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House passes Kate’s Law, as part of broader illegal immigrant crackdown

ICE Arrests

June 30,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, in a vote of 257 to 157, with one Republican voting no and 24 Democrats voting yes, the US House of Representatives passed ,”Kate’s Law”.

The House also passed a bill that would deny federal grants to sanctuary cities . Kate’s Law, would increase the penalties for deported aliens who try to return to the United States.

Kate’s Law is named for Kate Steinle, a San Francisco woman killed by an illegal immigrant who was in the U.S. despite multiple deportations. The two-year anniversary of her death is on Saturday.

Statement from President Donald J. Trump on House Passage of Kate’s Law and No Sanctuary for Criminals Act :

“During my campaign, I met many grieving families who all had the same plea: lawmakers must put the safety of American families first.  Today, I applaud the House for passing two crucial measures to save and protect American lives.  These were bills I campaigned on and that are vital to our public safety and national security.  The first bill, Kate’s Law, increases criminal penalties for illegal immigrants who repeatedly re-enter the country illegally.  The bill is named for Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times.  Every year, countless Americans are victimized, assaulted, and killed by illegal immigrants who have been deported multiple times.  It is time for these tragedies to end.

The second bill, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, restricts taxpayer grant money to cities that prevent their police from turning over dangerous criminal aliens to federal authorities.  Sanctuary cities are releasing violent criminals, including members of the bloodthirsty MS-13 gang, back onto our streets every single day.  Innocent Americans are suffering unthinkable violence as a result of these cities’ reckless actions.  The House bill also includes what is known as Grant’s Law and Sarah’s Law.  These provisions, which prevent the release of dangerous criminals awaiting removal proceedings, are named for two slain Americans whose parents I spent time with during the campaign.

The implementation of these policies will make our communities safer.  Opposing these bills, and allowing dangerous criminals back into our communities, our schools, and the neighborhoods where our children play, puts all of us at risk.

Now that the House has acted, I urged the Senate to take up these bills, pass them, and send them to my desk.  I am calling on all lawmakers to vote for these bills and to save American lives.”

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Doctors raked in cash to push fentanyl as N.J. death rate exploded

Prescription-Drugs

Updated on June 29, 2017 at 5:49 PMPosted on June 29, 2017 at 7:00 AM

BY STEPHEN STIRLING AND ERIN PETENKO

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The most powerful opioid ever mass-marketed was designed to ease cancer patients into death.

It’s ideal for that: the drug is fast acting, powerful enough to tame pain that other opioids can’t and comes in a variety of easy delivery methods — from patches to lollipops.

But a dose the size of a grain of sand can kill you.

Meet fentanyl. It’s heroin on steroids. It’s killing people in droves. And, in New Jersey, you can get it after having your tonsils removed.

In fact, doctors who treat children’s colds and adult’s sore knees are prescribing it with alarming frequency, far more than oncologists easing end-of-life cancer pain.

The surge is stoked by companies that shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to doctors, wining and dining them in hopes of convincing them that their particular brand of fentanyl is the solution to all their patients’ pain problems.

Evidently, it’s working.

https://www.nj.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2017/06/doctors_raked_in_cash_to_push_powerful_fentanyl_as_nj_death_rate_soared.html#incart_election

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A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news for liberals

McDonalds-Machines

By Max Ehrenfreund June 26

When Seattle officials voted three years ago to incrementally boost the city’s minimum wage up to $15 an hour, they’d hoped to improve the lives of low-income workers. Yet according to a major new study that could force economists to reassess past research on the issue, the hike has had the opposite effect.

The city is gradually increasing the hourly minimum to $15 over several years. Already, though, some employers have not been able to afford the increased minimums. They’ve cut their payrolls, putting off new hiring, reducing hours or letting their workers go, the study found.

The costs to low-wage workers in Seattle outweighed the benefits by a ratio of three to one, according to the study, conducted by a group of economists at the University of Washington who were commissioned by the city. The study, published as a working paper Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, has not yet been peer reviewed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/26/new-study-casts-doubt-on-whether-a-15-minimum-wage-really-helps-workers/?utm_term=.ae22e00b1144

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Report: Least Patriotic States Voted for Hillary Clinton

Hillary ladygaga

BY: Madeleine Weast
June 27, 2017 11:34 am

The seven least patriotic states voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

New Jersey was ranked the least patriotic state, followed by Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and California, according to a report fromWalletHub.

Each of these seven least patriotic states voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

States were graded on a 100-point scale stemming from data comparing 13 key indicators of patriotism based on military and civic engagement. A score of 100 would represent the highest level of patriotism.

The data factored in military enlistees, active-duty military personnel, veterans, and share of adults who voted in the 2016 presidential election.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/report-least-patriotic-states-voted-hillary-clinton/

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BUSINESS LEADERS MEH ABOUT NJ’S PROSPECTS BUT OPTIMISTIC FOR NATIONAL ECONOMY

Sweeney & Prieto

JOHN REITMEYER | JUNE 28, 2017

Executives are perturbed about New Jersey’s high taxes and the state government’s approach to business

New Jersey’s top business leaders are optimistic about the direction that the national economy is heading in this year, but as the state gets ready to elect a new governor, they are more cautious about New Jersey’s own immediate economic future.

