#1. so here is a pic of Paul Vagianos’ invitation to his party at the “clubhouse”, with his fellow restaurants owners,
landlords, developers, investors and everyone else who stands to make a HUGE PROFIT off of the garage and multifamily housing.
#2 But you can only play with us “if you sign a pledge”
This is absurd.The three respectable candidates will absolutely not be signing this ridiculous pledge.
Thank you Jeff Voigt, Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh and Ramon Hache for pledging to represent the people of Ridgewood as independent candidates.
Paul Vagianos, landlord/restaurant owner – hanging up sign at KEN SMITH SITE, recently rezoned for high density housing at 35 units per acre – under the guidance of PLANNING BOARD ATTORNEY GAIL PRICE – wife of Rich Brooks, Village Council Candidate –
Sign endorses the Three New AMIGOS…slogan is Ridgewood 2020 A Clear Vision For Our Future .Shouldn’t RIDGEWOOD be thinking PROGRESS well past 2020?
#3 A sign supporting Richard Brooks, Evan Weitz, and Janice Willett for Village Council recently appeared in the window of the former Ken Smith Motors building, a property now managed by Onyx Equities, LLC. Ridgewood resident and local property developer John Saraceno is a principal of Onyx Equties, LLC.
Results from Nation’s Report Card show slight dip from two years earlier
By
LESLIE BRODY
April 27, 2016 12:01 a.m. ET
239 COMMENTS
Only 37% of American 12th-graders were academically prepared for college math and reading in 2015, a slight dip from two years earlier, according to test scores released Wednesday.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” said that share was down from an estimated 39% in math and 38% in reading in 2013.
Educators and policy makers have long lamented that many seniors get diplomas even though they aren’t ready for college, careers or the military. Those who go to college often burn through financial aid or build debt while taking remedial classes that don’t earn credits toward a degree.
Bill Bushaw, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the test, said the board was pleased that high school graduation rates were rising, but disappointed in the lack of progress in boosting students’ skills and knowledge.
“These numbers aren’t going the way we want,” he said. “We just have to redouble our efforts to prepare our students to close opportunity gaps.”
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, and thank you to the Center for the National Interest for honoring me with this invitation.
I would like to talk today about how to develop a new foreign policy direction for our country – one that replaces randomness with purpose, ideology with strategy, and chaos with peace.
It is time to shake the rust off of America’s foreign policy. It’s time to invite new voices and new visions into the fold.
The direction I will outline today will also return us to a timeless principle. My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people, and American security, above all else. That will be the foundation of every decision that I will make.
America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration.
But to chart our path forward, we must first briefly look back.
We have a lot to be proud of. In the 1940s we saved the world. The Greatest Generation beat back the Nazis and the Japanese Imperialists.
Then we saved the world again, this time from totalitarian Communism. The Cold War lasted for decades, but we won.
Democrats and Republicans working together got Mr. Gorbachev to heed the words of President Reagan when he said: “tear down this wall.”
History will not forget what we did.
Unfortunately, after the Cold War, our foreign policy veered badly off course. We failed to develop a new vision for a new time. In fact, as time went on, our foreign policy began to make less and less sense.
Logic was replaced with foolishness and arrogance, and this led to one foreign policy disaster after another.
We went from mistakes in Iraq to Egypt to Libya, to President Obama’s line in the sand in Syria. Each of these actions have helped to throw the region into chaos, and gave ISIS the space it needs to grow and prosper.
It all began with the dangerous idea that we could make Western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interest in becoming a Western Democracy.
We tore up what institutions they had and then were surprised at what we unleashed. Civil war, religious fanaticism; thousands of American lives, and many trillions of dollars, were lost as a result. The vacuum was created that ISIS would fill. Iran, too, would rush in and fill the void, much to their unjust enrichment.
Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster.
No vision, no purpose, no direction, no strategy.
Today, I want to identify five main weaknesses in our foreign policy.
First, Our Resources Are Overextended
President Obama has weakened our military by weakening our economy. He’s crippled us with wasteful spending, massive debt, low growth, a huge trade deficit and open borders.
Our manufacturing trade deficit with the world is now approaching $1 trillion a year. We’re rebuilding other countries while weakening our own.
Ending the theft of American jobs will give us the resources we need to rebuild our military and regain our financial independence and strength.
I am the only person running for the Presidency who understands this problem and knows how to fix it.
