In an effort to stem public corruption scandals, the state Senate on Mondayunanimously passed a bill that would require all New Jersey elected officials undergo ethics training as soon as they’re elected. S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com Read more
May 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. ,On Friday, May 13, Ridgewood High School’s award winning jazz ensembles will present an evening of big band jazz at their annual “Jazz in the Wood” dinner-concert to be held at the Woman’s Club of Ridgewood. The bands will be joined by special guest artist Mark Friedman, a renowned jazz saxophonist and Wyckoff resident, and longtime friend to the Ridgewood Music Program. Friedman will be the featured soloist with the RHS Big Band and Jazz Lab, playing music ranging from swing to bebop and Latin to funk. This gala event marks the culmination of Friedman’s three-month collaboration with the RHS jazz bands.
The dinner portion of the program will feature a three-course meal catered by Dawn’s Catering of Ridgewood, and will include a menu of salad, pasta, chicken and dessert with gluten-free and vegetarian options available. For children 12 and under, a kid’s menu option includes chicken tenders, and fries.
Having taught private lessons to flute, clarinet and saxophone students in the area for more than three decades, Mark Friedman has gained a reputation as one of the premier teachers in Bergen County. His students have been accepted to the most prestigious conservatories and universities in the country and are regularly selected to perform in honors ensembles at the County, Region, All-State and All-Eastern levels.
Mr. Friedman received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Jazz Performance from Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University.) His teachers include Dick Volkart, Walt Levinsky, Dr. Richard Scott, Dan Trimbole, Dr. Alvin Fossner, Emile DeCosmo, and the great jazz legend, Phil Woods, whom he considered his mentor.
Mr. Friedman has toured, performed, and recorded with such great artists as Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich, Tito Puente, the Big Three Palladium Orchestra, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Manhattan Transfer, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Frankie Valle, Andy Williams, Wayne Newton, the Dalton Gang and numerous others, including a Grammy Award© winning record with Machito.
Mr. Friedman is the director of the Indian Hills High School Band, and is on the music faculty at Ramapo High School.
The RHS Big Band and Jazz Lab are directed by Gary Fink and Jeffrey Haas, respectively, and feature many talented student musicians, including six who recently performed with the New Jersey Region I Jazz Ensembles. The bands will present songs in a variety of styles, including swing, bebop, New Orleans, Latin, rock and funk. Well known songs such as Earl Hagan’s Harlem Nocturne, Duke Ellington’s Perdido, Sonny Rollins’ St. Thomas, Joe Zawinul’s Birdland, and Phil Woods’ Randi will all be performed, and will feature Friedman along with several RHS soloists.
Dating back to the mid-20th century when such legendary jazz artists as Nelson Riddle, Sonny Igoe, and Red Mitchell could be heard in the music rooms, Ridgewood High School has enjoyed a long and distinguished history of excellence in jazz performance. With two big bands, a vocal jazz ensemble and various combos, the jazz program at RHS introduces students to music of different styles within the jazz genre. The Big Band and Jazz Lab have both been recognized with awards for excellent or superior performance at the NJAJE state jazz ensemble festivals, and have performed at venues around the country including Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, MA, Steamers Jazz Club and Café in Fullerton, CA, Bohemian Caverns in Washington, DC, the Town Centre in Virginia Beach, VA and Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, CA. Guest artists who have worked or performed with the jazz program include: Darmon Meader, Byron Stripling, Conrad Herwig, Wayne Bergeron, Jeff Jarvis, Marvin Stamm, Ingrid Jensen, Dave Bargeron, Dave Stryker, Don Braden, Tom “Bones” Malone, Michael Philip Mossman, Andy Martin and many others.
There will be a seatings at 6PM and 8:30PM for “Jazz in the Wood,” and tickets are $40 per adult/$20 for children 12 and under. Tickets for the event are only available in advance, and can be purchased online at https://jazzinthewood2016.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, contact Nick Trent at (201) 805-8789 or via email at [email protected].
SAVE THE DATE! HOLD ON TO THAT OLD BICYCLE!
2nd Annual Recycle – Your – Bicycle May 13th and 14th Sponsored by George Washington Middle School 7th Grade Community Service 155 Washington Place Ridgewood, New Jersey
Have an old bike taking up space? Need a “new” bike? Come to the 2nd Annual Recycle-Your-Bicycle event at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood on May 13th and 14th. Here’s how it works: Donate your old bike on Friday, May 13th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM and receive a voucher to return the next day from 9:00 – 11:00 am to buy any bike for $10.00. If you don’t have one to donate, you can still buy one for $30.00. All left over bikes and all the money generated will be donated to Charities for Children in Paterson who provide food and services for some of the areas neediest people. Everybody wins! Email Nicole Richards at [email protected] or Wendy Columbus at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our website https://recycleyour-bicycle.weebly.com or “like” us on Facebook!
