Threatening message puts Waldwick Middle School-High School on Lock Down
January 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Waldwick NJ, A threatening message found written on a bathroom wall at the Waldwick Middle School-High School triggered a response from several northwest Bergen County police departments on Thursday morning, 01/14. Personnel from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office also responded. The school was completely locked down while a search of the entire facility was conducted. No immediate threat was located. Anxious parents waited outside in the frigid weather for their children to be released from the building.
Liz Szabo, USA TODAY8:24 a.m. EST January 14, 2016
As diseases go, Zika virus was always considered minor league.
It didn’t make people all that sick; most infected people had no symptoms at all. Zika was confined to a relatively narrow belt that ran from equatorial Africa to Asia.
Today, Zika has spread to Central and South America and is linked to an alarming increase in once-rare birth defects in Brazil. Although Zika was first diagnosed in Brazil in May, it’s been linked to more than 3,500 cases of microcephaly, in which infants are born with small heads and immature brain development.
Yet Brazil isn’t just fighting Zika.
That country is also combating outbreaks caused by dengue and chikungunya viruses, which are known for causing fevers and debilitating joint pain. Dengue can be fatal.
The USA needs to prepare for a similar scenario, in which epidemics of multiple mosquito-borne diseases break out simultaneously, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who co-wrote a new report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
A woman, who came forward and told her story of being sexually assaulted in Cologne, Germany, on New Years Eve, was victimized a second time after an Internet video gave out her identity and suggested her account of the attack was anti-Muslim propaganda.
The 26-year-old woman named Selina withheld her full name when she gave an interviewto German television channel SWR Fernsehen last week. In the interview, she described her moment of terror being surrounded by dozens of men who looked at her like “free meat at the supermarket” and groped her repeatedly. She noted that her attackers spoke Arabic and did not seem to understand German. She described the group of men as “southern looking” with “darker skin.”
In a follow-up interview with SWR Fernsehen, Selina describes what happened to her after the interview aired. Someone posted a video containing a portion of her interview and suggesting all of the reports blaming Muslims for the Cologne sexual assaults were propaganda. Titles appear in the video which say, “Strange that Selina 1 day after this horror (3 days before this interview) on Insta still was happy.”
That’s apparently a reference to her Instagram account which the video creator found along with her Facebook page. The video not only suggests Selina is wrong about who attacked her but includes images of her full name and where she works from her Facebook page.
The video went viral and was viewed nearly a quarter of a million times. Selina eventually saw it on the Facebook page of an Islamic preacher who has been described as radical in the German media. She tells SWR Fernsehen she became frightened, wondering, “What if someone sees who believes it or has a radical background?” She began getting threatening calls at work and people were attacking her on Facebook as a racist and a right-winger.
JAN 14, 2016 5:04 AM EST UPDATED JAN 14, 2016 9:08 AM EST
By Mark Gilbert
Forget hoverboards, fridges that talk to the Internet, and self-driving cars. Three of the most popular items at this month’s annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — a cine camera, a record turntable and a new Polaroid snapper — suggest there’s a back-from-the-future movement gaining ground that reflects a growing fatigue with the virtual world of digital products, and a renewed enthusiasm for the old-fashioned analog experience.
It’s a debate that rages in my house. My partner sniffs books as she opens them; she says it conjures up memories of childhood library visits that promised to make all of the world’s knowledge and literary entertainment available. For her, the latest adventures of Bridget Jones in paperback, have all of the evocative power of Proust’s madeleine cakes. Me, I’ve owned a Kindle since they first became available almost a decade ago; I can’t remember the last time I bought an actual physical book.
Ridgewood NJ , the Ridgewood blog once again is two steps ahead of the rest of the media . The Ted Cruz eligibility issue was first discussed in August 2013 on the Ridgewood blog following ,Mark Levin’s visit to Bookends for a book signing .
