Author: James

file photo Boyd Loving

Survey launched to aid N.J. businesses impacted by Sandy

FRIDAY DECEMBER 14, 2012, 5:13 PM
BY ANTHONY CAMPISI
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD

Governor Christie announced the launch of a new survey Friday that he said would aid state officials in tailoring a response to businesses impacted by superstorm Sandy.

Volunteers will be fanning out over the weekend in storm-ravaged communities across the state to administer the survey, which was developed in concert with business groups including the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the state Chamber of Commerce.

Christie also encouraged businesses to fill out the survey online and said it would be crucial in helping his administration target efforts to get the state’s business community on its feet and could be used in determining how $2 billion requested by President Obama for small business grants in the storm’s wake would be spent.

“The heartbeat of both the economy and the fabric of the culture are all these small businesses,” he said at an event in Sea Bright meant to announce the survey and several other small business initiatives launched in the past week.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/recordpolitics/Survey_launched_to_aid_NJ_businesses_impacted_by_Sandy.html

Ridgewood High School teacher lauded by NJ Inventors Hall of Fame

FRIDAY DECEMBER 14, 2012, 3:12 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

A few years ago, using blackberry juice and titanium dioxide, a non-toxic ingredient found in powdered sugar, Ridgewood “High School (RHS) science teacher Lillian Labowsky and her students began making dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells with enough “juice” to power a calculator.

Attending the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame banquet were several RHS students including (front row from left) Elizabeth Kopec, Robin Smith, Bridget McElroy and Anna Teresa O’Keefe, and (back row from left) ‘Gus Kelty, teacher ‘Lillian Labowsky and Graham Jones.
Three years after Labowsky began the project, which was funded through a National Science Foundation (NSF) program that paired graduate students and grade school teachers to promote science education, it is clear Labowsky did not just help her students make power – she also empowered them to invent.

For her involvement in the innovative two-year project, Labowsky has received accolades from both the state and the “district.

The physics and chemistry teacher was recently recognized by the Board of Education (BOE) for the 2012 “Advancement of Invention” Award she received from the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame (NJIHoF) in “October.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183538091_Ridgewood_High_School_teacher_lauded_by_NJ_Inventors_Hall_of_Fame.html

Gunman’s brother questioned in Hoboken
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2012
BY SHAWN BOBURG, JOHN ENSSLIN AND RICHARD COWEN
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

As the nation groped for clues as to what could possibly provoke a young man to fatally shoot his mother and 20 young children at the Connecticut elementary school where she was a teacher, attention centered Friday on the gunman’s family, whose low profile in upper-middle-class suburbs betrayed no easy answers.

The scrutiny reverberated to Hoboken, where the 24-year-old elder brother of the shooter — mistakenly identified by police as the gunman for hours on Friday — was taken into custody for questioning outside his apartment. By Friday night, police had offered no motive for 20-year-old Adam Lanza’s rampage in the quiet, upscale community of Newtown, Conn.

His older brother, Ryan Lanza, had been extremely cooperative during questioning late Friday by authorities in New Jersey, an unnamed law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press. Ryan Lanza is not believed to have any involvement and is not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records, said another official.

Ryan Lanza told law enforcement that his brother was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and lived with his mother in Connecticut, a third official added.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Gunmans_brother_questioned_in_Hoboken.html

News orgs circulate Facebook profile, photos of unconfirmed shooter
by Jeff Sonderman
Published Dec. 14, 2012 3:35 pm
Updated Dec. 14, 2012 7:52 pm

Reporters and producers around the country, frantically searching for information online about the alleged school shooter, found what seemed like a match. Ryan Lanza, 24, was believed responsible for the deaths of 27 people in Newtown, Conn., at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Facebook profile showed a Ryan Lanza from Newtown, Conn., who currently lives in Hoboken, N.J. — a male who looks like he’s in his 20s. The photo fits the description, so countless news orgs ran with it in stories and tweets.

Hours later, there were reports that Adam Lanza, 20, was the shooter, not his brother Ryan. The AP’s latest report explains that “earlier, a law enforcement official mistakenly transposed the brothers’ first names.”

