Police investigating possible link between Glen Rock bank robber and heist in Connecticut
FEBRUARY 20, 2015, 7:11 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015, 7:17 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
GLEN ROCK — Borough detectives are looking into a possible connection between Wednesday’s stick-up at the Glen Rock Savings Bank by an androgynous robber and a similar hold-up reported last month in Connecticut.
Glen Rock Detective James Calaski acknowledged on Friday that investigators “are aware of the similarities between Wednesday’s robbery and a job in Connecticut,” and that they were “looking into those similarities.”
The wig-sporting suspect from the Glen Rock heist, who made off with $100,000 in cash, wore women’s sunglasses, a black coat, white boots, and black gloves while brandishing a paintball gun, authorities said.
The robber tossed the gun and rose-colored wig as he or she fled, police said.
On Jan. 30, police claim a woman with short dark hair in a black coat with white boots and wearing sunglasses robbed the Greenwich Bank and Trust Co. in Greenwich, Conn., wielding a large handgun.
An article in the Greenwich Times quotes a police spokesman in that city who said detectives there were also actively looking into Glen Rock’s caper and a possible link.
N.Y. man injured in Ridgewood construction accident
FEBRUARY 20, 2015, 7:38 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015, 7:38 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A 31-year-old man from Rockland County suffered a broken collar bone and shoulder in a construction accident Friday morning, according to a village police spokesman.
The police spokesman said the incident occurred inside a McKinley Place home, where crews were working to install drywall.
Re: “1.5 million more quarters are missing,” The Ridgewood News, Feb. 13, A1:
Thomas Rica was arrested over two years ago for stealing several hundred thousand dollars worth of unsecured quarters from a storage room at Village Hall.
However, I was shocked to learn that village officials still routinely store thousands of dollars worth of quarters in the same storage room for two-week intervals. This despite the massive theft, and their full awareness of a NJ State law requiring municipalities to deposit all cash within 48 hours of receipt.
Furthermore, although it was apparent to village officials from the onset that Mr. Rica’s crime was facilitated by lax coin collection, handling, and storage procedures, a secure coin collection and handling system has not yet been implemented.
Current village officials seem very eager to quickly cast blame for the “coin caper” on those who preceded them. Ridgewood’s taxpayers would be better served if these same officials would dispense with efforts to preserve their respective public images, and instead focus on taking whatever steps are required to ensure that every last cent of cash collected by village employees is safely secured and accounted for.
It’s been over two years since the fox sneaked into the hen house and the hen house still hasn’t been completely secured. Time’s a-wasting.
Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Muslim mayor of Rotterdam,not everyone is a coward
Muslim Mayor: ‘I Cannot Accept that Poverty Leads to Terrorism,’ ‘If You Do Not Like’ Western Values, ‘F*** Off,’ Leave!
By Barbara Boland | 5 hours ago
“I cannot accept that poverty leads to terrorism,” Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Muslim mayor of Rotterdam, told CNN Wednesday, taking issue with the Obama administration’s claims. “I know how it is to live in poverty. I spent 15 years in Morocco on one meal a day, walking without shoes… I know how it is to be a product of poverty.”
The mayor made headlines in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks when he said on a Dutch television program:
“It is incomprehensible that you can turn against freedom. But if you do not like freedom, in Heaven’s name pack your bag and leave. There may be a place in the world where you can be yourself. Be honest with yourself and do not go and kill innocent journalists.
And if you do not like it here because humorists you do not like make a newspaper, may I then say you can f*** off.
This is stupid, this so incomprehensible. Vanish from the Netherlands if you cannot find your place here.”
He told Michael Holmes on CNN that what he’s received thousands of emails praising his courageous words.
Shamima Begum at the airport, your daughter could be next?
Three missing London schoolgirls ‘travelling to Syria to join Isil’
Metropolitan Police ‘extremely concerned’ about three teenage girls from east London school believed to be attempting to travel to Syria via Turkey
Police are appealing for help to find three schoolgirls who have gone missing and are thought to have travelled to Turkey with the intention of crossing the border into Syria.
