CHRIS RUTISHA– USER – Village Engineer rips down posters at Planning Board public meeting on June 14
A lecture in civility was offered by Chairman Nicholson as he called the June 14th Planning Board H-Zone meeting to order. Yet, just moments before the meeting was called to order informational posters, neatly placed on the walls of the Benjamin Franklin Middle School, were violently ripped down by a Village Employee. The posters were crumbled and stuffed into garbage pails.
After watching their hard work be torn down, destroyed before their eyes and stuffed into trash cans, Ridgewood residents sat politely for this lecture in civility. Insulting the taxpayers further, the Chairman followed up with a diatribe exposing his contempt for Ridgewood residents. Mr. Nicholson stated he did not care how many of us showed up, he did not care how many signs we held up, and he did not care how many of our emails or letters he received in opposition. As an afterthought he turned to the Valley Hospital employees, filling the side of the auditorium, and politely stated “or in support”.
Nicholson’s disrespect and condescension towards Ridgewood residents was a disgrace and his lecture on civility was The Height of Hypocrisy!
the Ridgewood blog the number one local news website in New Jersey is looking for nominations for best Pizza in Ridgewood, New Jersey.Please submit your favorite pizza spot to: [email protected]
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The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’.
On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.
Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as ‘Flag Day’, and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.
Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.
In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children’s celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.
Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”
Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day -the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 – was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
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>There have been a number of comments lately about how “Ridgewood” (read, the Village Counci) is unfriendly to business. Some have suggested that this is a contributing factor to why so many businesses have left Ridgewood in the last 18 months. Personally, I don’t think the parking rate increase is as much of a problem as some have claimed. No doubt the economic recession has accelerated the exodus of business from Ridgewood. But, if we are really honest, that trend was well established years before the recession was ever upon us or before the VC raised parking rates.
The real impediment to business in Ridgewood is the unrealistically high rent rates. Go back and read blogs from two or three years ago that complain about the proliferation of banks and restaurants, because they are the only ones who can afford to locate in Ridgewood. The lack of easy parking is also a significant issue, if we want to attract the nationally known, high end retailers. Of course, we can only blame ourselves for blocking progress on a suitable parking garage. Perhaps we should be focusing our attention on these issues, rather complaining about a 15 cent meter increase or suggesting that Mayor Pfund, perhaps the most consistent and responsible council member, is to blame for Ridgewood’s problems.
>Busy Overnight For Ridgewood’s Emergency Responders
Ridgewood’s career and volunteer emergency EMS and Fire responders were kept busy by several serious incidents from late Friday evening, through the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Incidents included a utility pole being struck by a motor vehicle near the Hawthorne border, a major house fire on East Glen Avenue, and one of Ridgewood’s own ambulances being involved in a serious collision with a Ridgewood Taxi owned vehicle at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and North Maple Avenue.
When things happen in Ridgewood, they seem to happen all at once!
>A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON SATURDAY TO 11 AM EST SUNDAY.
DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE OVER THE ATLANTIC SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WILL RESULT IN THE A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BEFORE THE SNOW ENDS SUNDAY MORNING.
ANY MINOR DEVIATION IN THE TRACK OF THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL HAVE A LARGE IMPACT ON SNOW AMOUNTS AND WIND STRENGTH. AT THIS TIME… THE BEST ESTIMATION IS FOR THE STORM TO TAKE A FAVORABLE TRACK TO PRODUCE THIS MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. STAY TUNED.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW… SLEET… AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.
>Sixty-six percent (66%) of U.S. voters prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes over a more active government with more services and higher taxes.
That’s the second highest finding of the year: In August at the height of the congressional town hall controversies over the health care plan, 70% felt that way.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% prefer a government with more services and higher taxes. Eleven percent (11%) aren’t sure which is best.
>There are hundreds of Stop the Valley Expansion signs on lawns all over Ridgewood. The home owners who display these signs overwhelming use Valley hospital and DO support the hospital’s need to modernize.
