Waldwick NJ, Waldwick PD, FD, and building department personnel responded to 11 Ridge Street, Waldwick on Saturday afternoon, 01/21, in response to an incident in which a 4-door Saab left the roadway, went down an embankment, and crashed into a single family home. No one in the vehicle, nor any occupant of the home, was injured in the mishap. The vehicle was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Damage to the structure was moderate; the occupants are believed to still be occupying the premises post crash.
TEANECK, N.J. – Transit police say they’ve arrested a New Jersey man who avoided paying tolls nearly 900 times and owes more than $56,000 in unpaid tolls and fees.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police say an officer stopped Alesandel Rodriguez’s car Friday morning after it failed to post a payment in an EZ-Pass lane on the George Washington Bridge.
Authorities say the car was missing front and rear license plates, and a temporary New York tag inside the vehicle had expired.
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
652 PM EST SAT JAN 21 2017
...DENSE FOG TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING...
...STRONG EAST WINDS LIKELY ALONG THE COAST FROM LATE SUNDAY
NIGHT INTO MONDAY NIGHT...
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST SUNDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST SUNDAY.
* VISIBILITIES...ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES.
* TIMING...INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS...SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES WILL MAKE
TRAVEL DIFFICULT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE
REDUCED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS. IF DRIVING...SLOW DOWN...USE
YOUR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF
YOU IN CASE A SUDDEN STOP IS NEEDED.
Tax policies sometimes have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits.One consequence of high state cigarette taxes is increased smuggling. People procure discounted packs from low-tax states to sell in high-tax states.
Excessive tax rates on cigarettes approach de facto prohibition in some states, inducing black and gray market movement of tobacco products into high tax states from low tax states or foreign sources.
New York has the highest inbound smuggling activity, with an estimated 55.4 percent of cigarettes consumed in the state deriving from smuggled sources in 2014. New York is followed by Arizona (49.6 percent of consumption smuggled), New Mexico (46.2 percent), Washington (45.2 percent), and Minnesota (35.5 percent).
New Hampshire has the highest level of outbound smuggling at 81.1 percent of consumption, likely due to its relatively low tax rates and close proximity to high tax states in the northeastern United States. Following New Hampshire is Idaho (24.8 percent outbound smuggling), Virginia (24.4 percent), Delaware (23.9 percent), and Wyoming (21.2 percent).
Following a cigarette tax increase from $2.51 to $3.51 in midyear of 2013, Massachusetts has seen a substantial increase in cigarette smuggling. Since the last year’s edition of this report, the state has jumped from 12 percent inbound smuggling to 29.3 percent inbound smuggling, the seventh highest in the country.
Cigarette tax rates increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia between 2006 and 2014.
Public policies often have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. One consequence of high state cigarette tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states to sell in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise.
Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.[1] Their most recent report uses 2014 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, however, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates. Table 1 shows the data for each state, comparing 2014 and 2006 smuggling rates and tax changes.
New York is the highest net importer of smuggled cigarettes, totaling 55.4 percent of total cigarette consumption in the state. New York also has the highest state cigarette tax ($4.35 per pack), not counting the additional local New York City cigarette tax (an additional $1.50 per pack). Smuggling in New York has risen sharply since 2006 (+62 percent), as has the tax rate (+190 percent).
Smuggling in Massachusetts has notably increased since the last data release. The state implemented a tax increase from $2.51 to $3.51 per pack in midyear 2013, and smuggling rates increased from 12 percent to 29.3 percent between the 2013 data and 2014 data. Over the same period, outbound smuggling increased in nearby low-tax New Hampshire, from -28.6 percent to -81.1 percent, suggesting that many cartons of cigarettes are crossing the border from one state to the other.
Other peer-reviewed studies provide support for these findings.[2] Recently, a study in Tobacco Control examined littered packs of cigarettes in five Northeast cities, finding that 58.7 percent of packs did not have proper local stamps. The authors estimated 30.5 to 42.1 percent of packs were trafficked.[3]
The study’s authors, LaFaive and Nesbit, note that smuggling comes in different forms: “casual” smuggling, where smaller quantities of cigarettes are purchased in one area and then transported for personal consumption, and “commercial” smuggling, which is large-scale criminal activity that can involve counterfeit state tax stamps, counterfeit versions of legitimate brands, hijacked trucks, or officials turning a blind eye.[4]
The Mackinac Center has cited numerous examples over the many editions of this report, including stories of a Maryland police officer running illicit cigarettes while on duty, a Virginia man hiring a contract killer over a cigarette smuggling dispute, and prison guards caught smuggling cigarettes into prisons.
