Author: James

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, September 29, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Ridgewood Police Department will be the drop off site.

This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.

file photo Boyd Loving

Referendum on Bergen County police merger blocked
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012
BY JAMES QUIRK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Voters won’t get a chance to weigh in on whether the Bergen County Police should be merged with the Sheriff’s Office, after a Superior Court judge on Friday invalidated a move by the county freeholders to place a non-binding referendum on the November ballot.

However, Judge Menelaos Toskos did rule that the freeholders can proceed with an ordinance, that if passed, would dissolve the county police and transfer their function to the sheriff’s office. Toskos said the court cannot be asked to intervene before the process runs it course — the proposed ordinance must go through a second reading with a public hearing and then must be delivered to the county executive who can sign the measure into law or veto it.

Though Friday’s ruling amounted to a somewhat split decision, in a statement Friday night, Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan called it a “victory for taxpayers and public safety.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Judge_rules_ballot_question_on_Bergen_County_police_merger_must_be_put_forth_by_freeholders_and_Donovan.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_275195372594298_1147155_275818435865325#f3f5d51824

The case for liberating physicians from the dictates of third-party payers

Of all the people in the healthcare system, none is more central than the physician. As I explain in my book Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, fundamental reform that lowers costs, raises quality, and improves access to care is almost inconceivable without physicians leading and directing the changes. Yet of all the actors in modern healthcare, none are more trapped than our nation’s doctors. Let’s consider just a few of the ways your doctor is constrained, unlike any other professional.[1]

Sometime in the early part of the last century, all the other professionals in our society—lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, and so on—discovered the telephone. It’s a handy device. Ideal for communicating with clients. Yet, telephone consultations are not on Medicare’s list of about 7,500 tasks it pays physicians to perform. (At least, it’s not there in a way that makes telephone consultations practical.) Private insurance tends to pay the way Medicare pays. So do most employers.

Sometime toward the end of the last century, all the other professionals discovered email. In some ways, it’s even better than the phone. But reading and responding to emails doesn’t make Medicare’s list in a practical way, either.[2]

At a time when doctors feel that third-party payers are squeezing their fees from every direction, most are going to try to minimize their non-billable time. Because patients cannot conveniently use modern media to consult with physicians, they make unnecessary office visits. The result is more rationing by waiting at the doctor’s office, which imposes disproportionate costs on chronic patients who need more contact with physicians. This might be one reason why so many are not getting what they most need from primary care physicians and what is most likely to prevent more costly problems later on: prescription drugs.[3]

The ability to consult with doctors by phone or email could be a boon to chronic care. Face-to-face meetings with physicians would be less frequent, especially if patients learned how to monitor their own conditions and manage their own care.

https://blog.independent.org/2012/09/06/freeing-the-doctor/

photo from the Ridgewood Police Department

Ridgewood Police Commuter Alert Ridgewood Train Station 

The Train station parking lot will be closed for paving starting at Midnight on Sunday 9/9/12 through Wednesday evening 9/12/12. Any vehicle parked in the lot after it has been closed will be towed. During these three days UP3 Permit holders may park for unlimited time at street meters or nearby parking lots without ‘feeding the meter’. UP3 Hangtag must be displayed. Other commuters can park in nearby lots and pay at the meter as they do in the Station Lot. The nearest lots to the Station are Hudson & Broad; Chestnut; Franklin & Walnut .

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this project.

FCC backpedals from Internet tax
By Brendan Sasso- 09/09/12 06:00 AM ET

The Federal Communications Commission is rapidly backpedalling from a proposal to tax broadband Internet service after a public outcry over the issue.

Democrats and Republicans at the agency are now blaming each other for pushing the idea in the first place.

Neil Grace, a spokesman for Chairman Julius Genachowski, said the commission only made the proposal “following the urging of Republican Commissioners and members of Congress.”

“The Chairman remains unconvinced that including broadband is the right approach,” he said.
Robert McDowell, the only Republican on the commission when the proposal was floated earlier this year, flatly rejected that he ever supported the idea.

“I have never suggested taxing broadband Internet access,” he told The Hill.

https://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/248317-fcc-backpedals-from-internet-tax-proposal

PSEG Has Over 150 Open Positions Posted On New Jersey’s New Job Search Tool

OnRamp is a free job search tool that finds candidates based on specific skill sets

(August 31, 2012 – Newark, NJ) – Despite the sputtering economy, PSEG currently has over 150 positions posted on New Jersey’s new job search tool Jobs4Jersey.com.

Nearly 100 employers and business association leaders recently gathered at PSEG’s corporate headquarters for Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno’s unveiling of OnRamp, a new Internet tool designed to help employers effectively find qualified workers. The Lt. Governor was joined by PSEG chairman, president and CEO Ralph Izzo, and Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths.

“Many people continue to seek jobs, but many employers are also struggling to find skilled workers for key positions,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “While state training programs have helped many workers upgrade their skills for these positions, today New Jersey is making it easier for employers to find and put qualified New Jerseyans to work.”