“Recent events are, however, very gratifying to me, as they tend to support the position I’ve had all along with respect to Cruz‘s foreign birth and resultant POTUS ineligibility. Moreover, Mark Levin’s daily response to all of this on his radio show has been an analytical train wreck, just as had his horribly oversized and nationally broadcast personal reaction to my related question to him at the Bookends booksigning event in August 2013 (which, as you know, I maintain constitutes actionable slander). Do you know?, the intellectual quality of the current analysis onCruz‘s predicament, as reflected in the news stories and opinion pieces about this issue and posted to FreeRepublic.com, and in the comments made on those stories and pieces by FR members who think the way I do, is really, really good! It has enabled me to sharpen my own thinking about the Constitutional term “natural-born citizen” in many important respects. It really is head and shoulders better than anything that was put out there about Obama during our 7-8 year national nightmare. This seems to suggest that the mainstream media embargo on this issue has finally been lifted, together with the widespread social taboo that can almost certainly be attributed to Obama’s skin color and the ridiculously large case of white man’s guilt he so clearly benefited from and continues to cultivate and exploit to this day. This is just one more signal service performed for our benefit by Candidate Trump. Cruz himself also deserves credit for not going ballistic or demagoguing the issue as Obama and his supporters did and have done so consistently (and effectively).”
Radio Talk Show Host Mark Levin Continues to Comment on interaction he had at Bookends over “natural-born Citizen.
CORRECTION: Caroline Byrne will appear next Wednesday or Thursday on “American Idol,” not the night of Wednesday, Jan. 13 as written below.
By Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 13, 2016 at 4:14 PM, updated January 13, 2016 at 9:46 PM
PHILADELPHIA — As “American Idol” airs its Philadelphia auditions Wednesday night, New Jersey viewers will have a chance to hear one of their own.
Caroline Byrne, a sultry pop singer from Waldwick and Ridgewood, will appear in front of “Idol” judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. during the episode, and while viewers will need to tune in to see whether she advances to Hollywood, if she performs at all like her smoky single”Alive,” she’ll do just fine.
The 26-year-old’s new track boasts a sound similar to pop newcomer Tori Kelly, both in bass-heavy instrumentation and Byrne’s airy delivery.
JANUARY 13, 2016, 11:02 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016, 7:30 AM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
New Jersey road deaths fell a bit less than 1 percent to 554 last year — a near record low — but those who rely on bicycles or let others drive for them won’t find much comfort in year-end fatality figures for 2015.
Cycling deaths ballooned 64 percent to 18 last year, the most since 2008, and passenger fatalities rose to 95, almost a 19 percent rise, according to preliminary New Jersey State Police figures. On a more positive note, motorcycle deaths dropped to a record low 49 and pedestrian fatalities fell to 163, but that figure remained well in excess of the previous 10-year average of 152.
“We’re pleased, but we think we can do even better,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
States like New Jersey and New York, where overall road fatalities have declined substantially since the 1980s, have been struggling to extend these safety benefits beyond drivers to walkers and cyclists, whose combined death counts have remained stubbornly high. Garden State totals showed 172 pedestrians and cyclists were killed in 2005 compared with 81 in 2014, a 5 percent increase. During the same period, all traffic deaths declined more than 25 percent — from 748 in 2005 to 556 in 2014.
This week, the Legislature sent a bill to Governor Christie that would focus on these mostly preventable incidents — the kind that killed 1,517 people on foot and 143 people on bicycles from 2005 to 2014. The legislation, which unanimously passed both houses, would create a 15-member commission to recommend strategies for making improvements in road design, laws and behavior that traditionally favor vehicles over people, said Cindy Steiner of Montclair, executive director of the New Jersey Bicycle and Walking Coalition.
“More people are walking and riding bicycles than ever,” said Steiner, whose group supports the bill — A-3888 in the Assembly and S-2521 in the Senate. “But for the first time, this commission would put all the parties together who have a stake in the problem — from bicyclists and drivers to police, motor-vehicle executives, transportation officials and even the health commissioner.”