Policy responses in recent years have included banning common carrier delivery of cigarettes,[5] greater law enforcement activity on interstate roads,[6] differential tax rates near low-tax jurisdictions,[7] and cracking down on tribal reservations that sell tax-free cigarettes.[8] However, the underlying problem remains: high cigarette taxes amount to a “price prohibition” of the product in many U.S. states.[9]
Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Parks Department initiated a master planning process for the Bergen County Park system. The goal is to identify the characteristics of the Bergen County recreation and open space system, accommodate the needs of current residents, and respond to projected future growth of the County.
CUES is leading the project team that will analyze existing strengths, programs, and opportunities, as well as future active and passive recreational options for each of the individual park properties. This analysis will consider how the various parks can best be integrated into the overall Bergen County open space and recreational context. In order to meet future needs of Bergen County residents, demographic and economic trends will be considered. The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public policy will provide input for these scenarios using existing data and forecasts describing future population and demographic trends in Bergen County.
The recent NJ Supreme court case pinning untold thousands of units of affordable housing obligations on “recalcitrant” municipalities who fought against them in court shows without any doubt that the judiciary in New Jersey has arrogated to itself governmental powers that, if they could be legitimately be exercised at all, should have been committed exclusively to the legislative branch. Heaven help us, because whatever real differences that exist between New Jersey and the average banana republic state are becoming very difficult to find. The unfortunate exodus of decent citizens from New Jersey can only increase from here on out.
These judges are like gods. They can take decisions without much worry about people’s lives in the name of “common good”. How is it possible to not take residents’ concerns into consideration but just shove it to them?!?! HoHoKus may be asked to build close to 300 affordable units. How crazy is this? A tiny , nice place right next door to Ridgewood. How can 300 units fit in there. If HHK is asked for 300 how many will Ridgewood be asked for? It has to be over 1000. There are plans to build where Granny’s attic is and also to take away the lower parking lot by the train station. Add to this the looming Valley building by N Maple and you don’t have a village anymore. In a few years if nobody does something about this (residents are all asleep or occupied with Trump’s upcoming “disasters”) we won’t have a village anymore but a city called Ridgehokus.
Westwood NJ, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi released the following statement on the state Supreme Court decision requiring municipalities to provide affordable housing for the “gap period:”
“I am deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to enforce a gap-period. This ruling will devastate all 23 municipalities I represent and suburban municipalities throughout the state. The failure of the legislature to address the social engineering of the court should not result in changing communities forever.”
“I implore our Senate President and Assembly Speaker to do everything in their power to move forward with bi-partisan legislation addressing this issue. The court rules on what is constitutional, not aggressively ruling what it thinks is best for the state. We cannot let the court legislate what is best for individual communities.”
Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi goes on, “While ideologically I think our communities want to welcome all regardless of income levels the mandates of COAH have implications far beyond that. Many of our communities with populations under 10,000 people are facing the threat of population increases of 10 percent or more without the infrastructure, schools or services to support massive population increases. We currently receive virtually no money from the state to support our schools, our Municipalities, our infrastructure. Mandating massive building in our communities (many of which are done with PILOT agreements) without any financial help to do so will cause a significant financial burden on all. As an example the new 150 unit apartment complex with commercial components will be paying less than $1,750 per average unit per year (in property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes combined) for 30 years with slight increases based upon rental incomes received by the developers. Meanwhile every other home in the Borough is paying an average of about $12,000 per year in property taxes . That $12,000 figure is guaranteed to rise in order to make up for the shortfalls. Further, people have chosen to live in the suburbs for a reason. Prior to moving back to Bergen County I lived many years in cities including Washington, New York and London. I choose where we live today because of the open space, the small class sizes, the fact that there weren’t five or six story buildings around me. Why should the Courts be able to change the entire character of the community I live in?”
By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 19, 2017 at 5:43 PM
TRENTON — The head of the New Jersey State Police on Thursday decried a deal struck between the United States and Cuba because it did not require the return of convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard.
Earlier this week, the White House announced an agreement on law enforcement cooperation with Cuba, part of President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize relations between the two countries.
The Associated Press reported the State Department and Cuba’s Interior Ministry agreed to share information on international criminal activity including human trafficking and terrorism.
