Scott Garrett working on rail car safety in Bergen County
April 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, considered New Jersey’s most vulnerable House incumbent, will now face two RINO (Republican in Name only) Republican primary opponents before he can take on well-funded and Clinton connected and Wall Street connected Democratic challenger Josh Gottheimer in November.
Garrett has been under attack from his own party for a whole host of issues for years .He has received little to non campaign support form DC.
Garret has come under fire from his own party for not towing the party line and supporting DC’ s borrow and spending binge , not supporting the preordained GOP speaker candidate for the House , and more importantly opposing “to big to fail ” financial regulation .
Peter Vallorosi of Newton and Michael Cino of Demarest have filed petitions with the state Division of Elections to challenge Garrett in the state’s June 7 primary. Mr. Cino lost to Garrett in a landslide in the 2012 GOP congressional primary.
The New Jersey’s media claims Garrett has been also been criticized for allegedly saying he would not support the House Republicans’ fundraising arm because it backed gay candidates. Many insiders view the ‘gay issues” as a smoke screen.
However in a recent interview, the seven-term incumbent insisted that his litmus test was whether a candidate backed the Republican platform’s opposition to same-sex marriage, not the sexual orientation of a particular nominee.
Garret is a House Financial Services subcommittee chairman, and has been prolific fundraiser among Wall Street and banking employees. In response to his media alleged comments, some companies have said they will no longer make political action committee contributions to his campaign. However, Garrett banked $2.4 million for his re-election campaign through Dec. 31., while his Democratic opponent, former White House speechwriter Josh Gottheimer, entered 2016 with $1.3 million in the bank.
In its latest iteration, the bill’s mandated deposits would go to lead-abatement efforts
What it is: Now dubbed the “Smart Container Act,’’ the bill that would try to institute a deposit on all plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans will come up before the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on Monday. It is an issue that has been debated by New Jersey lawmakers for nearly three decades, never making it into law.
What it does: It would impose a 10-cent deposit on containers (other than refillable) less than 24 ounces and a 20-cent deposit on those contains over 24 oz. up to 2 liters. The bill (A-2281) would apply to juice, sports drinks, and bottled water, as well as soda, wine, and beer containers.
What is different about it this time: In the past, the money collected from consumers who buy the beverages would have gone into a fund for a range of uses, such as open-space preservation, litter cleanup, and other environmental projects. With concern about lead poisoning of children rising with the disclosure of lead-tainted water in public schools, the money raised by the deposit would be funneled to a special lead-abatement fund.
How the money would be spent: The fund will focus on reducing exposure to lead in schools and homes, according to an amendment to the bill. The money will be used toward lead-abatement efforts, including removal and replacement of old fountains, pipes, lead solder, and peeling paint in homes and schools.
Paramus NJ, Paramus police overnight Monday found 67 puppies packed into small metal crates in a van parked behind the Route 17 Paramus pet store, Just Pups .
Paramus Police officers on a routine patrol of Route 17 noticed a van parked behind the shopping complex where Just Pups Store in Paramus NJ is located. As the Police approached the vehicle, they heard crying and whining from the puppies that were crammed inside.
Last month, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed 267 animal cruelty charges against the owner of the van , Emerson native Vincent LoSacco, 50 after three dead dogs were recovered from a freezer of his East Brunswick store.
63 aditional puppies were taken in by a Tenafly pet rescuer and sources say authorities in East Brunswick revoked his license last Monday.
Field Station: Dinosaur is moving from Secaucus to the Overpeck County Park in Teaneck
April 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Teaneck NJ, Field Station: Dinosaurs, the prehistoric theme park that brought T Rex to exit 15X of the New Jersey Turnpike, is moving from Secaucus to the Overpeck County Park in Bergen County .The dinosaur park on the brink of extinction it self had to pack up and move out of it’s Secaucus home after Hudson County decided it need the land for another project .
The 20 or so acres of woods and mountain trails in Hudson County are being re-purposed, which has forced the park to find a new location. Field Station,had a three-year lease with Hudson County, and opened in 2012 in Laurel Hill Park. The park ran for three seasons and was open to the general public starting in May and closing in the fall .
Hudson County officials informed park staff that construction would be starting on a new building for High Tech High School at the same location, despite the park having renewed its lease for two more years. Field Station packed up the roaring robotic dinosaurs, created from steel and foam, and placed them in storage until the park could find a new spot.
Field Station asks you to sign up for their newsletter and be the first to know where the dinosaurs are headed for 2016 and beyond. Newsletter subscribers will receive a special coupon code for an exclusive pre-season discount! Sign up at www.FieldStationDinosaurs.com.
Persistent users likely to be lower paid and have relationship difficulties Research found abusers ended up in a lower social class than their parents Also more prone to be in less skilled, prestigious jobs and to run into debt Study by Californian university followed children from birth up to age of 38
By ALEXANDER ROBERTSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 05:17 EST, 2 April 2016 | UPDATED: 11:19 EST, 2 April 2016
International research has revealed that the more cannabis you smoke, the more likely you are to be lower paid and have relationship difficulties.
The study followed children from birth up to the age of 38 and found people who smoked cannabis four or more days a week over many years ended up in a lower social class than their parents.
It also found that regular and persistent users ended up with lower-paying, less skilled and less prestigious jobs than those who were not regular cannabis smokers.
Financial, work-related and relationship difficulties were further experienced by those taking the drug, which worsened as the number of years of regular cannabis use progressed.
