Customs and Border Patrol analyst Phil Haney tracked members of the Islamist Deobandi movement with which Sayed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were affiliated. But the Department of Homeland Security deleted the records, then disciplined and retaliated against him when he blew the whistle, he says.
Haney said he worked in Passenger Analysis Units at the Department of Homeland Security in Atlanta and at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, where he performed research into people and groups that might be linked to terrorism. He identified members of al-Huda and Tablighi Jamaat, subgroups of the Deobandi Movement, a century-old fundamentalist Islamic group originating in Pakistan, as they traveled into and out of the United States. An association with Tablighi Jamaat has been documented by the French in an estimated80% of terrorism cases. Dar Al Uloom Mosque, frequented by Sayed Farook, is linked with the Deobandi Movement. Tashfeen Malik studied with Al-Huda in Pakistan.
Haney was given an agency award for his work identifying potential terrorists and he was asked to become part of the National Targeting Center, which works to connect the dots between radical figures and groups, he said. After more than six months tracking the Deobandi movement, Homeland Security halted the investigation at the urging of the State Department’s Office of Civil Rights, Haney said.
Democrats gained the political muscle to push the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through Congress on three basic arguments.
First, they argued that the United States had too many uninsured people, with estimates ranging from 30 million to 45 million.
Second, the rise in costs for health care outstripped inflation, and the market required an intervention that would bend the cost curve downward.
Third, Democrats claimed that insurance companies made too much profit and shorted most consumers on care, while those with generous health plans – so-called “Cadillac plans” – drove up utilization rates and costs for everyone else.
The only solution for these ills was a massive government intervention, complete with mandates for all participants in the market, including providers, insurers, and consumers. Once government ran this market, Democrats promised, consumers would see their premiums decrease (by $2,500 a year, according to Barack Obama), insurers would gain access to vast numbers of new consumers who couldn’t get insurance before, and the lifting of cost burdens would spark a job-creation surge that would lift the economy.
Such were the promises of Obamacare five years ago. The reality began looking much different in the fall of 2013, when the first open-enrollment period turned into a disaster. Millions of insurance policies were canceled even though the health care exchanges failed to work properly.
In 2014, premiums spiked, and then in 2015 they exploded again along with deductibles so high that many decided not to be insured at all. Over half of Obamacare’s co-ops collapsed this year, most of them this fall, and now the providers who took their clients may end up stuck with the bills.
“Health care providers could get stuck with unpaid bills in a half dozen states where co-op plans have collapsed,” reports Politico Pro’s Paul Demko. “That’s because there’s no financial backstop in those states if the failed nonprofit startups backed by Obamacare loans run out of money before paying off all of their medical claims.” The failure of the co-op Health Republic Insurance of New York left $165 million in unpaid bills, and a survey showed 64 percent of New York providers waiting for payment. Had a private-sector insurer defaulted in a similar manner, these providers would have been compensated from a guaranty fund set up by the industry.
Obamacare co-ops had no such backstop, and more than 600,000 Americans will have to find insurance that is more expensive or do without.
Still, as bad as the news has been over the past five years, the remaining illusions were shattered by the CBO and the White House itself this week. Obamacare didn’t make much of a dent in the uninsured rate, it has forced costs to rise faster than before, and it will kill millions of jobs that otherwise would be created.
“The labor force is projected to be about 2 million full-time-equivalent workers smaller in 2025 under the ACA than it would have been otherwise,” the CBO concludes in the latest analysis of Obamacare’s impact on the economy. Much of the reason — the CBO puts it at 75 percent — comes from the net increase of effective tax rates on labor, which will incentivize potential workers to stay out of the work force. Democrats claim that this is a feature rather than a bug, as people can choose not to work. However, even with that rose-colored glasses view, it means that the rest of the taxpayers will have to subsidize the health care of those who opt out, whether happily or unhappily.
