Author: James

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Republican Assembly candidate Anthony Cappola drops out

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North Jersey GOP candidate drops out of state race after book called ‘offensive garbage’

OCTOBER 1, 2015, 6:34 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015, 7:47 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

A Republican Assembly candidate, running in a competitive North Jersey district home to the most expensive legislative elections in the state, ended his campaign Thursday after a news report described his self-published book and its rampant racial and sexual slurs.

The candidate, Anthony Cappola, is also a councilman in River Edge and owner of a company that provides DJs for parties.

In 2003, Cappola self-published “Outrageous,” a book his running mate called “offensive garbage” on Thursday after its contents were made widely public.

The web site Politico New Jersey first reported details of the book Thursday along with Cappola’s statement that he was quitting the race.

“I’m sorry if I offended anyone and deeply regret what was written. I am not the same person I was 12 years ago, but I take responsibility for what I wrote and have chosen to bow out of the race,” Cappola said in a prepared statement released by his campaign manager.

The book is listed as out of print on Amazon and a check with local libraries found no copies available. The Record obtained a copy from sources who did so on the condition they not be identified.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-gop-candidate-drops-out-of-state-race-after-book-called-offensive-garbage-1.1423271

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Paramus School bus Involved in Accident on Paramus Road

Paramus School bus Involved in Accident on Paramus Road
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page 
October 1,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Six (6) children who were passengers on a mini school bus owned & operated by the Paramus Board of Education escaped injury after the bus was involved in a multi-vehicle collision on Paramus Road near Bergen Community College on Wednesday afternoon, 09/30.
Two (2) of the four (4) vehicles involved were removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck, including a pickup truck that mounted a concrete center divider, knocking down a traffic control sign in the process. One (1) person involved in the incident complained of chest pains related to the crash impact, but refused to be transported to a hospital. Paramus PD and EMS responded.
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What can you do to prepare for Hurricane Joaquin

Sandy theridgewoodblog.net

October 1,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

What can you do to prepare?

Ridgewood NJ, PSE&G is making preparations for a possible landfall of Hurricane Joaquin. We are also closely monitoring the expected heavy rains and high winds over the next several days.

While it is too early to know with any certainty when and where Joaquin will make landfall – and the strength of the storm when it does – we take every storm with the potential for outages seriously. We are activating our emergency protocol and personnel, and performing system checks on critical transmission and distribution equipment. Also, we are requesting mutual aid from other utilities, securing additional tree crews and ensuring the availability of materials and supplies.

What can you do?

Generator Usage:

• If your facility has a generator, now is a good time to ensure the generator is in good working order and there is sufficient fuel for your operating needs.

• Review generator safety information found on our EnergeLink website.

Communicating with PSE&G:

• Register for our free MyAlerts service ahead of time to receive email or text notifications about an outage at pseg.com/myalerts.

• Sign up for My Account at pseg.com and bookmark the mobile-friendly homepage on your smart phone to report outages and check restoration progress.

• Compile a list of emergency phone numbers, including PSE&G’s dedicated, toll-free Business Solutions Center line at 1-855-249-7734 (1-855-BIZ-PSEG). “Like” PSEG on Facebook and follow PSEG on Twitter @PSEGdelivers for tips and information about storm progress.

• Be ready to report and track outages on PSE&G’s “Outage Center” at pseg.com/outagecenter.

Additional preparedness information can be found at www.ready.gov.

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Two Ridgewood High School students have been designated semifinalists and 39 students have been named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Competition

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Results of the National Merit Scholarship Competition are Announced

September 30, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , The Ridgewood School district has received the results of the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Two Ridgewood High School students have been designated semifinalists and 39 students have been named Commended Students.

Maximilian Jerdee and Kristen Schretter have been designated semifinalists, based on their performance on the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) taken last October.

The semifinalists will have the opportunity to be considered for Merit Scholarship awards at the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements that include an outstanding academic record throughout high school, endorsement and recommendation by the high school principal and SAT I scores that confirm the earlier PSAT/NMSQT performance.

Commended Students with permission for media release are: Minha An, Poyani Bavishi, Brendan Caltavuturo, Albert Chiu, Helen Cho, Seo Yeon Choi, Nicolas Cobb, Madeleine Gaidimas, Sophia Gao, Sara Golnabi, Jack Hadfield, Jeongmin (Grace) Hyun, Jordan Iannone, Charlotte Kahan, Callista Kim, Lindsay Kim, Caroline Kotch, Simon Lee, Sueryun Lee, Abigail McKenna, Elizabeth O’Keefe, James Psathas, Peter Psathas, Sophie Simpson, Ashley Sohn, Olivia Sullivan, Olivia Szymanski, Anthony Tokarz and Vlad Vandalovsky. Although the Commended Students will not continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship Awards to be awarded in 2016, they placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the PSAT qualifying test.

