In Trenton, Senate Democrats now propose to continue bankrupting the state by cutting taxes when we can’t remotely afford it, while offering no means to cover the cost. Tom Moran, Star-Ledger Editorial Board Read more
Perhaps it was fitting that it came up at an event named after New Jersey’s funniest governor. The Auditor, NJ.com Read more
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mayor Lizette Parker. Mayor Parker was a committed and principled advocate for the town she served and the people of Teaneck. Lizette’s role in our community leaves a bright legacy that will shine forever. My thoughts and prayers are with her friends, her family, and her beloved town during this difficult time.” Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05)
Funeral to be held Saturday for Teaneck mayor
Arrangements have been scheduled for the township’s mayor, Lizette Parker, who died Sunday. Mary Diduch, The Record Read more
Teaneck Mayor Lizette Parker dies at 44
Township Mayor Lizette Parker, the first African American female mayor in Teaneck and in Bergen County, died on Sunday, her family said. She was 44. Jeff Green and Jim Norman, The Record Read more
We live in a world of constant entertainment – but is too much stimulation boring?
Sandi Mann
Sunday 24 April 2016 01.00 EDT
It amazes me when people proclaim that they are bored. Actually, it amazes me that I am ever bored, or that any of us are. With so much to occupy us these days, boredom should be a relic of a bygone age – an age devoid of the internet, social media, multi-channel TV, 24-hour shopping, multiplex cinemas, game consoles, texting and whatever other myriad possibilities are available these days to entertain us.
Yet despite the plethora of high-intensity entertainment constantly at our disposal, we are still bored. Up to half of us are “often bored” at home or at school, while more than two- thirds of us are chronically bored at work. We are bored by paperwork, by the commute and by dull meetings. TV is boring, as is Facebook and other social media. We spend our weekends at dull parties, watching tedious films or listening to our spouses drone on about their day. Our kids are bored – bored of school, of homework and even of school holidays.
There are a number of explanations for our ennui. This, in fact, is part of the problem – we are overstimulated. The more entertained we are the more entertainment we need in order to feel satisfied . The more we fill our world with fast-moving, high-intensity, ever-changing stimulation, the more we get used to that and the less tolerant we become of lower levels.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/24/why-are-we-so-bored
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the RHS Advanced Latin Academic Team defeated the Central and Southern Regional champions, Ridge High School and Clearview Regional High School, respectively, in a fiercely contested showdown on April 23, earning them the title the team has worked so hard to achieve: New Jersey State Certamen champions. These RHS students were best in state, or runners-up, in all the academic tests and took first-place ribbons in athletic competitions as well.
Written Tests:
1st place, Mythology: Peter Psathas
1st place, Latin Grammar, Peter Psathas
1st place, Latin Vocabulary and English Derivatives
1st place, Roman Life and Culture, Charlotte Kahan/Anthony Tokarz (tied)
1st place, Latin Oratory (memorize and recite), Anthony Tokarz
2nd place, Latin Vocabulary and English Derivatives, Charlotte Kahan
2nd place, Roman History, Anthony Tokarz
Olympics:
1st place, Softball Throw: Charlotte Kahan
1st place, Boys’ 100 Meter: James Psathas
Catherine Venturini is Latin Club, Latin Honor Society and Latin Academic Team Advisor; Stefanie Giganti is Latin Teacher.
Book Details
Past practices are what got us in to the mess we’re in now in the state. Nothing about the status quo is acceptable. NJ and Bergen need clearer thinking and smarter decision making, not payments based on “past practices” without written policy or contractual obligation.
When taxpayer funds are involved, the process should be transparent. Let’s remember this man let Tommy Boy Rica walk free after the theft of at least $500,000 in quarters (and most likely much more) from the Village of Ridgewwod, and now his friend Mordaga, who resigned from Hackensack PD, has an unsealed case to deal with.
Ridgewood NJ, all this talk about Valley Hospital being the “Crown Jewel” of Ridgewood ,but the reality is far different . Valley is according to the new OMNIA Health Alliance at “Tier 2” hospital .
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey announced the OMNIA Alliance, a partnership with 22 hospitals which have agreed to accept smaller reimbursements but would be financially rewarded for quality and keeping people healthy. Another 14 hospitals Horizon designated as “tier one” facilities also agreed to accept lower reimbursement in exchange for higher patient volume.
The 14 were ;Chilton Medical Center; Clara Maass Medical Center; Community Medical Center; Hackensack UMC in Hackensack, Mountainside and Pascack Valley; Hunterdon Medical Center; Inspira Medical Center Elmer, Vineland and Woodbury; Jersey City Medical Center; Monmouth Medical Center and its Southern Campus; Morristown Medical Center; Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; Newton Medical Center; Overlook Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway, Somerset, New Brunswick and Hamilton; Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Hackettstown Medical Center will be added after it is acquired by Atlantic Health
However the remaining 36 hospitals in the state, were left out. The hospitals included in Tier 2 (based on the latest available information) are Bayonne Hospital; Capital Health in Trenton and Hopewell; CentraState Medical Center in Freehold; East Orange General Hospital; Hoboken University Medical Center; Holy Name Hospital; JFK Medical Center, Edison; Kennedy Health System in Cherry Hill, Stratford, and Turnersville; Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Willingboro; Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, Secaucus; and Memorial Hospital of Salem County.
