Odessa Jewish community mulls emergency evacuation
By SAM SOKOL
Odessa’s Jews are prepared to evacuate should the violence in the western Ukrainian city get significantly worse, several community leaders told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Odessa’s Jewish community numbers some 30,000, down from nearly 40 percent of the city’s population before the Holocaust.
Running street battles between pro-Russian and nationalist forces claimed dozens of lives in the Black Sea port this weekend, culminating in the burning of dozens of pro-Russian protesters in the city’s trade union building on Friday evening.
The Odessa bloodshed came on the same day that Kiev launched its biggest push yet to reassert its control over separatist areas in the east, hundreds of kilometers away, where armed pro-Russian rebels have proclaimed a “People’s Republic of Donetsk.”
While Jewish community leaders are unanimous in asserting that the violence is unconnected to the Jewish community and that they do not feel specially targeted, they agreed that, should the situation deteriorate, it would be easy for the spillover to affect their constituents.
According to Rabbi Refael Kruskal – the head of the Tikva organization, which runs a network of orphanages and schools and provides social services to the city’s elderly – several of the wounded from Friday’s clashes were Jews, and the community is taking all necessary precautions.
Ms. Knudsen and Mr. Sedon clearly do care about the Village
Fifteen years in town, with three children going through the schools, is not a newbie. Ms. Knudsen is vice chair of the Zoning Board and active on many fronts. Mr. Sedon wrote about Ridgewood for the Ridgewood News, learning more about the issues than 95% of longtime residents.
Mr. Albano has been busy “in the fields” but almost never voted in municipal elections and didn’t attend any meetings. Length of residency alone does not make a person knowledgeable.
The current mayor had lived in town for only a few years before joining the council. The difference is that he has never cared about the town or comprehended what used to make it great. He simply saw it as a steppingstone and continues to use it as such. In contrast, Ms. Knudsen and Mr. Sedon clearly do care.
Ben Carson: ‘We’re Being Manipulated’ by Those ‘Trying to Divide Us’ Alissa Tabirian April 18, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Dr. Ben Carson slammed the culture of political correctness and partisan labels at a WPEC-TV town hall panel held Thursday at the station’s studio in West Palm Beach, Florida, arguing that it has stifled free expression in America—namely religious freedom.
“We’re being manipulated. We’re being played by those people who want to divide, conquer, and control,” Carson said, alluding to the labels attached to those who disagree with their liberal counterparts. (Carson’s comments begin at at the 19:08 mark on the second video,WPEC Town Hall Religion 2. Scroll down the page and the three videos of the event are on the right side).
“If you are pro-life, then you’re anti-woman. If you’re pro-traditional marriage, then you’re homophobic. If you’re a white person and you say something against a progressive black person, you’re a racist,” Carson explained, calling for Americans “to realize that we are not each other’s enemies. The enemies are those people who are trying to divide us up.”
The panel featured religious leaders and a representative of an atheist organization speaking about religious freedom in society, including prayer in schools and the roots of morality.
Carson noted that when it comes to religion in the public sphere, secular progressives “try to impose a code of silence upon those who believe differently than they do.”
He cited the role of the Founding Fathers in building America as “a very spiritual nation” despite the claims of those “who try to re-write history,” and spoke of his own faith throughout his life’s work in pediatric neurosurgery.
Commenting on the split between science and religion on human biological development, Carson said, “It requires an enormous amount of faith to believe that something came from nothing.”
High school senior forms petition with over ONE THOUSAND signatures against Michele Obama speaking at their high school graduation ‘because it would overshadow the students’ big day’
Taylor Gifford, 18, started an online petition on Thursday with over 1,200 signatures asking that Michelle Obama not speak at Topeka High School graduation Obama’s speech is tied to the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education outlawing segregation in schools Some students feel that the speech would overshadow student accomplishments and others feel limited seating will be a problem
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 17:26 EST, 18 April 2014 | UPDATED: 01:20 EST, 19 April 2014
If expanding the guest list to include Michelle Obama at graduation for high school students in the Kansas capital city means fewer seats for friends and family, some students and their parents would prefer the first lady not attend.
