Author: James

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Garrett Pushes to End Crony Capitalism and Shut Down Export-Import Ban

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Rep. Garrett urges Congress to let the Ex-Im Bank expire at a press conference on Tuesday morning

Garrett Pushes to End Crony Capitalism and Shut Down Export-Import Bank

Garrett: Congress Should Put the Export-Import Bank Out of Business

May 27, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) issued the following statement after joining fellow members of the House Freedom Caucus and other concerned lawmakers at a press conference this morning to urge Congress to let the Export-Import Bank expire on June 30:

“It’s hard to imagine anything more unfair and un-American than having the government financially support mega-corporations at the expense of small businesses and American workers.  But that is exactly what has been happening, and it will continue to happen if we don’t let the Export-Import Bank expire next month.  It rewards those with close relationships with Washington bureaucrats and makes victims of startups that dare to compete against them—literally picking winners and losers in our economy.

“Ex-Im has transformed the role of government from a disinterested referee that guarantees a free and open marketplace into a biased actor that tilts the scales in favor of its friends in businesses.  We have the opportunity to save capitalism from cronyism and to fulfill a promise to the American people to work for them instead of a select few with special connections in Washington.  For the sake of the American taxpayer and the preservation of the free enterprise system, Congress should put the Export-Import Bank out of business.”

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Schepisi out of brain aneurysm surgery, doing well

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NEW YORK CITY – State Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-39) successfully underwent surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City on Tuesday to fix a brain aneurysm and is doing well, according to her family. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Schepisi out of brain aneurysm surgery, doing well | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

 

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Baltimore Murder Rate Skyrockets , Y’all happy yet?

baltimore_murder_rate _theridgewoodblog

May 26, 2015

Michael HarrisAccording to  Michael Harris , Arrest are down 50% in Baltimore….33 people killed this month alone!
How about you all stop trashing the police!

The police will get payed regardless. Y’all happy yet?

Liberals are using Black people as tokens in their anarchist agenda of undermining
the police force nationwide.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3094092/Homicides-surge-Baltimore-100-victims-killed-far-year.html

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Ridgewood puts clamps on Wolfpack in boys lacrosse final

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file photo

By KELLY FENTON Sports editor

WASHINGTON TWP. – For all but about three minutes during the North 2, Group 3 boys lacrosse championship at Ridgewood on Saturday evening, West Morris Central played respectable, sometimes outstanding, defense.

But playing without one of its top scorers against the seventh-ranked team that came in allowing just six goals a game, the Wolfpack needed to be nearly perfect. And allowing a goal with six seconds left in the first period and three goals over a one-minute span in the final two minutes of the second period turned out to be the tremors that triggered the avalanche in Ridgewood’s 9-0 victory.

“They kind of had a couple of flurries there,” said West Morris head coach Rob Goodwin, whose team concluded a 12-11 season after winning six of its final eight games. “We aren’t very big and I think we were a little tentative at times against their bigger players.”

Cooper Telesco was a case in point. The 6-0, 190-pound attack pretty much willed his way through two Wolfpack defenders to score three-and-a-half minutes into the game, then added a deflating goal in much the same manner with only six seconds left in the first to make it 2-0.

Still, the Wolfpack were right in it after Joe Reilly made three tough saves in a row over a one-minute span midway through the second period. West Morris trailed only 2-0 with two minutes left in the half and an underdog hanging tough can put pressure on a favorite.

But the Maroons broke through with 1:41 left, then scored 10 seconds later after winning the ensuing faceoff. They added one more goal with 36 seconds left and whatever hopes West Morris might have carried into intermission were seriously dampened after falling behind 5-0.

Making that score all the more ominous was the fact that the Wolfpack managed to get off only a couple of shots on goal the entire half. Twice, Cooper Sloan made a nifty move around the right post and tried to quickly scoop an underhand by Ridgewood goalie Chris Cerrina.

https://www.newjerseyhills.com/observer-tribune/sports/ridgewood-puts-clamps-on-wolfpack-in-boys-lacrosse-final/article_670a9469-65e5-5f4e-8698-4cad60b5f63f.html

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PSE&G Offers Money-Saving Hot Weather Tips

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Utility Prepared for Additional Power Demand

How to Report Outages and Stay Informed

May 26, 2015

Ridgewood NJ, With the hottest temperatures of the season forecasted to begin today, Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, reminds customers that higher temperatures can also lead to more usage and higher electric bills. Customers can save energy and money this summer by following a few simple tips.

