Developer makes adjustments to the Dayton, a multi-family development proposal in Ridgewood
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012, 12:31 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Changes have been made to the application and site plan for The Dayton, a multi-family development proposal that would be constructed at the former Brogan Cadillac site on South Broad Street.
The developer, Garden Homes, expects to formally present those changes to the Ridgewood Planning Board on Tuesday, Sept. 18, according to attorney Thomas Wells.
Representatives for the developer previously appeared before the Planning Board; however, the application was put on hold during the spring and summer months as the village opted to conduct a series of surveys and traffic studies. After several meetings with Ridgewood’s professional staff during the time off, the developer altered some of the plan.
In a Sept. 12 letter to Charles Nalbantian, chair of the Planning Board, Wells listed the “significant changes” that were made. Included on the list were the developer’s contract to acquire the adjacent property on Broad Street, which is commonly known as the Jiffy Lube building; the reduction of individual dwellings from 120 units to 106; an increase in parking spaces; and changes to the proposed building’s height and aesthetics.
Big jump in home sales reason for optimism, expert says
The number of purchase contracts signed by New Jersey homebuyers in July increased 24 percent from last year, according to a recent report by Otteau Valuation Group Inc.
The increase continues a positive and growing trend for the state’s housing market, the East Brunswick appraisal and consulting firm found. July marked the 10th consecutive month that pending sales have grown, and year-to-date purchase activity through the month was up 23 percent from the same period in 2011. (Burd, NJBIZ)
Alleged ‘Innocence of Muslims’ filmmaker taken in for interview
September 15, 2012 | 12:46 am
Just after midnight Saturday morning, authorities descended on the Cerritos home of the man believed to be the filmmaker behind the anti-Muslim movie that has sparked protests and rioting in the Muslim world.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies escorted a man believed to be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula to an awaiting car. The man declined to answer questions on his way out and wore a hat and a scarf over his face. He kept his hands in the pockets of a winter coat.
Sheriff’s officials could not be reached by The Times, but department spokesman Steve Whitmore told KNBC News that deputies assisting the federal probation department took Nakoula to the sheriff’s substation in Cerritos for interviewing.
[Updated at 1:40 a.m. July 15, 2012: Whitmore told The Times that Nakoula was taken in for a voluntary interview with probation officials and has not been arrested or detained.]
Franklin Lakes Tea Party Meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, September 18 at the Ambulance Building
FRANKLIN LAKES TEA PARTY
PRESENTS
OBAMACARE
DR. RAJNIK RAAB, NEUROSURGEON DR. JENNIFER MARCUS, ANESTHESIOLOGIST DR. GARY BRESLOW, RECONSTRUCTIVE/PLASTIC SURGEON DR. JOSEPH GARCIA, GENERAL SURGEON
AND
JOSEPH F CONNOR AND MICHAEL DUNCAN, AUTHORS OF “THE NEW FOUNDERS”
Thenewfounders.net
FRANKLIN LAKES AMBULANCE CORPS BUILDING BENDER COURT, FRANKLIN LAKES
Obama and Romney on Healthcare Reform: They Don’t Always Disagree
Written by Doug McPherson, Policy Analyst, CiperHealth | September 12, 2012
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act two months ago, a cloud of uncertainty has hung over the healthcare industry, as major players have tried to read the tea leaves and determine what a Romney-Ryan victory in November would mean for the reform law. This past weekend, the sky began to clear when Mitt Romney stated in the clearest terms of the campaign that he does not intend to “[get] rid of all of healthcare reform.”
Mr. Romney has stated that he’d keep key protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but he has been a bit vague about what other provisions may survive if he wins the election. For hospitals, some of the most important provisions of the PPACA are incentives that tie how much a hospital is paid to it how well it is able to meet certain standards for quality care. Mr. Romney and Rep. Ryan have both advocated for the kind of incentive reforms that are a reality under the PPACA, and these reforms are likely to survive in some form, regardless of who wins the White House in November.
Led by Mr. Romney and Rep. Ryan, conservatives have attacked coverage expansions, health insurance mandates and new taxes brought on by the healthcare law. Many of these controversial provisions will not be implemented for years, but other provisions that incorporate ideas that both members of the GOP ticket have defended are going into effect this fall. Starting in October, the PPACA will introduce a new payment system that rewards hospitals that implement clinical best practices and meet other quality standards. Those who do not make the cut will be punished.
Fed risks political fallout from QE3
By Robin Harding and James Politi in Washington
The US Federal Reserve was always going to catch a few political bullets if it launched an aggressive new easing only eight weeks before a presidential election.
Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, duly opened fire on Friday after the Fed began an open-ended third round of quantitative easing (QE3), under which it will buy $40bn of mortgage-backed securities a month.
In some of the most aggressive comments he has made on the Fed, Mr Romney said QE3 was nothing but a “sugar high”, and would fail to get the economy moving.
“Recognise that, as the Federal Reserve keeps on trying to stimulate the economy by printing more money, that there’s a cost to that,” said Mr Romney in remarks at a fundraiser.
