Republican gubernatorial candidate Hirsh Singh today said he filed a formal request with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to allow him to participate in the 2017 Republican primary gubernatorial interactive debates.
Singh argued that although he has not accepted public funds for his campaign he nonetheless “has over $900,000 in campaign contributions on hand.”
“As I’ve said all along, our campaign has the resources we need to compete with the other candidates in the race, to get our message out, and to defeat Phil Murphy in November,” said Singh, who cited N.J.A.C. 19:25-1.4 as the basis for his legal argument demanding entry to the debate forum.
Washington Township NJ ,The resultant force of a two (2) vehicle crash sent one (1) vehicle up onto the lawn of a home at 575 Washington Avenue, Washington Township on Friday morning, 04/28. Washington Township PD and EMS responded to the incident. One (1) driver, an adult male, complained of minor injuries and was evaluated on the scene by EMTs, but refused ambulance transport to a hospital. The other driver, also an adult male, was not injured. Both wrecked vehicles were removed by flatbed tow trucks. No word as to whether any summonses were issued in connection with the incident.
What this article omits is that the cost of this boondoggle is $1.3 billion and climbing. So for $130,000,000 a mile, we will get what the proponents project to be 24,000 trips. At $2.25 per trip ( current light rail ticket price) assuming the projected number of rides are taken every single day of the year (a heroic assumption), it will take 65 years to pay this off, not counting interest.
The money for this comes from the newly hiked gas tax which will apparently be diverted from fixing roads and bridges to pleasing a few of Loretta’s constituents.
Dr. Salomon Melgen, a key figure in the bribery and corruption case against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted on Friday of improperly billing the federal government for more than $100 million in medical insurance payments.
After three days of deliberations, a jury in West Palm Beach, Fla. delivered 67 guilty verdicts against Melgen on charges that he submitted claims to Medicare for eye procedures and tests that were either unnecessary or never performed.
Ridgewood NJ, NJT reminder , delays Estimated at 30 Minutes in/out of New York due to Amtrak Track Maintenance, Track Inspection & Speed Restrictions this Weekend – April 29-30, 2017
Resulting in Possible Delays for Raritan Valley Customers during this Weekend’s Busing Service between Cranford and Union Stations
For Amtrak service delays, click HERE.
For Raritan Valley weekend busing service info, click HERE.
THIS WEEKEND (Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30), NJ TRANSIT rail service in/out of New York should anticipate estimated delays of 30 minute due to Amtrak track maintenance, track inspection and speed restrictions.
As a result, Raritan Valley Line customers may experience delays this weekend during the planned outage due to NJ TRANSIT and Conrail’s track and switch maintenance work between Cranford and Roselle Park stations.
During this time, buses will replace trains between Cranford and Union stations. Conrail work is scheduled to be completed at 7:30 Sunday, April 30.
PLEASE NOTE: This weekend, Raritan Valley customers can expect train delays in and out of New York due to Amtrak track maintenance, track inspection and speed restrictions. Customers should anticipate estimated 30 minute delays as some tracks may become out of service from time to time. Please allow for extra travel time.
PLEASE NOTE – SYSTEMWIDE CROSS-HONORING: This Weekend ONLY, NJ TRANSIT rail tickets and passes will be cross-honored on NJ TRANSIT Bus, Light Rail, Private Carriers and with PATH at Newark Penn Station, New York-33rd Street and Hoboken.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
For further information, please call NJ TRANSIT Customer Service at (973) 275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and5 p.m. daily.
Northern Branch expansion will bring light rail into Bergen County
April 24, 2017
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
ENGLEWOOD, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today continued to advance the expansion of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system into Bergen County by holding two public hearings as part of the environmental review process.
The hearings, held at the Englewood Crowne Plaza, are part of a 60-day public comment period on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS). The Northern Branch SDEIS documents the social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with the construction of the proposed action.
This comment period began on March 24, 2017, when the SDEIS was published, and runs through May 23, 2017. During this time, members of the public are invited to review the SDEIS document and submit their comments in writing or by attending one of the public hearings. Today’s public hearings included a formal presentation, an open house with information and displays as well as the ability for members of the public to submit oral or written comments.