NJ.com is reporting “former Jersey Journal staff writer Brett Wilshe said he has spoken with Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, who told Wilshe the shooter may have had his identification.”

https://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/198262/news-orgs-circulate-facebook-profile-of-the-wrong-ryan-lanza/

Ridgewood superintendent issues statement on school shooting in Connecticut

FRIDAY DECEMBER 14, 2012, 5:39 PM
BY ED VIRGIN
EDITOR
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Ridgewood Schools Superintendent Daniel Fishbein urged parents to talk to their children about the deadly school shooting in Newton, Conn.

Fishbein also announced that counselors will be available in Ridgewood schools on Monday, and there will be an increased police presence in the district over the coming days.

The superintendent’s statement reads: “Today there have been news reports about a tragic shooting in Newton, Connecticut. My thoughts and prayers go out to the parents, children and school personnel in Newton. I am sure this story will be on everyone’s minds and in the news all weekend. These events are always devastating, but they often have greater emotional impact when they happen geographically closer to home.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183565411_Ridgewood_superintendent_issues_statement_on_school_shooting_in_Connecticut.html

DAN FISHBEIN WRITES TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS REGARDING THE NEWTON SCHOOL SHOOTING: Click below to read.  https://tinyurl.com/c2qor53

‘Aquarium”From this Day Forward”Magnolia Cash

Exhibit at Stable goes from realism to abstraction
Friday, December 14, 2012
BY  EILEEN LA FORGIA
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

“As I became more aware that a good representational painting is based on a good abstract design, that led to me becoming more interested in abstract design itself,” said award-winning artist Janis Foley of Ridgewood. “It’s going from perspective to depth, to flat shapes on a two-dimensional plain.”

Her exhibit, “Upstairs, Downstairs: Realism to Abstraction,” can be seen this month at the Stable Gallery in Ridgewood.

The downstairs portion of the exhibit highlights traditional style and includes portraits, still life and landscapes in mixed media in watercolors, oils, pastel and ink. The upstairs gallery showcases more recent abstract and semi-abstract designs.

The first floor gallery is showing mostly traditional watercolor paintings including: “Mountain View of Tetons,” “Gold Rush Ridge” outside Colorado Springs, “Sands of Perdido Key” in Pensacola, Fla., and an early snowfall and a coastal scene. There is also an oil painting of a western landscape called “Shrine Pass.”

https://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/art/183462071_Exhibit_at_Stable_goes_from_realism_to_abstraction.html

RHS ALUMNI ART SHOW STARTS NEXT MONDAY: The Ridgewood High School Department of Art & Design seeks alumni to participate in the Eighth Annual Alumni Art Show. The exhibition will be a show of work created after graduating from RHS. It will be held in the Carroll Art Gallery, Room 135, from December 17 – January 4.

There will be a reception for the artists on Thursday, January 3 from 3-5 p.m. All students, alumni, friends, family and staff are invited to the reception as well as to view the exhibition. The Gallery is open during school hours.

Anyone interested in participating should contact the RHS Department of Art & Design at 201-670-2800 ext. 20542, or e-mail the department in care of Barbara Noto at [email protected].

Give the Gift of Art from the Ridgewood Art Institute

Gift Certificate for Art Classes
Starting at $30
https://www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org/gift/giftcert.html

A Gift of Membership to the Ridgewood Art Institute
A full years membership only $60
Membership entitles you to use at the Barn, Lectures, Demonstrations, Life Sketch Classes and more.
https://www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org/member/membership.html

Framed Original Art Work for Sale in our Gallery
Visit our Holiday Art Show & Sale Beautifully Framed Art and Custom Portraits Available
A Portion of Proceeds to this exhibit benefit Community Meals Inc
https://www.communitymealsonwheels.org/

Give the gift of original artwork and a fun night out.
RAI Sponsorships make such a great gift we’re offering them just in time for the holidays this year.
For $275 your lucky recipient will be guaranteed a painting of their choice from this spring’s show.
https://www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org/sponsor/sponsor.html

