Average pay and benefits $52,688 higher than non-gov’t employees
BY: Elizabeth Harrington
October 8, 2015 2:45 pm
Employees for the federal government earn far more than their counterparts in the private sector, according to a new study by the Cato Institute.
Federal workers’ pay and benefits were 78 percent higher than private employees, who earned an average of $52,688 less than public sector workers last year.
The study found that federal government workers earned an average of $84,153 in 2014, compared to the private sector’s average of $56,350. Cato based its findings on figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
But when adding in benefits pay for federal workers, the difference becomes more dramatic. Federal employees made $119,934 in total compensation last year, while private sector workers earned $67,246, a difference of over $52,000, or 78 percent.
Delzio letter to the editor published on 10/2 by The Ridgewood News
Councilwoman has clear conflict
TO THE EDITOR:
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen acknowledged two weeks ago that she had recused herself from further council votes on Schedler Park. She did so through an opaque and nuanced explanation for the recusal and after she voted against the Schedler Park proposal at the Village Council meeting on Aug. 12. That’s a fact.
Councilwoman Knudsen’s conflict is simple; she failed to disclose a personal interest in property adjacent to Schedler Park. In her role as a council member, we expect Councilwoman Knudsen to be truthful and transparent, and not play games on issues that affect the future of our village.
Now that Councilwoman Knudsen has recused herself from any further Schedler discussion at the municipal level, she would better serve all citizens of the village by 1) dropping the deception and 2) assisting the Ridgewood Eastside Development group (RED) in its quest to preserve the Schedler house, which is part of the current Schedler Park development plan.
Finally, Councilwoman Knudsen’s father, Jack Traina, needlessly insulted the other members of the Village Council, see The Record, Aug. 24, at noon, amended at8:20 a.m., same day.
An apology by Susan to all involved is appropriate and warranted.
Don Delzio
CORRECTION
The Ridgewood News October 9, 2015
In a letter to the editor written by Ridgewood resident Don Delzio and published in last week’s edition, Mr. Delzio wrote that Councilwoman Susan Knudsen stated during a public meeting that she would recuse herself from “further council votes” and “further Schedler discussion at the municipal level.”
Councilwoman Knudsen made no such statement. She stated that when the village attorney suggested that there might be a conflict that she heeded his advice until such time that the Local Finance Board responds to her inquiry.
The letter also stated that the councilwoman failed to disclose a personal interest in property adjacent to Schedler Park. Councilwoman Knudsen does not own any property adjacent to or near Schedler Park. The councilwoman stated at the meeting that her family member who lives in the vicinity of Schedler does not live in her household. Tax records reveal that her parents own property near Schedler.
The Ridgewood News regrets the errors and any embarrassment or distress it may have caused Councilwoman Knudsen.
I said there is no net gain, because there is no net gain. In the case of Brogan, those spaces are being lost because the Council majority approved the introduction of ordinances which allow for development of the property. That same majority is touting a net gain in total number of parking spaces due to this garage plan; they’ve conveniently forgotten about the lost spaces at Brogan caused by their approval of development there. And you seem to have conveniently forgotten about the loss of street spots on Hudson Street. If the garage is full of those who now park at Brogan and Ken Smith, and who could perhaps park there for years if it were not for the Council majority’s rush for massive development, where’s the net gain for use by shoppers and restaurant patrons? I oppose this plan because it is asinine, expensive, and nothing more than a shoot from the hip attempt buying the good will of and future campaign contributions from major property owners in the Village.
On Friday, President Barack Obama plans to visit the community of Roseburg, Oregon, home of Umpqua Community College, the school that has become “ground zero” in the most recent gun control debate. But the president’s visit has raised the ire of many who believe his trip is intended to advance his gun control agenda. As of late Thursday, nearly 7,900 people have said they intend to protest Obama’s visit. On Thursday, Seattle’s KING-5 said that multiple protests are planned for the day, with at least two being held by the Douglas County Tea Party to show support for County Sheriff John Hanlin.
Early Thursday, the Facebook event “Defend Roseburg — Deny Barack Obama” boasted over 6,500 possible attendees. That number significantly increased in the course of the day, with the event gaining support nationwide. It is uncertain exactly how many of those will actually show up, however, as a number have said they are coming from California and elsewhere.