Location: SHARE, 104 Cottage Place, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Shared Housing Association for Ridgewood & Environs, Inc. (SHARE) invites area realtors to join them for an Open House on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at 104 Cottage Place in Ridgewood, N.J.
Special guests will include Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Council Member Gwenn Hauck, both of whom are known for their work on behalf of senior citizens and housing. Members of SHARE’s staff and board of directors will be on hand to discuss the benefits of its two affordable, shared residences for independent seniors who are looking to downsize or seeking the services and socialization that community living offers.
A buffet lunch, sponsored by SHARE Advisory Board Chair Debby Crane of Re/Max Properties, will be served starting at 1 p.m. House tours will be conducted from 1:30 – 3.pm. To RSVP or for more information, contact Marianne Bennett at (201) 670-9605 or e-mail [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.
SHARE, Inc. is a New Jersey non-profit that provides an affordable, home like environment for independent seniors within the Ridgewood community. For more information visit www.shareridgewood.org .
file photo by Boyd Loving
May 9,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, looks like Councilwomen Gwenn Hack has been using Anonymous Comments to attack other Ridgewood Council Members. Gwenn IP24.228.133.88 has also been posting under [email protected] to attack her fellow council members Mike Sendon and Susan Kundsen. Since she is on her way out ,I would guess it is only fair to say that we should expect the same from the trio she supports ,Brooks, Willett and Wietz .
Gwenn Hauck
[email protected]
24.228.133.88
The unsubstantiated, unhappy comments above are designed (as usual) to further confuse the public and upset good people.
Ask any/all seniors that I spend time with if I have ever told them who to vote for, or if I have ever distributed any
campaign fliers to them. They will tell you the Truth.
It was Voight, Hache and Walsh campaigners who targeted senior citizens leaving my non-political luncheon at the last one
I would ever have (already a sad and poignant day for me) with their campaign literature as they boarded their senior bus.
I treat senior citizens as people, not as votes. I would not target senior citizens as a voting block, like they did.
A few days ago I refrained from commenting on the total fabrications written on the blog about who really behaved poorly during my luncheon, but the insults cannot go undefended when they just keep coming, and coming, and don’t relent.
You can bet that the anonymous comments posted on the Blog are ghost-written by the same mean and angry people – and worse than being unkind, they are also untrue.
Incivility in Ridgewood Council insists its the Residents FaultView Post1717 comments
2016/05/09 at 6:39 pm
Anonymous
[email protected]
24.228.133.88
3:39
Is he paying rent? People on this blog seem to make a lot of nonsense their business. Just playing the game.
What about Knudsen’s conflicts? Nothing to say about those?
People in multi-generational dwellings live longer? Really?
Residents Shocked over Gwen Hauck Serious Conflict of Interest with Valley HospitalView Post3838 comments
2016/01/08 at 4:13 pm
Anonymous
[email protected]
24.228.133.88
1:36
Letter of the law is what matters.
Also, explain how Knudsen does not recuse herself from Schedler when her parents live directly across the street from the property.
Knudsen also has three sons on the list to become Ridgewood police officers. Why doesn’t she recuse herself on all matters related to the Police department especially when the Village is currently renegotiating the police contract that her son’s could potentially benefit from.
You hypocrites, especially the Lovings, are always crying about the attacks on Knudsen and Sedon. Be consistent.
By the way, does Sedon even pay taxes to the Village? Just asking. Hear he lives in his in-laws house. We have a councilman who doesn’t even own property in the village. What a joke.
May 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in case you have been out of the country ,Village Council Election day ,the polls are open from 6 A.M. to 8 P.M.
This is a pivotal for the future of the Village of Ridgewood .
Weitz Willet and Brooks signed the Paul Vaggianos development pledge , which is a continuation of current movement to turn Ridgewood into Union city . And signifies they will be working for special interests instead of the residents of Ridgewood .
Weitz has never voted , or been to a council meeting because he is “busy”.
Willets husband moved to Florida with out her.
Weitz Willet and Brooks are backed by the current council majority (3 amigos), developers and Progress Ridgewood the pro development group ie double the size of Valley hospital ,build ,build ,build .
CRR, CBR and Preserve Graydon groups as well at the Ridgewood Chinese American Association all endorsed Voigt ,Hache,and Walsh .
Most importantly Walsh, Voigt and Hache all understand the unique nature of what Ridgewood is all about unlike the current council majority ,who think Ridgewood is a small Union city waiting to happen. https://theridgewoodblog.net/the-ridgewood-blog-endorses-jeff-voigt-bernie-walsh-and-ramon-hache-for-village-of-ridgewood-council/
The unsubstantiated, unhappy comments above are designed (as usual) to further confuse the public and upset good people.
