CERT – Community Response Team Training Starts September 16
Bergen County OEM is sponsoring a Community Response Team (CERT)/County Animal Response Team (CART) training class starting Sept. 16, 2013. Residents interested in volunteering with the Community Emergency Response Team sponsored by Ridgewood OEM and Ridgewood Police Dept. must take the mandatory CERT training class.
The CART classes are voluntary. Click Here for the CERT/CART class schedule. Click Here for the CERT/CART course registration form. Volunteers planning to take the course who have not previously completed a Ridgewood CERT volunteer application must also fill out and return the CERT Volunteer Application Click Here
Two car crash injures one at Linwood and Northern Parkway
August 15,2013
Boyd A. Loving
9:46 AM
Ridgewood NJ, A two car crash at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Northern Parkway shortly before 9:00 AM on Thursday caused neck & back injuries to one driver.
Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS units all responded to the incident. A minor fluid spill was contained by responding FD personnel. The injured driver was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital. CityWide towing removed the most heavily damaged of the two vehicles. Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Paul Dinice investigated the accident.
Chamber of Commerce calls for New “Toilet”Tax on Residents
Paul Vaggianos, who doubles as the the owner/operator of Greek to Me Restaurant and Chair of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Committee, commented at the Village Council Meeting last night that the sewer flow charge increase to businesses proposed by the Village Council in town is unfair. He said that we should all pay our fair share including residential taxpayers.
If the Council falls for this charade that will mean residents who now only pay for the water that they use will also pay a new sewer outflow tax based upon use so Vaggianos stated. This will help the restaurants stay in business Vagianos commented. New flash, Paul: the residents do not need a toilet tax. We pay enough.
In split vote, Ridgewood council removes manager from post
Wednesday August 14, 2013, 11:19 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Ridgewood Council will terminate Village Manager Ken Gabbert from a job he has held for nearly four years.
By 3-2 vote, Ridgewood’s governing body suspended the embattled Gabbert, adopting a Preliminary Resolution of Removal on Wednesday, stating that the council’s majority “lost confidence in Gabbert’s ability to serve in the capacity of village manager and believed it in the best interest of the Village of Ridgewood that Gabbert be removed from office.”
Gabbert’s suspension is effective Aug. 31, which will also mark his final day in the manager’s office. To formally terminate Gabbert, the council must later adopt a “Final Resolution of Removal.”
Village Council Votes to Suspend Village Manager Starting August 31st
Former Fire Chief James Bombace still mad Gabbert didn’t hire his brother Mark
August 15,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, last night the The Village Council began the formal process of terminating Village Manager Ken Gabbert.
In a 3-2 vote, the council effectively suspended Gabbert starting Aug. 31 , with Riche and Walsh dissenting .
Gabbert’s controversial term as village manager started four years ago after Gabbert replaced James Ten Hoeve who following a string financial setbacks for the village and some personal reasons the council at the time lost confidence .
According to readers last nights meeting was a spectacle. Councilwomen Hauck said she voted to sack the Village Manager ” with her heart”. That is quite a statement especially since this is a personnel matter.
The pile on came when former fire chief Bombace skewered Gabbert because Gabbert did not make Bombace’s choice the new chief. Bombace of coarse neglected to mention that Bombace’s recommendation was his brother, Mark Bombace. The Village Manager gets fired so Jim Bombace piles on because he didn’t hire his brother. Amazing.
Another reader said Bombace was up to his usual antics last night , good thing there is increased security at the Village Hall .
The Village Council still must adopt a Final Resolution of Removal before Gabbert’s dismissal becomes official.
Men on White Horses
August 14,2013
Michele Robins
11:20 AM
With the exception of one mayor in the Village’s recent history, no one has run with the intention of using their time on the council for POLITICAL purposes. With a failed congressional run under his belt and a political career stalled at the local level, our carpet-bagging mayor will do whatever he is instructed to by his team at White Horse to advance himself.
The rubber-stamp twins fall into line and…..voila! Gabbert gone. Speaking of White Horse, when was the last time a village council member needed a political consultancy service? The Council/Manager form of Go’vt means little as this mayor and the dimwitted duo have proven time and again. Team up and bully. Aaahh, yes, it’s all about Paul…I mean the village he so loves .