Event organizers have also announced protests in two separate locations. They intend to stay away from the funerals and some may bring firearms, they added, suggesting that those who come armed carry handguns as opposed to rifles.
OCTOBER 9, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015, 11:44 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) has a new member.
In order to fill the vacancy created when longtime trustee Michele Lenhard submitted her resignation this past summer, board members interviewed six candidates at a meeting last month.
The decision came down to two candidates – Nicole Richards and Jennie Smith Wilson – with Smith Wilson eventually being selected during a special BOE meeting on Thursday.
Smith Wilson is currently a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Ridgewood Education Foundation.
During the public interview, Smith Wilson said she would be able to utilize her 25 years of advertising experience to improve the flow of communication between the board and the community.
“I often hear or see parents’ frustrations come out in BOE meetings and in social media over concerns that we could press for a better process of communication, and I think that’s very important because it can distract from the issues at hand,” she said.
Click Here for the Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline – as reported by the Village Manager at the September 16, 2015 Village Council Public Meeting.
Wednesday, August 12th the Village Council discussed the use of the Schedler property. They voted on the following resolutions:
Click Here for Schedler Property Resolution including House
Click Here for Resolution to apply fpr Schedler House Grant
Click Here for Conceptual Map of the park project. The existing structure (460 W. Saddle River Road) is identified by standard architecture/engineering markings. The electrical wire to the house is included. The garage is not identified on this drawing.
Ridgewood NJ , According Rep Scott Garrett , “This week in Bergen County we saw a train derailment. While thankfully there were no injuries or environmental damage, it’s obvious that we need to know that the train lines carrying hazardous materials through our towns are safe and reliable. Today I requested that the Federal Railroad Administration share information about the safety condition of train tracks and infrastructure carrying crude oil through New Jersey’s Fifth District.”
Furthermore Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) today called upon Sarah Feinberg, Acting Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), to share information about the safety condition of train tracks and infrastructure carrying crude oil through New Jersey’s Fifth District. The letter asks FRA to acquire the most recent inspection reports from CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway and establish a time for the Congressman and local officials to review the reports.
“Just this week in Bergen County we saw a train derailment,” said Garrett. “While thankfully there were no injuries or environmental damage, it’s obvious that we need to know that the train lines carrying hazardous materials through our towns are safe and reliable.”
Specifically, Garrett requested the following information for the time period covering January 1, 2013 to the present as it relates to rail infrastructure within the Fifth District of New Jersey:
All safety inspection reports currently in the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) possession Any recommendations made to the rail industry to improve the condition of the rail infrastructure Any findings of structurally deficient rail infrastructure The schedule of future FRA safety inspections Notices from the rail industry on scheduled maintenance and infrastructure upgrades
“We have a right to know if the rail infrastructure in our communities meets or exceeds safety standards and, if it does not, what action is being taken to address any deficiencies,” wrote Garrett in the letter. “This is information that my constituents should not have to wait long to receive.”
Candidate for Bergen County Freeholder, Peter Rohrman released the following statement in response to recent a call to the Board of Chosen Freeholders to execute its authority under New Jersey law (NJSA 52:17B-106) to have the state’s Attorney General supersede Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ – Oct 6, 2015: In recent years, there have been numerous allegations reported by several news agencies that have cast a dark shadow over the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. The list of allegations include bribery, illegal wiretapping, judicial intimidation, abuse of office, destruction of evidence, fraud, waste, no bid contract, and MURDER!
Beyond those allegations, our state’s Appellate Division and Supreme Court have repeatedly admonished the Bergen County Prosecutor’s behavior and actions.
I have previously raised these concerns in a recent interview with Alyana Alfaro of PolitickerNJ.com in an Aug 31 published interview. This issue needs to be at the forefront of this November’s election.
SPRING AWAKENING’s Ali Stroker caught the acting bug at age seven, five years after being paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident.
“I was a little girl in a wheelchair. And then when I started to perform, I felt like I was now an actress and a singer. And it gave me another identity. And it made me feel really good.”
Stroker talks with CBS Evening News about her road to Broadway.
….Several weeks back it was posted on the blog that the grass roots group Citizens for a Better Ridgewood had filed suit against the Village of Ridgewood and or The Ridgewood Planning Board to stop the change in the master plan for the CBD. The Fly has since learned that no one at Village Hall has any knowledge or has been served with the paperwork . Can someone enlighten the Fly on where the law suit stands?