Keep your house warmer than normal when you are away, and lower the thermostat setting to 78° F only when you are at home and need cooling.
Install a programmable thermostat.
Use fans to circulate cool air.
Set refrigerators and freezers to the most efficient temperatures. Recommended temperatures are 35°-38° F for the fresh food compartment, and 0° F for freezers.
Run such appliances as clothes washers and dishwashers in the morning or late evening to avoid the peak demand hours of 2 to 8 p.m.
Seal holes and cracks around doors and windows. Eliminate air leaks around window air conditioners with foam insulation or weather-stripping.
Close blinds and draperies facing the sun to keep out the sun’s heat.
Turn off power sources. TVs, computers and other electronic devices draw power when they are in standby mode or turned off but still plugged in. Plug electronics into power strips and turn off the power switch when the items are not in use.
Use timers and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.
Replace old appliances with new energy efficient Energy Star® appliances.
Install whole-house fans to bring in cooler night-time air that can pre-cool a house and reduce energy use in the daytime.

Prepared for Additional Power Demand
PSE&G expects to have no problem delivering the additional power required during the hot-weather months, but utility crews will be ready to respond to service interruptions should they occur. PSE&G’s rigorous, year-round preparedness program for summer includes conducting employee training; developing emergency summer operating plans; performing summer peak reliability analysis; helicopter and climbing inspections of transmission circuits; infrared inspections for “hot-spots” on transmission lines; and system reinforcements and transmission line work.

How to Report an Outage and Stay Informed
If you should experience an outage, PSE&G offers its customers a number of ways to stay in touch and informed.  These tools can be found at www.pseg.com in the “Outage Center,” under “How you can stay connected.”

Sign up for My Account and bookmark the mobile-friendly homepage on your smart phone so it’s easy to report outages and check restoration progress.
To report power outages via text message, and receive outage updates by text and email, sign up for MyAlerts.
Updated every 15 minutes, PSE&G’s newly enhance and mobile friendly “Outage Map” displays the location and status of power outages in PSE&G’s service territory.
The utility’s Twitter and Facebook pages also keep the public informed about restoration progress. Sign up as a follower to monitor restoration process.

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ART OF MOTION IN RIDGEWOOD HOSTS ASHTANGA YOGA MASTER CLASS TO BENEFIT NEPAL

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PHOTO by Allynn Gooen

ART OF MOTION IN RIDGEWOOD HOSTS ASHTANGA YOGA MASTER CLASS TO BENEFIT NEPAL
May 26,2015

RIDGEWOOD, NJ , On May 30th, 2015, a Master Class will be taught by Annie Hickman at Art of Motion in Ridgewood, NJ from 2:00-4:00 PM.  This Ashtanga Yoga Workshop will introduce an athletic style of classical Indian yoga as taught by the lake Srik Pattabhi Jois.

After dedicating herself to a daily practice of Ashtanga yoga for the past ten years, Annie Hickman, a certified yoga teacher, followed her dream this year to study in Mysore, India. Annie just returned from her 5-month yoga tour through Nepal and India, and she is eager to share the power of Ashtanga Yoga.

Annie will guide students through the Primary Series of Ashtanga – a challenging flow class with therapeutic yoga poses that strengthen and transform the body. This master class will encourage students to experience a higher level in their practice.

All $25.00 donations will benefit relief services in Nepal. All are welcome to practice and/or observe. For information and to reserve a spot, please contact Art of Motion.

Art of Motion is located at The Performing Arts Building, 17 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor, Ridgewood, NJ.

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America’s Rabbi : As Boteach’s political clout grows, critics ask: What’s his goal?

Rabbi-Shmuley-Boteach_theridgewoodblog

MAY 25, 2015, 9:16 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015, 9:31 PM
BY MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

The man who calls himself “America’s rabbi” sat in a Starbucks in Englewood on a recent afternoon and touted himself as just the right guy to bring values back to politics.

These are ambitious days for Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

Critics dismiss him as a shameless publicity hound, backed by powerful and wealthy special interests. Admirers describe him as a courageous, much-needed voice in the public arena. But who is he anyway? Why does he need to be heard — so much and so often?

America’s rabbi may actually be America’s latest political mystery.

Until recently, Boteach, 48, was known primarily for writing the best-seller “Kosher Sex”; for counseling Michael Jackson; for dispensing marital advice in a reality TV show, and for losing by almost 50 percentage points in his quest three years ago to become the first rabbi elected to Congress.

Now Boteach unabashedly says he is perfectly suited to become a major player in politics – maybe even a force in the 2016 presidential race, through his foundation The World Values Network. As he noted, “We are expanding the organization significantly. The demand is there.”

Whether Boteach, who runs his foundation from his sprawling stone estate on Englewood’s East Hill, can find his footing in the crowded and unforgiving American political landscape remains to be seen. But it’s not for lack of trying.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/kelly-as-boteach-s-political-clout-grows-critics-ask-what-s-his-goal-1.1342218

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Hard Rock, racetrack to announce plans for Meadowlands casino

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MAY 26, 2015, 5:43 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015, 6:03 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Hard Rock Casino Meadowlands — a partnership between the Florida-based gaming company and the Meadowlands Racetrack — is the name of a proposed new casino that will be unveiled next week, track operator Jeff Gural said Tuesday.

