Outraged by the delegate deficit Sanders faces even after his New Hampshire win, the senator’s backers are taking action.
By Daniel Strauss
02/14/16 06:34 PM EST
Bernie Sanders lost by a hair in Iowa and won by a landslide in New Hampshire. Yet Hillary Clinton has amassed an enormous 350-delegate advantage over the Vermont senator after just two states.
Outraged by that disconnect – which is fueled by Clinton’s huge advantage with Democratic superdelegates, who are not bound by voting results – Sanders supporters are fighting back.
Pro-Sanders threads on Reddit have been burning up with calls for action, with some supporters even reaching out to superdelegates (who are typically Democratic governors, members of Congress, and top state and national party leaders) to lobby them on the Vermont senator’s behalf. Progressive groups are also taking a stand: There are currently two petition campaigns designed to urge superdelegates to reflect the popular vote, rather than the sentiment of party elites.
Please help the residents of RidgeCrest Senior Housing prepare for disasters and storms by giving them emergency “Grab & Go” bags.
“Grab & Go” bags give senior a sense of empowerment and security knowing that they are prepared in the event of an emergency.
Items needed for the 150 Ridgecrest “Grab and Go” bags include:
Whistles
Rain Ponchos
Light Weight Blankets
Light Weight Flashlights
Travel Size First Aid Kits
Also included in the “Grab & Go” bags will be Personal Medical ID Cards and a bottle of water
Once the items are collected, each bag will be put together and distributed during an emergency safety demonstration for the residents.
SUPPORT WILL HELP TO FIGHT SENIOR ISOLATION AND HUNGER IN ALLENDALE, GLEN ROCK, HO-HO-KUS, MIDLAND PARK, RIDGEWOOD, WALDWICK AND PART OF SADDLE RIVER
Community Meals, Inc. will be participating in the
14th Annual March for Meals
– a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meals on Wheels and the homebound and vulnerable seniors who rely on its vital safety net.
In previous years CMI celebrated Mayors for Meals, a one-day event associated with the March for Meals campaign. This year CMI celebrates 45 years of serving a growing community, and therefore, expanding their “March” program to include a variety of “Community Champions” in hopes of bringing more awareness to this valuable, privately funded community service.
If you wish to learn about March for Meals or Community Meals and how you can be involved, please email our office Community Meals, Inc.
or visit our website.
About Meals on Wheels America
Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based senior nutrition programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation. This network exists in virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, research, education and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time.
Meals on Wheels
A man-made chemical used in the manufacture of stain-resistant carpets, waterproof clothing, non-stick cooking pans and other products that make life less messy has spread so far through the environment that it can be found everywhere from the fish in the Delaware River to polar bears in the Arctic — and even some drinking water in North Jersey.
The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, is considered a likely human carcinogen and has been linked to a growing array of health problems. Concerned about its spread to the drinking water supply, state officials are developing new regulations that will require suppliers to treat the water to reduce the amount of the chemical reaching the taps.
Water samples taken by the state and federal government over the past few years found the chemical, also known as PFOA or C8, in numerous drinking water systems in New Jersey — including five in North Jersey — at levels high enough to cause potential health problems, according to researchers. The contaminant is found much more frequently in drinking water in New Jersey than in many other states.
Sampling conducted by the state in 2006 and 2009 showed PFOA at levels above the state’s health advisory standard of 0.04 parts per billion in Garfield and 11 other systems. More recently, the federal Environmental Protection Agency over the past two years detected PFOA in levels of at least 0.02 parts per billion in 14 drinking water systems, including Ridgewood Water, Fair Lawn, Garfield, Wallington and Hawthorne.
A growing number of researchers say levels of 0.02 parts per billion are high enough to cause health concerns under long-term exposure. In fact, as more scientific studies provide increasing detail about the chemical’s impact on human health, they say even tiny traces in the water supply can pose a danger.
“This stuff doesn’t belong in our water,” said Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which has pushed the state to remove PFOA and similar chemicals from the water supply. “Chemical companies put it there, scientists and health experts say it has bad health effects, including cancer, and it is especially dangerous for the unborn and children. New Jersey needs to get off its duff and do something.”
PFOA is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, as well as high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and other illnesses in a still-growing body of research. There are also probable links to low birth weight and decreased immune responses.
Yet, it is among thousands of contaminants that are not regulated by federal and state governments.