Why Obama Is Failing the Middle East Meltdown and How to Fix It
James CarafanoSeptember 14, 2012 at 8:57 am
The breaking news keeps breaking when it comes to revelations surrounding the attacks and protests aimed at U.S. embassies going on throughout the Islamic world. Protests have spread to at least eight countries. Reports indicate that four people have been arrested relating to the killing of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff there. That offers at least the promise of getting more information about the deliberate attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., government authorities identified the man behind the controversial film purported as the cause for the protests as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Californian with a shadowy past including many aliases and a criminal record.
Unlike a Brad Thor novel, however, we can’t just jump to the end of the story to find out what this all means for American policy in this troubled part of the world.
But (again, unlike a Brad Thor novel) without cheating we can predict how the story is going to end—because the result of the President’s Middle East policies was predictable from the start.
Obama’s strategy for this part of the world started out much the way Jimmy Carter’s did—with acts of conciliation and accommodation. The President narrowly focused his priorities on three objectives: 1) withdrawing from Iraq as quickly as possible; 2) engaging with Syria and Iran; and 3) transforming the U.S. into a neutral party—to negotiate peace between Palestine and Israel.
For starters, we know that all three of those objectives have met with abject failure.
Iraq was not only left a shaky state; it has become a shaky friend—defying U.S. requests to block Iranian flights that are rearming the Syrian military so they can kill more Syrian civilians.
After wasting three years of trying to find common ground with the totalitarian regimes in Syria and Iran, even the White House has acknowledged failure, calling for the government in Damascus to step down and asking for more sanctions on Tehran.
Finally, the peace process has collapsed—a blessing in disguise, because if Obama succeeded in creating a Palestinian state today, it would look an awful lot like the Syrian regime the rest of the region is trying to bring down—a corrupt state that oppresses its own people, a state sponsor of terrorism, and a tool of Iran.
The President’s policy, however, has been more than unsuccessful—the “Obama doctrine” has taken the cause of protecting U.S. interests in the region backward—because it relied on a self-imposed agenda of self-weakening. It included distancing the U.S. from Israel and playing politics with the U.S. defense budget—where even his own officials acknowledge that if the automatic cuts required under the Budget Control Act of 2011 go into effect, they will undermine the readiness and reduce the capabilities of the armed forces. (Watch our new video featuring real stories from veterans about the readiness challenges facing our military.)
The war on terrorism began when Osama bin Laden wrote his fatwa proclaiming America a paper tiger in withdrawal. With a sharp push, he believed, the Americans would fall away. It is not the President’s policies, nor the promises he made at his historic speech in Cairo, nor the pledges he made to punish the perpetrators of the attack in Benghazi that America’s enemies are responding to. They believe the U.S., by its actions, has demonstrated it is in retreat.
Attacks on embassies and anti-American riots in the street can happen on any President’s watch. What we need to be most concerned about is that those who are deliberately plotting against us are on the offensive—again.
It is time for a different course:
Don’t lose focus on Iran. Tehran is the number one troublemaker in this part of the world. From its nuclear aspirations to sponsoring terrorism, plotting attacks of its own, and promoting an extremist agenda across the region to crushing the aspirations of freedom from its own people—peace in this part of the planet has no greater enemy.
Reassert the need for close strategic cooperation with Israel. The instability that continues to sweep the region only underscores the fact that Israel is the only ally in the region that the U.S can reliably count on.
Acknowledge that the war against a global Islamist insurgency isn’t over. There are evil people out there trying to kill us, and we have to stop them. Chasing down their leaders with drone strikes is not enough—dealing with the “next wave” of transnational terrorism will require a different course. The strategy for the next wave must regain the initiative that has been lost by this President, bring a successful end to the long war, and leave behind an enduring and sustainable counterterrorism enterprise—one that can adeptly respond to emerging threats, like the recent attack in Benghazi.
Adopt an economic freedom agenda. The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom confirms that countries of the Middle East lag in many areas of economic freedom and that the lack of jobs and opportunity is at the root of much of the anger. It is past time to move the economic freedom agenda from an afterthought to the centerpiece of U.S. Middle East policy. Even the best security policy will never be sufficient. We can lower our own barriers to trade and encourage governments in the Middle East to do likewise. We can encourage reforms to open up investment, create jobs, and empower individuals economically.
To protect America’s interest in this part of the world, we must be:
A faithful, responsible, and enduring ally;
A champion of supporting the cause of liberty and economic freedom; and
A strong, resilient, and confident nation prepared to defend itself, its allies, and its interests.
It will take that kind of shift in U.S. policies to weather this crisis well.
White House details ‘destructive’ spending cuts
By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times
With excruciating detail, the White House’s budget office on Friday laid out exactly where it will have to cut $109 billion from federal spending in January, including $11.1 billion from Medicare and $54.7 billion from defense spending.
