photos by Janet Occhiuzzo Higgins
Bergen County Executive Kathe Donovan , Bob Avery and Bernie Walsh kick off the fall Campaign Season
September 13th 2014
Kathe Donovan , Bob Avery and Ridgewood’s Bernadette Walsh kicked of there fall campaign and opened the District 36 headquarters in Carlstadt .
photos by Janet Occhiuzzo Higgins
Bergen County Executive Kathe Donovan was joined by Freeholder Maura McMahon DeNicola and in the back ground Bob Yudin .
Doubling Down on Pot: Buffett Sells Upper Deck, Room to Grow
By Dakin Campbell and Noah Buhayar Sep 12, 2014 12:17 PM ET
Ice cream, candy and soft drinks helped make Warren Buffett a billionaire. Now a subsidiary of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is seeking to profit from pot.
Cubic Designs Inc., a unit of Berkshire’s MiTek business that makes platforms for maximizing usable floor space in warehouses, sent about 1,000 fliers to weed dispensaries in recent weeks, offering to help growers expand the number of plants they cultivate.
“Double your growing space,” the flier reads in capital letters, above an image of an indoor facility with rows of plants. Another page says, “Grow your profits.”
Students find Paterson culinary school a place of intense work, but also peace and calm
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY MINJAE PARK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Tabitha Cannon hopes her five-month training course at Eva’s Village culinary academy in Paterson, on her path away from a life of substance abuse and drinking, will prepare her to work “in somebody’s kitchen anywhere in the world.”
Clean now for the six months she’s been in the women’s halfway house at Eva’s Village, Cannon is focused on a cooking career to provide for her children, who are ages 1 and 11. “I know eventually I’ll be able to make more money,” she said as she smeared homemade spicy mustard on French bread Wednesday morning.
It’s a far cry from her days of drinking and doing drugs — “a little bit of everything,” as she puts it.
The training is rigorous — classwork at 7 a.m., followed by hours of hands-on learning by actually working in the kitchen — but Cannon said she finds it “peaceful and calming” and relishes the good reviews from her happy customers.
“Food makes everyone happy,” she said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/recipes-for-success-1.1087321#sthash.sVufKN7n.dpuf
URTC celebrates 100 years of match play
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY PAM WYNE
SPECIAL TO THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
In 1914, a group of Ridgewood residents looking to create a small tennis club purchased a tract of land “in the heights” near Morningside and Bedford roads. For the next 50 years, village players young and old would fill the courts at the Upper Ridgewood Tennis Club (URTC).
By 1964, the ever-increasing membership faced limited court space and the club looked toward expansion. Under the dynamic leadership and vision of URTC member Sandford Reis, the club purchased a 33-acre wooded parcel of property off Glenview Road adjacent to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and built an outdoor tennis and paddle facility that ranks today as one of the very best in the state.
John Kennelly recalls as a 7-year-old looking through the fence behind the original courts on Bedford Road.
“I remember my dad playing doubles with our neighbors and always having such a good time. And then in 1967 the new club opened up and I joined as a junior member and have been playing on competitive tennis and paddle teams ever since,” Kennelly said, adding that it is not just about all play and no fun at the club. “Being a member-owned club, there are many opportunities to get involved in not only the running of the club, but in creating exciting social events for members and guests. There is no more beautiful place to be than hanging out on the patio, soaking in the scenery and enjoying the sounds of the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook waterfalls.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/urtc-celebrates-100-years-of-match-play-1.1086558#sthash.DA1ASQRK.dpuf
Ridgewood in talks to allow parking at closed car dealership
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Village officials announced a potential partnership with the owner of a former car dealership to provide more than 100 new parking spaces downtown — an attempt to alleviate the parking problem in town.
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld cautioned that no deal had been signed, but said at a recent meeting she was excited about the potential arrangement, which Ridgewood officials continue to negotiate.
As proposed, the deal would see the dismantling of the building on the Ken Smith Motors site on Franklin Avenue. Under the plan, the village would handle selling parking passes for the lot to employees working in the Central Business District.
That would leave more parking for visitors to downtown Ridgewood.
In addition, Sonenfeld told the council she has been exploring ways for the village to fund its own parking garage.
An $8 million loan, she said, would cost taxpayers $600,000 annually for $20 years.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/lot-could-ease-parking-woes-1.1087300#sthash.uTQbxDeo.dpuf
Midland Park to contract with Ridgewood firm for dispatching
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 4:48 PM
BY EMERGENCY SERVICES
CORRESPONDENT
MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS
MIDLAND PARK – The Borough Council introduced an ordinance to enter into an interlocal agreement with Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch to provide emergency dispatch services at its Sept. 11 meeting.
The agreement, set to begin Jan. 1, signals the end of a 15-year relationship with Wyckoff for those services.
“It is a simple and straightforward financial decision,” said Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan.
Borough Clerk Administrator Adeline Hanna said the contract between the Ridgewood-based dispatch service is being prepared by legal counsel.
“The contract details have not been finalized,” she said.
Information contained in the proposal dated June 27 and submitted by Central Dispatch Director Jack F. Tancos lists the annual fee for the dispatch service at $235,000.
