Home builder sentiment index logs sharpest drop ever
Published: Tuesday, 18 Feb 2014 | 10:00 AM ET
By: Diana Olick | CNBC Real Estate Reporter
Sentiment among the nation’s home builders fell dramatically in February, and while builders blame much of it on the weather, that is not the whole picture. Confidence fell 10 points, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly sentiment index, from 56 to 46—the largest drop in the history of the survey, which started in 1985.
Fifty is the line between positive and negative sentiment. The index has not been below 50 since May.
“Significant weather conditions across most of the country led to a decline in buyer traffic last month,” said the association’s chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “Builders also have additional concerns about meeting ongoing and future demand due to a shortage of lots and labor.”
The War On Men: 10 Ways Masculinity is Under Attack
And why the elite – not women – are to blame
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
February 19, 2014
Men are facing a full frontal assault on their rights, health and culture like never before. The war on masculinity has never been so brutal – but it’s not a war being waged by women. The attack is coming directly from the top, as the establishment desperately attempts to emasculate and disempower men in order to force women to be more dependent on the state, thereby enabling more power to be centralized and aiding the growth of big government.
Here are ten ways in which the state has declared war on men and masculinity;
1) Falling Fertility
Sperm counts amongst men have significantly decreased over the last half century and particularly over the last 25 years. In some European countries, sperm counts have dropped by as much as a third since 1989. Part of the fall can be explained by exposure to pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals like Bisphenol A, and the many other artificial horrors that increasingly pervade our water and food supply. Many have made the connection between falling sperm counts and the open calls by innumerable elitists to drastically reduce world population by as much as 95%. Research shows that underpopulation, not overpopulation, will be the major demographic crisis of the 21st century as a result of humans failing to achieve the replacement rate of 2.1 children.
Rule That Evidence Can’t Be Destroyed Would Lead to Expansion of Controversial Phone Program
WASHINGTON—The government is considering enlarging the National Security Agency’s controversial collection of Americans’ phone records—an unintended consequence of lawsuits seeking to stop the surveillance program, according to officials.
A number of government lawyers involved in lawsuits over the NSA phone-records program believe federal-court rules on preserving evidence related to lawsuits require the agency to stop routinely destroying older phone records, according to people familiar with the discussions. As a result, the government would expand the database beyond its original intent, at least while the lawsuits are active.
No final decision has been made to preserve the data, officials said, and one official said that even if a decision is made to retain the information, it would be held only for the purpose of litigation and not be subject to searches. The government currently collects phone records on millions of Americans in a vast database that it can mine for links to terror suspects. The database includes records of who called whom, when they called and for how long.
New Jersey’s Debt Reaches Record $40.4 Billion in 2013
New Jersey debt rose 4.1 percent to $40.4 billion in fiscal 2013, the highest growth rate in four years even after Governor Chris Christie’s pledge to reduce the pace of borrowing.
Obligations, which include those for retiree health care, rose 9.2 percent to $78.4 billion, according to the annual debt report released today at a meeting of the state Commission on Capital Budgeting and Planning in Trenton.
James Petrino, director of New Jersey’s public-finance office, told panel members that the increase was driven by borrowing for the Transportation Trust Fund, which finances road and mass-transit work, and by pension and health benefits. Christie, a second-term Republican, last year lowered budget allocations to the transportation fund as revenue trailed projections, and borrowed $875 million instead.
Until 2013, New Jersey reduced the pace of borrowing for four consecutive years. The 4.1 percent rate was more than double 2012’s 1.9 percent and is the highest since 2009, when it was 4.9 percent and the state owed $35.5 billion. Under previous governors, New Jersey debt more than doubled over a decade, and it has the nation’s third-highest tax-supported burden, according to a report last year from Standard & Poor’s. (Young/Bloomberg)
NJ Schools Press Lawmakers to Ease Restrictions on Interdistrict Choice
Supporters say enrollment cap of 5 percent stifles increasingly popular program.
On the eve of the unveiling of the next state budget, advocates for New Jersey’s interdistrict choice program are stepping up their campaign to fight off state-imposed enrollment caps on the increasingly popular program – and winning some high-level support.
The association that represents the 130-plus districts in the program, which allows them to take in students from outside their borders, has been pressing legislators for help in easing the state edict issued last fall that limited the districts to no more than 5 percent increase in enrollment.