Ask any/all seniors that I spend time with if I have ever told them who to vote for, or if I have ever distributed any
campaign fliers to them. They will tell you the Truth.
It was Voight, Hache and Walsh campaigners who targeted senior citizens leaving my non-political luncheon at the last one
I would ever have (already a sad and poignant day for me) with their campaign literature as they boarded their senior bus.
I treat senior citizens as people, not as votes. I would not target senior citizens as a voting block, like they did.
A few days ago I refrained from commenting on the total fabrications written on the blog about who really behaved poorly during my luncheon, but the insults cannot go undefended when they just keep coming, and coming, and don’t relent.
You can bet that the anonymous comments posted on the Blog are ghost-written by the same mean and angry people – and worse than being unkind, they are also untrue.
May 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , picked this up off of the It takes a Village Facebook page in a post by Marty Smith, In a post to Ann Loving today, Gwenn Hauck wrote “$50,000 of Independent Studies approved by all five council members confirmed (confidently) that the multi-family housing will significantly augment our tax base and will help our schools decreasing enrollment. Class sizes are diminishing so much that teachers are actually being laid off causing (ironically) higher class sizes!”
I thought the proponents of higher density housing were saying don’t worry, the apartments won’t be attracting a lot of new students. Now it seems they will be, and that the additional enrollments are what we need. Did I miss something? Dare we say vote of Hache, Walsh and Voigt .Poles are open till 8pm!
This is a reminder that tomorrow is Election Day for three seats on the Village Council. The polls are open from 6 A.M. to 8 P.M. As is customary, we will be running our Senior Citizen bus so if you need a ride to your voting place, please contact Beth Spinato (201-670-5500, ext. 203).
If you have any questions about voting, including the location of your polling place, please contact our Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500, ext 201 or email Heather Mailander at [email protected]
Local elections generally generate very low voter turnout, historically less than 20%. This is despite the fact that local governments in certain ways have a more profound impact on our day to day lives than national government; we as residents should make sure that our voices are heard.
“Voting is the right upon which all other rights depend.” – Thomas Paine
Best,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
Pascale Mollard, Mariëtte Le Roux
May 9, 2016
Paris (AFP) – Astronomers are preparing for one of the highlights of the skywatchers’ year, when the Sun, Mercury and Earth all line up — a phenomenon that happens just a dozen or so times per century.
Mercury will be seen through telescopes as a black dot inching over the face of our star, providing a celestial spectacle — weather permitting — that will last seven and a half hours.
“At the start, Mercury will look as if it is nibbling at the edge of the Sun, and then it will very slowly cross its surface and leave the other side,” said Pascal Descamps of the Paris Observatory.
“It’s something rare, because it requires the Sun, Mercury and Earth to be in almost perfect alignment.”
The smallest recognised planet in the Solar System, Mercury completes an orbit every 88 days, and passes between the Earth and the Sun every 116 days.
But its orbit is tilted in relation to Earth’s, which means it usually appears — from our perspective — to pass above or below the Sun.
Thirteen times each century, however, the two orbits align such that even amateur astronomers can see the tiny planet tens of millions of kilometres (miles) away.
According to Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), most of Western Europe, the western parts of North and West Africa, eastern North America, and most of South America will be able to view the entire transit, which will last from 1112 GMT to 1842 GMT.
The rest of north and south America, the eastern Pacific, the remainder of Africa and most of Asia, will see parts of the event..
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mercury-rising-astronomers-gear-planetary-alignment-032838938.html
In Tuesday’s municipal election, Ridgewood voters will choose three fellow residents to serve on the Village Council for the next four years.
To preserve and protect Ridgewood by moving forward cautiously and thoughtfully, we recommend voting for:
ROW 1 Jeffrey VOIGT
ROW 4 Bernadette COGHLAN-WALSH
ROW 6 Ramon M. HACHE
Polls will be open from 6 AM to 8 PM on Tuesday, May 10.
These independent candidates are not running as a team. They are neither beholden to the current “council majority” nor supported by developers.
Please click “X” next to the three candidates with little slogans above their names on the ballot in three languages.
Every vote counts. In 2012, the die was cast by fewer than 10 votes.
Hoping for a large turnout!
Our recent newsletters on this election are posted at preservegraydon.org.
Swimmingly,
Marcia Ringel and Alan Seiden
Co-Chairs, The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
To my fellow residents:
This coming village council election on May 10 is likely to be the most important in Ridgewood’s history. It sounds like I am exaggerating, but unfortunately I am not. In the four years since most of the current council was in place, Ridgewood has set in motion three projects–a doubling in size of Valley hospital, high-density luxury housing, and a parking garage–all at the same time. This to me signals a move toward urbanization and is not the reason we moved to Ridgewood!