Purchase online or in person perfect for the Art Lover!
https://www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org/index.html

The Ridgewood Art Institute 12 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-652-9615

file photo by Boyd Loving

Reader Says “I hope you remember Mayor Paul Aronsohn’s words from last year”

Elections have Consequences

I hope you remember his words from last year. 0% incentive raise for dept heads and non union employees. This is just the beginning of the” Flip- Flop ” The Dream Team is spending money like a drunken sailor. You should also remember 0% property tax increase. The Mayor’s no vote for Valley Hospital. The Mayor no vote for teacher parking at the High School last year when he was a Councilman but yet he was apparently for it this time around saying he has new information. How about when he said he would get rid of the Village Manager immediately Well in case you haven’t noticed the Village Manager is still employed.!

Garrett , Pascrell , Cosponsor bill for Sandy tax relief package
Thursday December 13, 2012, 1:13 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
Associated Press

Residents and businesses hurt by superstorm Sandy would be protected from losing tax credits and have more options to deduct losses and access funding under tax legislation unveiled Thursday by a bipartisan group of House members organized by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr..

The proposal includes benefits for businesses, individuals, as well as tax-advantaged bonding authority for rebuilding. Pascrell, D-Paterson, said at a news conference the bill is a supplement to the $60.4 billion spending bill President Obama requested on Friday.

“If you’re a family and you’re going to be able deduct uninsured losses from taxes, [or] take out a loan from a  retirement account, this is a big deal,” Pascrell said.

Cosponsors include Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, and five other New Jersey members from both parties, as well as members from New York and Connecticut.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/recordpolitics/Pascrell-led_congressional_group_proposes_Sandy_tax_relief_package.html

FEMA to cover 75 percent of private property cleanup costs from Sandy
Thursday December 13, 2012, 4:20 PM
BY  ANTHONY CAMPISI
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record

From The Political State blog on NorthJersey.com:

Towns and counties ravaged by superstorm Sandy will be getting federal aid to cover the costs of cleaning up private property — though the package isn’t as generous as the one Governor Christie asked for.

The federal government will reimburse local governments 75 percent of the cost of debris removal from residents’ homes and businesses, according to a Christie administration announcement released Thursday afternoon.

The governor, in November, had asked the Obama administration to exceed the traditional 75 percent figure and completely cover the cost of cleanup, citing “the financial burden and economic hardship” the storm represents to the state.

Towns and counties could be on the hook for millions of dollars thanks to Sandy, and last month, Christie said some storm-ravaged towns might have to raise property taxes to pay for the cleanup.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/FEMA_to_cover_75_percent_of_private_property_cleanup_costs_from_Sandy.html

Ridgewood Council agrees to ‘first step’ on potential parking plan
Thursday December 13, 2012, 4:24 PM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Ridgewood will officially file a request for proposal (RFP) to determine the level of interest that a developer might have in turning an East Ridgewood Avenue parking lot into a two-story, 12,000-square-foot retail building.

A resolution passed by the Village Council on Wednesday authorized officials to spend no more than $15,000 to hire a qualified professional to draft an RFP that meets requirements established by the members of the governing body and the Chamber of Commerce. The RFP is the first of many steps that have been deemed essential to the chamber’s large-scale plan to build two parking structures in the Central “Business District (CBD).

Construction of the proposed parking garages, targeted for Hudson Street and another on Walnut Street, would be fully funded by a 99-year land lease and taxes on the property between The Gap and Gilsenan Realty.

According to Tom Hillmann, owner of Hillmann Electric and Light and president of the Chamber of Commerce, the village will not consider building the garages unless money from the land lease can support the parking project.

“The RFP tells us what we can generate from this property … what a contractor or builder would lease this property for. By finding that out, we’ll really know if [the lease is] a viable solution,” Hillmann said earlier this month. “Once we do have the income coming in, then we’ll go forward with one of the parking garages. We would not go anywhere unless we have these funds.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183408561_Ridgewood_Council_agrees_to__first_step__on_potential_parking_plan.html