GOOGLE: If You Send To Gmail, You Have ‘No Legitimate Expectation Of Privacy’
Paul Szoldra, provided by
Published 4:47 pm, Tuesday, August 13, 2013
If you happen to send an email to one of the 400 million people who use Google’s Gmail service, you shouldn’t have any expectation of privacy, according to a court briefing obtained by the Consumer Watchdog website.
In a motion filed last month by Google to have a class action complaint dismissed, Google’s lawyers reference a 1979 ruling, holding that people who turn over information to third parties shouldn’t expect that information to remain private.
From the filing (emphasis added):
Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their communications are processed by the recipient’s ECS provider in the course of delivery. Indeed, “a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 743-44 (1979). In particular, the Court noted that persons communicating through a service provided by an intermediary (in the Smith case, a telephone call routed through a telephone company) must necessarily expect that the communication will be subject to the intermediary’s systems. For example, the Court explained that in using the telephone, a person “voluntarily convey[s] numerical information to the telephone company and ‘expose[s]’ that information to its equipment in the ordinary course of business.” Id. at 744 (emphasis added).
Can Ted Cruz run for president?
By Z. Byron Wolf, CNN
updated 9:56 AM EDT, Wed August 14, 2013
Washington (CNN) — While the issue of President Barack Obama’s birth has long been settled, and it’s a moot point anyway since he’s in his second term in office, there remain some people who won’t be convinced.
Just ask members of Congress, who even this summer are encountering so-called “birthers” at town hall meetings.
With Ted Cruz, there is no conspiracy. He wasn’t born in the United States. But that hasn’t stopped the junior Texas senator from courting a possible presidential bid.
The dynamic young senator has traveled to Iowa and other early primary states. If his moves toward a candidacy become more serious, they’re sure to spark first a debate about his conservative politics, but also that recurring debate about whether a “natural-born citizen” can be born outside the United States.
N.J. expands program to renew licenses by mail
Wednesday August 14, 2013, 1:37 PM
BY MICHAEL LINHORST
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record
The chief of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission is telling drivers to “organize your sock drawer” or “spend more time with your kids” instead of waiting in line to renew their licenses.
Beginning with drivers whose licenses are up for renewal in October, New Jerseyans will get to renew through the mail, skipping the visit to the motor vehicle office.
Drivers who qualify for the program will get a notice in the mail about two months before their licenses expire, said Raymond Martinez, chairman of the Motor Vehicle Commission. They can still go into their local motor vehicle office if they prefer, but the state is pushing them to do it by mail.
The mail-in program – which the commission is calling “Skip the Trip” – began in November with drivers over 50 years old. Martinez announced today that the program was expanding to nearly all New Jersey drivers.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/state/NJ_expands_program_to_renew_licenses_by_mail.html#sthash.yYlLCEv1.dpuf
‘Real Housewives of NJ’ stars back in court today
Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday August 14, 2013, 11:45 AM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Teresa and Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, stars of the popular reality TV show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are due back in federal court Wednesday afternoon for their arraignment on a 39-count indictment.
They are expected to plead not guilty to all the charges, which detail an alleged conspiracy to defraud banks and other lenders in connection to more than $4.9 million in home-related loans they obtained between 2001 and 2008.
Crowd barriers were in place Tuesday night outside the Martin Luther King, Jr. courthouse in Newark, and amped-up security was in place Wednesday morning in anticipation of another media circus – at their indictment in July, the couple was mobbed by photographers, video cameras, reporters and curious passers-by.
Both were released on $500,000 bail on the condition that they stay in New York and New Jersey. Teresa Giudice, 41, tweeted about her travel to Florida this past weekend for a book signing, but her lawyer – former federal prosecutor Henry Klingeman – said she had permission from pre-trial services to make the trip.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/celebrities/Real_Housewives_of_NJ_stars_back_in_court.html#sthash.TqOsWLFF.dpuf
The New York Times takes down the Clinton Foundation. This could be devastating for Bill and Hillary
By Tim Stanley US politics Last updated: August 14th, 2013
Is the New York Times being guest edited by Rush Limbaugh? Today it runs with a fascinating takedown of the Clinton Foundation – that vast vanity project that conservatives are wary of criticising for being seen to attack a body that tries to do good. But the liberal NYT has no such scruples. The killer quote is this:
For all of its successes, the Clinton Foundation had become a sprawling concern, supervised by a rotating board of old Clinton hands, vulnerable to distraction and threatened by conflicts of interest. It ran multimillion-dollar deficits for several years, despite vast amounts of money flowing in.
