Author: James

With Steve Lonegan and Governor Chris Christie at Monroe Township, NJ.

Lonegan to GOP: “Republicans need to hold firm “

“Republicans need to hold firm because seven days from today when Bob Menendez escorts me down the Senate aisle for my swearing in, the message about what our party should do will be clear for all.”

BOGOTA, NJ – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan today urged House Republicans “not to capitulate to the president’s unreasonable demands. When I win, Obama will fold.”

Lonegan says his internal polling shows a neck-and-neck race in the U.S. Senate contest and that all the momentum is in his favor. “My victory in this election on Wednesday will send a message to Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi that the American people want an end to Obamacare and the rest of the President’s radical agenda.”

The former three-term Bogota mayor called on Republicans to stop listening to the same consultants and pollsters who blew the 2012 election and who are telling the GOP to fold and instead stand firm for seven more days.

“Republicans need to hold firm because seven days from today when Bob Menendez escorts me down the Senate aisle for my swearing in, the message about what our party should do will be clear for all,” Lonegan maintained.

“I have come as far as I have in this campaign by ignoring the advice from all the pollsters and consultants who have told me to change what I think and change who I am,” Lonegan added. “New Jerseyans are looking for a leader who fights for working taxpayers, not a Hollywood wannabe like Cory Booker who will rubber stamp the President’s far-left wing agenda.”

Lonegan served as Bogota Mayor for twelve years, winning three times in a town that gave Barack Obama 67.5 percent of the vote in 2012. He served for seven years as state director of Americans for Prosperity New Jersey, where he helped defeat liberal attempts to expand big government. Steve Lonegan is the conservative Republican candidate in the New Jersey special election for the United States Senate. Lonegan stands firmly on the bedrock conservative values of small government, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty.

Ridgewood school trustees torn on move to get rid of budget vote
Thursday October 10, 2013, 3:13 PM
BY  LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Members of the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) held a public hearing Monday to discuss whether to move board elections from April to November, eliminating the public school budget vote.

Trustees ultimately decided to keep the conversation going in future meetings.

The switch would save $43,000 and administrative time, among other potential benefits. It also seemed practical to the board considering that nearly 90 percent of registered voters did not come to the polls for last year’s school budget vote.

Still, the switch also has downsides; namely, the loss of a right that several attendees said people should still cherish.

“I am continuing to struggle about what’s going on, in my own heart,” said BOE trustee Christina Krauss, following comments from several residents for and against the switch.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/227269831_Ridgewood_school_trustees_torn_on_move_to_get_rid_of_budget_vote_.html#sthash.7w2Wh7kM.dpuf

Reader suggests its time to  Boycott Valley’s attorney, Jon Drill , his firm, and any company that uses him or his firm.

You think that his behavior is important to Valley or the PB ? Not really. Ugly as it may be, he is doing his job for Valley. And based on the insulting rhetoric aimed at the members of the PB so far, you would think he would have been told by now to tone it down a bit, by either Valley or someone on the board.

I guess Valley does not really care about it ‘s image either. Let’s just hope the PB cares enough about the image of the resident’s/town. I really hope that is the ONLY image they are concerned about.

Village Drops  sewer fee hike
Friday, October 11, 2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  After serious pressure from the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and merchants in the central business district ,the Village Council dropped a proposed increase in sewer discharge fees.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn told the Ridgewood News on Wednesday that Ridgewood officials met last week with the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the increase that had been proposed specifically for “significant dischargers” like restaurants. (
https://www.northjersey.com/news/227339881_Ridgewood_backs_off_on_sewer_fee_hike.html )

Ridgewood levies discharge fees on properties releasing more than 109,500 gallons of sewage into the village’s treatment plant. The rate will remain at it current level this year, but the council signaled its intend to reconsider the proposal in 2014.

Ridgewood tabs $5.8M for projects
Friday, October 11, 2013
BY  CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record

RIDGEWOOD — The Village Council agreed this week to spend more than $5.8 million on capital improvements that include vehicle purchases and water department upgrades.

The spending requests were divided among three ordinances Wednesday night. The $3.3 million general capital ordinance includes funding for the final $84,000 payment to replace an ambulance for Ridgewood’s Emergency Services Unit; $70,875 to buy a Fire Department pickup truck with a plow, as well as other requested equipment; $452,760 to cover a log-hauling truck requested by the parks department, plus sewer repairs at Graydon Pool.

Ridgewood Water’s $2.1 million funding request includes $1.1 million for the purchase and installation of new water meters, and more than $866,000 for well treatment facility upgrades.

The village parking utility’s $368,560 capital ordinance will pay for the repaving of the Hudson Street parking lot.

