Author: James

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Art at Ridgewood Village Hall is next project

imgres-11

March 27, 2015    Last updated: Friday, March 27, 2015, 8:28 AM
The Ridgewood News

Art at Village Hall is next project

To the Editor:

Last week, The Ridgewood News featured photos from the fantastic Maroon & White Celebration of the Arts held at Ridgewood High School on March 12. The event was held in the beautiful new Learning Commons at the high school and featured musical performances from students, as well as various art displays. One of the evening’s highlights was the public opening for a permanent art display entitled “Ridgewood Art at RHS.” This collection was curated by the Ridgewood Arts Council (RAC) and features work donated by artists who have a connection to Ridgewood. According to RHS principal Dr. Thomas Gorman, the public is invited to view all the art in the Learning Commons, with the optimal time being after school so as not to disturb students.

Dovetailing on the positive response the “Ridgewood Art at RHS” collection has received from artists and the viewing public, RAC is using it as a model for its next endeavor, “Ridgewood Art at Village Hall.” The purpose of both these collections is to celebrate the wealth of artistic talent in Ridgewood. RAC welcomes artists, 16 years and older, with a connection to Ridgewood, to send an email to [email protected] (subject line: RAC Art Donation) indicating interest. Posthumous submissions from family members are also welcome.

Each respondent will be sent by return email an official application form with further instructions and selection criteria guidelines. Art can be in any medium and any size – fine art, photography, textile and mobile arts, and sculpture included. The deadline for final submissions has been extended, so all interested parties are encouraged to email [email protected] ASAP for application. Once the installation is in place, the entire community will be invited to a gala launch event celebrating RAC and this new chapter of honoring the arts in Ridgewood!

Cheers to the Arts in Ridgewood!

Linda Bradley

Chair

Ridgewood Arts Council

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-art-at-ridgewood-village-hall-is-next-project-1.1297341

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Exclusive: Cablevision to make $1 offer for New York Daily News

11061974_10206303256484937_8170606910067305853_n

BY LIANA B. BAKER

(Reuters) – U.S. cable T.V. operator Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) is planning to make an offer for the New York Daily News as early as this week, valuing the troubled tabloid at just $1, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The offer would come one month after New York media and real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman said he was considering selling the newspaper and had hired Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) to assist with the process. It underscores the declining readership and plunging advertising revenue that have plagued the tabloid for years.

Cablevision’s $1 bid takes into account the New York Daily News’ reported $30 million annual loss and $150 million investment in a printing press, and declining circulation that relies heavily on newsstand sales rather than on subscriptions, the source said.

The source asked not to be identified because the offer has not been formally presented yet. Cablevision declined to comment while a representative for the New York Daily News could not immediately be reached for a comment.

To be sure, newspapers are not the only part of the media industry which is struggling. Cable distributors such as Cablevision and its larger rivals have also been under pressure to stop consumers from dumping their cable subscriptions, or “cutting the cord”, as subscribers shift to internet services such as Netflix and Hulu.

Cablevision also owns the suburban newspaper Newsday. The company, which is controlled by New York’s Dolan family, said last month its number of video customers fell 4.7 percent to 2.68 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/31/us-newyorkdailynews-cablevision-syst-idUSKBN0MR0AB20150331

Posted on by — Leave a comment

In Pursuit Of Patient Satisfaction, Hospitals Update The Hated Hospital Gown

thinman2

Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News
2:47 AM, Mar 31, 2015
4 hours ago

New designs, though, can be expensive. After Valley Hospital of Ridgewood, N.J., switched to pajamas and gowns that provide extra coverage, costs went up $70,000 per year, said Leonard Guglielmo, the facility’s chief supply chain officer, because the new garments cost more to buy and maintain.

Whether a patient is in the hospital for an organ transplant, an appendectomy or to have a baby, one complaint is common: the gown.

You know the one. It might as well have been stitched together with paper towels and duct tape, and it usually leaves the wearer’s behind hanging out.