A furor over what the Topeka school district considers an honor has erupted after plans were announced for Obama to address a combined graduation ceremony for five area high schools next month an 8,000-seat arena. For some, it was the prospect of a tight limit on the number of seats allotted to each graduate.
For others, it was the notion that Obama’s speech, tied to the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education outlawing segregation in schools, would overshadow the student’s big day.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2607817/Kansas-speech-Michelle-Obama-draws-complaints.html#ixzz2zQakn74k Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
7 dangerous Apps that kids are using and parents need to know about
A look into the some of the scariest Apps for your kids
Yik Yak – This App is one of the newest and one of the most dangerous. It allows users to post text-only Yaks of up to 200 characters. The messages can be viewed by the 500 Yakkers who are closest to the person who wrote the Yak, as determined by GPS tracking. Users are exposed to – and contributing -sexually explicit content, abusive language and personal attacks so severe that schools are starting to block the App on their Wi-Fi. Although the posts are anonymous, kids start revealing personal information as they get more comfortable with other users.
SnapChat – This App allows users to send photos that will disappear after 10 seconds. Once the recipient opens the picture, the timer starts. Then it’s gone. From both the sender’s phone and the recipient’s phone. However, the recipient can take a screen shot of the photo and have it to share with others. This App enables kids to feel more comfortable “sexting” with peers. KiK Messenger – This is a private messenger app and is coveted by those under 18 for a number of reasons. The App allows kids to send private messages that their parents can’t see. There is very little you can do to verify the identity of someone on Kik, which obviously poses the risk of sexual predators chatting with your child. And again, this is an easy tool for sexting. Poof –The Poof App allows users to make Apps disappear on their phone with one touch. Kids can hide every app they don’t want you to see on their phone. All they have to do is open the App and select the ones they don’t want you to see. Very scary! The good news about this App is it is no longer available, which isn’t uncommon for these types of Apps. But, if it was downloaded before it was deleted from the App store, your child may still have it. Keep in mind that Apps like this are created and then terminated pretty quickly by Android and Apple stores, but there are similar ones being created constantly. Some other names include: Hidden Apps, App Lock and Hide It Pro. Omegle – This App has been around since 2008, with video chat added in 2009. When you use Omegle you do not identify yourself through the service – chat participants are only identified as “You” and “Stranger”. You don’t have to register for the App. However, you can connect Omegle to your Facebook account to find chat partners with similar interests. When choosing this feature, an Omegle Facebook App will receive your Facebook “likes” and try to match you with a stranger with similar likes. This is not okay for children. There is a high risk of sexual predators and you don’t want your kids giving out their personal information, much less even talking to strangers. Whisper – This is a meeting App that encourages users to post secrets. You post anonymously, but it displays the area you are posting from. You can search for users posting within a mile from you. A quick look at the App and you can see that online relationships are forming constantly on this App, but you never know the person behind the computer or phone. One man in Washington was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he met on this App just last year. Down – This application, which used to be called “Bang with Friends,” is connected to Facebook. Users can categorize their Facebook friends in one of two ways: they can indicate whether or not a friend is someone they’d like to hang with or someone they are “down” to hook up with. The slogan for the App: “The anonymous, simple, fun way to find friends who are down for the night.” If that alone doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will!
Over 60,000 New Jersey Students Take Part in Field Test of Online PARCC Exams
More than 62,000 New Jersey elementary and high school students were part of the nation’s first large-scale test of the online PARCC exams, an early trial that officials are calling a success — despite some glitches.
New Jersey’s participation over the past month was among the largest in the country, topped only by Illinois and Ohio.
And depending on who is talking, the trial went fairly well, with comments still coming in. NJ Spotlight is conducting its own survey, too, for our readers to share their experiences.