The results of a new survey released yesterday by Rutgers University’s Real Estate and Policy Research Consortium revealed that enthusiasm among the state’s top business leaders has returned to the levels measured before the onset of the Great Recession in 2007, with 60 percent expecting some improvement in the national economy over the next 12 months.

At the same time, the survey found the executives still have concerns about New Jersey’s high taxes and state government’s handling of business policies, with nearly 50 percent saying they expect the state’s economic conditions to only remain about the same over the next year.

The results of the survey, outlined yesterday during a conference held at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick, emerge as New Jersey remains locked in a pattern of slow growth in the wake of the recession, which officially ended in 2009. New Jersey only recently added back all of the private-sector jobs that were lost to the recession as the annual rate of growth here has trailed that of the national economy, while the federal job losses were all recovered in 2014.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/06/27/business-leaders-optimistic-for-national-economy-but-meh-about-new-jersey-s-prospects/

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Study: N.J. is the least patriotic state in America (again)

uncle_same_ridgewood_4th_of_July_parade _theridgewoodblog

BY BRIAN HICKEY
PhillyVoice Staff

There are a few ways to look at the “2017’s Most Patriotic States in America” study released by WalletHub on Tuesday.

One would be to frame it as an edict that the “least patriotic states voted for Hillary Clinton” as a conservative outlet did a few hours ago.

That’s all well and good, I suppose.

I choose, however, to see how Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey fared.

This isn’t to make a point about a Pennsylvania that voted for Donald Trump or a New Jersey that’s led by highly unpopular Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

It’s all about proximity. And, quite frankly, the results are disappointing.

Not only are all three in the bottom 10 states when “13 key indicators of patriotism” were tabulated. But, for the second consecutive year, New Jersey is the least patriotic state in all the land.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/study-nj-least-patriotic-state-america-again/

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Senate Democrats Block Beck’s Bill to Protect Victims of Gender-Based Wage Discrimination

Senate Democrats Block Beck’s Bill to Protect Victims of Gender-Based Wage Discrimination

June 26, 2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Senate Democrats blocked the consideration of legislation sponsored by Senator Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) that would offer financial protections to the victims of gender-based wage discrimination.

Senate Democrats voted to table Sen. Jennifer Beck’s legislation offering financial protections to the victims of gender-based wage discrimination. (SenateNJ.com)

Beck attempted to move her legislation, S-2458, that would protect from taxation any awards or settlements related to claims of unlawful gender-based wage discrimination.

“New Jersey has one of the most aggressive, progressive wage discrimination statutes in the nation,” said Beck. “When such discrimination has been resolved, either through a trial or settlement agreement, our State furthers the victim’s mistreatment through aggressive income taxation of damages that have been awarded. I’m disappointed that Senate Democrats voted against the interests of women today.”

Beck’s motion to relieve S-2458 from the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee where it has languished without hearing was immediately tabled by the Senate Democrats in a party-line 21-16 vote.

“It doesn’t help New Jersey women to have strong pay equity laws on the books if we simply allow the compensation for their mistreatment to be taxed away,” added Beck. “Victims deserve every penny they are awarded for their suffering. Senate Democrats should be ashamed for putting the financial interests of the State over the needs of women who have been victimized.”

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Driver Transported to Hackensack University Medical Center following a crash on the Paramus campus of Bergen Community College

BCC crash

photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook

June 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, The adult male driver of a Honda CRV was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center’s main campus following a crash on the Paramus campus of Bergen Community College Monday evening, 06/26. The driver apparently lost control of his vehicle exiting the campus onto Paramus Road, hitting a guard rail, curb, and tree along the way. No other vehicles were involved. Paramus Police, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Paramus EMS, Bergen Community College Public Safety, and a paramedic team from The Valley Hospital all responded to the incident.

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Early Monday afternoon Crash in Glen Rock Results in both Vehicles being Towed from the Scene

Glen Rock Crash

photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

June 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Glen Rock NJ, An early Monday afternoon, 06/26, two (2) vehicle crash on Prospect Street in Glen Rock, resulted in both cars being towed from the scene. No injuries were reported when a Honda Accord struck a parked Toyota Corolla. Glen Rock PD handled the investigation and documentation.

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Elderly Washington Twp Resident Rescued by Neighbors After Tree Falls On Home

Washington Twp Resident Rescued

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

June 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington Twp NJ, An elderly adult female occupant of a home on Taylor Street in Washington Township was rescued by three (3) neighbors after a large tree toppled onto her home on Monday afternoon, 06/26. The resident was uninjured in the incident. Washington Township Police and Fire Department personnel responded to the scene. A municipal building sub code official was also requested to respond.

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Recent college grads are leaving N.J. in record numbers. Here’s why

education concept - students looking into phones and tablet pc a

Updated on June 25, 2017 at 11:25 AMPosted on June 25, 2017 at 11:23 AM

BY JOSEPH ATMONAVAGE

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EDGEWATER — The bed is on an elevated bunk. Below the bed is a desk, dressed with items from college: clothes, books and accessories. The floor is barely visible beneath a slew of still-stuffed bags of clothes.

