Author: James

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US schools fight `boundary hoppers’

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US schools fight `boundary hoppers’
By Jane Han
korea times
DALLAS — As back-to-school season arrives in the United States, school districts popular among Koreans are on high alert as authorities start to clamp down on “boundary hopping,” an illegal trick where parents fake home addresses to send their children to better schools.

Public school officials of competitive districts in California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland are aggressively trying to weed out students who don’t belong in their school systems by requiring parents to prove residency in a variety of ways and, in some cases, making surprise home visits to confirm that students actually live at the addresses they say.

In the U.S., boundary hoppers could end up behind bars for theft of educational services or face fines of up to $5,000, as well as paying extra tuition and local taxes. The crime is taken seriously here as taxpaying residents argue that they are educating boundary hoppers, who don’t pay the same taxes, at their own expense.

“Boundary hopping is a huge headache for some schools and we know that many Koreans are at the center of the problem,” says Lee, a Korean education official in Ridgewood, N.J., who didn’t want to be fully named.

“I heard that several Korean students in the Ridgewood district wouldn’t go directly home after school. They would go to the library, spend a few hours there until a van picks them up, stop by a few other places and then finally take them home, which is not located in Ridgewood,” she said. “Someone from the Board of Education got a hold of this information and followed the van. I don’t know what happened next, but people should learn from this. Authorities are watching.”

Despite being a criminal activity, discussing boundary hopping isn’t uncommon in the Korean community. Many say Korean parents who are fresh from South Korea are often unafraid to ask acquaintances to do them the “favor” of lending their address.

“I was asked at least three times last year alone if they could use my home address. These parents all had children in middle and high school. They didn’t seem to know what kind of consequences boundary hopping would bring to me, them and their kids,” says Kim Yoo-eun, who lives in Plano, Texas, a district with one of the best public schools in the state.

Education experts say boundary hopping can not only lead to monetary penalties and criminal charges, but could ruin a student’s chances of entering college.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/09/116_163965.html

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In Government, Every Day Is Labor Day

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In Government, Every Day Is Labor Day

If there’s a day of the year to notice the paradox of organized labor, Labor Day is it.

Ira Stoll | September 1, 2014

here’s a day of the year to notice the paradox of organized labor, Labor Day is it.

The paradox is this: even as private sector unionism has declined, public sector unionism is in some ways more influential than ever.

The numbers tell the story. Among private sector employees — the ones who work for for-profit companies or non-profit organizations that are not part of the government — the percentage who belong to labor unions plummeted to a mere 7.5 percent last year, from 23.3 percent in 1977, according to UnionStats.com. By the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ more restrictive accounting, a mere 6.7 percent of private sector workers were in unions in 2013.

Among government workers, it’s a whole different story: 40.8 percent of local government workers — teachers, police, firefighters, librarians — belong to unions, according to the BLS numbers. The public sector rate drops to 35.3 percent (38.7 percent by the UnionStats.com numbers) if you include state and federal employees — postal workers, corrections officers. That’s so much higher than the private sector that it’s almost a tale of two labor movements — one, in the private sector, that is diminishing to irrelevance, and another, in the public sector, that retains substantial clout.

https://reason.com/archives/2014/09/01/in-government-every-day-is-labor-day

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‘US manufacturing has been lost. Now it’s happening to TV’

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‘US manufacturing has been lost. Now it’s happening to TV’

From Game of Thrones to Modern Family, more US TV series are being filmed outside America than ever before, says John Hiscock

Hollywood’s big-budget blockbuster movies have often been filmed overseas, particularly in England because of the tax incentives offered. Now television is following suit and more US series than ever before are filming outside North America. Why?

US TV networks are increasingly drawn by accommodating tax breaks, the easy availability of professional crews and the novelty of fresh scenery and different landscapes. This combination has greatly increased the attraction of shooting their shows overseas.

Smaller nations such as Sri Lanka have begun offering tax incentives, and others such as New Zealand have improved their own production infrastructures to make them state-of-the-art. Iceland recently lured the HBO series Game of Thrones as well as the feature films Noah and Prometheus.

In Japan, government and film industry officials are considering an incentive programme that would bring them in line with the more than 30 foreign countries trying to lure US TV series.

Even shows which are specifically set in California, such as the Fox TV series Alcatraz, have gone abroad. Alcatraz, whose story begins in the infamous prison in the San Franciso Bay, is in fact filmed in Vancouver, where now-cancelled series such as The X-Files were filmed in the past.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11056398/US-manufacturing-has-been-lost.-Now-its-happening-to-TV.html

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Economy no savior for Dems

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Economy no savior for Dems

Democrats are running out of time for an economic savior.