Secondly, our allies are not paying their fair share.
Our allies must contribute toward the financial, political and human costs of our tremendous security burden. But many of them are simply not doing so. They look at the United States as weak and forgiving and feel no obligation to honor their agreements with us.
In NATO, for instance, only 4 of 28 other member countries, besides America, are spending the minimum required 2% of GDP on defense.
We have spent trillions of dollars over time – on planes, missiles, ships, equipment – building up our military to provide a strong defense for Europe and Asia. The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense – and, if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves.
The whole world will be safer if our allies do their part to support our common defense and security.
A Trump Administration will lead a free world that is properly armed and funded.
Thirdly, our friends are beginning to think they can’t depend on us.
We’ve had a president who dislikes our friends and bows to our enemies.
He negotiated a disastrous deal with Iran, and then we watched them ignore its terms, even before the ink was dry.
Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and, under a Trump Administration, will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
All of this without even mentioning the humiliation of the United States with Iran’s treatment of our ten captured sailors.
In negotiation, you must be willing to walk. The Iran deal, like so many of our worst agreements, is the result of not being willing to leave the table. When the other side knows you’re not going to walk, it becomes absolutely impossible to win.
At the same time, your friends need to know that you will stick by the agreements that you have with them.
President Obama gutted our missile defense program, then abandoned our missile defense plans with Poland and the Czech Republic.
He supported the ouster of a friendly regime in Egypt that had a longstanding peace treaty with Israel – and then helped bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in its place.
Israel, our great friend and the one true Democracy in the Middle East, has been snubbed and criticized by an Administration that lacks moral clarity. Just a few days ago, Vice President Biden again criticized Israel – a force for justice and peace – for acting as an impediment to peace in the region.
President Obama has not been a friend to Israel. He has treated Iran with tender love and care and made it a great power in the Middle East – all at the expense of Israel, our other allies in the region and, critically, the United States.
We’ve picked fights with our oldest friends, and now they’re starting to look elsewhere for help.
Fourth, our rivals no longer respect us.
In fact, they are just as confused as our allies, but an even bigger problem is that they don’t take us seriously any more.
When President Obama landed in Cuba on Air Force One, no leader was there to meet or greet him – perhaps an incident without precedent in the long and prestigious history of Air Force One.
Then, amazingly, the same thing happened in Saudi Arabia — it’s called no respect.
Do you remember when the President made a long and expensive trip to Copenhagen, Denmark to get the Olympics for our country, and, after this unprecedented effort, it was announced that the United States came in fourth place?
He should have known the result before making such an embarrassing commitment.
The list of humiliations goes on and on.
President Obama watches helplessly as North Korea increases its aggression and expands even further with its nuclear reach.
Our president has allowed China to continue its economic assault on American jobs and wealth, refusing to enforce trade rules – or apply the leverage on China necessary to rein in North Korea.
He has even allowed China to steal government secrets with cyber attacks and engage in industrial espionage against the United States and its companies.
We’ve let our rivals and challengers think they can get away with anything.
If President Obama’s goal had been to weaken America, he could not have done a better job.
Finally, America no longer has a clear understanding of our foreign policy goals.
Since the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union, we’ve lacked a coherent foreign policy.
One day we’re bombing Libya and getting rid of a dictator to foster democracy for civilians, the next day we are watching the same civilians suffer while that country falls apart.
We’re a humanitarian nation. But the legacy of the Obama-Clinton interventions will be weakness, confusion, and disarray.
We have made the Middle East more unstable and chaotic than ever before.
We left Christians subject to intense persecution and even genocide.
Our actions in Iraq, Libya and Syria have helped unleash ISIS.
And we’re in a war against radical Islam, but President Obama won’t even name the enemy!
Hillary Clinton also refuses to say the words “radical Islam,” even as she pushes for a massive increase in refugees.
After Secretary Clinton’s failed intervention in Libya, Islamic terrorists in Benghazi took down our consulate and killed our ambassador and three brave Americans. Then, instead of taking charge that night, Hillary Clinton decided to go home and sleep! Incredible.
Clinton blames it all on a video, an excuse that was a total lie. Our Ambassador was murdered and our Secretary of State misled the nation – and by the way, she was not awake to take that call at 3 o’clock in the morning.
And now ISIS is making millions of dollars a week selling Libyan oil.