Over a year ago Bill Clinton met with some aides and lawyers to review the Foundation’s progress and concluded that it was a mess. Well, many political start-ups can be, especially when their sole selling point is the big name of their founder (the queues are short at the Dan Quayle Vice Presidential Learning Center). But what complicated this review – what made its findings more politically devastating – is that the Clinton Foundation has become about more than just Bill. Now both daughter Chelsea and wife, and likely presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton have taken on major roles and, in the words of the NYT “efforts to insulate the foundation from potential conflicts have highlighted just how difficult it can be to disentangle the Clintons’ charity work from Mr Clinton’s moneymaking ventures and Mrs Clinton’s political future.” Oh, they’re entangled alright.
The NYT runs the scoop in its usual balanced, inoffensive way – but the problem jumps right off the page. The Clintons have never been able to separate the impulses to help others and to help themselves, turning noble philanthropic ventures into glitzy, costly promos for some future campaign (can you remember a time in human history when a Clinton wasn’t running for office?). And their “Ain’t I Great?!” ethos attracts the rich and powerful with such naked abandon that it ends up compromising whatever moral crusade they happen to have endorsed that month. That the Clinton Global Initiative is alleged to have bought Natalie Portman a first-class ticket for her and her dog to attend an event in 2009 is the tip of the iceberg. More troubling is that businessmen have been able to expand the profile of their companies by working generously alongside the Clinton Foundation. From the NYT:
What Global Warming? 2012 Data Confirms Earth In Cooling Trend
August 13, 2013 – 12:16 PM
(CNSNews.com) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its “State of the Climate in 2012” report, which states that “worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record.”
But the report “fails to mention [2012] was one of the coolest of the decade, and thus confirms the cooling trend,” according to an analysis by climate blogger Pierre Gosselin.
“To no one’s surprise, the report gives the reader the impression that warming is galloping ahead out of control,” writes Gosselin. “But their data shows just the opposite.”
Although the NOAA report noted that in 2012, “the Arctic continues to warm” with “sea ice reaching record lows,” it also stated that the Antarctica sea ice “reached a record high of 7.51 million square miles” on Sept. 26, 2012.
And the latest figures for this year show that there’s been a slowdown of melting in the Arctic this summer as well, with temperatures at the North Pole well below normal for this time of year. Meteorologist Joe Bastardi calls it “the coldest ever recorded.”
The Associated Press had to retract a photo it released on July 27 with the caption, “The shallow meltwater lake is occurring due to an unusually warm period.”
ATM ‘skimmer’ hit banks in Clifton, Lodi, police say
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday August 14, 2013, 7:27 AM
BY JAMES NORMAN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
CLIFTON – Police are seeking a technologically savvy man in his 20s who installs electronic data skimmers on automated-teller machines then uses the data he collects to create his own debit cards and withdraw money from the accounts of unsuspecting customers, authorities said Tuesday.
Detective Sgt. Robert Bracken said pictures of the suspect were captured by security cameras at a Valley National Bank branch in the city.
Bracken said the same man has been active in Lodi and Montville.
“He has made numerous cards from the data he has gathered and has stolen uncounted amounts of money,” Bracken said. “He stole $1,800 from one victim alone.”
URGENT – Village Council Special Public Meeting – Tonight at 7:00 PM
The Village Council has announced a Special Public Meeting to be held tonight, Wednesday, August 14th at Village Hall. THE MEETING WILL BEGIN AT 7:00 PM and will be held in the Council Caucus Room, which is directly across the hall from the Sydney V. Stoldt Court Room.
In all likelihood, this meeting will NOT be televised, nor available via UStream.
The agenda item below may be of particular interest as discussion could reveal whether a resolution to remove the current Village Manager from office will actually be voted on during tonight’s scheduled Public Meeting (which begins at 8:00 PM).
