Hearing On School Violence, Vandalism And Substance Abuse
October 22,2012
By the Numbers
Ridgewood NJ, Hearing On School Violence, Vandalism And Substance Abuse (Including HIB) Report Ridgewood High School Assistant Principal Mr. Basil Pizzuto presented and reviewed the district-wide School Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse (including HIB) Report for January – June 2012.
The total number of students involved in all reported incidents was 51 over the whole school year. Regina Botsford, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, reminded the Board that this week is School Violence Week and that several awareness programs have been scheduled at the schools to supplement the ongoing efforts that are made all year.
o Incidents of violence, including HIB, January – June 2012: 16 (21 total year)
o Incidents of vandalism, January – June 2012: 5 (9 total year)
o Incidents of weapons, January – June 2012: 0 (0 total year)
o Incidents of substance abuse, January – June 2012: 5 (8 total year)
Panel Presentation on Language Arts in the Professional World
Hosted by the RPS Curriculum Communication Committee Tuesday, November 27 at the Education Center, from 7:30-9 p.m.
Featuring notable panelists: Harlan Coben — renowned novelist, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Alan Finder — freelance writer and editor, former New York Times reporter, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Laura Nicosa — Associate Professor of English and English Education Coordinator, Montclair State University Donald Taylor — Senior Vice President/Portfolio Manager, Franklin Equity Group/Franklin Equity Services, LLC., Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Nadia Tscherny — Art History scholar/college professor/SAT and college essay tutor, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent.
Parents and guardians are invited to come out and hear what these noted panelists have to say about:
What skills, attitudes and pursuits in the Language Arts literacies of reading, writing, listening, speaking or viewing have benefitted you in your professional life?How might schools best create learning experiences that foster success in using the Language Arts literacies in students’ lives and in their future careers?
A state Democratic campaign worker accused of stealing GOP signs
A state Democratic campaign worker was arrested early Tuesday morning, suspected of stealing signs supporting two Republican Bergen County Freeholder candidates, police said.
Mahwah Police Detective Kevin Hebert and Officer Michael Blondin were investigating another matter near the Mountainside Avenue entrance to Route 17 south around 12:40 a.m. when they saw David M. Gins, 27, of Washington, D.C., remove a “Re-elect [Rob] Hermansen and Elect [Peg] Watkins” sign from the ground and put it on the floor behind the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Traverse with New Jersey license plates, Chief James Batelli said Tuesday.
The officers approached the vehicle and discovered eight identical signs to the one that had been removed and several blue blue signs supporting the reelection of Sen. Bob Menendez, he said. (Pries, The Record)
5 Crucial Questions for the Presidential Foreign Policy Debate
Amy Payne
October 22, 2012 at 8:45 am
Tonight’s final presidential debate will focus solely on foreign policy. Moderator Bob Schieffer announced that the topics will be: “America’s Role in the World,” “Our Longest War—Afghanistan and Pakistan,” “Red Lines—Israel and Iran,” “The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism,” and “The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World.” Heritage’s foreign policy experts have written a series of tipsheets for prepping on each of these issues, featured on our Debate 2012 page and linked below.
Join us tonight at 9 p.m. ET to watch the debate live on the Debate 2012 page. In addition to the live stream, our experts will be live blogging, and you can join in the conversation on Twitter.
Our experts have submitted five questions they consider vital to the foreign policy debate:
Given that the Taliban movement still poses a threat to the futures of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, how do you plan to ensure stability in the region and prevent either country from serving as a base for international terrorists intent on attacking the U.S.?
Over the last several years, the Chinese have become increasingly aggressive in pressing territorial claims against their neighbors, threatening to upend peace, security, and the free flow of commerce in the region. What policies will your Administration undertake in the first year to make clear to this new Chinese leadership that the U.S. will remain committed to its friends and treaty allies in the western Pacific?