The proposal calls for a five-year agreement with annual increases “not to exceed 5 percent in any give year, to offset increases in operating costs.”
Although the annual fee is less than the $260,000 proposal from Wyckoff, the change in service comes with additional costs.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/midland-park-to-contract-with-ridgewood-firm-for-dispatching-1.1087047?page=all#sthash.X3YQZjDx.dpuf
file photo Boyd Loving
Ridgewood plans to outsource some leaf collection work
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 2:40 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
“No leaf left behind.”
This is the tongue-in-cheek name Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld gave a recent employee “leaf summit” that took place last Wednesday, Sept. 3.
The summit, which Sonenfeld orchestrated, brought together about 25 leaf collection employees to discuss ways to improve customer experience and get more leaves off the streets.
“It seems to be 80 percent of the complaints are related to the fact that we leave leaves, hence ‘no leaf left behind,'” Sonenfeld said.
With a new outsourcing plan, “no leaf left behind” is what the village hopes will happen, come leaf collection season in October.
The village has already put out a bid to outsource work in Ridgewood’s leafiest area, to free staff to focus on the other areas, Sonenfeld said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/officials-plan-to-outsource-some-work-1.1087039#sthash.S1YJHXZH.dpuf
file photo Boyd Loving
Crumbling pipes cause concern in Ridgewood
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 2:39 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Print
Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the crumbling pipes, are calling for repair in Ridgewood.
According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, who detailed the issue in her manager’s report at last week’s Village Council meeting, Ridgewood recently discovered that many of its sewer drainage pipes are “crumbling.”
The problem, she said, was discovered when a contractor employed by PSE&G was doing gas main work around Downs Street and Pearsall Avenue in August. The contractor noticed that the “pipe material was crumbling” in some nearby sewer drainage pipes.
The pipe cost about $1,300 to replace, she said.
According to Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser, the now-deteriorated, aluminum-corrugated metal pipes in Ridgewood’s sewer drainage system were installed 35 to 40 years ago, and are located “all over” the village. But “it’s hard to say” what percentage of the pipes – all in the storm drainage, not sanitary system – are made of this material and need replacement, he said.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn expressed concern when the pipe issue was raised at the meeting on Sept. 3.
“You’re saying this type of pipe, that crumbles at the touch, is all throughout the village,” he said. The mayor also asked Rutishauser if he was concerned.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/crumbling-pipes-cause-concern-1.1087035#sthash.28ETplWZ.dpuf
Enterovirus D68 sickens more than a dozen in New York
By Jacque Wilson, CNN
updated 5:27 PM EDT, Fri September 12, 2014
CNN) — More than a dozen cases of Enterovirus D68 have been confirmed in New York state, according to officials.
“EV-D68 is causing cases of severe respiratory illness … sometimes resulting in hospitalization, especially among children with asthma,” the NYS Department of Health said in a statement Friday.
Enteroviruses are quite common in September; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 10 to 15 million people are infected by these viruses each year. But doctors believe this particular type of enterovirus, Enterovirus D68, is causing more serious problems than others have in years past.
As of September 11, more than 80 cases in six other states — Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri — have been confirmed to be EV-D68, according to the CDC.
New York is the first state in the Northeast with confirmed cases.
https://www.cnn.com/2014/09/12/health/enterovirus-new-york/
U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data
By Craig Timberg September 11 at 9:16 PM
The U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user communications — a request the company believed was unconstitutional — according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the National Security Agency’s controversial PRISM program.
The documents, roughly 1,500 pages worth, outline a secret and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle by Yahoo to resist the government’s demands. The company’s loss required Yahoo to become one of the first to begin providing information to PRISM, a program that gave the NSA extensive access to records of online communications by users of Yahoo and other U.S.-based technology firms.
The ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review became a key moment in the development of PRISM, helping government officials to convince other Silicon Valley companies that unprecedented data demands had been tested in the courts and found constitutionally sound. Eventually, most major U.S. tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Apple and AOL, complied. Microsoft had joined earlier, before the ruling, NSA documents have shown.
Boy, 4, makes miraculous recovery at New York hospital after complications from E. Coli
The LaRose family might never know what infected their son, Jake, with the condition that nearly killed him. In an exclusive to the Daily News, Jake’s mom Kimberly discusses her family’s terrifying ordeal.
BY Meredith Engel
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 4:56 PM
Jacob LaRose almost didn’t make it to pre-K.
The little boy, 4, was sidelined for much of the summer after contracting a rare complication from E. Coli.
E. Coli, a bacterium, is naturally present in our large intestines, according to Dr. Bruce Greenwald, one of Jake’s doctors and the chief of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Komansky Center for Children’s Health at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
But Jake must have eaten something that introduced a harmful strain of the bug, E. Coli O157:H7, into his body. A common source is undercooked hamburger meat, Greenwald said. Symptoms caused by this alternative strain of E. Coli include fever and bloody diarrhea.
And to make matters much worse, Jake developed a scary complication, hemolytic uremic syndrome, that nearly killed him.