The state Department of Education said it was about the money, with state funding for the program ballooning in the last three years to nearly $50 million for the 5,000 students enrolled this year. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
R.H.S. boys ice hockey: Ridgewood reaches Gold Cup final
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014
BY JIM MCCONVILLE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
THE RECORD
WAYNE – It was back in mid-November on a Friday night when the fortunes of the Ridgewood hockey team took a turn for the worse. They were still two weeks away from the first practice, but injury had beset them.
Cooper Telesco suffered a broken bone in his arm near the wrist in a state football playoff game. Ridgewood hockey coach Mike Lucchesi found himself without a key element for his Maroons through the first 14 games.
Since then, Telesco has more than made up for lost time, and Wednesday night he was instrumental in getting Ridgewood into its fourth straight Gold Cup final, scoring the game-winner in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Fair Lawn.
The Maroons will face Paramus Catholic in Friday’s final.
Federal regulations thwart reimbursements for N.J. Sandy victims’ latest repair costs
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2014, 9:41 PM
BY KAREN SUDOL
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Superstorm Sandy victims still can’t seek reimbursement for home repairs done after the date they applied for a specific government grant, according to federal housing officials who have denied a state request to waive the requirement.
Recognizing that many homeowners have had to halt repairs mid-project when they have applied for funds, the state Department of Community Affairs asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to consider changing the policy in December.
It was the latest of several such requests, said Lisa Ryan, a Community Affairs spokeswoman.
Richard Constable, commissioner of the department, said that, nevertheless, “we will continue to aggressively advocate to HUD on behalf of storm-affected residents so that they receive the federal assistance they need to get their homes and lives back together.”
In a Feb. 10 letter, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary Yolanda Chavez cited federal environmental rules as reasons for the decision as well as concern that repair work performed after the grant application date and without an environmental review could destroy historic properties.
A HUD official, who did not wish to be identified, said “we are prohibited by law to do what the state has asked.”
Homeland Security Alerts Airlines to Possible Shoe-Bomb Threat
BY PETE WILLIAMS AND ROBERT WINDREM
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday told airlines about a potential new shoe-bomb threat and urged them to pay extra attention to flights from overseas into the United States.
Several officials familiar with the advisory told NBC News that “very recent intelligence” considered credible warns of possible attempts to attack passenger jets using explosives concealed in shoes.
As a result, officials say, airlines will be playing extra attention to passenger shoes on flights to the US from overseas. Those passengers may also experience increased scrutiny in pat downs and full-body screening.
The bulletin to airlines urges screeners to use the explosive trace detection swabs to check shoes that are worn and in carry-on bags.
Ridgewood moves ahead with $41,000 Maple Park restoration
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2014, 10:47 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The Village Council signed off on a cleanup of Maple Park during its meeting Wednesday night.
The turf, which has become hardened from years of storm and floodwater damage, will undergo a complete restoration following a second round of bids on the project.
The cleanup was delayed last year, when the village rejected the sole bid it received for the project. A second round of bids was sought, and the contract was awarded Wednesday to LandTek.
FAC: “The status quo in Ridgewood is unsustainable from a financial perspective,”
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2014, 10:36 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Now that Ridgewood and Glen Rock have scrapped plans for a shared municipal vehicle repair facility, a team of economic gurus is advising the village to step back and conduct larger studies and explore more alternatives.
In its annual report to the Ridgewood Council, the Financial Advisory Committee acknowledged that the village’s existing fleet services building on Chestnut Street is in “decrepit condition,” and options other than constructing a new facility might be available.
Over the past year, an ad-hoc committee comprised of Ridgewood and Glen Rock officials had investigated moving the public works operations of both towns to a new shared facility. Last month, however, the site of the proposed project, which is located adjacent to the village’s water treatment plant in Glen Rock, was deemed too small to meet the needs of the two municipalities.
At a council meeting last month, Roberta Sonenfeld, FAC vice chair, recognized the ad-hoc committee’s desire to move quickly on the fleet services project, but she advised that even more research is required.
Insurers Seek Healthy Enrollees, Doctors Educate New Patients, Employers Wrestle With Added Costs
On Jan. 1, the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect. Americans gained access to new health plans subsidized by federal dollars. Insurers no longer can turn away people with existing conditions. Millions are now eligible for new Medicaid benefits.
But the federal law also upended existing health-insurance arrangements for millions of people. Companies worry about the expense of providing new policies, some hospitals aren’t seeing the influx of new patients they expected to balance new costs and entrepreneurs say they may hire more part-time workers to avoid offering more coverage.