This petition is to seek to protest and repeal Ordinance 3519-An Ordinance authorizing the execution and granting of a lease purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority relating to issuance of County Guaranteed Lease Revenue Bonds for the Village of Ridgewood parking Deck Project (i.e. Hudson St garage).
You must be a registered voter residing in the Village of Ridgewood to sign the petition.
This has nothing to do with the design or scope of the parking garage-just to stop the funding of it with the BCIA, until Ordinance 3519 can be submitted to the electorate (Village of Ridgewood residents/registered voters) for a vote at next election as a referendum question.
If you have any Questions, please email [email protected]
As of Monday Feb 15, the petitions will be available at following times/locations:
Lorraine Reynolds house, 550 Wyndemere Ave/come to door off John St., Monday, Feb 15th – 1pm-4pm.
Anne Loving, call cell 201-723-8017 to make appt to sign.
Melanie McWilliams – 431 Bogert Ave – Feb 15th-Feb19th (M-F) 9:15-12:15pm, call/text to confirm 201-675-8937
PLEASE CHECK BACK AS TIMES/LOCATIONS WILL BE ADDED.
PLEASE EMAIL [email protected] if you are a registered voter
and can help canvas neighborhoods this week when it’s not so cold out!!!
WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY RIDGEWOOD!
Please let us know if you want to be part of the petition to say No 2 BCIA,https://goo.gl/forms/KpPtDY2We9
Below are some reasons why people feel we should not have a lease/purchase agreement with the BCIA (Bergen County Improvement Authority):
1. The BCIA will cost us more than what it will cost us to bond through Ridgewood. Yes, the BCIA can get us a better interest rate by 0.03%- to 0.08% compared to what we get from a Ridgewood Issued bond, but that is so small and it eventually costs more to go with BCIA, because of their initiation fees, and annual fees as well as multiple lawyer fees. Here are the final costs -https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/20160129BCIAFin.pdf
2. The BCIA financial comparison from the above link, does not consider the fact that we will now have to charge out-of-town commuters the same price as Ridgewood commuters (a requirement by the BCIA to treat all county residents the same.). Suppose we issue 50 out-of-town commuter passes at $300 less than what we could have charged them, that’s $15,000 more per year for the next 25 years by going through the BCIA. Will non-resident commuters take many of the spaces, leaving few spaces for our own commuters?
3. Once we take money from the BCIA, it will be issued like a loan, not like a Home Equity Line of Credit. We cannot draw the funds when we need them, i.e. as the project goes along. We will have to start paying interest on ALL of the money from day 1, which is May 2016, and the garage will not be complete until Feb 2017. Once the BCIA bond is issued in May 2016, we won’t be able to pre-pay for 10 years. We are locked into the interest for 10 years, even if the design & scope changes to a smaller design and we need less funds.
4. The county will own the garage for next 25 years. They may add more conditions later, for now they have asked us to treat non Ridgewood commuters at the same price.
5.The lease agreement also mentions that the BCIA will build the garage and lease it to us. It’s not clear / not explained to us how much control they will keep during the ‘build’ phase.
6. Overall, all of the benefits explained to us for going through the BCIA route are financial. In the end, with all those benefits, if it still costs more, and if we don’t retain full control of the garage and the process, then why go through the county?
7. We can and should do this with a Ridgewood Issued bond. It is our fiscal and resident responsibility to make sure this bond is issued through Ridgewood and not the County.
Cibolo Creek Ranch owner recalls Scalia’s last hours in Texas
By John MacCormack
Updated 10:11 pm, Sunday, February 14, 2016
MARFA — A first-time guest to the Cibolo Creek Creek Ranch, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was animated and engaged during dinner Friday night, as one of three dozen invitees to an event that had nothing to do with law or politics, according to the ranch owner.
Just hours later, he would be found dead of apparent natural causes, which media outlets were reporting Sunday was a heart attack.
“He was seated near me and I had a chance to observe him. He was very entertaining. But about 9 p.m. he said, ‘it’s been a long day and a long week, I want to get some sleep,” recalled Houston businessman John Poindexter, who owns the 30,000-acre luxury ranch.
When Poindexter tried to awaken Scalia about 8:30 the next morning, the judge’s door was locked and he did not answer. Three hours later, Poindexter returned after an outing, with a friend of Scalia who had come from Washington with him.
“We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled,” said Poindexter.
“He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap,” he said.
Scalia,79, did not have a pulse and his body was cold, and after consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter concluded resuscitation would have been futile, He then contacted federal authorities, at first encountering a series of answering services because he was calling on a weekend.
