Obamacare Delay another Hail Mary as the clock runs down to the November elections
NJTP
The Post reports: “For the second time in a year, the Obama administration is giving certain employers extra time before they must offer health insurance to almost all their full-time workers. Under new rules announced Monday by Treasury Department officials, employers with 50 to 99 workers will be given until 2016 – two years longer than originally envisioned under the Affordable Care Act – before they risk a federal penalty for not complying.”
For larger companies it is even worse: “Instead of being required in 2015 to offer coverage to 95 percent of full-time workers, these bigger employers can avoid a fine by offering insurance to 70 percent of them next year.”
Except for the die-hard Obama spinners, there was widespread recognition that this is another Hail Mary as the clock runs down to the November elections.
Cerf’s Out, Activists and Parents Look to Sink Common Core
NJTP
New Jersey Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf, who was a major proponent of Common Core curriculum is stepping down at the end of the month, according to a published report in the Bergen Record.
Carolee Adams, Eagle Forum President NJ, attributes the about-face to a concerted effort across the state to educate legislators, parents and NJ taxpayers on the perils of implementing the untested curriculum that violates traditional American values and privacy of students and their families with invasive data mining techniques.
Carolee and Tea Party activists across the state worked hard to turn back the progressive tide inherent in Common Core curriculum.
Thanks to those efforts, radical education activists lost their beach-head in NJ schools. No small accomplishment.
N.J. state police: Christie never flew near GWB during lane closures
Tuesday February 11, 2014, 2:03 PM
BY MICHAEL PHILLIS
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record
Full coverage: Chris Christie and the GWB lane closure controversy
Governor Christie never flew over or near the George Washington Bridge during the September lane closures, the state police said Tuesday.
“None of the three flights transporting the governor during that week flew over, or close to either the George Washington Bridge or Fort Lee, including the flight on 9/11,” state police spokesman Capt. Stephen Jones said in a statement.
The NAACP planned a peaceful march to protest the requirement of voter ID laws on Saturday at the “Moral March on Raleigh.” Organizers said 20,000 to 30,000 Americans showed up to the protest. Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, stated, “We return to Raleigh with a renewed strength and a renewed sense of urgency. This Moral March inaugurates a fresh year of grassroots empowerment, voter education, litigation and nonviolent direct action.”
Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/08/3601888/annual-march-rally-builds…
In a flyer sent out entitled “Important Do’s and Don’ts for Marchers,” some very responsible marching elements were listed for people’s safety.
The most ironic recommendation on the list comes half way down, where march coordinators tell recipients:
“DO bring photo identification (driver’s license, passport or other valid photo ID) with you and keep it on your persons at all times.”
Join us any time where the coffee is Hot and the Seniors are Strong!
Best Wishes from the Staff and Advisory Boards of SHARE, INC.
For more information call 201-670-9605
Affordable Living in Ridgewood, New Jersey
S.H.A.R.E. Inc. (Senior Housing Association of Ridgewood and Environs) is a New Jersey Non Profit Organization which provides an affordable, home like environment for independent seniors within the Ridgewood community.
Ganepola A.P. Ganepola, MD, Appointed Medical Director of Research for Valley’s Newly Established Okonite Research Center
January 31, 2014 — The Valley Hospital is pleased to announce the naming of noted surgeon Ganepola A. Ganepola, M.D., as Medical Director of Research for its newly centralized research department. The department has recently been named the Okonite Research Center, thanks to a generous donation from The Okonite Company of Ramsey and its Chairman and CEO, Victor A. Viggiano. The Center focuses on developing innovative treatments and therapies to enhance the care of patients undergoing treatment for cancer, heart disease and neurological disorders.
In his new role, Dr. Ganepola, who has been a member of Valley’s Medical Staff since 1977, will be responsible for guiding Valley’s scientific research efforts and establishing and maintaining standards for scientific excellence, responsible conduct of research, research productivity, major research-related investments and resource allocation.