The chief spokesman for PARCC — the acronym for the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — said yesterday that the field tests, which involved more than 200,000 students in more than a dozen states, went about as expected, with no major problems but plenty of smaller issues to be addressed.
Taking place in more than 1,000 New Jersey schools, the trial was in the performance-based piece of the PARCC exams for language arts and math, in which students are asked to complete writing assignments or more complex math computations.
PARCC released new versions of the practice exam last week, allowing the public to take the language arts and math tests themselves. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
Benjamin Franklin Middle School students show school spirit
Students from B.F. Middle School competed for the best Super Hero Costume as part of School Spirit week during an assembly at the school this morning. The principals of Travell, Somerville and Hawes schools came by to judge the costumes. Ridgewood Officers Michael Karcher and Lt.Glenn Ender were on hand as part of the youth outreach program.
School budget elections disappearing in New Jersey
April 12, 2014, 11:28 AM Last updated: Saturday, April 12, 2014, 11:28 AM
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Just a few years ago, April school elections were a key date on New Jersey’s political calendar, the time most of the state’s voters had — but ignored — the chance to say yes or no to property tax increases.
Now, the only-in-New Jersey votes hardly exist.
Just 26 of the state’s 585 school districts will hold elections April 23. That’s 15 fewer than last year.
The change is a result of a law that, starting in 2012, allowed schools to save money and duck public outrage by moving school board elections to November and scrap votes on the tax levy. School budgets are the biggest component of New Jersey property tax bills, which average more than $8,000, the highest in the nation.
The conversion has been faster than expected, and it has come without much complaint.
Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said his group doesn’t believe the school budgeting process has changed much because the direct vote on tax levies associated with school budgets is a thing of the past in most communities.
The budgets, he says, are still subject to a cap on how much administrative expenses can grow, still get reviewed by state education officials and are still subject to public hearing. And those that call for property tax increases of about 2 percent still must be voted on — unless the bigger increases are because of certain exceptions.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/school-budget-elections-disappearing-in-new-jersey-1.938920#sthash.zbWpmLqc.dpuf
Charter School Applications Remain Strong, Despite Few Approvals by State
Administration’s reluctance to sign off on new charters doesn’t do much to discourage nearly 40 new applicants
Even as the Christie administration approves fewer new charter schools, interest in opening these facilities remains high, with nearly 40 applications coming in last week for the latest round of review.
Thirty-eight applications were received in all, although that number may be culled after preliminary reviews are conducted by the state Department of Education to determine if the proposals are complete.
The high number of applications reflects the enduring interest in operating these schools, even as the state throttles back on approvals. In the round of applications this past March, 38 proposals yielded just three approvals.
Overall, 14 of this year’s applications are repeat submissions; nearly a dozen come from the larger education management organizations that are coming to dominate New Jersey’s charter landscape. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
UConn’s success envied around nation, especially in N.J.
APRIL 8, 2014, 10:55 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014, 12:48 AM
BY TARA SULLIVAN
RECORD COLUMNIST
THE RECORD
This was before the opening tipoff, before her Connecticut women’s basketball team routed Notre Dame for a second consecutive national championship, before Stefanie Dolson helped turn Storrs, Conn., into the college basketball’s epicenter. Dolson, a senior center who would go out and dismantle the Fighting Irish with 17 points and 16 rebounds, was asked if she’d heard any words of advice from the previous night’s national champions, otherwise known as her male counterparts back at UConn.
Dolson said she and her teammates had received texts from the men’s players that said, “One more game to go – you got this.”
That they did.
For the second night in a row, a Connecticut team outran, out-jumped and out-hustled the opposition; and for the second night in a row, Connecticut was the last college basketball team standing, finishing off a male-female double-double championship for the second time in school history.
The school that was supposed to be left behind is on top of the world.
With a wire-to-wire 79-58 win over previously undefeated Notre Dame in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday night, the Connecticut women didn’t simply finish off a perfect 40-0 season, but improved to 9-0 in national title games under head coach Geno Auriemma. One night earlier, the UConn men’s team defeated Kentucky, winning its second national title in four years, and fourth overall.
