>Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church Announces a Special Benefit Piano Concert at Forte Piano with piano virtuosos Dean Tomanelli and Vladimir Zaslavsky
Paramus, NJ – January 29, 2010 – The piano duo of Dean Tomanelli and Vladimir Zaslavsky will perform a benefit concert of standards from the “great American songbook” by Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others, at 7:30 p.m. on January 29, at the Forte Piano store, 385 Route 17 Southbound in Paramus. This is a benefit for barrier-free access at Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church. Tickets at $25 can be ordered from the church office: (201) 445-1832 Forte Piano musicians
Vladimir Zaslavsky, the owner of Forte Piano, is a native of Abkhazia and a graduate of the University of Culture in St. Petersburg, Russia. He spent nine years as music director of the Chamber Jewish Musical Theater in Moscow while also playing piano at jazz festivals across Russia. He wrote the music for the children’s opera “Wise Man from Helom,” which received 120 performances in Eastern Europe. He then became assistant to the conductor at Italy’s Opera di Roma, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1990.
Dean Tomanelli began exploring the piano at age 3. By high school he was directing musicals for his school and local theater groups, and doing cabaret performances taken from the “great American songbook.” He studied at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Virginia. For the past 20 years he has been a bandleader and solo pianist in the New York area at such prestigious venues as the Rainbow Room, the Plaza, Tavern on the Green, the Waldorf Astoria, and Windows on the World.
A sampling of this duo’s performances is available for viewing on the Forte Piano website–www.pianostorenj.com.
About Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church
Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church is a community of people drawn together by Jesus Christ. Our life as a church is built around worship, ministry and fellowship, and marked by praise, commitment to truth, commitment to neighbors and each other, servanthood, mutual caring, and hope.
You are invited to visit us and to join in our church’s life of faith and service.
About Forte Piano
Forte Piano was founded in 1995 by the Zaslavsky family. They have come a long way, from a small local showroom to one of the largest single store piano operations in the country. Forte Piano represents the best piano brands in every quality and price They have earned the highest reputation in the industry for having a large selection of the finest new and pre-owned pianos and for providing the closest personal attention and the highest quality customer service.
Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church
Pastor Craig Broek
271 Lincoln Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-1832 Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church Forte Piano
Vladimir Zaslavsky
385 Southbound Route 17 Paramus, NJ 07652 201-265-1212 Forte Piano
>It seems that Ms. Goodman is right to be cautious about whether Ridgewood will ever see the $10 million dollars in matching funds from the state of NJ for our turf fields. We have it from a good source that Governor Corzine has refused to sign off on any school referendums. Which means that Ridgewood’s recently passed $48 million dollar bond referendum is in limbo awaiting the approval of incoming Governor Christie. Who, by the way, has made it abundantly clear that he is going to cut state spending.
So, if Governor Christie doesn’t sigh off on the recent school referendums, they will have to be voted on again. What do you think the chances are that our BOE can muster the 62 vote margin needed to pass this boondoggle of a bond again? If I were a bettin’ man, I’d say slim to none considering we ain’t gettin’ the $10 mill in matchin’ grant money from the new governor.
Watch how optimism turns to pessimism as our BOE grapples with this issue and a cash shortfall of close to $3 million in this year’s operating budget.
As we have said all along, this group at Cottage Place is in over its head… in every capacity. Thank goodness we have great principals who run our schools in spite of the BOE and its bloated administration.
>Do you people have nothing better to do than grumble and complain about everyone and everything? This blog has reached new lows – you’ve run out of things to complain about (the Village Council and the BOE) and so now you are attacking tax-paying, law abiding community members who happen to have teenage children? It’s always a delicate balance when you are the parent of a teen – eveyone does the best they can and what they don’t need are some anonymous posters blogging and criticizing with no knowledge of the facts.
I suspect that the posters here either do not live in Ridgewood, or have children in the elementary and middle schools and think they will never have to deal with such issues because their children are “perfect” and their relationship with them is completely open and honest.
Whatever the reason, find something else to grumble and complain about – this entire post is mean-spirited and pointless. By the way, I am the parent of two honor roll and involved studenets at the high school- as with most teens across the US there is much temptation. We try to keep the lines of communication open and do the best that we can – just like all the other well meaning parents out there.
Perfect Pita began as just as a kosher food take-out restaurant and expanded into a counter style sit in food eatery after their reputation for serving very good kosher food at reasonable prices. Perfect Pita is very popular kosher food restaurant for people who enjoy Middle Eastern dishes such as Moroccan pot roast and falafel as well as the Cholent which the traditional Sabbath stew of meat, beans, vegetables and potatoes.
