>The Ridgewood High School Phone-A-Thon in full swing
The Ridgewood High School Phone-A-Thon in full swing. Direct calls being made to parents to solicit funds for Microscopes (microscopes in RHS labs too old and outdated at more than 20 years old), Large Screen Projectors, Student Laptops, Interactive White Boards and replacement laptops for the entire RHS staff of 155 because theirs are about 5 years old.
Funny a copy of the letter (mailed home to RHS parents) is not on the district sight. The letter is an outrage. What a disgrace that we have field lights instead of microscopes!
>N.J. state budget takes back seat to redistricting
Last minute meetings to settle the boundaries of New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts have taken precedence over the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee’s review of the proposed $29.4 billion 2011-12 state budget. (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)
>Gov. Chris Christie outlines plan to fix pension crisis during Hammonton town hall meeting
Locals deserve to hear how deeply in debt the state’s pensions and benefits systems are, Gov. Chris Christie told residents of this conservative stronghold as he opened a town hall-meeting Tuesday. (Fletcher, Press of Atlantic City)
Kostya Kennedy Saturday, April 2nd @ 11am Senior Editor at Sports Illustrated, Kostya Kennedy, will sign his new book: 56.
Joe Pepitone Saturday, April 2nd @ 12:00pm Former New York Yankee, Joe Pepitone, will sign his new book: Soul of a Yankee. Only Appearance in New Jersey!
Bill White Saturday, April 2nd @ 2:00pm Former First Baseman for the Giants, Cardinals and Phillies, Bill White, will sign his new book: Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play. Books available: April 1st.
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt. Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Please call the store for details.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
>Scott Garrett: the expansion of the ADA would create tens of millions of entitlement recipients who never had been ‘disabled’ before Michael
Almost 2 years(?) ago, I had a disagreement with a writer about Rep. Scott Garrett voting against expansion of the ADA. She said he was heartless and I said if you apply the new rules, the individuals covered by the ADA would roughly double. She contended that was absurd.
This is one of those time that I hate when I am right. Garrett said the expansion would create tens of millions of entitlement recipients who never had been ‘disabled’ before.
Well, I never thought the Stimulus or ObamaCare had much of a chance, but I never thought we’d be on track to victimize the entire US population. (ok – that’s a stretch).
New Jersey’s tax revenue for the coming $29.4 billion state budget will grow slightly, but still end up $4 billion less than three years ago, a nonpartisan analyst said Monday. (Method, Daily Record)
>Sweeney health plan would save $206 million after 7 years
A health benefits reform bill introduced by Senate President Steve Sweeney would save the state $206.2 million once it is fully phased in, according to an analysis of the bill by the Office of Legislative Services. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
>Students for a Democratic Society at Montclair State are hosting former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers
Bill Ayers on Education &; The New Activism , Thursday, March 24th 2011, 8:15 pm – 10:30 pm at the University Hall, Room: 1030. The event Sponsored By: Students for a Democratic Society.
“Ayers named one of his three children after Zayd Shakur (Tupac’s uncle), the Black Panther who was killed during the infamous JoAnne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur) shootout on the NJ Turnpike that killed State Trooper Werner Foerster and wounded State Trooper James Harper.”
In June 1969, the Weatherman took control of the SDS at its national convention, where Ayers was elected Education Secretary. Later in 1969, Ayers participated in planting a bomb at a statue dedicated to police casualties in the 1886 Haymarket affair confrontation between labor supporters and the Chicago police.
Ayers participated in the Days of Rage riot in Chicago in October 1969, and in December was at the “War Council” meeting in Flint,Michigan. Two major decisions came out of the “War Council.” The first was to immediately begin a violent, armed struggle (e.g., bombings and armed robberies) against the state without attempting to organize or mobilize a broad swath of the public. The second was to create underground collectives in major cities throughout the country. Larry Grathwohl, a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant in the Weatherman group from the fall of 1969 to the spring of 1970, stated that “Ayers, along with Bernardine Dohrn, probably had the most authority within the Weatherman”.
In an interview published in 1995, Ayers characterized his political beliefs at that time and in the 1960s and 1970s: “I am a radical, Leftist, small ‘c’ communist … [Laughs] Maybe I’m the last communist who is willing to admit it. [Laughs] We have always been small ‘c’ communists in the sense that we were never in the Communist party and never Stalinists. The ethics of communism still appeal to me. I don’t like Lenin as much as the early Marx.
Ayers was asked in a January 2004 interview, “How do you feel about what you did? Would you do it again under similar circumstances?” He replied: “I’ve thought about this a lot. Being almost 60, it’s impossible to not have lots and lots of regrets about lots and lots of things, but the question of did we do something that was horrendous, awful? … I don’t think so. I think what we did was to respond to a situation that was unconscionable.”
