file photo by Boyd Loving
For lawyers arguing in federal court over whether U.S. Sen. Cory Booker should remain in a lawsuit alleging that he failed to properly oversee the city’s bankrupt watershed corporation, the question could come down to this: How far does a board member have to go to say he’s done his duty? Tim Darragh, NJ.com Read more
The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month in a case addressing whether the state must restore retired public workers’ cost-of-living adjustments. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
list of terrible governors that the media has protected some more than other
James Florio January 16, 1990January 18, 1994 Democratic
Christine Todd Whitman January 18, 1994 January 31, 2001 Republican
Donald DiFrancesco January 31, 2001 January 8, 2002 Republican
John Farmer, Jr.January 8, 2002 January 8, 2002 Republican
John O. Bennett January 8, 2002 January 12, 2002 Republican
Richard Codey January 12, 2002 January 15, 2002 Democratic
Jim McGreevey January 15, 2002 November 15, 2004 Democratic
Richard Codey November 15, 2004 January 17, 2006 Democratic ( best one since Kean)
Jon Corzine January 17, 2006 January 19, 2010 Democratic
Trying to get in front of calls for him to resign, the persistently nationally barnstorming Gov. Chris Christie today charged the media with protecting former Governor Jon Corzine when the Democrat was governor. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
BY STEFANIE DAZIO AND ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
In what has become a frustrating routine for law enforcement and school officials, thousands of students across North Jersey had their school day disrupted Friday when a series of bomb threats were phoned into at least 15 North Jersey schools, including 10 in Bergen County.
This was the second consecutive Friday that multiple schools were targeted by calls characterized by a robotic-sounding voice, and at least the third time since January, according to authorities. All of the schools were determined to be safe on Friday, as they were in the other incidents, after being inspected by law enforcement.
The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad unit received 10 calls for help from local police over a period of about 30 minutes on Friday, starting at 11 a.m., authorities said. Officials confirmed threats across the region, in Ramsey, Mahwah, Cliffside Park, Waldwick, Teaneck, Fort Lee, Englewood, Hackensack, Oradell, Paramus, Paterson, Haledon, Little Falls, Nutley and Kearny. Most of the calls came in about 11 a.m. By 1:30 p.m., officials said, there was no longer a threat.
March 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood bog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Police Department is pleased to announce the 2016 Chief Michael Feeney Jr.Police Academy will be held June 23rd to July 1st at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Applications will be available April 1st at the Ridgewood Police desk. The seven day academy sponsored by Ridgewood PBA Local 20 is open to Ridgewood residents entering 6th 7th and 8th grades in the fall of 2016. Visit the Ridgewood Police Website for more information.
March 5,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Towns like Summit NJ, have invested money in a downtown improvement plans that are costly and visionary and included ample input from residents. While Ridgewood’s lack of vision seems to be focused on fulfilling the ad hoc wishes of special interests.
The fact is we have no development plan and there is no vision. We are reactionary in everything we do. Our council rejects public input and views the public as obstacles to be overcome. Residents are never treated as if our voices matter by the council majority, they are attacked, threatened and berated .
The group Citizens for a better Ridgewood (CBR ), worked to create a vision.The CBR Facebook page says “We support a lower number of Housing per acre, still higher than the 12 that is currently allowed, but not as high as the 35 proposed. 20-24 would be generous, profitable and would compliment the character of our downtown. 20 -24 units an acre” . The CBR statement on this –https://theridgewoodblog.net/citizens-for-a-better-ridgewood-cbr-calls-for-residents-to-attend-village-councils-public-hearing-on-september-16th-730pm/ , CBR supported 20-24 units per acre because that’s density that could be built over and over (instead of spot zoning for some units).
The CBR group searched for a visionary compromise and but were labeled as racist, a clever tactic by developers to garner support from those who are uninformed. Watching council meetings, everyone who goes to speak in support of the big garage or in support of very high density housing has no specific current facts ,just an over reliance on almost absurd assumptions put forth by developers and their supporters,that amount to nothing more than fantasies from the land of make believe . Their tune is always the same: “anyone asking any question here is nay-sayer”, “now is the time or no one else will do it”, “they don’t want any garage”, “they don’t want any development”.. “loud mouth vocal minority”…NIMBY…yada yada yada.
