Author: James

Posted on by — 1 Comment

New Jersey families welcome regulations of group homes for dementia patients

14405_trenton_new_jersey_s_state_house_capitol_in_trenton

 

NOVEMBER 16, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015, 12:29 AM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO AND ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

Group homes for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia are expected to undergo more-rigorous scrutiny under a new law that was spurred by reports of patients wandering away or falling while unsupervised.

Under the measure signed by Governor Christie on Monday, such homes will be regulated as health care facilities by the State Department of Health, instead of as boarding homes under state housing officials. The homes, typically in residential neighborhoods, represent a relatively new niche in the elder-care market.

The law will take effect in June. One of the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, said the new provisions will allow families of dementia patients in group homes to have “peace of mind knowing they’re getting the best care possible.”

As of last December, 24 dementia-care group homes were operating in New Jersey. Such facilities typically employ nurses and aides to take care of patients, and advertise themselves as a more home-like alternative to nursing homes.

Group homes for dementia patients have been regulated by the state Department of Community Affairs, whose inspectors are trained to monitor building and safety issues. The law’s sponsors argued that the facilities should be treated more like nursing homes and subject to the same kinds of regulations and oversight, with reviews conducted by people with medical expertise.

Under the new law, each group home will be required to get a new license as a “dementia care home” through the Department of Health.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-jersey-families-welcome-regulations-of-group-homes-for-dementia-patients-1.1456095

 

Posted on by — 11 Comments

Failure to Stop, Causes accident on the Corner of Fairway and Van Dien in Ridgewood

failure to stop
photo courtesy of Boyd Lovings Facebook page
Disregard of Stop Sign Causes accident on the Corner of Fairway and Van Dien in Ridgewood
November 16,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The driver of a Volvo XT90 was issued a summons for disregarding a stop sign at the intersection of Fairway Road and North Van Dien Avenue in Ridgewood on Tuesday, 11/17. Her actions caused the Volvo to collide with a 4-door Hyundai Sonata.
Both vehicles were removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck and a passenger in the Hyundai was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital with a non-life threatening injury. Ridgewood FD Engine Company 35 personnel attended to a minor accident related fluid spill.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

New Jersey Department of Homeland Security : No specific, credible threats to New Jersey in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris

Route_17_Glen062_theridgewoodblog

photo by Boyd Loving

NEW JERSEY: SITUATIONAL REPORT AS OF 2:00 PM
November 15, 2015

As of 2:00 today, there are no specific, credible threats to New Jersey in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, New Jersey’s homeland security and law enforcement agencies will remain on heightened alert throughout the day. Security has been increased at all events where large numbers of people are expected.

Updated death tolls from Paris reveal at least 132 have been killed, with over 350 injured. One American from California has been confirmed killed, while three other Americans were reportedly injured.

OHSP convened two conference calls yesterday with county and local authorities, as well as with the faith-based community. Both calls totaled roughly 300 participants.

OHSP, along with counterterrorism partners from New York, will host a webinar tomorrow at 2:00 pm on the Paris attacks.

For more information on the webinar, visit:
www.njhomelandsecurity.gov/webinar-paris-attacks-update-and-implications

French authorities announced this morning they are actively searching for an individual directly involved with the Friday attacks. The ongoing investigation into the attacks suggests direction possibly from Syria, and the involvement of multiple coordinators in several countries.

According to the FBI and French media, seven attackers were killed during the attacks and investigators are searching for accomplices. French authorities have identified two of the deceased attackers; one was as a French national on a government terrorist watchlist, while the other is believed to have been a Syrian refugee who entered Europe through Greece last month.

Yesterday, Belgian police conducted raids near Brussels in connection with the Paris attacks and arrested seven people. On November 5, German police arrested a man near the German-Austrian border with hidden firearms, explosives, and hand grenades in his vehicle; he possessed documentation possibly linking him with the attacks.

Report Suspicious Activity
[email protected]
1-866-4-SAFE-NJ or 2-1-1

General Inquiries:
[email protected]
609-584-4000

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 091
Trenton, NJ 08625

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Cannabis Legalization Back on the Agenda at Senate Hearing

cheech-and-chong

 

Given all that it took to get a medical marijuana program up and running in New Jersey, you might think that the idea of legalizing recreational use of cannabis would be low on the list of agenda items for lawmakers here. But, with states like Colorado and Oregon showing that legalization can prove to be a big budget boon without – so far – a terrible downside, New Jersey lawmakers are planning to at least start seriously talking about it. Senator Nick Scutari will hold a committee hearing on the issue Monday. David Cruz, NJSpotlight Read more

Posted on by — 7 Comments

Christie says he’ll ‘never’ approve giving drivers licenses to undocumented N.J. residents

wanted

Drivers Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants Clears Assembly Panel

Legislation that would grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants passed the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee in a 3-2 voteon Monday. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ.com Read more

Christie on Drivers’ Licenses for Undocumenteds: ‘Dangerous and Irresponsible’

As the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee considers drivers’ licenses for undocumented workers, Gov. Chris Christie issued qa statement in opposition. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Read more

 

By Claude Brodesser-Akner | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com TRENTON

TRENTON — As Gov. Chris Christie mulls a bid for the White House, some of his positionson immigration may be evolving. But one remains steadfastly the same.