Between second-year coach Kevin Ollie and predecessor Jim Calhoun, the men’s team is also perfect in four championship games.
Connecticut’s position among the country’s elite athletic programs is indisputable, a testament to a long, sustained and successful building project that is the envy of schools across the land.
Nowhere is that shade of green deeper than amid the sea of Rutgers red, where a floundering department feels so far away from the superior level Connecticut projected to the world across a dominant month of March.
file photo Cory Booker in Ridgewood by Boyd Loving
New Jersey – It Just Ain’t Working
Editor’s Note – There are a number of national news stories today that highlight how fiscal and social policies are destroying the state. The state’s credit rating was down-graded by Moody’s, it’s largest city is posed for state takeover, public pensions are in critical condition and political correctness has run amok in our schools.
How do you plan to change this?
NEWARK FACING ‘EXTRAORDINARY LEVEL OF FISCAL DISTRESS’
UNION CITY, New Jersey–New Jersey’s biggest city has yet to file a budget and hasn’t told the state whether it will need federal aid this year. Left in an “extraordinary level of fiscal distress” by former Mayor Cory Booker, Newark is on the brink of a state takeover.
The Associated Press reports that officials responsible for keeping Newark afloat are increasingly hitting roadblocks in their attempts to streamline the government. In one letter to the City Council, one city official, Thomas Neff, described the situation as “an extraordinary level of fiscal distress” and urged the ailing city to invite state oversight.
While the city is currently being run by an interim government since Cory Booker’s ascendance to the Senate, both candidates currently running for mayor oppose state intervention. New Jersey generally is struggling through a stagnating economy and serious revenue shortfalls, but Newark has become especially aggrieved.
Neff’s argument is centered around the fact that Newark has yet to produce a budget for 2014 and has not reached out to state officials for financial aid during this difficult time.
The federal government is also threatening to intervene to save Newark’s police department. The Justice Department announced in February that it would send observers to the city to monitor police. This resulted from a 96-page appeal that the American Civil Liberties Union sent to the federal government arguing that federal oversight in Newark would prevent police abuse.
The AP notes that Booker, who ran his Senate campaign on a commitment to reform Newark, continues to be proud of his work in the city. He argues that he “turned the city around” after being told “Newark’s problems were literally impossible to solve.” After several years of stagnant crime development, however, 2013 heralded a sea change in Newark’s status quo, with a significant increase in violent crimes–carjackings, in particular. The crime wave peaked during Booker’s Senate campaign but failed to deter his victory. Booker’s mark on the city led The New York Times to attack him as an “absentee landlord” who boasted of doing his job well because he “brought ice pops” around during the summer, though he never actually fixed problems.
Even Newark’s mayoral race is plagued with crime. The inside of the campaign bus of candidate Ras Baraka was “torn apart” and burned, and sugar was poured into the gas tank. A suspect has been arrested, but Baraka accuses opponent Shavar Jeffries of orchestrating the vandalism, as official campaign finance records show that the suspect was paid by the Jeffries campaign.
Reader says Calling Villagers crackpot laypeople is yond belief. Who was the alleged comment really directed to?
He must have meant the “laypeople” on the planning board — perhaps, those asking questions about the faulty premises in the reports of the developers so-called experts, or maybe those who dare to ask what the effect of 400 new families will be on schools, traffic and other aspects of village life. Shame on those planning board members who dare to ask questions of those who testify before the board!!
Could this really have been the developers’ response to the public or did the paper get the quote wrong. Is Saracino that much of a sniveling buffoon who thinks he can get away with destroying the town by insulting Villagers? I suspect there must have been a mistake. Surely, Mr. Saracino is not an ignorant bully who thinks he can insult and buy his way into re-making Ridgewood a city made in his image.