The depressing impact on job growth is not the only illusion shattered, either. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) published a study on Obamacare’s impact on costs and on reducing the numbers of uninsured — and it fails on both counts. The CBO estimated after the passage of Obamacare that the number of uninsured would drop 19 million by 2014 from a 2010 benchmark. Instead, it has only dropped 12.6 million. As Avik Roy points out at Forbes , the 2010 level of uninsured was artificially high due to the impact of the Great Recession. Using 2008 as a benchmark, the number of uninsured has dropped by only 6.7 million.
Here is number eight US Code 1182, inadmissible aliens. This law was written in 1952. It was passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress, House and Senate, and signed by a Democrat president.
“Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by president. Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the president may, by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.”
This is what Trump said:
DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON PREVENTING MUSLIM IMMIGRATION
(New York, NY) December 7th, 2015, — Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing “25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad” and 51% of those polled, “agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.” Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won’t convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women.
Mr. Trump stated, “Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again.” – Donald J. Trump
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Tree lighting was another success
To the Editor:
We cannot thank everyone enough for coming out to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Ridgewood’s tradition — Downtown for the Holidays Tree Lighting.
The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce would like to publicly recognize and thank everyone who generously supported and sponsored this year’s event.
Shopping and dining locally is the best way to say thank you to the Ridgewood’s business district. Thank you to all residents, families and friends who shared the 2015 tree lighting. In alphabetical order, thank you to:
Annie and Mike Hull; Art of Motion; Atlantic Stewardship Bank; B. Witching Bath Company; Bagelicious; Boiling Springs Savings Bank; Bow Tie Warner Cinema Theatre; Canines Can Do; C&C Iacono; CareOne Ridgewood Avenue; Carlo’s Bakery; Christ Church; CC Van Emburgh Funeral Home; ConnectOne Bank; Country Pancake House & Restaurant; Columbia Bank; Cup Cakes by Carousel; Daily Treat; Downes Tree Service and Staff; Duxiana;
Elf on the Shelf; Emily’s Singers; Family Chiropractors; Femmebot; Freedom Bank; From the Top Music Studio; Gold Fish Swim School; Hillmann Lighting; Huntington Learning Center; Lazarath & Williamson; Little Ivy Learning Center; Lt. Ron Gimbert; Life Opportunities Unlimited; Marge Downs; Mark Manke; Mayor and Council; Mr. & Mrs. G. Negrycz; Panico Salon & Spa; Park West Tavern & Loft; Party’s Unplugged; Patty Herman; Pearl Restaurant; Pink Bungalow; PNC Wealth Management; Porch Light Productions
Residents, Friends, Families; Richard Bassler and Family; Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce; Ridgewood CBD; Ridgewood Library; Ridgewood News; Ridgewood Party Rental; Ridgewood Women Gardner’s; Ridgewood YMCA; RHS Marching Band; RHS Orchestra; RHS Carolers; Ridgewood Boy Scouts Troup 7; Ridgewood Police/Fire/Parks/Signal/EMS/DPW; Rob Dowling; Santa Claus; Serene Therapeutics; Sullivan Associates; Taekwondo All In; The Conservatory; The Office Beer Bar & Grill; The Valley Hospital; Ulrich, Inc.; Van Dyk Healthcare; Village of Ridgewood; West Bergen Mental Healthcare; Westside Nursery School; Woman’s Club of Ridgewood
Please stop by and say “Hi” to Santa in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square on Saturday, Dec. 12 and 19 from noon to 4 p.m., weather permitting.
The Chamber of Commerce apologizes if we missed anyone, we certainly appreciate everyone’s dedication to Ridgewood.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and best wishes to you and your families. Please shop and dine locally, Ridgewood.
Ridgewood NJ, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry (Hank) M. Rowan, the man who founded an international corporation, contributed generously to numerous causes and changed the face of higher education in South Jersey, passed away on Dec. 9, 2015. He was 92 years old.