“I’m not giving driver’s licenses to people who are undocumented. That’s it,” Christie said flatly, speaking on his monthly radio show on New Jersey 101.5.

Christie called the state-issued driver’s license “the single most important form of identification. It gets you onto airplanes. … I cannot give driver’s licenses to people who I cannot be sure who they are … and I’ve had that position right from the beginning.”

Christie was named U.S. Attorney for New Jersey on September 10, 2001. The 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred on his second day on the job.

“When it first happened … all I could think about was the job — what is this going to mean?” Christie told The Associated Press on the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks in 2011.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/christie_says_hell_never_approve_giving_drivers_li.html

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Flags Lowered in Village to Honor Victims in Paris Attacks – Village Council Meetings

half mast flag

Flags Lowered in Village to Honor Victims in Paris Attacks

Following the President’s proclamation on Sunday, Ridgewood has lowered flags to honor the victims of the tragic attacks in Paris.

“of Paris today, in the face of last night’s terror attacks. We will continue with our enhanced preparedness efforts in cooperation with local and regional partners to ensure the safety of our community and region.” Ridgewood Police Department

Village of Ridgewood Board and Council Meetings 

11/17/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – CANCELLED
11/22/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting
12/01/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting
12/02/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work Session
12/08/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting
12/09/158:00PMVillage Council Public Meeting
12/15/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting
12/22/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Affordable Housing Deadline dictates housing dialogue in Ridgewood

Projects_theridgewoodblog

NOVEMBER 16, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015, 2:23 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

With the deadline to submit a housing element to the courts, village officials must act diligently to avoid possible lawsuits and meet its affordable housing obligations.

Housing was a major topic of last Monday’s meeting as affordable housing and how to proceed in regard to the issue of multifamily housing in Ridgewood’s Central Business District (CBD) came to the forefront.

The village successfully applied for a declaratory judgment seeking immunity from possible builder’s remedy lawsuits in July and was given five months to come up with a housing plan to be submitted to the court.

Village Attorney Matthew Rogers noted the court had found Ridgewood had been acting in good faith, which can be at least partially attributed to the inclusion of the Planning Board’s June 2 decision to amend the master plan and create new zones that allow residential and mixed-use development in previous commercial areas.

Rogers said he advised the court the council was carrying the ordinances in order to conduct additional studies as to the impact new housing would have on the village.

The housing element must first be determined by the village’s Planning Board, as it is the sole arbiter of the master plan document. The plan must then be submitted to the Village Council for consideration and adoption before the Dec. 7 deadline.

However, Rogers said there were a couple of “major impediments” to accomplishing that task.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/deadline-dictates-housing-dialogue-in-ridgewood-1.1456572

Posted on by — 12 Comments

Why is the Village Council Not Talking about a PILOT program for Valley Hospital?

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog
November 17,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,  once again we would like to call attention to the article in NorthJersey.com https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-towns-may-push-hospitals-to-pay-up-more-could-seek-property-tax-deals-with-non-profits-1.1453139 which speaks about the current trend in NJ to take away the non-profit status of hospitals.
In the article it states that Morristown Hospital has agreed to pay $15.5 million over the next decade to settle demands for property taxes and that Valley’s Hospital tax liability would be $4.5 million in Ridgewood if its main campus were not exempt.
The article goes on to state Mayor Aronsohn has not been able to bring this issue up because of Valley’s pending application for approval of building plans. Which seems to open the door for Valley expansion and leaves many residents are still looking for some clarification on this as I don’t understand  how one issue precludes the other.
Council women Gwenn Hauck’s has articulated over and over that the potential for money is an important factor in the Village Council’s assessment of the High Density Housing issue. Clearly the Judge in Morristown has just given Ridgewood a much simpler path to a financial windfall then increased High Density Housing could.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Montclair’s parking study puts optimization before construction ,could Ridgewood do the same ?

parking

NOVEMBER 16, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015, 2:35 PM
BY NICHOLAS KATZBAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE MONTCLAIR TIMES

Thomas Brown of Nelson Nygaard, a New York City-based transportation consulting firm, has been making rounds and fielding questions at Montclair’s ward meetings.

