Woman Calling NJ TRANSIT Customer Service Reaches Dating Line Instead
April 24, 2014 2:47 PM
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A woman who intended to dial a NJ TRANSIT help line instead reached a very different kind of hotline. She called a hotline number posted on a customer information poster at the rest area, but instead heard a sex chat line message.
As WCBS 880′s Levon Putney reported, the woman was at the Vince Lombardi rest area on Wednesday morning when a self-serve kiosk at the park-and-ride ate her credit card.
She called a hotline number posted on a customer information poster at the rest area, but instead heard a sex chat line message.
“Welcome to America’s hottest talk line. Ladies, to talk to interesting and exciting guys free, press one now. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you, press two to connect free now,” the recording on the other end said.
“We regret the customer’s experience. It was an old sign that should have been removed long ago. It was brought to our attention, we addressed it immediately,” NJ TRANSIT spokesperson Nancy Snyder told Putney.
The transit agency surrendered the number in question in 2008. The phone company apparently reassigned it.
NY Liberal Tells Glen Beck What CNN/MSNBC Won’t Let Her Say
Joy Brighton is a self-described New York liberal. Glenn Beck is a Texas conservative. But on Thursday, the two found themselves “strange bedfellows” in the quest to distinguish Islam the religion from what Brighton has termed “Sharia-ism.”
“I’m sitting with you because I wasn’t invited by CNN or MSNBC, because something about what I’m saying today, they don’t want said,” Brighton remarked. “Which is symptomatic [of] the problem.”
The author has recently published a book titled Sharia-ism Is Here: The Battle to Control Women and Everyone Else. She said her book separates Islam from the controlling and abusive politics on top of it.
A Double Canonization for Popes John XXIII and John Paul II
Pope Francis Declares Sainthood for Two Beloved Predecessors
By LIAM MOLONEY Updated April 25, 2014 10:44 p.m. ET
VATICAN CITY— Pope Francis on Sunday will preside over a pomp-filled ceremony to declare Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints—an event that commemorates the legacies of two of the Catholic Church’s most popular popes, both instrumental in shaping the current pontiff’s groundbreaking reign.
The rite in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, canonizing two of the Catholic Church’s most popular popes, is likely to be a history-making event, given the strong possibility that Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned last year, will also be in attendance. That would mark the first time in the church’s 2,000-year history that two popes would honor the memory of two previous ones. (See their lives in pictures and video in an interactive timeline.)
Over 1 million people are expected to descend on the Vatican this weekend as Pope Francis prepares to canonize Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. The event, however, is not without controversy. Father James Martin discusses. Photo: Getty.
Pope Francis chose to hold a single ceremony to canonize the pair, bringing together two popes who are closely associated with the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, which led to significant reforms in the church. Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, launched Vatican II, as it is commonly known, while John Paul II’s nearly 27-year papacy, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2005, oversaw the implementation of large parts of the reforms.
“To carry out a double canonization is a message to the Church: These two are good people,” Pope Francis told reporters on the papal plane back from celebrating the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro last summer.
New Jersey gas prices move higher
April 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Motorists are seeing sharply higher prices at the pumps in North Jersey.
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the state on Friday was $3.53, up 8 cents from last week. That’s also much higher than the price from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.29.
AAA says the the national average price was $3.69, up 3 cents from last week. That’s much higher than the national average from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.51.
While many analysts say the rising prices are due in part to higher crude oil prices spurred by ongoing tensions in the Ukraine.
Others see a colder than normal winter , higher gas taxes , environmental regulations as well as global tensions as the chief culprit .
APRIL 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014, 12:31 AM PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE
Editor’s Note – Michael Parloff’s Parlance Chamber Concerts’ final event of the 2013-2014 season will take place this coming Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church. The concert will feature 10 artists from the Metropolitan Opera, including the celebrated mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and co-reciter Raymond Menard, pianist Warren Jones, and seven principal players from the Met Orchestra. Here Michael Parloff gives us a behind-scenes look.
Raymond Menard
RN: Can you give us an overview of what we can expect on Sunday?
Stephanie Blythe
MP: I’ve been looking forward all season to this fun, unusual concert. The featured work of the afternoon will be William Walton’s 1923 “Façade Entertainments,” a gem of musical humor. Inspired by the sophisticated, often subversive poetry of his friend and patroness, Edith Sitwell, Façade brought overnight success to Walton, as well as a reputation as the enfant terrible of modern English music.
The program will also include four Roaring Twenties instrumental solos inspired by the sounds of the Jazz Age.
RN: Please tell us more about Sunday afternoon’s performers.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/music/stars-to-close-parlance-chamber-concerts-season-1.1002993#sthash.fS2maDOz.dpuf
Parlance Chamber Concerts Featuring 1920 instrumental solos inspired by Jazz Age April 27 at 4PM at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South MOnroes Street, Ridgewood. Tickets available at the door: Adults $40; Seniors $30; Young Adults $30; Students $30. www.ParlanceChamberConcerts.org
Experts warn of a growing fragility as coal-fired plants are shut down, nuclear power is reduced and consumers switch to renewable energy.
