Nearly 10 percent more government workers retired in the first seven months of the year than in the same period last year, a rise some labor leaders say is a response to Gov. Chris Christie’s overtures toward cutting benefits. Samantha Marcus,NJ.com Read more
Community Outreach Series Focuses on Well-being
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Schools 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.
Click here for the series flyer..
First up is “Staying Safe in Cyberspace” by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Cybercrime Division. This program will take place on Wednesday, October 28 from 7-9 p.m. in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium.
Click here for the program flyer.
Click here for the press release from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Click here for the tip sheet handout, “Internet Safety for Our Children,” from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
May 2015, the Village Council tinkered with it and sent it to the Planning Board for comment, the Planning Board liked the tinkering. I don’t know whether the Village Council adopted the changes yet or not.
“Board member David Thurston asked if the new language opened up the board to a charge of making an arbitrary decision if it decides not to move forward with an application.
Village Planner Blais Brancheau said it should not be a problem in obvious cases,…..”
I am sure anyone who makes an application, particularly a big developer, will not regard their application as one that should obviously be turned down. We need to do what other towns do, not have such an ordinance.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/plannerson-board-with-new-changes-1.1340532
“How does the SEC expect average Americans to take the time to make thoughtful financial investments when the average annual report from public companies is a whopping 42,000 words long? Later today, the House will take up my bill to make SEC filings simpler and more useful for average Main Street investors. This will make it easier for everyone to reach their financial goals.” Rep. Scott Garrett
Sep 30, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, today voted for a number of bills before the Financial Services Committee to preserve the ability of American families to access credit and invest for their future:
“Around dinner tables throughout the country, middle and lower income American families discuss their retirement savings as they plan for the future. Unfortunately, many provisions of Dodd-Frank and proposed rules by the Obama Administration are putting more government, more red tape, and more bureaucracy between these people and their financial goals. Today our committee passed a number of bills—many with bipartisan support—to ensure that everyone can access credit, get good financial advice, and invest for retirement.”
The House Financial Services Committee passed the following bills today:
H.R. 414, the “Burdensome Data Collection Relief Act”
H.R. 957, the “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015”
H.R. 1090, the “Retail Investor Protection Act”
H.R. 1266, the “Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2015”
H.R. 2769, the “Risk-Based Capital Study Act of 2015”
Sent secret cable accusing Tehran of 1996 Khobar Towers attack, but kept it from public
By John Solomon – The Washington Times – Monday, October 5, 2015
Bill Clinton’s administration gathered enough evidence to send a top-secret communique accusing Iran of facilitating the deadly 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist bombing, but suppressed that information from the American public and some elements of U.S. intelligence for fear it would lead to an outcry for reprisal, according to documents and interviews.
Before Mr. Clinton left office, the intelligence pointing toward Iran’s involvement in the terror attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. servicemen and wounded hundreds was deemed both extensive and “credible,” memos show.
It included FBI interviews with a half-dozen Saudi co-conspirators who revealed they got their passports from the Iranian embassy in Damascus, reported to a top Iranian general and were trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), officials told The Washington Times.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/5/bill-clinton-white-house-suppressed-evidence-of-ir/
“Gun violence” is not “becoming” anything. Rather, it’s down — and dramatically: National rates of gun homicide and other violent gun crimes are strikingly lower now than during their peak in the mid-1990s, paralleling a general decline in violent crime, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
OCTOBER 5, 2015
(NEW YORK) — New Jersey Governor and 2016 presidential candidate Chris Christie weighed in on the recent mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon, saying that America should get “tougher” on mental health issues.
“I’m very concerned about the mental health side of this,” Christie told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday on “This Week.” Christie advocates making involuntary commitment easier for doctors to enforce if they fear a mentally ill patient could become violent.
“We don’t want to involuntarily commit them, to put them away,” he said. “We want to protect others and get them the help they need.”
Christie, a former prosecutor, also supports stricter enforcement of gun laws. “There’s lawlessness out there,” he said, pointing to Chicago, a city with tough gun laws and high violent crime rates. “We are not enforcing the law in as aggressive way as we should.”
As governor of New Jersey, which has some of the strictest gun laws and lowest murder rates in the country, Christie has vetoed a gun control bill that would have limited the size of munitions magazines.
