On Saturday October 12, 2013 The Ridgewood Guild will sponsor the most fun-filled event ever! This event takes participants on a treasure hunt throughout town, making stops at local businesses, collecting items, and answering questions pertaining to Ridgewood.
Tag teams of 5 people will began the race at 1:00pm and continued on until 4:00pm where all teams will come together at a secret location for a Happy Hour with specially priced drinks. What a great way to support the town, and have some fun on a Saturday afternoon before Halloween! Costume dress is suggested and encouraged, but not a requirement.
$175 premium for a young, healthy student? Thanks, Obamacare!
By ASHE SCHOW | OCTOBER 3, 2013 AT 5:27 PM
Topics: Beltway Confidential Obamacare The Washington Post Health Care
American media outlets were finally able to track down a mythical creature — a person who actually signed up for the Obamacare exchanges online.
But that person, Chad Henderson, admitted to the Washington Post that the premium for the plan he enrolled in was $175. Ouch! Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to lower premiums?
Henderson’s going to pay a $175 premium and he won’t even receive vision or dental insurance. He has contacts, so not having vision insurance is kind of a bum deal.
Henderson, as far as we know a healthy, 21-year-old college student at Chattanooga State Community College who lives in Flintstone, Ga., and works part-time at a day-care center, did not qualify for tax credits to purchase insurance, according to the Post.
Without Obamacare, Henderson could have received health insurance for as little as $44.72 on eHealthInsurance.com, according to Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute.
“I can’t yet say whether Chad’s $175 premium is the lowest-cost plan available to him through the Obamacare Exchange,” Cannon said. “[I’m in the process of researching that, and it’ll probably take a few hours.] But it’s probably close.”
Steve Lonegan’s Bold Colors
By Jeffrey Lord on 10.1.13 @ 6:09AM
Opposing Obamacare, NJ Senate nominee surges.
Is New Jersey’s Steve Lonegan the next Scott Brown?
A one-time sure-GOP-loser turned winner in a blue state special Senate election?
Made a winner over “sure-thing” Democrat and Newark Mayor Cory Booker by popular revulsion with ObamaCare? And a truly riveting personal story that is turning heads all over the state of New Jersey? (Here is Lonegan telling the story of his blindness that has captured so much attention.)
The question is suddenly being asked as a 35-point Booker lead in a September 11 Rutgers-Eagleton poll eroded by 9 points in just 12 days to a 26-point Booker lead in a September 23 Stockton College poll and has now been eaten away to an astonishing 12-point gap in this Quinnipiac poll released on September 24.
The headline in New Jersey.com?
Poll shows Booker vs. Lonegan race for U.S. Senate is tighter than expected
The story opens with this new information on the special election to replace the late Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg:
A new poll on the U.S. Senate race suggests Cory Booker’s expected blowout over Steve Lonegan may not be in the bag.
What’s going on here? How does an “expected blowout” for a liberal shining star in an overwhelmingly blue state suddenly and so dramatically become “tighter than expected”?
Some New Jersey analysts are suggesting that Lonegan’s charges that Booker’s record on crime in Newark isn’t all Booker makes it out to be, that Booker is a “show-horse” celebrity candidate.
But what tracks with these polls is another factor altogether — and is in fact the exact same element that resulted in the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown in another special Senate election, that one to replace Democrat Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. Notably, Lonegan is now doing better in the polls three weeks out than Brown was at the same point in his famous 2010 upset race against the supposedly unbeatable Democrat state attorney general Martha Coakley.
That same fact that the Brown and Lonegan elections appear to have increasingly in common?
Reason’s Nick Gillespie went to healthcare.gov this morning bright and early to check out the offerings for Obamacare. Here’s what he got: Early glitch or sign of things to come?
The Story Behind the Government Shutdown
10/01/2013
Much like the day after sequestration budget cuts kicked in, most people will wake up today to find that the country and their lives aren’t much different. All the fearful fretting over shutting down the government—which is reaching Y2K proportions in the media—is really a distraction.
Government funding isn’t the issue. It’s Obamacare.
The House has passed multiple bills that would fully fund government but would defund or delay Obamacare. The Senate has rejected these plans, and Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges are supposed to open today.
Never mind the fact that Congress and the Administration have already delayed major provisions of Obamacare and given special considerations to labor unions and Congress.
We believe the American people deserve an exemption from Obamacare.