They are Shamima Begum, 15, who could be using the name Acklina Begum, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana. The third girl, 15, is not being named at the request of her family, Scotland Yard said.
Police fear the girls, all pupils at the Bethnal Green Academy, in east London, might be heading to join terror group Isil – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Islamic State.
They travelled from their homes on Tuesday, February 17 and boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
Davidoff Winston Churchill now available at Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood 10 Chestnut Street , Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Phone: 201-447-2204 | Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
According to recent reports, the Italian Secret Service fears an air attack by ISIS, compounding the already existent danger of terrorist infiltration among with throngs of immigrants coming to Italy by boat from neighboring Libya.
Several days ago, the air defense system went into high alert after the secret service sent a notice.
The notice spoke of aircraft prepared to take off from Sirte and able to strike the Italian peninsula. Though this has not yet occurred, tensions remain high because of the strong risk of an attack carried out by “lone wolves” as occurred in Paris and in Copenhagen.
The State official responsible for the Secret Services, Marco Minniti, said that ISIS has what he called both “symmetric and asymmetric” capabilities, in that it can execute “both military and terrorist campaigns.” According to Minniti, this means that the ISIS threat holds the “maximum unpredictability,” which is “unprecedented.” Minniti also said that the dynamics of the situation makes necessary “comprehensive data collection.”
Specifically, Minniti has called for the immediate implementation of a Europe-wide sharing of Passenger Name Records (PNR) on all flights, exchanging pertinent information especially regarding n passengers that trigger suspicions, because though the Schengen open treaty should not be suspended, “it is essential to maintain control of who moves in or out of the theaters of war.”
Meanwhile, the Egyptian journalist Mustapha Bakri has released details on the Egyptian special forces strike on Derna yesterday. According to Bakri, Egyptian forces “killed 155 terrorists and captured 55 others before returning safely to Egypt.”
Barack Obama: Muslim elders too ‘boring’ to win Isil propaganda war
Islam is not to blame for rise of Islamic State says Barack Obama, arguing people not religion responsible for violence and terrorism
By Peter Foster, Washington
11:27PM GMT 18 Feb 2015
President Barack Obama has warned that Muslim community leaders are in danger of losing the propaganda war with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and are often too “boring” to prevent their young people from getting radicalised.
Paying Isil a back-handed compliment for the effectiveness of its gruesome social media outreach campaign, Mr Obama said it was imperative to reach young Muslims and address their social, political and economic grievances in a way that they understood.
“By the way, [to] the older people here – as wise and respected as you may be – your stuff is often boring,” he told a White House summit on combatting the rise of extremism, “compared to what they’re doing. You’re not connected. And as a consequence, you are not connecting.”
Mr Obama it was time to be “honest” that slickly-produced Isil videos of fighting scenes, beheadings other atrocities were succeeding in brainwashing young Muslims.
Giuliani defends Obama criticism, says president doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism
Published February 20, 2015
FoxNews.com
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani adamantly defended Thursday his controversial criticism of President Obama, one day after saying he does “not believe that the president loves America.”
Giuliani made the remarks Wednesday at a private fundraiser for Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is widely considered to be a prospective candidate for president in 2016. He added: “(Obama) doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.”
The comments drew widespread criticism from Democrats and liberals.
But Thursday night on “The Kelly File,” when host Megyn Kelly asked Giuliani if he wished to apologize, the 2008 presidential candidate doubled down on his criticism.
“Not at all. I want to repeat it,” Giuliani said. “The reality is, from all that I can see of this president, all that I’ve heard of him, he apologizes for America, he criticizes America. … This is an American president I’ve never seen before.”
Giuliani said he doesn’t think Obama believes in American exceptionalism, citing the president’s remarks on police tactics in the wake of the Ferguson shooting, western atrocities in the name of religion and Obama’s longtime association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a controversial Chicago pastor.