The defense cuts include $21.5 billion from operations and maintenance for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines and the reserves and National Guard, and nearly $1.4 billion from military aide to Afghanistan, with tens of billions coming from procurement and other Pentagon accounts.
“The report leaves no question that the sequestration would be deeply destructive to national security, domestic investments, and core government functions,” the White House’s budget office said in the report
Read more: White House details ‘destructive’ spending cuts – Washington Times https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/14/white-house-details-deep-spending-cuts/#ixzz26WiTWUTT
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Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital 5th Annual Adopt-A-Pet Day
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital 5th Annual Adopt-A-Pet Day is just 15 days away! Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 30, 2012. Gates open at 11:00 a.m.! We will continue to post pictures of pets adopted last year and their families up until the event!
While we already have more than 25 committed groups attending our 5th Annual Adopt-A-Pet Day, we are making room for additional shelters and rescue organizations! Spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis. All organizations must meet our requirements.
If you volunteer at a shelter or rescue organization and would like to participate, or if you know an organization who you think would love to be included in our event this year, please contact us at: [email protected]. Please email us by Thursday, September 20th at 5p.m.
“If you have room in your home and love in your heart, someone is waiting for you!” And in 20 days… the wait will be over! Our 5th Annual Adopt-A-Pet Day is less than 3 weeks away. If you haven’t done it already, mark your calendars for Sunday, September 30, 2012. The gates open at 11:00 a.m.!
RHS 2012 Varsity Football Schedule – All Home Games Are Night Games?
September 14,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
8:13 PM
Ridgewood NJ, Weren’t the residents who live near RHS advised that there would be a limited number of night football games in response to concerns they expressed about the installation of stadium lights?
Well, it would appear that every single home football game in the 2012 season will be played at night.
Tribute for Ridgewood student Nick Campanello sought
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council will work with friends and family of Nicholas Campanello in creating an appropriate memorial for the Ridgewood teen who died suddenly last month, only weeks before the start of his senior year of high school.
Friends painted Nick Campanello’s nickname, ‘Campi,’ on the wall at The View on Crest Road. Campanello, who died suddenly last month, often hung out with his friends there.
The debate, however, is the location of the memorial as proposed by those closest to the family.
Campanello, 16, suffered an asthma attack at a village residence in the early morning hours on Aug. 8. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
In the hours immediately following his death, many of Campanello’s friends found solace together at the stone wall along Crest Road. With an unobstructed panoramic view of the New York City skyline, the location, known to many as The View, was a popular hangout for Campanello and his buddies.
Ridgewood parking ticket fines are divided up
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012, 12:52 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The meter ran out and you got a parking ticket. You go to Village Hall and pay $19.
So where does that money go?
According to Ridgewood’s violations office, the village receives only about 40 percent of the money for parking tickets. The rest goes to the Bergen County treasurer, to be contributed to legislative funds established for a variety of purposes ranging from autism research and DNA testing, to body armor and modernization of the automated traffic system (ATS).
This system of distribution has been in place in some form for about 20 years, according to Ridgewood Court Administrator Maria Doerr. However, even though the information is available at njcourtsonline.com, Doerr said, few people seem to know where the money goes.
N.J. economic experts say hiring on hold until economy rebounds
Many midsize New Jersey businesses have been resilient in the face of a slow recovery and the fiscal and political dysfunction in Washington, and they are looking for more consistent positive signals from the economy before making the commitment to hire more workers to fuel growth.
That was one view that emerged from a roundtable discussion of New Jersey business trends hosted by the accounting and consulting firm Deloittetoday at its Parsippany office.
Participant Tom Bracken, president of the state Chamber of Commerce, said companies have maintained profits by reducing their work forces, and “when top-line revenue growth comes, I think you’ll see an increase in the employment base — but we’re not there yet.” (Fitzgerald, NJBIZ)
U.S. nonfarm private-sector employers maintained a sluggish hiring pace in August by adding 103,000 jobs, though the national unemployment rate nudged down to 8.1 percent as more people stopped looking for work, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
US Credit Rating Cut by Egan-Jones … Again
Published: Friday, 14 Sep 2012 | 3:43 PM ET Text Size
By: CNBC.com With Reuters
Ratings firm Egan-Jones cut its credit rating on the U.S. government to “AA-” from “AA,” citing its opinion that quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve would hurt the U.S. economy and the country’s credit quality.
The Fed on Thursday said it would pump $40 billion into the U.S. economy each month until it saw a sustained upturn in the weak jobs market. (Read more: Fed’s ‘QE Infinity’ — Four Things That Could Go Wrong)
In its downgrade, the firm said that issuing more currency and depressing interest rates through purchasing mortgage-backed securities does little to raise the U.S.’s real gross domestic product, but reduces the value of the dollar.
In turn, this increases the cost of commodities, which will pressure the profitability of businesses and increase the costs of consumers thereby reducing consumer purchasing power, the firm said.
In April, Egan-Jones cuts the U.S. credit rating to “AA” from “AA+” with a negative watch, citing a lack of progress in cutting the mounting federal debt.