His firm has been consulting the Township Council and other municipal offices on a parking survey, hoping to answer the many questions and complaints from townsfolk regarding what some view as a dearth of available and appropriately timed parking spaces.

During this past Thursday’s 1st Ward community meeting, Brown said, “Every town I go to, whether it’s New York City, Washington, D.C., or small towns like Davenport, Iowa, everyone is convinced they have inadequate parking supplies.”

Brown explained it is common to see “congestion of demand” in certain areas, and the possibility to shift demand to other areas that are underutilized.

The consultant used the word “management” to explain the study’s overall purpose, but he did not take the construction of new parking facilities off the table. He highlighted the importance of seeking alternative solutions that do not require the construction of new spaces. “That’s where we start. If we feel, at the end of the day, it’s not enough, then we start talking about supply.”

After the meeting, Brown spoke with The Montclair Times, and broke down his company’s strategy into three stages.

First, he said, the firm will look at how many available parking spaces are in a municipality – in this case, Montclair. Next, it would look at the busiest time for a shopping district, or other area with congested parking. Third, it would count how many spaces in that area are being used during the district’s peak hours, and more importantly, other nearby parking areas that are not being used.

“To give you an example,” said Brown, “in Vineland, NJ, on their main street the on-street meters would be totally full, but the lots behind the businesses were half empty.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/montclair-s-parking-study-puts-optimization-before-construction-1.1456517

Posted on by — 1 Comment

N.J. Transit’s Homeless Brace for New Arrivals From New York

Ridgewood_Train_Statin_theridgewoodblog

November 16, 2015
Elise Young

As New York City cracks down on panhandling, towns served by New Jersey Transit’s busiest rail lines are in a homelessness crisis, with a surge of people taking shelter in train stations and other public places.

Total homelessness in New Jersey has dropped 27 percent since 2011, but an increasing number of people are avoiding shelters and sleeping in areas not intended as living quarters. In Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties, thick with Manhattan commuters, the unsheltered increase is 22 percent to 86 percent. In Mercer County, where Trenton’s bus and rail station is on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, the number has more than doubled.

New York City’s homeless population, meanwhile, has soared, reaching a record of 60,670 staying in shelters in January, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, a Manhattan-based nonprofit service group. In recent weeks, Mayor Bill de Blasio has led breakups of encampments, discouraged passers-by from handing over spare change and deployed more outreach workers to push shelters.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-16/n-j-transit-s-homeless-brace-for-new-arrivals-from-new-york

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Francois Hollande is making Obama look like a fool

Francois Hollande

By Andrea Peyser

November 16, 2015 | 2:17am

It’s beyond surreal that the president of France is making the American president look like a cheese-eating amateur.

The terror attacks in Paris Friday took scores of livesand thrust the entire civilized world into paroxysms of grief and despair. Then something unexpected happened.

French President François Hollande stepped up to the soccer goal. And he displayed the kind of leadership one normally does not associate with the randy politician presiding over the land of vintage Champagne and Brie.

No sooner had ISIS claimed responsibility for the butchery than Hollande got in front of TV cameras and told the traumatized public that the savagery was an “act of war.’’ He vowed to pound ISIS into submission.

Compare that to the American president’s initial reaction. President Obama, who once ridiculed ISIS (or “ISIL,” as he calls it) by comparing it to a junior varsity squad, was loath to point fingers. “I don’t want to speculate at this point in terms of who was responsible for this,” he said.

https://nypost.com/2015/11/16/francois-hollande-is-making-obama-look-like-a-fool/

Posted on by — 5 Comments

It’s time for Obama to make a choice: Lead us or resign

obama-on-phone

By Michael Goodwin

November 14, 2015 | 10:01pm

In any time and place, war is fiendishly simple. It is the ultimate zero-sum contest — you win or you lose.

That eternal truth is so obvious that it should not need to be said. Yet even after the horrific slaughter in Paris, there remains a distressing doubt about whether America’s commander in chief gets it.

President Obama has spent the last seven years trying to avoid the world as it is. He has put his intellect and rhetorical skills into the dishonorable service of assigning blame and fudging failure. If nuances were bombs, Islamic State would have been destroyed years ago.

He refuses to say “Islamic terrorism,” as if that would offend the peaceful Muslims who make up the vast bulk of victims. He rejects the word “war,” even as jihadists carry out bloodthirsty attacks against Americans and innocent peoples around the world.

