Author: James

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Rurik Halaby For the Record Plants a Tree in Ridgewood

Rurik Halaby

file photo by Boyd Loving

by Rurik Halaby

Amazing scoop, worthy of Woodward and Bernstein. A Pulitzer in the offing?
For the record, I am personally supporting Rich Brooks, Evan Weitz, and Janice Willett. Rich I have known since he and Cynthia were active in the Red Cross. Evan and Janice I have only met recently.
For the record, I have not contributed a red cent to their campaign, and I have no plans to do so.
For the record I never interviewed them before I endorsed them and so I don’t know their positions on Valley, the Apartments, the Garage or Schedler.
For the record I am supporting them because they are people of the highest integrity, who embody the decent Ridgewood we moved to 47 years ago. People with vision and intelligence to help us meet the challenges of the future.
For the record, I don’t have a foggy idea who Valley is supporting if they are supporting anyone. I support Valley’s Renewal because the interests of Ridgewood’s Residents are best served with a world class hospital keeping up to date. And yes, wake up and smell the coffee, the courts will no BUT support Valley, Ridgewood’s Crown Jewel. And No, Valley does not pay me. It does not pay my wife either. She is a long-term volunteer who would be rich if she got paid minimum wage for every hour she spent volunteering there.
For the record, for you miscreants who criticize my wife: Ask the 1,000 people who enjoyed yesterday’s Daffodil Festival what they thought of the event which she organized. If every one of you misfits would spend a minute volunteering for every hour you spend belly aching, Ridgewood would be the proverbial Camelot you think you live in.
For the record for you ignorami who criticized my wife for planting daffodils and day lilies in the CBD, the topic of the Festival was to protect the pollinators. She was able to obtain a large supply of milkweed seed which grade school kids are planting at Twinney’s and elsewhere.
For Anon 1:16:
Rurik Halaby is a long-term resident who cares about the future of Ridgewood. Identify yourself and I will be pleased to discuss what Ridgewood is going through.
Rurik Halaby is the person who paid out of his own pocket for two mailers to go out to every household in Ridgewood encouraging people to vote. And to vote for whoever. But to vote.
Rurik Halaby, 75 years old, believes in the old Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

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Reader says NO to Full Day Kindergarten in Ridgewood

graydon_kids_theridgewoodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

I have two young kids who will be affected by this. Please get your friends and neighbors out to vote NO!

I moved to Ridgewood, in part, because it has half-day kindergarten. I have a child who was in kindergarten last year–it was non-stop busywork and worksheets. No toys or play. No time for socialization. No recess. Teachers who wanted 5 year-olds to sit still. It was completely age-inappropriate and the curriculum (coupled with the stressed-out teacher) was the perfect recipe for making children hate school. I thanked God it was only half a day and did not make my daughter miserable! My wife and I both work (she-part time), but half day kindergarten enabled us to make sure our child had time to run around and play in the afternoon (and my wife got those precious afternoons with her on the days she was not working! You never get those back.)

We DO NOT want full-day kindergarten. And there are many other parents like us here whose voices are being drowned out (or who did not even know this issue was on the docket).

The parents I know who do want full-day have the ability to be with their child in the afternoon AND/OR have the financial ability to hire child care or send their kids to the afternoon program of their choice. They are annoyed they have to be bothered to do so, especially because mid-day pick-up/drop-off interrupts their day so!!! (And, yes, many, many of these parents complainig so bitterly are affluent mothers who are at the gym, playing tennis, having lunch, etc.)

Let these parents PAY to have their kids in school all day, if that is what they need so desperately. Their desire to play tennis or not hire childcare should NOT be more important than our desire to spend time with our child and let a 5 year-old do what ALL the research says is crucial at this age: have unstructured play and time for socialization.

Please vote NO! Help the poor kids who do not have a voice here. I am sure that if they were polled, THEY would all vote this terrible idea down! Give them one last gasp before the rat race, with its tutors and sports trainers engulfs them! They will be better-off, academically, socially, and psychologically, in the long run! Thank you!

