Union: Obamacare will slash wages by up to $5 an hour
By Paul Bedard | MARCH 9, 2014 AT 11:15 AM
A national union that represents 300,000 low-wage hospitality workers charges in a new report that Obamacare will slam wages, cut hours, limit access to health insurance and worsen the very “income equality” President Obama says he is campaigning to fix.
Unite Here warned that due to Obamacare’s much higher costs for health insurance than what union workers currently pay, the result will be a pay cut of up to $5 an hour. “If employers follow the incentives in the law, they will push families onto the exchanges to buy coverage. This will force low-wage service industry employees to spend $2.00, $3.00 or even $5.00 an hour of their pay to buy similar coverage,” said the union in a new report.
“Only in Washington could asking the bottom of the middle class to finance health care for the poorest families be seen as reducing inequality,” said the report from Unite Here. “Without smart fixes, the ACA threatens the middle class with higher premiums, loss of hours, and a shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage,” said the report, titled, “The Irony of Obamacare: Making Inequality Worse.”
Is US losing new cold war?
By Kristina Wong and Jeremy Herb
If there is a new cold war with Russia, many observers believe the U.S. is losing it.
First under President George W. Bush and now under President Obama, the U.S. and Vladimir Putin’s Russia have engaged in a series of foreign policy battles — and Putin has repeatedly got his way.
The Russian president’s objective is clear. He wants to reassert Russia’s influence in Eastern Europe while preventing NATO’s further expansion toward Russia, said Erik Brattberg, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Lonegan Calls on Congress to Act for Veterans
Thursday, February 27th, 2014 @ 5:25PM
“An illegal alien can come into this country to have a baby and will be afforded all the welfare benefits available, immediately. It is an absolute disgrace that our returning war veterans are not afforded the same treatment when it comes to receiving the benefits they earned.”
WRIGHTSTOWN, NJ – Steve Lonegan, Republican Candidate for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, stated at a press conference at McGuire Air Force Base today that “It’s about time for Congress to provide the benefits of honor and respect that our returning veterans have earned.”
Surrounded by a newly formed Veteran’s Advisory Committee of 16 American heroes, Steve Lonegan called the inaction of Congress “a blemish on our country.”
“An illegal alien can come into this country to have a baby and will be afforded all the welfare benefits available, immediately,” Lonegan said. “It is an absolute disgrace that our returning war veterans are not afforded the same treatment when it comes to receiving the benefits they earned.” Lonegan called on Congress to put partisan politics aside. “John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi must make this their number one priority,” Lonegan said.
Steve Lonegan stated that President Obama has broken his promise to our veterans, on when they would receive their benefits. Over 850,000 of these American hero’s have waited more than 125 days. “Its unconscionable,” Steve Lonegan stated.
Veterans have no stronger voice in Congress than Steve Lonegan – fighting for their rights, dignity and their benefits.
Steve Lonegan was the Republican nominee in the New Jersey special election for the United States Senate in 2013. He defeated national Democrat favorite Cory Booker by more than 8 points in the 3rd Congressional District. Lonegan continues to stand firmly on his bedrock conservative values of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty.
Legislating fact : Senate Dems stage climate all-nighter want lawmakers to agree that climate change is a scientific fact.
By Laura Barron-Lopez
At least 28 Senate Democrats are pulling an all-nighter on Monday to wake up “stubborn” climate change deniers in Congress.
With substantial climate change legislation all but dead in Congress, the senators involved in Monday’s climate-fest just want to get to a point where lawmakers can agree that climate change is a scientific fact.
And having the Senate Democratic leadership on their side doesn’t hurt, said Sen. Brian Schatz, (D-Hawaii), who helped spearhead the push for congressional action on climate change.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) will be among those participating in the talk-a-thon on the Senate floor, along with Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), along with 22 others.
Notably absent from the marathon session will be the four most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection this year: Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Mark Begich (Alaska) are not scheduled to take part, according to a list of speakers.
However, they were invited, Schatz said, adding that their Republican colleagues were verbally invited as well. The response, Schatz admitted was far from enthusiastic.
Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/200263-climate-change-all-nighter-in-congress#ixzz2vToIn8O9
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Record Restaurant mini-review rates Wasabi 3 stars out of 4
FRIDAY MARCH 7, 2014, 3:25 PM
THE RECORD
Authentic Japanese cuisine, including absolutely fresh sushi and sashimi, fully cooked Japanese specialties like tempura and teriyaki. Prices: Appetizers $5 to $16 , entrées $14 to $48. Hours: Lunch noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday; lunch noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday; noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday; noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Liquor, wine: BYO. Noise level: Can be a little noisy on a busy, hectic night but certainly bearable, even then. Credit cards: AE, D, DC, MC, V. Reservations: Recommended, especially on weekends. Accommodations for children: Highchairs, booster seats. Dress: Casual. Early-bird specials or deals: No. Takeout: Yes. Parking: Street and small private lot. Reviewed: July 26, 2013. • 848 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood; 201-493-7575.
