The newly released documents buttress a report issued late last month detailing how an immigration director was swayed with respect to hundreds of millions of dollars in film and TV investments under the EB-5 visa program.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has released hundreds of pages of emails plus other documents in support of its investigation of improper influence on the EB-5 immigration program. Many of the documents discuss hundreds of millions of dollars in financing for film and television productions from Sony Pictures and Time Warner with prominent politicians including former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendall and the office of former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa interjecting in an effort to get approvals.
Since inception in 1990, the EB-5 visa program allows foreign nationals to become conditional permanent residents upon an investment of at least $500,000 for a qualifying project that creates American jobs. Entertainment studios begun to eye the program to get film investment capital, but some projects have been rejected. For example, in 2009, Lionsgate was denied funding from EB-5 investors because it was determined that the studio was not legally obligated to accept the funding.
APRIL 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Local entrepreneurs lay out their case to be on CNBC show
Lisa Nejjar had one last weapon to wield in her effort to woo the young reality TV casting agent from the CNBC show “Shark Tank” sitting at the table in front of her.
Nejjar, a 41-year-old former nurse from Lyndhurst, had laid out on the table a dozen samples of her company’s product — a stretchy waist band called a “fusion belt” — that can hold keys, money and other items while the wearer exercises.
In fast-paced patter, she had touted her $60,000 in sales since launching the product eight months ago, her new partnership with another waistband maker, the fact that she had “sunk all my 401(k) into it”; and her three patents. She even offered the agent a couple of free samples.
“And I’m Italian and from New Jersey,” she added, alluding to the prevalence of people from that demographic in reality TV shows, and laughed a little self-consciously. “I’ve got to push.”
Nejjar won’t know for a while if she makes it onto the show, but there was no shortage of hopefuls like her at Rutgers Business School in Newark Friday, when the show held auditions for its upcoming season, its seventh.
APRIL 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
Vaughn Crenshaw
Pearl Restaurant, Ridgewood
When he was 13, Vaughn Crenshaw was living out of a car in the streets of Paterson. Today, the 29-year-old is executive chef at Pearl Restaurant in Ridgewood.
Crenshaw has an associate’s degree in culinary arts and a bachelor’s in food service management, both from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. He has cooked at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack, the Brick House Inn in Wyckoff, Jacksonville in Paterson, Mocha Bleu in Teaneck, and Fort Lee’s Khloe Bistrot before arriving at Pearl in January 2013.
The Hackensack resident also appeared on the Food Network show “Chopped” in 2012; he made it to the entrée round before he was “chopped.”
Here, he tells how he evaluates a restaurant, and the strangest customer request ever.
How I evaluate a restaurant: I evaluate them on a 1-10 scale that has to do with the greeting, the curb appeal and the setting in the dining room; that’s what’s going to tell me if I’m going into another typical old-world restaurant where there’s no lively, electric energy. I also evaluate it by the clientele — the clients become a reflection of ownership.
APRIL 10, 2015, 7:42 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015, 10:48 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Companies with public contracts in New Jersey gave a record amount of money last year to a new breed of political advocacy groups that can influence elections without facing the state’s tough pay-to-play restrictions and disclosure requirements.
Although it was an electoral off-year with no statewide candidates on the ballot, contractors gave $1.8 million to PACs and outside groups in 2014, a 16 percent rise over the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Direct donations from contractors to candidates’ campaigns fell 15 percent, to $9.1 million, ELEC reported.
“Independent groups are becoming a major force in politics, both nationally and in New Jersey,” said Jeff Brindle, the executive director of ELEC. Contractors are pouring more funds into those groups because “it’s a way around the law — it’s a way around pay-to-play” restrictions, and it allows many donors to remain anonymous, Brindle said.
New Jersey law generally bars any company with a contract worth more than $17,500 from giving more than $300 to gubernatorial candidates and party fundraising committees. Any contractor that gives money has to file a disclosure with ELEC.
Village Clerk, when acting VM, violated ordinance and was called out on it by resident. Same resident had applied for a Village position. Resident denied position in violation of residency requirement ordinance by same Village Clerk while Acting Manager. New Vm (R.S.) learns of violation in May, 2014 and decides to amend ordinance to support her Village Clerk. Councilwoman Knudsen got to close to discovering the truth and the V.M. and 3 amigos decided to sic their attack dog(labor attorney) on her. All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.
That’s either a crass indictment, or a rare glimpse of truth and municipal reality that the public was not supposed to be afforded. One can’t necessarily decide between the two possibilities without more information or an alternative source, but you may be assured that at least one inquiring mind wants to know which is real, and which IS an illusion!
Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco today announced that the Department of Human Services Division on Disability Services will hold an Access for All Community Forum on Saturday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Ridgewood Village Hall 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.
This summit is for municipal Access for All Committees in the County of Bergen to come together and discuss local issues, challenges and new initiatives that other towns can emulate. Public officials, safety personnel & volunteers, as well as concerned residents, are invited to attend. Topics will include programs, resources for municipalities, grant opportunities, housing, emergency services, and problem solving.