Mr. Rowan, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was founder and chairman of Rancocas-based Inductotherm Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of melting, thermal processing and production systems for the metals and materials industry.
He started the firm with his late wife, Betty Long Rowan, in 1953, building their first furnace in their backyard in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Initially, his main goal was to enable foundries to reduce the cost of melting metal with induction, and Mr. Rowan and his staff became true innovators, changing the face of the entire industry. Today, the Inductotherm Group and its sister companies employ more than 3,500 people in more than 20 nations and serve customers around the globe.
While renowned as a businessman and entrepreneur, Mr. Rowan did not stop there, nor did his impact. Since 1992, Mr. Rowan’s name has been synonymous with higher education. It was in that year that he and his late wife donated $100 million to then-Glassboro State College with just one request: revitalize engineering education.
Although he was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Rowan was committed to investing his money in a school and a region where he believed it could have the most impact. The Rowan Gift was the largest to date given to a public college or university in the United States.
In 1992, the board of trustees of the college changed the name of GSC to Rowan College (and it became Rowan University in 1997, when it offered its first doctoral program). In 1996, Rowan University opened its doors to its first class of engineering students. Today, the award-winning engineering college offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs in five disciplines and is adding a new building to enable it to double its enrollment to about 2,000 students. The donation by Mr. and Mrs. Rowan directly and indirectly led to remarkable growth at the university, which today is designated by the State of New Jersey as a research institution and is one of only two schools in the nation with both M.D.- and D.O.-degree granting medical schools.
In December 2014, the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation committed $15 million to Rowan University’s College of Engineering, which was named the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering.
Mr. Rowan and his family have been generous to numerous organizations beyond the University. Among more recent donations, in 2008 he gave $20 million to what is now known as the Williamson College of the Trades in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 2014, Mr. Rowan funded the purchase of a building for the South Jersey chapter of Boy Scouts of America to expand its Westamptonheadquarters. Mr. and Mrs. Rowan had funded the construction of the Scouts’ original facility there in the 1980s. In 2015, Mr. Rowan and his wife, Lee, personally committed $17 million to the Doane Academy in Burlington City, New jersey.
Many organizations honored Mr. Rowan for his commitment to business and community. Among his awards were the George Washington Medal Award from the Engineer’s Club of Philadelphia (1992); Outstanding Engineer for the Year Award (1994) and a Lifetime Achievement Award (1995) from the Professional Engineering Society of Southern New Jersey, Inc.; the AFS William J. Grede Award (1995); a Distinguished Service Award from the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey (1997); the William Hunt EisenmanAward, Philadelphia Chapter, American Society of Metals (ASM) International (1997); induction into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (1998); induction into the Hall of Honor, Foundry Management & Technology magazine’s highest award (2003); and most recently the Distinguished Life Membership Award from ASM International (2014).
One of his most visible honors stands on Rowan University’s Glassboro campus: a seven-foot bronze sculpture of Mr. Rowan unveiled in December 2012, two decades after the $100-million gift.
In 1941, Mr. Rowan attended Williams College for a year and then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) upon his acceptance into its engineering program. The program was interrupted by World War II, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and trained to become a bomber pilot, flying B-17s and B-29s, though the war ended before he could fly in combat. He returned to MIT to earn his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Among his many interests, Mr. Rowan was an avid pilot and sailor who was a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame and who competed in the 1992 Olympic Star Class sailboat racing trials in Miami. He published his autobiography, “The Fire Within” in 1995.
The son of the late Dr. Henry M. Rowan Sr. and Margaret Frances Boyd Rowan, Mr. Rowan also was predeceased by his first wife, Betty; his sons, James and David; and two of his siblings, Margaret and William.
Mr. Rowan is survived by his wife, Lee; his daughter, Virginia and son-in-law, Manning J. Smith III; his grandchildren, Rowan Smith Watson and Manning J. Smith IV; and his sister Miriam Mallory.
