Posted: Dec 01, 2014 10:43 AM EST Updated: Dec 01, 2014 10:43 AM EST
By Tamara Laine, @ChasingTamara
Paterson, New Jersey (My9NJ) –
In Paterson, New Jersey only 19 kids who took the SAT’s are considered college ready. This means that they scored at least a 1500 out of 2400 on the standardized test, and this number is truly shocking considering how large the school district is.
Paterson resident Jason Williams is one of the lucky ones. He just graduated high school last year and has been enrolled in college since September, after taking the SAT’s three times determined to score over 1500. He says that the key to his success was not falling victim to the streets.
“Just last summer, my friend and teammate, he was shot and killed that summer and that really affected me,” he said.
The RHS Department of Fine & Applied Arts is looking for alumni to participate in the Tenth Annual Alumni Art Show. Last year’s show was a great success and it is hoped to reach even more of our alumni this year. The exhibition will be a showing of work created after graduating from RHS. It will be held in the Carroll Art Gallery, Room 137, from December 15 through January 9, 2015. There will be a reception for the artists on Thursday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m. All students, alumni, friends, family and staff are invited to the reception as well as to view the exhibition during school hours.
Participating artists should drop off their ready-to-hang artwork by the week of December 8. Question may be directed to the Department of Fine & Applied Arts at 201-670-2800, ext. 20542, or email the department in care of [email protected].
Event information and other news is continually updated on the Arts at Ridgewood Public Schools’ Twitter profile: @Arts_at_RPS and Facebook account page, www.facebook.com/TheArtsatRPS.
Reader says Criticism and the resulting public discourse, I believe, does much more good than harm
I am a strong believer in free speech no matter how stupid, hateful, or unpopular that speech is, but I suppose if you twisted my arm I could compromise and allow bans on one form of speech. That would be blowhard elected officials singlehandedly defying the New Jersey State Sunshine Law by egotistically grabbing the public microphone (!) and executing one of the most exquisite, hypocritical, logic-twisting, irony-defining, triple-twister-with-a-backflip dives into the capacious pool of numbnutted man-child foolishness imaginable by breezily calling for censorship and limits on free speech – which I find hateful and “excessively objectionable.”
I’m just kidding of course, because by allowing people to express their wrongheaded opinions at imprudently-convened unofficially official privately public meetings, you are giving others a chance to respond to and criticize those ideas (see: these comments). The resulting public discourse, I believe, does much more good than harm. And although some mistakenly claim that restrictions on free speech are unlikely to be abused in Orwellian and Authoritarian ways in the USA (what with our infallible government and all), you’ll find plenty of such instances from the last century of American history alone.
DECEMBER 2, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Village officials are seeking volunteers to serve on a number of boards and committees.
The council needs residents to serve on the Community Relations Advisory Board; the Open Space Committee; the Library Board of Trustees; the Green Team Advisory Committee; the Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Board; Project Pride; and the Shade Tree Commission.
The Community Relations Advisory Board deals with diversity issues in the village, while the Open Space Committee examines properties in Ridgewood for potential open space preservation.
The library trustees establish library policy, and the Green Team Advisory Committee promotes green initiatives. The Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Board recommends rules for use and monitors recreation facilities. Project Pride plants and maintains flowers and plants in the central business district, and members of the Shade Tree Commission regulate trees in the village.
Bergen County Sheriff’s Department drops plan to acquire surplus military vehicles
DECEMBER 1, 2014, 8:28 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014, 8:28 PM
BY HERB JACKSON AND JOHN ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department has dropped plans to obtain two armored mine-resistant vehicles from the military in part because “it was no longer worth the effort,” a department spokesman said Monday.
The decision means Sheriff Michael Saudino is making permanent a delay announced in August.
The decision puts an end to a contentious debate that reverberated throughout this year’s elections for Bergen County executive and freeholder and one that started well before a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo.
The use of military-style vehicles, weapons and armor in response to protests in Ferguson led to state and federal reviews of programs that deploy surplus equipment from the Defense Department to domestic law enforcement.
The White House released one of those reviews on Monday and President Obama directed his cabinet to bring him concrete recommendations to ensure police departments “aren’t building a militarized culture.”
St. Louis Tea Party Coalition Hopes to Help Ferguson Merchants
Melissa Quinn / December 01, 2014
Natalie DuBose, owner of Natalie’s Cakes & Things in Ferguson, Mo., lost her livelihood last Monday night.
Earlier that night, a grand jury had gone public with its decision not to indict a white police officer for shooting and killing a young black man. Anger quickly spread through a crowd of protesters gathered in the streets of the St. Louis suburb.
They marched and chanted, and some of them looted and rioted, leaving smoldering buildings, broken windows and damaged storefronts in their wake.
Now, DuBose and other Ferguson merchants must rebuild, grappling with how to pay the bills. And Christmas soon will be here.
That’s where Bill Hennessy, a founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, hopes to help.