Reader says I don’t understand the poisonous anti-development sentiment
Is anyone thinking that, as detailed in this post, the inventory of apartments in Ridgewood is old with limited ability to modernize because of the types of buildings that were the style in 1915 and again in the 1950′s are not want people want today? Is anyone thinking that newer and more modern style apartment will attract young professionals who want to start a life in Ridgewood and empty nesters who want to stay in Ridgewood? That combination will bring a vibrancy to Ridgewood so this will not just be a village with parents of school age children who leave when the kids graduate.
As a parent, I find the box of kleenex on the back to school supply list offensive beyond words but I do it and for our children, we write cheeks all year long for teams, field trips, concerts, book fairs, etc., etc. It is called the cost of living in a Village with high expectations for the schools. It is the cost of living so close to NYC.
I don’t understand the poisonous anti-development sentiment and the yard signs that imply the end of the world as we know it if things change.
PR Representative for Mr. Saraceno (The Enclave) Uses Valley tactic of belittling and attacking the opposition
Loved in the article in The Ridgewood News where I believe it was the PR Representative for Mr. Saraceno/The Enclave stated that, “The crackpot opinions of lay people have to be weighed for what they are”. Very nice. Not sure how calling people crackpots is going to help push through your development.
This is the exact same tactic that Valley has been employing for years. Anyone that dares to disagree with us is part of an ignorant minority. Those that don’t know history.
Funny none of the “The crackpot lay people” walked off with $460,000 worth of quarters right under everyone at Village Hall’s nose .
None of “The crackpot lay people” spent $500,000 on a toilet for vets field .
None of “The crackpot lay people”spent $9 million on renovating the Village Hall from flood damage only nto have it flooded out on the very first rain ..
the list is almost endless
From turf fields in flood zones , banning banks , higher density housing means less traffic to math classes that dont involve addition .
But Since you continue to ask none of “The crackpot lay people” would have even considered highering a Profession “crack pot” like Marty Brooks to be Superintendent of Schools . The BOE had spent countless amounts of tax payer money to a “search firm” which somehow failed to report Marty’s very checkered past . The first 30 pages of a Google search turned up among other things , the “WE HATE MARTY BROOKS ” website , a petition signed by over 800 parents looking to have him removed from his job in Long Island and a whole host of derogatory information . This blog was contacted by those same caring parents looking warn the Village of our coming doom . Education after all is about kids learning something , its not about teachers unions, overpaid administrators or wasteful pet projects . The Village ended up after a bit with a highly qualified , local resident Daniel Fishbein who was clearly the right choice to begin with , you can not possible tell me that the schools , though having some ups and downs are not far more focused on the “Tradition of Excellence ” now than they were then .
The point once again is perhaps its time to start questioning the judgement of many of the so called “experts “, and start listening to all the “lay people”.
APRIL 4, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014, 12:31 AM
PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE
Keep an open mind on new housing
Ed Sullivan
to the editor:
The year 1915 saw great change in Ridgewood when the first multifamily building went up at 263 Franklin Ave., where it still stands today. As demand grew, six more apartment complexes were added through the 1920s.
“Will these new apartments destroy our village?” residents must have asked.
Sound familiar? With a Master Plan amendment currently before the Ridgewood Planning Board, this question has emerged again.
The apartment building history of Ridgewood shows a pattern: The first apartments went up 90-100 years ago. Responding to post-war demand, a second wave of 15 complexes followed during the 1950s-60s.
With each wave, Ridgewood embraced the new while preserving the “old.” History tells us that Ridgewood has a wonderful capacity to adapt to the times while maintaining its excellent schools, charming character and vibrant downtown.
Fifty years after the last significant apartment build-out, new demographic forces are driving a third round, driven by baby boomers and young people.
Empty nesters and baby boomers like me are downsizing at an accelerating pace, but we do not wish to live in a senior community.
Today’s active boomers and retirees desire a modern, high-end option, with amenities and conveniences that come with a walkable downtown setting.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-keep-an-open-mind-on-new-housing-1.841702#sthash.gup9CJqI.dpuf
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