About little over a year ago, the store front next door became available and Perfect Pita expanded into a sit down restaurant featuring a party room which can seat more people.
Perfect Pita’s kosher counter staff is extremely friendly and our service dependable as well as fast to please our customers “on-the-go” lifestyles.
Today people of all backgrounds are enjoying the middle eastern taste that Perfect Pita has to offer. From Hummus with falafel, to Beef shish kebab, Perfect Pita Restaurant will satisfy your middle eastern taste bud as well as your wallet!
https://perfectpitanj.com/index.html
Our Perfect Pita Hours: Sunday thru Thursday 11 AM to 9 PM Summer: Fri. 9 am to 3 pm Winter Fri. 9 am to 2 pm
>Ridgewood has the ability to save money much like many other towns in this county. We just need to get rid of the excess numbers of town employees that we have, including those teachers that are not adding any value to the quality of education that our kids are getting.
We don’t need traffic wardens – the cops can that do that job when they are not crashing into unsuspecting motorists or when they are not doing their job as drivers speed through our streets and Joe Cop is talking on his cell phone and not doing anything about what’s going on around him.
Go to the train station any work day morning and you will find any number of town employees sitting inside the station drinking coffee and bullshitting with the coffee lady when they should be out doing their job. If they have time to do this at that hour of the morning, we don’t need – get rid of them.
In regards to the cops, we don’t need half the number of the force that we currently have because it’s not like we live in Dodge – it’s Ridgewood for God’s sake – read the Police Blotter in the local rags and what you will see is a listing of those three or four drivers that have been stopped for DWI. We don’t have serious crime – the cops should also do the school crossing guard job so they can look busy. We don’t need the elderly folks stepping out and helping children to cross our roads (some actually try to direct the traffic when they have helped the kids cross the street and that really pisses me off). Let the cops do it – maybe if motorists saw a cop car on the streets by our schools they would be forced to slow down – they currently don’t slow down for some old guy rushing groups of kids across the street.
Let’s start bringing revenue-making businesses back into town. We need to work towards enhancing consumer traffic into the down town area by bringing back some of the retail stores that this town could do with. We don’t need anymore banks, we need to start bringing brand-name stores back to town so that our money is not going to the big malls in Paramus. We can no longer have a day out in Ridgewood because two stores and Star Bucks and its time to go home – Let’s start catering to the residents of this town and not to the demands of its public officials, town employees and teachers – we need to get Ridgewood back on track and focused on the need to modernize itself and that includes a total revamp of the piss pot – otherwise known as Graydon Pool. We are loosing revenues there big time – stylish food courts, party rental space, etc., could all be major revenue earners for this town.
The overall message needs to be – stop complaining about the financial situation that we are in and that we are digging ourselves deeper into – bloody do something about and if our elected officials won’t listen to us, then their time in office will be a short lived experience – but not many people have the balls to switch party alliances in this town – that is why we are in the state we are – the saga continues…
>You get what you pay for. If you want second rate teachers with a high turn over, then pay less and reduce benefits. If we want our schools to be nothing more than day care centers with minimum wage workers your taxes will be reduced. However, the value of you house will also be reduced. Even if you don’t have children in the school system this will cost you in the long run. I think the BOE has made some poor business decisions and that the administration is top heavy. BUT, I still believe that we get above average service from the hands on class room teachers.
Don’t forget, no one is breaking down the school house doors in the nation looking for teaching jobs. Most of us in Ridgewood could not afford to live on $100,000 a year, even with the top level health benefits and a good pension.
>Below is directly from the New Jersey DOE in response to an email I sent requesting information about BOE budgets and Capital Projects.
“Districts are permitted, but not required, to set aside funds into capital or maintenance reserve accounts briefly described below.
1. Capital Reserve – The capital reserve account allows a district to accumulate funds for future capital projects. Once funds are deposited into a capital reserve, they may only be used for capital projects and are not available to be used for general district expenses. The maximum amount that may be placed into a capital reserve is the district share needed for projects included in the long-range facilities plan prepared by the district. Deposits into a capital reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations.
2. Maintenance Reserve – The maintenance reserve allows a district to accumulate funds for payment of required maintenance expenses. Once funds are deposited into a maintenance reserve, they may only be used for required maintenance expenses. Deposits to a maintenance reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations.