OnRamp is a free service for both employers and job seekers. A state-owned site, Jobs4Jersey.com, uses cutting edge technology that not only allows employers to search for candidates based on specific skills instead of job titles, but also has a unique feature that allows employers to “clone” the resume of a highly qualified worker. This means that employers can take the resume of a skilled employee, feed it into the OnRamp system, and the tool will retrieve other candidates with similar skill sets.

As PSEG continues to make significant investments in transmission and renewable energy infrastructure, it is the human resource demand that will continue to increase. The company sees OnRamp as an opportunity to help meet those demands.

“We have an ongoing need for people with a good grounding in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Izzo. “We cannot afford to miss anyone with the right combination of skills we need for our workforce. The state’s new website will help us to find people with the required expertise. Our HR people have put this new tool to the test and it has the potential to be incredibly valuable in supporting our workforce recruitment efforts.”

Headquartered in New Jersey, PSEG is one of the state’s oldest companies and largest employers. The company employs about 10,000 people, the bulk of whom live and work in the Garden State.

“We thank the Christie administration for developing this new tool and for making it available to job seekers and employers,” said Izzo. “We hope everyone who wants a job takes full advantage of this resource.”

file photo of a beautiful Ridgewood home

Low prices and favorable interest rates make it easier for young people to buy a home
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012
BY VIOLET SNOW
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS
THE RECORD

Colin Schmitt is considerably younger than the typical home buyer. He started a lawn mowing business in his River Vale neighborhood at the age of 13, and this year, at age 21, he bought his own house.

With low prices and favorable interest rates, the current real estate market is ideal for young people purchasing their first home. Another help for young buyers is the FHA loan, which allows a down payment of only 3.5 percent of the purchase price — but borrowers may have to take responsibility for inspection issues.

As captain of his high school football team, which reached state-level competition, says Schmitt, “I learned discipline and learned to work hard.”

He went on to study horticulture and landscape design at Bergen Community College, registered his business as a limited liability company, and built it up to about 70 accounts.

“I had so much equipment at my parents’ house, I had to move out,” he explains. “I also liked fixing things up on my father’s house, which raises the price and property value.”

As he became aware of the money-making potential of his construction and repair skills, he started looking at homes for sale.

At an open house last fall, he met Elena McLean of Coldwell Banker in Hillsdale, who guided him through the buying process.

https://www.northjersey.com/realestate/169075076_Low_prices_and_favorable_interest_rates_make_it_easier_for_young_people_to_buy_a_home.html

Free lawn renovation workshop scheduled
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012
GLEN ROCK GAZETTE

Midland Park-based R&S Landscaping will host a free lawn renovation seminar at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Backyard Living, located at 235 Franklin Ave. in Ridgewood.

The 90-minutes workshop will explore the best practices for revitalizing a lawn after the stress of the summer drought and heat. It is designed for homeowners who like to spend time in their yards; specifically those who want to use natural practices to improve the health and appearance of their property.

Rocky Bilyeu, maintenance division manager at R&S, will discuss the contrast between traditional methods and exploring the popular use of safe, all-natural soil rejuvenation through applications of compost and compost tea.

To reserve a space, call R&S at 201-447-6205.

For more information about R&S Landscaping, visit www.rscape.com.

https://www.northjersey.com/community/events/168876046_Free_lawn_renovation_workshop_scheduled.html

This Old House PBS

The rise of home expansions
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012
BY DONNA ROLANDO
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS
THE RECORD

It cannot be said that Rich and Bernadette Galli of Washington Township rushed into anything. Even after realizing they needed a house that could grow as their children grew – and a home office with solitude – the Gallis spent roughly two years combing the real-estate market before deciding to stay put.

The architect William J. Martin, above, in new storage space created from his plan for the Gallis, who enjoy the veranda of their recently expanded home in Washington Township.

They chose the same address – on Robinwood Road — but not the status quo, joining a rising number of homeowners who have decided to expand or renovate.

“Last fall we saw things turning around,” said their architect, William J. Martin of Westwood.

Because economies of scale — making bigger projects more cost-effective — it’s common today for renovation work to mean expansion, Martin said.

“I’ve been busier than I’ve ever been,” said one Mahwah builder, Ed McCauley, and it’s renovations – not new construction – that are filling his calendar with work, partly a product of the real estate slump.

“I don’t think people were so quick to take losses [in equity],” he said. “It motivates them to stay put.”

A poll by the American Institute of Architects reflects a nationwide reversal in the six-year trend toward smaller home sizes. While the change is evident in custom and luxury homes, the AIA expects that “the strongest sector will continue to be improvements to existing homes.”

Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Builders, said homeowners are starting to go beyond recession-based maintenance and repair, “back to the way things used to be” for renovations.

https://www.northjersey.com/realestate/169074436_The_rise_of_home_expansions.html