What they do NOT support is the details in the Renewal, saying that there are other more Ridgewood friendly ways to achieve the needed upgrade. This position has been supported recently by the Professional Hospital Expert that the Planning Board hired to review the plans. People who continue to say that there is only one alternative for the H-Zone (the Renewal), and who class anyone who questions this logic as anti-hospital are not only naïve but are not putting Ridgewood first. Remember Valley is part of Ridgewood; Ridgewood is NOT an just extension of the hospital.
> FREE PARKING IN RIDGEWOOD – Friday & Saturday in December
The Village Council has determined that on Fridays and Saturdays – December 4, 5, 11,12,18, 19 parking on the streets and in parking lots (Rt. 17 Park and Ride NOT included)will be free!
You are invited to come shop and dine without paying parking meters on East and West Ridgewood Avenue, Godwin Ave., Broad St., Chestnut, Oak, Walnut Streets, Cottage Place; Van Neste Sq., Dayton St. and Franklin Ave., Passaic St. and Hudson St.
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood 10 Chestnut Street Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 Phone: 201-447-2204 Email: [email protected] Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
> Given the results of the recent school referendum the staff of the Ridgewood blog is wondering if there really is a West side (vs) East side mentality in Ridgewood ?
Our “East side” friends claim they only became aware of this gulf at RHS or if as kids we were involved in joint Village activities like Ridgewood Football or Ridgewood baseball /soft ball. There seemed to be a certain level of favoritism. However some of our “West side” friends have asserted that it is a “West side ” institution to assume that the “East side ” is the wrong side of the tracks sorta speak and if you want to test the waters just mention ‘school redistricting” at any “West side” cocktail party.
>Interestingly, reading from that report of Americas best high schools, is a school listed as #30 in Nashville, College readiness 87%. “where the roof leaks, kids eat lunch in the hallways, and rats sometimes raid the vending machines.” “That hasn’t stopped the students from learning or getting into Ivy League schools such as Harvard.”
One major challenge all of the nation’s best public high schools are facing is how to continue to challenge students despite budget pressures. Although the federal stimulus money has helped many school districts retain teachers who otherwise would have been laid off, many schools are finding it difficult to renovate—or even maintain—their older buildings. At Martin Luther King Academic Magnet High School in Nashville, No. 30 on the list, students and faculty have found ways to achieve in a 1930s-era building in which the roof leaks, kids eat lunch in the hallways because the cafeteria is too small, and rats sometimes raid the vending machines. “All of Nashville should be concerned that we are educating the best and brightest in a broken-down building,” says Shunn Turner, principal of MLK high school.
That hasn’t stopped the students from learning or getting into Ivy League schools such as Harvard. “With all the amazing teachers, students, counselors, and staff, there was no need to focus on why the lockers didn’t open half the time or why the soccer team changed outside,” says Jake Rudin, an ’09 MLK graduate who currently is a freshman at Cornell University. MLK schools College readiness 87%.
Can’t help but notice further on report – Ridgewood schools college readiness 56.0% not even in top 100list. Conclusion: one can’t put fault on the buildings from keeping kids from excelling in academics.
>Downtown shopping districts have changed dramatically over the decades. What was once known as the ‘hub’ of great shopping towns had gradually dispersed to the malls. The great seasonal sales with long lines of shoppers waiting for doors to open in downtown shop areas of Ridgewood, Hackensack and Paterson have disappeared. The department stores of the Meyer Brothers, Quackenbush, Sealfons, MacHugh, many jewelry stores and specialty shops are gone from the downtowns, and they’re not coming back. The retail trend has been the malls and highways, location and variety that draws foot traffic and free parking.
Heard a few shop owners moved out of CBD to nearby towns, because of the high rents in Ridgewood. Its well known, the rents drove out the smaller specialty merchants in the 70’s, in 80’s recession and 90’s even greater mall expansions. Its not just in the CBD, the retail sector in general has been hit hard with the current economy, some large chains closed locations and offer online shopping to cut overhead. With the closing of shops in small towns and also as malls struggle, small stores come and go there too, will our only option become the virtual online shopping? I hope not. The parking meters are a deterrent, people have to hope they have change in their pockets, if they keep them, roll back the meter fees, the increase was not the right thing to do.
CHRIS RUTISHA– USER – Village Engineer rips down posters at Planning Board public meeting on June 14
