New NJ Transit data shows buses even later than suspected
AUGUST 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014, 1:21 AM BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
For years, commuters have complained that NJ Transit buses run late. The evidence was flimsy, however, because data released by the agency tracked only buses departing major terminals. At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, for example, the vast majority of buses — 86 percent — leave on time, according to NJ Transit’s figures from June.
On Wednesday, NJ Transit released far more detailed data, looking not just at when buses start their routes, but also when they arrive at their scheduled stops.
Just as many commuters suspected, the system’s on-time performance is much worse than previously reported. NJ Transit buses arrive on time for their scheduled stops just 68 percent of the time, according to data released at a meeting on NJ Transit customer service. By the agency’s definition, an “on-time” arrival falls within a seven-minute window, starting one minute before the scheduled arrival time and arriving up to six minutes late.
Hackensack store’s surveillance video shows ‘knockout’ assault suspect
AUGUST 20, 2014, 7:39 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014, 12:40 AM BY JEFF GREEN STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
HACKENSACK — A video of a man’s sudden, vicious attack on a passer-by in what city police warn may be among the first local incidents of the “knockout game” was released from a store surveillance camera Wednesday.
The athletically built assailant is recorded walking coolly into a convenience store. Four minutes later, he strolls outside, empty-handed and with the same demeanor. But in a burst of violence, he slugs a man he encounters in the face, causing the man to instantly fall to the ground.
The video was released by the Simple Simon Market on Essex Street as city police continued to search for the assailant and advised residents to be alert. The black-and-white film shows one of three separate assaults by the same man Monday night within less than 15 minutes in the areas of Essex Street, Summit Avenue and Beech Street. Police said the victims were two men in their 50s and another in his 20s. None was badly injured, police said initially.
Police did not return calls seeking comment about the investigation’s progress Wednesday. Councilman Leo Battaglia said Wednesday night that police are working hard to apprehend the assailant.
“Pretty soon we’re going to catch the person doing this, and he will be punished to the extent of the law,” he said.
The Barclays: Ridgewood presents challenge as FedEx Cup opening tourney Ray Slover August 20, 2014 5:08pm EDT
Last year, Tiger Woods collapsed on the course after a shot at The Barclays. It was a moment that told us the world’s best-known golfer was in serious trouble.
This year, The Barclays begins without Woods. We won’t see Tiger until December at the earliest.
What we will see is the world’s best players at Ridgewood Country Club course in Paramus, N.J. Play begins Thursday in the first event of the four-week FedEx Cup playoffs. There are 122 players in this week’s field.
A bit about The Barclays:
— Ridgewood will be site of a FedEx Cup event for the third time. The others were 2008 and 2010. The course is a combination of the 18 toughest holes from among the three nine-hole courses that make up the venue. For this tournament, it plays as a par-71 over 7,340 yards.
“We kind of looked at the facility as a whole, and we wanted to lengthen the golf course a little bit to get a bigger event,” club head pro Reasoner told the New York Post.
“This golf course is so good it deserves to be on that stage,” Reasoner said. “The course itself deserves to be on that stage.”
Reasoner, we’re told, is the brother of former NHL player Marty Reasoner.
Vijay Singh won the 2008 Barclays. In 2010, Matt Kuchar won on the first playoff hole.
— Rory McIlroy, Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson make up the elite threesome of the first two rounds. They are the world’s top-ranked golfers. McIlroy won three consecutive tournaments, starting with the Scottish Open. Then, he won the British Open and the PGA Championship.
McIlroy is the favorite to win the Cup, pegged at 5-to-2, according to The Linemakers. He also is a 4-to-1 favorite to win The Barclays.
McIlroy also gets the favorite designation from the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. The publication says to watch out for the following players, listed by their world rankings: Kuchar, No. 4; Rickie Fowler, No. 16, Jason Day, No. 34; and Kevin Streelman, No. 39.
Fowler, 25, is an interesting player to watch. He finished in the top 10 in all four majors this year, tying for second in the U.S. Open and British Open and tying for fifth at the Masters. He was tied for third at the PGA. If he is going to take the next big step, this could be the event. Trouble is, Fowler hasn’t won in more than two years, and that was his only Tour victory.
The Star-Ledger’s four players who won’t win: Bubba Watson, No. 3; Jordan Spieth, No. 8; Adam Scott, No. 5; and Phil Mickelson, No. 42.
Mickelson, a five-time major winner, was runner-up to McIlroy at the PGA Championship. But he readily acknowledges his problems.
“I know that I’ve made great strides this year in driving the golf ball … but it’s been a terrible year for my wedge and short irons. I also had a very poor year putting,” he told reporters this week.