Services will be held after the first of the year. Rowan University will hold a memorial service at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made in Mr. Rowan’s name to the American Foundry Society and the Lake George Land Conservancy.
The Port Authority’s commissioners voted Thursday to assume the lead role in a $20 billion project that is expected to double rail capacity between New York and New Jersey.
New York State Task Force recommends overhauling Common Core and adopting new, high quality, locally-driven New York State-specific designed standards
Task Force also recommends reducing over-testing to reduce anxiety
Governor Cuomo announced the final report and recommendations of the Common Core Task Force – a diverse group of educators, parents, education officials and state representatives – which was charged with comprehensively reviewing and making recommendations on reforming the current Common Core system and the way we teach and test our students. The Task Force recommends overhauling the current Common Core system and adopting new, locally-driven New York State standards in a transparent and open process to make sure all students are prepared to succeed in an increasingly competitive 21st century economy. The new standards, curriculum and tests must be uniquely developed for New York students with sufficient local input. The Task Force also recommends that current Common Core aligned tests should not count for students or teachers until the start of 2019-2020 school year to ensure the system is implemented completely and properly to avoid the errors caused by the prior flawed implementation.
Governor Cuomo said: “After listening to thousands of parents, educators and students, the Task Force has made important recommendations that include overhauling the Common Core, adopting new locally-designed high quality New York standards, and greatly reducing testing and testing anxiety for our students. The Common Core was supposed to ensure all of our children had the education they needed to be college and career-ready – but it actually caused confusion and anxiety. That ends now. Today, we will begin to transform our system into one that empowers parents, teachers and local districts and ensures high standards for all students. I thank the Task Force members for their thorough work. Together we will ensure that New York’s schools provide the world-class education that our children deserve.”
The Task Force was chaired by Richard Parsons, Senior Advisor, Providence Equity Partners, LLC and former Chairman of Citigroup.
Richard Parsons said: “While adoption of the Common Core was extremely well intentioned, its implementation has caused confusion and upheaval in classrooms across New York State. We believe that these recommendations, once acted on, provide a means to put things back on the right track and ensure high quality standards that meet the needs of New York’s kids. The recommendations will provide the foundation to restore public trust in the education system in New York and build on the long history of excellence that preceded this period. On behalf of all the Task Force members, I thank everyone who submitted feedback during our review, as well as the Governor for providing us with this opportunity to improve the education system for students across New York State.”
The Task Force heard from more than 2,100 students, parents, teachers, administrators and other education stakeholders through public forums held across the state, thousands of pages of testimony and outreach to educators.
The Task Force affirmed the importance of maintaining the highest quality standards and performance measures in education. However, the Task Force found that over the past decade there has been rapid change in education, including the 2009 federal Race to the Top and Common Core which has created confusion and disruption in states across the nation, including New York. Moreover, the original process to adopt and implement the Common Core standards, curriculum and tests in New York had implementation issues and failed to include sufficient input from educators, parents and local districts and was not open and transparent.
To ensure that the State moves forward with high quality education standards the Task Force made 21 recommendations including:
Overhauling the Common Core and adopting locally-driven high quality New York education standards with input from local districts, educators, and parents through a transparent and open process that are age-appropriate and allow educators flexibility for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners.
Establishing a transparent and open process by which New York standards are periodically reviewed by educators and content area experts, since educators know their schools and students best.
Providing educators and local school districts with the flexibility to develop and tailor curriculum to meet the needs of their individual students and requiring the State to create and release new and improved curriculum resources that educators can then adapt to meet the needs of their individual students.
Engaging New York educators, not a private corporation, to drive the review and creation of State standards-aligned tests in an open and transparent manner.
Minimizing student testing anxiety by reducing the number of test days and test questions and providing ongoing test transparency to parents, teachers and districts on test questions and student test scores.
Ensuring that State tests account for different types of learners, including Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners.