This will change when I am president.
To all our friends and allies, I say America is going to be strong again. America is going to be a reliable friend and ally again.
We’re going to finally have a coherent foreign policy based upon American interests, and the shared interests of our allies.
We are getting out of the nation-building business, and instead focusing on creating stability in the world.
Our moments of greatest strength came when politics ended at the water’s edge.
We need a new, rational American foreign policy, informed by the best minds and supported by both parties, as well as by our close allies.
This is how we won the Cold War, and it’s how we will win our new and future struggles.
First, we need a long-term plan to halt the spread and reach of radical Islam.
Containing the spread of radical Islam must be a major foreign policy goal of the United States.
Events may require the use of military force. But it’s also a philosophical struggle, like our long struggle in the Cold War.
In this we’re going to be working very closely with our allies in the Muslim world, all of which are at risk from radical Islamic violence.
We should work together with any nation in the region that is threatened by the rise of radical Islam. But this has to be a two-way street – they must also be good to us and remember us and all we are doing for them.
The struggle against radical Islam also takes place in our homeland. There are scores of recent migrants inside our borders charged with terrorism. For every case known to the public, there are dozens more.
We must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies.
A pause for reassessment will help us to prevent the next San Bernardino or worse — all you have to do is look at the World Trade Center and September 11th.
And then there’s ISIS. I have a simple message for them. Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We must as, a nation, be more unpredictable. But they’re going to be gone. And soon.
Secondly, we have to rebuild our military and our economy.
The Russians and Chinese have rapidly expanded their military capability, but look what’s happened to us!
Our nuclear weapons arsenal – our ultimate deterrent – has been allowed to atrophy and is desperately in need of modernization and renewal.
Our active duty armed forces have shrunk from 2 million in 1991 to about 1.3 million today.
The Navy has shrunk from over 500 ships to 272 ships during that time.
The Air Force is about 1/3 smaller than 1991. Pilots are flying B-52s in combat missions today which are older than most people in this room.
And what are we doing about this? President Obama has proposed a 2017 defense budget that, in real dollars, cuts nearly 25% from what we were spending in 2011.
Our military is depleted, and we’re asking our generals and military leaders to worry about global warming.
We will spend what we need to rebuild our military. It is the cheapest investment we can make. We will develop, build and purchase the best equipment known to mankind. Our military dominance must be unquestioned.
But we will look for savings and spend our money wisely. In this time of mounting debt, not one dollar can be wasted.
We are also going to have to change our trade, immigration and economic policies to make our economy strong again – and to put Americans first again. This will ensure that our own workers, right here in America, get the jobs and higher pay that will grow our tax revenue and increase our economic might as a nation.
We need to think smarter about areas where our technological superiority gives us an edge. This includes 3-D printing, artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare.
A great country also takes care of its warriors. Our commitment to them is absolute. A Trump Administration will give our service men and women the best equipment and support in the world when they serve, and the best care in the world when they return as veterans to civilian life.
Finally, we must develop a foreign policy based on American interests.
Businesses do not succeed when they lose sight of their core interests and neither do countries.
Look at what happened in the 1990s. Our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were attacked and seventeen brave sailors were killed on the USS Cole. And what did we do? It seemed we put more effort into adding China to the World Trade Organization – which has been a disaster for the United States – than into stopping Al Qaeda.
We even had an opportunity to take out Osama Bin Laden, and didn’t do it. And then, we got hit at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the worst attack on our country in its history.
Our foreign policy goals must be based on America’s core national security interests, and the following will be my priorities.
In the Middle East, our goals must be to defeat terrorists and promote regional stability, not radical change. We need to be clear-sighted about the groups that will never be anything other than enemies.
And we must only be generous to those that prove they are our friends.
We desire to live peacefully and in friendship with Russia and China. We have serious differences with these two nations, and must regard them with open eyes. But we are not bound to be adversaries. We should seek common ground based on shared interests. Russia, for instance, has also seen the horror of Islamic terrorism.
I believe an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia – from a position of strength – is possible. Common sense says this cycle of hostility must end. Some say the Russians won’t be reasonable. I intend to find out. If we can’t make a good deal for America, then we will quickly walk from the table.
Fixing our relations with China is another important step towards a prosperous century. China respects strength, and by letting them take advantage of us economically, we have lost all of their respect. We have a massive trade deficit with China, a deficit we must find a way, quickly, to balance.
