N.J. can continue to use electronic voting machines, court rules
A New Jersey appeals court has upheld the use of electronic voting machines but ordered more tests for accuracy.
Today’s ruling is the latest in a legal battle dating back to 2004 when state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and others sued over the state’s use of the machines, claiming they were unreliable because they didn’t produce a paper backup and were susceptible to hacking. (AP)
Media Buries Psychiatric Drug Connection to Navy Shooter
Networks don’t want to risk losing $2.4 billion in ad revenue from pharmaceutical giants
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
September 18, 2013
Despite every indication that Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis was on SSRI drugs that have been linked to dozens of previous mass shootings, the mainstream media has once again avoided all discussion of the issue, preferring instead to blame the tragedy on a non-existent AR-15 that the gunman didn’t even use.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
We now know that Alexis “had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems.”
As Mike Adams points out, “This is proof that Aaron Alexis was on psychiatric drugs, because that’s the only treatment currently being offered by the Veterans Administration for mental problems. Alexis’ family members also confirmed to the press that he was being “treated” for his mental health problems. Across the medical industry, “treatment” is the code word for psychiatric drugging.”
Alexis also suffered from PTSD, blackouts and anger issues – all of which are treated with SSRI drugs. The most common form of treatment for PTSD is Paroxetine, which is listed as the number 3 top violence-causing drug by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).
The Navy Yard shooter was clearly on some form of psychiatric drug, but the media has shown no interest in discovering its identity.
Christie report card, part 2: Above average in education, after battles, stumbles
For many, views of Gov. Chris Christie’s handling of education were cemented in 2010 — the height of his feud with the New Jersey Education Association, either a badge of honor or sign of disrespect for teachers, depending on one’s point of view.
But for enough people in the middle, the other big education news from three years ago — reductions in the flow of aid from Trenton to local schools — seems to be a more distant memory. The result, says pollster Patrick Murray, is that Christie averages a B- for efforts to improve schools, his third highest among seven grades in the new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll. (Symons/Gannett)
The Lake Avenue Bridge Opening Pushed to October
September 18, 2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, According to the Midland Park Press the Lake Avenue Bridge will be open to vehicular traffic on Oct. 1 according to the latest update from the Bergen County Engineer, and Midland Park Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan reported at last Thursday’s Council meeting. ( https://www.mpkpress.com/2013/09/14/bridge-opening-pushed-to-october )
The $1.37 million project to replace a the antique and structurally deficient bridge began in August of 2012. and was Initially slated to be finished in six months . County officials cited Hurricane Sandy for the delay, but further delays continued to push the project back . The date has continued to be pushed back first July then August now October.
The bridge, which serves as a short cut from Midland Park to Ridgewood, was originally built in 1897 by the F.R. Long Company and was widened in 1931 to allow for sidewalks. (https://www.mpkpress.com/2013/09/14/bridge-opening-pushed-to-october )
The bridge was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places as the only known highway bridge in the state to use both steel arch and brick jack arch construction. According to Masonry & Metal: Historic Bridges of New Jersey, by Richard Grubb, the brick jack arches spanned the area between six arched I-beams, which functioned as ribs between the jack arches. ( https://www.mpkpress.com/2013/09/14/bridge-opening-pushed-to-october)
According to a report in the Villadom Times, over 11,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. The new bridge will be able to accommodate 25-ton three axle box trucks, an increased from 17 tons, and 40-ton five axle trucks, an increased from 35 tons.
( https://www.mpkpress.com/2013/09/14/bridge-opening-pushed-to-october)
Ridgewood Library NOVEL NIGHT
Saturday, October 5 at 7:30pm
Ridgewood Public Library in Ridgewood, New Jersey
Eat, read and dance in support of the Ridgewood Public Library Foundation at Novel Night, Volume One on Saturday, October 5, 2013. Proceeds from this event will support the Library Renaissance, beginning with the new Teen Center on the first floor.
Event guests will join friends and neighbors at one of 20 Ridgewood dinner parties featuring tantalizing menus inspired by a book selected by the host. Book selections include “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel and “50 Shades of Grey” by E.L. James.
After dinner, guests will make their way to the Ridgewood Library for the Dessert Party featuring Ridgewood ’s own Dads’ Night Band, sumptuous desserts, and an open bar.
For reservations, please click “Get Tickets” link above.https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/pdf/Novel%20night.pdf
For questions, please email [email protected].
N.J. pushing plan to require better college grades from incoming teachers
Tuesday September 17, 2013, 7:35 PM
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Becoming a teacher would usually require a “B” average in college under a proposal being pushed by the New Jersey Department of Education.