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT LIGHTNING DETECTION SYSTEM
The Village of Ridgewood maintains a Lightning Detection System at several athletic fields throughout the village. The system is managed by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and governed by the Athletic Fields and Recreational Facilities Use Policy as established by the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Fields Use Committee and the Board of Education.
An effective lightning safety program is dependent on cooperation by field users, as well as properly functioning technology. We realize compliance with the Lightning Detection System will increase once residents and other users of our facilities understand how the system works and what to do when there is a threat of lightning.
OEM and the Fields Use Committee are providing this summary about the Lightning Detection System to educate the public about the system and current policies.
Current Locations With Lightning Detection System
• Ridgewood High School/Stevens Field
• Veterans Field
• Maple Field
• Benjamin Franklin Middle School
• Somerville School
• Hawes School
Future Locations Not Currently Covered By Lightning Detection System
• George Washington Middle School/Citizens’ Field
• Habernickel Park
• Kenilworth Field
• Brookside Field
• Glen School
• Orchard School
• Willard School
• Ridge School
• Travell School
How the Lightning Detection System Works
• Each field is equipped with a rotating amber beacon (flashing light) and a siren.
• When the system detects a lightning strike within 10 miles, a text/email alert will be sent to anyone registered to receive electronic alerts (see below for more information). Within approximately one minute, the siren will sound for 15 seconds and the amber light will illuminate and rotate. The amber light will remain on for the duration of the alert (the siren will not sound again until the “all clear” signal is sounded).
• Once 30 minutes have passed with no lightning detected in the 10 mile area, an “all clear” signal will be broadcast.
o Important: Do not assume it is safe to return to the field after 30 minutes. The system tracks ALL lightning strikes within a 10- mile radius, but only activates after the first strike. There may be multiple consecutive strikes occurring. The system will only sound the “all clear” 30 minutes after the LAST lightning strike. In other words, the “all clear” may sound well beyond 30 minutes from activation. Wait until the “all-clear” signal is given before returning to the field.
• The “all clear” signal consists of three 5-second alerts on the siren and the amber light will shut off. The system will also send out an “all clear” text message and email.
• The system is active from 8am until 10pm, consistent with the hours the fields are open for use.
• The Lightning Detection System is an additional tool to provide warning of potential lightning strikes. If the system does not activate but you see lightning or hear thunder, clear the field immediately and seek shelter.
What to Do When the System is Activated
• While the alert is active the field is closed and users should seek immediate shelter. A safe shelter includes any building (grounded or with plumbing) or any vehicle with a metal roof.
• Anyone arriving to use a field should check to see if the light is active, especially if it looks like others have left the field.
• Encourage others to leave the field and seek immediate shelter.
• Wait for the “all clear” signal before returning to the field. Remember: it may take longer than 30 minutes for the “all clear” to be given.
Your Obligation to Comply
• Rules for complying with the Lightning Detection System are posted at the fields.
• All field users have an obligation to comply with the alerts by immediately vacating the field and seeking shelter. This includes coaches, parents, referees/umpires. It applies equally to organized sports activities as well as casual field users.
• The safety of all participants, especially children, is of paramount importance. Lightning kills and heeding the alerts could be a matter of life or death.
What to Do at Location with No Lightning Detection System
• If you see lightning or hear thunder, clear the field immediately and seek shelter.
• Wait 30 minutes from the last lightning strike or sound of thunder before returning to the field.
• Use common sense.
Register for Receive Lightning Alerts by Text/Email
• Residents are encouraged to sign up to receive email and/or text alerts directly from the Lightning Detection System. These electronic alerts serve as a redundant system in the event the sirens or rotating beacons are not functioning. They also serve to alert parents who are not present at the field but may have children that are on the field.
• 2 ways to register for email/text alerts
o Visit www.ridgewoonj.net and click on “E-Notice sign up” or
o Visit https://oem.ridgewoodnj.net and either click on “Register for Notifications” under the News & Information tab or click on the “Swift 911 Notification” icon
o Be sure to check the box that says “Lightning Detection Email Alerts”
Notify Us of System Problems
• The Village of Ridgewood has a dedicated email address to report problems with the Lightning Detection System. To report a problem or if you believe the system is not functioning properly, please send an email to [email protected].