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Critics of Bergen County prosecutor told to take issues to N.J. attorney general

bergen-county-prosecutor-john-l-molinellijpg-6994b5ed55b809b7

OCTOBER 2, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015, 12:24 AM
BY JEAN RIMBACH AND JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

The day after a tumultuous county freeholder meeting attended by critics seeking the ouster of Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss said those concerns should be taken to the state.

“If they have an issue, they should go to the attorney general,” Voss said Thursday, noting the attorney general oversees all county prosecutors.

“The Freeholder Board can’t do anything,” she added. “It’s the prerogative of the attorney general.”

Bill Brennan — a former firefighter who runs a Facebook page critical of Molinelli — and several others attended Wednesday’s meeting to call on the board to pass a resolution requesting the attorney general take over the Prosecutor’s Office due to a crisis in public confidence. Brennan said Thursday that state law would allow it; Voss said she has not had a chance to talk with the board attorney.

“Their stubborn refusal to act is myopic,” said Brennan. “They must know they have this authority and if they didn’t know there’s ample opportunity to investigate it. I want them to act in accordance with the law.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/critics-of-bergen-county-prosecutor-told-to-take-issues-to-n-j-attorney-general-1.1423519

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Reader says I do not trust them and I don’t want them touching the Village codes.

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog

Even though it’s probably important to update the code, I shudder at who is doing it. They know nothing–any of them–including and especially Rogers. And I do not trust their motivations whatsoever. With any luck they’ll be too busy to do very much, and then the project can continue after the next council has replaced Rogers and Sonenfeld.

Past bad acts are still past bad acts on behalf of the village manager and council. This does not absolve them from their sins.

“In order to complete the project without an astronomical cost to the village, it was announced by Sonenfeld last week that Rogers would be doing the work free of charge.

“The cost for this would be significant,” said the attorney. “I just felt it was something that should be done, needs to be done and I wanted to get it done. The only way to do it was to donate the time.”

I wonder how much this complete overhaul will cost? I can see some very large bills from outside counsel coming as I don’t expect any of our in-house legal beagles to be up to the task.

Robertas letter to the editor last week: “..when we find an issue or a problem or an ordinance that is outdated, we don’t ignore it – we fix it.”

CORRECTION: when we find an issue or a problem or an ordinance that is outdated, WE IGNORE IT, do whatever the hell we want, and then when Knudsen, Sedon, or a member of the public pints this out we decide to fix it after the fact.

Roberta has done this multiple times in she short train wreck of a tenure with us

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Vote on Ridgewood multifamily housing put on hold

Village Council Special Public Meeting

OCTOBER 1, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015, 5:23 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Plans to take a final vote on the ordinances that would rezone four parcels of land in downtown Ridgewood for multifamily housing were put on hold as the council decided to commission more studies on the impact of the potential resulting projects.

Wednesday was set to be the final public hearing on the five ordinances and hundreds of residents turned out to hear the council’s decision. Those packed into the council chambers displayed signs and often erupted in applause after a speaker voiced opposition to the amendments. Reaction was similar in the crowded overflow rooms on the first floor where the public watched via live stream on projectors.

Deep into the evening, members of the council intervened to request more studies and analysis, echoing the call of many speakers who believed the governing body had not done its due diligence.

Between speakers, the council broke off into a discussion about possibly continuing the public hearing at another meeting since it was already past 11 p.m. and many residents were still on line waiting to speak.

The discussion resulted in Councilman Michael Sedon officially putting forth a motion to have a financial study on the impact of the new developments in the Central Business District, particularly in regards to the effects new apartment buildings would have on the tax base.

Councilwoman Susan Knudsen seconded the motion, asking Sedon to amend the motion to allow for a traffic study along with an impact study on the downtown area as a whole, to which Sedon agreed. As the discussion ensued further, infrastructure and school impact studies were also included in the motion.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck joined Sedon and Knudsen, voting in favor of having the studies done and continuing the public hearings to Monday, Nov. 9.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-council-holds-off-on-vote-1.1423164

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Paul Aronsohn has closed their account and is no longer accepting donations…..but he sure did rack ’em up for awhile!

menendez_at_REORG_theridgewoodblog
file photo by Boyd Loving
October 1,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Just a small town guy…ya know, one of “us”…Ridgewood NJ, I don’t believe any other mayoral candidate in the history of Ridgewood has received one cent from the Teamsters, United Auto Workers or SEIU…..especially those interested solely in “volunteering” for this “thanksless” job……that’s alot of “thanks” in my book…where’d it go when the coffers slammed shut on the dead campaign’s war chest?