The U.S. is not the world’s policeman, but it is a leader in world affairs. Can we maintain our influence and protect our vital national interests around the world (such as the “pivot to Asia” that the Administration has announced) if defense cuts continue? Do these cuts encourage adversaries and extremists (as in Libya) to test U.S. resolve?
In the months since Osama bin Laden was killed, al-Qaeda franchises in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and North Africa have grown stronger and continue to pose a significant threat to Americans. Yet the U.S. appears to be stuck in a “whack-a-mole” tape loop. How should U.S. counterterrorism policy be changed to effectively counter this evolving threat?
Although sanctions have been ratcheted up against Iran, a new study by the Congressional Research Service has concluded that sanctions have not succeeded in accomplishing their principal objective “to compel Iran to verifiably confine its nuclear program to purely peaceful uses.” Tehran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium and is closer than ever to a nuclear weapon. Can sanctions alone stop these trends? What else should the U.S. do to end Iran’s nuclear defiance?
“Which Vision of America Will We Leave to Our Children and Grandchildren?” – Presented by Nick Rago
Election 2012 – A War of Ideologies – October 24 Wednesday Evening, October 24, at 7:30 p.m. 79 Pascack Road, Township of Washington, NJ 07676
Hosted by Knights of Columbus – Mother Seton Council #5427
What is happening in America? Our First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion are under attack. Our children’s futures have been mortgaged by unconscionable spending. The Constitution, as well as centuries of Judeo-Christian traditions and mores, have been cast aside in the name of political correctness by a progressive secularism that is eroding the very foundations of our republic.
Members of both political parties have abdicated their roles as stewards of the American Dream. The salvation of this nation, a nation founded under a Divine Providence to forever be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, rests squarely on the shoulders of you, the citizens of this country.
If we truly believe that “…government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed…” then we must accept the responsibility to engage ourselves in the political issues facing us as a nation.
A Multivitamin a day may reduce cancer risk
October 17, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Does a multivitamin a day keep the doctor away? The answer according to a large scale study ,The Physicians Health Study II of almost 15,000 men for 11 years came to the conclusion that ,those who took the pills were 8% less likely to develop cancer of any kind
The “modest” reduction is thought to mirror the benefits of eating a healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables.Multivitamins contain a wide range of nutrients that might be missing from a less than ideal diet.
The AP reports that researcher Howard Sesso, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said: “Many studies have suggested that eating a nutritious diet may reduce a man’s risk of developing cancer. “Now we know that taking a daily multivitamin, in addition to addressing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, may also be considered in the prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men.”(https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/vitamins-may-reduce-cancer-risk-143845025.html )
The Physicians Health Study II (PHS II) trial involved male American doctors who received either a daily multivitamin tablet or an inactive placebo pill.
Over an average 11.2 years, a total of 2,669 cancers were diagnosed, including 1,373 cases of prostate and 210 cases of bowel cancer.
During the follow-up period, 2,757 (18.8%) of the men died, including 859 killed by cancer. Compared with men not taking multivitamins, pill users experienced an 8% reduction in total cancer incidence.Results of the study were presented at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in Chicago and also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ( https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/vitamins-may-reduce-cancer-risk-143845025.html )
So yes a multivitamin pill a day does seem to reduce a man’s risk of cancer.
‘Amazing Race’ set for this weekend in Ridgewood
Wednesday October 17, 2012, 11:27 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood’s next great race will not pass through Veterans Park, nor will it close off any residential streets. All participants, however, will be challenged and likely break a sweat.
Based loosely on the television reality program, the Amazing Ridgewood Race is a scavenger hunt that will take contestants through a combined lesson in shopping and village trivia while leading them on a tour of the Central Business District (CBD).
Several full teams have already signed up, but additional squads and individuals can register through race day on Saturday, Oct. 20, according to Tony Damiano, owner of Mango Jam and president of The Ridgewood Guild.
Sponsored by the Guild, the race is designed to attract consumers to local businesses and promote the various restaurants, shops and professional services that are available in the CBD.
