I would like to take this opportunity to let Ridgewood residents know who I am as a candidate running for the primary elections as a Republican.
As a person who espouses liberty and the ideals of our constitution, it is important to support like minded individuals. Running for surrogate entails safeguarding minors and those who need their wealth protected by appointing someone to administer on their behalf. It is a constitutional office and one that carries much responsibility. To all Republicans please keep me in mind in column 2 when voting in the June 7th primary elections.—In Liberty & Honor, Sab Skenderi For Surrogate
A day after the first baby delivered in a New Jersey hospital was diagnosed with birth defects caused by the Zika virus, Gov. Chris Christie assured the public on Wednesday the state is ready to respond when the mosquito-borne illness migrates to the state. Samantha Marcus and Susan K. Livio, NJ.com Read more
Fair Lawn NJ, According to Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal an elderly couple and their adult son were found dead of gunshot wounds inside a burning house at 13-24 Fourth Street late Wednesday night in an apparent double murder suicide.
The Bergen County Prosecutor Richard released the names ;Tempe Sr., 76, and his wife Barbara, 73, and son Richard Jr., 53, adding the fire set intentionally .
Grewal said, “the matter is limited to a domestic event” and that a weapon was recovered.
The fire was reported at 11:36 p.m., Fair Lawn Sgt. Brian Metzler said in a press release early Thursday morning. The grey slate building has a damaged roof and the heat of the fire knocked out the top windows.
Fair Lawn Mayor John Cosgrove said a firefighter was treated at a hospital and released at 3 a.m. He would not disclose the exact nature of his injuries.
The prosecutor’s office is now awaiting the results of a report from the medical examiner on the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Hackensack NJ, According to the Bergen Record , “A 31-year-old woman from Honduras, a nation ravaged by the Zika virus, gave birth to a baby suffering from the devastating effects of the virus on Tuesday at Hackensack University Medical Center, the first apparent case in the tri-state area, her physician said.”
It is believed the mother contracted the disease in Honduras after being bitten by a mosquito early in her pregnancy, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed she was infected with the Zika virus, according to Dr. Manny Alvarez, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Hackensack.
Dr. Alvarez said that the baby delivered by Cesarean-section on Tuesday suffered from low birth weight and severe microcephaly, in which the baby’s head is smaller than expected. This condition can lead to seizures, developmental delays, hearing loss and severe mental disabilities. The baby was also born with intestinal issues and visual issues,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously issued a travelers alert for Honduras.
According to the CDC website a total of 591 cases of Zika virus have been reported in the United States, including 14 in New Jersey and 127 in New York, and in each case the victims contracted the virus while travelling abroad.
New Jersey’s medical marijuana program has been up and running for nearly six years. But under federal law, marijuana remains a “Schedule I” controlled dangerous substance, meaning the U.S. Justice Department considers it to be among the most harmful illicit drugs. Salvador Rizzo, The Record Read more
Sen. Nick Scutari is about to try marijuana for the first time. He’s a lawyer, and he swears he’s never done it before. But as the author of a bill that would legalize marijuana sales in New Jersey, he feels a weighty responsibility to investigate. Tom Moran, Star-Ledger Read more
Since the founding of our country, there have always been brave men and women who understood what it takes to protect our freedom and democracy. And there has always been a grateful nation that understands that everything we have is because of their bravery. They are the very best that America has to offer.
Today, we remember those who gave their lives in service to the United States and we thank them for their sacrifice. Our words will never be able to express what their service meant to us, but we can continue to honor them with our actions. We can continue to live our lives in freedom and stand up to tyranny and oppression in whatever form it takes. It is our responsibility to pass along the gift of liberty that many in our armed forces died to protect.
To those who have lost family, friends, and loved ones—please know that our country stands with you today and every day, humbled by the sacrifice you have given to protect freedom and democracy. May God bless those who died in service to our country, and may God continue to look over those who put on a uniform every day and fight for United States of America.
1st Place winner, Alexandra Gutierrez with Scott Garrett
May 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) announced the winners of the 2016 Congressional Art Competition at Sussex County Community College in Newton this Saturday. The Congressional Art Competition is open to all 9th-12th graders from New Jersey’s Fifth District, and this year’s competition featured 90 pieces of artwork from New Jersey high schools in Bergen, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren Counties (full list below).