“You’re at the hospital because something’s wrong with you – you’re vulnerable – then you get to wear the most vulnerable garment ever invented to make the whole experience that much worse,” said Ted Streuli, who lives in Edmond, Okla., and has had to wear hospital gowns on multiple occasions.

Put another way: “They are horrible. They are demeaning. They are belittling. They are disempowering,” said Camilla McRory of Olney, Md.

The gowns are among the most vexing parts of being in the hospital. But if efforts by some health systems are an indicator, the design may be on its way out of style.

https://www.kitsapsun.com/news/state/in-pursuit-of-patient-satisfaction-hospitals-update-the-hated-hospital-gown_65071226

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Facebook accused of tracking all users even if they delete accounts, ask never to be followed

330facebook-800x420

ANDREW GRIFFIN
Tuesday 31 March 2015

A new report claims that Facebook secretly installs tracking cookies on users’ computers, allowing them to follow users around the internet even after they’ve left the website, deleted their account and requested to be no longer followed.

Academic researchers said that the report showed that the company was breaking European law with its tracking policies. The law requires that users are told if their computers are receiving cookies except for specific circumstances.

Facebook’s tracking — which it does so that it can tailor advertising — involves putting cookies or small pieces of software on users’ computers, so that they can then be followed around the internet. Such technology is used by almost every website, but European law requires that users are told if they are being given cookies or being tracked. Companies don’t have to tell users if the cookies are required to connect to a service or if they are needed to give the user information that they have specifically requested.

But Facebook’s tracking policy allows it to track users if they have simply been to a page on the company’s domain, even if they weren’t logged in. That includes pages for brands or events, which users can see whether or not they have an account.

Facebook disputes the accusations of the report, it told The Independent.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-accused-of-tracking-all-users-even-if-they-delete-accounts-ask-never-to-be-followed-10146631.html

Posted on by — 6 Comments

New Jersey lousy place to retire, study finds

2548274_orig

New Jersey lousy place to retire, study finds

New Jersey’s high taxes, cost of living and overall malaise are coming back to bite it among retirees, according to a survey released last week. • The Garden State ranks as the sixth-worst state to retire, Bankrate.com found. And it could have been worse if the personal finance website graded the states using only pocketbook issues.

“If it wasn’t for the family, I wouldn’t be here because the taxes are too high,” said Peggy Brocco, 68, of Manchester. “I’m in a senior development, and I pay $8,200 in (property) taxes.” (Diamond/Courier Post)

https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/2015/04/01/new-jersey-lousy-place-retire-study-finds/70758880/

Posted on by — 7 Comments

Village Fees continue to Increase

imgres-11

March 31,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hourly meter rates in all Village lots and streets are now $.50 per hour from 10AM to 6PM,
Monday through Saturday.

Ridgewood Nj,  First it was parking with hourly meter rates in all Village lots and streets jumping to $.50 per hour from 10AM to 6PM,Monday through Saturday.

Then there was an increase in Ridgewood Parking Permits provides ‘coinless’ with annual permits issued for a calendar year coasting residents $750.  RPP are issued to Non Residents at a fee of $1,500 and require parking in the Cottage Place or Rt. 17 Park & Ride Lots.

Now the Village is moving to increase Building Department Fees .At the March 25, 2015 Village Council Meeting the proposed Building Department Fees was discussed.

Whats next garage sales, parking tickets , keeping the tax increase flat add some layers of supervisors and the spend the reserve .
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ridgewood Police Conduct training at Hawes School

10491068_732757250120644_2230879092741411271_n
March 31,2015

Ridgewood NJ, According to the Ridgewood Police Department they will be conducting training at Hawes School beginning Monday 3/30/15 through Thursday 4/2/15 from 7am to 4pm each day. Expect to see police activity around the school.