3. Emergency Reserve – The emergency reserve allows a district to accumulate funds for payment of expenses for emergency circumstances that were not budgeted for the year. The maximum balance permitted in an emergency reserve is the greater of $250,000 or 1% of the general fund budget not to exceed $1 million. Deposits to an emergency reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations. Withdrawals from the emergency reserve require approval from the Commissioner of Education, unless the withdrawal is necessary to meet an increase in total health care costs in excess of 4% over the prior year.
Note that if a district has applied and received Commissioner approval to exceed the annual 4% tax levy cap, then that district is not allowed to make deposits into the capital, maintenance or emergency reserves for the year in which the approval was granted. School districts are also allowed to keep an unreserved surplus of a maximum of 2% of their general fund budget for items that may arise during the year.”
I don’t see anything in there that says they must “budget and spend” on a yearly basis. I see that they can’t use the Captial Projects money for anything other than Capital Projects and that each district may keep a maximum of 2% of their general budget in reserve for unexpected expenses. I also see that Districts who exceed the 4% tax levy cap can not make deposits into a Capital Projects reserve. It is my understanding that Ridgewood does not exceed the 4% tax levy cap.
As much as the BoE lackey’s wants to assert the opposite, the district is allowed to have a capital reserve maintenance fund. Please refer to NJ State DOE:
Hasan’s finances have been a mystery since last week, when the Army major and psychiatrist allegedly shot and killed 13 colleagues at the sprawling Central Texas military base. Hasan earned more than $90,000 a year and had no dependents, yet lived in an aging one-bedroom apartment that rented for about $300 a month.
“You can bet there is an ongoing, extensive investigation into every single financial transaction he made,” said Matt Orwig, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas who has no direct knowledge of the Hasan case. “Federal investigative agencies are very good at tracing the flow of money, both to him and from him.”
Authorities know that Hasan sent repeated e-mails, starting some time in December 2008, to a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen. That cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, formerly served as imam of a large northern Virginia mosque where Hasan worshipped. The U.S.-born cleric praised Hasan after the massacre as “a hero.”
In January, al-Awlaki told readers of his blog about “44 ways to support jihad” – a term often translated as “holy war.” Many of his points dealt with ways to fund such efforts.
“Probably the most important contribution the Muslims of the West could do for Jihad is making Jihad with their wealth,” al-Awlaki wrote. “In many cases the mujahideen are in need of money more than they are in need of men.”
He also stressed the importance of “avoiding the life of luxury.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department referred questions Wednesday to the FBI, which didn’t return a message seeking comment. FBI officials have said they studied Hasan’s communications with an unnamed radical Muslim and concluded they were a harmless part of his academic research.
Hoekstra said he wants to know whether authorities knew about Hasan’s behavior when they decided his contacts with the Yemeni imam were essentially harmless.
“The conclusion based off just the e-mails might have been perfectly legitimate,” Hoekstra said. “But if the [terrorism] analyst for some reason didn’t have access to all this other information, that might be where the problem is.”
Hard trail to follow?
Matthew Levitt, director of counterterrorism and intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said wire transfers to Pakistan would be “extremely significant in terms of a potential network for this particular case.”
Tracing money to Pakistan could be easy if Hasan used a formal bank or wire service. It would be more difficult if he sent money under another name or used an informal channel known as hawala that is popular in Pakistan and doesn’t involve paperwork.
“If it turns out the person was radicalized to the point he was sending money to other insurgents or other terrorists, that takes it to another level still,” Levitt said.
Staff writers Brooks Egerton and Jim Landers contributed to this report.
Lets see.. Teachers union: None of you will life a finger. BOE: None of you will run for a position. Action Committees in Local Gov: Zippo Stand up at a BOE meeting and raise the protest voice: Nope.
All hot air.
The problems are real and they need an immediate fix. As bad as it may be, there is FOUND MONEY in this plan, and we should grab it.
Voting YES. Blog away… you cannot stop anyone who has children in our schools and wants to see improvement NOW for our tax dollars.
YES !!!!!
10:34 AM Vote NO !!!!
Found money is the ticket, just like the SCC during the ethically-challenged McGreevey administration. They pissed away funds and bankrupted the SCC through corruption before all of the schools that needed work could get the funds. Does anyone remember that Willard project that was supposed to get SCC funds, hmm? And THAT was during relatively better times. Do you mean to tell me that the $9 mil we are supposed to get will actually make it here while an $8 bil deficit in this start looms next year?