“I think it’s about the mental health issue,” Christie said. “I don’t think we’re as aggressive as we should be.”
The governor turned his focus from the campaign trail to his home state in recent days, canceling campaign stops in the New Hampshire. He declared a state of emergency in New Jersey to help residents prepare for Hurricane Joaquin, which so far has spared the state from any major damage.
“We’re lucky we dodged a bullet in New Jersey this time,” Christie said.
https://wbt.com/chris-christie-urges-focus-on-mental-health-after-oregon-mass-shooting/
October 4,2015
Ridgewood NJ, Mike White,is a truck driver for our Sanitation Department and has been employed by the Village of Ridgewood for about 21 years. He is considered incredibly professional, very kind and extremely friendly . many residents in tyhe Village are familiar with him .
Last week we all learned that Mike’s son, Michael White, who had also worked directly with him as a seasonal employee, was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in July. Michael was 25 years old and leaves behind a 22-month-old daughter, Breelyn Mikynlee.
Many in the Village were heartbroken to hear of Mike’s loss and recognize.how difficult it must be for Mike and his wife Cheryl as they try to function in their while working through their grief.
Mike and his wife Cheryl are now also helping to support their beautiful granddaughter. As we all know, diapers and toddler’s needs are expensive, and a little bit goes a long way.
If you would like to donate to help Mike and Cheryl during this difficult time,
Obituary https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/northjersey/obituary.aspx?pid=175308603
A Go Fund me Campaign has been set up In Loving Memory of Michael White. Here is the link:https://www.gofundme.com/an5b3hxs
file photo by ArtChick
OCTOBER 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015, 8:52 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A daffodil for every resident
To the Editor:
The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands is looking forward to spring! We are pleased to announce our 2015 campaign: “25,000 Village Residents = 25,000 Daffodils.” Our goal is to plant one daffodil bulb for each village resident.
Three years ago, the conservancy began the fall bulb planting project. To date, 14,000 bulbs were purchased and planted by residents, including Boys and Girls Scout troops, the Ridgewood Public School System and several local social service agencies.
Please join us on Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Stable between the hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help us kick off this exciting event. As we keep working on our various park improvement projects, we also look forward to celebrating our Third Annual Daffodil Festival on Sunday, April 17, 2016.
Please visit our conservancy website at cfrpl.org for ways to participate, and for additional information. We thank our community for their continued support.
Cynthia Halaby
President
Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands
Candidate Forum in Village Hall Courtroom
Sponsored by the League of Women Voters
The District 40 State Assembly Candidates forum will be held on October 26th 7:30pm -9:30 pm in the Village Hall Courtroom.
The ILO of Bergen County ( LWV’s of Glen Rock, Ridgewood, Fairlawn, Teaneck and Northern Valley) is holding a District 40 Candidates Night for The State Assembly at The Ridgewood Court Room in the Municipal Complex.
FPANJ Women’s Group: Health Care Crisis is a Matter of Bureaucracy
Dr. Alieta Eck, founder of Zarephath Health Care Free Clinic and 2014 Congressional Candidate, tells FPANJ Women that taking government out of health care is key to lower costs
Upper Montclair, NJ – October 2015 – Financial Planning Association of New Jersey(FPANJ) has launched a Women’s Group and their inaugural event touched on a hot-button topic: health care costs and the Affordable Care Act.
The group invited Dr. Alieta Eck, M.D., to speak on “How Women Can Solve the Health Care Crisis” last week and her message was well-received among the financial professionals.
“Dr. Eck’s message of reducing costs resonated with our group, especially because we are always working with clients to manage their money, and recent changes in the health care system have proved challenging for many,” Trish Scott, Chairman of the Women’s Group said. “She shared a vision of positive change for the health care in the near future that was enthusiastically received.”
Dr. Alieta Eck pictured front row, second from left, with FPANJ Women’s Group Members and Nick Scheibner, FPANJ PR Chair.
Startling to most in attendance were the statistics comparing the rise in health administrators (more that 3500 percent) to doctors (approximately 100 percent) since 1970. It’s this addition to the health care bureaucracy that Dr. Eck points to for making affordable health care inaffordable for many patients.
“If you have a single mother who has to pay $268 per month for a premium, that’s a lot of money,” Dr. Eck explained. “But if you add a medical problem to that mix, most bronze plans require a $6000 deductible, which skyrockets those costs.”
