Mayor Keith Killion kicking off the celebrations with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday (Feb. 8)
The HomeMade Pizza opening celebrations continue to heat up in chilly Ridgewood tonight!
Ridgewood NJ- The HomeMade Pizza opening celebrations continue to heat up in chilly Ridgewood. Tonight concludes the opening day festivities, with fresh, organic pizza and salad giveaways from 4-7 p.m. Perhaps your readers would be interested in dinner on us tonight at the new Ridgewood Store (134 East Ridgewood Avenue). Matt Weinstein, co-founder of HomeMade Pizza, will be there tonight with the HomeMade team.
>Poll: New Jerseyans appreciate teachers, dislike NJEA
New Jerseyans, by a 62 – 17 percent margin, have a favorable opinion of public school teachers, but their opinion of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the statewide teachers’ union is 44 – 27 percent unfavorable, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)
>New Jersey’s voters back firing workers, freezing wages and cutting pensions
Christie pension cuts resonate with New Jersey voters, poll says
New Jersey’s voters back firing workers, freezing wages and cutting pensions in a poll released the day after Standard & Poor’s cut the state’s bond rating because of underfunded retiree and health-care liabilities. (Dopp, Bloomberg)
>New Jersey Fiscal Crisis: New Jersey Credit rating dropped to among the lowest in the country
Drop in N.J. bond rating could add to state’s borrowing costs, financial problems Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 6:00 AM
TRENTON — New Jersey’s bond rating was downgraded Wednesday by Standard & Poor’s, a move that could add significantly to the state’s borrowing costs and focuses even more attention on public-employee pension and health care payments.
The agency dropped New Jersey to a rating that is among the lowest in the country. According to S&P, the only states with worse credit ratings are California and Illinois, widely considered to be in the steepest financial trouble.
With S&P citing pension and post-retirement-benefits costs as a key reason for the downgrade, Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democrats pointed fingers at each other. At a town hall meeting in Union City, Christie said the downgrade could have been avoided if Democratic lawmakers approved his pension overhaul.
“The sky started to fall in today,” said Christie. “You’ve already seen this morning what the Legislature’s inaction has cost the state of New Jersey.”
>Garrett Calls to Order First Hearing to Examine GSE Reform
WASHINGTON, February 9, 2011 – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, delivered the following opening statement today at a hearing to examine GSE reform and the steps that can be taken to end the bailout and protect taxpayers:
“On September 7, 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put into conservatorship by the federal government. Over $150 billion and 885 days later – the government-backed mortgage twins remain in conservatorship, the federal government now underwrites 95% of the housing market, and the American taxpayer continues to hemorrhage billions of dollars every quarter to keep them afloat.
“I am pleased to hear that the Department of Treasury is getting closer to unveiling their much-anticipated reform proposal, which I understand could come by the end of this week. If I had known that simply scheduling a GSE reform hearing would facilitate such a swift response, we would have held one sooner.
“While a lot of recent attention has been given to the impending Treasury proposal and what the future of U.S. housing finance will look like, I believe there are other areas of this debate we can focus on right now. In particular, I believe the question we all need to be asking ourselves is: What immediate steps can Congress take right now – this instant – to protect taxpayers, end the bailout, get private capital off the sidelines, and reduce the government’s exposure to the housing market?
“I believe these four objectives should be the driving force behind our immediate reform efforts, and I look forward to discussing a number of reform proposals in greater detail with our esteemed panel. As I can see from their written testimony, there is no lack of ways to protect taxpayers and begin to end this bailout.
“It’s unfortunate that my colleagues across the aisle resisted any attempt last Congress to address the most expensive component of the federal government’s intervention during the financial crisis. I assure you it will be a top priority of mine as chairman of this panel.
“Federal government housing policy has been a monumental disaster and we must find a new way forward. Secretary Geithner said the other day that the new policy should, ‘leave us with a system that will not be vulnerable to the really tragic colossal failures of the past.’ I couldn’t agree more.
“Even the Washington Post is on board with wholesale changes to Fannie and Freddie. In an editorial Monday, the Post wrote: ‘Homeownership does help instill thrifty habits and solidify communities, but it can be taken too far. … The national homeownership rate today has slipped back to its 1998 level, according to the Census Bureau. In terms of building community, etc., it’s as if the past 13 years never happened, except for the catastrophic losses to taxpayers – and home buyers. It might be more accurate to say that federal housing policy has helped destroy communities.’
“It will be the goal of this subcommittee to ensure that we put an end to this destructive and costly housing finance policy and replace it with a system going forward that protects taxpayers and actually strengthens communities instead of destroying them.
“I thank the witnesses for being here with us today and I look forward to their testimony.”
>The Citizen’s Convention: The Second Battle for Trenton Begins History in the Making: April 16, 2011 New Jersey’s First Tea Party Convention
On April 16, 2011, a consortium of New Jersey Tea Party organizations will conduct an historic statewide convention for all New Jersey citizens concerned about an out of control government that continues to operate at odds to the best interests and common good of all of its citizens.