Education Commissioner Chris Cerf raised this idea in June as part of a package of proposals to boost teacher quality, and his office sent districts a memo Tuesday that it’s seeking public comment until Nov. 15. The education board would vote whether to approve it after that.
Applicants now need a 2.5 grade-point average to get into a traditional teacher preparation program in New Jersey, and a 2.75 for a provisional license after completing training.
The proposal boosts the minimum to a 3.0 in both stages, but allows for exceptions when a candidate has a particularly strong mastery of content. Many universities already require a GPA of 3.0 to enter teacher preparation programs.
The proposal also requires that the pool of candidates in a college-based teacher-prep program have a 3.0 average in high school. Stating that minimum score for the pool of candidates – rather than each student – allows for some flexibility.
23,116,928 to 20,618,000: Households on Food Stamps Now Outnumber All Households in Northeast U.S.
September 17, 2013 – 12:31 PM
By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) – A record 23,116,928 American households were enrolled in the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—AKA food stamps—during the month of June, according to data released this month by the Department of Agriculture.
That outnumbers the 20,618,000 households that the Census Bureau estimated were in the entire Northeastern United States as of the second quarter of 2013.
According to the Census Bureau, the Northeast region includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania. Thus, in June, the households receiving food stamps exceeded the total combined households in all of these states.
The 23,116,928 million households on food stamps in June also outnumbered the 15,030,000 home-owning households in the entire Western United States in the second quarter of the year and the 18,018,000 home-owning households in the entire Midwest.
Census on Obama’s 1st Term: Real Median Income Down $2,627; People in Poverty Up 6,667,000; Record 46,496,000 Now Poor
September 17, 2013 – 1:54 PM
(CNSNews.com) – During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people on poverty increased by approximately 6,667,000, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.
The record total of approximately 46,496,000 people in the United States who are now in poverty, according to the Census Bureau, is more than twice the population of Syria, which, according to the CIA, has 22,457,336 people.
Experience the Sound by purchasing a subscription for the Ridgewood Concert Band 2013 – 2014 season. A subscription purchased on-line is easy and convenient.
Purchase 2013 -2014 Season Subscription Tickets For a limited time, you can purchase Full Season and Pick3! subscription tickets at 20% off single ticket prices. https://ridgewoodband.org/purchase/subscription.aspx
2013 -2014 Season
Featured Soloists
Donald Batchelder, Principal Trumpet New York City Opera
Mary Kay Messenger, Soprano
John Palatucci, Euphonium
Richard Summers, Clarinet
Kenneth Tse, Saxophone
Lois Hicks-Wozniak , Saxophone
Winner of the 2013 – 2014 Youth Soloist Competition
Guest Conducting Appearances
Edward Lisk
Col. Bryan Shelburne, Director US Army Band, Pershing’s Own, Retired
Sixth Annual Side By Side Concert
Top area high school musicians join the Ridgewood Concert Band for our Season Finale
RHS Women’s Soccer Holds Clothing Drive
Saturday, September 21
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
RHS parking lot
Drive up and drop off your clothing, handbags/backpacks, small toys, games and stuffed animals, bedding and curtains. All items will be distributed to those in need throughout the developing world. Items not suitable for reuse will be recycled.
RYPE – Ridgewood Young Professionals Networking Exchange
Wed, September 18, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
ConnectOne Bank, 171 E. Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood Young Professionals Exchange invites you…
let’s get to business … networking!
join us on Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
5:30-7:00pm
to be held at ConnectOne Bank
171 E. Ridgewood Ave.
(free parking after 6:00pm)
byob – bring your favorite wine to share in a wine tasting.
RYPE will give you the opportunity to get to know other business owners in a non-formal setting so that you will feel comfortable providing referrals to and receiving referrals from other young business owners..
Join us! RSVP- by 9/12/13
Allison Beer 201-444-0020 [email protected]
REGISTER For AVConnexions’ 1st Annual Ladies Golf Retreat
SEPTEMBER 20-22, 2013!
How many times has a male colleague picked-up new business on the golf course, while you stayed behind because you did not know how to play?
Are you single and interested in meeting a great man by joining him at his game?
Do you want to learn a sport that you can play with your spouse well into retirement?
If you answered “YES” to any of those questions, join us for AVConnexions’ 1st Annual Ladies’ Golf Retreat to learn how to play golf taught by a golf pro! This 3-day retreat is hosted by Arlene Vasquez, founder of AVConnexions at The Rosemary Inn, a 5-star bed and breakfast in Columbia, New Jersey.
This is a great gift for a spouse, girlfriend, family or employee! Space is very limited therefore please Register Now!
When?
Friday September 20, 2013 at 3:00 PM EDT – 7pm Wine and Cheese Reception
Sunday September 22, 2013 at 3:00 PM EDT Departures
Where?
