The Trump administration’s emphasis this week on quashing sanctuary cities’ efforts to shelter immigrants without legal permission has ricocheted through the New Jersey governor’s race.
By MICHAEL CATALINI, Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Trump administration’s emphasis this week on quashing sanctuary cities’ efforts to shelter immigrants ( shelter illegal immigrants) without legal permission ricocheted through the New Jersey governor’s race.
Democrats vowed to push back against President Donald Trump, setting up a potential showdown over federal funding that the GOP president says is on the line. Republicans, meanwhile, criticize sanctuary cities and question their purpose.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who is term-limited, has said there’s “no chance” he’ll back Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to require the state to pick up the tab if federal dollars to sanctuary cities are cut.
Steve Janoski , Staff Writer, @SteveJanoskiPublished 4:26 p.m. ET March 28, 2017 | Updated 4:53 p.m. ET March 30, 2017
Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III unveiled on Wednesday his 2017 budget, a $522 million spending plan that will increase county taxes by $8 on the average county home assessed at $465,962.
A nearly $413 million tax levy — an increase of 1.89 percent — will support the budget, despite Tedesco’s plan being about $20 million smaller than last year’s budget.
By Steven Nelson, Staff Writer | March 31, 2017, at 5:15 p.m.
Sen. Bob Menendez may call a federal prison home if prosecutors prove he accepted bribes to do favors for a wealthy businessman.
But you wouldn’t know that if you tuned in to Bloomberg TV last week to watch the New Jersey Democrat discuss a Securities and Exchange Commission nomination.
The reporter didn’t mention the case.
And there was nothing remarkable about the omission. Menendez regularly appears on cable news programs without viewers being told he faces felony corruption charges.
CNN’s Jake Tapper didn’t mention the prosecution during a 10-minute interview on March 13 that focused on health care policy. Nor did MSNBC’s Katy Tur in a March 3 interview about investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election.
The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics tracked roads, airports and other transportation to arrive at an average noise metric for each area of the nation. These New Jersey regions were some of the worst. These maps were created by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics with Esri and Open Street Map.
Midland NJ, Midland Park firefighters battled a blaze in a single family home located at 97 Busteed Drive, Midland Park on Friday morning, 03/31. Fire companies from Ho-Ho-Kus and Wyckoff provided mutual aid assistance at the scene. The fire appeared to have started on the home’s exterior and then traveled to the interior. No injuries were reported in the blaze.
Ridgewood NJ, It’s easy to take things we don’t see for granted – like the gas pipes in our home. I’m sure like many other homeowners, I never thought much about what was going on behind my walls. I had gas service, so everything was surely fine, right? I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It began on a cold January day when a friend dropped off her daughter for a playdate with my daughter. While she was in my house, she thought she smelled gas. We knew this wasn’t something to be taken lightly, so I called PSE&G. Service Specialist Eric (E.G.) Madsen promptly arrived. He took a gas reading and immediately shut off the gas lines to our house. He had a hunch that there might be a leak in the inside gas pipes. He told my wife, who was home alone at the time, that she needed to leave immediately and call an HVAC company to test the pipes.
When the HVAC company arrived what they found was chilling and terrifying. There was indeed a leak in our pipes. In fact a leak is an understatement — there was a substantial hole! Gas was in the ground — and in our walls. The gas pipes inside our house needed to be replaced. We lived in a hotel while the pipes were dug up and replaced. Once that was done a few days later, Mr. Madsen returned to turn on the gas. While I was sitting in my kitchen waiting, I asked him just how much gas was in my walls. His reply sent chills down my spine . “Gas explodes at between 5 percent and 15 percent,” he said. “You were at 15 percent.” We dodged a bullet that day. As a result, the plumbing inspector for the Borough of Tenafly now is checking all the gas pipes in the homes in our neighborhood.
Life lessons are learned every day. With those lessons it’s important to keep things in perspective. We often times get caught up with what’s around us. We focus on what we can see. When things are invisible to the eye, like the gas pipes in our home, we just assume everything is alright. Thankfully, Mr. Madsen didn’t do that. I believe he might have saved our lives, and those of our neighbors. He says that he was just doing his job. It is not often we have the opportunity to thank the people who keep us safe. In fact, we often take them for granted. So, thank you Mr. Madsen.
If I can leave you with one final thought, it would be not to take your pipes for granted. Get them checked. And, if you think you smell gas, call PSE&G!