I did not know this when we moved here in 2013, but the village council plays an enormous role in the village. Residents elect council members, and from that five-person group come the mayor and deputy mayor. Those two roles are largely ceremonial but as a group the five people have a LOT of say in the village, including appointing the planning board, zoning board, financial advisory committee, village manager, and more.
These three projects coming to a head now are because the three exiting members of the board have voted lockstep in a bloc. We want three INDEPENDENT voices bringing different viewpoints to the table, who will manage measured growth and development holistically across the village–taking into account infrastructure, schools, safety, and more–and who will work WITH residents as well as developers toward right-sized projects instead of letting the floodgates open.
For this reason I am voting Voigt, Walsh, and Hache
I’ve spoken to many of you regarding the high-density housing issue. I’m not against development, I’m against massive development. 35 units an acre is too much and sets a precedent for future development. More importantly is the impact it will have on our school system. Our schools are already overcrowded and I’m not willing to stand by and sacrifice our children’s education.
This next part is probably too much in the trenches, but it’s important to know the hospital SUED the village–the planning board and the village council–after its expansion plan was rejected in 2014, and the next village council is our best shot at fighting back. Since it launched its expansion plan 10 years ago, Valley continues to fail to give us a viable compromise–the last one offered a mere 3 percent reduction. That’s not a typo.
I, and the candidates I’m endorsing, are not anti-hospital. not anti-modernization, anti-change, anti-development. I am anti-doubling in size and projects that are too big. Valley wants buildings the size of Paramus Park Mall in a residential area surrounded by homes–this will in effect dramatically, and forever, change the fabric of the entire village.
I could go on and on, but appreciate your taking the time to read this! Thank you for voting May 10.
Christopher Kaufman
file photo by Boyd Loving
I enjoyed reading Ms. McWilliams’ letter. I applaud her courage in expressing her views openly and not hiding anonymously behind James’s apron strings. I also think she writes well, which makes me think she should be hired to edit the Ridgewood Pravda, I mean Blog, with its 5th Grade English.
Having said that I disagree with most of the opinions she expressed. Let’s start out with the three candidates she is supporting:
Bernadette Walsh: I like Bernadette and I think she is sincere. But let us not forget the 7% tax increase happened under her watch. As did the disappearance of $500,000 in quarters from the town coffers. She also supported keeping the part time Village Manager who ran the most inefficient Village Hall in Ridgewood history. Compare that to where we stand with Roberta’s capable management.
Ramon Hache: Kennedy once said beauty is grace under pressure and here Ramon buckled under pressure. His braggadocio in wanting to take Valley to the mat legally is pandering at its worst. Ramon, face reality, the courts will not let Valley not renew. You are burning our money on a useless legal crusade.
Jeff Voigt: A very bright person who can do a lot for Ridgewood if he was wasn’t out to out-Trump with his Trumpian appeal to the basest of people’s instincts. What miserable pandering.
Yes, I support Rich Brooks, Evan Weitz, and Janice Willett. As I mentioned in a letter to the editor, they represent the decent Ridgewood we moved to 47 years ago.. They also have the integrity, intelligence, capability, and courage to move us with confidence into the future. Yes, let us think Ridgewood 2020 and not just fight these rear guard actions. That does no one any good.
Regarding Ms. McWilliams comments re Valley, the apartments, the garage, etc., I think they ring hollow. I don’t see how these issues could have been discussed more openly allowing EVERYONE an opportunity to express their views. Face it, the Vocalantis are against any change and they think they can preserve Camelot by soaking it in formaldehyde. Believe me that is the best way to ensure killing it. To preserve you have to renew, and renewal and adjusting to change can be painful. But then a painless society is a dead society. Read America’s history. We are not where we are because we have avoided painful choices.
After one of the most turbulent weeks in New Jersey politics since the North Jersey casino expansion vote earlier this year, Atlantic City’s assets are one step closer to being sold off as part of a state takeover championed by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), Governor Chris Christie and South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross III. Opposition to that takeover plan hit a major roadblock on Thursday as three state Assembly members stayed home, leading Speaker Vince Prieto (D-32) to delay posting his alternative takeover bill until he could secure a 41-vote majority. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
May 8,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, An early afternoon wind gust felled a very large rain soaked tree limb on the property of RIdgewood High School, 627 East Ridgewood Avenue, RIdgewood on Sunday, 05/08. RIdgewood PD & FD personnel responded due to a report of wires being entangled in the felled branch. Firefighters were able to reattach the downed cable to an outside building wall, and a private tree contractor was called to remove the limb.