This is a training exercise  and thats all we know at this juncture .
Posted on by — 1 Comment

April Fools’ Day 2015 Facts, Trivia, Myths, History: Why We Celebrate This International Day Of Pranks And Jokes

Rum Truck

file photo by Boyd Loving

By  Elizabeth Whitman @elizabethwhitty [email protected] onMarch 31 2015 10:46 AM EDT

April Fools’ Day began in the year 1582, according to one legend, when Pope Gregory XIII (after whom the Gregorian calendar is named) moved the start of the new year from the end of March to the beginning of January. The change was made public, but not everyone got the memo, and those who didn’t and thus continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1 were laughed at. “Because they were seen as foolish, [they were] called April Fools,” medieval historian Ginger Smoak has explained, according to the Huffington Post.

Another myth is based on the same idea but suggests the change in the New Year happened at a slightly different time and place. It attributes the calendar change to France in 1564 — rather than to the pope — and when people celebrated the wrong New Year, others would paste paper fish on their backs, which explains why in France, the day is known as April Fish.

https://www.ibtimes.com/april-fools-day-2015-facts-trivia-myths-history-why-we-celebrate-international-day-1864126

Posted on by — Leave a comment

This Year Tax Freedom Day® Arrives on April 24

imgres-2

Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2015 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined

Washington, DC (Mar 31, 2015)—Tax Freedom Day, the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its federal, state, and local tax bill for year, will arrive 114 days into the year on April 24, according to the annual report released this morning by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

“Tax Freedom Day gives us a vivid representation of how much we pay for the goods and services provided by governments at all levels,” said Tax Foundation Economist Kyle Pomerleau. “Arguments can be made that the tax bill is too high or too low, but in order to have an honest discussion, it’s important for taxpayers to understand cost of government. Tax Freedom Day helps people relate to that cost.”

While the national date arrives nine days after the tax filing deadline, each state’s total federal, state, and local tax burden varies greatly. Tax Freedom Day arrives earliest in Louisiana on April 2 and Mississippi on April 4. On May 13, Connecticut and New Jersey will be the last states to reach Tax Freedom Day this year.

Key takeaways from the report:

Tax Freedom Day is one day later than last year due mainly to the country’s continued steady economic growth, which is expected to boost tax revenue especially from the corporate, payroll, and individual income tax.
Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2015 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.
Americans will pay $3.3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of more than $4.8 trillion, or 31.1 percent of the nation’s income.
If you include annual federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owed, Tax Freedom Day would occur 14 days later on May 8.
Tax Freedom Day is a significant date for taxpayers and lawmakers because it represents how long Americans as a whole have to work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden.

Historically, the date for Tax Freedom Day has fluctuated significantly. The latest-ever Tax Freedom Day was May 1, 2000 – meaning that Americans paid 33% of their collective incomes towards taxes. A century earlier, in 1900, only 5.9% of national income was required to pay the tax bill, and Tax Freedom Day fell January 22.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Trevor Noah Anti Semitism Goes Mainstream with the Daily Show

20480363

New ‘Daily Show’ host sparks backlash with offensive tweets

South African comedian Trevor Noah has issued series of jokes over the years at the expense of Jews, Israel, women

BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF AND JTA March 31, 2015, 3:10 pm

A day after Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old South African stand-up comedian, was named to replace Jon Stewart as the next host of “The Daily Show,” a series of anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-women tweets by Noah were being highlighted Tuesday amid a rising tide of online protest at his appointment.

Noah made three memorable appearances as a correspondent on the show starting in December of last year, in which he skewered American (and more generally Western) views and stereotypes of Africa.

Born to a black South African mother and a white Swiss father (when interracial relationships were illegal in apartheid South Africa), Noah is already a star in his home country, where he has filmed several stand-up specials. In 2012 and 2013 he became the first South African comedian to perform on “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show with David Letterman” respectively, and in 2012 he was the subject of a documentary called “You Laugh But It’s True.”