Moderators include: Freeholder Chairwoman Dr. Joan M. Voss; Freeholders Tracy Silna Zur and Maura DeNicola; Jim Thebery, M.A., CSW, Director Div. on Disability Services; and Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn.
Please join us………..this will be a unique opportunity to hear from all the Access for All Committees to share ideas, learn from others and find out new and creative ways to interact and work together on projects. This is a wonderful event, not to be missed.
Councilwoman Knudsen, if she really sits and thinks about it, will realize that she has the municipal equivalent of Legislative Privilege to shield her from negative repercussions from the actions she took in an attempt to get to the bottom of this sordid affair, and the public statements she made in attempting to articulate her impressions of the apparent suspicious misfeasance and unaccountable nonfeasance of many of those with whom she shares the local governmental stage. We should all pray for her that she not buckle or crumple under the combined weight of all the unfair attacks lodged against her in response to her probing questions (and they really do seem to be rolling out the big guns). If Ms. Knudsen backs off now the precedent will have been set and this set of circumstances will be repeated as necessary and ad nauseum until legitimate political opposition by the minority becomes a lost art in Ridgewood. On the other hand, if instead she stands her ground (as she absolutely should, since she has done absolutely nothing wrong, and so much that is so sweetly right) and manages to carry her point to its logical conclusion, we will be blessed with a shining, Patton-like example of courage which we can then use as a touchstone during future disputes with the sulphurous political element that has unfortunately surfaced in Ridgewood (and those disputes will come…).
BTW, there is no way a contracted labor attorney can go toe-to-toe with an elected member of the Village Council, regardless of the pure truth of the matter, when there the criticisms made against the former party has such a clear basis in publicly-confirmable fact.
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
The Ridgewood News
To the Editor:
In a March 27, 2015 column in this paper, our Superintendent of Schools Dan Fishbein argued in support of “good digital citizenship,” a reprint of which all district parents received via email subsequently. In it, Dr. Fishbein told an amusing, cautionary tale about divulging one’s identity to vendors and its far-reaching consequences, a vexing aspect of modern life. He then related this experience to students posting about PARCC testing via social media.
I object to Dr. Fishbein’s column and email because I am worried that they minimize legitimate concerns about what appears to be an effort by private agents and public officials to squelch dissent to the new PARCC standardized tests.
It came to light the other week that Pearson, the testing giant, and the NJ Department of Education contracted with a security agent, Caveon, in order to trawl social media sites for mention of PARCC by students. This is ostensibly to protect PARCC test questions from breach and promote fairness, as well as to protect intellectual property. The identity of any student committing a so-called security breach is then reported to the NJ DOE, which has happened to at least one student in Watchung (as reported by its alarmed superintendent).
What used to be one of the few ways to wring value from a standardized test, namely discussing test questions and answers with peers and mentors after a test, is now illicit in this era of Big Standardized Testing.
Further, it is not just “security breaches” that are being swept up by corporate security agents working in tandem with state government. In practice, as Caveon has explained, it is casting an even wider net that may include mere mention of PARCC.
Yes, posting on social media is public and there should be no expectation of privacy. However, so is talking at a playground or on the phone in a pizza parlor. Are we just as comfortable with Pearson agents hiding at the outskirts of school grounds with microphones and cameras, or conducting surveillance through children’s smartphones?
Perhaps children should not be allowed to have social media accounts because they lack maturity and judgment about what to post and not post, an issue that’s come up in many contexts. I agree that we have to guide children in making good judgments in their digital lives.
However, more important than good digital citizens in my view is the raising of courageous citizens who are aware of their right to discuss, dissent, even to disparage ideas, institutions, their leaders. That is what makes American democracy unique and valuable.
If a child tweets that “some PARCC questions were dumb” or “PARCC stinks” or “I wish I could find out before next year how I did on the PARCC so I could learn something,” there should be no risk that that child’s identity will be reported to the state government or that he will incur a permanent black mark on his record.
And the bottom 20%? They get paid by Uncle Sam. We compare tax burdens as Tax Day approaches.
By
LAURA SAUNDERS
April 10, 2015 9:59 a.m. ET
Who pays what in income taxes? With April 15 just around the corner, filers may be curious about where they fit into the system as a whole.
The individual income tax remains the most important levy in the U.S., providing nearly half of federal revenue. This is unusual: On average, developed nations get only one-third of their revenue from income taxes. Typically they also impose national consumption taxes, such as a value-added tax, that raise as much revenue as their income tax.
The pressure on the U.S. income tax has prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to seriously consider a national consumption tax. But liberals worry that such a levy could unduly burden the poor, while conservatives fear it would be too easy to dial up the rate and collect more revenue.
As a result, experts say, there is little chance of tax overhaul this year.
Meanwhile, these two tables offer a snapshot of who is paying what for the 2014 tax year.
What will happen when all of the baby boomers in the U.S. retire at age 65 and the “remarkable” advances in medicine keep many of them alive into their 90s or even into triple digits?
It’s a recipe for disaster and the “math is scary,” says Mike Rowe, the star of the CNN original series “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.”
