Menendez, Booker supported change in filibusters to stifle debate
Sen. Bob Menendez said joining in Thursday’s vote to change Senate rules to end filibusters of most Obama administration appointees was not an easy decision.
“But the abuse of rules and the unprecedented obstruction against this President by the other side have brought us here,” Menendez, a Democrat from North Bergen, said in a news release. “Their refusal [to allow majority votes] is not because they believe any of the nominees to be unqualified, but because they want to obstruct action in the Senate.”
The Democratic majority approved a change in Senate rules saying that it will only take 51 votes, instead of the 60 previously needed, to end debate on nominees for judicial and executive posts, except the U.S. Supreme Court. Both Menendez and Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from Newark, supported the change. (Jackson/The Record)
Tension and Flaws Before Health Website Crash
By ERIC LIPTON, IAN AUSTEN and SHARON LaFRANIERE
Published: November 22, 2013 835 Comments
WASHINGTON — On a sultry day in late August, a dozen staff members of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gathered at the agency’s Baltimore headquarters with managers from the major contractors building HealthCare.gov to review numerous problems with President’s Obama’s online health insurance initiative. The mood was grim.
Despite the behind-the-scenes crisis, the president expressed confidence about the exchange just days before its grand debut.
The prime contractor, CGI Federal, had long before concluded that the administration was blindly enamored of an unrealistic goal: creating a cutting-edge website that would use the latest technologies to dazzle consumers with its many features. Knowing how long it would take to complete and test the software, the company’s officials and other vendors believed that it was impossible to open a fully functioning exchange on Oct. 1.
Government officials, on the other hand, insisted that Oct. 1 was not negotiable. And they were fed up with what they saw as CGI’s pattern of excuses for missed deadlines. Michelle Snyder, the agency’s chief operating officer, was telling colleagues outright, “If we could fire them, we would.”
Interviews with current and former Obama administration officials and specialists involved in the project, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of government and contractor documents, offer new details into how tensions between the government and its contractors, questionable decisions and weak leadership within the Medicare agency turned the rollout of the president’s signature program into a major humiliation.
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Bergen GOP chairman: Dems suffered “humiliation” in 2013; “I’m just the messenger” on GOP civil war
By Mark Bonamo | November 22nd, 2013 – 7:42pm
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HACKENSACK – Bergen Republican Chairman Bob Yudin defended his reputation on Friday, calling Democratic claims of victory in the 2013 election cycle “spin” while continuing to assert that the ongoing civil war among Bergen Republicans is not his fault.
“The Bergen County Republican Organization had an overwhelming victory in this past election, and the Democratic Party in Bergen County suffered a huge defeat bordering on humiliation,” Yudin said in response to a recent PolitickerNJ.com interview with Bergen Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato during the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.
In a Nov. 19 interview with PolitickerNJ.com, Stellato noted that Christie failed to take out state sen. Bob Gordon (D – 38) despite the governor’s big win, and that the Democrats gained a veto-proof five-to-two advantage in the freeholder board.
“There were five elections in the county this year: the governor, the sheriff and three freeholders. The Republican Party won four out of five of them, and the one we lost we lost by a razor-thin margin,” responded Yudin, referring to the very close defeat of GOP Freeholder John Mitchell. “I will take those kind of wins anytime.”
Yudin also singled out the top of the ticket when assessing the 2013 election.
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Village Council violating its own ordinance
Friday, November 22, 2013
The Ridgewood News
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood
Village council violating its own ordinance
To the editor:
Regarding “Funds to fix Stable accepted” (The Ridgewood News, Nov. 15, Page A5), I’m confused; doesn’t the village still have a “gift ordinance” in effect? Has anyone bothered to tell members of the Village Council? Seemingly not; at least that is the impression I’m left with following the council’s recent decision to accept a $250,000-$300,000 donation from the Bolger Foundation.
Here’s why I’m confused:
The village’s initial “gift ordinance,” drafted by Village Attorney Matthew Rogers, was approved in August 2008 following an occurrence earlier that year in which Mr. J. T. Bolger’s real estate development firm, Two-Forty Associates, received Zoning Board of Adjustment approval for the construction of a self-storage facility on Chestnut Street. The approval was granted just one calendar day after the Bolger Foundation had pledged a $750K donation to renovate the village-owned Pease Library Building. [Note: Despite having received approval, Two-Forty Associates chose not to construct a self-storage facility on Chestnut Street.]
The ordinance prohibited the Village Council from accepting donations intended for official use from entities with pending applications before either the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Planning Board. The ban encompassed a time period of 90 days prior to application submission, through the application review process, and 90 days subsequent to disposition of any application.