Attorneys for Triple Five, the developer of American Dream Meadowlands, told the state Appellate Court in September that immediate dismissal of a lawsuit against the project must be made so as not to impede a complex financial sequence that must culminate on Nov. 4. The court dismissed the case the next day.
Yet more than nine weeks later, the project site looks as deserted as it has since before Christmas – and as it has many times over the past decade. The bond issuance plan – which has expanded to a planned $1.15 billion offering – was approved by the state for the first time in fall 2013.
Some Republicans who opposed the deal to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund have a rallying cry after losing that fight: The new money should only be spent on roads.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, kicking off her campaign for governor on Tuesday, implied as much in her speech. She criticized the new $16 billion deal, which includes $12 billion in borrowing over eight years and a 23-cent per gallon increase in the gas tax, saying the state “cannot afford to borrow billions of dollars to build a new rail line when our roads and our bridges are crumbling.”
While everyone’s been gearing up for President Trump’s inauguration, the Clinton Foundation made a major announcement this week that went by with almost no notice: For all intents and purposes, it’s closing its doors.
In a tax filing, the Clinton Global Initiative said it’s firing 22 staffers and closing its offices, a result of the gusher of foreign money that kept the foundation afloat suddenly drying up after Hillary Clinton failed to win the presidency.
It proves what we’ve said all along: The Clinton Foundation was little more than an influence-peddling scheme to enrich the Clintons, and had little if anything to do with “charity,” either overseas or in the U.S. That sound you heard starting in November was checkbooks being snapped shut in offices around the world by people who had hoped their donations would buy access to the next president of the United States.
And why not? There was a strong precedent for it in Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. While serving as the nation’s top diplomat, the Clinton Foundation took money from at least seven foreign governments — a clear breach of Clinton’s pledge on taking office that there would be total separation between her duties and the foundation.
Is there a smoking gun? Well, of the 154 private interests who either officially met or had scheduled phone talks with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state, at least 85 were donors to the Clinton Foundation or one of its programs.
Ridgewood NJ, A three (3) vehicle crash on Route 208 southbound in Glen Rock on Thursday morning, 01/19, required two (2) ambulances to transport victims to The Valley Hospital, and Glen Rock FD personnel to address a major crash related fluid spill. Two (2) heavily damaged vehicles were removed from the highway by flatbed tow trucks. Glen Rock PD was assisted at the scene by Hawthorne PD officers. Another crash, further northbound on the highway, had occurred just prior; no injuries were reported in that incident.
Ridgewood NJ, Since March of 2010, the American people have had to suffer under the incredible economic burden of the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare. This legislation, passed by totally partisan votes in the House and Senate and signed into law by the most divisive and partisan President in American history, has tragically but predictably resulted in runaway costs, websites that don’t work, greater rationing of care, higher premiums, less competition and fewer choices. Obamacare has raised the economic uncertainty of every single person residing in this country. As it appears Obamacare is certain to collapse of its own weight, the damage done by the Democrats and President Obama, and abetted by the Supreme Court, will be difficult to repair unless the next President and a Republican congress lead the effort to bring much-needed free market reforms to the healthcare industry.
But none of these positive reforms can be accomplished without Obamacare repeal. On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.
However, it is not enough to simply repeal this terrible legislation. We will work with Congress to make sure we have a series of reforms ready for implementation that follow free market principles and that will restore economic freedom and certainty to everyone in this country. By following free market principles and working together to create sound public policy that will broaden healthcare access, make healthcare more affordable and improve the quality of the care available to all Americans.
Any reform effort must begin with Congress. Since Obamacare became law, conservative Republicans have been offering reforms that can be delivered individually or as part of more comprehensive reform efforts. In the remaining sections of this policy paper, several reforms will be offered that should be considered by Congress so that on the first day of the Trump Administration, we can start the process of restoring faith in government and economic liberty to the people.
Congress must act. Our elected representatives in the House and Senate must:
Completely repeal Obamacare. Our elected representatives must eliminate the individual mandate. No person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to.
Modify existing law that inhibits the sale of health insurance across state lines. As long as the plan purchased complies with state requirements, any vendor ought to be able to offer insurance in any state. By allowing full competition in this market, insurance costs will go down and consumer satisfaction will go up.
Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns under the current tax system. Businesses are allowed to take these deductions so why wouldn’t Congress allow individuals the same exemptions? As we allow the free market to provide insurance coverage opportunities to companies and individuals, we must also make sure that no one slips through the cracks simply because they cannot afford insurance. We must review basic options for Medicaid and work with states to ensure that those who want healthcare coverage can have it.