Hennessy drafted a list of eight ideas to save Christmas in Ferguson and help DuBose and other business owners and employees.
“Who got hurt last night?” he wrote on his blog Tuesday. “1. People who own businesses. people who work at businesses. 3. People who rely on businesses.” He continued:
Time is short. The people affected by last night’s riots need help rebuilding and jobs right now. While I don’t have complete plans, I can throw out eight ideas. Please make one of these come to life.
>>> Area Residents Take to Ferguson’s Streets. But Not For the Reason You Think.
Among other calls to action, Hennessy asked 100 companies in the St. Louis area to hire one person affected by the looting and riots for one year beginning Dec. 1 He proposed that companies both in the region and around the country “adopt” a damaged business and assist with rebuilding. Many of these, he wrote, need money to begin the process of fixing the damage.
“We cannot rely on government — government is the problem, not the solution,” he wrote. “We have to rely on ourselves.”
Hennessy, a native of Wildwood, Mo., organized a “buycott” in Ferguson in August as a way to help boost the local economy.
After Officer Darren Wilson, 28, fatally shot Michaell Brown, 18, on Aug. 9, protests quickly turned violent and businesses were looted much in the same way as after last week’s announcement that the grand jury would not indict Wilson..
At the time, Hennessy called on consumers to head to Ferguson to shop in affected stores.
“The goal is to let everyone in the area know that those places are open and to generate commerce in the area,” he said. “A lot of them are very small. … The little shops are left on their own.”
More than 40 residents affiliated with the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition shopped in Ferguson during the buycott.
“With the city’s main business district laid to rubble, buycotts won’t have much effect,” Hennessy wrote last week. “And Christmas is around the corner.”
Social Security’s trustees projected in 1983 that the recently enacted Social Security reforms would keep the program active for at least the next 75 years, through 2058. However, according to research by James M. Roberts, a research fellow for economic freedom and growth at The Heritage Foundation, that approach date has accelerated.
“If the trend since 1983 continues, the program will become insolvent in 2024—34 years earlier than originally projected,” Roberts writes.
5 problems facing UN as it nears 70th anniversary
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world has changed dramatically since the United Nations was established after World War II but the organization has not adapted to reflect the 21st century.
While the U.N. has had its share of successes, its aging structure has struggled with new threats like Ebola and terrorist groups that control large areas of its member countries. U.N. members have been discussing change for decades, but agreement has proven impossible because of competing interests.
As it approaches its 70th anniversary next year, here are five problems facing the United Nations:
OUTDATED POWER STRUCTURE
The same five countries – the victors of WWII – have been the power players since 1945: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. They are the only permanent members of the powerful, 15-seat Security Council. Each has veto power, which has led to near-paralysis at the council on some major crises like Syria and Ukraine.
Critics say the council simply doesn’t represent the world today. At its inception, the U.N. had 51 member states. It now has 193, many of them clamoring for more clout. All countries are represented in the General Assembly, but that body can only pass non-binding resolutions.
Often mentioned as countries deserving of permanent Security Council seats are Germany, Japan, India, South Africa, Nigeria, and Brazil. But there are no signs the big five intend to give up any power or share it with more countries.
December 1, 2014 Last updated: Monday, December 1, 2014, 10:44 AM
By Jodi Weinberger
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood New
The village’s Complete Streets policy and the wishes of Clinton Avenue residents are at odds.
Last month, the Citizens Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) recommended that the village not install sidewalks on Clinton Avenue. Police and the village engineer, however, expressed concerns with the recommendation.
The council decided to pull its vote on the decision from the Nov. 12 agenda, which would have determined whether to include sidewalks with a project to repave the road in 2015.
The council instead decided to send the issue back to CSAC for further study because not installing sidewalks would be at odds with the village’s Complete Streets policy, said Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.
Currently, Clinton Avenue is one of three village roadways adjacent to a school that is partially closed during school hours to accommodate the influx of students.
Bergen County Police Department Chief Brian Higgins
Bergen County police chief to retire this year
December 1, 2014, 3:35 PM Last updated: Monday, December 1, 2014, 3:37 PM
By Stefanie Dazio
staff writer |
The Record
Bergen County Police Department Chief Brian Higgins, 49, plans to retire Dec. 31, authorities said.
Higgins, who is also the county’s public safety director, filed his letter of intent to the county executive on Nov. 25 and told his department today, Capt. James Mullin said.
Al Sharpton will attend Monday White House civil rights meeting as White House proposes $263 million plan that puts body-worn cameras in police departments and reviews police ‘militarization’
Slain 18-year-old Michael Brown’s parents have demanded the use of more body-cams by police forces to document violent encounters with suspects
President will meet with ‘young … civil rights leaders’ and law enforcement officials after he holds a cabinet meeting about the Ferguson unrest
Civil rights meeting will focus on challenges posed by ‘mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color’
Speculation ran rampant that Al Sharpton would be in the White House Monday, and his representatives confirmed it before lunch
Cabinet meeting will concern the militarization of local law enforcement with equipment provided by the federal government
Task force will have four months to make recommendations to Obama about how to change the program that has moved $5.1 billion in ge
President Barack Obama will meet with controversial black pastor and MSNBC host Al Sharpton on Monday at the White House, and plans to demand 263 million from Congress to put 50,000 body-worn cameras in U.S. police departments in response to the August police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Brown’s parents have pushed the cameras as one solution to the distrust between police and criminal suspects following physical encounters. The White House said in August that it agreed with the idea in principle.
