Author: James

Ridgewood Council gives green light to upgrade traffic signals
Monday November 25, 2013, 10:17 AM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Traffic and engineering officials from Bergen County and Ridgewood will work together on a lengthy project to improve several signalized intersections in the village.

A resolution adopted by the Ridgewood Council recently identified five locations where signal upgrades will be considered. The heavily congested Central Business District is targeted three times, with traffic lights at North Maple and Franklin avenues, North Maple and East Ridgewood avenues and Franklin and Oak Street heading the list. Also named are the East Ridgewood and Pleasant Avenue intersection as well as the stretch of Godwin Avenue between Ackerman and Lincoln avenues.

Earlier this month, village officials said Ridgewood would receive up to $150,000 per signal from the county. The county funds would be put toward upgrades of each signal and intersection.

“The village will have to incur costs, too,” said Janet Fricke, assistant to the village manager. Ridgewood’s portion of the bill, which would fund the costs of surveys and traffic studies and designs, would likely amount to $60,000 per intersection.

Ridgewood Municipal Engineer Chris Rutishauser said improvements to traffic signals would include overall intersection upgrades – traffic light coordination, pedestrian crossing countdown lights, vehicle sensors and compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/233308891_Ridgewood_Council_gives_green_light_to_upgrade_traffic_signals.html#sthash.vtcU3c2W.dpuf

Ridgewood school officials believe state testing standards burden district
Monday November 25, 2013, 10:17 AM
BY  LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

After the Ridgewood school district gave a factual presentation this week on Common Core State Standards (CCSS), officials expressed at least one clear opinion: the standards are unnecessary for Ridgewood.

The new set of controversial education standards for math and language arts are tied to significant ongoing changes in educator evaluations and student testing.

Cheryl Best, the district’s new assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, said she did not believe the new standards are bad for Ridgewood students. However, she said they are unnecessarily burdening high-performing districts like Ridgewood, where most students are already well-prepared for college, the purported CCSS goal.

“It’s just a lot of extra work for us and time and money. We’re doing fine without these standards, as are many others,” Best said following her presentation at last week’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/233308901_Ridgewood_school_officials_believe_state_testing_standards_burden_district.html#sthash.gO5KHhHQ.dpuf

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
459 AM EST TUE NOV 26 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN
CONNECTICUT…NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK.

.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT.

RAIN WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES LATE TONIGHT WITH POSSIBLE FLOODING OF
URBAN AS WELL AS SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS.

IF CONFIDENCE INCREASES FOR THE POTENTIAL OF WIDESPREAD
FLOODING…THEN A FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NEEDED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

RAIN WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES WEDNESDAY WITH POSSIBLE FLOODING OF
URBAN AS WELL AS SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS.

IF CONFIDENCE INCREASES FOR THE POTENTIAL OF WIDESPREAD
FLOODING…THEN A FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NEEDED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT…

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

&&

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL
WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS THAT MAY REACH NWS WARNING
CRITERIA. MOST LONG F– USED NWS WATCHES…WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES IN
EFFECT ARE HIGHLIGHTED.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST NWS FORECASTS FOR WEATHER NOT MEETING NWS
WARNING CRITERIA.

Rep Scott Garrett responds to President Obama’s ‘deal’ with Iran

Ridgewood NJ, President Obama’s ‘deal’ with Iran is no deal for the United States or our allies. Rather, it continues this administration’s pattern of negotiation, where the United States gives but receives nothing in return.

I am deeply dismayed that we are so quick to free up billions of dollars in assets and revenue streams that Iran can use to further finance international terror or restart its nuclear program. If, months from now, Iran wants to renege on this ‘deal’ and resume its pursuit of nuclear weapons, it won’t be any further from developing a bomb than it is today.

Once again, President Obama’s foreign policy ‘win’ weakens America, her allies, and our position in the world.

