Fixing school funding ‘single most frustrating arc’ of tenure, Christie says
FREEHOLD — At his 131st town hall here today, Gov. Chris Christie said his administration’s repeated failures to overturn the state’s school funding formula has been the “single most frustrating arc during my time as governor.” (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
Climate-Change Deniers’ and ‘Put a Price on Carbon’ , but have you seen “big foot”?
Cole Mellino | March 16, 2015 10:37 am
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival is happening now in Austin, Texas. Running from March 9 to 22, it’s a massive film, interactive and music festival that is nearly 20 years old. The festival brings together designers, developers, investors, entrepreneurs and politicians for panels and discussions about technology and innovation.
For the third time in the last few years, Al Gore, founder and chairman of the Climate Reality Project, spoke at the festival on Friday. Naturally, his interactive discussion focused on addressing the climate crisis. The former vice president focused on the need to “punish climate-change deniers, saying politicians should pay a price for rejecting ‘accepted science,’” said the Chicago Tribune.
Gore said forward-thinking investors are moving away from companies that invest in fossil fuels and towards companies investing in renewable energy. “We need to put a price on carbon to accelerate these market trends,” Gore told the Chicago Tribune, referring to a proposed federal cap-and-trade system that would penalize companies that exceeded their carbon-emission limits. “And in order to do that, we need to put a price on denial in politics.”
He called on the tech-minded SXSW crowd, which is dominated by Millenials, to harness technology to launch a grassroots movement to tackle climate change and call out climate deniers. “We have this denial industry cranked up constantly,” Gore said. “In addition to 99 percent of the scientists and all the professional scientific organizations, now Mother Nature is weighing in.”
Years from now, Gore said the next generation will look back at us and ask: “How did you change?,” according to Macworld. “Part of the answer may well be that a group of people came to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in 2015 and helped to make a revolution,” Gore said.
Gore wanted these young, tech-savvy attendees to start a grassroots movement using social media like they did when “net neutrality was threatened or when the Stop Online Piracy Act threatened to blacklist websites that offered so-called illegal content,” said Macworld. That means signing petitions to fight climate change, utilizing social media to call out climate deniers in Congress and streaming the Live Earth Road to Paris concert on June 18, an event designed to draw attention to the climate talks in Paris this December.
The former Veep even gave a nod to Pope Francis during his talk, showing a slide of the pontiff and saying “How about this Pope?” Pope Francis celebrated his two-year anniversary as Pope on Friday, riding a wave of popularity “that has reinvigorated the Catholic Church in ways not seen since the days of St. John Paul II,” said the Chicago Tribune. Gore said he was looking forward to the Pope’s highly anticipated encyclical on the environment which is due to be released in June or July. “I’m not a Catholic,” Gore said, “but I could be persuaded to become one.”
https://ecowatch.com/2015/03/16/al-gore-sxsw-punish-climate-deniers/
The legal case against Internet rules
By Mario Trujillo – 03/15/15 06:00 AM EDT
Asked what the Internet ‘general conduct rule’ means, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, ‘We don’t really know.’
As legal challenges loom for new net neutrality regulations, GOP members of the Federal Communications Commission are offering some of the first lines of attack.
The dissenting opinions of the two Republicans ran 80 pages, and they telegraph some of the arguments on which critics could rely as they prepare legal filings to scrap the new rules.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has repeatedly said the commission wrote the rules to withstand challenges from the “big dogs.” And while it is still unclear which organization or company will lead the charge, there is little doubt that a legal battle is brewing.
On Thursday, the public got its first look at the actual text of the net neutrality order, two weeks after it was approved. The rules would reclassify broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communication Act. The new designation will give the commission increased authority to enforce rules barring Internet service providers like Verizon or Comcast from prioritizing any piece of Internet traffic above another.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/235672-the-legal-case-against-net-neutrality
Pearson Spy Scandal : New furor over N.J. tests as student privacy concerns raised
MARCH 17, 2015, 2:35 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015, 10:35 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The security of the state’s standardized tests is clashing with parents’ privacy concerns in the latest battle over the new exams.