Allow individuals to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Contributions into HSAs should be tax-free and should be allowed to accumulate. These accounts would become part of the estate of the individual and could be passed on to heirs without fear of any death penalty. These plans should be particularly attractive to young people who are healthy and can afford high-deductible insurance plans. These funds can be used by any member of a family without penalty. The flexibility and security provided by HSAs will be of great benefit to all who participate.
Require price transparency from all healthcare providers, especially doctors and healthcare organizations like clinics and hospitals. Individuals should be able to shop to find the best prices for procedures, exams or any other medical-related procedure.
Block-grant Medicaid to the states. Nearly every state already offers benefits beyond what is required in the current Medicaid structure. The state governments know their people best and can manage the administration of Medicaid far better without federal overhead. States will have the incentives to seek out and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse to preserve our precious resources.
Remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products. Congress will need the courage to step away from the special interests and do what is right for America. Though the pharmaceutical industry is in the private sector, drug companies provide a public service. Allowing consumers access to imported, safe and dependable drugs from overseas will bring more options to consumers.
The reforms outlined above will lower healthcare costs for all Americans. They are simply a place to start. There are other reforms that might be considered if they serve to lower costs, remove uncertainty and provide financial security for all Americans. And we must also take actions in other policy areas to lower healthcare costs and burdens. Enforcing immigration laws, eliminating fraud and waste and energizing our economy will relieve the economic pressures felt by every American. It is the moral responsibility of a nation’s government to do what is best for the people and what is in the interest of securing the future of the nation.
Providing healthcare to illegal immigrants costs us some $11 billion annually. If we were to simply enforce the current immigration laws and restrict the unbridled granting of visas to this country, we could relieve healthcare cost pressures on state and local governments.
To reduce the number of individuals needing access to programs like Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program we will need to install programs that grow the economy and bring capital and jobs back to America. The best social program has always been a job – and taking care of our economy will go a long way towards reducing our dependence on public health programs.
Finally, we need to reform our mental health programs and institutions in this country. Families, without the ability to get the information needed to help those who are ailing, are too often not given the tools to help their loved ones. There are promising reforms being developed in Congress that should receive bi-partisan support.
To reform healthcare in America, we need a President who has the leadership skills, will and courage to engage the American people and convince Congress to do what is best for the country. These straightforward reforms, along with many others I have proposed throughout my campaign, will ensure that together we will Make America Great Again.
New Milford NJ, A Toyota 4 Runner rolled over on its side following a collision at the intersection of Boulevard and Henley Avenue in New Milford on Wednesday afternoon, 01/18. The 4 Runner’s female driver was successfully extricated from the vehicle (through a sunroof) by New Milford FD personnel, The other vehicle involved in the collision, a Toyota Camry sedan, sustained heavy front end damage. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by flatbed tow trucks. No information was available as to the nature of injuries sustained, if any, by either vehicles’ occupants. New Milford PD & FD responded, along with a BLS ambulance from Holy Name Medical Center. A MONOC Emergency Physician’s vehicle was also observed at the incident.
The second installment of a video series asks people about taxes, underscoring the importance of the role a CFP® and other professionals make.
January 19,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPANJ) continues its five-part video series to stress the importance of learning about your money, and how a Certified Financial Planner(TM) can play a role in reaching your financial goals.
After a launch in November covering estate planning, the latest subject is a timely one: Taxes.
The entire series features “man on the street” interviews with people, asking them questions based on topics that are important to know, yet many people can’t answer, even with a cash reward ($1) on the line. Additional subjects will be released throughout the year and will include
College Planning, Social Security, and Health Care
“Everyone is impacted by taxes,” said FPANJ President Rob Rafano. “It can be eye-opening for many who watch the video to realize what they don’t know. The purpose is to demonstrate all of the various issues that CFP®s help clients handle, and why not knowing what you don’t know can keep you from building wealth. The good news is that enlisting the help of professionals can help you reduce your tax liability, year in and year out.”
#FPAKnowYourMoney: Taxes
The second installment of the Know Your Money on Taxes can be viewed on the FPANJ’s You Tube Channel. Additional videos can also be found there to help the public get to know FPANJ and learn more about their finances.
“We hope to continue the conversation among consumers on how to get started learning more about their finances, saving and investing more, and leaning on the expertise of financial professionals to get them there,” Rafano said, adding, “we are also relying on our local media to help educate the public, as there is always something happening in the news that these videos relate to.”