A strong and smart America is an America that will find a better friend in China. We can both benefit or we can both go our separate ways.
After I am elected President, I will also call for a summit with our NATO allies, and a separate summit with our Asian allies. In these summits, we will not only discuss a rebalancing of financial commitments, but take a fresh look at how we can adopt new strategies for tackling our common challenges.
For instance, we will discuss how we can upgrade NATO’s outdated mission and structure – grown out of the Cold War – to confront our shared challenges, including migration and Islamic terrorism.
I will not hesitate to deploy military force when there is no alternative. But if America fights, it must fight to win. I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary – and will only do so if we have a plan for victory.
Our goal is peace and prosperity, not war and destruction.
The best way to achieve those goals is through a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy.
With President Obama and Secretary Clinton we’ve had the exact opposite: a reckless, rudderless and aimless foreign policy – one that has blazed a path of destruction in its wake.
After losing thousands of lives and spending trillions of dollars, we are in far worse shape now in the Middle East than ever before.
I challenge anyone to explain the strategic foreign policy vision of Obama-Clinton – it has been a complete and total disaster.
I will also be prepared to deploy America’s economic resources. Financial leverage and sanctions can be very persuasive – but we need to use them selectively and with determination. Our power will be used if others do not play by the rules.
Our friends and enemies must know that if I draw a line in the sand, I will enforce it.
However, unlike other candidates for the presidency, war and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy without diplomacy. A superpower understands that caution and restraint are signs of strength.
Although not in government service, I was totally against the War in Iraq, saying for many years that it would destabilize the Middle East. Sadly, I was correct, and the biggest beneficiary was Iran, who is systematically taking over Iraq and gaining access to their rich oil reserves – something it has wanted to do for decades. And now, to top it all off, we have ISIS.
My goal is to establish a foreign policy that will endure for several generations.
That is why I will also look for talented experts with new approaches, and practical ideas, rather than surrounding myself with those who have perfect resumes but very little to brag about except responsibility for a long history of failed policies and continued losses at war.
Finally, I will work with our allies to reinvigorate Western values and institutions. Instead of trying to spread “universal values” that not everyone shares, we should understand that strengthening and promoting Western civilization and its accomplishments will do more to inspire positive reforms around the world than military interventions.
These are my goals, as president.
I will seek a foreign policy that all Americans, whatever their party, can support, and which our friends and allies will respect and welcome.
The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of enemies, that we are always happy when old enemies become friends, and when old friends become allies.
To achieve these goals, Americans must have confidence in their country and its leadership again.
Many Americans must wonder why our politicians seem more interested in defending the borders of foreign countries than their own.
Americans must know that we are putting the American people first again. On trade, on immigration, on foreign policy – the jobs, incomes and security of the American worker will always be my first priority.
No country has ever prospered that failed to put its own interests first. Both our friends and enemies put their countries above ours and we, while being fair to them, must do the same.
We will no longer surrender this country, or its people, to the false song of globalism.
The nation-state remains the true foundation for happiness and harmony. I am skeptical of international unions that tie us up and bring America down, and will never enter America into any agreement that reduces our ability to control our own affairs.
NAFTA, as an example, has been a total disaster for the U.S. and has emptied our states of our manufacturing and our jobs. Never again. Only the reverse will happen. We will keep our jobs and bring in new ones. Their will be consequences for companies that leave the U.S. only to exploit it later.
Under a Trump Administration, no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign countries.
I will view the world through the clear lens of American interests.
I will be America’s greatest defender and most loyal champion. We will not apologize for becoming successful again, but will instead embrace the unique heritage that makes us who we are.
The world is most peaceful, and most prosperous, when America is strongest.
America will continually play the role of peacemaker.
We will always help to save lives and, indeed, humanity itself. But to play that role, we must make America strong again.
We must make America respected again. And we must make America great again.
If we do that, perhaps this century can be the most peaceful and prosperous the world has ever known. Thank you.
by MATTHEW BOYLE AND ANDY BADOLATO26 Apr 20165,714
Election data compiled by Breitbart News on the Democratic Party’s primaries and caucuses in 2016 and 2008 show that turnout in is down significantly, nearly 20 percent, from the last contested election.
The data also show that the about 4.5 million fewer people have voted in the Democratic presidential contest this year versus 2008.
