> “Consider the high taxes and the rest of it, this really shouldn’t be a surprise. But, nearly 59 percent of Mayflower’s moves over the first nine months of 2009 in New Jersey were to relocate residents out of the state. The only three states that surpassed New Jersey were Michigan (66 percent), Maine (59.2 percent) and Nebraska (62.5 percent). “For the last four years, we have been ranked among the highest in the percentage of outbound moves,” said Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz. “There are reasons for that, starting with taxes and jobs. Unfortunately, we have too many of the former and not enough of the latter. And with the governor saying he will not rule out further tax increases, the trend for more people leaving the state will continue.”
Ridgewood NJ, The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special. .
The origin of Father’s Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father’s Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.
The president of the Chicago branch of the Lions’ Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated the first Father’s Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest date to Meek’s own birthday!
Regardless of when the first true Father’s Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother.
In 1909, Mrs. Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane about having a church service dedicated to fathers on June 5, her father’s birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their fathers if they lived apart.
States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.” Since then, fathers had been honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.
When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.
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Embassy of the United States of America
Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31, SE-115 89 Stockholm
>The recent rash of pedestrian crosswalk accidents, together with the comments made by blog readers, has left me wondering what the solution is. It’s clear to me that a lot of people fall into two opposing camps. There are those that feel the pedestrian has the right of way, and unless there’s evidence that the pedestrian lurched out without looking, the driver always has the responsibility the stop and yield. This folks, is basically the law. The other camp is of the mindset that crosswalks should only be used by pedestrians after they have stopped and waited for a clearing in traffic before stepping out. This might be a sensible thing to do based upon the general lousy standard of driving, but it really makes a mockery out of having a crosswalk. Why bother having a crosswalk if you have to wait for the traffic to pass? You may as well just cross anywhere if this is what you are expected to do.
So, with minds pretty well entrenched as far as crosswalk responsibility goes, what do we do? We are wasting our time here giving the same old stories of elderly ladies darting out into crosswalks and maniac drivers who should be stopping on a dime. Minds are made up already. We have debated crosswalk responsibility to death.
Speed is a problem. I’m not talking the rare dangerous levels, but the extra 10-15 mph that is almost universally practiced. This extra speed is often enough to cause accidents due to reduced reaction times. Injury and damage is also greatly affected by higher speeds. This is also a crosswalk problem as drivers often see the person standing at the crosswalk too late, and keep going as they think a sudden stop will result in getting rear-ended. Add a cell phone to the mix and the problem intensifies.
Speeding enforcement by the Police needs to be better managed. This isn’t an anti-police statement, as I understand that speed management is taken seriously by them, but I get the impression that speeding is a sensitive subject with Village residents and the Police, and there seems to be a level which the Police will delicately straddle in order to maintain good relations. I say hogwash. If motorists know full well that there is a high level of probability of being ticketed if they speed, any anti-Police notions they have will soon go away. The Police aren’t supposed to be in a popularity contest. All I ask of them is that they are civil and honest while doing their job, which from my experience, is the norm. I actually think that the USA lags far behind our European cousins, where speed enforcement is managed mostly by automated cameras. This allows the Police to do more worthwhile things with their time, and leave speed management to machines. The good thing with machines is that they do not discriminate. You speed. You get a citation in the mail. I can tell you from living in Europe that the introduction of speed cameras revolutionized driving standards. It went from anything goes to some pretty sensible driving very quickly. Public reaction was negative, but that was expected. Has anyone got one of those tickets in the mail from NYC for running a red light? I have. Just one. You know what? I am now very respectful about my red light time management now.
Crosswalks need to be updated to the times we live in, and should have push-button operated stop lights. Drivers seem to react fairly well to traffic lights. If any of you have been to Europe in the last 20 years, you will know that it’s extremely rare to find a crosswalk that isn’t managed by stop lights. Yes, more traffic lights results in more congestion, but without them, we will not solve the problem.
>Alyssa Milano Tuesday, March 31st – 8:00pm Television Star of Who’s the Boss, Charmed and My Name is Earl, Alyssa Milano, will sign her new book: Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic
Paul Teutul Sr. Thursday, April 2nd – 7:00pm Please welcome back the Star of hit TLC show, “American Chopper” , Paul Teutul Sr. who writes his first book about what it takes to run a successful business in The Ride Of A Lifetime: Doing Business The Orange County Choppers Way!
Roy White Tuesday, April 7th – 7:00pm Please welcome back former New York Yankee Outfielder, Roy White. He will sign his new book: Then Roy Said to Mickey.
Harlan Coben Monday, April 13th – 7:00pm Ny Times Bestselling Author and local Ridgewood Resident, Harlan Coben will discuss and sign his latest thriller: Long Lost.
Tori Spelling Thursday, April 16th – 7:00pm Star of TV Shows, Beverly Hills 90210 and Tori & Dean, Tori Spelling will sign: Mommywood.
>04/01/09 7:30PM Village Council Work Session 04/09/09 8:00PM Historic Preservation Commission 04/15/09 8:00PM Village Council Public Meeting 04/22/09 7:30PM Village Council Work Session 05/06/09 7:30PM Village Council Work Session
At approximately 2:05 PM on Saturday afternoon, a female driver lost control of her vehicle on Corsa Terrace, sending it careening down the embankment into the rear parking lot of Pease Library.