The Task Force found that to implement the new system would require significant work including a comprehensive review of the current Common Core Standards in order to adopt new New York State Standards and create new curriculum and assessments in an open and transparent manner for the nearly 700 school districts, 5,000 schools, 200,000 plus teachers and 2.65 million students. Therefore, the Task Force believes that in order to finally get the system right there must be adequate time to implement the system. Given all of the work and time required to review and adopt new standards, improve and adapt curriculum, and create new assessments, any current Common Core aligned tests should not count for students or teachers until the start of 2019-2020 school year when the new statewide standards developed through this process will be put into place.
Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan said: “Today’s task force report is another step forward in our overall efforts to ensure that New York’s educational system is both student-centric and parent-centric. These reforms will build on what we have already done to ease the anxiety that exists in many classrooms across the state while reinforcing the importance of high standards. I thank Senator Marcellino for his contributions and look forward to discussing this report with the Governor, the Assembly, and all of the various stakeholders across this state.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said: “While there is still much work left to be done, this report is a good first step in our efforts to improve New York’s educational standards and overhaul Common Core. The Assembly has long fought for the principles underlying the report’s recommendations. I thank Assembly Education Chair Cathy Nolan for her hard work on the Commission, and we look forward to working with parents, students, teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members and advocates in our effort to ensure that New York has the best education system possible. Our children deserve nothing less.”
New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said: “The Task Force has adopted many if not most of the Board of Regents’ recommendations for improving the implementation of the higher standards we’ve set for our students. The most important message in the Task Force report is the renewed commitment to adopting and maintaining higher standards. We cannot turn our backs on our students at a time when the world is demanding more from them – more skills, more knowledge, more problem-solving.”
New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said: “In my first few months as commissioner, I’ve traveled across the state and heard a large cross section of New Yorkers — our teachers, parents and educators –share their deep concern for improving the education of our children. And as a member of the Common Core Task Force, I’ve heard those same stakeholders express those same concerns. Likewise, the Department’s AimHighNY survey unfolded the same passionate call for clear learning standards to serve as guideposts to future success for our children. Now it’s time to move forward and deliver on the promise we’ve made to our students and give them the best schools possible.”
The comprehensive report provides the history and context of learning standards and specifically, a review of the Common Core Standards in New York; a summary of testimony and stakeholder feedback across several categories and specific Task Force responses; and a full description of Task Force Recommendations.
The Education Transformation Act of 2015 will remain in place, and no new legislation is required to implement the recommendations of the report, including recommendations regarding the transition period for consequences for students and teachers. During the transition, the 18 percent of teachers whose performance is measured, in part, by Common Core tests will use different local measures approved by the state, similar to the measures already being used by the majority of teachers.
The report builds on the Governor’s longstanding commitment to education reform, including the recent laws together with the Legislature banning standardized testing for students in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade, capping test preparation to two percent of learning time, not counting the Common Core scores against students and requiring the State Education Department to help districts eliminate unnecessary standardized tests for all other students.
Ridgewood Neighbors Protest the Removal of Tree by the Village
December 11,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Christina Ercolano, age 51, of 59 Ehtelbert Place, Ridgewood, blocked Village of Ridgewood employees from removing a towering shade tree on Friday morning, 12/11, until threatened with arrest by Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser. Several of her Ethelbert Place neighbors stood by as Ms. Eroclano asked Village officials why a “perfectly healthy” tree was being cut down.
Two (2) Ridgewood PD uniformed patrol officers and a uniformed supervisor were called to the scene and were ready to take the woman into custody had she not voluntarily stepped back from the tree. The tree was reportedly being removed to facilitate the expansion of a nearby home. According to Engineer Rutishauser, the tree will be replaced by a new tree at a later date.
Ridgewood NJ ,The New Jersey Choral Society is seeking about 50 young singers from grades 6 through 12 for an ensemble to join in their spring 2016 performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Auditions will be held for treble voices (soprano, alto and unchanged tenors) on Monday, January 11, 2016 starting at 4pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Registration forms with a $10 application fee must be postmarked by January 4, 2016. Audition requirements include a memorized solo. Other requirements and details are available on the New Jersey Choral Society website at www.njcs.org under “Upcoming Events”. Interested students, parents and educators should contact Festival Youth Chorus Director, Noelle Dachis, at [email protected] for more information.