This year’s contest is a two-person race between Democratic Socialist
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
16%
of Vermont and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton is also a former U.S. Senator from New York, a position she held after eight years as first lady.
Hillary Clinton also ran for president in 2008, which makes this data all the more interesting: It’s essentially a comparison up against her previous failed race, when she was the frontrunning Democratic presidential candidate until then Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois blew past her late in the game taking the lead before winning the nomination and then eventually the presidency.
Back in 2008, as Obama battled Clinton, a whopping 23,715,866 people voted in primaries and caucuses nationwide in the states that have already voted this cycle. Fast forward to the next time there’s a Democratic primary for president, this year (since Obama was the incumbent president seeking reelection the primaries in 2012 were largely perfunctory), and turnout has dropped off significantly. Just 19,155,825 people have voted thus far in primaries and caucuses this cycle, a decrease of 4,560,041 voters or 19.23 percent.
The steep drop off is so significant on the Democratic side that the vast majority of states saw drops in voter participation in Democratic primaries and caucuses. The following contests saw less voters participate on the Democratic side in the primaries and caucuses than 2008’s contests: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin, Vermont, American Samoa, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Washington state, and Wyoming.
Only a handful of states have seen increases in participation on the Democratic side, including Arizona, Michigan, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas and Maine. With the exception of Arizona, Sanders won—and Clinton lost—each of those contests. That means the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, has only increased Democratic primary votes in one of the states she won this cycle as compared with 2008’s primary turnout. Every other state she has won this year has seen less turnout from last go-around.
PAUL ROSENGREN, DIRECTOR, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS – PSEG
Ridgewood NJ, Several years ago, I was at my first meeting of the Glen Rock Shade Tree Advisory Committee. There had been a delay in awarding the contract for the annual town planting of trees along the streets and two committee members were debating whether to still plant, or wait until after winter.
One of the long time members of the committee leaned over and asked me, “Paul do you know when is the best time to plant a tree?’ I said I didn’t. He responded, “30 years ago.”
When you think about it, this is so true. When you plant a small tree in the ground it is really an act of faith. That it will grow — despite dangers from deer, landscapers or changing climate — into a glorious tree.
And in some way, the planting of that tree is an ultimate act of paying it forward. Every day, each of us benefits from trees that were planted 30, 50 even 100 years ago by others.
PSE&G and PSEG Long Island often get a bad rap as anti-tree because of regulations that require aggressive tree trimming. The tree trimming is designed to increase reliability and decrease local outages (the requirements stem from the great blackout of 2003 – caused by a tree). The company is instead encouraging towns to plant the right tree in the right place. For instance, in my hometown of Glen Rock, they gave us a grant to pilot the planting of smaller trees under wires.
We all know that trees are beneficial – and an almost reverence for trees has made it into our collective culture – books like The Giving Tree, the poem by Joyce Kilmer or movies like the Lorax have built on one of the country’s early tales, that of Johnny Appleseed.
It has been engrained in us that that trees are good — but I ask that you take a minute and think about the benefits of trees.
To start, trees can reduce your carbon footprint. You can plant an evergreen on the northern side of your property. When grown, it will block winter winds and lower your winter heating bills as much as 10 to 12 %.
You can plant a leaf-bearing tree on the southern side. It will provide shade in summer and cool your house reducing the need for air conditioning. When it has lost its leaves, it will let the sun through, warming your house. The US Forest Service estimates that properly placed trees reduce air conditioning needs by a third.
Trees also help with heat islands. Urban areas can be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Planting of trees has been shown to have an impact – both through the providing of shade but also as water is evaporated from leaves, they act as small air conditioners for nature.
From our early science classes, we all know that trees take in CO2 and give off oxygen. So planting of trees can also offset our carbon-spewing ways. It takes seven mature trees to remove the CO2 produced from driving 10,000 miles – assuming you get 40 miles per gallon of gas. (If you drive a car that only gets 20 miles per gallon – instead of seven, it will take 20 trees) The Department of Agriculture estimates that one acre of trees absorbs six tons of CO2 annually and provides enough oxygen to meet the needs of 18 people.
But trees clean the air in other ways as well. They remove particulates and dust from the air and pollutant gasses such as nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone — providing real benefit in terms of cleaner air in the proximity of the tree. One study has preliminarily indicated that heart disease and pulmonary disease increase as areas are devoid of trees.