The driver sustained minor injuries and was transported by Ridgewood EMS to Valley Hospital. Ridgewood Police and Ridgewood Fire personnel also responded to the accident.
A vehicle belonging to an employee of Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch, parked just below the embankment, was also damaged in the accident
> The flog is a blog run by an administrator who remains anonymous. Unlike this blog, which is run by PJ, the flog creators refuse to identify themselves. The flog was created by a ficticious duo who call themselves “andrew and sue.” Andrew and Sue seem to have no purpose but to rail against posters on PJ’s blog. It is widely believed that “Sue” is Susan Sherrill, former editor of the Ridgewood News who is a big supporter of the BOE. James Rose has identified himself as a poster on this Blog.
Probably the most enthusiastic Village Council Meeting seen in many years. But, the most important piece of information was that the New Pool Project Enthusiasts easily out numbered those against the project. That numbered easily counted by the announced “confirmed” numbers of New Pledged Memberships of 5,050 and likely more.
That many would easily translate up to $757,500 annually …. The announcement was met with thunderous applause, even from some Coucilmen, and a sprinkling of jeers from the dishearted. Reality was beginning to sink in… “There will be a new and improved Ridgewood Pool” and the Village Council must not drag its feet and delay it any further. The initial bonding asked for to move the process forward can be secured with confidence that the first $757,500 could be held in an escrow account and released as needed and recommended by legal counsel and auditor. This or other similar process will assure the Village that the early bonding committed to will be secured.
There will be some modifications to the final design recommendation but, that can’t be achieved unless the process begins now. Will it take some hard work?… Of course it will, but when it is a worthwhile endeavor “It Can Be Done” Become a part of it.
From: Dom Nizza [email protected]
> Yes, there were comments of opposition. After the presentation, comments were allowed, many supporters commented, and there were several non supporters that also spoke. Opposition showed much concern against the large project, some wanted to keep the pool as it is, several concerns regarding a bond if falls thru, may not work, and the tax implication on taxpayers, some comments about how one sided the respond form by the committee was on the village’s website and no question from the public for a ’yes’ or ’no’, the robo calls, no formal information was sent to the village residents, some want to have a formal vote, the numbers of needed memberships, would they hold up yearly, that would make it self funded, comments of being here several years and each year more large projects go thru causing increased taxes along with the BOE budgets increases on taxes. The mayor extended the time to allow for those who wished to comment, so everyone could get to speak. It was a well balanced amount of comments – pro and opposed.
Then the council members gave their comments. Some support the project. discussions will be ongoing, possibly for a need to meet in the middle of issues. Guess its back to the drawing board for the pool committee.
> Comedy legend Joan Rivers will meet and greet her fans on Saturday, January 31st, Book Ends at Ridgewood, New Jersey 11am – 1pm to sign copies of her two newly published titles.
Rivers’ books are MEN ARE STUPID…AND THEY LIKE BIG BOOBS…A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO BEAUTY THROUGH PLASTIC SURGERY and MURDER AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS…A RED CARPET MURDER MYSTERY.
An informational social commentary, comedy, memoir, and practical, info-packed journey into beauty treatments including plastic surgery, Men are Stupid…is written for every woman who wants to improve herself, giving the average woman a step-by-step guide on how to look and feel gorgeous – delivered with Joan’s quintessential sense of humor.
In Rivers’ new novel, Murder on the Red Carpet, it’s Oscar night in Hollywood and the famous mother-daughter interview team is on the red carpet, mikes in hand. Everything is glitz and glitter as the stars arrive, but things turn quickly from fabulous to scandalous as a just-back-from-rehab starlet drops dead.
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) released the following statement regarding President Obama’s meeting with House Republicans today:
“I thank President Obama for his efforts to reach out to Republicans in the conversation about how best to stimulate our economy. The discussion centered on many Republican-offered suggestions, such as tax cuts for small businesses. While he did not embrace any of the ideas offered, I look forward to additional opportunities to share our pro-growth ideas with the president so we can work together to find a solution to the current economic crisis.
“My main concern with this bill is that some Members of Congress are seeking this opportunity to institute major spending projects that are not at all stimulative. We will stimulate the economy by allowing American businesses to grow and create jobs, and allowing American taxpayers to keep more of their money in their wallets.
“The proposed plan on which we will begin debate today includes $200 million to re-sod the National Mall, $600 million for Federal vehicles and $1.3 billion to upgrade the IT systems for various State and Federal agencies. Now, some of the projects listed in this bill are certainly worthy of government funding, but let’s not masquerade these projects as a stimulus. Stimulus is not an excuse to expand government programs. Stimulus means the economy will grow. Stimulus means people will be employed. Stimulus means we empower taxpayers, rather than burden future generations of Americans with unbridled debt.”
Pool project council meeting – No decision made, discussions will be on going. This pool project supporter showed up prepared, did she think that Village Hall would flood?
> LQQK for an early April opening from what I hear. Food will be something like you’ve never experienced in Bergen County. Lots of big things happening over there at BLEND from what I’m told.. Stay TUNED!