Read more: New ‘Daily Show’ host sparks backlash with offensive tweets | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-daily-show-host-sparks-backlash-with-history-of-anti-semitic-tweets/#ixzz3VzOCTMWp
Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Posted on by — 1 Comment

STUCK ON STUPID : N.J. Senate committee examining state’s economic recovery

stooges

MARCH 31, 2015, 12:55 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 12:57 PM

BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

State senators are looking for answers why New Jersey has become an economic island of the Northeast as the country continues to recover from the Great Recession.

On the second day of testimony by state leaders on Governor Christie’s $33.8 budget for 2016, legislators focused Tuesday on New Jersey’s lagging comeback. David Rosen, the Office of Legislative Services’ budget officer, told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee that just five states – all in the south or west – have had a worse recovery from the economic crisis than New Jersey, while neighboring states, like New York, have had a strong rebound.

“What is it that we are doing wrong?” Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, asked Rosen.

There is no clear answer and there are a host of underlying factors, but the state’s substantial losses in the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industry — two sectors that brought enormous wealth and prosperity to the Garden State — have had a significant and long-lasting impact, Rosen said. The state is creating jobs, he said, “just at a slower pace.” The national unemployment rate, for example, is 5.5 percent, while New Jersey’s is 6.4 percent.

“It seems like we just haven’t come up with the next thing to drive the economy,” Rosen said.

In his budget analysis, Rosen noted New Jersey’s sluggish revenue growth, at an average of 2.4 percent a year since 2010. Since the end of the recession only the state’s sales tax has returned to its pre-recession peak, while gross income taxes have fallen short and corporate business taxes “remain well below the peak,” he said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-senate-committee-examining-state-s-economic-recovery-1.1299491

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Despite deforestation, the world is getting greener – scientists

20140930_122807_resized

20140930_122807_resized

Despite deforestation, the world is getting greener – scientists

By By Alisa Tang | Reuters – 5 hours ago

BANGKOK – The world’s vegetation has expanded, adding nearly 4 billion tonnes of carbon to plants above ground in the decade since 2003, thanks to tree-planting in China, forest regrowth in former Soviet states and more lush savannas due to higher rainfall.

Scientists analysed 20 years of satellite data and found the increase in carbon, despite ongoing large-scale tropical deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia, according to research published on Monday in Nature Climate Change.

Carbon flows between the world’s oceans, air and land. It is present in the atmosphere primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2) – the main climate-changing gas – and stored as carbon in trees.

Through photosynthesis, trees convert carbon dioxide into the food they need to grow, locking the carbon in their wood.

The 4-billion-tonne increase is minuscule compared to the 60 billion tonnes of carbon released into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning and cement production over the same period, said Yi Liu, the study’s lead author and a scientist at the University of New South Wales.

“From this research, we can see these plants can help absorb some carbon dioxide, but there’s still a lot of carbon dioxide staying in the atmosphere,” Liu said by telephone from Sydney.

“If we want to stabilise the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – and avoid the consequent impacts – it still requires us to reduce fossil fuel emissions.”

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/despite-deforestation-world-getting-greener-scientists-150214323.html

Posted on by — Leave a comment

North Jersey home prices rise, still less than national average

1509637

MARCH 31, 2015, 11:49 AM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 12:12 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Home prices in the region ticked up 2.1 percent in the New York metropolitan area, including North Jersey, in the 12 months ended in January, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reported Tuesday. That was less than half the national increase of 4.5 percent.

The numbers point to a housing market that is still slowly recovering from the worst downturn since World War II. Home values are no higher than they were in 2004, both nationally and in the region. Single-family prices in the area are almost 19 percent below their peaks in mid-2006, while national values are about 17 percent below their peaks.

“Despite price gains, the housing market faces some difficulties,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Home prices [nationwide] are rising roughly twice as fast as wages, putting pressure on potential homebuyers and heightening the risk that any uptick in interest rates could be a major setback. Moreover, the new home sector is weak; residential construction is still below its pre-crisis peak.”