“They are going to be retired for 40 years? There’s just no universe possible where you have enough money to live on if you’re an average Joe, 40 years after punching out,” he told TheBlaze. “Part of the reason, I think, we’re facing such a mess is because people are truly still clinging to the idea that, ‘OK, I worked for 30 years and now I’m done.’ That’s crazy.”
Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” fame, also said one of the biggest problems in pop culture is the tendency to make work the “enemy,” which he said is a very dangerous concept. And though the solution to the terrifying problem is complicated, he argued putting an end to the myth that people should work as little as possible would be a big step in the right direction.
“If the key to happiness is working less, we’re in trouble,” Rowe added. “It’s that simple. Work can’t be the enemy, unless it is, and if you make it the enemy — look out.”
No one can argue that Rowe is afraid to work and get his hands dirty. He’s practically turned performing uncomfortable, unique — and sometimes dangerous — jobs into a career.
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Aimee La Fountain
CORRESPONDENT |
The Ridgewood News
Four Ridgewood High School students were selected to perform in the Region 1 Senior Jazz Ensemble at New Jersey Association for Jazz Education’s honor ensemble concert. The performance will take place at 3 p.m. on April 19 at Nutley High School.
RHS freshman Griffin Fink and sophomores Brian and Max Caine will join the rhythm section.
“When you hear a rhythm section like Griffin, Max and Brian, you notice right away that these guys have an established groove,” said Jeffrey G. Haas, director of bands at Ridgewood High School.
RHS sophomore Teddy Trent will play trumpet.
Haas said he “is a wonderful player with a strong, clear tone and a natural jazz feel.”
Haas was chosen as conductor for this year’s concert.
“I knew that he would be a great conductor and fun to work under,” Fink said.
“When I found out that Mr. Haas was directing the jazz band, I just had to try out,” Trent said.
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
By John Cichowski
The Record
Like Superman to the rescue, Bill Pascrell Jr. swooped down on his native Paterson on Thursday to save our roads, our rail system and, by extension, the whole federal transportation trust fund.
In a speech inside an NJ Transit bus garage to a crowd of local politicians, transit managers and businessmen, the 10-term congressman unveiled an ambitious plan calling for a $27.5 billion transfusion to bail out the ailing U.S. Transportation Trust Fund that will run dry May 31 if Congress doesn’t reauthorize funding.
“This legislation, if it passes, would provide a consistent, dedicated stream of money to fix our crumbling bridges, roads and transit system for the next 10 years,” he said to applause.
Everybody in this spacious Market Street venue had heard comparable speeches lately to rally the troops behind political efforts to cope with looming state and federal funding shortages that will likely arise if Congress continues to finance transportation with yearly doles that don’t keep up with inflation and increased demand.
Columnist Andrea Peyser says Hillary sets back the battle for “girl power’’ by decades
By Andrea Peyser
April 9, 2015 | 10:55pm
Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first dame ever to have clawed her way to the dizzying heights of American politics through a combination of ruthless cunning and the unabashed pity doled out by gullible voters, most of them Democrats.
She’s a lady whose star power is not based on her intellect or contributions to the common good, but on her willingness to excuse randy husband Bill Clinton for turning her into a fool.
Widely considered the Democratic Party’s best hope for keeping the White House in 2016, the former first lady, US senator from New York and secretary of state sets a rotten example for her sisters everywhere.
So why can’t feminists, Hillary’s fellow Democrats and even some Republicans face the truth? Supporting the candidacy of this calculating symbol of Tammy Wynette’s song “Stand By Your Man’’ represents a grotesque insult to the fairer sex.
APRIL 9, 2015, 1:30 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015, 11:55 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
A state appeals court on Thursday blocked Governor Christie’s efforts to take $160 million out of trust funds that towns use to build low-cost housing units for poor, disabled and elderly residents.
It was the latest setback for Christie in a legal battle brewing for years over New Jersey’s troubled housing program for poor residents. Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that Christie’s inaction on affordable-housing matters had gone on too long and required an urgent fix.
As an end run around the Christie administration, the high court put judges in charge of setting rules and giving guidance to towns on how many low-cost housing units they should be building. With Thursday’s ruling by the appeals court, the judiciary is now set to take control of millions of dollars in housing funds to implement those plans.
Christie, a Republican, in 2012 tried to take the housing funds to help balance the state budget. The appeals court rejected his position and faulted his administration for ignoring previous court orders, declining to write statewide housing regulations and leaving New Jersey towns in the dark as to how many homes should be built for their lowest-income residents.
About one-quarter of the nation’s teenagers are online “almost constantly,” according to a new Pew Research Center study.
The study of Americans aged 13-17 found that 92 percent of teenagers go on the Internet every day, and 24 percent say they are “almost constantly” on the Internet, in a sign of just how central the Web is becoming for young people’s lives. More than half the nation’s teenagers — 56 percent — go online several times a day.
“Much of this frenzy of access is facilitated by mobile phones — particularly smartphones,” noted study author Amanda Lenhart.
About 73 percent of teenagers own or have access to a smartphone, the Pew survey found, while African-American teenagers were the most likely to own one.
Of those that use a mobile device to go online, 94 percent go on the Internet at least once a day.