Students selected for the chorus are expected to attend weekly rehearsals held at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Mondayevenings from January to June, 2016. Performances of Carmina Burana are scheduled for May 21 in Bethel, CT, and June 4 in Ridgewood, NJ. There is an additional potential performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in mid-June. The Festival Youth Chorus will be singing the rarely performed Ragazzi portion of Orff’s beautiful work. This will be a unique and exciting opportunity for young choral singers to perform with the New Jersey Choral Society and Maestro Eric Dale Knapp, and a rare experience to include on college applications, especially for students heading into a music study.
Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, and France.
We were excited that our football team made it to the final round of competition at Met Life Stadium on December 5. It was great to see so many people from our community support our team, band, and cheerleaders for this final event. The high school even ran student fan buses for close to 90 students. Although the final score did not go our way, we are extremely proud of our coaches and players.
Unfortunately, despite previous warnings and pleas for assistance, Ridgewood High School was not portrayed in the best light in the stands or in the parking lot. Administrators and faculty members spent much of the game dealing with students that were under the influence and/or involved in disruptive behavior. In addition, the parking lot in the Ridgewood section was left in a very poor state with trash and broken bottles.
As we move forward, we hope this event will be a learning experience for all. The incidents referenced above are not unique to this one weekend and come on the heels of the most recent issues at RHS regarding students and postings on social media sites, i.e., Yik Yak, Finstagram, Instagram, etc. Many of these negative behaviors we have been experiencing are illegal, disruptive, and/or dangerous. These incidents give us a chance to pause, reflect, and engage in meaningful discussions about character and decision-making. We do not want to have these conversations after a tragic or permanently harmful event occurs.
Students, parents, and educators are continually being challenged to set limits in children’s lives that effectively support growth and healthy behavior. Although initially frustrated, children thrive and are grateful in the long run when parents and educators set parameters and limits. These concerns are not unique to Ridgewood but must be shared as a community.
At RHS, we will continue to have educational discussions with our students about the effects of drugs and alcohol; assist in the emotional, psychological, and physical development of our teenagers; and teach about character and decision-making through class lessons, athletics, and the arts.
In the weeks and months to come, we will be engaging in conversations with students and parents throughout the community. We encourage you to do the same. If you have any suggestions or feedback you wish to share, please reach out to any teacher, coach, or administrator as we work on determining the best course of action to help our youth reach their fullest potential.
DECEMBER 10, 2015, 11:58 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:04 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
With so many parents and students virtually inseparable from their cellphones, North Jersey school districts are increasingly turning to smartphone applications as the most efficient means of sharing information about school closings, delayed openings and emergencies.
The Wood-Ridge school system launched a mobile app in late October.
Wood-Ridge and East Rutherford were among the districts that introduced free apps for mobile devices this fall, using them not only as a way of sharing time-sensitive notifications, but also to put announcements, lunch menus, staff directories and other useful information at parents’ fingertips, district officials said.
And for urban districts — such as Paterson, which was among the first in New Jersey to introduce an app — the technology has the added appeal of being capable of translating school messages into dozens of languages for students and families of many nationalities, many of them at the lower end of the income scale.
“School districts need to provide equity of access, and speak to communities of all socioeconomic levels,” said Nate Brogan, senior vice president of SchoolMessenger, a company based in Scotts Valley, Calif., that has developed apps for about 30 districts in New Jersey, including Paterson, and 400 nationally. “And often the most disadvantaged among us are actually where you have the greatest adoption of smartphones because it’s often a lifeline. It may be someone doesn’t have the Internet at home, but they have a smartphone. So many school districts use this as a way to involve their entire educational community.”