Ridgewood Arts Council plans exhibit at Village Hall
February 20, 2015 Last updated: Friday, February 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Darius Amos
STAFF WRITER |
The Ridgewood News
Less than a year after the village breathed new life into the Ridgewood Arts Council, RAC members are ready to return the favor.
The municipality’s official organization for the arts has set its sights on an ambitious but achievable goal, one that will end with the installation of a permanent public art display throughout Village Hall.
Titled “Ridgewood Art at Village Hall,” the idea for the permanent art exhibit comes on the heels of the success of Ridgewood High School’s Learning Commons display. Resident Linda Bradley was one of the volunteers who played an instrumental role in the RHS project.
“I was curating art for the Learning Commons. The art I was amassing was from Ridgewood residents,” Bradley said. “I got pulled over to be a part of the [RAC] because there was a lot of interest in the Learning Commons. We wanted to continue that visibility and celebration of the arts.”
Doherty on Transportation Trust Fund funding debate: New Jersey must make “informed decisions”
February 19, 2015
By Senator Mike Doherty (R-23)
There has been much discussion recently about a report on state highway systems by the Reason Foundation that found New Jersey’s roads to be the nation’s most expensive to build, operate and maintain.
According to that report, New Jersey’s state-administered highways cost taxpayers $2 million per mile, which the Reason Foundation claims to be 12 times the national average, three times the cost in the next highest state and four times the cost in New York.
The next most expensive state, according to the Reason Foundation, is Massachusetts, which spends a comparatively paltry $675,000 per mile. By most measures other than cost, apparently, our highway systems and the conditions they face seem nearly identical.
We have similar population densities — we are ranked first and they third in the nation — and our roads are both heavily travelled.
We share harsh northeast winters and maintain a comparable surface area of highway — they have 9,572 highway lane miles to our 8,496.
We also have similarly sized highways, with our state maintained roads averaging 3.65 lanes per mile and theirs 3.17 lanes per mile.
It also should be noted that Massachusetts is home to America’s most-expensive transportation project – the $24 billion “Big Dig” – that Bay State taxpayers will be paying off for the next 20+ years.
Despite all of the similarities in density, climate, actual area of road surface maintained and its own massive transportation spending, Massachusetts still manages to build and operate highways for what the Reason Foundation contends is one-third of what New Jersey pays.
If those numbers are correct, New Jersey’s taxpayers should be outraged and policymakers should take action.
Some, including state Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, have questioned the report’s findings and underlying methodology. Those concerns are valid and deserve to be investigated.
Despite his objections, Commissioner Fox concedes, however, that it is “more expensive to build a mile of road in New Jersey,” and few dispute the claim that New Jersey drivers and taxpayers pay more for our highways than anyone else in the nation.
It’s for that reason that the Reason Foundation report has suddenly become a central issue in the growing debate over how to address the long-term funding needs of the state’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).
The TTF, which helps pay for road and bridge projects around New Jersey, is in a perpetual state of financial distress and debt. Some would say it’s broke.
While we shouldn’t base state transportation funding policy on one organization’s report, we should pay attention when a seemingly well-formulated analysis raises such serious questions about where our money is going.
The Reason Foundation report, with its shocking conclusions, has fueled the argument that our transportation funding problem isn’t one of insufficient money, but of unreasonable spending.
A TTF plan put forward by New Jersey Democrats – who control both houses of the Legislature – doesn’t address spending, however. They simply want to increase the state’s gas tax, perhaps by 25 cents per gallon.
Such an increase would cost the average New Jersey driver $300 more per year at the pump, and the additional expense to our businesses would drive up the cost of virtually every product and service sold in the state.
According to the Tax Foundation, New Jersey residents already shoulder the second highest combined state and local tax burden, driven by our state’s highest in the nation property and business taxes, and sales and income taxes that are among the highest.
Perhaps the only source of relief for New Jerseyans in our entire tax structure is our gas tax, currently 14.5 cents per gallon, which is the second lowest in the nation.
Yet, this is precisely why Democrats see our gas tax as ripe for increasing. In their myopic view, we’re undertaxed!
