Readers say Common Core nothing more than State Indoctrination and Propaganda Program
Since education is not specifically in the Constitution as a federal responsibility it is a state right.
The federal government is creating a bureaucracy around education. The federal government is the last entity that should be involved in education. They do not have a track record of doing anything well. They will surely make things worse.
I have no problem with state educators getting together to come up with goals as long as they cannot be forced on states that do not want them.
The federal government needs to get back to their core responsibilities and focus on doing well in a very limited set of departments.
Reader says It is pure negligence to rely on the opinion of a so-called “expert” who is paid by the party seeking to have its plan approved.
It is pure negligence to rely on the opinion of a so-called “expert” who is paid by the party seeking to have its plan approved. The town should insist on an expert opinion that does not allow for even the appearance of bias toward either side of this issue.
The first question from the public at the first “new” Planning Board hearings was something like this: “Planning Board, you have already approved a slightly larger proposal by Valley. Is there any point to these new meetings? Isn’t your approval of this slightly less invasive plan a slam dunk?” They seemed not to like this and gave the predictable response.
You Just have to hope the PB are looking out for what is best for the citizens of Ridgewood. If they do that, which is why they are there to begin with, stopping this before it goes any further is a no-brainier. You have to remember that only a very few benefit from this expansion, the majority of this town does not.Even the supporters know that.
Readers says Politics has changed by “Big Money” in town
Yes, this was sent in response to a prior post. A Ridgewood Blog advertiser had received a letter stating that the sender had selected Ulrich rather than All Done to renovate the kitchen in a rental apartment because All Done advertised on the Ridgewood Blog.
Posters commented that nobody hires Ulrich for a rental, among other things. “Many of my neighbors, and I, feel The Ridgewood blog is not a positive reflection of our community….as long as you do advertise there I, and many of my neighbors, will not be doing business with your company.” (Who are “many of my neighbors”? Give me a break.)
This is becoming ubiquitous. I was referring to the way that politics in town has changed. Many people are unfamiliar with these new forms of manipulation and continue to believe that everybody is sincere. Those who are doing these things are taking advantage of that.
The “assigned” letter to the editor is particularly insidious because it is signed and has every appearance of being genuine and in good faith. (I’m not talking about letters praising candidates for office; these are routinely solicited. It comes out mostly when the message is negative.)
Previously it would have been laughable that anyone would bother with such ploys here. But suddenly big money is to be made and we are being sold down the river of greed and ego.
Reader points out how Ridgewood merchants are their own worse enemy
At the 4th of July parade, I stopped in front of D’Moni on Ridgewood Ave. to take a breather while watching the parade and I was promptly asked by D’Moni staff to move along. The staffer camped out in the doorway told me that I was blocking their window (and their 8″ x 10″ flag stuffed in a purse . . . what a show of patriotism!) and they were hoping photo ops. as the parade came by. She was actually telling kids at the curb to keep their ballons and small flags down so as to not block the view of the store. I nicely told her that the sidewalk was public. I eventually moved down to the curb but continued to watch her harass parade viewers (who repeatedly responded as I had). In all of my years here, it was one of the most bizarre things I have seen and I was left thinking “a nice lesson for the kids – – NOT
This is about your right to be on a public sidewalk – with or without the parade.
What were they thinking? Would they have called the police if you did not move?
I pointed out the the staffer, it is a public sidewalk and I am free to stand there if I wish. My point about a lesson to kids was that this person was setting a horrible example by chasing and harassing parade goers for the sake of a photo op. for her store.
I politely told them were plenty of police around and to get one if they wanted. Instead the staffer telephoned her boss who told her to offer us chairs so we would no longer be standing andtherefore blocking less of the window (good thinking but if I wanted a chair I would have had one with me). The owner also had the staffer move the tiny flag from inside the purse to adjacent to the door.
yes, idiots and I will NEVER set foot in that store. I couldn’t believe an E. Ridgewood Ave. shop would actually harass residents at the parade. Bad move .