Super Bowl’s N.J. Towns Snubbed as NFL Limits Benefits

Forget Manhattan’s Super Bowl Boulevard and its concerts, autograph signings and 180-foot-long toboggan run on Broadway. Who needs them when Secaucus, New Jersey, will offer ice sculptures, food trucks and a beer garden only two miles from the big game?

Secaucus, a town of 18,000 in the shadow of the National Football League’s championship event, wants to throw a pre-game party for the rare chance to lure tourists. Its plan puts the 5.8-square-mile town in competition with a four-day bash in Manhattan that’s expected to pack 1 million fans from Herald Square to Times Square, known worldwide for its animated billboards and New Year’s Eve revelry. (Dopp &  Matuszewski/Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-23/super-bowl-s-n-j-towns-snubbed-as-nfl-limits-benefits.html

file photo Boyd Loving

New Jersey Utility Users Could Get Hit by Double Whammy

BPU prepares to hear two separate series of rate cases, one on recovering costs for restoring power, the other on hardening the grid

Talk about rate shock.

The state’s gas and electric utilities aim to recover at least $1.27 billion in costs they incurred restoring power and service after extreme storms in the past few years, and the costs keep rising.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/11/24/new-jersey-utility-customers-could-get-hit-by-double-whammy/

Legislators Fine-Tune Law Allowing School Elections to Switch to November

Bills will adjust deadlines for board candidates to file and for budgets to be completed

The 2012 law that resulted in the shift of a vast majority of New Jersey’s school elections to November is about to get some tweaks aimed at making the process easier for both school board candidates and for school districts themselves. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/11/24/legislators-fine-tune-law-allowing-school-elections-to-switch-to-november/

Schumer: Iran wins in nuclear agreement
November 24, 2013, 12:11 pm
By Bernie Becker

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) panned the new nuclear agreement with Iran on Sunday, insisting it “does not seem proportional.”

Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate and a strong supporter of Israel, said that Iran got much more than it gave up in the deal.

Some Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have said that Congress could move forward with further sanctions legislation against Iran, but to delay its implementation for six months to allow time to gauge the deal.

But Schumer would only say Sunday that the agreement makes sanctions more likely, even as he said that he hoped the Obama administration met its goal of hoping to eliminate Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon.

“This disproportionality of this agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December,” Schumer said in a statement. “I intend to discuss that possibility with my colleagues.”

Under the deal finalized this weekend, Iran faces relaxed sanctions, at least temporarily. In exchange, Iran agreed to tougher outside inspections and to cap its nuclear stockpile.

https://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-eastnorth-africa/191285-schumer-iran-wins-in-nuclear-deal

Intel chair: US rewarded bad behavior
November 24, 2013, 10:02 am
By Bernie Becker

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said the new Iran nuclear agreement “rewarded very bad and dangerous behavior.”

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said that the agreement, which gives limited relief from sanctions against Iran, softened the one policy that was pressuring Tehran.

“We may have just encouraged more violence in the future than we have stopped,” Rogers said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“That’s why I hope we reconsider where we’re at, certainly in six months.

https://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-eastnorth-africa/191276-house-intel-chair-us-rewarded-bad-behavior

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich is Racist, Says Portland School Official
by Nathan Harden – Fix Editor on November 21, 2013

Did you know that eating or even talking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be considered racist?

That’s right.

Apparently, it’s because people in some cultures don’t eat sandwich bread. Verenice Gutierrez, principal of Harvey Scott K-8 School in Portland explained in and interview with the Portland Tribune:

“Take the peanut butter sandwich, a seemingly innocent example a teacher used in a lesson last school year,” the Tribune said.

“What about Somali or Hispanic students, who might not eat sandwiches?” Gutierrez asked. “Another way would be to say: ‘Americans eat peanut butter and jelly, do you have anything like that?’ Let them tell you. Maybe they eat torta. Or pita.”