The President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) continue to go against the will of the public to protect an unworkable law that has raised individuals’ health care premiums, cut workers’ hours, made it more difficult to find a job, and has forced many Americans off their existing health coverage.
The real story isn’t the government shutdown, but rather the insistence by President Obama and Reid to foist Obamacare on the American people.
Congress is now haggling over delays to more parts of Obamacare, but the only way to protect Americans from this law’s sickening effects is to defund it.
While this debate plays out on Capitol Hill, essential government services will continue. Airports are still functioning, Social Security checks are still going out, and the military is still protecting us.
To President Obama and his allies, the government takeover of health care is an “essential” function that should move forward, despite deep disagreements about its effect on the nation. This debate isn’t over, nor should it be until the American people are protected from having their health care in the hands of government.
A government shutdown isn’t the end of the world, but an Obamacare shutdown would be a great beginning for real health care reform.
8 Things To Know About A Government Shutdown
by Adam Wollner
September 23, 2013 5:38 PM
An empty Senate meeting room, just outside the chamber, is seen Monday in Washington. Only a week remains for Congress to pass a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown.
In seven days, the federal government runs out of money.
While the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution Friday that keeps the government funded through Dec. 15, the measure also defunded President Obama’s signature health care law — which means it has virtually no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
If a budget resolution doesn’t hit President Obama’s desk before Oct. 1, that’s a big problem: The government will be forced to close its doors.
With that prospect looming, here are eight things you should know about the possible shutdown:
It won’t be the first time
Since a new budgeting process was put into place in 1976, the U.S. government has shut down 17 times. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan each dealt with six shutdowns during their terms in office, lasting anywhere from one day to 2 1/2 weeks.
The last actual shutdown came in 1996 — though the government came close during budget negotiations in 2011.
The last shutdown lasted three weeks
The three-week shutdown that lasted from Dec. 16, 1995, to Jan. 6, 1996, ranks as the longest in U.S. history. As a result, about 284,000 federal workers were furloughed, and around 475,000 essential employees went without a paycheck, although they were eventually reimbursed.
They weren’t the only ones inconvenienced. Some benefits for military veterans were delayed, and cleanup at more than 600 toxic waste sites was stopped. The government also shut down for six days in mid-November 1995, initially resulting in the furlough of 800,000 federal employees. The Congressional Research Service reported the shutdowns cost taxpayers a combined $1.4 billion.
Only the “essentials”
Only federal employees deemed “essential” would continue to come to work during a shutdown. Employees who qualify as essential include those involved in national security, protecting life and property and providing benefit payments.
Readers debate downtown menorah display for Ridgewood
A creche would obviously be allowed given this decision. The Supreme Court has clearly said that you can display religious symbols on public property provided you allow all groups that want to display a symbol to do so.…
Personally, I would prefer none on public property but obviously if there are any then all have to be welcomed. And in this case there is a 50 foot spruce tree that no one wants to give up so I don’t see any other realistic course of action.…
If you watched the meeting DEPUTY MAYOR ALBERT PUCCIARELL AKA BIG AL THE DEVELOPERS FRIEND referred to these thing as “pagan symbols ” I guess his is the only true religion…
The Christmas Tree is just a part of the celebration of a tradition that we have here in America. It is a lot of fun, unfortunately the secular tradition uses the name of a Christian event. Santa is not a part of the story of birth of Jesus.…
The creche would be a religious celebration of Christmas. I am Catholic but I never like to see the two merged together.We should keep all the religious traditions of the season off public property. I enjoy the decorations at Mt Carmel. I do not want to see it placed next to the tree.…
We need a Festivus pole for the rest of us! (Any word from Tracey, the unofficial witch of Ridgewood on what wiccan symbol may be used for the Winter solstice?)…
How about a statue of Budda or Vishnu or what ever else there is? All this pc crap is nonsense….
Friends’ Neighborhood Nursery School and Director Madeleine Beresford
August 17,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
The First in a new series of articles about local businesses
About Friends and Madeleine Beresford:
Ridgewood NJ, Madeleine Beresford has been the Director of Friends’ Neighborhood Nursery School since May 2012. The school was established in 1959 as a nonsectarian nursery school sponsored by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It is a member of the Friends Council on Education.
The school is based on the principle that each child is unique and will flourish in an atmosphere that promotes acceptance and respect for all children. We also believe that children learn through imaginative play and focus on social development as well as academic inquiry. Children learn through hands-on experiences and through their senses.