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 14, 2016 at 6:45 AM, updated January 14, 2016 at 8:02 AM
While the three jackpot winning tickets sold for Wednesday night’s approximately $1.6 billion Powerball drawing weren’t sold anywhere near New Jersey, at least two Garden State residents will take a home a nice consolation prize.
Two tickets sold in New Jersey matched five numbers, but not the Powerball. One of those ticketholders plucked down an extra $1 to take the Powerplay option so his or her ticket is worth $2 million before taxes. The other ticket is worth $1 million.
State lottery officials will reveal where those tickets were sold later Thursday.
Other $2 million tickets were sold in Arizona, Florida Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Besides New Jersey, $1 million tickets were sold in New York, Pennsylvania and 20 other states.
The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 8, 27, 34, 4, 19. The Powerball was 10 with a Powerplay of 2x.
The odds of a ticket matching five numbers (but not the Powerball) are 11,688,053.52 to 1.
Community Outreach Series Focuses on Well-being: Program on Adolescent Boys is January 19
January 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Schools present the next up in the Well-being series is “He’s Not Just Lazy:Helping Under-challenged and Unmotivated Boys” by Dr. Adam Price. This program will take place on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 from 7-9 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium, 335. N. Van Dien Avenue.
The 2015-2016 parent/peers series consists of eight engaging presentations throughout the school year. Co-sponsored by The Valley Hospital, with support from The Foundation, adults are invited to attend these programs on creating balance in children’s lives.
Ridgewood NJ, New Ridgewood police officers Ryan McAlister, Kyle Monton, and Peter Tuchol, Jr. are sworn in during Ridgewood Village Council Meeting of Wednesday, January 13th at Village Hall.
file photo by Boyd Loving SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING – RIDGEWOOD MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING – JANUARY 12TH
January 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog with input from several readers
Ridgewood NJ , the Special Public Meeting on high density multi family housing was attended by 30-35 residents attended who heard proposals for studies from five groups as follows:
1. Heyer, Gruel & Associates – who could do studies on the fiscal and school impacts
2. Maser Consuting – traffic study
3. Ross Haber Associates – school impact
4. The RBA Group – traffic study
5. BFJ Planning/Urbanomics – fiscal, infrastructure, school, and traffic
Overall the meeting was peaceful. The mayor as usual did not answer all the questions and asked some residents “your five minutes are up” when they questioned him, though they still had time, and answered questions from some others who were appreciating his efforts.
Mayor Aronsohn could not resist poking residents making a sarcastic remark about the “overflow crowd,” – stating that BF had been selected to handle a large crowd, his comment discounted the fact that 30-35 residents had come out. Which under normal circumstances would be a decent sized crowd .
The Village had two police officers present through the entire meeting, at what cost? It was also unclear whether they were guarding the Council members , or the public since threats were made from hostile council members to the public?
There were five presentations. 2 for school, 2 for traffic and one for everything. The firm which presented everything also included impact on schools and traffic. So, for schools and traffic, 3 options each were presented. For the other two impact studies, only one option was presented BFJ/Urbananomics.
The Village Manager Roberta Schoenfield stated that there had not been an RFP, that there did not need to be for this. Thus we only wound up with ONE infrastructure group, thus no basis for comparison.
Council Women Hauck asked questions of one of the contractors regarding how to discredit residents who disagree with the results of a study.
Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli stated that the public called for experts, and then goes ahead and questions the expertise of the experts, implying that residents should not ask any questions about how any of the proposed studies should be done.
The council seemed to agree informally to go with BFJ for the fiscal, infrastructure and school but RBA for traffic. This was not a vote and it will be discussed further. RBA’s description of their traffic study indicated that would use video technology at 10 intersections, considering the cars as well as the pedestrians and bicycles at each. The tubes-in-the-road technology is outdated and only captures vehicles. RBA also indicated that any data from studies more than 3 years old is basically useless.
They liked the fact that BFJ had the ability to do all the studies and work with each other in-house, but their traffic proposal was weak.