They have long predicted that an economic turnaround would be the elixir that helps them retain control of the Senate in November.

But with just a handful of big economic reports left before Election Day, the economic picture is largely in place. And while the outlook is bright, voters continue to hold a dim view of their own financial prospects.

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“There are still a lot of families playing catch-up,” said Jared Bernstein at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. “It’s got to be awfully hard for the typical voter to figure out what Congress had done to help the economy move forward. It’s a lot easier to figure out what they’ve done to screw things up.”

Broadly speaking, the economy has made gains in the last several months. The unemployment rate has held steady or dropped every month for over a year, and new data shows the economy grew this spring at its fastest rate in more than 12 months.

But the good news isn’t resonating with the public.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released earlier this month found 71 percent of people blamed Washington for the economy’s woes, and dissatisfaction mainly fell on incumbents overall, rather than on a particular party.

That poll found roughly half of voters believe the economy is still in a recession, even though the economic decline ended in June 2009.

Similarly, Gallup’s index of economic confidence has remained unchanged for all of 2014. People are actually less confident about the economy now than they were in January, when the unemployment rate was nearly half a percentage point higher.

With just two months to go before the midterm elections, there are just a handful of major economic indicators due before ballots are cast, including a pair of jobs reports.

With so little time left, it appears increasingly unlikely that views will change enough to boost the chances of Democrats, who are trying to escape the gravity of President Obama’s flagging poll numbers.

Some researchers argue the economic recovery has not been felt widely, with the majority of the gains going to people on the top of the income scale.

Read more: https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/216287-economy-no-savior-for-dems#ixzz3C5WJ63Vb

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MAYOR’S OFFICE HOURS FOR RESIDENTS – Saturday, September 6 – 8AM – 10AM

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MAYOR’S OFFICE HOURS FOR RESIDENTS – Saturday, September 6 – 8AM – 10AM

Mayor Paul Aronsohn holds office hours for Ridgewood residents the first Saturday of every month. On September 6th the time will be adjusted due to Coffee with the Council at 10AM. Mayor Aronsohn will meet with residents on Saturday, September 6th from 8AM to 10AM in the Council Chambers (Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room) on the fourth floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. 

For an appointment to meet with the Mayor, please call the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 206. You may come to the Mayor’s office hours without an appointment, but those with appointments will be given priority.

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Woman found dead in Ho-Ho-Kus; son in custody

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Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli

Woman found dead in Ho-Ho-Kus; son in custody
September 1, 2014 10:06 AM

Ridgewood  NJ, A woman was found dead in the early morning hours in her Ho-Ho-Kus home, and her son is expected to be charged with her murder, according to police.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli says Karen Piotti, 63, suffered multiple stab wounds and beating trauma.

Her son, 24-year-old Nicholas Piotti, is currently in custody at the Bergen County Medical Center, Molinelli said. Murder charges will be filed later Monday.

 

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/09/ho-ho-kus_woman_stabbed_beaten_to_death_by_son_prosecutor_says.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

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Ridgewood resident brings family’s history to life

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Bolger Heritage Center, Ridgewood Public Library. Do you have an Arrow Yearbook looking for a new home? Is it from 1912, 1915, 1944, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1993, 1997, or 2011?

 

Ridgewood resident brings family’s history to life

AUGUST 25, 2014    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014, 3:22 PM
BY BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER

In 2012, John Dabney was newly retired and looking for a project to fill his time.

He began researching his family’s history with the goal of learning more about his past, but the personal exploration quickly grew to an “extended family investigation” that took him all over the country interviewing relatives.

Not long after his research began, he connected with a third cousin and award-winning author Joseph Dabney, who had also been collecting family history, and the two decided over a lunch in Georgia to combine their efforts into a book.

Called, “The Dabneys of South Carolina, A Family History in Stories and Pictures,” the book traces the family to 1795 with the birth of Alexander Dabney, who emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina.

From that start, John and Joseph Dabney were able to track down 2,500 Dabneys in 1,700 families and conducted more than 250 interviews with relatives in almost every state.

“I figured I would travel with my wife and do as much research as needed and ended up doing seven to 10 hours of work a day,” John Dabney said.

However, a lot of the research, as he discovered, could be done right in Ridgewood.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/ridgewood-resident-brings-family-s-history-to-life-1.1075742#sthash.hmkr7K6V.dpuf

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FALL PROGRAMS AT RIDGEWOOD RECREATION – Something for Everyone!

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FALL PROGRAMS AT RIDGEWOOD RECREATION – Something for Everyone!

FALL PROGRAMS WITH RIDGEWOOD RECREATION

Register now for fall offerings with Ridgewood Parks and Recreation. There is something for everyone!