Linchpin for Obama’s plan to predict future leakers unproven, isn’t likely to work, experts say
By Jonathan S. Landay and Marisa Taylor | McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — In an initiative aimed at rooting out future leakers and other security violators, President Barack Obama has ordered federal employees to report suspicious actions of their colleagues based on behavioral profiling techniques that are not scientifically proven to work, according to experts and government documents.
The techniques are a key pillar of the Insider Threat Program, an unprecedented government-wide crackdown under which millions of federal bureaucrats and contractors must watch out for “high-risk persons or behaviors” among co-workers. Those who fail to report them could face penalties, including criminal charges.
Obama mandated the program in an October 2011 executive order after Army Pfc. Bradley Manning downloaded hundreds of thousands of documents from a classified computer network and gave them to WikiLeaks, the anti-government secrecy group. The order covers virtually every federal department and agency, including the Peace Corps, the Department of Education and others not directly involved in national security.
Ridgewood Schools District searching for supervisors
Tuesday July 9, 2013, 10:12 AM
The Ridgewood News
The Ridgewood school district is seeking two administrators: a supervisor of elementary education and a supervisor of English for grades 6 to 12.
According to the Board of Education (BOE) agenda addendum from the June 25 meeting, the elementary supervisor will be responsible for “instructional leadership across departments and schools in grades K-5.”
The supervisor of English will need to supervise staff, monitor student progress and evaluate and develop the English department program in grades 6 to 12.
Next year, the district will begin implementing a new five-year language arts plan to improve student performance, particularly after sixth grade, when state test scores begin to lag behind the scores of some sixth-graders in socio-economically similar districts.
Hour increase at street meters mulled in Ridgewood
Tuesday July 9, 2013, 10:12 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
A shift to three-hour parking meters on all downtown Ridgewood side streets might be in store provided that the change is economically and logistically feasible on all fronts.
The village manager’s office will offer its recommendations to the municipality’s governing body regarding the proposed change at a future council meeting.
At the urging of Tony Damiano, president of the Ridgewood Guild, the council is considering the increase to street meter time limits from two to three hours. Damiano, owner of Mango Jam on Broad Street, recently claimed the current two-hour parking limit has a negative impact on the shopper experience.
According to Damiano, Central Business District patrons cannot adequately complete errands, watch a movie or dine in at the various restaurants within the two-hour timeframe. As a result, he said, many shoppers and thus prospective business owners tend to avoid Ridgewood.
Yes, horrible isn’t it that someone wants to improve the parking situation in Ridgewood. Parking has been problematic in town for 100 years and is one of the largest difficulties for businesses in the CBD (coupled with the parking Nazis.)
I recently moved to Summit NJ, and this town is THRIVING. One of the main differences? Parking. Everywhere. Find a spot, park for hours or all day, pay via your Parkmobile app on your smartphone. But we would prefer to have constant parking problems in town so we can still view the beauty of the old garage on Franklin Avenue. Ridgewood is dying. Summit knows how to run a town.
Still looking to erect a cell tower on the 597-599 North Maple Avenue?
Once again East End Realty 597-599 North Maple Avenue and 1st Street are on the agenda for tonight at 7:30pm
FPR PROPERTIES – An application for the construction of a second floor addition for the purposes of converting the building to professional office use which requires use and bulk variances for property line setbacks, improvement coverage, floor area ratio, and the development and use of the adjacent residential lot, in conjunction with the office use, for parking for the building which is not permitted in the R-2 zone. A variance is requested for the total number of spaces which does not meet the parking standards. A fence height variance is requested.
***Applicant proposes to erect a cellular antenna which is not permitted in the B-2 zone. The application noted above is proposed at 599 North Maple Avenue, Block 2904 Lots 1 and 2 in the B-2 and R-2 zones**
After Wyckoff ends its grass pickups, teen entrepreneurs seize opportunity
Monday, July 8, 2013
BY EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
WYCKOFF — Despite the bleakest prospects in decades for teens looking for summer work, two Ramapo High School students are proving there’s still room for young entrepreneurs with a vision and motivation.