…The Tribune noted that the school started the new year with “intensive staff trainings, frequent staff meetings, classroom observations and other initiatives,” to help educators understand their own “white privilege,” in order to “change their teaching practices to boost minority students’ performance.””Last Wednesday, the first day of the school year for staff, for example, the first item of business for teachers at Scott School was to have a Courageous Conversation — to examine a news article and discuss the ‘white privilege’ it conveys,” the Tribune added.

Gutierrez completed a week-long seminar called “Coaching for Educational Equity,” a program the Tribune says focuses “on race and how it affects life.” She also serves on an administrative committee that focuses on systematic racism.

“Our focus school and our Superintendent’s mandate that we improve education for students of color, particularly Black and Brown boys, will provide us with many opportunities to use the protocols of Courageous Conversations in data teams, team meetings, staff meetings, and conversations amongst one another,” she said in a letter to staff.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/15414/

US spying fuels popularity of secure messaging app Wickr
By Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco

Wickr, the secure messaging app that positions itself “halfway between Snapchat and Snowden”, is set to raise more funds and launch a major update on Monday after its popularity soared following revelations of a US mass surveillance programme.

The Silicon Valley start-up enables encrypted peer-to-peer communications from email to instant messaging while keeping no data whatsoever. It plans to rival Skype by rolling out secure and private international video calling next year.

According to a person familiar with the matter the company has raised its funds from Gilman Louie, a venture capitalist who used to run the CIA fund In-Q-Tel. The company’s advisory board includes Ambassador Joseph De Trani, who used to work for the CIA and was a special envoy to the North Korean peace talks.

Nico Sell, co-founder and chief executive of Wickr, said the year-and-a-half-old company had seen an extreme spike in interest after revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programme were published earlier this year.

Privacy-conscious users including some journalists had adopted the app but the number of downloads more than doubled after the leaks from Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor.

“George Washington would be rolling over in his grave right now,” said Ms Sell, adding many of her friends who used to think she was paranoid about security were now leaving social networks such as Facebook.

https://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/89f19e64-5501-11e3-a321-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2lbmo1oD9

Planning Board Special Public Meeting – November 26th

PLANNING BOARD

AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE

Special Public Meeting: Tuesday, November 26, 2013

In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for TUESAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013, in the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, 335 NORTH VAN DIEN AVENUE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Board will continue the public hearings concerning the proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan as it relates to the H- Hospital Zone, The Valley Hospital, 223 N. Van Dien Avenue, Block 3301, Lot 51.

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.

file photo Boyd Loving

VILLAGE FALL LEAF COLLECTION

Leaf Pick Up – Schedule Update

Due to the heavy drop of leaves we are currently running about 4 days behind schedule. Right now we are in Area D and will finish by Monday. We will begin Area A on Tuesday, November 26th and continue until after Thanksgiving. We will not get to Area B before Thanksgiving.

Updates to the exisiting schedule will continue to be posted on this website over the next several weeks to help with coordinating of leaf clean up.

file photo Boyd Loving

REMINDERS

Village Crews are asking all residents for their assistance for the Leaf Collection program to be successful.

On RECYCLING and BULK days please place containers on your property and not directly in the street.

When possible please DO NOT PARK CARS IN THE STREET on scheduled leaf collection dates so that piles can effectively be pushed and picked up safely.

A reminder that leaves are to be placed directly in the street no more than 7 days prior to your collection date.

No leaves are to be placed within 10 feet from any catch basin. Updates will be posted when necessary.

Leaf Bags Now Available for Residents – 10 Free Bags per Household

Paper biodegradable leaf bags are available for pick up at:

Village Hall, The Stable and the Recycling Center (behind Fire Headquarters, 201 E. Glen Ave.)

There is a limit of 10 bags per household while supplies last. All bags should be placed directly in the street on your scheduled collection date. Bags will NOT be collected off the curb.

Reminder – When possible please DO NOT PARK CARS on the street or near piles during your scheduled collection dates.