By Ralph Vartabedian
April 25, 2014, 8:47 p.m.
As temperatures plunged to 16 below zero in Chicago in early January and set record lows across the eastern U.S., electrical system managers implored the public to turn off stoves, dryers and even lights or risk blackouts.
A fifth of all power-generating capacity in a grid serving 60 million people went suddenly offline, as coal piles froze, sensitive electrical equipment went haywire and utility operators had trouble finding enough natural gas to keep power plants running. The wholesale price of electricity skyrocketed to nearly $2 per kilowatt hour, more than 40 times the normal rate. The price hikes cascaded quickly down to consumers. Robert Thompson, who lives in the suburbs of Allentown, Pa., got a $1,250 bill for January.
“I thought, how am I going to pay this?” he recalled. “This was going to put us in the poorhouse.”
The bill was reduced to about $750 after Thompson complained, but Susan Martucci, a part-time administrative assistant in Allentown, got no relief on her $654 charge. “It was ridiculous,” she said.
Bergen prosecutor opposes parole bid by Ho-Ho-Kus Killer
APRIL 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2014, 1:21 AM BY ABBOTT KOLOFF STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
The Bergen County prosecutor has asked the state to deny parole to a former Ho-Ho-Kus man who killed his parents in their home 30 years, saying he did so because he resented their rules and once said he would make his mother pay for trying to have him committed for psychiatric treatment.
Richard J. Spillane, 52, told The Record in an interview this year that he heard voices at the time of the 1984 murders, believed the CIA wanted him to kill his parents, and was afraid they would have him committed to a psychiatric hospital. He said he now believes his mental illness is under control with the aid of medications he is taking in state prison.
His first parole hearing, before a two-person panel, is set for Monday. If that panel recommends him for parole, he would go before the full state Parole Board for a hearing to determine whether to release him. The earliest he could be released is May 5.
Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli wrote to the Parole Board on April 9, saying that a detective once witnessed Spillane threatening his mother, Jeanne Hamilton, after a judge signed an order to have him committed. Spillane said he would sue police and his mother for violating his civil rights, Molinelli wrote, and pointed at his mother and said: “You’ll pay for this.”
Amendments to the redevelopment plan for the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area.
PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE/AGENDA
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Village Hall Court Room – 7:00 P.M.
(all timeframes and the order of agenda items below are approximate and subject to change)
1. 7:00 p.m.- Call to Order, Statement of Compliance, Flag Salute, Roll Call – In accordance with the provisions of Section 10:4-8d of the Open Public Meetings Act, the date, location, and time of the commencement of this meeting is reflected in a meeting notice, a copy of which schedule has been filed with the Village Manager and the Village Clerk, The Ridgewood News and The Record newspapers, and posted on the bulletin board in the entry lobby of the Village municipal offices at 131 North Maple Avenue, and on the Village website, all in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act.
2. 7:05 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. – Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board
3. 7:15 p.m. – 7:20 p.m. – Correspondence Received by the Board
4. 7:20 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. – Mr. & Mrs. George Halwagy, 313 West Glen Ave., Block 1607, Lot 3 – Minor Subdivision application (Underlying Remand Proceeding) – Continued from April 15, 2014
5. 9:15 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. – Scherrer Enterprises, LLC, 160-166 S. Broad St., Block 3905, Lots 4 & 5 – Clarification of conditions of approval and timing of permits and certificate of occupancy.
6. 9:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Discussion re: Referral of Ordinance #3411 – Amendments to the redevelopment plan for the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area.
7. 10:00 p.m. – 10:05 p.m. – Approval of Minutes – October 29, 2013
In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, all meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work sessions, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings, which are always open to members of the general public.
Members: Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Nancy Bigos, Councilman Pucciarelli, Charles Nalbantian, Morgan Hurley, Kevin Reilly, Richard Joel, Wendy Dockray, Michele Peters
Professional Staff: Blais L. Brancheau, Planner; Gail L. Price, Esq., Board Attorney; Christopher J. Rutishauser, Village Engineer; Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary
Ridgewood Planning Board Continue public hearing on the proposed H-Hospital Zone amendment
PLANNING BOARD AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE
Special Public Meetings: Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Note Village Calendar says 12 noon the announcement says 730pm
In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting for Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School, 335 North Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood, NJ.
The Board may take official action during this Work and Public Meeting at which time the Board will:
Continue the public hearing on the proposed H-Hospital Zone amendment to the Master Plan.
Continue the public hearing concerning a proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan which would recommend changes in zone district classifications and boundaries within the Central Business District and surrounding area including AH-2, B-3-R, C-R and C Zone Districts.