Classmates John Douma of Wyckoff and Alex Abolt of Franklin Lakes were hoping to find their first summer jobs in between their junior and senior years, but dreading the prospect of punching up orders in a fast-food restaurant.
So when the town decided in April to discontinue curbside pickup of grass clippings — requiring residents to transport the yard waste themselves to the recycling center — the two saw an opportunity for a start-up and went for it.
Today, they have a fleet consisting of one Ford F-150 pickup and seven customers, who each pay $50 a month to have up to four garbage cans full of grass clippings hauled off.
Restaurant review: Ridgewood Fare
Friday, July 5, 2013 Last updated: Friday July 5, 2013, 8:04 AM
BY JULIA SEXTON
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
The Record
Ridgewood Fare is part of the new breed of eatery that occupies the middle ground between gourmet shop and catering company. Its breezy, café-like storefront offers the relaxed vibe of unclothed tables and exposed brick along with functional touches that include a refrigerator counter loaded with house-made baked goods. (These reappear at dessert.) Outside the plate-glass window, sidewalk tables beckon to weary commuters: Ridgewood Fare is steps from the train station on Ridgewood’s Wilsey Square.
There are some hints that Ridgewood Fare’s kitchen keeps one foot in catering. Specifically, its menu is about as democratic as you get. Look for the usual suspects in seafood, salad, pizza, pasta, chicken and beef; Ridgewood Fare is a good, middle-ground option for large groups with disparate tastes.
Protecting Educational Freedom This Independence Day: Cracks in the Common Core
Lindsey Burke
July 4, 2013 at 10:57 am
Just in time for Independence Day, the foundations of the Common Core initiative are showing some cracks.
Common Core is an effort to establish national standards and tests to define what every child in public school will learn. It has been heavily incentivized by the Obama Administration and is an unprecedented federal overreach into local school policy. But recent moves in several states across the country could mean that curriculum freedom remains alive and well.
On Monday, Oklahoma superintendent of education Janet Barresi announced that the Sooner State would be pulling out of the Common Core testing consortia. Barresi told the Tulsa World that because of myriad technical problems with the assessments and higher anticipated costs, “If we move ahead with this, we are going to be asking the state to drink a milkshake using a cocktail straw.”
Oklahoma’s withdrawal follows Alabama, which also withdrew from the common assessments earlier this year. Both states still plan to follow the Common Core standards but will be assessing how students perform on those standards with tests they have chosen.
Some states have gone a step further to ensure educational freedom. Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) has paused implementation of Common Core for the next year, allowing the state to assess the cost to taxpayers and affording the Indiana Department of Education and a legislative study committee the opportunity to determine whether Common Core standards are superior to Indiana’s existing standards.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett (R) has likewise hit the pause button on Common Core standards implementation, allowing time for the standards to be approved by the legislative education committees and the state’s Regulatory Review Commission. And in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed a budget prohibiting any new state funds from being expended on Common Core implementation.
Other states might reconsider their Common Core involvement. Early adopters such as New York and Kentucky are now experiencing implementation problems. In North Carolina, the state board of education has decided to review the standards over the next few months. Lieutenant Governor and state board of education member Dan Forest worries that “in the rush to roll out Common Core, I am not convinced the proper due diligence has been conducted to properly budget for this monumental expenditure for our state.”
Utah, Colorado, South Carolina, and Kansas have had heated debates about the merits of Common Core and the certain loss of educational autonomy associated with the effort. At a minimum, they would be wise to follow the lead of Indiana and “pause” implementation to determine the costs and quality. Better still, they should pull out completely from the Common Core national standards and work to strengthen and improve their own state standards.
The Founders placed the important job of educating America’s children with states, localities, and, most critically, parents. The Constitution does not contain the word education, even though its architects believed in its supreme importance. “I look to the diffusion of light and education as the resource to be relied on for ameliorating the condition, promoting the virtue, and advancing the happiness of man,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. The Founders would have likely seen the prospect of a national curriculum as a monumental government overreach.