“It’s hard to come up with retail events other than running a sale,” Damiano said, adding that the Guild’s Music in the Night and Movies in the Night programs are “terrific for our restaurants.”
“That’s why it was not hard to get the businesses involved [in the Amazing Race]. We didn’t have to coerce any business into joining. They couldn’t say no to the idea,” he said.
About three dozen Ridgewood businesses have committed to help out in the race, Damiano told The Ridgewood News.
ANOTHER OBAMA FAIRY TALE TURNS TO DUST: CBO CONFIRMS $24 BILLION LOSS ON BAILOUTS
By: John Hayward
10/16/2012 09:22 AM
According to CNS News, Barack Obama is still running around and claiming “we got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system.” Like so many other Obama and Biden statements, that is absolutely false:
The Congressional Budget Office–based on figures from Obama’s own Office of Management and Budget—gives a different assessment.
“The cost to the federal government of the TARP’s transactions (also referred to as the subsidy cost), including grants for mortgage programs that have not yet been made, will amount to $24 billion,” said the CBO report, which was released on the same day Obama spoke.
TARP is the Troubled Asset Relief Program – the formal name of the government’s financial bailout program passed in October 2008.
CBO said that the cost of TARP “stems largely from assistance to American International Group (AIG), aid to the automotive industry, and grant programs aimed at avoiding home mortgage foreclosures,” noting that the losses will be so large they will eclipse the financial gains the government will realize from bailing out other large financial institutions.
In fact, CBO reported that as of now $65 billion in TARP funds remain outstanding.
Additional upgrades for Habernickel Family Park planned
MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2012, 3:07 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Residents who visit Irene Habernickel Family Park will notice a difference at the former horse farm over the course of the next year.
Changes to the aesthetics and comforts are currently being planned and will likely, village officials hope, come at little or no cost to Ridgewood taxpayers.
Ridgewood officials applied for a Bergen County block grant of $90,000 to help offset the expense of installing proposed ADA accessible restroom facilities.
Village staff had previously prepared preliminary designs for the new restrooms, which will be built at the former horse barn structure. At the least, a basic and rudimentary sketch is required with the application submission, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said, though a more concrete plan will be expected.
The plans also call for new entry ramps leading into the horse barn.
“At this point, we just want to get something into the mix and go forward with the block grant application,” Gabbert said.
Applications for 2013 Community Development Block Grants were to be filed with the county by Oct. 5, according to the Bergen County website.
“Stories, Snacks, and Songs” at Ridgewood CRC on October 20
RIDGEWOOD – On October 20th and The third Saturday of each month, Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church on Lincoln Avenue (corner of West End) is providing a free, fun-filled “Stories, Snacks, and Songs” time from 10 a.m. to noon designed for area youngsters of suggested ages 4 – 8.
Leading the story time is the church’s new Pastor, Mary Stegink. Before her clergy career she spent 23 years as a storyteller, speaker, and evaluator of youth fiction for one of the Midwest’s major children’s bookstores, Pooh’s Corner in Grand Rapids MI. The mother of three will draw upon her extensive library of children’s literature and experience in presenting songs as well as stories to children. Stegink sang the past seven seasons with the Opera Grand Rapids Chorus.
Also leading the programs is Joyce Monsma of kidscookingcraft.com, which provides hands-on cooking classes and birthday parties for children in the 4 – 12 age group. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and 11 years of teaching experience.