Friends’ Neighborhood Nursery School is an multi-age school. Children ages 2½ to 5 socialize together and separate for projects, stories and work with numbers and letters. The school is influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, which fosters a sense that children have an active role in their learning.
Madeleine has a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Montclair State University and am certified in teaching children with disabilities and a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College.
In December 2012, an article that she also co-wrote, Community and Connection in Inclusive Early –Childhood Education: A Participatory Action Research Investigation, was published in Young Exceptional Children.
Madeleine has worked with children for many years both in and out of the classroom. As a New Jersey Council-on-the-Arts teaching artist and through programs run by Young Audiences and Arts Horizons, She has taught in classrooms throughout New Jersey and New York City.
As director/cofounder of Galapagos Puppet Theater, she received a Henson Foundation Grant and a Puffin Foundation Grant for puppet productions. She performed in Taipei, Taiwan as well as at venues such as American Museum of Natural History, Boston Children’s Museum, and Peabody Museum in Salem, Mass.
With my puppet partner, she produced Theater of the Palms: The World of Puppet Master Lee Tien-Lu, a documentary on Chinese hand puppetry that has been presented at the Margaret Mead and Bombay Film Festivals and shown nationally on public television.
‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ stars’ hidden lives go public
Tuesday July 30, 2013, 10:21 PM
By VIRGINIA ROHAN
RECORD COLUMNIST
Teresa Giudice dragged her heels about signing the contract that made her one of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Today, that seems telling.
“It took me 10 to 11 months to sign. … You couldn’t know how they’re going to portray you, and do you really want your whole life out there?” Teresa told The Record in early May 2009, shortly before the show debuted, adding something that now seems ironic. “But you know what’s great about it? My whole life’s not out there. … What I wanted them to know, they knew.”
Now the world has learned a lot more about Teresa and husband Joe Giudice than they surely ever wanted outsiders to know. The Montville couple were indicted on charges they conspired to defraud banks and other lenders in connection with nearly $4 million in mortgages, construction loans and home equity loans they received between 2001 and 2008. And the pair find themselves living in two different realities: one of wealth and privilege that viewers see on television on Sunday nights, and one of scary possibilities that began to unfold Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Newark.
In the couple’s initial court appearance on a 39-count indictment, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Walder set bail at $500,000 each and ordered them to surrender their passports. A trial date will be set Aug. 14. Lawyers for both Giudices said they intend to plead not guilty.
‘Real Housewives’ stars Teresa and Joe Giudice indicted
Monday, July 29, 2013 Last updated: Monday July 29, 2013, 6:56 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Teresa and Joe Giudice, the troubled stars of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” TV show, were indicted Monday on federal charges of conspiring to fraudulently obtain mortgages and other loans and hiding assets and income during a bankruptcy case.
A federal grand jury in Newark returned a 39-count indictment charging Teresa Giudice, 41, and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, 43, both of Towaco, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications and bankruptcy fraud.
Joe Giudice was also charged with failing to file tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008 during a period he allegedly earned nearly $1 million.
“The indictment returned today alleges the Giudices lied to the bankruptcy court, to the IRS and to a number of banks,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said in announcing the charges.
“Everyone has an obligation to tell the truth when dealing with the courts, paying their taxes and applying for loans or mortgages,” Fishman said. “That’s reality.”
Advertisements will be coming soon to Ridgewood train station
Monday July 29, 2013, 11:28 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Rail riders will soon see visual displays of the latest retail deals and other commercial announcements while they pass through the Ridgewood train station.
The Village Council last week accepted the terms set forth by Titan Outdoor, the transit advertising firm that will now provide and install a total of 34 ad poster display frames inside the train station complex.
Titan is already contracted by NJ Transit (NJT) to maintain the advertising placards on the transportation company’s property, namely the train platforms.
The New York City-based firm also has agreements with the Port Authority, Amtrak and other large municipalities and major-market transit groups across the country.
After a search, family finds perfect Ridgewood home
Sunday, July 28, 2013
BY DONNA ROLANDO
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
The Record
They adopted Ridgewood even before they bought a home there.
Native New Yorkers Josh Ehlin and Juliana Yun owned a house in Fair Lawn for the last three years, but their lives as a married couple constantly took them to the neighboring village of Ridgewood.
They loved the restaurants — the strong sense of community, and when it came time to buy a bigger house, they couldn’t imagine themselves living anywhere else.