As we celebrate our Independence this week, it’s a good time to recommit to restoring the educational freedom our Founders envisioned.
Family Day – GREAT RIDGEWOOD DUCK DERBY – THIS SUNDAY – JULY 14
THE GREAT RIDGEWOOD DUCK DERBY
Join us for a special family day on Sunday, July 14th (raindate 7/21) as we join the “Come Alive Outside” national initiative. Co-sponsors include Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction and Whole Foods.
The fun will begin at 3:30 and last all afternoon at Graydon Pool and surrounding parklands. The day will offer a barbeque, musical entertainment, beach games, a sand sculpture contest and Duck-or-ation station, all culminating with a rubber duck race in the HoHoKus Brook.
The cost is $5 per person which includes a barbeque ticket and one rubber duck.
Register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (Village Parks and Recreation) or download the registration form on the Graydon Pool homepage at www.ridgweoodnj.net/graydon.
Please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with any questions or if special accommodations are needed
RFP – Long Term Ground Lease Development on Blk 3703 Lot 12 E Ridgewood Av
Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Level 4 Courtroom, at the Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, on Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. prevailing time, then publicly opened and read aloud for:
“Request for Proposals
For the
Long Term Ground Lease for Development
On
Village Owned Property Block 3703, Lot 12 East Ridgewood Avenue
Village of Ridgewood Bergen County, New Jersey”
The Village of Ridgewood is seeking proposals from qualified firms for an as-of-right project to develop Lot 12, Block 3703 into a first class, two story facility conforming to current zoning code, sympathetic to adjacent local conditions.
The RFP package may be obtained from the Engineering Division Offices, Level 3, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, (201) 670-5500, extension No. 238. Proposal packages may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, Monday through Friday. The proposal may also be downloaded from the Village’s website, however prospective respondents are responsible to register with the Village in the event any addendum are issued. Prospective respondents requesting proposal documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No proposal forms shall be given out after 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 30, 2013.
All prices quoted in the proposal must be net and exclusive of all Federal, State and Local Sales and Excise Taxes. Proposals may be submitted in person or by mail prior to the proposal opening, addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any proposal sent to it prior to the date and time stated for receipt of proposals.
Each proposal must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the respondent thereon and endorsed, “Request for Proposals for the Long Term Ground Lease for Development on Village Owned Property Block 3703, Lot 12 East Ridgewood Avenue Village of Ridgewood Bergen County, New Jersey”.
All respondents shall present satisfactory evidence of being authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. All respondents shall also provide a copy of their New Jersey Business Registration Certificate with their proposal. Additional requirements for submittal are presented in the RFP. All respondents shall adhere to the requirements presented in the “Request for Proposals”. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any informality or to accept a proposal, which in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village.
” BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27). A complete statement as to these requirements is included in the Request for Proposals.
Reader says attack on advertiser is entirely bogus and could easily be part of what Paul Aronsohn is paying White Horse Consultants for
Entirely bogus and could easily be part of what Paul Aronsohn is paying White Horse Consultants for as well as advice from various persons with marketing experience or who are just plain mean, or both.
Fake blog posts and letters have, sadly, become a standard part of negative marketing and politicking, not only on this blog and Patch but even in real letters to the editor–which may be signed by real people, but they are “plants” who were either told what to write or were sent something to submit under their own names.
A high, high level of suspicion is unfortunately essential in such cases. This will increasingly be true as we approach the next council election in the spring as well as other important upcoming decisions and votes.
As for the respectful tone, faux sincerity is standard because it tends to be convincing: “I used to like X, but alas, I no longer can patronize it, or vote for him/her, because of [whatever negative message is desired to be promulgated].”
We backwoods suburban types need to get with the program. Let’s be hyperaware and recognize big-city manipulation as it falls over us like a net, and disdainfully shake it off.
The baddies who want to have their way with this town can’t come up with good reasons to wreck it other than personal glory and financial and/or social advancement. If they could, they wouldn’t have to resort to these insulting stratagems.