They have also been shown by a study at Texas A & M to reduce stress. Not surprising since trees can enhance every human sense – they provide fragrance, stunning beauty, sounds of harbored birds, and of course the taste from their fruit.
Trees can also transform space. You can see this if you visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel NJ – tucked away next to the PNC Bank Arts Center. It is a circular stone wall memorial listing the names of those who died in that war from New Jersey. The center of the circle is terraced down to a concrete floor with a statue of fallen soldiers on one side. At the center of the circle is a large tree. With or without the tree, this scene would be moving, it would be solemn, but with the tree there is another aspect – hope.
There was more to the story I started with. After telling me that the best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, the man sat back. A few minutes later he leaned forward again and said, “Paul, do you know the second best time to plant a tree? “ I shook my head no. He said, “Today.”
As the debate continues over how to save Atlantic City from its financial crisis, a city councilman is proposing that the mayor, fellow council members and other local officials help out by taking a 20 percent pay cut. Brent Johnson, NJ.com Read more
The announcement earlier this year by state Senator Kevin O’Toole that he will not pursue reelection promptly altered the political landscape in LD40, setting in motion the emergence of a new GOP establishment ticket that surfaced fully formed this morning. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
The conservative political advocacy group created by oil billionaires David and Charles Koch has unveiled a no-frills model “Taxpayers’ Budget’’ for New Jersey, claiming there is a way to provide core services of government while freeing up money for tax relief. Bob Jordan, Asbury Park Press Read more
Ridgewood NJ, No injuries were reported following an 8:45 AM Tuesday, 04/26 mishap in front of a single family home located at 486 South Pleasant Avenue, Ridgewood in which a Village of Ridgewood sanitation truck hit a tree, toppling a large portion of it onto the truck. A PSE&G electric division troubleshooter was called to the scene to assist in the removal of an electric wire that became entangled in the fallen tree section. South Pleasant Avenue was closed to traffic between Delaware Avenue and Dorchester Road while a tree crew and PSE&G worked. Electric, phone, and cable TV services to one (1) home were temporarily disrupted. Ridgewood PD and FD personnel were on the scene to ensure the safety of neighboring residents and students in a nearby school.
Ridgewood NJ, La Bella Pizza which is located in Ridgewood New Jersey, burned down from an electrical fire on Sunday. The owner, Kenny, is such a wonderful man, he’s very nice to everyone who walks into La Bella . Please help Kenny rebuild and reopen his pizzaria with donation. Thank you so much. https://www.gofundme.com/2tf6wq3w
“Hi Everyone. I ran into Kenny from LaBella Pizzaria outside the store a little while ago. He is devastated and still in shock over the electrical fire. He told me he lost his “baby” on Sunday. I told him that we are all praying for him and we miss him, and he has our love and support. He misses us and he wants everyone to know he loves you all and he will be back as soon as he can be. He is very grateful and thankful for our prayers and concern. Please continue to pray for Kenny, he has a long road ahead rebuilding. “
Dolores Miller Parks
“Anytime I have reched out to Kenny he has been more than helpful. For example , he was supposed to do the pizza for LaX Day this weekend…..30 pies at almost nothing…..every other place in town was way more $. And while insurance does cover, it will not cover everything. A few years back I had shoulder surgery…walked in and orderd about $50 worth of food to feed the family…..he looked at me and said feel better…this is on me! LEts keep in mind….bussiness cant help every need they are apporached with……they get hit up constantly by every school in the district. Im happy Dougie took this upon himself. He saw the need, and did what he thought was right. WHile there may be some who disagree, ther are many who agree and think this is a wonderful thing!”
Nancy Kennedy
The garage is all about high density housing, not restaurants. Without it, the over development of Ridgewood cannot happen. Without over development the property owners, who paid a lot for the land, cannot make money. They need to develop the lots past what parking on the property supports to maximize rental revenue.
They are playing the long game to draw families here to multi bedroom rentals with our schools as the magnetic force. It is very simple. Problem is, our schools are over capacity and our high school is well past capacity. So, how will our schools stay at the top? They can’t. That doesn’t concern the developer, he’ll have sold by then. It will be someone else’s problem. It is simple and undeniably true. They lie about Brogan and Ken Smith parking spaces needing to be replaced, spots that are not a part of the public parking inventory. “Smiling faces with hidden agendas”.