“Dr. Ganepola will lead Valley’s efforts to build a world-class research program dedicated to advancing medicine and discovering novel medical and surgical approaches to diagnosing and treating heart disease and cancer,” said Audrey Meyers, president and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System, “Under his leadership, our continued dedication to research will ultimately advance our already high-quality patient care, offer our patients and their families as yet unheard of treatments and services, and ensure our continued success as a healthcare system of choice for decades to come.”
For the past ten years, Dr. Ganepola has been dedicated to research in Cancer Genomics, making important contributions to understanding Genomic Medicine. He has authored more than 25 peer reviewed articles and presented at international conferences, discussing and sharing his research findings with colleagues around the world. Recently, he, along with Anusak Yiengpruksawan, M.D., Valley’s Director of Robotic Surgery, published a groundbreaking paper in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. The paper documented the success of their work using an identified panel of three microRNA biomarkers as a potential diagnostic tool for early stage pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Ganepola will retain his role as Director of Valley’s Center for Cancer Research and Genomic Medicine, which, along with Valley’s biorepository will move to Valley’s Okonite Medical Research Laboratories and Research Center at the Bolger Medical Arts Building in Paramus. The eventual co-location of Valley’s Okonite Research Center, the Center for Cancer Research and Genomic Medicine, oncology and cardiac research laboratories and the biorepository will allow doctors streamlined access to each other and the vital tissue and specimens that are the foundation of their work.
DiVincenzo amid Bridgegate uproar: “the governor will be here for another four years’
Don’t count Democratic Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenz among those regretful of endorsing Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
“I’ve talked to him and he sounds very strong,” DiVincenzo said of Christie. “I have to take him at his word. This situation is being handled by the right people now.”
He’s referring to Bridgegate, the scandal that prompted the U.S. Attorney’s Office to subpoena Christie’s campaign and the NJ GOP. In contrast to the county executive, the highest profile Democrat to publicly endorse the governor last year, the Star-Ledger this weekend backpedaled on its own endorsement of Christie in light of the George Washington Bridge Scandal and reports of the administration’s creation of a Hurricane Sandy slush fund.
“I did not even read it,” DiVincenzo said of the piece. “What I think in reference to my support is I still support him. There’s an investigation going on. It’s a mistake for people to jump to conclusions now. Look, he helped Essex County. OI approached past governors and they had no interest. This guy stepped in when I told him I need to have caps on spending. That’s the main reason I supported him, because of how he did things Democrats couldn’t get done.”
The powerful Democrat did note that Christie worked with Sweeney to accomplish the two percent cap on government spending. (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
Senior Citizen Valentine Dance at Ridgewood High School – Rescheduled Due to Weather
SENIOR CITIZEN VALENTINE DANCE
POSTPONED
Due to the inclement weather and dangerous conditions on the roads and parking lots, we feel it necessary and safe to postpone the Valentine Dance which was scheduled for Tuesday, February 11th
We will notify you with a new date and time as soon as conditions allow.
We ask you to help us to get the word out to as many people as possible.
Thank you and have a happy and safe Valentine’s Day!!
BFMS Orchestra Director Carol Sharar reports that after competing in rigorous musical auditions last Saturday, a number of BFMS students have won placement into the prestigious Region I Honors ensembles for 2014. The following students are to be congratulated:
Region I Chorus: Nyah Rudin (7th Grade)
Region I Band: Dan Cho (7th Grade)
Region I Orchestra:
o 8th Graders: Andy (Euijun) Choi, Grace Kim, Kathleen Kye, Elaine Kim, Jae Hyun Mo, JP (Jon Paul) Bernabe, Griffin Fink, James Blair
Chris Cerf to Step Down as New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Chris Cerf will be leaving office at the end of this month after three years as Gov. Chris Christie’s education commissioner, leaving behind big changes — and some tumult.
Appointed in late 2010, Cerf yesterday said he will join the educational software company led by his old boss, former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein.
Cerf, who was deputy chancellor in New York under Klein, will serve as CEO of Amplify Insight, a division of Amplify Inc. The company is owned by News Corp., the media giant led by Rupert Murdoch.
He submitted his resignation earlier this month, effective March 1. No announcement has been made as to Cerf’s successor.