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Juan Williams: Ryan faces sea of troubles

paul ryan

By Juan Williams – 04/18/16 06:00 AM EDT

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) last week turned his back on calls for him to save his party as a last-minute candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. His excuse was that he had a lot of work to do in the House.

He’s not lying.

The first order of business is protecting the GOP majority from the prospect of collapse withDonald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) at the top of the ticket in November. Right now, about 20 of the 30 Republican House seats the Democrats need to win to claim the majority are in danger.

To try to reinforce the party’s defenses against that challenge, Ryan had to break fundraising records in the first quarter of the year, hauling in $11 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He needs to beat that pace in the second quarter.

And Ryan will have to find those dollars while Trump continues to whip the GOP base into a frenzy against the party’s Washington establishment— including raising the specter of riots at the Republican National Convention. There is no more obvious personification of that establishment than the party’s top elected official – the very same Speaker.

Trump is increasing the pressure with daily accusations that the establishment is manipulating the delegate selection rules to steal the nomination from him.

https://thehill.com/opinion/juan-williams/276555-juan-williams-ryan-faces-sea-of-troubles

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45% of Americans pay no federal income tax

Taxes-1

Published: Apr 18, 2016 1:58 p.m. ET

Many Americans don’t have to worry about giving Uncle Sam part of their hard-earned cash for their income taxes this year.

An estimated 45.3% of American households — roughly 77.5 million — will pay no federal individual income tax, according to data for the 2015 tax year from the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington-based research group. (Note that this does not necessarily mean they won’t owe their states income tax.)

Roughly half pay no federal income tax because they have no taxable income, and the other roughly half get enough tax breaks to erase their tax liability, explains Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/45-of-americans-pay-no-federal-income-tax-2016-02-24

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Some thoughts, facts, and charts for Tax Day: Bring us back to 1913 (or even better, bring us back to 1912!)

Taxes_000001382849Large

Mark J. Perry@Mark_J_Perry

April 14, 2016 11:38 am

Tomorrow is April 15, which means we are approaching the deadline for filing (and paying) our federal and state income taxes (extended to April 18 this year because of Emancipation Day), and that means it’s time for my annual post at tax time to help put things in perspective.

1. Some Historical Perspective. “In the beginning” when the US federal income tax was first introduced in 1913, it used to be a lot, lot simpler and a lot easier to file taxes; so easy in fact that it was basically like filling out your federal tax return on a postcard.

For example, page 1 of the original IRS 1040 income tax form from 1913 appears above. There were only four pages in the original 1040 form, including: two pages of worksheets, the actual one-page 1040 form above, and only one page of instructions, view all four pages here. In contrast, just the current 1040 instructions for 2014, without any forms, runs 105 pages (down from 207 pages for 2013).

Individual federal income tax rates started at 1% in 1913, and the maximum marginal income tax rate was only 7% on incomes above $500,000 ($12.02 million in today’s dollars). The personal exemption in 1913 was $3,000 for individuals ($72,000 in today’s dollars) and $4,000 for married couples ($96,000 in today’s dollars), meaning that very few Americans had to pay federal income tax since the average income in 1913 was only about $750. The Tax Foundation has historical federal income tax rates for every year between 1913 and 2013 here for tax brackets expressed in both nominal dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars.

https://www.aei.org/publication/some-thoughts-facts-and-charts-for-tax-day-bring-us-back-to-1913-or-better-yet-bring-us-back-to-1912/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=perrytaxday16

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Ridgewood Bound NJT Train Passes Over Man Lying Between Tracks

ridgewood train station

April 18,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, NJT Authorities say a man lying between the railroad tracks was not injured after a New Jersey Transit Main Line train passed over him.

The Suffern bond train departed from Hoboken on Saturday. There were no reported injuries , but the train was delayed for nearly an hour while the incident was investigated in Elmwood Parked .