Mickelson, 44, hasn’t won this season. He has four tournaments to snap his victory drought. He hasn’t come up empty the past 10 years.
“Now I have to play well this week and in the FedExCup to really make the year salvageable,” said Mickelson, a 42-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Henrik Stenson is the defending FedEx Cup champion. Scott comes in at 12-to-1 in Vegas odds. Stenson is 15-to-1.
AUGUST 19, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2014, 4:45 PM BY HUGH R. MORLEY STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
A 76-year Paramus man who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud while working for Bernard Madoff has asked to the court postpone his sentencing, in part due to ill health.
Irwin Lipkin, who lives in Bergen County and Delray Beach, Fla., filed papers in U.S. District Court in Manhattan Tuesday seeking to adjourn the Sept. 12 sentencing until later in the year, “probably some time in December,” due to a host of issues.
Lipkin, who was hired by Madoff in 1964 and was the first non-family employee at the company, pleaded guilty in November 2012. Prosecutors alleged that Lipkin, at the direction of Madoff, made “false and misleading entries” concerning the company’s profits and losses.
Lipkin’s son, Eric, of Ridgewood, also pleaded guilty in the case, and is set to be sentenced a week after his father, on Sept. 19. Eric Lipkin pleaded guilty to fabricating records at the company.
PHOTO COURTESTY OF VALLEY HOSPITAL Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduate Hayley Clark was recently hired as a labor and delivery nurse at Valley Hospital.
Ridgewood High School program points alumna toward career in healthcare
AUGUST 20, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014, 5:05 PM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
Valley Hospital employees can’t help swelling with pride as they welcome their latest labor and delivery nurse, Hayley Clark.
The 2009 Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduate is Valley’s first employee to come from RHS’ Ridgewood Academy of Health Professions (RAHP).
The Valley-RHS partnership, which began in 2005, has offered many students the opportunity to learn about the varied health-related professions.
The program begins sophomore year, so Clark was a member of the second RAHP class.
“It was really exciting to hear back from Valley, because it was where I grew up,” Clark said during a recent interview. “It has such a community feel, right when you walk into the hospital.”
Bergen County Legends List Continues to Stir Controversy
Ervolino: Bergen County has long list of legends who couldn’t make the cut
AUGUST 20, 2014, 6:35 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014, 11:36 PM BY BILL ERVOLINO RECORD COLUMNIST THE RECORD
Former President Richard Nixon didn’t make the cut. Actor James Gandolfini did.
Nixon opened trade to China, initiated detente with the Soviets, said “Sock it to me” on “Laugh-In” and insisted he wasn’t a crook.
As Tony Soprano, the character that made him a star, Gandolfini whacked Tony Blundetto, Ralphie Cifaretto and Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero and insisted he wasn’t a crook, either.
“I am,” he said, repeatedly, “a waste management consultant.”
Both men spent a significant part of their lives in Park Ridge. (It’s where Nixon underwent his so-called rehabilitation to respected elder statesman.) But, this week, only one of them — the one who wasn’t really a waste management consultant — was named an honest-to-gosh Bergen County Legend by the Bergen County Historical Society.
And for now, at least, Nixon fans will have to (ahem) resign themselves to wait on the sidelines, along with the supporters of such county stalwarts as poet William Carlos Williams, educator Elisabeth Morrow, silent film pioneer Alice Guy Blaché or Rock Hall of Fame members the Isley Brothers — among scores of others.
The 10 inductees who did make the cut will be celebrated at an awards gala Oct. 15 at the Venetian in Garfield — a fundraiser that the historical society’s past president Kevin Wright says will go toward creating a museum in New Bridge Landing to house the group’s vast collection of historic items.
It’s a collection that includes “over 4,000 pieces in all,” Wright said. “Everything from prehistoric artifacts found in the area, to the pickax used in the groundbreaking ceremony for the George Washington Bridge.”
Unfortunately, most of the 2014 legends will not be in attendance in October. Gandolfini died last year. Musician Les Paul died in 2009. Poet Joyce Kilmer died in 1918. And Hackinkasacky Indian chief Oratam died in 1666.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ervolino-bergen-county-has-long-list-of-legends-who-couldn-t-make-the-cut-1.1070249#sthash.tQlEqYb0.dpuf
Wasabi Japanese Restaurant’s chef on the best way to cook rice
AUGUST 20, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014, 1:21 AM THE RECORD
Kazuhiko Takahashi
JENNIFER BROWN / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD Kazuhiko Takahashi
Wasabi Japanese Restaurant, Ridgewood
Kazuhiko Takahashi, chef and owner of Wasabi, the three-star Japanese restaurant in Ridgewood, never went to culinary school. All of his training has been hands-on. “I always liked cooking,” he says.