Also in Horizon’s Tier 2: Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Camden; Raritan Bay Medical Center – Old Bridge and Perth Amboy; Saint Clare’s Hospital in Denville, Dover, and Sussex; Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Newark; Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick; St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton; St. Luke’s Warren Hospital; St. Mary’s Hospital, Passaic; Trinitas Hospital, Elizabeth; University Hospital, Newark; Valley Hospital, Ridgewood; Virtua, Berlin, Marlton, Mount Holly, and Voorhees.
Horizon created OMNIA and the tiered network plan in an attempt to curb health insurance costs and provide cheaper options to employers and consumers.
Horizon examined Medicare data and looked for the hospitals with the lowest readmission rates and best scores on patient, safety and quality measures. Hospitals needed to offer a range of inpatient, outpatient and post-acute care services. They had to be using or prepared to use a “value-based” payment model that rewards preventive care. They had to score high on patient satisfaction surveys. Horizon also favored the largest hospitals and systems, including those that serve a sizable number of Horizon members.
Horizon claims they are not passing judgement on the quality of the hospital. Consumers who go to Tier 1 hospitals and doctors pay lower copays and out-of-pocket costs. They can visit hospitals and doctors classified as Tier 2 but pay higher costs when doing so.
April 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, from the “take back Ridgewood ” Facebook group ,Glen Rock is removing ‘non resident parking’ from the train station and moving non residents a block away. In Ridgewood, our Mayor and his team want to add more non resident commuter parking near the train station for political gains. We need to be informed and vote against his team on May 10th. We can’t afford 4 more years of this.
Glen Rock’s Borough Hall station parking lot to be designated for local commuters beginning May 1
BY RICHARD DE SANTA
STAFF WRITER |
GLEN ROCK GAZETTE
April 26,2016
Ridgewood NJ, “someone was sleeping while your taxes were going up!”Looks like Village Council Candidate Janice Willet snoozed her way through every single one of the Valley whispering woods hearings. Literally every meeting. We only bothered to photo the one. I assure you meeting I almost covered her with a blanket. Sometimes, nothing could wake her, other times she just dozed.
Reuters
April 25, 2016
April 25 (Reuters) – – Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas.
The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak:
How do people become infected?
Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
How do you treat Zika?
There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots.
How dangerous is it?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years.
According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years.
Brazil has confirmed 1,113 cases of microcephaly, and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 3,836 suspected cases of microcephaly. Colombia has confirmed two cases of microcephaly linked to Zika.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/why-zika-virus-causing-alarm-214755334.html
Apr 25, 2016
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) today called upon U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy and EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck to re-evaluate their decision to place a barrier over the 166,000 tons of contaminated materials at the Ringwood Superfund Site instead of pursuing complete removal of the toxic substances.
Recent discoveries of significant levels of 1,4-dioxane, a probable human carcinogen that may result in liver, kidney, and upper respiratory damage, at levels close to 100 times the state maximum standard, raises new concerns about the EPA’s decision to cap the site. Congressman Garrett demands that the EPA identify all potential toxic substances that may be present at the Ringwood Superfund Site and ensure that a new cleanup plan rectifies the presence of all hazardous substances once and for all.
“As you know, the Ringwood Superfund Site is a decades old and continued concern for New Jersey residents,” said Garrett in his request to the EPA. “The discovery of an additional toxic substance has increased public concern about the EPA’s decision to approve the plan to cap the site. New Jersey residents deserve to know that a plan to mitigate hazardous substances in their communities will be successful and will permanently remove the public health threat posed to them.”
The Congressman is also demanding answers from a February 2016 letter where he requested information about groundwater tests when it came to light that they had knowledge of the presence of 1,4-dioxane. To date, the EPA has not responded to these requests.
Congressman Garrett’s Specific Requests from the EPA:
1. Is the EPA reevaluating the decision to cap the site instead of a full cleanup due to the discovery of a new toxic substance and the possibility that other toxic substances may be present?
2. What were the reasons behind approving the plan to cap the site despite the EPA initially supporting a full cleanup?
3. What are the criteria for pursuing the plan to cap the site and does the presence of a new toxic substance affect these criteria?
To read the entire letter, click here.
photo by ArtChick
It could be well into the summer shore season before New Jersey residents and out-of-state drivers have any certainty on whether the state’s gas tax is going up to pay for road and bridge work. Associated Press Read more
New Jersey’s nonprofit charitable organizations improve people’s lives every day, and offer much-needed support in times of crisis. Tom Kean Jr., Star-Ledger Read more