Critics accused Pearson testing company of “spying” after it alerted the state Department of Education that a student leaked a test question on Twitter. Pearson said it was protecting test integrity and fairness, and an assistant commissioner of the state Education Department wrote a letter to school officials Tuesday strongly defending the practice, saying that Pearson is tracking content of posts not the students’ accounts.
Pearson’s reporting of the breach has generated a firestorm that’s tied to the larger controversy that has seen parents refusing to let their children take the tests amid growing concerns about student data privacy and overstressed children.
In the latest controversy, parents have flooded social media with complaints about the “spying” incident, news outlets have covered it and the chairman of the state Assembly Education Committee called for the company and the state education commissioner to explain their actions at a hearing Thursday.
“I find the accounts as reported very disturbing,” said Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr., D-Middlesex, who asked state Education Commissioner David Hespe and Pearson to attend the 10 a.m. hearing. “This type of event has a chilling effect on parents and kids.”
file photo
Ridgewood continues civility roundtable talks
March 16, 2015 Last updated: Monday, March 16, 2015, 10:49 AM
By Mark Krulish
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
Another round of discussions on the concept of civility took place last week, this time in the more informal and intimate setting of the first floor senior lounge at Village Hall.
The discussion, which was led by the Rev. Jan Phillips, began with the reiteration of the purpose for holding these meetings, which was not to dictate comment or limit speech, but rather to eliminate hate speech and promote understanding between people.
“I had done a program with Pastor [Gregory] Lisby of Christ Church,” Philips said. “We were talking about backlash that has been happening because of these committee meetings and he said there’s this notion that telling people how to behave civilly is such a classist thing. That’s not where we’re coming from.”
The group explored how communication and behavior can shape a person’s perspective and examples of incivility during public meetings, while also branching off into various topics that affect the community.
Hans Jurgen Lehmann, a member of the Ridgewood Zoning Board of Adjustment, noted there have been times when audience members at meetings express skepticism that professionals testifying on behalf of applicants are being truthful with the information they give to the board.
“When they listen to the experts from the applicant, they don’t trust any of those people,” Lehmann said. “They just think they’re out there to scam them, but they are very factual.
“I’m constantly puzzled, in this society that’s supposedly very democratic, why we’re so suspicious about government. I just don’t get it,” he added.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/civility-discussion-continues-in-ridgewood-1.1289918
file photo Boyd Loving
Ridgewood Village Council amends residency rules for hiring
MARCH 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015, 10:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
After a lengthy discussion during a work session earlier this month, the Village Council introduced an ordinance last Wednesday amending residency requirements to indicate that all civilian classified titles in Civil Service will be opened to the entire state with the exception of police and fire department public safety titles.
A previous ordinance, which gave preference to Bergen County residents, followed by residents from contiguous counties and then state residents, was adopted unanimously on Aug. 13, 2014, according to the minutes of that night’s meeting. However, this was deemed impermissible by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and was sent back for revisions.
The new ordinance, which was introduced by a 3-2 vote, would open those jobs to residents from anywhere in New Jersey without a tier system.
During discussion on March 4, Councilman Michael Sedon acknowledged that he voted in favor of removing the residency requirement in August, which he said was “a mistake.” He stated his belief that hiring residents from the village puts them ahead of those from outside of Ridgewood.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-council-amends-residency-rules-1.1290553
After 40 years of Renovations : Push to Replace Port Authority Bus Terminal
New depot is estimated to cost up to $11 billion
By
ANDREW TANGEL
Updated March 17, 2015 12:47 p.m. ET
When the Port Authority Bus Terminal opened in 1950, it helped New York City funnel a growing number of buses carrying commuters into Manhattan’s West Side.
Today, the terminal west of Times Square is a major chokepoint for bus traffic from New Jersey suburbs. Commuters complain of delays, crowding and a dreary environment.