March 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A recent letter from the Ridgewood Public Schools regarding PARCC testing being held April 18-20.
“Students who are absent due to illness, family business, etc. will have make up tests scheduled for them.
Please note that students who come to school during their grade’s scheduled testing time should be prepared to take the test. Our instructional program for the mornings listed above is PARCC testing. No alternative learning experience will be provided during testing sessions. If your child is going to be absent on a testing day for any reason, please notify the High School Principal’s Secretary. You are required to send a note to school letting the principal know why your child is absent.”
This letter does seem to contradict Procedure 2622 which was adopted by our school board in February 2015. Procedure 2622 states that on testing date “a student whose parent has provided prior written notice informing the Principal their child will not be participating in a Statewide assessment will be required to report to the testing location on the date of the assessment or to the area in the building as determined by the Principal, such as study hall, media center, or other location in the school where the student can be supervised by a school district staff member.”
The BOE website states that 2622 is still valid. Many suggest that because Ridgewood High School ( RHS ) had so many opt-outs, the schools didn’t have anywhere to put the students.
BOE invites all to review memorandum
To The Editor,
The Board of Education is committed to communicating accurate information related to contract negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association (REA). Laura Grasso’s letter to the editor last Friday was significantly misleading. Here are the facts.
* The Board has modified its contract proposals several times in the last year and on Jan. 20 and again on Feb. 29 we offered higher salaries, withdrew proposals related to additional time, and modified our healthcare proposal.
* The REA’s latest proposal would reduce their healthcare contributions by over $2.1 million over a new 3-year contract. Accepting such a proposal would require the Board to make significant cuts in other areas of the budget.
* Teachers currently contribute 25.7 percent of the cost of their healthcare premiums and the district pays 74.3 percent. The Board has offered to adjust the individual percentage contribution rates as long as the net contributions continue to equal 25.7 percent of the healthcare premiums.
* In 2012 the Board reduced healthcare costs by changing to the state health insurance plans. The Board shared these savings with the REA by increasing their salary 2.75 percent each year for the last three years.
* The change in the health insurance plan recently proposed by the Board for the new contract compares favorably with plans offered in the private sector with copays of $15 for primary and specialist doctor visits.
* The REA contends that the Board has $3.5 million to fund the contract settlement. This is untrue. The $3.5 million is a number calculated by the REA and the NJEA for their fact-finding submission. We believe that it fails to account for both the revenue and the expense sides in specific budget areas.
* Our teachers are among the highest paid in Bergen County. The Board recognizes the importance of competitive salaries to attract and retain talented and highly qualified teachers.
* NJ law, Chapter 44, limits the Board to annual property tax increases of no more than 2 percent. While the law allows for limited waivers to provide small tax increases above 2 percent, the Board is reluctant to further burden Ridgewood taxpayers.
* The fact that four of the Board members do not have children in our schools does not lessen our commitment to our students and staff. Our children graduated from Ridgewood High School. We are acutely aware of the quality of our schools and grateful for the education they received.
To continue our “tradition of excellence” our district must be financially sound. We cannot commit to salaries and benefit costs that exceed what the district can afford. To clearly understand the Board’s position, the public is invited to review our fact-finding memorandum posted to the district’s website at ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
The Board will continue to conduct our negotiations with genuine respect for our staff. We want to settle the contract with the REA and move forward in a positive manner.
Sheila Brogan
Vince Loncto
Jim Morgan
Christina Krauss
Jennie Smith Wilson
Ridgewood Board of Education
BOE-REA Negotiations
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on February 12, 2016.
Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with the 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 March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to view the agenda for the March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
BY JENNIFER C. KERR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Not so tricky. More straightforward. Guessing allowed. The newly redesigned SAT college entrance exam that debuts nationally Saturday is getting good reviews from some of the students who took it early this week.
The new exam focuses less on arcane vocabulary words and more on real-world learning and analysis by students. Students no longer will be penalized for guessing. And the essay has been made optional.