All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.
More renounce US citizenship but deny stereotype
By ADAM GELLER
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol Tapanila’s anxious request. But when Tapanila slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she saw there was something more.
“We the people….” declared the script inside her U.S. passport — now with four holes punched through it from cover to cover. Her departure from life as an American was stamped final on the same page: “Bearer Expatriated Self.”
With the envelope’s arrival, Tapanila, a native of upstate New York who has lived in Canada since 1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of Americans rejecting what is, to millions, a highly sought prize: U.S. citizenship. Last year, the U.S. government reported a record 2,999 people renounced citizenship or terminated permanent residency; most are widely assumed to be driven by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The government’s pursuit of tax evaders among Americans living abroad is indeed driving the jump in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But renouncers — whose ranks have swelled more than five-fold from a decade ago — often contradict the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Interest-Rate Spike Puts Mortgages at 14-Year Low
By
Nick Timiraos
Updated April 24, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET
Mortgage lending declined to the lowest level in 14 years in the first quarter as homeowners pulled back sharply from refinancing and house hunters showed little appetite for new loans, the latest sign of how rising interest rates have dented the housing recovery.
Lenders originated $235 billion in mortgage loans during the January-March quarter, down 58% from the same period a year ago and down 23% from the fourth quarter of 2013,…
Ridgewood Police : Here are some tips to help you identify online scams
Protect yourself by reading up on some of the latest and most prevalent scams. If something sounds “off” to you, chances are it’s a scam. By educating yourself, you can learn how to spot a scam, whether it is a soliciting email, a false transaction alert from an auction site, or a work-from-home offer. Empower yourself to know the difference between legitimate online opportunities and cybercrime scams. Below are some very common cybercrime scams:
It’s most likely a scam if…
1. You receive an email stating you won or are inheriting money.
2. It looks or sounds too good to be true.
3. You are asked to wire money instead of sending a check or using an online payment method.
4. The person you are dealing with is out of the country.
5. You are purchasing a vehicle or any other item, and the seller claims to be in a different location than the vehicle.
6. An individual wants to send you a check for more than what you’re asking for an item and requests that you cash the check and wire the extra money back.7.You can work from home and only have to cash checks or “reship” items.
8. You receive an email from your bank asking for any login info, bank account info, or personal info.
9. An offer is unsolicited.
If you ever have any suspicions or questions regarding online transactions, please call your local law enforcement agency to discuss the possibility of the situation being an Internet scam.
Bergen County executive’s suit against police merger dealt blow in court
APRIL 25, 2014, 2:28 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014, 9:36 PM BY PETER J. SAMPSON STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
A state judge Friday dealt Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan a setback in her bid to bolster a lawsuit challenging the merger of the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office with claims that two Democratic freeholders violated ethics laws.
In a bench ruling in Hackensack, Superior Court Judge Menelaos W. Toskos denied Donovan permission to amend her suit to add a fifth count contending that the merger votes cast by the two freeholders were tainted by a conflict of interest because their children are Sheriff’s Office employees.
To press such a claim, the judge said, the county executive would have to provide more specifics in her pleadings about the alleged conflict, such as how the freeholders or their children might benefit from the proposed merger.
James J. DiGiulio, an attorney for Donovan, told the judge after his ruling that such information would be included in a further bid to amend the complaint.
In a suit filed last year, Donovan is seeking to overturn the freeholder board’s approval of the merger.
Earth Day Graydon Pool Memberships – Available to All Are Now on Sale
The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation are excited to announce memberships are now on sale for the upcoming summer season and all are invited to join the Graydon Pool facility as season members for the 2014 summer season. Come enjoy fun in the sun so close to home! Opening day is Saturday, May 31st.
Pool features include a shaded playground, water play fountains, shade kites, Adirondack chairs, picnic area, sheltered pavilion, charcoal grills, and The Water’s Edge Café. Additional amenities include a lending library of reading books, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong tables, shuffleboard, four-squares and hop-scotch. Special programs include “Storytime Under a Tree” for the little ones and swim instruction for children and adults, as well as an adaptive swim class. The Graydon Swim Team welcomes youth members, ages 8 to 14.
Resident fees are $120 per adult, $110 per child (ages 2 through 15) and $30 for seniors. Non-resident adults will be charged $200 and children, ages 2 through 15, will be charged $175 for the13 week season.
Badges are now on sale and can be purchased from the comfort of home on Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (Visa and MasterCard are accepted). In person registration assistance will be available Saturdays, May 10 and May 17, 10:00 am to 12 noon, at the Graydon Pool Badge Office (onsite at the pool), 259 North Maple Avenue. Badges may be purchased daily throughout the operating season, May 31st through Septemer 1st.
Details are available at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon or you may call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with any questions or if special accommodations are needed.