In Bergen County, the median price of a single-family home dropped 8.6 percent in January from a year earlier, to $425,000. In Passaic County, the median dropped 1.8 percent, to $275,000. Those numbers are from the New Jersey Realtors and reflect the mix of properties sold in the month; Case-Shiller does not track prices on a county-by-county basis.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-home-prices-rise-still-less-than-national-average-1.1299472

Posted on by — Leave a comment

You Know Who Else Thought NSA Mass Metadata Collection Was Bad? The NSA.

against-it-before-they-were-fo

against-it-before-they-were-fo

You Know Who Else Thought NSA Mass Metadata Collection Was Bad? The NSA.

Prior to Edward Snowden’s revelations, there was a push to end it.

Scott Shackford|Mar. 30, 2015 1:05 pm

An Associated Press exclusive today notes that the National Security Agency (NSA) knew full well that its mass telephone metadata collection program was actually contributing very little to the war on terror. And in fact, prior to Edward Snowden leaking the existing of this program—as well as many others—there was an internal push to end it. The effort probably wouldn’t have succeeded, the Associated Press says, but it’s definitely important information given the consistent defense of sweeping up the call metadata of millions upon millions of people (which is still going on, by the way). From the AP:

The internal critics pointed out that the already high costs of vacuuming up and storing the “to and from” information from nearly every domestic landline call were rising, the system was not capturing most cellphone calls, and the program was not central to unraveling terrorist plots, the officials said. They worried about public outrage if the program ever was revealed.

After the program was disclosed, civil liberties advocates attacked it, saying the records could give a secret intelligence agency a road map to Americans’ private activities. NSA officials presented a forceful rebuttal that helped shape public opinion.

Responding to widespread criticism, President Barack Obama in January 2014 proposed that the NSA stop collecting the records, but instead request them when needed in terrorism investigations from telephone companies, which tend to keep them for 18 months.

Yet the president has insisted that legislation is required to adopt his proposal, and Congress has not acted. So the NSA continues to collect and store records of private U.S. phone calls for use in terrorism investigations under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Many lawmakers want the program to continue as is.

The Associated Press noted that there is a precedent for the NSA stopping mass data collection programs. They had also been mass-collecting metadata about e-mail but suspended the practice years before Snowden actually leaked the program’s existence. That program ended up being a big mess at the NSA because they could not figure out technology that collected metadata (to and from information, et cetera) about e-mail that did not also provide actual e-mail content. They could not stop collecting inappropriate information from emails, no matter how much they promised the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that they would.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/03/30/you-know-who-else-thought-the-nsa-mass-m

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ridgewood Chamber Spotlight: Yummy Tummy Meals

IMG_8257-1170x500

IMG_8257-1170x500

Ridgewood Chamber Spotlight: Yummy Tummy Meals

March 20, 2015    Last updated: Friday, March 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Gloria Geannette
MANAGING EDITOR |
The Ridgewood News

Bernice Dezelan’s three “guinea pigs” are her children — Anthony, 8, Sofia, 4, and Victoria, 20 months. They are the inspiration and main product testers for the delicious food her business, “Yummy Tummy Meals,” delivers locally to other nutrition conscious, busy families.

Dezelan, who has lived in Ridgewood for the past three years, does all of her cooking at night at local, FDA-licensed commercial kitchens, where she rents space. Currently the online menu offers food for babies, toddlers and children, but the creative cook is already thinking ahead to offering complete family meals in the future.

The business evolved from Dezelan’s passion to feed her children food that was fresh and organic. To offer other parents those same wholesome meals, she first shared her original recipes on her own food blog.

“I knew there was a need for parents to have access to fresh meals for babies and children that they would actually love eating,” she said. When the family moved to Ridgewood with two children and expecting a third, she knew it was the perfect time to start her dream baby food delivery company.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/yummy-tummy-meals-delivers-for-families-1.1292660