At the conclusion of the public comment period, NJ TRANSIT will collect and review all of the comments. Provided that the SDEIS comments do not present compelling arguments for substantial revision, a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be prepared for review by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The culmination of the process is that the FTA will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the project to advance to engineering. Once the ROD is issued and funding is identified, the project could then advance to final engineering, as well as the negotiation of an agreement with the freight railroads (CSX and NYS&W), and into construction.
About Northern Branch project
The Northern Branch project will extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system by 10 miles and include seven new station stops in five municipalities. The electric light rail service would operate on West Side Avenue in North Bergen, and then on existing railroad right-of-way owned by CSX Transportation (CSX) between 91st Street in North Bergen and the northern border of Englewood and would introduce new station stops in North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and Englewood.
The extension is projected to add 12,370 customers to the system making 24,740 trips on an average weekday. The existing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system transports approximately 26-thousand customers making 52-thousand trips on an average weekday (FY16).
Local Resident to Serve as a Resource for Parents Seeking Alternative Childcare Options
April 28,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Midland Park NJ, Responding to the increasing demand for quality live-in childcare, Cultural Care Au Pair has recently added Jeneca Parker to its growing number of local resources for the Bergen County area. As a Cultural Care Au Pair local childcare consultant (LCC), Parker will provide service and support to host families and their au pairs throughout the program year.
Parker is part of a nationwide network of more than 600 Cultural Care Au Pair local childcare consultants dedicated to promoting global understanding through intercultural exchange. Parker will advise area au pairs and their host families on educational opportunities, as well as organize fun activities for the entire extended Cultural Care Au Pair family to enjoy.
“Our hands-on local childcare consultants are a key part of the success of Cultural Care Au Pair, and one of many reasons why families come back to us year after year for flexible and affordable live-in childcare,” said Susan Robinson, Vice President of Communication for Cultural Care Au Pair. “Jeneca is a terrific and knowledgeable source for anyone in Bergen County who is interested in getting more information on hosting an au pair.”
Originally from Orlando, Fl, Jeneca Parker currently resides in Midland Park, NJ with her husband, Robbyn, son Harrison, and au pair, Tamara from Brazil. In addition to being a LCC, she works as an Assistant Principal of a high school in the south Bronx. She loves all things international and has a deeply rooted interest in cultural exchange and education. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Furman University in International Development Studies and studied abroad in over a dozen countries throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. She earned her first Master’s degree in Special Education, and her second Master’s in School Leadership from Bank Street College. Her background includes a variety of experiences that have uniquely prepared her for working with Cultural Care’s au pairs and host families.
Parker is currently interviewing families who are interested in hosting an au pair. As a community resource on alternative childcare and intercultural exchange, she can be reached at [email protected] to answer any questions. Interested families may also visit Cultural Care Au Pair online at www.jparker.aupairnews.com.
About Cultural Care Au Pair
Cultural Care Au Pair has provided au pair childcare to American families for over 25 years, and in that time has placed more than 100,000 au pairs in American homes. A division of EF Education and a U.S. Department of State regulated program, Cultural Care Au Pair is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., with an extensive network of recruitment, screening and orientation offices worldwide. For more information about hosting an au pair, visit www.culturalcare.com or call 800-333-6056.
By Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 27, 2017 at 11:00 AM, updated April 27, 2017 at 11:04 AM
New Jersey could become the last state in the nation to ban the sale of homemade baked goods.
A judge in Wisconsin — the only other state to have such a ban — will soon hear from attorneys on behalf of three women seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s law, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Both states currently ban the sale of home-baked cookies, muffins and other treats to the public citing health concerns and unfair competition against established businesses.
In New Jersey, home bakers need to either rent a commercial kitchen or install one in their homes, costing about $12,000. They are also subject to inspection by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
Many home bakers in New Jersey have been lobbying to overturn the state’s ban for years. A few years ago, a measure passed New Jersey’s lower house, but state Sen. Joe Vitale ultimately refused to bring it up for a vote.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Prosecutors are arguing that a prominent Florida eye doctor’s practice was actually a well-organized scam that stole millions from Medicare.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase told a federal jury Tuesday during closing arguments that Dr. Salomon Melgen performed unnecessary tests and treatments on his mostly elderly patients to “line his pockets with millions.”