In an op-ed piece in 2008, Ayers gave this assessment of his actions:The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being — debated. He also reiterated his rebuttal to the charge of terrorism: The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices…. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war.
>Readers concerned over appearance of a Teacher Union slowdown at Ridgewood Schools
OFF TOPIC WARNING – Today was a nice day and a Friday. My RHS student spent 4 of her classes in the Campus Center. Is it too convenient for teachers to now call in with little/no consequences or I am just paranoid? One teacher was scheduled to be out and had work for them. The other three . . . zilch.
>State to take tougher look at graduation and dropout rates
As New Jersey continues to revamp what is required of students to graduate, high schools this summer will face more stringent calculations on exactly what are their graduation and drop out rates. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>Telecom Deregulation: towns concerned about losing money from franchise fees
Loosened N.J. phone controls hits snag
A proposal to deregulate traditional landlines and cable television in New Jersey has run into opposition, from seniors worried about rates going up to towns concerned about losing money from franchise fees. (Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal)
>Up In Smoke: Six N.J. nonprofit agencies to produce, sell medical marijuana
Six N.J. nonprofit agencies to produce, sell medical marijuana
Webster “Dan” Todd Jr., brother of New Jersey’s first female governor, Christie Whitman, is now a pioneer in his own right: he sits on the board of one of the first legally-sanctioned medical marijuana providers in the Garden State. (Livio, The Star-Ledger)
>New Jersey state senators approve changes to bill allowing solar farms on Pinelands landfills
New Jersey state senators approve changes to bill allowing solar farms on Pinelands landfills State lawmakers who passed a bill allowing solar farms to be built on landfills in the Pinelands voted Monday to accommodate Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed changes to the plan. (Fletcher, Press of Atlantic City)
>Isabel Park of Ridgewood,selected for JCC Thurnauer School of Music Master Class
JCC Thurnauer School of Music Announces Selected Students For Master Class
The JCC Thurnauer School of Music, recently named a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, is pleased to announce the violin students selected to perform in a master class with New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow on Sunday, April 10 from 2 to 5 p.m.
The class, open to anyone who would like to attend, will take place in the school’s Eric Brown Theater, located within the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades (411 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly). The suggested donation to attend the class is $10, payable at the door.
The students (participants and honorable mention), selected by a panel of distinguished musicians and music educators, come from eight of the more than 50 municipalities in New York and New Jersey represented by the Thurnauer student body. Selected student participants are Ari Boutris (New York, N.Y.); Stephanie Xu (Closter, N.J.); Mia Park (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.); Isabel Park (Ridgewood, N.J.); Amanda Chao and Andrew Yohann Kim (Tenafly); and Lucia Nowik (Warren, N.J.). Students chosen for Honorable Mention are Emily Chen and June Lee (Closter); Rachelle Huh (Demarest, N.J.); Dylan Hamme (Leonia, N.J.); and Sanford Whatley (Tenafly).
The master class is part of the music school’s Sylvia & Jacob Handler Master Class Series, and is the third and final class of the 2010-2011 Season. In January, the school welcomed New York Philharmonic cellist Eric Bartlett, and in March Philharmonic pianist (and music school parent) Jonathan Feldman.
The master class will mark Mr. Dicterow’s second appearance with Thurnauer School of Music students this year. On February 9, he performed the “Theme from Schindler’s List” as soloist with the Thurnauer Symphony Orchestra at the music school’s 2011 Gift of Music Gala Benefit Concert at the Bergen Performing Arts Center. The evening, which featured 10 musicians from the Philharmonic including music school parents Sheryl Staples (principal associate concertmaster), Judith LeClair (principal bassoon) and Mr. Feldman, raised nearly $100,000 in support of music education at the school.
>Women Gardeners of Ridgewood featured speaker Lynden B. Miller Public Garden Designer, Director of the Conservatory Garden in Central Park
Parks, Plants and People Women Gardener’s Event presented by the Women Gardeners of Ridgewood with featured speaker Lynden B. Miller Public Garden Designer, Director of the Conservatory Garden in Central Park and Author Please join us on: Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 12:30 PM (doors open at 12:00 noon) **book signing by featured speaker, Lynden B. Miller** **potting shed and unusual boutique sale** **beverages and dessert will be served** Location: The Westside Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe St., Ridgewood, NJ Tickets:$20 prepaid, $25 day of event Prepaid Tickets: Make your check and mail (postmarked no later than 3/27) to: WGR, 504D Aspen Lane, Wyckoff, NJ 07481-1586 All Prepaid tickets will be at “will call” desk on April 7 www.womengardenersofridgewood.com Questions: 201-560-9977