Tell Us
How Has the Health Law Affected You?
The law’s true impact will play out over years. It will depend in part on whether backers overcome serious early setbacks, including crippling glitches in the new online insurance marketplaces and many states’ rejection of the Medicaid expansion. But another obstacle the law faces is pushback from some consumers and industry over the higher costs, complex rules and mandatory requirements it imposes. ( Watch doctors, business owners and patients share their stories about the health law, and tell us your own. )
So far, 3.3 million have signed up for plans through the new government marketplaces, federal officials said Feb. 12. About 6.3 million were determined eligible for Medicaid through the exchanges over the final three months of 2013, including people who might have been able to enroll without the law.
The law’s potential for change can be seen in the lives of people like Jaime Hood, a 37-year-old in Belton, Mo. She suffers from hemophilia and had been rejected for coverage until this year. Now, she will have access to drugs and other treatments she sometimes skipped.
The Official Forecast of the U.S. Government Never Saw This Winter Coming
By Peter Coy February 18, 2014
Surprised by how tough this winter has been? You’re in good company: Last fall the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that temperatures would be above normal from November through January across much of the Lower 48 states. This graphic shows just how wrong the official forecast of the U.S. government was:
The big red blotch in the top map represents parts of the country in which the Climate Prediction Center forecast above-average temperatures. The frigid-looking blue blotch in the bottom “verification” map shows areas where temperatures turned out to be below average.
“Not one of our better forecasts,” admits Mike Halpert, the Climate Prediction Center’s acting director. The center grades itself on what it calls the Heidke skill score, which ranges from 100 (perfection) to -50 (monkeys throwing darts would have done better). October’s forecast for the three-month period of November through January came in at -22. Truth be told, the September prediction for October-December was slightly worse, at -23. The main cause in both cases was the same: Underestimating the mammoth December cold wave, which brought snow to Dallas and chilled partiers in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
+106%: Obama Has More Than Doubled Marketable U.S. Debt
February 18, 2014 – 1:37 PM
By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) – The marketable debt of the U.S. government has more than doubled–climbing by 106 percent–while President Barack Obama has been in office, increasing from $5,749,916,000,000 at the end of January 2009 to $11,825,322,000,000 at the end of January 2014, according to the U.S. Treasury’s latestMonthly Statement of the Public Debt.
During the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush, the marketable debt of the U.S. government almost doubled–climbing 93 percent–from $2,977,328,000,000 at the end of January 2001 to $5,749,916,000,000 at the end of January 2009.
During the time that Bush and Obama have been in office, the marketable debt of the U.S. government has nearly quadrupled, increasing by $8,847,994,000,000.
By Max Pizarro | February 18th, 2014 – 3:47pm
Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on favoritesShare on print|More Sharing ServicesMore
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36) walked out of the Renaissance in Lyndhurst earlier today after conferring behind closed doors with other pooh-bahs in the Democratic Party.
“Bergen Democrats are united. There was a huge show of force behind our candidate and the chairman,” announced Sarlo, referring to the deal Bergen County Democratic Committee Chairman Lou Stellato landed to run Freeholder James Tedesco for county executive this year against incumbent Republican Kathe Donovan.
Players in the room this morning included State Party Chairman (and Passaic County Dems Chairman) John Currie, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9), Stellato, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37), state Sen. Bob Gordon (D-38), and Sarlo.
Still image taken from video of jewelry store heist in Paramus.
Police release video that shows brazen $250K jewelry store heist in Paramus
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2014, 10:23 PM BY KAREN SUDOL STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
As dawn emerged on Valentine’s Day, three figures approached a glass storefront of The Jewelry Center in Paramus, remained for a few seconds as if scoping out the store, then walked away in different directions.
Three minutes later, the back of a Ford pickup slammed through the doors and crashed into a jewelry counter. Then, two thieves quickly entered, hooked up a cable from the truck to a nearby safe and dragged it out of the store. A stolen backhoe was then used to load the safe into a getaway vehicle, police have said.
How one of the most brazen jewelry store heists in Paramus went down — a job that netted the thieves $250,000 worth of jewelry — was captured on high-definition black-and-white footage released by Paramus police on Tuesday. The revealing 15-minute silent video is expected to assist authorities in determining how the crime happened and who may have been involved. Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said he also hopes it will generate tips from the public.