The man who’s name has not been released is now facing a charge of interfering with transportation following the incident .

It’s not clear why the man was lying between the tracks or how long he had been there before the train went over him. But authorities say he appeared to be drunk and he was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

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How to graduate high school without passing PARCC

RHS_BEST_theridgewoodblog

By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 18, 2016 at 8:10 AM, updated April 18, 2016 at 10:20 AM

TRENTON — With PARCC testing in full swing this month in New Jersey schools, students have likely heard a lot about how the exams can help them meet thestate’s graduation requirements.

The tests, called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams, are one way high school students can fulfill the graduation requirement for standardized testing. But current high school students don’t have to pass PARCC exams, or even take them, in order to graduate.

Younger students might be required to take PARCC tests when they get to high school. But they will also have fallback options, such as a retest, if they don’t pass the tests the first time they take them.

https://www.nj.com/education/2016/04/how_to_graduate_high_school_without_passing_parcc.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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Ways to Ridgewood Residents can Show Gratitude on Four Military Appreciation Days This May

flagpole theridgewoodblog.net 2

April 18,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  May is National Military Appreciation Month, making it a great time to show appreciation to active duty military members and veterans. There are over 2 million active duty members of the military and reserves, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau there are over 19 million veterans in the country. There are millions of those who have served our nation, deserving the appreciation this May, and numerous ways to show it.

“The strength of our great nation comes from our military strength and the dedication of the men and women that serve, making it crucial that we do everything we can to show our support and gratitude,” explains Nicole Motsek, executive director of the EOD Warrior Foundation. “We should show our gratitude everyday and May is a great month to make added efforts to support our active duty personnel and our veterans.”

Some of the recognition days this month include:

May 1, 2016 – Loyalty Day (affirming loyalty to the country)
May 6, 2016 – Military Spouse Appreciation Day
May 13, 2016 — Children of Fallen Patriots Day
May 21, 2016 – Armed Forces Day

Here are 7 ways to show appreciation to active duty military members and veterans this May:

  1. Support and Donate to a charity. Choose a charity to support, such as the EOD Warrior Foundation, which helps EOD veterans and military families. There are a lot of military and veteran charities that fill important gaps that are government does not and none can accomplish their mission without the financial support of the public.
  2. Donating a few hours per week or month helps takes the stress off of smaller organizations and allow them to accomplish more without outlaying salaries. Volunteering also often gives you a great feeling of pride.
  3. Host a fundraiser. Find a specific cause that you care about, such as helping ensure children of fallen EOD Warriors have opportunities for higher education, host a fundraiser to support the EODWF scholarship program. There are several innovative ways to fundraise from community garage sales, pie baking cook-off, or other such events.
  4. Hire a veteran. Many veterans have a difficult time transitioning back into civilian life. You can help make it easier by giving them an opportunity for a job. Veterans are well disciplined employees with great work ethic and commitment to mission success.
  5. Support veteran-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 9 percent of businesses are veteran-owned. Seek out local ones in your community are and share the news with others.
  6. Visit the VA hospital. If you have a VA hospital near you, stop in and visit the patients. There may be things you can do to brighten their day, such as reading to them, playing board games, or delivering some fresh-baked snacks.
  7. Help a veteran or active duty family. Many active duty military servicemen and women away from home, there are families in need of help. Find a family in your community, and offer to deliver a home-cooked meal, make small home repairs, mow the lawn, or run errands.

“There are many things that we can do to help show our appreciation and support to those who help keep our country safe and free,” added Motsek. “If everyone just does one thing this month to help active duty members or veterans it would add up and make a big difference.”

The EOD Warrior Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps military EOD personnel and veterans and their families. There are around 7,000 EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) technicians on active duty, performing the most dangerous job in the military as they disarm explosive devices on the battlefields. Many EOD personnel come home with debilitating injuries, including lost limbs, blindness, paralysis, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), burns, and the invisible wounds of war, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For more information about the EOD Warrior Foundation or to host a fundraiser or learn about volunteer opportunities in support of their mission, visit the site at: https://www.eodwarriorfoundation.org/take-action.