In December 2010, the ordinance was revised to include specific definitions with respect to donors and contributions/gifts/donations, and to establish a requirement that council members approve the acceptance of all large/significant donations through adoption of formal resolutions.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn was a member of the Village Council in 2008 and 2010; Councilman Thomas Riche and Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh were both members of the council in 2010. Official meeting minutes reveal that Mr. Aronsohn supported the initial (2008) “gift ordinance” and Mr. Aronsohn, Mr. Riche and Ms. Walsh all supported 2010’s revisions. Aronsohn voted “yes” on both occasions and made public comments indicating his staunch support each time. Riche and Walsh each voted “yes” in 2010, and they too publicly voiced steadfast support for the original ordinance, and the aforementioned revisions.
Although the Bolger Foundation and Two-Forty Associates are separate entities, the foundation’s attorney, Mr. Thomas Wells, recently advised Village Council members that Mr. J. T. Bolger serves as a member of the boards of directors for both entities. Two-Forty Associates currently has an application pending before the village’s Planning Board, for more than 90 days, seeking approval for construction of high density housing on Chestnut Street
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/232957091_Letter__Village_Council_violating_its_own_ordinance.html#sthash.LZLRLvSG.dpuf
Ridgewood petition over 65-foot PSE&G utility poles declined by BPU
Friday, November 22, 2013 Last updated: Friday November 22, 2013, 6:07 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
The Record
TRENTON — A petition by Ridgewood officials — seeking the continuation of a moratorium on utility pole installations throughout residential sections of the village — was denied Friday by the state’s Board of Public Utilities.
RECORD FILE PHOTO
Ridgewood residents complained to officials, saying the poles would diminish property values and pose health and safety considerations.
The BPU, which held its meeting inside the State House Annex Building, voted unanimously to reject Ridgewood’s petition, which also sought a change in the routing being utilized by Public Service Electric & Gas as they work to connect substations in Fair Lawn and Paramus.
The board’s decision means that installations of 65-foot wooden poles along Hope Street and Spring Avenue can resume at PSE&G’s discretion.
A spokeswoman for the utility said Friday the work was not yet scheduled to resume in Ridgewood.
NJ lawmakers push state on canceled health policies as Obamacare deadlines are extended by a week
Friday November 22, 2013, 11:25 PM
The Record
The federal government on Friday extended by eight days — until Dec. 23 — the deadline for people to enroll in health coverage that starts Jan. 1 under policies available in the new Obamacare marketplaces.
But with 39 days remaining before cancellation notices take effect for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents whose plans don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s new standards, state Insurance Commissioner Kenneth Kobylowski still has not decided whether he will allow insurance companies to renew previously canceled policies, as President Obama requested last week.
The extension was announced as New Jersey’s largest health insurer allowed some customers who received cancellation notices to keep their policies, and as problems in reaching the federal government’s enrollment website were easing.
Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation, led by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, asked Kobylowski on Friday what he was waiting for. They questioned whether continuing delays would mean that there won’t be enough turnaround time to reverse the cancellations.
In a three-page letter, Menendez, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, and six members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., asked Kobylowski what “additional clarification or guidance” the state needs, and what steps have been taken to “ensure full continuity of coverage.”
Sweeping differences in health care exchange pricing among states and counties is leading to sticker shock for some middle-class consumers and others who aren’t eligible for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The average prices for the most popular plans are twice as high in the most expensive states as those with the lowest average prices, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data for 34 states using the federal health insurance exchange.
PPOs, the most popular type of health care plan, carry monthly premiums that range from an average of $819 a month in the most expensive state to $437 in the least expensive. Plans on the federal and state exchanges are grouped into four categories that cover 60% to 90% of out-of-pocket costs. USA TODAY looked at the pricing of PPOs and HMOs across these bronze, silver, gold and platinum categories.
New Jersey Tops Country in Prescribing Brand-Name Drugs
Overuse of brand-name medications vs. generics costs Medicare Part D billions annually
likely to be prescribed brand-name drugs than their counterparts anywhere else in the country, putting the Garden State at the forefront of a national trend of what some say is a wasteful overprescribing of brand-name medication.
The public-interest watchdog ProPublica published an article on Monday detailing how Medicare fails to rein in prescribers’ overuse of brand names compared with generic drugs, which can be equally effective. That leads to higher costs, which are borne by federal taxpayers, who subsidize the Medicare program. (Kithcenman/NJSpotlight)
NJ Obamacare: NO decision yet on whether canceled health insurance can be renewed
Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans whose health insurance carriers canceled their policies still don’t know whether they’ll have a chance to keep their old health insurance plans.