American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Starts March 18 at the YWCA
Pre-test dates are March 8 & March 15
YWCA Bergen County is offering its next American Red Cross Lifeguard Training course beginning March 18 and running through April 3, 2014. Students must take and pass a swim test, which will be held on March 8 at 9:30 a.m. and March 15 at 9:30 a.m. Participants must be 15 years of age or older and a $10 swim test fee is due at registration.
This course prepares students with the CPR, First Aid and lifeguard techniques necessary for employment as a professional lifeguard. Classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood, and the course fee is $350. For more information or to register call the YWCA Aquatics Department at 201-444-5600, x327, or visitwww.ywcabergencounty.org.
Concession stand will return to Ridgewood Train Station
March 9th 2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , The Ridgewood Train Station will be getting a new concession stand
The Ridgewood news is reporting that the village council will likely approve a bid from Be Power LLC, which will operate Flo’s Market out of the newly renovated space inside the train station . (https://www.northjersey.com/news/249169241_Concession_stand_returns_to_Ridgewood.html )
Flo’s Market will take a two year lease and rent the space for $1,500 a month. Commuters will once again be able to purchase News papers coffee and snacks while waiting for a train.
COFFEE, ANYONE? CASUAL CONVERSATION WITH THE BOE AND SUPERINTENDENT IS MARCH 12
Maybe you’re interested in learning about school security and safety. Perhaps you have concerns about iPads in the classroom. Possibly state testing results or the budget is on your mind. Superintendent Dan Fishbein and Board members Sheila Brogan, Christina Kraus, Michele Lenhard, Jim Morgan and Vince Loncto want to hear from you. Residents are invited to drop in for Coffee and Conversation next Wednesday, March 12 at the Education Center at 49 Cottage Place, floor 3, any time between 7 and 8:30 p.m. It’s an evening designed for you to ask your questions, make suggestions and share concerns in a casual setting. Anything goes! Please come!
Deadline for filing completed nominating petitions for Village Council is March 10, 2014.
Nominating Packets Available for Ridgewood Village Council
Nominating packets are available for Ridgewood residents who are registered voters and wish to run for and serve on the Ridgewood Village Council. They may be picked up at the Village Clerk’s Office in Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. The deadline for filing completed nominating petitions is March 10, 2014.
This year, there are two positions, with four-year terms, to serve on the non-partisan Village Council which will be voted on at the May 13, 2014 Municipal Election. The newly elected Councilmembers will be sworn in and take office on July 1, 2014.
Any questions concerning the Municipal Election should be directed to the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 205 or by email to: [email protected] or [email protected]
$425,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404204
140 BELLAIR RD, Unit M, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
2 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, CONDO
Jennifer Wilkes, Sales Associate
Weichert Realtors Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
14
$1,095,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404714
538 VAN DYKE ST, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Rose Hueneke, Broker Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
18
Open Houses for Sun 3/9
$425,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404204
140 BELLAIR RD, Unit M, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
2 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, CONDO
Jennifer Wilkes, Sales Associate
Weichert Realtors Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
14
$459,900 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1405351
1127 LINWOOD AVE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 1 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, S/L
Scott Jeffers, Broker Associate
Lynne Reck, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
12
$750,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404330
336 BROOKMERE CT, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Lisa Sammataro, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
25
$859,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1406165
119 RICHMOND AVE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Laura Gill, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
18
$1,049,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1400784
465 HEIGHTS RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
2 Half Bath, COL
Michael Randy, Sales Associate
Daniel Kahn, Sales Associate
Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty-Saddle River
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
18
$1,095,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404714
538 VAN DYKE ST, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Rose Hueneke, Broker Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
18
$1,175,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1400092
197 LINCOLN AVE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Mary E. Soriano, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Saddle River
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
19
$1,199,900 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1335952
537 SPRING AVE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
2 Half Bath, COL
Julie Z. Corbo, Broker Associate
Keller Williams Realty – NJ Metro Group
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
15
$1,250,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1402281
706 HILLCREST RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Jennifer Brito, Sales Associate
William F. Gilsenan Jr, Broker
Gilsenan & Co.