“Ultimately they became available and handled it t superbly. They flew in by helicopter. They told me to secure the ranch, which I did until this morning,” he said.
I am new to Ridgewood, so here comes a newbie question –
Were previous village managers also as politically active as the current one? i.e. supporting and promoting specific council members and their agenda, and withholding information from other council members? Shouldn’t that be a politically neutral position?
I have wondered why the village manager ,Roberta Sonenfeld has been such a vocal supporter for the council.
In the past is was a low key position, the managers just did their job.
Schoenfield was a member of the self proclaimed “Tiger Team” that worked as a self-important financial advisory committee. Now we have a permanent financial advisory committee that also is active in promoting the council projects. They are intertwined and hardly objective.
A constitutional amendment to mandate quarterly payments to the pension system could have “potentially cataclysmic consequences” on the quality of life in New Jersey, according to a new report, requiring more than $3 billion in tax increases by 2022. Salvador Rizzo, The Record Read more
By Peter Schroeder and Jordan Fabian – 02/10/16 06:00 AM EST
Seven years after President Obama’s inauguration, the debate about whether he saved the economy or held back its recovery is in full swing.
Obama has been taking a final-year victory lap, touting a national unemployment rate that has fallen to 4.9 percent as the latest sign of success for his economic stewardship.
Yet critics in Obama’s orbit, including Democratic congressmen and a former member of his Cabinet, suggest more could have been done if Obama had worked harder with lawmakers and members of his administration.
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.) — one of two Democrats still in office out of the 11 who voted against the stimulus
legislation — said the White House made zero effort to bring him, or other centrist Democrats, on board in the fight over the stimulus.
“They just wrote us off, I think,” he said. “I can’t even tell you who in the administration is supposed to be lobbying me.”
It’s a criticism of Obama that has remained steady for his entire presidency: He doesn’t work well with others, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, who disagree with him.
“This is very much a my-way-or-the-highway White House, and this is a president who would rather win the argument than get something done,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, head of the American Action Forum and the top economic adviser to Obama’s Republican opponent in 2008, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
Obama allies say such criticism is unfair and blame Republicans for failing to work with Obama since day one.
“There’s no question that had Congress enacted the president’s economic proposals, the economy would be in a stronger position today,” said Alan Krueger, a Princeton economist who was a top economic adviser to Obama.
Paul J. Larkin Jr. directs The Heritage Foundation’s project to counter abuse of the criminal law, particularly at the federal level, as senior legal research fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Read his research.
Antonin Gregory Scalia has died. For some, it is the painful loss of a husband or father. For those who knew him, it is the loss of a good friend. For law students, it is the loss of a justice who wrote opinions with rigorous analysis, clarity of expression, and at times an acerbic wit.
For conservatives, it is the loss of a standard-bearer and icon. For liberals, it is the loss of an opponent who always fought hard but fair.
For those who never had the opportunity to know him, it is the loss of one of our greatest legal minds, of a judge and justice who had made, and will continue to make, legal history. And to those who were privileged to know him, it is the loss of a wonderful human being.
More than 100 men and women have been justices of the Supreme Court. All decided the outcome of individual cases and made small changes in the law.
Few changed its course.
Some—such as Joseph Story, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Hugo Black, Earl Warren, William Brennan, and William Rehnquist—will be remembered for moving the Supreme Court in one direction or another.
They launched the court into its existence as an institution. They addressed some of the most important issues that can arise under our Constitution—issues involving the separation of powers, freedom of speech and religion, the integrity of the criminal justice process, and the relationship between government and the nation. They established the Supreme Court—rightly or wrongly—as one of the most powerful institutions in our nation. Their tenure still has a powerful effect today.
But even fewer justices changed the course of the law. John Marshall was one. Antonin Scalia was another.
Scalia taught us that the law matters, that the law is the written word, and that the written word takes its meaning from how history understands it, not what we wish it might mean.
For him, the law was a tablet whose meaning could be discerned by focusing on the meaning of the words it contained, rather than by asking ourselves what we want it to mean. The latter, he said, was the stuff of politics, not law, and he drew a line in the sand between the two.
He maintained that view of a judge’s role even when it was unfashionable to hold that belief because it may lead to outcomes we may not like. But he believed that it was his duty to uphold the rule of law, because only that rule separated us from the many nations on the Earth governed by the rule of might.
Robert F. Kennedy once said that the privilege of public service carried with it the opportunity to bend history.