The Rosmary Inn
88 Hainesburg River Road
Columbia, NJ 07832
Cost?
$850 if paid in full by 8/29 – $1,050 thereafter
$825 for AVConnexions members!
Price Includes: Reception, 2-nights lodging, breakfast, lunch, 2 golf clinics, 2 rounds of golf with green fees and carts
Mass Shootings Fuel Fear, Account for Fraction of Murders
By Annie Linskey – Sep 17, 2013 12:02 AM ET
Mass U.S. shootings such as the bloody rampage at the Washington Navy Yard spur safety concerns and garner intense media attention while statistically accounting for few of the total murders reported nationwide.
In the 30 years through March, 78 public mass shootings occurred in the U.S. — incidents in which four or more people were killed at random by a gunman murdering indiscriminately, according to a report issued that month by the Congressional Research Service. These crimes don’t include gang-related killings or domestic disputes where a person slays relatives or other people linked to the murderer.
People hold candles in remembrance of those affected by gun violence during a vigil at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 16, 2013. Photographer: Greg Kahn/Getty Images
The mass slaughters listed in the report caused the deaths of 547 people. Over the same three decades through 2012, that’s less than a tenth of 1 percent of the 559,347 people the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates were murdered in America.
“It is a very, very small percentage,” said James Alan Fox, who teaches criminology at Boston’s Northeastern University and co-authored a book about mass shootings called “Extreme Killing,” published in 2011.
In the wake of shootings such as the one in Washington that claimed at least 13 lives, including the alleged shooter, “our tendancy is to go overboard and overreach in terms of trying to increase levels of security,” Fox said. “The fear is greater than the risk.”
Suspected U.S. shooter had ‘secret’ clearance, employer says
Reuters – 9 hours ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Aaron Alexis, the 34-year-old suspect in Monday’s shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, had “secret” clearance and was assigned to start working there as a civilian contractor with a military-issued ID card, his firm’s chief executive told Reuters.
“He did have a secret clearance. And he did have a CAC (common access card),” said Thomas Hoshko, CEO of The Experts Inc, which was helping service the Navy Marine Corps Intranet as a subcontractor for HP Enterprise Services, part of Hewlett-Packard Co.
Alexis, of Forth Worth, Texas, is suspected of opening fire at the Naval Sea Systems Command building in the Washington Navy Yard in a shooting that left 13 people dead, including the shooter.
Asked when Alexis was supposed to start work, Hoshko said in a telephone interview: “That’s what I got to find out, if he was supposed to start today … It’s not clear to me.”
Revealed: Washington gunman who murdered 12 had ‘anger issues’ after rescuing victims of 9/11 and had been kicked out of the Navy after gun charge
-Aaron Alexis, 34, named as the heavily armed gunman who opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D.C. – killing 12 people and injuring eight others -He is reported to have used a shotgun he brought with him and also an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and handgun he picked up from the fallen -AR-15 was the weapon used in the Sandy Hook and Aurora mass shootings -SWAT Teams fought a heavy gun battle with him and shot him dead -Alexis served in the U.S. Navy for almost four years before he was discharged in 2011 for ‘misconduct’ -He was awarded two medals during his military service for serving during the War on Terror, a time of national crisis -It has been reported he was discharged from the U.S. Navy because of an arrest for firing his own gun in 2010; a similar incident occurred in 2004 -The FBI has determined that Alexis was the only shooter, and police say a valid security pass was used to get into the Navy Yard buildings -All of the 15 people wounded are in critical condition, authorities said -President Obama vowed Monday to hold responsible those who carried out the ‘cowardly’ mass shooting, while calling the victims ‘patriots’
By James Nye, Louise Boyle, David Martosko In Washington, Meghan Keneally and Paul Thompson In Washington
The Washington Navy Yard gunman who killed 12 yesterday has previously claimed to be suffering from PTSD after helping rescue efforts in New York following the 9/11 terror attacks.
Gunman Aaron Alexis was shot dead by responding officers after he opened fire inside a Navy facility around 8:20 a.m. on Monday morning, killing 12 people aged 46-73.
It emerged today that he used three guns during the massacre, one of them an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle – the same weapon used in the Sandy Hook and Aurora mass shootings.
Since he was identified as the shooter, reports have revealed that it was not the first time he was involved in a shooting.
In 2004, Alexis was arrested in Seattle for shooting the tires of a construction worker’s car during what he later called an anger-fueled ‘blackout.’
‘He said that he didn’t remember pulling the trigger of his firearm until about one hour later,’ according to the Seattle police report.
Later he said that he felt the intended victim ‘disrespected’ him.