Pay for unused absences was capped at $15,000 in 2010, but public employees hired before that at school districts, towns, and counties across the state can still rack up six-figure payouts
Public workers in a majority of New Jersey’s municipalities, school districts, and all but two of its counties are due almost $1.9 billion in pay for unused absences when they retire, with at least one employee slated to receive as much as $500,000.
To put things in perspective: If this obligation were spread throughout the state, every New Jerseyan would have to chip in $207 to cover the public-employee version of Wall Street’s golden parachute — according to an NJ Spotlight analysis of local budgets.
Or think of it this way: In this state with the highest property taxes in the nation, the $929 million owed to municipal workers alone, if it were paid out immediately by property-tax payers, would lead to an increase of 11 percent over last year’s total local levy.
Part of the problem can be traced to the way benefits are typically negotiated by local officials, be it with a union or with individuals. According to Jon Moran, senior legislative analyst with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, it can be difficult for elected officials to take a hard line when facing the realities of what neighboring towns give and a town’s own precedent.
Follow this link for an interactive table of sick-day payout liabilities for New Jersey’s school districts, towns, and counties.
Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrest of BRIAN ROONEY (DOB: 02/11/1969, married; and employed as an employment recruiter) of 16 Abbington Terrace, Glen Rock, New Jersey on charges of Stalking, Filing a False Report, and Hindering. The arrest is the result of a joint investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert ANZILOTTI, and the Glen Rock Police Department under the direction of Chief Dean ACKERMANN.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2017, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received information that two residents of Glen Rock, New Jersey were receiving harassing notes and text messages over an approximate eighteen-month time span. The two residents, one of which was BRIAN ROONEY, reported the harassing communications to the Glen Rock Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. An investigation by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit and the Glen Rock Police Department revealed that ROONEY sent the harassing communications to himself and another person and then ROONEY attempted to implicate a third person as the person sending the harassing communications.
As a result of the investigation, Brian ROONEY was arrested on Wednesday, March 27, 2017, and charged with one count of Stalking, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10b, a fourth degree crime; one count of Filing a False Police Report, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-4a, a third degree crime; and one count of Hindering, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(4), a crime of the fourth degree. ROONEY was charged by way of complaint summons and was released on his own recognizance pending his first appearance in the Bergen County Judicial Processing Court on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.
Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would also like to thank the Glen Rock Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
Ridgewood NJ, according to the Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital On February 14, 2017, the New York City Department of Health announced three human cases of Leptospirosis, two with pulmonary hemorrhage and one fatal as a result of infection. Recently there have also been outbreaks in Chicago and Arizona, where dozens of dogs have been infected. Now, there have been reports of 6 cases in New Jersey, including 5 dogs in Bergen County.
NBC explained , ‘Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection dogs can catch from wildlife like squirrels and rats. The disease passes through urine, which pets may lick up when drinking from puddles or other standing water.’
The Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital the symptoms in dogs may be any of these: lethargy, loss of appetite, depression, fever, dehydration, weakness, diarrhea, and vomiting. Leptospirosis can become life threatening in a very short period of time.
The best protection is prevention, and there is a canine vaccine for Leptospirosis. While cats can also be infected, there is no vaccine for cats at this time.
If you are not certain if your dog is protected, you can see your dog’s vaccination status through Pet Portals on our website: www.ridgewoodvet.com. If you are not registered, you can register there as well.
If your dog has never been vaccinated against Leptospirosis, or is overdue, please call our office to be scheduled immediately. If overdue, only one vaccination is required. If never vaccinated, a series of two is required.
If your dog is due within the next 60 days, we recommend giving the vaccine now to insure maximum antibody protection during this increased risk period as opposed to minimal protection possible at the end of the vaccine period.
Please call our office now to schedule an appointment if your dog is overdue, never had, or due within 60 days for the Leptospirosis Vaccine.
A new Fairleigh Dickinson/Public Mind Poll shows Jersey voters are dissatisfied with both the governor and Trenton lawmakers in general.
“Dissatisfied” might be an understatement.
Just 1 percent of voters — that’s 1 out of 100 — said they trust Trenton lawmakers to always do what’s right.
Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of the FDU poll, says many respondents took a dim view of where we are going.
“Barely a quarter, or 24 percent, believe that the state is on a good path, with 67 percent who think otherwise.”
She said voters were asked a number of questions about their feelings toward state government, and across all measures, voter discontent runs broad and deep.
The poll also showed a very slight improvement in Gov. Chris Christie’s rating, but it still remains at an abysmal low.