The 55-year-old Paramus resident began working in restaurants in his native Japan, but took some time off to join the merchant marine; he was stationed in Algeria. But then budget cuts led to layoffs, and after working at some more Japanese restaurants, in 1985 he decided to come to America.
He worked as executive chef of East Japanese Restaurant in Manhattan for five years, then 10 years for East in Teaneck before striking out on his own. Here, he discusses the best way to cook rice, the best rice to buy and why the Japanese are thin and Americans aren’t.
What American diners do not know about Japanese cuisine: The Japanese do not add many ingredients in their dishes; they don’t smother their dishes in sauces.
The best introduction to Japanese food is: Sushi or tempura. Many Americans order California rolls. But for real Japanese food, we do this dish called nyzakana, fish that we boil in a soy-flavored sauce for many hours. The fish crumbles in the pot. You get all the fish flavors. You can get it here if you request it.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/wasabi-japanese-restaurant-s-chef-on-the-best-way-to-cook-rice-1.1069913#sthash.iTfH5teo.dpuf
8.19.14: REVISED Back-To-School Night Schedule: The Willard School Back-To-School Night for Grades K-2 has been changed from September 18 to September 23.
Please click here for the newly revised schedule. Please note that this change is an update from that which is printed in the Newsline newsletter coming to Ridgewood homes this week.
BOE MEETS MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, August 25, 2014 at 5 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the July 21, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the webcast of the July 21, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
AUGUST 15, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014, 12:31 AM
Few believed a pedestrian plaza in Times Square would work, let alone become a permanent fixture in the middle of New York City’s Crossroads of the World. Both happened
In 2008, the American Planning Association bestowed its Great Public Spaces honor to the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, Vt. There, pedestrians freely walk on store-lined Church Street in an outdoor mall setting.
The truth about libertarians, police and Ferguson’s fury
By John Stossel
Published August 20, 2014 FoxNews.com
Libertarians warned for years that government is force, that government always grows and that America’s police have become too much like an occupying army.
We get accused of being paranoid, but we look less paranoid after heavily armed police in Ferguson, Missouri, tear gassed peaceful protesters, arrested journalists and stopped some journalists from entering the town.
One week before the rioting began, Fox News aired my documentary on the militarization of law enforcement, “Policing America.”
That show didn’t stop some left-wing commentators from making the bizarre claim that libertarians like me have been silent about Ferguson.
Sharpen your pencils, boys and girls. Here’s a little quiz:
Last spring the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission that removed the limit on total campaign contributions by an individual.
In response, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker issued a news release that included the following sentence:
“This ruling further concentrates power in the hands of the very wealthy and enhances their ability to dramatically influence elections.”
Here’s the question: Was Booker praising the court’s decision or panning it?
After last week, I’m not sure. On Thursday, the Democratic candidate for re-election released his financial statement for 2013. The report offers further proof that Booker has as much talent as anyone on the American political scene when it comes to taking money out of the hands of the very wealthy and depositing it in his own pockets.
We already knew that Booker was among the very best at getting campaign contributions. He ranks No. 2 on the Center for Responsive Politics “Who Raised the Most?” list for senators, with a staggering $16,171,449 raised in the current cycle. The top three types of contributors were big law firms, big investment firms and big real estate interests.
The Rise of the Warrior Cop: Police Militarization in Ferguson — and Your Town
As the unfolding events in Ferguson, MO—a town of 21,000 outside of St. Louis—demonstrate, America’s domestic police forces have come to resemble the standing armies the Founders feared.
“Why armored vehicles in a Midwestern inner suburb?,” asks Cato’s Walter Olson. Why fire tear gas canisters at people standing in their own yards? “Shock and awe” tactics are fast becoming the new normal as federal policy has fed an unhealthy warrior mentality among what used to be called “peace officers”—with federal subsidies and Pentagon giveaways of military ordnance.
The clampdown in Ferguson highlights the dangers of our drift toward paramilitary policing, as well as the broader trend of law-enforcement lawlessness documented by Cato’s National Police Misconduct Reporting Project.
Networks Ignore Rick Perry Indictment Group Received $500k From Soros IN NEWS, POLITICS / BY BRANDON WALKER / ON AUGUST 20, 2014 AT 10:42 AM
It seems that the mainstream media is leaving out the fact that George Soros gave Texans for Public Justice, one of the main groups behind the Rick Perry indictment charge, $500k for their push for “social justice.”