And in an era of deadly school shootings, parents have been quick to embrace school district apps as a communications system that can swiftly catch their attention and transmit information.
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Council on Wednesday unanimously introduced a $12.3 million bond ordinance for the construction of a proposed parking deck at the Hudson Street lot.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Despite the governing body’s full support of the ordinance introduction, two council members expressed their reservations about certain aspects of the parking garage proposal, most notably the lack of a definitive plan.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who was concerned that the public may not know all of the details of the potential parking garage, said that she supported the ordinance introduction “with the understanding that I’m doing a reach out and getting a lot of information and public input as to their understanding of the structure, and making sure the financials are absolutely intact.”
Councilman Michael Sedon also noted his desire for additional information to be distributed among Ridgewood residents and members of the Central Business District (CBD).
“Once a concrete plan is in place with rates and enforcement times, I’d like to go out to send a letter to the business community letting them know exactly what the plan is, so if there are any questions or blowback, we can deal with that beforehand, and not after the fact.”
He further explained his reasons, recalling a Village Council decision several years ago to increase the sewage discharge fees assessed to CBD businesses. According to Sedon, “nobody seemed to know or care about [the fee increase when it was discussed].
“Once the bills hit the mailboxes,” he added, “there were 50 or 60 angry businesses owners here.”
Sedon said he hopes to avoid a repeat occurrence of that.
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A 20-year-old New Jersey man has admitted conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group by planning to travel to Syria and join them.
Nader Saadeh of Rutherford pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to conspiring with others to provide material support to the Islamic State group.
He remains detained without bail.
Saadeh is the last of three New Jersey defendants, including his brother, to admit guilt in the case, which came to light in August when he was arrested by the FBI.
He acknowledged a co-defendant showed him diagrams for making homemade bombs and discussed plans to use them in Times Square, the World Trade Center and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens.
The feds received a tip from a roommate in the spring that Saadeh’s behavior had changed dramatically and he had become obsessed with ISIS.
Saadeh said that ISIS’ execution of a captured Jordanian Air Force pilot and the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year were justified, according to authorities.
In May, Saadeh flew to Jordan from John F. Kennedy International Airport, telling some of his friends that he was going to Iraq or Syria to join ISIS, authorities said. Investigators intercepted emails from his family begging him not to, according to a criminal complaint.
DECEMBER 10, 2015, 3:15 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015, 3:20 PM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood opened a new front in the widening fight against the state’s largest insurer Thursday, with a lawsuit demanding that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey halt further advertising of a new, tiered health plan because — by leaving their hospitals out of the preferred tier — it makes them look inferior.
Horizon breached its contract with the hospitals when it announced the new Omnia health plans in September, the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack by the two hospitals and five others said. The insurer was obligated to give the hospitals an opportunity to negotiate participation in the new plans, the suit said.
The Omnia plans, now being advertised widely, group hospitals into two tiers, and will allow patients to pay lower deductibles and co-insurance when they seek care from a preferred, or Tier 1, hospital. The plans are being sold to individuals, small businesses, state government employees and people who buy insurance through the federal Affordable Care Act for coverage starting Jan. 1. Premiums are 12 to 15 percent lower than for other Horizon plans.
“They’re using marketing that is misleading,” said Michael Furey, an attorney with Day Pitney who represents the seven hospital systems suing Horizon, saying that this damages the reputation of his clients. They’re “making the consumer think that somehow the Tier 1 hospitals are superior and the Tier 2 hospitals are inferior,” he said.
Horizon is the largest provider of health insurance in New Jersey, with more than 50 percent of the commercial market. In total, including Medicare, Medicaid, state and federal employee coverage, it provides insurance to 3.8 million people in the state.
In Bergen and Passaic counties, the Tier 1 network includes St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, with hospitals in Wayne and Paterson, and Hackensack University Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals — HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley in Westwood and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
Holy Name, Valley, and St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic are in Tier 2.