The College Board says more than 463,000 test-takers signed up to take the new SAT in March, up slightly from a year ago.
Because the exam is new, the College Board, the nonprofit organization that owns the SAT, has restricted the exam on Saturday to those applying to college or for scholarships, financial aid or other programs requiring a college test score. People who don’t fall into these categories have been rescheduled to take the May test, which will be released at a point afterward. The College Board said it took the action because of concerns about possible theft.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/early-takers-say-new-sat-wasn-t-so-bad-and-not-so-tricky-1.1522690
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
In negotiations Friday, NJ Transit and its rail unions came closer to reaching an agreement in their contract dispute than they have in the last five years, said union leader Steve Burkert. But the two sides still did not settle on a package of pay and health benefits for the agency’s 4,200 rail workers.
The two sides met for negotiations at the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C. It was the latest round of sometimes-contentious talks that have stretched on for five years. Talks will continue in Newark on Monday, Burkert said.
“We’re getting closer,” said Burkert, general chairman of the United Transportation Union Local 60 and a spokesman for the coalition of 11 unions involved in the talks. “We both gave a little bit on everything. It was a civil and productive meeting.”
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Sixteen months before the state’s largest insurer launched new health plans that steer patients to its preferred hospitals, called Tier 1, a report from its consultants spelled out how the Omnia health plan would work and what it would do to the state’s health care business.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/excluded-hospitals-win-right-to-tier-report-1.1522657
Posted by Matt Rooney On March 04, 2016
By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
We’ve been down this road before. Back in in 1998, Save Jerseyans, the U.S. experimented with full-day kindergarten via the lauded Head Start program.
The experiment failed. Miserably.
Read the government’s own Head Start Impact Study Final Report which reported “no significant impacts were found for math skills, prewriting, children’s promotion, or teacher report of children’s school accomplishments or abilities.” They spent $7 billion per year on nothing.
More like False Start.
But despite the mountain of evidence proving it’s an expensive, valueless exercise, Trenton Democrats are resurrecting the cause right here in New Jersey. Shocker.
Senator Teresa Ruiz’s bill is a $78 million plan to force the 20% of New Jersey’s public school districts not currently offering full-day kindergarten into doing so. Her estimate is low. You’ll feel it in your property tax bills soon enough if it becomes law. The superintendent of Wayne’s schools reports that the proposal will cost $2.1 million for his district alone and likely bust the 2% cap unless major cuts are made in other areas.
https://savejersey.com/2016/03/full-day-kindergarten-new-jersey/
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – For the first time since 2008, awards will be given to former students by the Ridgewood Alumni Association.
The Distinguished Alumni Award Dinner, the first of its kind, will be honoring a few notable former pupils on the evening of Thursday, March 10. The honorees will be inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, which was started “a couple a years ago” according to Ridgewood High School Principal Tom Gorman. It is to be run in a similar way to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he added.
“Every other year, the athletic hall of fame inducts athletes,” he said, noting that a panel of judges makes the selections. “In the off-year, we will have this distinguished alumni event.”
The Alumni Association is responsible for deciding what makes a RHS graduate distinguished, according to Siobhan Winograd, a board officer and the group’s secretary.
“We came up with what is distinguished,” she said. “We have a definition. We sent it out there and had people write in [their definitions].”
“Once the alumni association … was able to connect with so many alumni via the website, we had an open enrollment and had a separate committee that decided to induct five people this year,” Winograd said. “We have a working list. People have gone on the website and told us their person’s story.”
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/distinguished-alumni-earn-spots-in-hall-of-fame-1.1522484
Increased spending on issues such as education, public worker pensions, transportation, and hospitals drove lobbying expenditures in New Jersey in 2015 to $70 million, the second highest total ever, according to an analysis of annual lobbying reports released today by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC). Jeff Brindle, PolitickerNJ Read more
Following Governor Chris Christie’s endorsement of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, the blowback has been considerable from Christie’s own party. With Senators Jennifer Beck and Jack Ciattarelli calling for his resignation and former Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman saying that she would sooner vote for Hillary Clinton than the former reality TV star, one of Trump’s few defenders in the legislature described a disconnect between the caucus and the public. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