It is quite ironic that the restaurant owners who lobbied so long and hard for this garage (Saraceno, Sullivan, & Vagianos) screwed themselves and their patrons in the process by demanding a structure so large (i.e., expensive) be built that the only way to pay for it is by extending metered parking times until well into the evening.
I can’t wait until they come running back to the Council a few years from now asking that the metered parking be pushed back until 6 PM because their businesses are suffering.
Lesson to be learned John, Ed, and Paul – You can’t have your cake and eat it too!
At approximately 1 p.m. this afternoon, I was informed by Travell School Principal Margaret Leininger that a student had witnessed a male with a gun outside the school building. The Ridgewood Police were immediately notified and on the scene within minutes as the school went into lockdown.
As a preventive measure, due to the proximity of Benjamin Franklin Middle School to Travell, BFMS was also put on lockdown.
The police responded to Travell School and took control, performing a thorough search of the building, grounds and neighborhood. They also viewed the school’s surveillance video and interviewed the student witness. From the surveillance video, the police determined that the person described by the student was a parent picking up his child. The parent was holding a cell phone.
It is important to emphasize that no Travell student or staff member was in danger at any time during this incident.
I am pleased with the response of the principal and staff, and also with the quick and effective response from our administrative team and especially the police. I am also grateful that our students know to come forward when they feel there is a potential problem.
Please be assured that I will always take every appropriate action to protect the safety and well being of our students and staff.
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
He helped stop a terror attack on a European train, met President Obama and even had a parade in his honor.
But on Thursday, Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone found himself in a seedy situation — getting stabbed four times during a street brawl in downtown Sacramento.
Surveillance video shows the 23-year-old Stone getting ambushed by a group of men around 12:45 a.m. following a night of barhopping with pals.
At least three men lunge at Stone as he swings back at them, according to the video taken outside A&P Liquors. About a minute into the fight, a dark blood stain seeps through Stone’s white dress shirt as he staggers back onto the sidewalk.
He was rushed to UC Davis Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery with four knife wounds in his upper torso. As of Thursday evening, Stone was listed in serious but stable condition.
The brawl was just a block away from Badlands Dance Club — which bills itself as “Sacramento’s Premier Gay Nightclub” — and police spent about two hours going in and out of the hot spot on Thursday.
Cops are still looking for the suspects, who were wearing white T-shirts and jeans. They fled the scene in a dark-colored Toyota Camry.
Some senior U.S. officials involved in the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal have privately concluded that a key sanctions relief provision – a concession to Iran that will open the doors to tens of billions of dollars in U.S.-backed commerce with the Islamic regime – conflicts with existing federal statutes and cannot be implemented without violating those laws, Fox News has learned.
At issue is a passage tucked away in ancillary paperwork attached to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, as the Iran nuclear deal is formally known. Specifically, Section 5.1.2 of Annex II provides that in exchange for Iranian compliance with the terms of the deal, the U.S. “shall…license non-U.S. entities that are owned or controlled by a U.S. person to engage in activities with Iran that are consistent with this JCPOA.”
In short, this means that foreign subsidiaries of U.S. parent companies will, under certain conditions, be allowed to do business with Iran. The problem is that the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (ITRA), signed into law by President Obama in August 2012, was explicit in closing the so-called “foreign sub” loophole.
Indeed, ITRA also stipulated, in Section 218, that when it comes to doing business with Iran, foreign subsidiaries of U.S. parent firms shall in all cases be treated exactly the same as U.S. firms: namely, what is prohibited for U.S. parent firms has to be prohibited for foreign subsidiaries, and what is allowed for foreign subsidiaries has to be allowed for U.S. parent firms.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving Travell Elementary and Benjamin Franklin Middle School Locked down on Thursday Afternoon
October 08,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A male second grade student at the Travell Elementary School in Ridgewood reported seeing a man with a handgun at the school’s front door early Thursday afternoon (10/08 @ 12:51 PM), which prompted a full school lock down and response by heavily armed uniformed and plainclothes police officers from several neighboring communities.
A subsequent search of the building and grounds turned up no suspect nor firearm, but as a precaution police also locked down and searched the nearby Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Nothing was found there either, prompting police to signal an “all clear” shortly after 1:30 PM. Police officers from Glen Rock, HoHoKus, Midland Park, and Wyckoff assisted Ridgewood PD units.