Ridgewood NJ, A three (3) vehicle, personnel. The crash involved two (2) moving passenger vehicles and a parked commercial truck. All victims evaluated by Fair Lawn EMS members declined ambulance transport to a hospital Rescue Squad personnel attended to a crash related fluid spill. Two (2) vehicles were removed from the scene by separate flatbed tow trucks. Banta Place was closed to vehicular traffic between Watkins Avenue and Raphael Street until the scene was cleared of wreckage.
Does the fall-off in solar installations and loss of jobs indicate a slowdown in the sector?
What’s going on: Mostly business as usual: The unanswered question is whether that portends well for New Jersey’s solar sector, which has been prone to boom-and-bust cycles. The state’s solar industry is continuing to install new systems at a fairly good pace, although last month the number of deployments fell off dramatically from the rate of a year ago. In March, 889 residential systems were put in, roughly half the number installed 12 months earlier, according to the Office of Clean Energy. The number of nonresidential systems put also fell. That is only one month’s tally, but there are other signs the sector may be slowing. An industry survey of the sector nationwide released early this year found New Jersey lost 1,000 solar jobs in 2016 — at the same time the industry was growing at 25 percent nationwide.
New Jersey has the highest rate of autism of any state in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control — but advocates say that’s in part because we screen for it more.
“One in 41 8-year-olds have autism here in New Jersey,” said Suzanne Buchanan, executive director or Autism New Jersey. Autism affects a person’s ability to socialize with other people, and it gives people a restricted range of behaviors, interests and activities.
Buchanan said there are a number of reasons why New Jersey’s autism rates are so high.
AUTISM IN NEW JERSEY
On Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p.m. New Jersey 101.5 will present a special autism town hall.
Experts will be available to answer your questions and update you with the latest information on this disorder. Follow NJ 101.5 on Facebook and watch it live.
“They can pretty easily be explained by the way the research is done and the reports that the researchers had access to,” she said. “Here in New Jersey we have access to both educational and health records, so if you expand the pool of kids that you’re screening, you’re going to find more kids.”
Paramus NJ, A Honda SUV traveling southbound on the Garden State Parkway (GSP) near Route 4 in Paramus on Sunday evening, 04/23, careened off of the roadway’s right shoulder, down a steep embankment, and wound up on the grassy shoulder of Route 4 westbound near an entrance ramp to the GSP southbound. Witnesses reported that the vehicle completely flipped over at least once during the crash. Paramus PD, FD, EMS, and Rescue Squad personnel all responded to aid the driver, who was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center’s (HUMC) main campus with life threatening injuries. A paramedic team from HUMC also responded to the scene. The crash is being investigated by a trooper from the New Jersey State Police GSP Patrol Division, Bloomfield Barracks.
Rates of sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in New Jersey, and the state Health Department is spending $4.4 million on a campaign to reverse what is a national trend.
At a budget hearing Thursday, Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett said New Jersey’s campaign includes testing, treatment, outreach to providers – and primary prevention through social media campaigns, where younger people absorb information.
“One in two sexually active 15- to 25-year-olds will get an STD unless they take action to prevent it,” Bennett said.
Senator Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, called that statistic unbelievable – but wasn’t surprised, given conversations he’s had with younger patients in his job as a dentist.
“Not from a moral judgmental point of view but just from a health point of view, you know, try to scare the bejeebees out of them a little bit,” Van Drew said.
file photo by Boyd Loving
APRIL 17, 2017 / RANDALL ELIASON
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is facing trial this fall on corruption charges. His lawyers will claim the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Bob McDonnell case means the charges against Menendez cannot stand. But the effect of the McDonnell case on the Bob Menendez trial is likely to be pretty limited.
New Jersey Democrat Menendez and his co-defendant Dr. Salomon Melgen were indicted in April 2015. (You can find my detailed analysis of the indictment here.) The case has been on hold for two years while Menendez pursued claims that his prosecution is barred by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause. The trial court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected those arguments. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear his appeal, finally clearing the way for the case to go to trial.
But while Menendez was pursing his Speech or Debate appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court decided McDonnell v. United States. The Court reversed the convictions of the former governor of Virginia, holding that McDonnell did not perform “official acts” as defined by federal bribery law.