The convention will be held at the National Conference Center in East Windsor NJ. While some details are being finalized, this historic first is open to anyone who shares the commitment to conservative and constitutional principles, lower taxes and smaller, smarter government
The up-coming 2011 elections in New Jersey are providing a unique opportunity to change the legislature in our state and restore New Jersey to its once proud conservative roots and common sense foundation. With only 4 states having statewide legislative elections this year, the eyes of the country will be on New Jersey.
In addition to presenting candidates who been vetted by Tea Party groups from all over New Jersey and who have committed themselves to conservative values, we will be conducting workshops for attendees to learn the nuts and bolts of political campaigns from some of the most successful professionals who are also knowledgeable about NJ politics. Attendees will receive precise instructions on how they can get their candidates elected.
One organizer stated, “We have an opportunity to reclaim our state and change the way government is run in New Jersey, but we cannot do it alone. As the first Battle of Trenton turned the tide of the American Revolution, we have a second opportunity to do the same thing: turn the tide on intrusive government and fight to preserve the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, except this time around we won’t be using guns, cannons, or bayonets.”
Said another, “That’s right, this time we have a much more powerful tool at our disposal: The Constitution. But, we need to use that historic document as it was intended to be used to protect our rights and our freedoms.”
The time for change is now. The reason is the same as it was almost 235 years ago: Citizens who have simply had enough of an intrusive bureaucracy and are committed to reclaiming our constitutional rights from a corrupt and abusive political power structure. Join us, April 16th, 2011 and be a part of history.
Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a plan Tuesday for a project 16 miles off the coast of Asbury Park to receive vessels transporting liquid natural gas into the United States. (Mooney, PolitickerNJ)
>Ridgewood Blog Readers Tired of having their pockets picked over Xanadu
Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, put you hands back in your pockets.
Xanadu is not a viable project without outside support (I guess that means the government and tax payer dollars). The alternative is to demolish everything but the garage parking. Personally, that’s the option I prefer.
The idea of Christie writing these guys a check is peverse enough-but the idea of you, the unions and the dems getting a skim off that graft is sickening me.
I know this means that all the prior, under the table, deals that McGreavy and Corzine negotiated for all his crooked political friends will not be honored but they are either in jail or dead now. Let it go.
>Ridgewood Co-op Holds Open House for 2011-2012 School Year
The Cooperative Nursery School of Ridgewood, a nonsectarian school, will hold an Open House for the 2011-2012 school year on Thursday, January 13th, 2011 from 9:30-11:30 and 12:45-2:45. The school is located at 100 Dayton Street in the center of Ridgewood.
The Co-op offers classes for children from one and one half to five years old. Classes range from Mommy and Me classes to four day per week classes for 4 year olds. A Kindergarten Enrichment and Mommy and Me programs are also available. The school has both morning and afternoon classes. The school’s seasoned professional teaching staff members guide students toward social, emotional and physical well-being. Children learn and play in an environment ideally suited to their needs as developing individuals. The program encourages independence, self-discipline and a love for school.
Setting the school apart from other nursery schools, The Co-op is organized and run by the parents. This enables parents to actively participate in their child’s early learning experience. Music, physical education, field trips, indoor and outdoor play time and an in-house library are just a few of the experiences to which the children are exposed as supplements to the daily education plans.
Please call the school at (201) 447-6232 for more information or if you would like to schedule a private tour
Lawmakers took a step Thursday toward invalidating a proposed state Supreme Court rule that would permit intimidated witnesses to provide testimony from outside the courtroom in all criminal cases. (Symons, Home News Tribune)
>N.J. pension funds performed worse than stated, audit finds
The director of the state Division of Investment Thursday restating its annualized performance numbers for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10. (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)
>Weinberg calls on company taking over Xanadu project to provide details on deal
The company that agreed to take over the Meadowlands Xanadu complex last week should release more information about the deal brokered by the Christie administration to resuscitate the beleaguered shopping and entertainment project, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, said this week. (Fallon, The Record)
>Sanitation Department’s slow snow cleanup was a budget protest
By SALLY GOLDENBERG, LARRY CELONA and JOSH MARGOLIN Last Updated: 12:37 PM, December 30, 2010
Selfish Sanitation Department bosses from the snow-slammed outer boroughs ordered their drivers to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts — a disastrous move that turned streets into a minefield for emergency-services vehicles, The Post has learned.
Miles of roads stretching from as north as Whitestone, Queens, to the south shore of Staten Island still remained treacherously unplowed last night because of the shameless job action, several sources and a city lawmaker said, which was over a raft of demotions, attrition and budget cuts.
“They sent a message to the rest of the city that these particular labor issues are more important,” said City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens), who was visited yesterday by a group of guilt-ridden sanitation workers who confessed the shameless plot.
Halloran said he met with three plow workers from the Sanitation Department — and two Department of Transportation supervisors who were on loan — at his office after he was flooded with irate calls from constituents.
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