The spending ordinances did not go through without inspiring scrutiny from at least one resident.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/227339571_Ridgewood_tabs__5_8M_for_projects.html#sthash.Ucc9sz6H.dpuf

Study Confirms IRS Suppressed Tea Party Swung 2012 Election
From the Washington Examiner
BY SEAN HIGGINS | OCTOBER 3, 2013 AT 8:04 AM

A new study by the American Enterprise Institute — “Do Political Protests Matter? Evidence From The Tea Party Movement” — finds that the movement boosted Republican turnout by three to six million votes in the 2010 election. This effect was blunted in the 2012 election, though, because growth in the movement stalled.

“The founders, members, and donors of new Tea Party groups found themselves incapable of exercising their constitutional rights, and the Tea Party’s impact was muted in the 2012 election cycle,” Veuger said.

Read the full article here:

https://washingtonexaminer.com/study-finds-irs-suppression-of-tea-party-swung-2012-election/article/2536756?custom_click=rss

Report: Obama brings chilling effect on journalism
By BRETT ZONGKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s aggressive prosecution of leaks and efforts to control information are having a chilling effect on journalists and government whistle-blowers, according to a report released Thursday on U.S. press freedoms under the Obama administration.

The Committee to Protect Journalists conducted its first examination of U.S. press freedoms amid the Obama administration’s unprecedented number of prosecutions of government sources and seizures of journalists’ records. Usually the group focuses on advocating for press freedoms abroad.

Leonard Downie Jr., a former executive editor of The Washington Post, wrote the 30-page analysis entitled “The Obama Administration and the Press.” The report notes President Barack Obama came into office pledging an open, transparent government after criticizing the Bush administration’s secrecy, “but he has fallen short of his promise.”

“In the Obama administration’s Washington, government officials are increasingly afraid to talk to the press,” wrote Downie, now a journalism professor at Arizona State University. “The administration’s war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive I’ve seen since the Nixon administration, when I was one of the editors involved in The Washington Post’s investigation of Watergate.”

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_PRESS_FREEDOM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-10-10-02-45

Ridgewood School District set to meet national standards
Wednesday October 9, 2013, 10:23 AM
BY  LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

The Ridgewood school district’s implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) – a set of standards for English and math that are being integrated into most public school curriculums across the country – is nearly complete.

A few district educators have publicly praised the CCSS, but one Ridgewood resident expressed serious concerns at a recent Board of Education (BOE) meeting.

According to Regina Botsford, recently retired Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, CCSS implementation began in Ridgewood several years ago, with a five-year plan for math courses that included CCSS alignments.

This year, some revisions were made to better align language arts courses with the CCSS, but this is “the last year that we’re making changes,” noted Botsford, who left the district last month.

Final curricular changes in the language arts were approved at BOE meeting in August. Whether students will notice a big difference or not, however, remains to be seen.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/227063771_Ridgewood_School_District_set_to_meet_national_standards.html#sthash.a7NYceGa.dpuf

Massive Signal Outage on Tuesday for NJT caused by computer problems at NJT Rail Operations Center
October 10,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New jersey Transit experienced  significant delays due to computer problems at the NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations Center on October 8th knocking the entire transit system off line .  The system wide signal outage  was restored and all trans are operating .

Details from NJT are as follows at approximately 9 a.m., the NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations Center experienced a problem with both computer servers that control the railroad’s Train Management and Control System (TMAC), resulting in a loss of signals on all NJ TRANSIT-controlled rail lines.  NJ TRANSIT personnel worked to correct the problem as quickly as possible.

Signal problems impact the ability of NJ TRANSIT to safely provide full passenger rail service.  As a precaution, NJ TRANSIT suspended passenger rail service until signals could be restored.  All trains remained fully powered during the disruption, with train crews providing announcements to customers.

Service was effected on the following rail lines:

•             Main/Bergen

•             Port Jervis

•             Pascack Valley

•             Morris & Essex (Including Gladstone)

•             Montclair-Boonton

•             Raritan Valley

•             North Jersey Coast Line

•             Atlantic City

Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Quick action by passing motorist saves garage from being destroyed by fire
October 10,2013
Boyd A. Loving
2:17 PM

Ridgewood NJ, Jeffery Creegan (grey shorts and blue t-shirt in photos), a Ridgewood volunteer firefighter, happened to be in the right place at the right time on Thursday morning.  Mr. Creegan was driving along Grove Steet in Ridgewood when he noticed heavy smoke emanating from a detached, single car garage located at the corner of Grove Street and Eastside Avenue.  Creegan stopped his pickup truck immediately, dialed 911 to report the fire, ran into a nearby yard, found an operating garden hose, entered the garage, determined the fire was limited to rubbish on the floor, and snuffed the blaze out before it spread to the garage itself and a nearby home.