In a case that even MSNBC mocked as weak, Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Texas Grand Jury on charges of abuse of power. The grand jury used the fact that he vetoed a bill, saying it was politically motivated. The charges were he threatened to veto state funding for the public integrity unit unless the lead prosecutor, who was busted for drunk driving, resigned. The MSM has been broadcasting their opinions on this since it broke, but isn’t it funny they have failed to mention this being spearheaded by the liberal progressive group Texans for Public Justice and being funded by none other then George Soros?
According to the local Austin NBC affiliated KXAN, Texans for Public Justice filed their complaint last year. The day the indictment broke, Texans for Public Justice praised the indictment as their hard work coming to fruition. Although it may seem to them as politically motivated to demand a lead prosecutor who was arrested for drunk driving to step down for violating the law, the public integrity, and the terms of her job of being in charge of the public integrity unit, it is not illegal to veto funding to any project. It is the governor’s job to veto and even line item veto legislation.
According to Soros’s Open Society Institute’s own news release, they gave $500,000 to help form a coalition that “could change the way the progressive community engages public policy in Texas.” The coalition they helped fund includes the media ignored Texans for Public Justice. It also includes Texans Together, the Sierra Club, Texas Legal Services, La Fe Policy Research and Education Center, Public Citizen, and the Center for Public Policy Priorities. They even admit to utilizing The Texas Observer as a willing participant for their media services. This coalition has also funded Wendy Davis and is part of the “Turn Texas Blue” movement in doing anything and everything to elect liberal law makers in charge of Texas.
Perry Grand Juror Was An Active Democratic Party Delegate During Jury Proceedings By: Brian Sikma | August 20, 2014
Rho Chalmers, who disclosed to the Houston Chronicle yesterday that she was a member of the grand jury that indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry, was an active delegate to the Texas Democratic Party convention during grand jury proceedings. Chalmers’ active participation in Democratic state politics is important because she claimed yesterday to the Houston Chronicle that her decision to indict Perry, a Republican, was not based on politics.
“For me, it’s not a political decision,” Chalmers told the newspaper. “That’s what a grand jury is about – take the emotion out of it and look at the facts and make your best decision based on your life experience.”
More troubling, however, is the fact that Chalmers attended, photographed, and commented on an event with Democratic state Sen. Kirk Watson while grand jury proceedings were ongoing.
Exhibit in Ridgewood shows art’s therapeutic value
AUGUST 15, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014, 12:31 AM BY EILEEN LA FORGIA STAFF WRITER
West Bergen Mental Healthcare’s Third Annual Partial Care Consumer’s Art Show is being held at the Stable Art Gallery in Ridgewood through Aug. 27.
“Partial Care Consumers enjoy art groups which support their goals to wellness and recovery,” said Donna Marinaro, partial care director.
There are approximately 100 pieces by 50 individual artists created in specific therapeutic groups such as: Visual Arts for Self Expression, Dynamics through Art, Open Art Studio and Young Adult Expressive Arts. The art is created with a free choice of medium; whether oils, pastels, colored markers, pencil or acrylic oils on canvas, each piece is uniquely individual. They also enjoy mixed media, individual drawing, murals together and sculptural work and needlework for creative self-expression.
“This show represents the work of all the consumers,” said Julie Mansfield, who organized the artwork for the show. “The groups are facilitated by a team of clinical case managers offering exciting expressive art and music groups, social skills groups and vocational rehab and overall living and psychological educational groups.”
57 Percent of Americans Say Only Kids Who Win Should Get Trophies Emily Ekins|Aug. 19, 2014 11:00 am
The latest Reason-Rupe poll finds that when it comes to kids and their trophies, 57 percent of Americans think only the winning players should receive them. Another 40 percent say all kids on a sport team should receive a trophy for their participation.
The desire for “every kid to get a trophy” strongly correlates with political beliefs. Fully 66 percent of Republicans want only the kids who win to receive trophies, while 31 percent say all kids on the team should receive them. In contrast, Democrats are evenly divided with 48 percent who say all kids, and another 48 percent who say only the winners should receive a trophy.
The competitive desire for winners to be rewarded correlates with fiscal conservatism. Among those who only think winners should get a trophy, 64 percent have a favorable view of capitalism, 64 percent thinks markets better solve problems than government, and 63 percent favor smaller government providing fewer services. In contrast, among those who think all kids should get a trophy, a plurality (49%) have an unfavorable view of capitalism, 50 percent thinks a strong government better solves problems than the free market, and 54 percent favor larger government providing more services.