Keep talking 1034 and continue to demean honest citizens of Ridgewood who are tired of paying for the mismanagement.
1039, you are not alone. Voting NO and mobilizing for 2010.
>Freight Container Remains Lodged In Ho-Ho-Kus Brook – Removal Expenses May Be BOE’s Responsibility
A freight container weighing in excess of 10,000 pounds remains lodged in the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook near Ridgewood High School after washing away during Sunday’s torrential downpour and striking the Ridgewood Avenue bridge. The bridge sustained minor structural damage, but was deemed safe for continued pedestrian and motor vehicle use by Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser.
Despite previous posts on this blog suggesting the container may have washed downstream from a point miles above, it is now believed to have been located on the property of Ridgewood High School. The Village’s engineering staff is currently evaluating methods for the container’s safe removal; unconfirmed reports are that it may be resting on top of a water main. If the container is confirmed to be the property of, or leased by, Ridgewood’s Board of Education, all costs associated with its removal will most likely be billed back to the BOE.
>This morning, Village officials declared RHS’ bleachers adjacent to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook as being “unsafe.” It is believed that damage caused by Sunday’s flooding was the principal reason for this declaration. The bleachers are now completely cordoned off with caution tape and fencing. Appropriate signage was crafted and installed as well. No details concerning a timeline for repairs are available at this time.
During an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jake Tapper today, President Obama said that penalties are appropriate for people who try to “free ride” the health care system but stopped short of endorsing the threat of jail time for those who refuse to pay a fine for not having insurance.
“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don’t, you’re subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it’s affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there’s a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are — are burdened by because of the fact that people don’t have health insurance, you know, there’s nothing wrong with a penalty.”
Under the House bill those who can afford to buy insurance and don’t’ pay a fine. If the refuse to pay that fine there’s a threat – as with a lot of tax fines – of jail time. The Senate removed that provision in the Senate Finance Committee.
Mr. Obama said penalties have to be high enough for people to not game the system, but it’s also important to not be “so punitive” that people who are having a hard time find themselves suddenly worse off, thus why hardship exemptions have been built in the legislation.
“I think the general broad principle is simply that people who are paying for their health insurance aren’t subsidizing folks who simply choose not to until they get sick and then suddenly they expect free health insurance. That’s — that’s basic concept of responsibility that I think most Americans abide by,” Mr. Obama said, “penalties are appropriate for people who try to free ride the system and force others to pay for their health insurance.”
The President said that he didn’t think the question over the appropriateness of possible jail time is the “biggest question” the House and Senate are facing right now.
>Alleged Shooter Had “Unexplained Connections” to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki By MARTHA RADDATZ, BRIAN ROSS, MARY-ROSE ABRAHAM, and REHAB EL-BURI Nov. 10, 2009 —
A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had “more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI” than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon.
Questions already surround Major Hasan’s contact with Awlaki, a radical cleric based in Yemen whom authorities consider a recruiter for al Qaeda. U.S. officials now confirm Hasan sent as many as 20 e-mails to Awlaki. Authorities intercepted the e-mails but later deemed them innocent or protected by the first amendment.
The FBI said it turned over the information to the Army, but Defense Department officials today denied that. One military investigator on a joint terror task force with the FBI was shown the e-mails, but they were never forwarded in a formal way to more senior officials at the Pentagon, and the Army did not learn of the contacts until after the shootings.
In Texas, an hour before a memorial service for the Fort Hood victims, four FBI agents showed up at the Killeen mosque where Hasan prayed and searched a trash bin outside. The mosque president was clearly upset when he had to return from traveling to the service to sign a document handed to him by agents, apparently authorizing the search.
The FBI would not comment on what the agents were looking for at the mosque a full five days after the shooting, but motivation remains the focus.
“Obviously, the key is did he act alone,” former senior FBI official Brad Garrett told ABC News. “And secondarily is, what evidence might potentially be in the dumpsters or at the mosque.”
“We’re concerned any time a house of worship is searched in this fashion,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group. “And we would follow up to see if there was probable cause for the search and if it was carried out in the appropriate and legal manner.”
Agents had already seized Hasan’s computer in a search of this apartment last Thursday night, and all of his internet contacts and writings are under examination.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation to fellow Army doctors in 2007 in which he said, “It’s getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims.” He recommended that Muslim soldiers be given the option of being released from the military as conscientious objectors to decrease what he called “adverse events.” Under “comments,” he wrote, “We love death more than you love life.”