Pre-school – Abrakadoodle’s My First Art and Mini Doodler, Happy Feet Dance Introduction, and US Sports Institute’s Sport Squirts and T-Ball.

Elementary – Education Explorer’s Dramatic Arts and Tech Titans, Explore Science’s Robots & Simple Machines, Acrylics, Drawing, Abrakadoodle “Scape” Artist and sports include Skateboarding, Golf, KidSafe Self Defense and Tennis.

Adults – Acrylics, Watercolors, Chinese Brush Painting, Tennis, Zumba, Toning, Silver Strength and Motion, Mindful Meditation, Men’s Fitness, Jazzercise, Chair Yoga, Yoga Fit, No Aches/No Pain – Arthritis Class, Bridge & Canasta and Learn to Crochet.

Dates, times, location, and cost details can all be found at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation. Registration forms may be printed and mailed or you will find a link for online registration if applicable.

Please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with questions or if special accommodations are needed

Microsoft Store

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History of Labor Day

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LABOR DAY: WHAT IT MEANS

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

LABOR DAY LEGISLATION

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

FOUNDER OF LABOR DAY

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

“The Real Maguire – Who Actually Invented Labor Day?”

THE FIRST LABOR DAY

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

https://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm

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The Real Maguire – Who Actually Invented Labor Day?

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The Real Maguire – Who Actually Invented Labor Day?

While most sources, even the Department of Labor, credit Peter McGuire with the origination of Labor Day, recent evidence suggests that the true father of Labor Day may in fact be another famous union leader of the 19th Century, Matthew Maguire.

According to legend, Peter McGuire stood before the New York Central Labor Union on May 12, 1882, to suggest the idea of setting aside one day a year to honor labor. McGuire believed that Labor Day should “be celebrated by a street parade which would publicly show the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations.”

Peter McGuire was a young, though well-respected, union leader. A child of immigrants, he quit school at an early age to go to work. In 1881, he founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which would become the largest trade union of the time. Later, McGuire would join with his friend, Samuel Gompers, to found the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Through the AFL and the Carpenters, McGuire led the great strikes of 1886 and 1890, which would eventually result in the adoption of the eight-hour workday on the nation’s agenda.

Recently, however, evidence uncovered at the New Jersey Historical Society in Newark reveals that another respected union figure of the day, Matthew Maguire, may quite possibly be the man behind the creation of Labor Day.

In the 1870s, Matthew Maguire led several strikes, most of which were intended to force the plight of manufacturing workers and their long hours into the public consciousness. By 1882, Maguire had become the secretary of and a leading figure in the Central Labor Union of New York.

According to the New Jersey Historical Society, after President Cleveland signed into law the creation of a national Labor Day, The Paterson (N.J.) Morning Call published an opinion piece entitled, “Honor to Whom Honor is Due,” which stated that “the souvenir pen should go to Alderman Matthew Maguire of this city, who is the undisputed author of Labor Day as a holiday.” This editorial also referred to Maguire as the “Father of the Labor Day holiday.”

So why has Matthew Maguire been overlooked as the “Father of Labor Day”?

According to The First Labor Day Parade, by Ted Watts, Maguire held some political beliefs that were considered fairly radical for the day and also for Samuel Gompers and his American Federation of Labor. Allegedly, Gompers did not want Labor Day to become associated with the sort of “radical” politics of Matthew Maguire, so in a 1897 interview, Gompers’ close friend Peter J. McGuire was assigned the credit for the origination of Labor Day.

https://www.dol.gov/laborday/history-maguire.htm

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Labor Day stems from deadly labor strike, but few Americans know the history

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President Grover Cleveland

Labor Day stems from deadly labor strike, but few Americans know the history

A labor movement in Chicago in 1894 left 30 Pullman workers dead, and later spurred Congress and President Grover Cleveland to pass a bill creating Labor Day. But the history of this holiday is rarely taught in schools, and there are few full-time labor journalists to write about working class communities.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
 
Sunday, August 31, 2014, 7:31 PM


WASHINGTON — Monday is the day to celebrate the American worker and his sacrifices and economic and social achievements.

You do know that, right?

If you don’t, you’re not alone.

Few recall the bloodstained origins of this holiday as we fire up the grill, throw on the burgers and dogs and turn on the U.S. Open tennis or maybe the Yanks, Mets or another ballgame.

And, in a sign of the times, the Sunday morning network news shows didn’t even offer their usual, token pre-Labor Day weekend spot for the head of the nation’s labor movement.

“No,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka when I asked him. “No invitations this year.”

I told the former mine worker-turned-lawyer that there seems to be a precious lack of understanding of the holiday’s origins.