from Paularonsohn.com….
Paul Aronsohn has closed their account and is no longer accepting donations…..but he sure did rack ’em up for awhile!

https://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/20080912murs.shtml
Paul Aronsohn for Congress and Paul Aronsohn acknowledge violation of “testing-the-waters” provisions
In MUR 5693, Paul Aronsohn for Congress, the principal campaign committee for Paul Aronsohn’s 2006 campaign in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional district, and Mr. Aronsohn entered into a conciliation agreement with the FEC regarding violations of reporting requirements in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). During 2005 Paul Aronsohn’s activities crossed the line from testing the waters into candidate status when he sent a solicitation letter indicating he had decided to run for federal office. However, Mr. Aronsohn and his campaign committee failed to register with the FEC and file a year-end financial report in 2005, as required by the FECA. In the conciliation agreement Mr. Aronsohn and the committee agreed to pay a civil penalty of $6,500.

https://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/10/npr-political-donations-raise-questions
All of the donations supported Democrats. Besides Obama and Clinton, two other contributions supported Democrat Paul Aronsohn, who lost his race against Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) in 2006,

https://jhfowler.ucsd.edu/colbert_bump.pdf
Aronsohn, Paul S. NJ-5 9/21/06 68 $ 46,113

https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-voice-concern-over-weakening-of-residency-requirements/

The Mayor received massive campaign contributions from unions  :

Paul Aronsohn (D)Political Action Committee Total Contributed
Teamsters Union $10,000.00
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $10,000.00
United Auto Workers $6,500.00
Carpenters & Joiners Union $5,000.00
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees $5,000.00
National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $5,000.00
Sheet Metal Workers Union $5,000.00
Laborers Union $3,500.00
AFL-CIO $2,661.00
American Federation of Teachers $2,500.00
Operating Engineers Local 825 $2,500.00
NJ Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 475 $1,000.00
Service Employees International Union $1,000.00
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 274 $1,000.00
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 9 $500.00

https://www.bluejersey.com/tag/NJ5/10
According to an April 14th electronic filing with the FEC, Paul Aronsohn for Congress raised nearly $214,000 in the first quarter of 2006. The filing, which was signed by campaign manager Parisa Sabeti, makes official the contributions which had been rumored in excess of $200,000. After expenditures, the Aronsohn campaign had $135,125.31 cash on-hand.
Paul Aronsohn (D)
Raised: $214,005
Spent:  $78,879
Cash on hand:  $135,125
Last Report:  3/31/2006

Arohsohn uses JAMBOREE MAILING LIST for political purposes????
https://theridgewoodblog.net/reader-unloads-on-candidate-paul-aronsohn/

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Hurricane Joaquin better safe than sorry

Hurricane Joaquin

Octover 1st, 2015 – Hurricane Joaquin

Dear E-Notice Resident,

As many of you may know by now, Governor Chris Christie issued a State of Emergency this morning, alerting the public to be ready if Hurricane Joaquin’s trajectory brings it to N.J.

I am writing to you to let you know that we have been and will be on top of this situation. Your Village staff began preparations earlier this week, and we met this morning to continue our monitoring of this situation. Police, Fire and Emergency Services are all prepped and ready to go as is our DPW, Sewer & Water staff.

Currently one of Joaquin’s possible trajectories has it arriving Monday evening into Tuesday. We will keep you informed as more is known. So please take any storm preparedness steps that you normally would. Our Office of Emergency Management has a website page for tips and planning for hurricanes. Here is the link.

Hopefully the hurricane will take another track and we will not be impacted.

Our primary concern over the next couple of days is the possibility of high winds and significant rainfall possibly resulting in flooding and tree damage. The risk of tree damage has increased due to the drought conditions that we have been experiencing. The timeframe for this weather appears to be Friday evening through Saturday. We have staff and contractors on call in the event of downed trees or other emergency situations.

If you or anyone in your neighborhood has tree damage that results in a compromised street situation, please call (201) 652-3900: appropriate resources will be identified and deployed.

If your power goes out, please call PSE&G directly – 1(800) 436-PSEG; this will result in the most effective servicing.

Sign-ups for E-Notices as well as telephone notifications can be done on our website (www.ridgewoodnj.net). Please reach out to your neighbors who may not receive E-Notices or reverse 911 calls.

For anyone with special needs/disability related requirements, please email [email protected].

Best regards,

Roberta Sonenfeld

Village Manager

201-670-5500, ext. 203

-PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS-

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Obamacare Actually Isn’t All That Affordable — Unless You’re Broke

obamacare_theridgewood blog

By Simon Constable

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — It’s time for the Affordable Care Act to join a long list of oxymorons. Why? Because rather like “military intelligence,” “cat proof,” “government organization,” and “simple calculus,” the law better known as Obamacare turns out to be an inherent contradiction. For a sizeable part of the population, anyway.