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Atlantic Stewardship Bank Run/Walk for Housing

Atlantic Stewardship Bank
Sat, April 23, 2016
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Garret Mountain, Woodland Park, NJ

4-Mile Run & 1-Mile Family Walk Saturday, April 23, 2016, at Garret Mountain in Woodland Park, N.J.

As part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, we are continuing our commitment of supporting local nonprofit organizations by hosting a 4-mile run and 1-mile family walk on Saturday, April 23, 2016, to benefit three local Habitat for Humanity affiliates:
Paterson Habitat for Humanity
www.patersonhabitat.org
Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County
www.habitatbergen.org
Morris Habitat for Humanity
www.morrishabitat.org
Please consider joining us to support these three worthy affiliates by becoming a sponsor, by making a donation or by participating in our event!
Visit our website at www.asbnow.com to learn more and to view our
Charity Run/Walk brochure.
For further information, please contact Diane Kerner at Atlantic Stewardship Bank at
(201)444-7100 or by email [email protected]
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The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, April 25

BOE_theridgewoodblog

BOARD UPDATES

BOE-REA Negotiations

Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, published on April 8, 2016.
 
Click here to view the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Post Hearing Fact Finding Brief and attachments.Click here
to view an analysis of “Unused Funds’ identified by the REA during Fact Finding Proceedings, presented at the March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on March 4, 2016.

Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

Click here to view the backup for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

BOE Meets on April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting may also be viewed on FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.

Click here to view the agenda for the April 4, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the 2016-2017 Preliminary Budget presented at the March 21, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the minutes of the March 21, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the Full Day Kindergarten Recommendation presented to the Board at their March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

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Ridgewood Board of Education $102 Million School Budget Presentation at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Tuesday Evening

BF Field

2016-2017 School Budget Presentation is Set for April 19

 

April 18,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Residents are invited to hear from Board of Education members, the superintendent and the district business administrator about the proposed 2016-17 school budget. They will be at Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium on Tuesday, April 19, from 7:30 – 9 p.m. to review the proposed budget and answer questions.

Budget includes district staff, academic offerings, extra curricular activities, and transportation; as well as continuing to maintain and improve district facilities

 2.00% Local Tax Levy Increase – Within the current state cap

 1.91% Overall Levy Increase – Local Tax Levy + Debt Service Levy

 Gen Fund State Aid – $2,196,000 Extraordinary State Aid – $1,376,345 $3,572,345 Debt Service State Aid – $440,918

 $300,000 Revenue Budgeted – from Emergency Reserve to help offset Health Benefit Costs
Click here to view the latest information on the budget, updated on April 6, 2016.

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Ridgewood Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld’s behavior seems out of step with the Nonpartisan Nature of the Village Government

Roberta

April 18,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld recent behaviors seems out of step with the The Faulkner Act, the municipal charter the Village of Ridgewood is organized around .
According to Wikipedia , The Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a mayor–council government.

This form of government provides for election of a mayor and five, seven, or nine council members. All council members may be elected at large, or some may be elected by wards; they may be partisan or nonpartisan, and serve four-year concurrent or staggered terms. There may be up to ten administrative departments.

As in all Faulkner Act municipalities, citizens in the mayor–council system enjoy the right of initiative and referendum, meaning that proposed ordinances can be introduced directly by the people without action by the local governing body. This right is exercised by preparing a conforming petition signed by 10% of the registered voters who turned out in the last general election in an odd-numbered year. Once the petition is submitted, the local governing body can vote to pass the requested ordinance, and if it refuses, it is then submitted directly to the voters. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulkner_Act_mayor%E2%80%93council)

While Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld was introduced with much over the top hype reader quickly concluded that she was more of a partisan hack than a Village Manager .