This year the winners were: 1st Place, Alexandra Gutierrez, “Split Vision,” Bergen County Academies; 2nd Place, Grant Brewster, “Forgotten,” Delbarton School; 3rd Place, Nicole Spangenburg, “Doug,” Wallkill Valley Regional High School; 4th Place, Nicole Spangenburg, “Rasta Man Dan,” Wallkill Valley Regional High School; 5th Place, Sophia Bevacqua, “Landscape,” Northern Highlands Regional High School; 6th Place, Nicolina Kanapinski, “Take Me For a Ride,” High Point Regional High School; 7th Place, Maansi Srivastava, “The Afternoon Glow,” Bergen County Academies; 8th Place, Sarah Vargas, “The Dreamer,” Bergen County Academies.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. The first-place winner from each congressional district is invited to attend a reception in Washington, D.C., and the winning artwork is displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year. Read more here.
Students from the following schools will be participating (by county):
Bergen County Academies
Bergen County Technical High School (Student lives in district)
Mahwah’s mayor and police chief were behind a plot to discredit a public works official and political rival, pressing false allegations that he viewed pornography on a township computer that ultimately led to his death, a lawsuit alleges. Peter J. Sampson, The Record Read more
Reps. Garrett (NJ) and Foster (IL) Offer Amendment to Relieve “Payer States” like New Jersey
May 26, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Reps. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) and Bill Foster (IL-11) introduced an amendment to H.R. 5055, the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, that would stop “payer states” like Illinois and New Jersey from giving more money to smaller “taker states” by eliminating an out-of-date government program.
Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars is transferred out of “payer states” (those that pay more in federal taxes than they receive back in federal spending ), into “taker states” (those that receive more federal spending than they pay in taxes). One of the worst offenders of this redistribution is the National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which is special federal research spending that goes almost exclusively to small states that already receive far more federal spending than they pay in taxes.
“For too long, politicians have advocated for an ever-expanding federal government, confiscating more and more money from hard-working families in payer states like New Jersey,” said Garrett. “And what does this mean for these families? It means that they will continue to subsidize the countless ineffective, wasteful redistributive programs like the NSF EPSCoR. The people of New Jersey deserve to have their tax dollars spent in their state, not sent to Washington to be diverted and wasted by unelected bureaucrats, and the Foster-Garrett amendment would relieve the taxpayers of this burden.”
EPSCoR was first authorized by Congress in 1978 with goal of redistributing federal research dollars into states that did not get their “fair share” of research dollars. However, because the “fair share” was determined on a per-state basis rather than a per-capita basis, it has devolved into another program that steers money into states that already get more than their fair share of federal spending.
What was intended to be temporary assistance to a select group of states to build their research infrastructure and then exit the program has become a permanent and growing pot of taxpayer subsidies. Eligibility to participate in NSF EPSCoR opportunities is based solely on whether or not a state has received less than 0.75% of NSF research funding in the previous three years. This means that the EPSCoR opportunities are based solely on whether or not a state has received less than 0.75% of NSF research funding in the previous three years.
The Foster-Garrett Amendment would eliminate this program so more money can stay in the pockets of New Jersey families.
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) welcomed Maryana Stern to be his shadow for a day as part of the fifth annual “Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Day.” Nearly 100 foster youth and alumni from across the country travelled to Capitol Hill to accompany members of Congress to work and get a behind-the-scenes look at the House of Representatives.
“It was a pleasure to have Maryana shadow me this morning on Capitol Hill,” said Garrett. “She is an ambitious young woman who has overcome a lot, and it was great to show her around Congress and discuss issues that affect foster youth across the country. As a member of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I know it’s important to ensure that our nation’s foster youth have the opportunities and support they need to succeed.”
In addition to shadowing Rep. Garrett, Maryana attended a lunch where members speak about the work Congress is doing to support foster youth. Rep. Garrett is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth. This bipartisan caucus unites over 160 Members of Congress to examine the challenges facing all foster youth and develop policy initiatives
The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division will hear arguments June 6 on whether municipalities have an obligation to zone for affordable-housing units that they did not allow between 1999 and 2015. David O’Reilly, Inquirer
Ridgewood NJ, with Memorial Day weekend just a few days away, WalletHub today followed up its study on the Best States for Military Retirees by releasing its 2016 Memorial Day By The Numbers Report. This includes an expert Q&A on the meaning of Memorial Day and the manner in which we celebrate it as well an infographic full of factoids – both serious and fun – about various facets of the holiday.
