As the New Jersey Board of Education deliberates whether high school students should have to pass certain math and English exams to graduate, one state lawmaker wants to throw another subject into the mix.
Assemblyman Jay Webber, a Republican from Morris County, is sponsoring legislation to require students to pass a civics test, using the same set of questions asked of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship.
His bill (A3894) is nearly identical to one introduced during the last legislative session by then-Assemblyman Charles Mainor, a Democrat. Mainor’s bill (A4226) never made it out of committee.
Under the latest proposal, students would have to correctly answer at least 60 of 100 questions. Students would be asked, for example, what the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are called (answer: Bill of Rights), who becomes president if both the president and vice president can no longer serve (answer: Speaker of the House) or what stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful (answer: checks and balances).
Students would first take the test in ninth grade. Those who don’t pass would retake the exam each year until they passed. Local school boards would decide the method and manner in which the test is administered.
By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on June 10, 2016 at 7:35 AM, updated June 10, 2016 at 8:05 AM
TRENTON — The state Supreme Court on Thursday morning upheld a 2011 pension reform law that stripped public workers of their annual cost-of-living adjustments.
The ruling spared the state, its taxpayers and the public pension fund itself some financial pain, but it’s a big loss for public workers who have no guarantee when, or if, the COLAs will be restored.
Ridgewood NJ, we have to laugh at this one , NJ.COM is reporting that State Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-Essex) claims that a threat was made in 2005 by Paul DiGaetano, then a leading Republican assemblyman dreaming about a long-shot bid for governor against him. In the article O’Tool claimed that he was threatened by Paul DiGaetano in a meeting over his endorsement of DiGaetano for Governor.
Wow is this a case of the pot calling the Kettle black !
The funny thing is that State Sen. Kevin O’Toole is a well know political bully who has threatened his opponents in the past and gone as far as calling their bosses at work claiming they were campaigning on company time and trying to get them fired.
O’Tool has also threatened the Ridgewood blog and it founder , in that instance he made threats from his car on Route 17 north near the Bendex Diner and only backed off when a blog staff member pulled out a camera.
O’Tool is also rumored to be plotting with with Democrat soon to be Former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn to make a run for the current seat held by Rep.Scott Garrett (R).
White House calls FBI probe into Clinton’s classified emails a ‘criminal investigation’ – to glee of Republicans – on the same day Obama endorses her
Within an hour of Barack Obama’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton, his spokesman acknowledged that she faces a ‘criminal investigation’
The misstep sent Republicans cackling to reporters
Clinton faces the possibility of prosecution for housing classified documents on a private email server
She used the homebrew setup for all her emails – including sensitive government matters – when she was secretary of state
White House press secretary Josh Earnest insisted that the endorsement wouldn’t be interpreted inside the FBI as a signal to let her off the hook
See more of the latest news on the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:22 EST, 9 June 2016 | UPDATED: 04:46 EST, 10 June 2016
Barack Obama’s spokesman described the FBI’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s classified email scandal as a ‘criminal investigation’ on Thursday, less than an hour after the president endorsed his embattled former secretary of state to succeed him.
Josh Earnest told reporters during a White House press briefing that Obama was committed to keeping his hands off the investigation, trusting career investigators and prosecutors to follow evidence wherever it leads.
‘That’s what their responsibility is,’ Earnest said. ‘And that’s why the president, when discussing this issue in each stage, has reiterated his commitment to this principle that any criminal investigation should be conducted independent of any sort of political interference.’
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Elks Lodge, a long-standing village foundation established in 1922, has lost its charter recently. Our venture to restructure the lodge has come to an abrupt halt.
We provided countless charitable programs to our community, and many go unnoticed.
The Grand Lodge of Elks came in and took our charter off the wall and changed our locks, with no good reason other than a greedy property grab!
Sadly, our teen Antler volunteer program consisting of 22 youths can no longer function either, through no fault of their own.
We require substantial attorney fees to defend our positions, which we are asking all of our benevolent friends to assist us with.
Any amount donated is very greatly appreciated!
We hope to be back in our building and servicing our community with our wonderful charitable works, but will need your help!
With your kind contributions, we look forward to celebrating with you all on our beloved Fourth of July.
..the REA believes it a political move that they should now pay for their healthcare, and that the “social contract” always was that teachers would be low payed but have job security and free healthcare. I think the reality of what has transpired with our healthcare system has not yet dawned on the REA. Many people can not pay for their own healthcare let alone shoulder the burdens of theirs, increased taxes, etc.
…most people are now taking home less money than they did six years ago. No one is getting more than a 1 – 1.5% increase a year and everyone’s health care premiums are skyrocketing. And in the private sector, a lot of those premiums are paying for high deductible policies (my family policy is costing me $5200/year and only kicks in after the $3000 out of pocket). Again, everyone is bringing home less which means we can’t afford to pay more taxes. Sad, but true.
My employer switched to a high deductible health plan this year. I still pay $1000/ mth in premiums (employee share) plus now I have a $5k deductible.
So, my son sprained his ankle and now I get a $1000 bill from Valley because I haven’t hit my deductible yet. (That’s with the insurer negotiated rates). All doctor visits other than preventive care are out of pocket until the deductible is hit.
Thank you Obama for accelerating this for happening to me because our employer is trying to avoid the Cadillac tax.
the staff of the Ridgewood with a little help from our friends
Ridgewood NJ ,According to Ridgewood resident Derek Schnure this Another Aronsohn propaganda piece — you’ll see if you drill into the info on the website. VOTE NO!