Before we let Trenton politicians reach into the pockets of taxpayers yet again, shouldn’t we demand that we first find out why we spend so much more for our highways than every other state?
Shouldn’t we ask why we spend so much more than our peers, including Massachusetts, that have highway systems that are so similar to ours?
I think so, which is why I will introduce legislation requiring our own analysis of the factors that drive New Jersey’s road costs and a look at other states to determine how they are able to operate more efficiently.
If there were objections to the methodology employed by the Reason Foundation, the study I am proposing will be our opportunity to address those concerns and reach our own conclusions.
I hope Commissioner Fox, Governor Christie and other legislators will agree that this is necessary.
Until we determine exactly why we spend more than every other state, it will be impossible to lower our costs or make informed decisions about how much funding is really needed to complete important transportation projects at a cost reasonable to New Jersey taxpayers.
FEBRUARY 20, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Whether you like it or not, PARCC testing is coming to Ridgewood. The new state-mandated assessment exams are slated for administration for the first time on March 2.
Glen Rock wig-wearing bank robber still at large, gender unknown
FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 5:42 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 5:42 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
GLEN ROCK — As detectives continue to pursue the wigged robber behind Wednesday’s mid-morning holdup of the Glen Rock Savings Bank, one question remains: Are police on a manhunt or a ladyhunt?
Questions concerning the gender of the stick-up suspect — who wore women’s sunglasses, a rose-colored wig, and carried a handbag to the heist — continue to go unanswered as speculation grows that the robber is in fact a sir.
Early information from officers suggested the robber was female, but police later clarified the sex of the suspect wasn’t entirely clear.
As the robber fled the bank Wednesday with more than $100,0000 in cash, he or she shed the wig and ditched the gun that was used in the crime’s commission.
Police Chief Fred Stahman commented Wednesday that the robber’s gun may have been designed to fire paintballs.
Soon after photos were released of the suspect, Facebook users commented that the robber couldn’t be a woman with that rugged jawline and seemingly receding hairline.
Ridgewood asks resident to clear out snow near hydrants
February 19, 2015 Last updated: Thursday, February 19, 2015, 3:00 PM
By By Darius Amos
The majority of Ridgewood’s 722 fire hydrants have been cleared of snow and ice, but municipal and public safety officials are reminding residents to take action if another winter storm rears its head.
In a village-wide message delivered to E-Notice subscribers late last week, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld urged residents to free their neighborhood hydrants of snow, ice and other debris. For property owners who cannot clean a path around the hydrant themselves, Sonenfeld advised that notice should be given to her office or the Ridgewood Fire Department.
“We understand that there are residents who are not able to do so,” Sonenfeld said.
Fire Chief James Van Goor added that his department will respond “if we missed any.”
According to Van Goor, Ridgewood firefighters tour the village and clear snow from hydrants “for a couple of days after a storm.” Though the village ultimately completes the job, officials request that residents assist in the process and remove snow from hydrants when possible.
Developers, opponents sum up points on Ridgewood proposal to allow density housing downtown
FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 9:57 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 9:57 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Attorneys representing developers with plans for high-density multifamily housing complexes downtown have made their final pitches on a pending amendment to the village’s master plan.
Ridgewood’s Planning Board heard final summations Thursday night from two attorneys for the three developers that have requested the master plan change, and another that was retained by a grassroots citizens group opposed to the village ordinance that permitted the developers to ask for such an amendment.
If approved by village officials, the proposed master plan amendment would clear the way for all three projects, slated for various parcels throughout the downtown.
The three developers have plans to construct a combined 208 apartments downtown.
Attorney Thomas Wells, who represents two of the developers, said that experts have testified there is a need for more housing options in Ridgewood, especially for empty-nesters.
Wells said experts also postulated that traffic in the village would barely be impacted by the new housing developments and that the projects would not worsen Ridgewood’s well-established dearth of parking space.
The proposed housing projects will be a boon to business in the village, Wells said.