You can find a handful of highlights of the report below.
42+ Mil: Americans have served the country in war time.
1.3 Mil: Members of the armed services have lost their lives in conflict.
89% – Of Memorial Day weekend travelers will drive to their destination (2.1% increase from 2015).
818: Hot dogs are consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (7 billion total).
25%: More home-cooking fires happen on Memorial Day than average.
900K+: Expected participants and spectators in Rolling Thunder, the annual Memorial Day motorcycle rally in Washington, DC.
Ridgewood NJ ,Rep Scott Garrett’s Democratic challenger Political insider Josh Gottheimer has lots of high profile friends he’s using to try to buy his way into Congress. Unfortunately for him, these “friends” believe the rules don’t apply to them – which means they have bit a habit of running into trouble with the law…Terry McAuliffe is just the latest in a series of scandals plaguing members of the “Gottheimer Cartel.”
Does Josh Gottheimer agree with his “friends” – that the rules don’t apply to him?
Gottheimer’s Clinton 2008 Campaign Mentor and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe:Terry McAuliffe Under FBI Investigation For Possible Campaign Violations. “The FBI is investigating whether Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 campaign accepted illegal contributions.” (NBC News, 5/23/2016)
“Family Member” Hillary Clinton: FBI May Question Clinton. ”In addition to the FBI investigation, inspectors general at the State Department and the U.S. intelligence community are reviewing whether security procedures or laws were broken.” (ABC News, 5/23/2016)
Donor and Wife Beater Ibrahim Al-Rashid: Democratic Groups Keep Donations From Domestic Violence Convict. “Al-Rashid, the son of a Saudi multimillionaire, pled guilty in 2014 to a domestic assault charge against his estranged wife, who was formerly the finance director for Rep. Patrick Murphy (D, Fla.).” (Washington Free Beacon, 5/19/2016)
Donor and Disgraced Senator Bob “The Torch” Torricelli: Torricelli Angling for Return to US Senate by Supporting Clinton “Family Member” Gottheimer?“Former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli said if Hillary Clinton is elected president, he “might ask to do something” in her administration.” (NJ.com, 4/21/2016)
Paramus NJ in what could be only considered a media event with no chance of swaying opinions 12 protesters called on Fidelity Investments storefront on Route 17 in Paramus to stop financially backing the campaign of CD5 Republican Congressman Scott Garrett.
The rally was made up of the same 12 people who have been protesting Garrett and supporting his opponent
Josh Gottheimer ,included Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-38), representatives from New Jersey Citizen Action, Garden State Equality, College Democrats of New Jersey and Ramapo College Democrats. Apparently the few protesters were unaware that a branch office in New Jersey has almost zero input to Fidelity Investments corporate donation policy.
These “rent a mob” protests have been in response to controversial remarks Garrett “allegedly” made last year that he would not support the House Republican campaign arm because of support for gay candidates.
No evidence or transcripts have ever surfaced as to the nature of these “alleged” comments . Most insiders suspect the entire controversy was manufactured by former House Speaker John “cry baby” Boehner. Who Garrett had voted against his disastrous tenure as Speaker of The House.
While the media loves events like theses that are custom tailored to fit the “evil ,mean ,GOP ” narrative Garrett’s Democratic opposition Josh Gottheimer has had far worse problems with donors . It seems Josh Gottheimer campaign has been partly financed by foreign money .Accepting donations from son of a billionaire Saudi businessman, and infamous wife beater Ibrahim Al-Rashid . Even Senator Harry Reid won’t take Al-Rashid’s money, yet political insider Josh Gottheimer has embraced Al-Rashid, to the disgust of residents of the Fifth District.
To make matters worse Gottheimer has also accepted donations from disgraced NJ Senator Bob “the Torch” Torricelli an Englewood Democrat who abandoned his bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate 13 years ago under an ethical cloud . So bad was Torricelli’s discretion’s he was forced out by his own party. Torricelli quite following a series of seamy revelations that he’d accepted lavish gifts from businessman David Chang, which in turned prompted the Senate Ethics Committee to issue a formal letter of admonishment.