“We were always coming here to eat,” Yun, a 41-year-old periodontist, said of a Bergen County community known for a bustling downtown with a diversity of eateries, shopping and its own theater.
‘Real Housewives of N.J.’ cast members set for September court date in Ridgewood fracas
Wednesday July 24, 2013, 6:13 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — Three cast members from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are scheduled to appear before a judge in September to face assault and terroristic threat charges.
Court officials confirmed Wednesday that the criminal cases against “Housewives” star Jacqueline Laurita of Franklin Lakes; her husband, Christopher; and Joe Gorga of Montville would proceed in Ridgewood’s Municipal Court on Sept. 5, starting at 4:30 p.m.
The charges — stemming from a fracas at the grand opening of a salon in Ridgewood — had been referred in April to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for grand jury consideration. But two weeks ago, the matter was returned to Ridgewood for resolution.
Also due in court Sept. 5 is John Karagiorgis of Paramus, who is charged with assault and making terroristic threats as well as three counts of harassment.
“Free Tickets, Sure!…Protect Your 1st Amendment Rights, Hell No!!”
July 24,2013
Michele Robins
Ridgewood NJ, Mayor Paul Aronsohn proves, yet again, it’s not about the Village. If I hear one more person chime in with what a “hardship” it was for the mayor to attend the Christie fundraiser photo op, on a ticket that he didn’t pay for, my head’s going to explode.
For a paper that pretends to be oh so meticulous with its fact checking as to “hold” an opinion piece at the mayor’s request, The Ridgewood News was incorrect in reporting that “John Saraceno is listed as the host.” Mr. Saraceno is listed on the invitation as an “Event Chair” along with five other people. Oddly, The Patch got that one right. Unfortunately, Patch readers were then misled by the statement “the Christie campaign is asking citizens to fork over big bucks to hobnob with the governor.”
While it’s true that “event hosts must raise $25,000 for Christie’s election campaign”, the campaign didn’t approach “citizens”. No one from the campaign called me or any of my neighbors asking us to “fork over big bucks.” Saraceno called the Christie campaign headquarters and offered to host the event in his recently-acquired space. That was very “equal opportunity” of him, considering he (who it has been said is an Obama man) and another “event chair”, John Johansen, also held a fund raiser last year for then-candidate Paul Aronsohn, who as far as we’ve been told, is not of the same political persuasion as our governor.
The curiosity here is not so much that a developer would want to fill the coffers of a politician, be it the (D) mayor of a village or the (R) governor of a state, in which he has development opportunities. The real curiosity is how the wife of Mr. Johansen became the chairperson of the mayor’s Financial Oversight Board. As per The Patch: “The members of the newly-created, Tiger Team-endorsed Ridgewood Financial Advisory Board were appointed Wednesday night.
According to the resolution, members serving three-year terms are NANCY JOHANSEN, Robert Muller, and Kevin Shea. Roberta Sonenfeld, who was a member of the Tiger Team that initially called for a finance board, and Janice Willet will serve two year terms. Richard Cundiff and I. Malcolm (Mac) Highet will be on the board for a year one year terms. JOHANSEN will chair the committee.
The only thing that might be “a great morale boost for the town” would be if our self-serving, back-room-dealing mayor left it.
Al Qaeda growing, but less focused on US, study finds
The number of Al Qaeda affiliates has expanded, as have their geographic scope, but the terror network has become more diffuse and decentralized, the RAND study found.
By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer / July 22, 2013
Washington
Al Qaeda not only remains a threat to the United States, but its capabilities and scope are expanding, a new analysis from a respected think tank has concluded.
“There has been a net expansion in the number and geographic scope of Al Qaeda affiliates and allies over the past decade, indicating that Al Qaeda and its brand are far from defeated,” argues Seth Jones, an analyst at the RAND Corporation and the study’s author.
Why, after a decade of wars – the longest in America’s history – is the terrorist organization that the US military set out to defeat still active and growing? And does it really have an impact on the everyday safety of most Americans?
There are a few reasons for the growth of the terrorist group, Mr. Jones argues. “One is the Arab uprisings, which have weakened regimes across North Africa and the Middle East, creating an opportunity for Al Qaeda affiliates and allies to secure a foothold.”
This expansion – coupled with the weakness of central Al Qaeda in Pakistan – “has created a more diffuse and decentralized movement,” Jones added in little-noted testimony last week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the topic of “Re-examining the Al Qaeda Threat to the United States.”