In fact, it stems from an awful confrontation in Chicago in 1894 that saw federal marshals and the Army kill 30 striking Pullman railroad strikers.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/history-labor-day-forgotten-article-1.1923299

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U.S. Hikes Fee To Renounce Citizenship By 422%

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U.S. Hikes Fee To Renounce Citizenship By 422%

Over the last two years, the U.S. has had a spike in expatriations. It isn’t exactly Ellis Island in reverse, but it’s more than a dribble. With global tax reporting and FATCA, the list of theindividuals who renounced is up. For 2013, there was a 221% increase, with record numbers of Americans renouncing. The Treasury Department is required to publish a quarterly list, but these numbers are under-stated, some say considerably.

The presence or absence of tax motivation is no longer relevant, but that could change. AfterFacebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin departed for Singapore, Senators Chuck Schumer and Bob Casey introduced a bill to double the exit tax to 30% for anyone leaving the U.S. for tax reasons. That hasn’t happened, but taxes are still a big issue for many.

To leave America, you generally must prove 5 years of U.S. tax compliance. If you have a net worth greater than $2 million or average annual net income tax for the 5 previous years of $157,000 or more for 2014 (that’s tax, not income), you pay an exit tax. It is a capital gain tax as if you sold your property when you left. At least there’s an exemption of $680,000 for 2014. Long-term residents giving up a Green Card can be required to pay the tax too.

Now, the State Department interim rule just raised the fee for renunciation of U.S. citizenship to $2,350 from $450. Critics note that it’s more than twenty times the average level in other high-income countries. The State Department says it’s about demand on their services and all the extra workload they have to process people who are on their way out.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/28/u-s-hikes-fee-to-renounce-citizenship-by-422/

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Companies find other ways to move offshore and avoid U.S. taxes

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Companies find other ways to move offshore and avoid U.S. taxes

AUGUST 31, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
BLOOMBERG NEWS
THE RECORD

* Some firms have left the U.S. system not through inversions but through buyouts by investment funds

NEW YORK — There’s more than one way for a U.S. company to avoid taxes by claiming a foreign address.

Consider the business founded in 1916 as General Plate Co., a maker of sensors and controls for everything from Fords and Frigidaires to the spaceship that first carried Americans to the moon. While its top executives are still based in Attleboro, Mass., it’s now known as Sensata Technologies Holding NV of the Netherlands.

Sensata didn’t become Dutch by using the strategy known as “inversion” that has alarmed President Obama and that the U.S. Treasury Department and some Democrats in Congress are trying to curb. That technique, which involves reincorporating overseas without a change in majority ownership, has helped more than 40 U.S. companies lower their tax bills.

Instead, Sensata is one of at least 13 firms that have left the U.S. tax system through a sale to an investment fund, according to a tally by Bloomberg News. Although these companies have a combined market value of about $75 billion, this tax-avoidance strategy has gotten less attention in Washington than inversions and may be harder to discourage.

These buyouts mean profits for the U.S. private equity firms like Boston-based Bain Capital that orchestrated them. Bain earned more than $3 billion after it took Sensata public as a Dutch company in 2010, with an effective tax rate about one-tenth of some competing manufacturers.

Shifting to a foreign tax domicile “is looked at hard in every private equity deal,” said Joan Arnold, a tax partner at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia. “They will be interested in what they can do to minimize taxes and maximize sale price.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/tax-avoiders-get-creative-1.1078561#sthash.j4QYTjZn.dpuf

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Village to honor Roger Wiegand

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Village to honor Roger Wiegand

to the Editor:

So many times growing up my brother and I would hear people say, “Rog – you should run for Mayor!” But that wasn’t Rog. He didn’t like the limelight. He preferred to be off to the side, watching, listening, educating and DOING.

He silently – and with no desire for thanks or praise — attended to things most of us assume others will address in our own communities. He would ride around town on his beloved bike, painting fire boxes so they would remain visible to the public. He reported to the Village Hall locations of non-functioning street lights. If he knew of someone in need, he would always take the time to offer them assistance or to just simply lend an ear.

Most importantly he was a fixture at every council meeting along with his longtime friend, Boyd Loving. He used to tell us that his goal was to keep the council “honest” on behalf of all the village residents.

To commemorate his lifelong dedication to Ridgewood and its citizens, there will be a plaque installed on the Village Council chamber podium on Friday, Sept. 5. We would like to invite the public to attend this event at Village Hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to help us celebrate such a unique and wonderful man. Our Uncle, friend to many, village champion.

Kerry, Mike and MaryAnn Daley

Middletown, R.I.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-ridgewood-to-honor-roger-wiegand-1.1077815#sthash.9o9wHYi8.dpuf