Not only did Antonin Scalia bend it; he turned it in a different direction. We will be forever grateful to him for that. Requiescat in pace.
Location: Bibi’z Restaurant and Lounge, 284 Center Ave. Westwood, NJ 07675
Event Description
Meet dynamic singles for a night of stimulating conversation at
Bibi’z Restaurant and Lounge
284 Center Ave. Westwood, NJ 07675
Wed. – Feb. 17, 2016 7:00 pm
Appetizers, drinks, and the rest
is up to you!
Pre-registration required by
Feb. 13th
Call 201-612-6700
$50 Admission fee includes food,
one drink, and a
20 min. life coaching session to
be scheduled at a later date.
You don’t want to miss this one!
Hosted by: Robin Gardner, CPC
Phoenix Life Coaching
Specializing in personal development
and getting results.
Creating happy and meaningful
lives for people.
Europe is facing a convergence of the worst crises since World War II, and the overwhelming consensus among officials and experts here is that the U.S. no longer has the will or the ability to play an influential role in solving them.
At the Munich Security Conference, the prime topics are the refugee crisis, the Syrian conflict, Russian aggression and the potential dissolution of the European Union’s very structure. Top European leaders repeatedly lamented that 2015 saw all of Europe’s problems deepen, and unanimously predicted that in 2016 they would get even worse.
“The question of war and peace has returned to the continent,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the audience, indirectly referring to Russian military interventions. “We had thought that peace had returned to Europe for good.”
What was missing from the conference speeches and even the many private discussions in the hallways, compared to previous years, was the discussion of what Europe wanted or even expected the U.S. to do.
Several European officials told me that there was little expectation that President Barack Obama, in his last year in office, would make any significant policy changes to address what European governments see an existential set of crises that can’t wait for a new administration in Washington.
By Eric Olsen, special to cleveland.com
on February 13, 2016 at 9:45 AM, updated February 13, 2016 at 5:31 PM
You just finish putting away all the Christmas and winter decorations and Valentine’s Day rolls around, a time for the showy expression of love, especially romantic love, in the form of mushy cards, a box of chocolate, flowers, a romantic meal, maybe jewelry – you know what you have to do.
But Valentine’s Day, formally St. Valentine’s Day, has weird ancient roots stained in blood and rites of spring.
Lupercalia
Like many major Western holidays — Christmas, Easter, Halloween — Valentine’s Day has pre-Christian pagan roots, specifically in the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia, which was observed February 13-15 for over 1,000 years before being abolished at the end of the 5th century. Lupercalia was an odd blend of spring purification ritual, fertility rite, and tribute to Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
The festivities began solemnly enough near Lupa’s cave on Palatine Hill, where Rome was traditionally founded, and were directed by the Luperci, the “brothers of the wolf,” who were priests of Faunus, the Roman equivalent of Pan. The festival got down to business with the sacrifice of two male goats for fertility and a dog for purity by the Luperci, who were each dressed only in a goatskin.
Courtesy, Eric Olsen
Next, two young aristocratic Luperci were led to the altar and anointed with the sacrificial blood on their foreheads, which was wiped off the bloody knife with wool soaked in milk. A feast followed and then thongs were cut from the skin of the sacrificed animals and the Luperci, who were by then feeling quite festive, frolicked about the Palatine district.
In the 1st century, Greek historian Plutarch portrayed the scene. “Many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs,” he wrote. “And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.” Maybe a few of the lads took it upon themselves to help out with the latter, but one can only speculate.
By the 5th century, the festival had been abandoned to the “rabble” in what was by then Christian Rome, and was finally banned altogether at the end of the decade as an unseemly and licentious display. Not a lot of hearts and flowers per se, but the festival, at least originally, was a playful and flirty ode to fertility.
On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.
Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine.”
For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.
Atlantic Stewardship to Sponsor Social Security Seminar
Social Security continues to play a critical role in a retirement strategy. Is yours taking full advantage of what Social Security offers?
Thursday Feb. 18
5:30 – 7:00pm
Atlantic Stewardship Bank
190 Franklin Ave
Ridgewood, NJ
Speaker/Host: Catherine Barbier
Financial Consultant
Learn 7 keys to enhancing Social Security benefits:
Keys to help you understand the basics of Social Security, including when you should start taking benefits.
Keys that take a deeper dive into Social Security, such as working in retirement.
Finally, taking the next step at this insurance sales presentation with the Rethinking Retirement Strategies.