Like Penn Station about 10 blocks to the south, the terminal is also the butt of jokes. Last summer, the comedian John Oliver declared it “the single worst place on Planet Earth” and joked that even cockroaches are trying to escape.
Now the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has preliminary estimates for how much it could cost to replace its eponymous terminal: $8 billion to $11 billion, a potential price tag rivaling that of a project to dig new passenger rail tunnels under the Hudson River.
The terminal is expected to take the spotlight at the Port Authority’s board meeting on Thursday, highlighting how the agency is trying to refocus on regional transportation in the wake of the September 2013 scandal involving lane-closures at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-push-to-fix-port-authority-bus-terminal-1426547679
Bibi Wins Big !
Mar 17, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
In a Twitter statement , Netanyahu says that “against all odds” his Likud party and the nationalist camp secured a “great victory.”
party is over time to get back to work !
The Ridgewood blog is Back !
Dear Readers after suffering a major “HACK” attack last week the Ridgewood Blog is under going a very major up grade to its servers .
After finishing our first phase of blog redesign we are also continuing a long term project for better indexing the 80,000 plus older posts making them easier to search . This includes a more usable streamlined set of categories as well as a simpler tagging system .
The second major project we are currently working on is fixing the 3000 or so broken , non working or inaccurate links . When finished this will give blog users faster access to blog posts and a more robust feel for surfers.
thanks for your patients , the blog should return to service sometime today ,
James aka PJ Blogger
www.theridgewoodblog.net
[email protected]
Hedge fund manager: It’s a ‘truly scary time’
Lawrence Delevingne | @ldelevingne
A hedge fund manager who warned about the last financial crisis is seeing parallels of that run-up in the market today.
“I think it is a truly scary time,” Andy Redleaf, CEO of $4.2 billion hedge and mutual fund manager Whitebox Advisors, said in an internal memo Sunday night obtained by CNBC.com. (Tweet This)
Redleaf wrote that the stimulus used to put fresh money in markets could end poorly, just like loose credit standards in housing before 2007 crushed that market.
“We do not know exactly where all the credit creation of this cycle has gone. Certainly money sits idly as excess reserves, but just as certainly money that would not exist but for unconventional monetary policy has distorted prices and resource allocation,” Redleaf wrote.
He noted that the oil market—which recently crashed from around $100 a barrel to $43 today—may have been overly inflated by China “buying on easy credit” and other excess money going to oil producers who in turn increased supply.
Redleaf also said that stock markets may similarly be propped up by sovereign wealth funds and the Swiss central bank owning large amounts of equities.
What it means if Fed no longer says it’s ‘patient’ on rates
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the Federal Reserve, patience may no longer be a virtue.
Surrounding the Fed’s policy meeting this week is the widespread expectation that it will no longer use the word “patient” to describe its stance on raising interest rates from record lows.
The big question is: What will that mean?
Many economists say the dropping of “patience” would signal that the Fed plans to start raising rates in June to reflect a steadily strengthening U.S. job market. Others foresee no rate hike before September. And a few predict no increase before year’s end at the earliest.
Complicating the decision is a surging U.S. dollar, which is keeping inflation far below the Fed’s target rate and posing a threat to U.S. corporate profits and possibly to the economy. A rate increase could send the dollar even higher.
In a statement it will issue when its meeting ends Wednesday and in a news conference Chair Janet Yellen will hold afterward, the Fed isn’t likely to telegraph its timetable. Yellen has said that any decision to raise rates will reflect the latest economic data and that the Fed must remain flexible.
Still, nervous investors have been selling stocks out of concern that a rate increase – which could slow borrowing and spending and weigh on the economy – is coming soon.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Dear E-Notice Residents,
I wanted to let you know that we experienced at least 6 car burglaries overnight with one car stolen. Surrounding towns have had a similar experience.