The garage is the Trojan Horse. The village now admits, we don’t need more parking, we don’t even utilize what we have. Higher density, higher congestion, higher fees. They want a city.
We believe that Bernadette (Bernie) Coghlan-Walsh, Ramon Hache (pronounced Ra-MONE Ha-SHAY), and Jeffrey (Jeff) Voigt are the candidates most likely to heed residents’ concerns about our village’s morphing into the type of urban environment that many moved here to escape.
Bernie, Ramon, and Jeff have been endorsed by other grassroots groups in town, including Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR), protesting the near-doubling in size desired by Valley Hospital; Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR), concerned about the results of proposed high-density housing downtown; and the Schedler neighborhood, working to preserve the woods and historic house just east of Route 17. We believe that those who favor what we love about the village would be the most likely to preserve Graydon as well.
Jeff, Ramon, and Bernie are not running as a team, nor do they agree on every issue. They would cooperate to resolve issues without falling into lockstep. Independent thinking from the dais is much missed and sorely needed.
In contrast, the other three candidates have clearly been working in sync, prematurely speaking as “we,” and have been publicly endorsed by the “council majority” (mayor’s voting bloc), who have installed their campaign signs on their front lawns. In addition, the mayor has placed placards for two of these candidates on the rear deck of his car.
Of the candidates favored by the mayor, one, who moved here a few years ago, said at Candidates Night* that his long working hours and family obligations prevented him from attending past council meetings. Another would welcome the larger school population resulting from the high-density housing she supports. The third faces potential conflicts of interest as the husband of the longtime attorney for our Planning Board.
Bernie, Ramon, and Jeff would seek “more pragmatic and sensible development,” as Voigt describes his goals in a video on his website. Hache said at the League of Women Voters’ Candidates Debate that his vision included “a town with officials protecting their community from the wrong type of development.” None would override valid resident concerns to push preconceived agendas.
Our group’s name contains the key word “preserve.” We wish to preserve not only our natural, historic swimming amenity but also the small-town ambience that we moved here to enjoy. Conserving and increasing unbuilt, truly open space must be a priority of those we endorse for Village Council.
Our choices on election day will affect Ridgewood for decades to come. We urge all residents to encourage friends, neighbors, and children ages 18+ to vote in the municipal election on Tuesday, May 10. Polls will be open from 6 AM to 8 PM.
Four years ago, a handful of votes locked in the current “council majority” that has controlled the village agenda. Every vote counts.
To have a lawn sign delivered to your door or to offer to help, contact:
I know there have been many questions regarding the services for Alex Modlin tomorrow. In conversation with the family and Rabbi William Kraus they have decided to hold a service specifically for students, staff, and families who were planning on attending the funeral.
The service is as follows: Wednesday, April 27th at 10 A.M.
Louis Suburban Chapel, 13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West)
Fair Lawn, NJ, 07410
The service will last approximately 40 minutes, and Rabbi Kraus will be addressing the issue of suicide directly during the service. The family has indicated that it would be appropriate to leave a note for Alex or a remembrance such as a toy, but your presence is appreciation enough.
At the middle school age it is essential that a parent is able to accompany students to the services in order to help them process after the funeral. Several faculty members will be present at the services for the students as well.
Staff will be back at school following the service. The internment will be exclusively for family.
Put up a campaign sign, win a bundle when they screw you.
Some Village employees are reportedly fearful of retribution and have therefore chosen not to put up lawn signs supporting a candidate, or candidates, in the upcoming municipal election.
Thankfully, the United States Supreme Court recently sided with a City of Paterson, NJ employee who did receive the short end of the stick for his involvement in a local Paterson election.
It’s a shame that a good number of Village employees are fearful of exercising their respective constitutional rights, but it’s good to know they can successfully bring personal lawsuits against any bastards who elicit political payback.
Ridgewood NJ, Donald Trump moved another step closer to the Republican nomination , by sweeping 5 North East States in massive landslide victories .For the Cruz camp it was the end of the road , Ted Cruz is now mathematically eliminated . Trump won decisively in all 5 states getting a 50 plus % majority in every state and over 60% in Rhode Island and Delaware. After winning all five primaries tonight; Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania Donald Trump now has 949 delegates . The magic number is 1,237 delegates and there are still 651 available.