He shuns the mantle of global leadership that comes with the Oval Office, with an aide advancing the preposterous concept that Obama is “leading from behind.” He snubs important partners like Egypt, showers concessions on the apocalyptic mullahs of Iran, and called the Islamic State the “jayvee team” even as it was beginning to create a caliphate.

https://nypost.com/2015/11/14/its-time-for-obama-to-make-a-choice-lead-us-or-resign/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

N.J. resident in Paris: ‘People are going through a lot of pain here’

wanted

wanted poster

By Alex Napoliello | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 15, 2015 at 4:34 PM, updated November 15, 2015 at 5:58 PM

For Kelly Coyle, the terrorist attacks in Paris are all too familiar.

The 45-year-old Hoboken resident worked in 7 World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and was just blocks away when the first tower collapsed.

On Friday night, Coyle and a friend were having dinner near their hotel in the 7th arrondissement of Paris when she started receiving text messages from family and friends asking if she was safe.

Coyle didn’t know it at the time, but a series of coordinated terrorist attacks were being carried out across Paris. The attacks left at least 129 people dead and hundreds of others injured.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/nj_resident_in_paris_describes_mood_following_terr.html#incart_river_home

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Homeland Security chairman: ‘Gaping holes’ on refugees

illegal immigrants3

By Julian Hattem – 11/15/15 11:36 AM EST

The head of the House Homeland Security Committee warned on Sunday that “gaping holes” within U.S. defenses make the nation vulnerable to attacks similar to Friday’s violence in Paris.

“There are a lot of holes — gaping holes,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We have hundreds of Americans that have traveled” to Iraq and Syria, he added. “Many of them have come back as well. I think that’s a direct threat.”

McCaul has previously warned that the flow of Europeans and — to a lesser extent — Americans into the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) poses a threat to those countries when people return home.

In addition, McCaul has warned that an influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the ongoing chaos provides a perfect opportunity for Islamic extremists to slip into the U.S. or another country undetected.

“This causes a great concern on the part of policymakers, because we don’t want to be complicit with a program that could bring potential terrorists into the United States,” McCaul said.

One of the men involved in Friday’s attack across Paris, which killed 129 people, was reported to have slipped into the country by disguising himself as a Syrian refugee.

Though the Obama administration has insisted that that revelation does not affect its plans to allow thousands more migrants into the U.S., the news will surely be used by opponents of the policy.

On Capitol Hill, top intelligence and law enforcement officials have testified that “gaps” in intelligence about the refugees leave them with some worries.

McCaul on Sunday said that he had spoken with officials at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, who “they tell me this cannot be properly done.”

“We don’t have the databases to vet them.”

 

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/260213-house-chairman-gaping-holes-on-refugees

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Quality of Life Issues Abound in Bergen County

maple+field1-300x19911

Battle over Northern Highlands Regional district’s field lights heading to court

NOVEMBER 15, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2015, 9:59 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

ALLENDALE — The Northern Highlands Regional High School Board of Education is going to court to defend the new electric-powered light trailers on its athletic fields.

Three neighboring residents are suing the school district, claiming it’s unlawfully using the mobile trailers with lights up to 72 feet tall in defiance of state and local statutes and past court rulings.

On Thursday, the school board, the Northern Highlands Regional High School Sports Association and the Allendale Planning Board and Board of Adjustment filed a civil action in Superior Court in Hackensack asking a judge to dismiss the neighbors’ lawsuit and declare that the school’s use of the lights is legal.

The school has been using mobile, diesel-powered light trailers ever since the late 1990s, after the Planning Board denied the sports association’s application to build permanent 70-foot-tall light towers with a concrete foundation.

The board is arguing that mobile light trailers don’t require any kind of zoning variance or site-plan approval because they don’t fall under state and local definitions of “structure,” “fixture” or “development.”

The school says that it’s used the new electric-powered light trailers about 30 times since they were delivered in September, and that they’re less noisy and smelly than the previously rented diesel-powered trailers.

“As a result, hundreds of children have been able to safely use the turf field at Northern Highlands after dark,” reads the counterclaim filed Thursday.

The school “shall continue to utilize mobile light trailers in connection with its lawful lighting of the athletic fields on the property,” reads the counterclaim, which seeks compensatory, consequential and punitive damages.

In two counts of the neighbors’ eight-count lawsuit filed in October, they claim the new lights will be a public nuisance harming neighbors and that the Board of Education will be liable for damages.

“The development will give rise to a continual invasion of adjoining property by reason of light trespass and light and noise pollution,” reads the lawsuit, which also claims the taller lights will lead to lowered property values and a worse quality of life.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/crime-and-courts/battle-over-northern-highlands-regional-district-s-field-lights-heading-to-court-1.1455826