The word is the video was produced by a company that the son of the Hillman lighting company owns or works for. So there may have been no cost. However, was it filmed when Roberta, Chris, Bob, etc were working? Meaning that they were making this film and reading our mayor’s script when they were supposed to be actually working? Now there’s a cost
Dear Nattering Nobs of Negativity,
Earlier this week, I sent an e-notice reminder to vote in this week’s primary election. I also indicated that on June 21st there would be another election to determine whether or not to finance a parking deck at Hudson Street. There is background information on the website that you may want to consider while making your decision. Here is the link: www.ridgewoodnj.net
Best,
Roberta Sonenfeld Village Manager 201-670-5500, ext. 203
Please pray for Jack. He is in HUMC in ICU. He got hit in the neck with a lacrosse ball and landed up with a fracture larynx and damage to vocal chord. Nancy and Tom are hoping to know more this afternoon on how the Doctors will proceed. Jack continues to smile.
Update on Jack. Surgery to repair larynx and possibly vocal chords is today in the morning at 11. He is being a trooper! Will be in PICU for about a week. Thanks for all the prayers , calls , emails and texts. I have gotten all of them and are trying to keep up on them but it’s basically impossible. Now the funny part ……my doctor who did my surgery is here doing surgery today and is making a house call to me to remove my stitches. How awesome is that!
Ridgewood NJ, Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) sent a letter today to his Democrat general election opponent regarding debates for the 2016 general election.
“I look forward to a campaign season filled with great debate about the best solutions for the future of our district and our country,” Garrett wrote.
Democrat Josh Gottheimer, a political insider capitalizing on his Clinton-family connections in order to bankroll his campaign, has yet to outline a substantive platform. This leads many in the Fifth District to assume that he is merely a mouthpiece for Hillary Clinton’s agenda.
In contrast, Congressman Scott Garrett’s platform includes the following issues that are high priorities for the people of the Fifth District:
Creating Jobs. A strong economy is a job-creating economy. When hard-working Americans are struggling to find work, it’s a sign our nation needs to get its economic house in order—and paralyzing small businesses with burdensome regulations isn’t the answer. Scott Garrett has worked consistently to advance economic growth and job creation, including ensuring America’s small businesses—the backbone of our economy—have the tools and resources they need to keep employees and create new jobs.
Stopping Reckless Spending. Our federal government’s spending over the last several years has ballooned out of control. Our national debt stands at an all-time high of more than $17 trillion. Scott Garrett recognizes that every dollar Washington spends is a dollar first earned by taxpayers. Since first going to Congress, Scott has worked tirelessly to end irresponsible spending, allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money, and force the government to live within a budget, just like taxpayers do.
Defending Our Nation. The threats against our nation are real. Scott Garrett has worked to make sure our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to accomplish the mission of keeping America safe. He firmly believes that before any troops are sent into harm’s way, the mission must be clear, and he has led efforts to guarantee our nation’s military will not be sent into war without Congressional authorization.Garrett continued his letter by emphasizing the importance of principled leadership in Washington, starting, “Throughout my time as the representative for the Fifth District, I have fought for policies to grow our economy, create jobs and strengthen our national security. Our county needs a representative who knows that leadership means fighting for the interests of the Fifth District, regardless of pressure from special interests in Washington.”
Finally, Garrett committed to being in touch regarding the scheduling of debates in the future, ending the letter by stating, “Once my constituent services calendar is finalized for this fall, I will be in touch about finding an opportunity for us to appear in a public forum to debate ideas.”
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on June 08, 2016 at 4:23 PM, updated June 08, 2016 at 4:33 PM
NJ Transit commuters won’t gain additional trains to and from New York after new Hudson River rail tunnels are built, unless two new tracks are also built on the New Jersey side, a transit advocate said.
During a May meeting about starting an environmental study of a project to buildthe tunnels, Federal Railroad Administration officials said the tunnel project won’t increase capacity to Penn Station.
NJ Transit officials could include building new tracks as part of that study, but the opportunity to do so ends soon, said Joe Clift, a former Long Island Rail Road planning director and transit advocate.
Two bills to drive voter turnout head to a Senate committee hearing after passing the state Assembly earlier this month. The bills, sponsored by Assemblymen Andrew Zwicker (D-16) and Craig Coughlin (D-19) repectively, would allow 17 year-olds to vote during primary season when they will reach the age of majority before the general election and allow voters to become automatically registered to vote when receiving a new driver’s license. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration violated the state constitution when it awarded more than $11 million in funding to two religious schools. The Department of Higher Education awarded $10.6 million to Beth Medrash Govoha, a Jewish Yeshiva, and $645,323 to the Princeton Theological Seminary pursuant to the Building Our Future Bond Act Donald Scarinci, PolitickerNJRead more
A Wall Street credit ratings agency has warned that Atlantic City’s financial problems are unlikely to be solved by rescue legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month. Brent Johnson, NJ.com Read more
Newark property owners could be spared a tax hike in 2017 thanks to increased lease payments from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, city officials told a gathering of local business leaders on Wednesday. Steve Strunsky, NJ.com Read more
Ridgewood NJ , The New Jersey Supreme Court has delivered a victory to Gov. Chris Christie and has ruled the state does not owe public pensioners cost-of-living payments suspended under a 2011 law.
In a 6-1 ruling and a major legal victory for Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, which warned that restoring the annual increases would hurl a pension system already underfunded by $59 billion closer to insolvency.
The state Supreme Court upheld a landmark 2011 law freezing cost-of-living adjustments for retired government workers, a decision effecting pensions paid to 800,000 current and former public employees.