The department is expected to announce the resignation today, but Cerf yesterday confirmed the decision and said it came out of both his uncertainty about staying on for a second term and a job offer that was difficult to pass up. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
A STRONG WINTER STORM IS POSSIBLE FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY EVENING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
347 AM EST TUE FEB 11 2014
347 AM EST TUE FEB 11 2014
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN
CONNECTICUT…NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK.
.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
A STRONG WINTER STORM IS POSSIBLE FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO
THURSDAY EVENING. ALTHOUGH THE EXACT TRACK…TIMING AND INTENSITY
ARE STILL UNCERTAIN…THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SIGNIFICANT
SNOWFALL OF 6 INCHES OR MORE.
PSE&G ELECTRIC RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS 69KV UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE WORK SCHEDULE
UPDATE: FEBRUARY – MARCH 2014 VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD
As part of our electric reliability improvements in Bergen County, PSE&G will be performing utility pole line work in the Village of Ridgewood. As of early February through March 2014, PSE&G will be performing the following activities in your area:
Feb. 1 – Feb. 7
Wire Work & Limited Pole Sets
E. Ridgewood Avenue
(N. Van Dien Avenue to Paramus Road)
Limited Lane or Road Closure
Feb. 8 (8am – 8pm)**
Wire Work & Pole Set
E. Ridgewood Avenue (Intersection of Walthery Avenue)
Full Road Closure (Follow Detour)
Feb. 9 – Mar. 16
Wire Work & Limited Pole Sets
E. Ridgewood Avenue
(N. Van Dien Avenue to Paramus Road)
Limited Lane or Road Closure
Mar. 1 – Mar. 28
Wire Work
E. Ridgewood Avenue (Hope Street to Paramus Road)
Limited Lane or Road Closure
Mar. 1 – Mar. 28
Fiber Optic Pull
S. Maple Avenue – Spring Avenue – S. Irving Street – E. Ridgewood Avenue
Limited Lane or Road Closure
Excluding inclement weather delays or as otherwise noted above(**), PSE&G anticipates working Monday – Friday (9am – 5pm), as well as Saturday and Sunday (8am – 5pm) on an as needed basis, in order to complete our work as quickly as possible.
PSE&G will work closely with the Village of Ridgewood Police Department to minimize traffic impacts. All work will be performed in accordance with PSE&G safety and environmental standards and no interruption of electric service is anticipated.
Upon project completion, these upgrades will increase both electric service capacity and system redundancy to ensure safe and more reliable electric service to our customers. Questions about this project can be directed to PSE&G’s Electric Utility Upgrade contact number: 1-800-901-5035.
Shortages of Critical Drugs Continue to Vex Doctors, Study Finds
By SABRINA TAVERNISEFEB. 10, 2014
Despite efforts by the Obama administration to ease shortages of critical drugs, shortfalls have persisted, forcing doctors to resort to rationing in some cases or to scramble for alternatives, a government watchdog agency said on Monday.
In recent years, drug shortages have become an all but permanent part of the American medical landscape. The most common shortages are for generic versions of sterile injectable drugs, partly because factories that make them are aging and prone to quality problems, causing temporary closings of production lines or even entire factories. The number of annual shortages — both new and continuing ones — nearly tripled from 2007 to 2012.
The analysis by the United States Government Accountability Office, released Monday, was required by a 2012 law that gave the Food and Drug Administration more power to manage shortages. The watchdog agency was charged with evaluating whether the F.D.A. had improved its response to the problem, among other things.
The accountability office concluded that the F.D.A. was preventing many more shortages now than in the past — 154 potential shortages in 2012 compared with just 35 in 2010 — but that the number of shortages has continued to grow.
White House delays health insurance mandate for medium-sized employers until 2016
By Juliet Eilperin and Amy Goldstein, E-mail the writers
The Obama administration announced Monday it would give medium-sized employers an extra year, until 2016, before they must offer health insurance to their full-time workers.
Firms with at least 100 employees will have to start offering this coverage in 2015.