A full complement of Ridgewood FD personnel, led by FD Chief James Van Goor, arrived within minutes of Creegan’s 911 call, ventilated the structure of smoke with high velocity fans, and used thermal imaging devices to ensure the fire had not spread.  An investigation conducted by Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Shayne James (in blue police uniform) and FD Chief Van Goor (in black turnout coat with ‘RFD Chief” & “Van Goor” on backside) determined that the fire was likely started by the improper disposal of a cigarette butt. (resident of home is wearing black sweatshirt with white stripe and red shirt underneath in photos).

Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving

Many tried to warn officials of Obamacare website jam
By  Juliet Eilperin, Amy Goldstein and Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post

Major insurers, state health-care officials and Democratic allies repeatedly warned the Obama administration in recent months that the new federal health-insurance exchange had significant problems, according to people familiar with the conversations. Despite those warnings and intense criticism from Republicans, the White House proceeded with an Oct. 1 launch.

A week after the federal website opened, technical problems continued to plague the system, and on Tuesday people were locked out until 10 a.m., although some applicants were able to sign up as the day went on. Officials said that they were working 24 hours a day to improve the system and that they were confident it would soon be able to meet the demand. They added that there was ample time to correct the site to allow consumers to get insured by Jan. 1.

“This is a question of volume and demand exceeding anything that people anticipated,” said White House strategist David Simas, who is helping to oversee the law’s implementation. “I am confident people are working through these issues. . . . It is steady improvement.”

Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who played a key role in passing the health-care law and has worked on its implementation, said he told White House officials early this summer he had been hearing from insurers that the online system had flaws.

“Nothing I told them ever surprised them,” Andrews said in an interview. “The White House has acknowledged all along something this massive was going to have implementation problems.”

Two allies of the administration, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the controversy surrounding the rollout, said they approached White House officials this year to raise concerns that the federal exchange was not ready to launch. In both cases, Obama officials assured them there was no cause for alarm.

https://www.elpasotimes.com/politics-national/?third_party=many-tried-to-warn-officials-of-obamacare-website-jam

General Election to Elect new US Senator – Wednesday, October 16

The Senate General Election for U.S. Senator will take place on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. The polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and the polling locations are the same ones used for all other elections.

This election will elect a new US Senator to fill the unexpired term of Frank Lautenberg.

Residents who will not be able to vote at the polls may vote early through Vote-By-Mail in person at the County Clerk’s Office, 1 Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ, Room 130. The County Election Offices will be open October 9th through 11th from 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. and they will also be open from 9:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. on Saturday, October 12th and from 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. on October 15th, for those voters who wish to Vote-By-Mail in person.

Letter: Valley’s attorney not behaving like a ‘good neighbor’
Friday October 4, 2013, 4:16 PM
The Ridgewood News

Valley’s attorney not behaving like a ‘good neighbor’
Lisa Baney

To the editor:

This past Monday, Sept. 30, there was a meeting of the village planning board on Valley Hospital’s current bid to essentially double in size at the corner of Linwood and North Van Dien avenues. The agenda focused on a long-awaited opportunity for a presentation by a professional planner, hired through donations by a large number of residents. He was the first expert witness to speak on the proposed expansion, to date, not speaking on behalf of Valley.

It is worth noting that this same independent planner had also appeared to present to the board on Aug. 20, but the meeting was postponed as he was about to speak, because the venue was not large enough. Over a hundred residents had gone home disappointed, but they, and many more, came back again this Monday, as did the speaker – which means more billed hours on the backs of those taxpayers donating for his time.

I write to comment on the style of Monday’s meeting, and the manner in which the attorney for the hospital interrupted the presenter at every turn. Approximately 500 people had gathered to hear his presentation, the majority of whom had left children at home, hired babysitters, gotten take-out food or arranged rides for their kids from evening activities. Many left work early, or skipped their own dinner to get there. Of course that is part of the public process, much like, in this case, the need to donate money to have an independent expert make a presentation after all the hospital’s presentations were made over several previous months.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/226503541_Letter__Valley_s_attorney_not_behaving_like_a__good_neighbor_.html#sthash.2Y3AjYS6.dpuf

Reader says An investigation into Towing Overcharges must guarantee Ridgewood taxpayers and joe lopreeno a fair and thorough inquiry.

This could be a very serious matter costing Ridgewood taxpayers scarce and valuable dollars. Our police department should not by investigating but rather the prosecutors office or state.

An investigation must guarantee Ridgewood taxpayers and joe lopreeno a fair and thorough inquiry. The accusations being need careful scrutiny. If there is any impropriety let charges be filed. If this is just sour grapes lopreeno should file for damages against his accuser Theissen.

If there is basis for Theissen’s accusations Ridgewood taxpayers better start holding village hall accountable and people must be fired. There is a system of oversight.
Not long ago we had meter-gate now we have tow-gate. There’s probably much more going on that we VOR taxpayers are clueless about. Time to start scrutinizing our hard earned dollars. No one is minding the store.