In 2016, Dina Bardakh, 23, uprooted her life from Hunter College, along with the degree in political science she received, and plopped down inside the 273-square-foot room of her mother’s two-bedroom modest apartment alongside the Hudson River.

A year later Bardakh is still there, in the room she shares with her two teenage sisters.

“I never unpacked,” Bardakh explains. “I never imagined myself back here for as long as I have been. So, what do you do then?”

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/06/new_jersey_millennials_struggling_with_costs_of_li.html

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New Jersey Man Wants Something Done About Unwanted Tossed Newspapers

newspapers_on_driveway_sm-thumb-175x200

By FRED J. AUN

June 24, 2017 at 6:41 PM

ROXBURY, NJ – Thanks to the Internet, print newspapers have been declining for a decade. There’s at least one Roxbury resident who won’t miss a method used by the struggling industry to stay afloat: The free sample paper thrown on front yards.

That person is Emil Ruesch of Landing. He came last week to a Roxbury Mayor and Council meeting and spoke his mind.

“I’m here to get support in banning these free publications that are ruining our community,” Ruesch told the town officials.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/piscataway/articles/new-jersey-man-wants-something-done-about-unwante-2

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Assembly clears Bucco bill helping disabled people retain retired service dogs as pets

dogs_4th_of_July_theridgewoodblog

ASSEMBLY CLEARS BUCCO BILL HELPING DISABLED PEOPLE RETAIN RETIRED SERVICE DOGS AS PETS

June 26,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A disabled person who has relied on the loyalty of a service dog will not have to choose between a place to live and their beloved canine companion under legislation by Assemblyman Anthony Bucco that was approved today by the Assembly. The bill (S1359/A4096) exempts retired service or guide dogs from housing contracts that restrict pets.

Assemblyman Anthony Bucco, “There is a saying that a man’s best friend is his dog. That is never as true as when the dog is a service dog,” and continues , “A person who depends on their dog every day develops a bond that should never be broken by a legal technicality.”

Once an aging service dog is no longer able to work, it is considered a pet. Some leases prohibit pets, while others limit renters to only one dog. In some cases, when the retired dog is replaced with another trained dog, a housing contract provision may be violated.

“After years of loyal service, a guide dog becomes a beloved part of the family,” said Bucco. “There may be a need for a younger, more capable service dog, but the retired animal has earned the right to remain in a loving home.”

The legislation passed the Senate in August 2016, and now moves to Gov. Christie’s desk for approval.

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State’s water supply master plan short on solutions

ridgewood water

6:04 p.m. ET June 24, 2017

New Jersey’s almost 9 million residents make this state denser than India or Japan. And the population is projected to grow to 10.2 to 10.4 million by 2040. Will we have enough water for our residents, farmers, businesses, industries — and the environment — now and in the future?

That question is front and center following the release of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s draft 2017-2022 update of the New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan — the first update in 21 years.

https://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/06/24/byers-states-water-supply-master-plan-short-solutions/103150774/

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Bergen County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Prison For $1.5 Million Ponzi Scheme

Charles_Ponzi

June 25,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Lyndhurst NJ, A Lyndhurst, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.5 million from approximately 100 victims prior to high-profile initial public offerings (IPOs), Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Omar Hafez, 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him one count of wire fraud. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From July 2014 through December 2015, Hafez operated an investment fraud scheme in which he and others created a number of entities, including Lotus Global. Several of these entities had websites and social media pages listing Hafez as the CEO and advertising themselves as successful wealth management companies.

In order to deceive victim investors, Hafez represented that he had access to shares of various companies prior to their initial public offerings and could use that access to provide significant profits to investors. However, bank records for accounts controlled by Hafez and certain Lotus Global entities revealed that none of the money provided by victim investors was used to purchase shares or invest in any of the pre-IPO companies.

Instead, Hafez used the funds for his own benefit, including several large purchases at luxury car dealerships, including an approximately $87,000 purchase at Prestige Motors, an approximately $24,160 purchase at Signature Car Collections, and an approximately $8,690 purchase at Dream Cars National LLC. In addition, Hafez purchased numerous luxury goods, including an approximately $17,250 purchase at Tourneau Inc., an approximately $5,613 purchase at Louis Vuitton, and an approximately $3,000 purchase at Tiffany & Co., as well as airplane tickets and hotel stays for a single trip to Chicago totaling approximately $10,000.

Hafez employed numerous strategies to maintain the victims’ confidence and induce further investments. For example, bank records showed that Hafez occasionally used money from earlier victim investors in order to pay future victims “lulling” payments. In classic Ponzi scheme fashion, Hafez lied to investors and told them that these payments were returns on their investments.

As funds began to run out and investors demanded their money with increasing frequency, Hafez provided certain victim investors with checks for thousands of dollars, claiming that they represented investment returns or a refund of initial investments. When victim investors attempted to deposit or cash these checks, the checks were rejected due to insufficient funds because Hafez and others had already spent the victims’ money.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Hafez to three years of supervised release. Hafez must also pay restitution of $1.5 million.