She also explained that the measures of a good doctor between patients and bureaucracies are vastly different, much to the detriment of the patient-doctor relationship, saying, “Patients measure a doctor on their experience, how well they listen, how much they care. Bureaucracies focus on things like ‘clinical quality metrics,’ and maintenance of certification. In the end they view a good doctor as one who earns and spends less so the bureaucracy can earn more.”
Dr. Eck and husband Dr. John Eck founded the Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured that currently cares for 300-400 patients per month utilizing the services of volunteer physicians and nurses. She explained they spend $13 per patient because of the volunteer staff, and is working with New Jersey lawmakers to pass theVolunteer Medical Professional Health Care Act in the Senate. The bill provides malpractice protection for doctors in their private practice if they volunteer four hours every week at a non-governmental free clinic such as Zarephath.
She contrasted these costs with the $13 billion Medicaid costs for New Jersey, which is approximately one-third of the state’s budget.
Dr. Eck explained the new law could also provide a way to “Help the poor without fleecing the public” with the cost of bureaucracy. The bill is co-sponsored by
Sen. Robert Singer, District 30; and Sen. Brian P. Stack, District 33.
More about Dr. Alieta Eck:
Dr. Eck’s topic “How Women Can Solve the Health Care Crisis,” stems from her interest in health care for the poor and her advocacy against the Affordable Health Care Act, testifying in opposition in 2011 at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing. She has campaigned twice for public office: first as a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2013, and again in 2014 to fill the temporary seat in New Jersey’s 12th District. These bids were unsuccessful, but she continues to be active in advocacy.
OCTOBER 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015, 9:55 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
SADDLE RIVER – No one’s sure how many deer live in the borough, but the more than 50 residents, officials, out-of-towners and state wildlife staffers at Borough Hall on Thursday night largely agreed there are too many, posing problems that need solving.
Where they differed was on what to do – and whether a hunt is feasible in a 5-square-mile borough of about 3,000 people, whose homes sit on at least two-acre lots.
To shed light on an issue the borough has explored for more than a year, the local wildlife management committee invited representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife to speak to the public.
Some attendees called for more attention to non-lethal methods, such as sterilization. But the state biologists said experience shows only lethal methods will affordably and effectively reduce deer populations.
Councilman Paul Schulstad has been drafting an ordinance that would allow limited bow hunting of deer on private lands and also “allow the municipality in the future to hunt on its land,” he said.
That could mean private landowners would be allowed to give written permission to hunters, who would then alert police.
Schulstad said the committee may hold a public forum in late October on non-lethal methods.
To the surprise of some attendees, the state biologists said the overseeing Fish and Game Council would allow a municipality to try a contraceptive approach only if it first allows hunting.
Several residents questioned the practicality of allowing hunting in a suburban neighborhood.
Agree, so much of the division in town now is due to Pfund’s folly and the desperate attempt to let Valley quickly get its expansion in.
Step by step, building by building, we can re-make our downtown without Pfund’s folly. Contrary to the ravings of a few at this week’s hearing, Ridgewood’s finest hour will not pass simply because we proceed in a logical, organized fashion to constructing a downtown that lasts into the next century without dragging down the rest of the Village.
Mr. Kotch is right, we may be looking at a new council in May and I believe it will be a golden opportunity to repeal ordinance 3066. How anyone thought it was a good idea to allow ” interested parties” to request changes to the Master Plan is a mystery. Who can be seen as more interested than the village residents? We are now forced to be viligent and ready to assemble in order to protect Ridgewood from misguided development.
From the Patch May 2,2012
Conflict with ‘H-Zone’ ordinance and planning board amendment
Although the , the saga continues. The planning board’s amendment to the Master Plan remains on the books and a future council could simply overturn the November vote.
Councilman Paul Aronsohn said it’s time for the planning board to rescind . “We need a blank piece of paper,” Aronsohn said. “It’s time to move on, it’s time to move forward…the mayor and council needs to step up.”