Vice Presidential and Presidential Debate
October 11, Thursday – 9:00 pm – Vice Presidential Debate
Hosted by ABC, Martha Raddatz
October 16, Tuesday – 9:00 pm Presidential Debate
Hosted by CNN – Candy Crowley
October 22, Monday – 9:00 pm Presidential Debate
Hosted by CBS – Bob Schieffer
Boteach v Pascrell
Congressional Seat – 9TH District
First debate -Sunday, October 14 – 930 a.m. (MORNING)
Temple Sinai of Bergen County in Tenafly
One Engle Street
Tenafly, New Jersey 07670
Phone: (201) 568-3035
Second debate – Monday October 22 – 7pm
Daniel F. Ryan School # 19 – Passaic NJ
320 Highland Ave
Passaic, NJ 07055
973-470-5201
Third Debate – Thursday, October 25 – 630 pm
Gallery 1&9 Ridgefield NJ
1 Remsen Pl
Ridgefield, NJ 07657-2321
(201) 945-8270
*notice which are a.m. and which are p.m. Bergen County Freeholder Debates –
Hermansen(incumbent)/Watkins & Tanelli/Zur
AARP Candidates Forum – Monday, October 8, 2012 – 1:00 pm
Knights of Columbus Hall, 61 Armour Place, Dumont
This is a AARP members only event
The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey’s
Jewish Community Relations Council and The Jewish Standard
Sunday, October 14, 2012 – 9:30 – 11:00 am (MORNING)
Temple Avodat Shalom
385 Howland Avenue
River Edge
The Record
Monday, October 15, 2012 – 7:00pm
The Tech Center at Bergen Community College
Room TBA, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus
The Korean American Civic Empowerment (KACE)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
6:30PM to 7:30PM
The Gallery 1&9, 1 Remsen Pl. #107, Ridgefield
League of Women Voters of Bergen County
Tuesday, October 23, 2012 – 2:00pm
Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus
5th District contenders Garrett, Gussen Square off at Temple Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah
October 8, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Democratic challenger Adam Gussen deputy mayor of Teaneck tried Sunday to take advantage of his only face-to-face debate with incumbent Rep. Scott Garrett in voter-rich Bergen County by criticizing Garrett’s votes on economic and government social programs.
While Garrett focused his barbs mainly at President Obama and ignored the challenger, who is largely unknown in a redrawn 5th District and has struggled to raise money or gain any traction .
The debate was not carried on TV or radio,with only about 100 people or so in attendance , most were supporters of either candidate.
Gussen, who is the deputy mayor of Teaneck, tried in vain at one point to get Garrett to focus on the challenger in the room instead of Democrats in Washington: “I’m not President Obama, and there’s no empty chair for Clint Eastwood to talk to, either.”
Gussen is viewed as mostly as an “Obamabot” other than his doubts about the administration’s policy toward Iran, Gussen’s own positions mirrored those of Obama and other Democrats. Garrett is viewed as the quintessential conservative share many of the same positions as Mitt Romney .
While Garrett’s detractors continually attack him for being out of touch and far too “conservative” for left leaning Bergen county , voters disagree by voting Garrett in by landslides even in very “liberal” towns like Ridgewood.
Gussen while no gaff prone Joe Biden , he seems to be out of ideas other than the very tried , “evil Republics are all for rich people ” ,given by most standards Bergen county is full of those same “rich people” , who seem to vote Democrat , and love the president Obama .
‘Smart’ traffic signals may ease traffic backups
Oct. 7, 2012, 12:11 p.m. EDT
The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.)
NORTH ARLINGTON, N.J. (AP) — Within a two-mile radius of where Schuyler Avenue and Belleville Turnpike intersect in North Arlington, drivers confront day-to-day traffic backups at stop lights and road-construction projects on roads built before World War II.
With bends and single-lane stretches, they are among the region’s busiest roadways, passing industrial zones, strip malls and apartments, leaving little room for widening or straightening to ease congestion.
To improve flow, Meadowlands region officials are turning to a new sort of traffic signal that can sense traffic jams, communicate with other “smart” traffic lights and automatically clear up congestion.
The project — called Meadowlands Adaptive Signal System for Traffic Reduction — an innovative network that includes cameras, computerized radios and sensors that will adjust the timing of traffic signals — began construction last year in Secaucus.
Once the system is up and running, it should cut travel time on historically congested roads and save on fuel consumption.
Job growth continues to sputter—this morning’s jobs report shows that 12.1 million Americans are still out of work.