‘We support the use of cameras and video technology by law enforcement officers, and the Department of Justice continues to research best practices for implementation,’ the administration wrote in response to a public petition that attracted more than 154,000 supporters on the White House website.
The new initiative will provide 50 per cent of the funding for cameras, but will not pay for them entirely, at a cost of $75 million.
It will also provide new training resources and funds to study how to reform police practices.
It’s unclear why Officer Darren Wilson didn’t wear a camera during his fateful encounter with Brown. Members of the Ferguson Police Department were photographed wearing body cameras later that month during an August 30 rally.
Equal Treatment Under the Law Time the the IRS and do its Job and Audit and Garnish Al Sharpton’s Wages
“MSNBC should suspend Rev Al Sharpton until he gets on a payment plan to pay the reported millions he owes in taxes. And the IRS and state revenue divisions should garnish his MS/NBC salary until his reported tax bill is paid. NYT reports he owes $4.5 million in taxes ” Greta Van Susteren
NYT investigation: MSNBC’s Sharpton runs ‘delinquent’ nonprofit organization
A New York Times investigation into the finances of MSNBC host and Washington heavyweight Al Sharpton has found “$4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses,” according to the story by Russ Buettner. Titled “Questions About Sharpton’s Finances Accompany His Rise in Influence,” the story documents a long trail of unmet obligations and a messy web of financial interests spanning nonprofits, personal finances and beyond.
“Mr. Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent and other bills,” claims the piece. Even with his tax liabilities, notes the story, Sharpton “traveled first class and collected a sizable salary.”
Though he anchors “Politics Nation” on MSNBC on weeknights, Sharpton is a target of far greater resonance than a cable news host. The longtime rabble-rousing Brooklyn preacher and civil rights activist has become a player of national import under the Obama administration. As explained in an August piece in Politico Magazine by Glenn Thrush, Sharpton had transformed himself into the Obama administration’s “go-to man on race.” After the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in August, Sharpton established himself as the “de facto contact and conduit for a jittery White House seeking to negotiate a middle ground between meddling and disengagement.”
All of which makes him a large and fair target for a newspaper investigation.
In 1991, Sharpton founded the National Action Network (NAN), which calls itself “one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States.” Trouble is, it has achieved its current size without paying the payroll taxes of its employees, according to the Times:
James, I think people here are really more eager just to ban “hate lawn-signs”.
Ridgewood blog asks what qualifies as “Hate Lawn Signs” lol
Any lawn sign that criticizes a regionally significant inherently beneficial use of otherwise tax-revenue-generating chunk of real estate is a “hate lawn sign”.
your views are repulsive, and I am ashamed of you for propagating them. There are no “sensible restrictions on free speech,” and whoever thinks that stifling speech eliminates hatred, anger, and violence, is plainly wrong. The answer to hate speech is more speech, not less.
By the way, anyone who wishes to cling to “fire in a crowded theater,” just remember that the ruling was used to imprison Yiddish-speaking pacifists for handing out fliers to protest World War I. Is that “sensible,” #16?
brought to you courtesy of one of our nation’s finest institutions of higher learning (much more where that came from):
Reader says People post and make comment on this blog when they want their cause championed but turn around and condemn this blog when they don’t need it anymore
Mayor Paul Aronsohn,Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck hosted the meeting and , Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli, made comments. Well it sound like an open public meeting which was not posted in a timely manner ( Friday for a Monday Meeting) The next questions. Were there meeting minutes taken and if so when will they be available to the public?
“Baney also called out The Ridgewood Blog, a news and opinion aggregation website, for contributing to incivility.” Baney Who is a member of the anti Valley Hospital group had no problem when commenter on this blog blasted Valley Hospital. Where was she the?. These people are all cut from the same cloth.
Baney also called out The Ridgewood Blog, a news and opinion aggregation website, for contributing to incivility.
James you know what ironic. People send thing for you to post and make comment on this blog when they want their cause championed but turn around and condemn this blog when they don’t need it anymore or they disagree with other posters. Which ever way the wind is blowing like the Three Amigos.
Reader suggests that if the Mayor would start representing the interest of Ridgewood the blog would be irrelevant
the 3 clowns Huey, Dewey, and Louie should focus on representing tax payers ,residents and the interests of Ridgewood and then people would not be criticizing them on this blog 24/7 .
Ridgewood is not Hudson County , nor do we have the demographic , Ridgewood is Ridgewood , best to pack up the Hudson County mafia and your developer friends and move back ..