The announcement will come about a month before a deadline for state election officials to approve a question for the November ballot on ending Atlantic City’s casino monopoly in New Jersey. State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney said last July that he would seek to place such a referendum in on the November 2015 ballot because the deadline to add it to the November 2014 ballot had just passed.

But three weeks ago, Sweeney said he was considering whether to wait a year, until the 2016 general election, given the low turnout expected with only Assembly members up for statewide election this fall.

“We believe that expanding gaming to North Jersey will strengthen the state’s casino industry, boost the economy and help Atlantic City’s financial recovery, but there is no specific timetable at this point,” said Richard McGrath, Sweeney’s spokesman.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/hard-rock-racetrack-to-announce-plans-for-meadowlands-casino-1.1342809

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N.J. medical bribe scheme reached grand scale

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MAY 26, 2015, 10:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015, 10:42 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The first hint of the vast bribery scheme came with the arrests of a North Jersey doctor and three businessmen who, authorities said, found a way to turn a diagnostic lab with offices in Parsippany and Garfield into a virtual gold mine.

Two years later, federal prosecutors in Newark have racked up convictions of 38 people, including 25 doctors from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, in what is believed to be one of the largest — if not the largest — laboratory bribery prosecutions in the United States, both in terms of money and the number of physicians caught with their hands out.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in the same case,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said last week.

By the numbers

25 doctors and one physician’s assistant pleaded guilty to |accepting bribes.
16 of the doctors live in New Jersey; seven in New York; and two in Connecticut. The physician’s assistant is also from New Jersey.
12 other defendants who worked at Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services have pleaded guilty.
The amount of bribes pocketed by |individual doctors ranged from $10,500 to $1.8 million.
In return for bribes, the doctors referred over $100 million in blood tests to the lab.
So far, 12 doctors have been sentenced to terms ranging from one year of probation, for a cooperator, to more than three years in federal prison and fines of up to $75,000.
The government is seeking a combined forfeiture of more than $87 million from the 38 defendants, including $50 million from former BLS owner and president David Nicoll and $25 million from his brother, Scott Nicoll.

“It shows how pervasive this practice can be. It has also made people in the profession sit up and take notice and made the deterrent message that much louder,” he said.

In recent weeks two doctors, one weeping and both remorseful, have been sentenced after helping prosecutors catch others in cases that add to the broadening panorama of corruption.

And it’s not over. Additional arrests of doctors who profited from the scheme are anticipated, prosecutors say.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-medical-bribe-scheme-reached-grand-scale-1.1342843

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Valley Hospital : What Ever Happened to the “Crown Jewel “of Ridgewood ?

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May 27,2015
readers and the staff of the Ridgewood blog

“James, you have been anti Valley from the get go. Arrogance? What arrogance? The patience and dignity that the Valley has shown in the face of all the petty attacks it has been subjected to by narrow-minded critics is the embodiment of Grace and Dignity. The Ancient Greeks defined beauty as grace ubder presure. By that count Valley is one beautiful organization. And yes, it is the Crown Jewel of Ridgewood.” Rurik Halaby

It’s interesting how the developers, Valley and the unions are all the same in trying to bully Villagers, and foist their unsustainable plans on Village taxpayers. Valley consumes Village services for free and apparently wants ever more, the developers want densities that will burden our schools, water, sewerage and transportation infrastructure, and the unions want us to pay for CBAs that offer excessive wages and benefits to people in their early 50s and 60s even though we’re all living longer. The common denominator here is “screw taxpayers” who are too busy commuting and raising kids to notice. Enough is enough, we’re being taxed to death. No more.

Ordinance 3066 = Pfund’s Folly was just to allow Valley to try and railroad the Village that built Valley in the first place. Audrey and her board are out of touch, and would be well advised to find new people less interested in Hospital system “empire building” and more interested in being a good neighbor and paying a PILOT for all of the Village services they consume; instead they are suing the same Village who without its good graces, Valley wouldn’t exist in the first place. Shameless behavior and this blog has been right to highlight it.

Tell me, do you think that once the “Grace and Dignity” group gets past the lawsuit they filed against the town that has been taking care of them since 1951, they just might consider taking the “Crown Jewel” and moving it to an area that could better house the monstrosity they want to build here ? I mean, let’s face it, if your “world class” in Ridgewood why can’t you be the same in say, Mahwah ?

The truth is the hospital shot it self in the foot with a lot of arrogant very bad decision making , bad management at its finest , The details of which have been spelled out on this blog over and over ad nauseam . Bad plan ,poorly executed ,leads to disastrous results ie , HUMC might make a run at buying Valley.

