaming the Police who are the Front-Line Defenders of freedom, liberty and justice in the very communities who have now risen up against them. One thing these riot-promoters have gotten right is their request for civilians’ cooperation, to be compliant, when stopped by Law Enforcement. Even Dallas Chief, David
Brown, recently told the media that the problem is not racism, but rather people who are refusing to be compliant when stopped by Law Enforcement. After looking at many reports here in Bergen & Passaic County, I found that to be true here as well.
Chief Brown further expounded that fact: “To protesters in the streets, he suggested channeling frustration into public service: ‘We’re hiring. Get off that protest line and put an application in. And we’ll put you in your neighborhood, and we will help you resolve some of the problems you’re protesting about.’” (NYT 07/12/2016)
When we look at the paid rioters (yes that is what they are), can you find one among them who is a part of the solution? The NAACP came out today saying the US government must defund police departments accused of racism. Really? One Chicago activist publically demanded the expulsion of ALL police from the city of Chicago. Really? Now, that would be
The Leftist agitators are not interested in facts. They are stuck in their mindset of resentment and maintaining power. They offer no real solutions, only baseless blame and criminal retribution. Cops, just like our teachers, spend countless hours participating in Cultural
Diversity, Active Diffusion Strategies, and countless other courses to become more sensitive and “culturally competent”. We are hog-tying and strangling them with all these rules and polices when the answer lies within each of us to control our behavior, words and attitudes-Not
I ask everyone to PLEASE show your support to our Law Enforcement today and every day. Thank them, wear a blue ribbon, write an article, or help people understand the proper protocol when approached by police like my Daddy did when I was only 8 years old. Please do NOT allow our Cops to leave their families each day thinking, as Baton Rouge Officer Montrell
Jackson wrote days before he was gunned down by a coward: “I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me.”
I think it is time for the parents to speak up. Clearly there are many of us that feel the teachers have been handed a pretty sweet deal over the years. Why should they be entitled to anything more than the rest of us deserve? Just because they look after our children? The fact that they are only required to actually teach them 23 hours a week blows my mind. We have tried to speak on social media, but when we do we are shot down. We try to speak anonymously but again we are attacked. The lack of signs that around town show how little support the teachers are getting. I think at the next BOE meeting we need to show ourselves in numbers. We need to speak and let our voices be heard. We need to show them that there are fewer supporters for the teachers than they they think. It is time for the bullying by the teachers and union end and we take a stand and support our children and the BOE. The fact is that the teachers are complaining that morale is low. Just by signing a contract is not going to change anything. You have lost the respect of many of the parents in this town and the example you are setting is not the one I want to have my children live by. I think that many of us would gladly welcome new blood. As teachers I thought you would support your peers. The attitude you have is there is none better than you. Remember you were young once too. Don’t take your job for granted!..
…We can’t speak because our children would likely by personally targeted by Yannone and the REA. It is despicable what the REA is doing. Last year teachers at the high school turned out the lights at 3:14 on kids coming for extra help during period 9. They also had their coats on 3:12 just to make sure they didn’t spend an “extra” minute in the building. Several overnight field trips including those associated with special honors programs and sold as part of the curriculum were cancelled in a capricious and arbitrary manner, and despite the strenuous efforts of the classroom teachers to hold the trips. Of course this year we won’t have to worry about that since we have been told that ALL clubs and field trips will be cancelled. I imagine this will start to more directly impact the younger kids this year. Hard to feel sympathetic for the teachers and their fight against the $5 copay bump. But having seen how they operated last year – there is no way I would speak publicly at a board meeting. The REA, in my opinion, would not hesitate to harass students that are children of complainers.