This whole nightmare can be reversed. Elections for three council seats, Hauk, Aronshon, and Pucciarelli, are on May 10th, 2016. That’s in 220 days. It’s time for a slate of candidates, whose platform is to repeal ordinance 3066 which among other things added Chapter 190, Article XIV, Section 143 allowing “interested parties” to amend the master plan.
https://stopvalley.com/Minutes/2007-08-07%20Ordinance%203066.pdf
I dislike our deputy mayor as much as the rest of you but I think you are “burying the lede.” I do not think he meant, or even said, that he was the only RIDGEWOOD RESIDENT with a full-time job. I believe he was talking about the COUNCIL–thereby outing the mayor, who has claimed to have a job for years but clearly does not. The two councilwomen are not employed outside the home. The third male councilman LOST HIS JOB PARTLY BECAUSE THE MAYOR DROPPED A DIME and told his Staten Island boss that his running for council IN ANOTHER STATE would be a conflict of interest. Even the guy’s own legal team disagreed, but by then the councilman had left. This issue must never be allowed to die. Somebody, preferably a federal investigator, needs to get the mayor in a small room, shine a light on his shiny head, look him in the eye, and ask what happened. I would give a lot to be that investigator. Even in an elevator. He would not be able to look straight back.
From what I hear, many SUV’s in town will soon be sporting posters of Albert Pucciarelli with bold letters stating that he is the only person in town with a full time job. This will be cause for fender benders as people all over town crack up laughing.
The only one in town? in the world? He can’t have meant that even if he said it–especially considering that speaker after speaker had been stating “I’m a lawyer” and “I’m in advertising” and “I’m in real estate” and so on, and, well, an entire town can’t be unemployed at the same time. I believe that whatever he said, what he meant (he was flustered, for a change, and grasping for words) had to be that he was the only council member with a day job. Well, a mystery.
Note: I was at the meeting and I counted every speaker and wrote down their names. Some names I could not hear because the speakers were placed so their backs were to the audience, making it very hard to hear their names. After they stated their names, then they got bolder and you could hear their messages LOUD AND CLEAR.
Anyway for the record, I logged 84 people speaking OPPOSED to the high density housing, and one who simply questioned Mr. Aronsohn about accepting a bribe (I mean donation) from a developer. I counted five who were in favor, one of whom was a developer with a plan on the table and one of whom was his attorney. Those two don’t really count, do they?
If you count the two developer guys, that is 89 people (84 plus five, not counting the bribe-questioner who did not weigh in pro or con), with only 5.6% in favor.
If you delete the two developer guys, that is 86 people with only 3.5% in favor.
Now of course my math might be wrong because I don’t have a full time job. But, I guess that puts me in the majority since only one person in the room has a full time job.
file photo by Boyd Loving
OCTOBER 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015, 8:44 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Informed public must be heard
To the Editor:
With all that is going on in the world and in our private lives, we often don’t focus on the very things where we can actually make a difference. I believe it was Tip O’Neill who said, “All politics is local.” There are several important issues that will be decided on by our Village Council in the very near future.
The council was scheduled to vote on an ordinance that would change the housing density in the Central Business District from 12 units per acre to 35. Many village residents worked hard to prevent this from happening as it has the potential of negatively changing the character of our village. Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, the leading opponent to the density change, had an online petition which garnered over 1,000 signatures that was seemingly dismissed by the current council. A gentleman recently spoke at a public meeting calling for a compromise: an increase from 12 to 22-24 units per acre. His suggestion made so much sense and I can only hope the council listened.
The proposed 90-foot baseball diamond at the Schedler property is another case in point. Many villagers have signed petitions and spoken out at public meetings to prevent this from happening for years. They have offered proposals that would allow for a modest-sized playing field while preserving a historic home and 4 acres of woods. This compromise would allow the village to move forward in a manner that would respect the interests of all concerned parties. It doesn’t appear that the council majority will move in that direction.
We always hope that our elected officials will have an ear to the public and make decisions accordingly. This is not the case currently at the council level. Many recent votes have gone 3-2, always with the same council members in the majority and the two in the minority actively seeking to be more inclusive regarding public opinion.
A functioning democracy depends on an informed electorate. At the local level, you can truly have your voices heard and maybe effect the decisions being made supposedly on our behalf. My anthem used to be, “I fight authority and authority always wins.” With people working together for a common cause, we might be able to change the word always to sometimes. Hopefully, John Mellencamp won’t mind.
Linda McNamara
Ridgewood