HUS happens when E. Coli O157:H7 enters the digestive tract and releases toxins, which then get into the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells. Affected patients can go on to develop anemia, low platelets and kidney complications. It affects about 1 to 3 out of every 100,000 patients.
Jake’s mother, Kimberly LaRose, is still unsure just how her son, as well as 2-year-old daughter Hayden, came into contact with the bug. Both Hayden and Jake fell ill with diarrhea in March, but when their pediatrician noted how sick Jake looked, the family took him straight to the ER.
They didn’t leave until Memorial Day weekend.
Jake initially was treated at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, near his home in Clifton. Three days after entering the hospital, he was transferred to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center because doctors realized he not only had E. Coli, but HUS, which caused his kidneys to fail. Jake was put on continuous dialysis.
https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/boy-4-miraculous-recovery-e-coli-article-1.1935247
Ridgewood neighbors hold block party
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The “Salem Ridge” neighborhood association, uniting neighbors from across Route 17 since 1956, doesn’t mess around when it comes to its annual neighborhood block party, which has taken place on and off for at least 40 years.
This year, on Sunday, Aug. 7, the usually quiet, tree-lined street of Roslyn Road featured an inflatable slide, a dunk tank, a popcorn machine and a “Frozen”-themed bouncy house, all supported by a $35 family admission fee. Children were treated to a magic show, tattoos and face painting. A delicious-looking spread included barbeque standards, a giant sub and a seemingly endless dessert buffet.
“This year, we were supposed to have a photo booth,” noted Salem Ridge Association Co-Chair Randy Swickle with a chuckle.
As elaborate as the block party has become, it is just part of what the Salem Ridge Association does for its member families, who, since the association’s founding, have also never messed around when it comes to being a neighbor.
Organizers noted that the core of the block party, and the association, is still the same.
“It’s a family organization, to keep together and know our neighbors,” said Swickle, whose co-chair is Bob Brierly.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/salem-ridge-neighbors-celebrate-friendship-1.1086493#sthash.O6dSIa38.dpuf
photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood resident’s voice will last forever
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
Print
It’s seeing a bicyclist around town, or a lone man sitting at the counter of The Fireplace restaurant, and for a split second thinking maybe it’s him.
The memory of Roger Wiegand is everywhere. His death on April 18 left a void in the lives of many and a question of who would take on the civic duties he voluntarily tasked himself with, like painting the fire boxes in the village or getting officials to fix broken street lights.
Last Friday, at an event attended by dozens of friends, family and public leaders in Village Hall, his contributions were honored with an appropriate marker of his influence, a gold-plated plaque installed on the podium in the council chambers engraved with his strong-held belief: “The public should always have the final word.”
Mayor Paul Aronsohn explained that it was Wiegand’s suggestion to have a public comment session at the end of each council meeting in addition to one at the beginning.
“This room doesn’t feel the same without Roger,” Aronsohn said. “He was such a genuine person who contributed so much to the community.”
The street on which he lived, South Irving, was also affixed with a tribute to his life and renamed Wiegand Way.
“I’m overwhelmed,” said Kerry Daley, Wiegand’s niece. “He would have been so mad at all of this … wasting money and time on him.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/wiegand-s-voice-to-last-forever-1.1086532#sthash.RXnSz9R4.dpuf
Ridgewood native Kimberly Daub was selected to serve as commander of the 101st Sustainment Brigade “Lifeliners” 101st Airborne Division
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
This June, Ridgewood native Kimberly Daub was selected to serve as commander of the 101st Sustainment Brigade “Lifeliners” 101st Airborne Division, becoming the first female brigade commander in the history of the division.
In accepting the position, Daub also became the first female brigade commander at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
“It’s a true honor and a pleasure to be a commander,” said Daub on a phone call from Fort Campbell. “It’s an extremely tough cut to be selected for a brigade command and not many people get this honor. It’s a privilege to lead soldiers.”
Daub graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1985 and began her career in the Army with a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship to Bucknell University.
Daub’s mother, Jaye Parsons, said her decision to do ROTC fit with her daughter like “a piece in a puzzle.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/village-native-is-brigade-commander-1.1086554#sthash.4cp45hxz.dpuf
Parking solutions sought as former bank building in Ridgewood gets new tenant
SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014, 4:18 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
As the Village Council continues fishing for a parking garage, a big catch – FISH – has entered the discussion on Ridgewood’s parking needs.
FISH, a high-end eatery from Asbury Park, is opening a second location in Ridgewood’s long-empty Bank of America building, and bringing with it as many as 225 new diners.
“They’d like to open somewhere between December and February,” said the building’s landlord John Saraceno, who said he was contacted by FISH six months ago. “They’re a great use for the village.”
The new restaurant, expected to attract many new diners, and cars, is also adding even more urgency to the village’s ongoing search for better parking options in the Central Business District (CBD), a search being done partly with awareness that more popular chains and anchor stores could help revitalize Ridgewood’s downtown but necessitate more parking options.
But luckily, FISH’s plan to valet park its cars will provide some relief.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/solutions-sought-as-historic-building-is-leased-1.1086248#sthash.vx8INNPX.dpuf