The ACA is just not affordable to a big chunk of those it was most meant to serve: The previously uninsured. In fact, many are worse off than before, according to a new study. That fact could also unravel part of the program’s foundation, which could be a problem for healthcare insurers.

“Many of the non-poor formerly uninsured are estimated to be worse off,” than without insurance, according to a September-dated working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research titled “The Price of Responsibility: The Impact Of Health Reform On Non-Poor Uninsured.”

https://www.thestreet.com/story/13298998/1/obamacare-actually-isn-t-all-that-affordable-unless-you-re-broke.html?utm_content=buffera24cf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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Ridgewood High School Alumni Association announce website launch

RHS_BEST_theridgewoodblog

Ridgewood, NJ – September 30, 2015 – The Ridgewood High School Alumni

Association is excited to announce that its website is now live.  You can visit it at:

www.RHSAlumniAssociation.org  

Please take a moment peruse through this awesome tool designed to highlight current

alumni and support the future efforts of our alumni community.   And don’t forget to

register so you can be a part of our next steps.

 
We look forward to connecting with all of you.

Sincerely,

The Ridgewood High School Alumni Association Board of Trustee

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Pedestrian Hit Crossing Rout 17 in Mahwah

Pedestrian Hit Crossing Rout 17 in Mahwah
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
September 29,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah NJ, Police, fire, and EMS personnel working at the scene of a serious accident on Route 17 southbound near Route 202 in Mahwah. A medevac helicopter landed on the closed highway to evacuate one (1) victim from the scene.
At the time there were conflicting reports regarding the nature of the incident. Some broadcast radio reports indicated that a passenger vehicle had collided with a motorcycle, while bystanders at the scene said that a pedestrian trying to cross Route 17 had been struck by a passenger vehicle. A crew cab Dodge Ram pickup truck with driver’s side damage was observed being examined by police officers in the parking lot of a nearby Super 8 Motel.
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Police remove Molinelli foe from meeting of Bergen County freeholders

bergen-county-prosecutor-john-l-molinellijpg-6994b5ed55b809b7

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 11:57 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015, 12:01 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A frequent critic of Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli was removed from the county freeholder meeting late Wednesday night after attempting to play a video of a woman who claims authorities did not impose sufficient penalties on a Teaneck dermatologist who has been accused of sexual misconduct with patients.

Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss declared that the board would not allow the video to be played until the board’s lawyer has a chance to review the legality of showing it. The video was posted on YouTube earlier in the day.

That decision threw the room into tumult when Molinelli critic Bill Brennan attempted to play the video anyway.

“Mr. Brennan, I am going to have you removed if you do not stop, and I mean it,” Voss said shortly before two officers led him out of the freeholder chambers.

Brennan — a former firefighter who runs a Facebook page critical of the prosecutor — and several others attended the meeting to call on the Board of Freeholders to ask that it petition the state attorney general to take over Molinelli’s office.

Among them was Carlstadt Mayor William Roseman, who was accused by Molinelli’s office of allowing his ex-wife to continue to receive health benefits after their divorce.

The state Supreme Court ruled in June in a sharply worded decision that prosecutors had wrongly denied an application for Roseman and his ex-wife to enter the Pretrial Intervention program, which allows the accused to avoid prosecution by entering a rehabilitation program.

The court called the denial “a gross abuse of discretion.” And a Superior Court judge in Hackensack dismissed the indictment against Roseman and his ex-wife in July.

Molinelli could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/police-remove-molinelli-foe-from-meeting-of-bergen-county-freeholders-1.1422085

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Mayor Paul Aronsohn will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents on Saturday October 3rd 2015

Paul_Aronsohn_dunking_theridgewoodblog

Mayor’s Office Hours for Residents – October 3rd, 2015

Mayor Paul Aronsohn holds office hours for Ridgewood residents on Saturday’s every month. Mayor Aronsohn will meet with residents on Saturday, October 3rd from 9AM to Noon in the Council Chambers (Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room) on the fourth floor of Ridgewood Village Hall.

For an appointment to meet with the Mayor, please call the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 206. You may come to the Mayor’s office hours without an appointment, but those with appointments will be given priority.

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Ridgewood High School artificial turf Vandalized

Ridgewood High School artificial turf Vandalized

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

September 30,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Steven Shortway and Ridgewood High School Athletic Director Keith Cook examine damage to an athletic field at Ridgewood High School caused by vandals who burned two (2) separate large images of male genitalia into the artificial turf. No exact dollar estimate of the damage was immediately available, but reports are that it could cost several thousand dollars to repair.

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