“We find that his approval numbers are up slightly from January, which is the last time that we asked the same question. But they do remain statistically unchanged at 20 percent. Almost three-quarters, or 72 percent, of registered voters say they disapprove of his leadership.”
But Jenkins says it is not just about the governor.
Fair Lawn NJ, A 16-year-old boy scared off a strange man he encountered inside his family’s kitchen in Fair Lawn,early Thursday morning.Local Police said the teen was getting a glass of water around 4:22 a.m. when he spotted the stranger in his home. The teen walked into the next room, and the man followed. Grabbing a baseball bat the teenager hit the man once in the arm. Police said the man took off, but not before dropping $160 and two passports .
Officials are still searching for the suspect, who they describe as a white male in his 30s, approximately 6 feet tall with blue eyes and a full beard. He was last seen wearing a black wool hat, gloves and multiple layers of black clothing.
Fair Lawn Police are still looking for the pictured individual for a burglary that occurred on 3/24. Contact Det. Yuskaitis at 201-794-5410.
Sen. Robert Menendez ongoing corruption case could upend the New Jersey Democrat’s reelection bid in 2018, with the longtime politician scheduled to go to court this fall.
The Supreme Court delivered another blow this week to the embattled senator when it refused to dismiss the case. The trial is scheduled to begin about a year before the midterm elections.
Federal prosecutors charged Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty, in April 2015 on 14 criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery.
Menendez is expected to head to trial on Sept. 6,facing a potential criminal conviction even as he would normally be preparing a re-election bid.
“It makes it very difficult to campaign if you’re on trial,” said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.
The start of 2017 has been merciless when it comes to retail store closings. This year, analysts say online shopping has continued to take its toll on even the most popular brands.
Is your favorite retailer closing shop?
Check out our list of the biggest chains closings stores this year.
Walmart,
SEARS,
KMart,
JC Penny
BeBe,
Radio Shack,
CVS,
RiteAid,
The Children’s Place,
American Apparel,
Wet Seal,
Office Depot,
Aeropostale,
Men’s Wearhouse/Jos A. Bank,
The Limited,
Finish Line,
Chicos,
American Eagle,
BCBG Max Azria,
Abercrombie & Fitch,
Ridgewood NJ, in a Bloomberg report on America’s 100 Richest Places ,cities and towns with ties to Wall Street and the Silicon Valley, and a smattering of communities in between, boasted the highest U.S. household incomes in 2015, according to a Bloomberg analysis of census data. Ridgewood came in 67th on the list with and avage household income of $219,566 .
Atherton, California, in the technology corridor between San Francisco and San Jose, topped the list as America’s wealthiest town, while more than one-third of the nation’s 100 richest households were located within 50 miles of New York City.
Here are some of the top 100 from New Jersey
19. Upper Saddle River, $276,982
34. North Caldwell, $251,248;
41. Franklin Lakes, $243,441;
43. Rumson, $242,158;
49. Upper Montclair, $236,382;
56. Glen Ridge, $227,198;
61. Tenafly, $222,633;
67. Ridgewood, $219,566;
70. Summit (Union), $215,515;
72. Chatham (Morris), $213,408;
73. Woodcliff Lake, $211,473;
79. Bernardsville (Somerset), $206,277;
92. Glen Rock, $197,914.
Under recent affordable housing rulings by the NJ Supreme Court, our communities are being forced to permit construction of up to ONE MILLION new units of unneeded housing in order to satisfy a fictitious population increase of 30 percent in the next 9 years. Today’s Bergen Record reports that NOBODY COMES HERE. IT’S TOO CROWDED (the story is below). So why is all this housing being forced on New Jersey? Help me stop this while we still can. Please write Assembly Speaker Prieto [email protected] and ask him to post A-4666 which imposes a moratorium on affordable housing settlements and litigation and A-4667 which creates a commission to study the actual need and obligations.
– “New Jersey population continues growing by slim margins,” by The Record’s Dave Sheingold: “New Jersey’s population inched up by the barest of margins last year, continuing a nearly three-decade trend that has seen the state grow at one of the slowest rates in the country, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Lodged firmly in a pattern seen across most of the northeast and parts of the Midwest since before the turn of the century, the number of New Jerseyans increased by a mere 9,000, or 0.1 percent, in 2016. That left the nation’s most densely populated state with 8.94 million residents, a figure that is up 1.7 percent since 2010 and 6.3 percent since 2000. New Jersey’s growth rate this decade is the 14th smallest in the country, far behind increases of 6 to 12 percent seen in the southeast, southwest, west and northern Great Plains.”