That’s because health insurers continued to await word Wednesday on whether New Jersey regulators would allow them to sell insurance policies that don’t meet the standards set by the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare.
And the state said they’ll have to wait some more.
The delay prompted brokers to warn individuals that even if the state allows them to purchase their old policies again, the prices still might be higher. And it prompted small-business owners to discover a way to delay the impact of new insurance plans at least for another year.
“I don’t believe there’s going to be a way to back out of (the initial requirements),” said David Oscar, a benefits consultant with Altigro, a financial services firm in Fairfield and a former president of the New Jersey Association of Health Underwriters trade group.
The issue is the latest flare-up in the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. It involves an estimated 800,000 New Jerseyans who are insured through policies sold either on the individual market or the small-employer market — about 10 percent of the state’s population. (Diamond/Politico)
Congress eyes cover-up in handing out security clearances for Navy Yard Shooter
The federal agency charged with screening employees for security clearance offered hints about how to cut corners, and its lax policies could have led to the clearance the Navy Yard shooter needed to access the base, the House’s top investigator said.
Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said his staffers have come across verbal and written policies from the Office of Personnel Management that indicate the security clearance process was short-circuited in the case of Aaron Alexis, the Navy Yard shooter.
But Mr. Issa says OPM is refusing to turn over those documents and allowing them to be viewed only behind closed doors. If he doesn’t have the documents by noon Thursday, he said, he will issue a subpoena.
Mr. Issa said he thinks the agency is trying to protect itself from embarrassment from questions about the clearance process for Alexis and for Edward Snowden, the former contractor whose leaks have exposed some of the government’s most secret spy programs.
EPA power grab? Pols, states claim new water reg could bring feds into your backyard
By Kelley Vlahos
Published November 21, 2013
FoxNews.com
A river runs through it — and Uncle Sam isn’t far behind.
That’s what several Republican lawmakers and even state farming groups and local governments are warning, after a draft rule from the Environmental Protection Agency proposed expanding which waterways are federally protected under the Clean Water Act.
The concern is that the move could give the feds authority over virtually any stream or ditch, and hand environmentalists another way to sue property owners. In other words, critics say, the government might soon be able to declare jurisdiction over a seasonal stream in your backyard.
If so, good luck getting a permit to expand building space on your property, or marketing your land to prospective developers.
H.S. Gymnastics: Ridgewood has another state champion
Friday, November 22, 2013
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Ridgewood News
MONTGOMERY — Yurina Harada became the third Ridgewood High School gymnast to win a gold medal on the floor exercises at the state individual finals last Saturday.
The junior performed a flawless routine to score a 9.675 and share the championship with Bishop Ahr sophomore Julianna Drapkin. That marked the second time in four seasons that double gold was awarded on the floor.
More importantly for Harada, it put her in the company of Karen McDonnell (1978) and Chelsea Steinberg (2004) as the only Maroons with state floor titles in the 39-year history of the meet. Steinberg also won three straight all-around golds from 2004-06, plus two vault titles (’04, ’06) and one balance beam crown (’04).
Harada was the only Ridgewood girl to qualify for the individual finals this year but had plenty of companionship down in Somerset County. Eight other girls from North Section 1 earned a trip to the meet, and 22 of her Maroon teammates made the hour-plus bus ride to join the capacity crowd inside the Montgomery gym.
“To have that support up in the stands is phenomenal,” RHS head coach Karen Mendez said. “And when Yurina came out and started on floor in such a powerful way, the girls were just psyched for her for the rest of the meet.”
Floor was the first event for the North 1 group, and Harada was the seventh and final gymnast in the rotation to compete. The signature move of her routine all season had been a double-tuck somersault that put her up nearly six feet in the air, but on her first tumbling pass, she opened with a double-pike flip.
iPads go from Ridgewood classroom to gym
Friday, November 22, 2013
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The school gym is not the place where most people expect to see iPads; breakable pieces of expensive equipment don’t seem appropriate in a room associated with children running and throwing balls.
MARION BROWN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students at Willard School play tag obeying the commands from an iPad.Gym teacher Michael Lucchesi is using iPads in about a quarter of his classes.Students using the iPad feel that it adds fairness to gym games and exercises.
At Willard School this year, however, gym teachers Craig Mahler and Mike Lucchesi found a way to combine the two that not only works but makes gym class more fun.
“They’re loving class. It’s pretty exciting to watch,” Mahler said.
Last week, Lucchesi’s fourth grade class engaged in a game of tag with the help of an iPad app.