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Planning Board retroactively approves Ridgewood church’s improvements

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file photo by Boyd Loving

MAY 26, 2015    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015, 9:56 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Ridgewood Planning Board approved the site plan application of the World Mission Society Church of God on Godwin Avenue on May 19.

The plans were approved by an 8-1 vote, with Mayor Paul Aronsohn dissenting. Alternate board member Isabella Altano cast a vote in the absence of board member Kevin Reilly.

Over the course of several meetings, changes requested by the Planning Board and members of the public were included in the site plan, which now includes three 150-watt high pressure sodium lights to be installed on 18 foot poles in place of the current solar lights, car bumpers for parking spaces along the rear of the property and a buffer of trees to protect neighboring properties from excessive lighting.

Engineer Robert Costa said the new lights would be pointed downward, but if they are causing a nuisance to the church’s neighbors, the applicant would work with village professionals to install additional shielding.

The site plan calls for 75 parking spaces on the property, but at the request of the board, perpendicular spaces were scrapped in favor of angled spots. The applicants were concerned that a few more spaces would be lost – the original plan called for 98 – but since the drive aisle would no longer need to be 24 feet, those lost spots could be regained.

The church also agreed to remove planters at the southeastern portion of the building at the request of the Ridgewood Fire Department.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-approves-church-s-application-1.1342441

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Ferguson Protesters Now Protesting Over Not Getting Paid

Outrage In Missouri Town After Police Shooting Of 18-Yr-Old Man

Tuesday, 26 May 2015 09:26 AM

By John Blosser

At least some of the protesters who looted, rioted, burned buildings and overturned police cars in Ferguson, Missouri, last year were promised payment of up to $5,000 per month to join the protests.

However, when the Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), the successor group to the now-bankrupt St. Louis branch of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), stiffed the protesters, they launched a sit-in protest at the headquarters of MORE and created a Twitter page to demand their money, the Washington Times reports.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen B. West noted on his website, “Instead of being thankful for getting off the unemployment line for a few weeks and having a little fun protesting, the paid rioters who tore up Ferguson, MO, are protesting again.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Ferguson-Missouri-paid-protesters/2015/05/25/id/646587/#ixzz3bFxgzQRs

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You’re 45% more likely to be murdered in de Blasio’s Manhattan

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By Larry Celona

May 26, 2015 | 8:28am

Murders are way up so far this year in Manhattan, The Post has learned.

Sixteen people were killed around the borough between the first of the year and Sunday. Over the same period last year, the figure was 11. That’s an increase of about 45 percent.

Shootings in the borough have also soared.

There have been 50 “shooting incidents’’ since Jan. 1, compared with 31 in the same time period in 2014 — an increase of about 38 percent. Some of these “incidents’’ involved more than one victim.

The number of shooting victims nearly doubled, from 33 to 61.

“City Hall better wake up soon,” a police source said. “When murders and shootings go up in Manhattan, everyone is affected,’’ he said, pointing out that crime impacts business, tourism and the city’s economy as a whole.

He said there are a variety of reasons, from the plummeting number of “stop-and-frisks’’ to the fact that the city needs more officers. “The cops’ hands are tied,’’ he said.

https://nypost.com/2015/05/26/youre-45-more-likely-to-be-murdered-in-de-blasios-manhattan/?utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=Native&utm_campaign=NYPFacebook

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This is Why High School Sucks for so Many Kids: 16 Yr Old Photog Threatened by Admin for Selling Pics

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Texas’ Flower Mound HS opens news fronts on the war on students and on photography.
Nick Gillespie|May. 26, 2015 9:28 am

For centuries now, school has produced an ever-enlarging literature of contempt and hate by those of us (read: all of us) unlucky enough to attend K-12 education. I’m betting that Socrates outdoor classrooms were kind of a drag, but certainly from Herman Hesse’s Beneath the Wheel to Catcher in the Rye to Blood and Guts in High School to Pink Floyd’s The Wall to Frank Portman’s King Dorkbooks, the message that school is filled with petty tyrants (both adult and student variety) is based on many people’s everyday experience.

Here’s a good example of why so many of us disliked school even if we dig edumication.

Via the Twitter feed of Lizbuddie comes the story of Anthony Mazur, a 16-year-old student at Texas’ Flower Mound High School. A photographer for the yearbook, Mazur took pictures of athletes and other students and then posted them on a Flickr account where he sold some of them to parents. As it happens, according to his school district’s policy, there’s no issue with that and Mazur apparently owns the the copyright to work he produces.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/05/26/this-is-why-high-school-sucks-for-so-man

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Schepisi readies herself for brain aneurysm operation, looks to future

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WESTWOOD – With a smile, state Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-39) said it best before she hits the operation table next week. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Schepisi readies herself for brain aneurysm operation, looks to future | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

 

UPDATE

Schepisi recovering from successful brain surgery

https://savejersey.com/2015/05/update-schepisi-recovering-from-successful-brain-surgery/