Readers say Honeymoon Over for the New Village manager

I knew someone would get around to blaming Gabbert. Its not the council fault when something goes wrong. They only take the credit when something goes right and that is far and few.

This is the same Roberta Sonenfeld who was getting such praise when she was appointed.Looks like the “partisan hack” criticism was all true .

So what your saying is that are new hand pick Village Manager didn’t notify the Council because the past Village Manager had an arranged it that way. Really. A Village Manage with any background on that intersection should have brought it to the Council especially when they live on the West Side and should be familiar with that route. This is not on the job training. Next you are going to tell us that our mayor is going to use a page from our president book. “I only found out about this when he watched the news.” Please https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-say-honey-moonover-for-the-new-village-manager/

This election cycle seems to have brought out everyone’s worst fears bordering on out and out interference with the electoral process.

Whether its disrupting petition drives or making nasty comments on Facebook Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld has been to many acting out of step with the previous nonpartisan nature of the Village government .

Reader , “Roberta has been ‘liking’ nasty posts on Facebook. Looks like gloves are completely off with her and she is fully in campaign mode. This is the lowest point in village history that I have seen in over 15 years. Village Managers have never been so much active in politics and elections.”

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Whats the Role of the Ridgewood Financial Advisory Committee in Raising Taxes

VillageHall_floods_theridgewoodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

April 18,2016
the satff of the Rmidgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, from the “Take Back Ridgewood ” Facebook page,put forth a very taxing matter. According to “Take Back Ridgewood ” , “Our taxes are going UP this year. Public hearings on the new tax rates are not scheduled until May 11th (May 10th is the election date).

Since “two council candidates Evan Weitz and Janice Willett and ranking members of the Financial Advisory Committee;
when they knock at your door to ask for your vote, please remember to ask them about their role in Financial Advisory Committee and raising our taxes.

Also ask them why the news about tax increase is not being shared with the residents until May 11th. Please share and spread the word, so everyone can make an informed decision on May 10th.”

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Richard Brooks and Evan Wetiz are running on joint ticket sponsored by Rurik

Ridgewood Yard Signs

April 18,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Richard Brooks and Evan Wetiz are running on joint ticket sponsored by Rurik. Ridgewood news has published full page ads where footer suggested that those ads were paid for by “Progress Ridgewood”. Rurik’s address was used in these ads as the address of progress ridgewood group.

Progress Ridgewood Group recently uploaded two videos with messages from Brooks and Weitz. Both with the same background and same setting. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRZHBgmFO5y7g30tg-Fsm-A/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

This confirms that both of these candidates are supported and sponsored by Rurik Hallaby. Now why this is so interesting?

Rurik has been a long time supporter of Valley. He has spent good chunk of money on this cause. Richard Brooks is spouse of the planning board attorney Gail Price. Gail Price played major role in convincing the planning board members to approve valley deal. Next step for the valley deal is village council. Rurik now wants to get Richard Brooks and Evan Weitz appointed to the council – so they can finish the work which Gail Price started.

Watch the video of Evan Weitz carefully. He thinks the decisions taken by the council yet are not “bold enough”. He wants to be even bolder than Paul, Albert and Gwenn and build even a higher density and give Valley even more than what they have gotten so far.

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RNC chief: No changes to delegate requirement likely

Reince Priebus

By Jessie Hellmann

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday the GOP likely won’t change a rule that requires candidates to have 1,237 delegates to clinch the GOP presidential nomination.

“Having a plurality of the delegates means the field has the majority. You have to have the majority, it’s the United States of America,” Priebus said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The majority rules, and that is an American concept I can’t imagine us turning our backs on.”

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he should receive the party’s nomination if he has more delegates than his opponents, even if he hasn’t reached 1,237.

Trump has ramped up his attacks against the RNC in the past week, accusing party officials of “canceling the vote” in Colorado, which had a convention to award delegates instead of a primary of caucus.

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/276595-rnc-chief-no-changes-to-delegate-requirement-likely