Ridgewood Police reported ,on March 16, 2015 the Ridgewood Police Department responded to six reports of car entries on Heights Road, Crest Road and Sunset Avenue. The vehicles were unlocked and unknown items were taken.
A 2009 Escalade was also reported stolen from a Sunset Avenue home. These matters are all under investigation.
The Ridgewood Police Department would like to remind residents that they should lock all car doors and never leave the keys in the vehicle. Items that may be expensive and vulnerable to theft should not be left in the vehicle. Please report any suspicious persons immediately.
Please take note of the following precautions with your vehicles:
Please do not leave your cars unlocked in your driveway.
Please do not leave any valuables in your car; if you have valuables in your car make sure they are not visible.
Please do not leave your car keys in your car, make sure they are in a safe place.
The Ridgewood Police Department is actively working on this. If you see something suspicious, please contact the Police Department. We will apprise you of any progress on this matter when available.
Be safe,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
-PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS-
Mahwah man can pursue suit against Finkelstein & Partners law firm
March 16, 2015 Last updated: Monday, March 16, 2015, 8:49 AM
* Cites overcharges in slip-and-fall case
A Mahwah man’s lawsuit claiming that his lawyers overcharged him in a personal-injury case can move forward under a recent court ruling — though one of the original defendants, the well-known law firm Jacoby & Meyers, has been let off the hook.
Jeffrey Harding of Mahwah and his 80-year-old mother, Nancy Harding of Rockland County, hired lawyers with ties to Jacoby & Meyers, a New York company known for its television commercials, to file two slip-and-fall lawsuits on their behalf.
Nancy Harding hired Finkelstein & Partners of Newburgh, N.Y., after she suffered an injury at a Suffern, N.Y., tile business, and Jeffrey Harding, who had a separate case, hired Andrew Finkelstein of Finkelstein & Partners.
The Finkelstein firm shares many office locations and staff with Jacoby & Meyers, according to a lawsuit filed by the Hardings after their slip-and-fall cases were settled.
In their lawsuit, both Nancy and Jeffrey Harding claimed that the lawyers overcharged them by adding fees for services from a company, Total Trial Solutions, which was partly owned by their lawyers. Those fees were in addition to the regular attorneys’ fees of 33 percent of the amount recovered, the Hardings said in their lawsuit, which named Jacoby & Meyers, Finkelstein & Partners, Total Trial Solutions, and Andrew Finkelstein and Kenneth Oliver, who were named as owners of Total Trial Solutions as well as partners in the law firms.
Menendez praised in rabbi’s full-page NY Times ad
By Jesse Byrnes
Self-described “America’s Rabbi” Shmuley Boteach and his group have taken out a full-page advertisement in Saturday’s New York Times praising Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) as “the scourge of tyrants everywhere.”
The ad mentions the senior Hispanic politician’s “audacity to speak truth to power” and willingness “to reach across party lines on issues of conscience,” according to a press release provided Friday afternoon.
Menendez gets praised in the ad on two issues where the ranking Senate Foreign Relations Committee member has been critical of the Obama administration: on moves to normalize relations with Cuba and hopes to secure a deal over Iran’s nuclear program. The administration hopes to strike a preliminary deal on Iran by March 24.
On Iran, the ad says Menendez “stood up for the American and Israeli people against the Administration’s rush to conclude a deal with Iran that would endanger the security of both nations.”
“Senator Menendez is the vital, bi-partisan link against a deal with the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism that would leave Iran with a one-year breakout capability toward a nuclear bomb,” the ad reads.
The rabbi’s ads have previously caused pushback.
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/235713-menendez-praised-in-rabbis-full-page-ny-times-ad
A call for a Hudson-Bergen light rail extension amid the specter of criminal indictment
ENGLEWOOD — Voice projecting confidently over the noisy workday traffic, surrounded by a scrum of federal and state officials bearing chilly wind on a cold March afternoon, it was almost as if U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) wasn’t a man days away from criminal indictment by the Department of Justice over allegations that he used his seat in Washington to illegally aid a personal friend. (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