Going against other economic indicators, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent. Economists are already looking into the drop, saying it seems to be a statistical fluke, because it doesn’t match up with the sluggish job creation and recent downward revision of GDP growth. Heritage’s J.D. Foster says:
One time out of a hundred, the true figure will be much different than the reported figure. One time out of a hundred for a monthly survey means about once every eight years. What seems to have occurred with the September household survey is the one time in a hundred. The last time the household survey showed such a huge jump in employment was in 1983 during the Reagan-era economic boom. Today’s economy does not look much like the Reagan boom.
The real story, then, from the more reliable employment survey is the economy created a paltry 114,000 jobs, leaving 12.1 million out in the cold. This story is getting old. And the economy has no good news to look forward to.
Congress has gone home until after the election. When it returns to Washington, the end of 2012 will be staring us in the face. In just a few short months, the largest tax increase in history will hit America. It sounds like hyperbole, and we only wish that were the case. It’s been dubbed Taxmageddon, because for millions of workers it will be an end-of-working pink slip scenario. But on January 1, a nearly $500 billion tax increase will slam the economy.
Not only will this mean individual tax increases—if you’re a middle-class family, your taxes will go up around $4,100—but the whole economy will also suffer. The Congressional Budget Office has said that unless Congress and the President act, we will be plunged into a new recession extending through 2013—when we haven’t even recovered from the previous one.
The irresponsible behavior of Congress and the President in bringing the nation to this state means a significant slowdown is already almost certain. Mounting uncertainty about what, if anything, Washington will do is rapidly draining the vitality out of the economy.
The facts are plain: The economy will shrink and unemployment will spike unless Congress acts to prevent Taxmageddon. If Congress and the President choose to continue to play politics with the economy, we stand to lose 1.6 million more jobs.
Why can’t we seem to recover from the most recent recession? According to a new report by Heritage’s Salim Furth, a select group of businesses isn’t hiring: start-ups.
“Even in recessions, start-up job creation has been a constant—until now,” Furth reports. “Employment at start-up companies has fallen for five years in a row, reaching unprecedented lows in 2010 and 2011.”
This is devastating because start-ups normally create the vast majority of the net new jobs in the economy, he says. Larger businesses do expand with new jobs, but significant job creation comes from new businesses. And it’s more difficult than ever to jump through all the government hoops to create a new business. The system is completely against job creation right now. As Furth says:
With new regulations and business requirements in health insurance, small-business finance, environment, energy, and tax compliance, not to mention the ever-expanding reach of state licensure boards, it is expensive to open a business.
Businesses, and those who would start businesses, are looking at looming tax hikes and new regulations and simply deciding it isn’t worth it. There are many new regulations coming soon, but the Administration has gone silent on what they will be. So employers can’t even prepare.
Repealing the heavily regulatory Dodd-Frank law and Obamacare, with its 18 new tax hikes, would remove major burdens on businesses and individuals. But that won’t happen before next year.
Our elected leaders can prevent Taxmageddon. It would be the best thing they could do for the economy, including job creation, in the short term. There is still time, though it is growing short.
Are big thumbs upping ad clicks?
Oct. 3, 2012, 7:30 a.m. EDT
Stubby fingers may be the reason many consumers end up checking out ads on smartphones and tablets.
Facebook FB +2.06% , Google GOOG +0.73% and other tech companies have puzzled over how to make advertising work on mobile devices. But it turns out that tablet and smartphone users, when reading news sites, are more likely to click on ads than those using computers, a new survey suggests.
Consumers don’t appear to be turned off by mobile ads, according to a survey of nearly 10,000 people by Pew Research Center and The Economist Group. Half of tablet and smartphone users notice ads when they’re getting news on their mobile device. Of that amount, roughly 15% click on ads. “People notice ads on mobile devices and may be even more likely to click on them than they are to click on other digital ads,” the report states. A recent Ad Age study, in stark contrast, found that less than 1% of people click on digital ads regardless of the viewing platform.