Roberta stated that our in-house experts are quite capable of doing some of these studies .During the initial comments the village manager mentioned that she wanted to use them as hub where traffic and school consultant will feed into them, but she also mentioned that she did not like their pricing for data collection and she wanted them to use already collected data. When one resident asked why was only one firm invited for the other two impact studies, the village manager responded that we may not even go with them and we may do those in house to save money.
It clearly sounded like the village manager doesn’t want an outside consultant to be looking at the water, fire, police, fiscal stuff closely and wants to keep that part to herself ie internally.
Eleven residents made comments, paraphrased:
The VC was thanked for changing the date of the meeting from Friday to Tuesday
Much concern about the traffic studies – one day, two days, a week, what if a snowstorm, how good a picture would any traffic study actually produce
Questions about the RUSH – why not slow down with all of this.
Questions about complying with COAH.
Questions about what was going on with Kensington Assisted Living
By T. BECKET ADAMS (@BECKETADAMS) • 1/13/16 2:50 PM
NBCUniversal’s about-face last year on severing ties with GOP front-runner Donald Trump came after it realized the billionaire businessman’s 2016 presidential campaign had become a legitimate phenomenon, according to network executives.
“[T]he poll numbers are astounding, and he’s everywhere,” NBC’s entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told reporters. “He’s on every news show, every morning show, every nightly show, every cable news show.”
NBCUniversal made a big show last summer of announcing that it had cut all business ties with Trump after he said Mexico was sending degenerate drug dealers and rapists to the United States.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” a spokesperson said at the time, explaining that it couldn’t idly stand by as the former reality TV star besmirched all illegal immigrants. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”
“The Obama doctrine — denying reality in the name of hope and refusing to acknowledge the critical need for American leadership — has led directly to disorientation, confusion and increased threats in almost all the major arenas of the world.”
By Judd Gregg – 01/11/16 06:00 AM EST
The world is missing America.
It may not want to acknowledge this fact but it is true nonetheless.
A stabilizing power that is governed by principles and the rule of law is critical to maintaining some reasonable level of order in a world that is inherently disorderly and chaotic.
If such a power is not willing to take on this role then a vacuum occurs. In global affairs, nations or groups who are governed neither by admirable principles nor by the rule of law almost always fill that vacuum.
We are seeing this today, of course.
The Obama doctrine — denying reality in the name of hope and refusing to acknowledge the critical need for American leadership — has led directly to disorientation, confusion and increased threats in almost all the major arenas of the world.
Eastern Europe has devolved and Russia is filling the space with aggression. The Middle East has become totally unhinged from any force for coherent and constructive governance due to the Obama administration’s negligence.
China is expanding its sphere of influence and doing so in international waters. It is clear that Afghanistan is headed in the same direction as Iraq, with the likely re-establishment of the Taliban as the dominant force.
Then there is North Korea, which appears to be moving again toward a capability of delivering a nuclear weapon with a missile.
Those are the obvious results of the Obama administration’s policy of denial.
Obama’s Last State Of The Union Viewership Dips In Early Numbers
by Dominic Patten
January 13, 2016 9:25am
With all of the Big 4 running it live, the very last State of the Union address of Barack Obama’s presidency saw jokes and barbs about those running to succeed him, a call to cure cancer, pleas to pass the big Pacific Rim trade deal and Paul Ryan’s debut in the Speaker’s chair over POTUS’ shoulder. Overall, the President also offered an optimistic assessment of the nation in his just over an hour speech but the incumbent conceded he hadn’t been able to overcome the harsh bipartisan battles that have characterized his term in office.
If early numbers are anything to go by, Obama wasn’t able to get more eyeballs to watch his speech either. With an average audience of 18.1 million watching the 9 – 10 PM coverage on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, Obama’s speech was down 8% from the early numbers of last year’s January 20 talk to Congress.
Heading into the twilight of his term in office that continues the POTUS downward viewership trend. Obama’s 2015 SOTU was down 7% from his 2014 speech in the early Big 4 audience averages – which was down from the year before. In the final viewership numbers, the 2015 speech ended up being a SOTU low for the President – which we could see as the case this year.