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
21
$1,399,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1343418
436 FARVIEW ST, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
David H. Larsen, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
9
$1,399,999 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1336796
261 BELLAIR RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Mary Tarvin Passaro, Broker Associate
Sarah(Sally) Tarvin Thurston, Sales Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 3/9
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.7N0shM0k.dpuf
$1,400,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1403356
546 HIGHLAND AVE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
2 Half Bath, COL
Marilyn Nuber, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
15
$1,729,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1406375
218 FAIRMOUNT RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Kristin Gildea Fox, Sales Associate
Marron Gildea Realty, Inc. Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/9
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.7N0shM0k.dpuf
Ridgewood man faces attempted murder charges in Paterson shooting
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY MARCH 9, 2014, 12:34 AM
BY JOE MALINCONICO
PATERSON PRESS
PATERSON – An armed security guard at a Paterson restaurant wounded a 20-year-oldRidgewood resident who authorities say had just shot another man during a fight early Saturday morning, according to police.
The Ridgewood man eventually was arrested after he went to a local hospital seeking hospital treatment for his gunshot wounds and detectives identified him as the alleged shooter in restaurant incident, police said.
The suspect, Anthony Olivo, has been charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses for allegedly wounding a 22-year-old Patersonman in the leg during a fight near the Banana King Restaurant at the corner of Madison and 21st avenues at 3:30 a.m., police said.
There’s hope for the rest of us! Even Pope Francis drops an occasional F-bomb.
Pope drops F-bomb during Vatican blessing
By Bob Fredericks
March 3, 2014 | 10:17am
Pope Francis may need to go to confession after inadvertently blurting out an Italian F-bomb during his weekly blessing from the Vatican.
“If each one of us does not amass riches only for oneself, but half for the service of others, in this f–k [pause], in this case the providence of God will become visible through this gesture of solidarity,” Francis said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Italian media reported.
His Holiness meant to use the Italian word for “example,” which is “caso.”
Instead, he used the word “cazzo,” which Italians use as a synonym for the four-letter obscenity.
The papal slip-up immediately went viral on Italian websites and quickly made its way to YouTube.
But the 77-year-old pontiff kept his cool, and his defenders took to the Internet to say it was a common mistake for native Spanish speakers when they talk in Italian.
Others said the literal translation of the word is a synonym for the male organ — but that it is also commonly used as the F-word.
Many of us cringe when we think we are going to lose an hour of our valuable weekend by “springing forward” this Sunday. I personally do not like losing an hour, but I do enjoy the extra daylight. I thought I would investigate how “Daylight Saving Time” started, the complaints about it and the benefits.
We have Benjamin Franklin to thank for coming up with the original concept. Franklin, who wrote the proverb “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” was among the first to suggest the idea. In 1784, Franklin was U.S.. ambassador to France, living in Paris, and awoke earlier than usual one morning to see light streaming through his window. He then had an idea that he could make use of the “free sunshine” for many more hours saving on expensive candles. He stated in an essay that is everyone would wake up earlier that could get more done in the daylight and save money on candles. The basic concept of “Daylight Saving Time”, DST, was introduced.
Some historians say that modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson, an entomologist from New Zealand. Hudson presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society that proposed a two-hour shift forward in October and a two-hour shift back in March. He followed up his proposal with an article in 1898, and although there was interest in the idea, it was never followed through.
Timeanddate.com says; “The invention of DST was mainly credited to William Willett in 1905 when he came up with the idea of moving the clocks forward in the summer to take advantage of the daylight in the mornings and the lighter evenings. His proposal suggested moving the clocks 20 minutes forward each of four Sundays in April, and switching them back by the same amount on four Sundays in September. The first Daylight Saving Bill was drafted in 1909 and presented to Parliament several times and examined by a select committee. However, the bill was opposed by many, especially farmers and thus the bill was never made into a law. Willett died in 1915 without getting the chance to see his idea come to life.”
Almost 200 years after Ben Franklin’s essay, the United States adopted the basic plan in an effort to conserve energy during World War I. The practice of changing the clocks has had a somewhat bumpy history in the United States. It was first established in 1918, but then repealed a year later. During World War II, the country again took up the practice to conserve energy from 1942 to 1945. In 1966 the United States officially adopted the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which outlined Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday in October.
Washington, DC – (3/7/14) – Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization, is releasing its Millennial Jobs Report for February 2014. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds, which adjusts for labor force participation by including those who have given up looking for work, is15.8 percent (NSA). The (U-3) unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds is 11.4percent (NSA).
The declining labor force participation rate has created an additional 1.952million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs.
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans is23.8 percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 19.3 percent (NSA).
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics is 16.6percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 12.5 percent (NSA).
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29 year old women is 13.4percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 9.7 percent (NSA).
Evan Feinberg, President of Generation Opportunity, issued the following statement:
“Youth unemployment has been way too high for way too long and politicians seem like they don’t even care about this mess that they created themselves.
“Instead of working to create opportunities for my generation, the administration is busy dreaming up new big government schemes that rob us of our prosperity and threaten our future well-being.”
“If government insists on waging this War on Youth, we will have no choice but to fight back and hold them accountable.”