Ridgewood NJ, Bankrate.com in March released its 2016 “Best and Worst States to Retire” list, a ranking of states according to their cost of living, crime rate, health care quality, tax burden, personal well-being for seniors and weather. Here are the top 10 and bottom 10 states from the annual report. (Full rankings at https://www.bankrate.com/finance/retirement/best-places-retire-how-state-ranks.aspx)
New Jersey placed 40th on this year’s list, owing mostly to its high cost of living, while Jersey neighbors Connecticut (42), New York (50) , and Pennsylvania (20) .
file photo Scott Garrett sinking the crony driven Ex Im bank
Garrett Statement on SIFI Designation Struck Down by Courts
Mar 30, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after a federal judge struck down a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) designation by the Financial Stability Oversight Council for the first time ever today.
“FSOC’s ( Financial Stability Oversight Council ) perfect storm of secrecy and intimidation has created a shadow regulatory system that concentrates power in Washington at the expense of hardworking Americans, and I’m pleased to see the judicial branch took a stand for the Constitution with their decision. Now that the courts have spoken, it’s time for Congress to step in and pull back the curtain on FSOC so the American people can see what this secretive body is really up to.”
Garrett has led the call for much-needed transparency and accountability at the FSOC. He is the author of H.R. 3557, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) Transparency and Accountability Act. This bill passed the Financial Services Committee in November.
H.R. 3557 would:
Subject the FSOC to the Government in the Sunshine Act
Subject the FSOC to the Federal Advisory Committee Act
At all FSOC meetings, allow for the participation of all members of the Commissions and Boards represented
Require that any vote taken by the principal of a Commission or Board represented must first be taken by that Commission or Board and the principal must then in turn vote that same decision at the Council
Allow for Members of Congress on the Congressional oversight committees of FSOC to be able to attend all FSOC meetings
Garrett has made enemies by his unrelenting disapproval of Dodd-Frank which has codified the disastrous “too big to fail” policy and mega Wall Street bail outs . “Garrett says , “the Dodd-Frank Act has stifled economic growth, made it more difficult for Main Street businesses to obtain credit, and increased the likelihood that taxpayers will be on the hook for additional Wall Street bailouts. Most importantly, this law has and has made it harder for Americans to find a job, buy a home, and save money for their family’s future. ” Garrett went on , “Despite creating new bureaucracies that have imposed thousands of pages of rigid, invasive, and unworkable regulations, Dodd-Frank did nothing to reform the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose actions caused the 2008 financial crisis.
While Garrett’s Democrat challenger Josh Gottheimer is a champion of more big government , more corporate welfare ,and more wall street bailouts.
Ridgewood NJ, YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on April 11th through 15th from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Trips and activities include Bowling, FunPlex, Jump On In, Planet 301 and Movies. Transportation and lunch is included. For complete details, please visit https://www.ywcabergencounty.org/programs/youth-services/vacation-day-program/.
The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $65 per child per day for families that are current YWCA members, and $85 for non-members. Advance registration is required by Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
Forms not received by deadline cannot be guaranteed and will be charged a late fee of $25. To register call Mary Agnello at 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms.
YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.
Randy Gaugler & Ary Faraji
Center for Vector Biology – Rutgers University / NJAES
Zika virus is not a new disease. Zika virus has been largely confined to equatorial Africa in the tropics where it circulated predominately between forest dwelling mosquitoes and wild primates. The virus was actually discovered from a sentinel monkey that had been placed in a cage in the Zika forest of Uganda in 1947. But the virus rarely spilled over into human populations even in highly endemic areas of Africa. The explosive reemergence we are current witnessing is truly extraordinary. Human activities are the greatest factor attributing to this spread because of rapid changes in land use and globalization leading to rapid increases in the movement of goods and people.
Zika is a pandemic because the virus is no longer confined to Africa but has spread to Asia, the Pacific Islands, and now the Americas where the World Health Organization is predicting several million infections and classifying Zika a ‘global health emergency’. The virus is not continent-hopping via the spread of mosquitoes, but because of the frequency and rapidity of air travel by humans. An individual can be bitten by an infected mosquito where the virus is circulating, and then fly long distances within a short span of time. Since the incubation period in humans usually lasts several days, if that infected individual is bitten by a local mosquito that can replicate and transmit the virus (i.e. vector competency in the host mosquito), then local infections in a new area may occur. However, only a handful of Aedes mosquitoes are vector competent for Zika virus. The primary vector is the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti; a highly invasive urban species. Their eggs may remain dormant for months in small containers, which contribute to a wide geographical distribution. Not coincidentally, these mosquitoes are abundant in the areas where Zika virus is currently circulating in the Americas. In short, humans are responsible for the transportation of Zika virus, whereas mosquitoes are responsible for transmission of the virus to humans.
Religious institutions in New Jersey are no longer allowed to sell grave markers, thanks to a new state law that took effect this week.
Signed into law a year ago by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, the new regulations target the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, which in 2013 began selling grave markers for burial plots within the archdiocese’s cemeteries. The Monument Builders Association of New Jersey sued the archdiocese and then successfully lobbied for the passage of a law to protect their members from competition.
GRAVE MATTERS: Religious institutions in New Jersey, like the Archdiocese of Newark, headquartered in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, are no longer allowed to sell grave markers, thanks to a new state law that took effect this week.
Christie signed the bill in March 2015 but delayed its implementation for one year.
“We have dreaded this day for a year,” said Andrew P. Schafer, executive director of the Newark Archdiocese Office of Catholic Cemeteries.
But the courts will likely get the final say in the matter.
The grave marker business is a lucrative one. The archdiocese made about $500,000 in the first year after it started marketing headstones directly to consumers, and the MBA argued that its members lost more than one-third of their business.
The archdiocese’s business model differed from that of the for-profit memorialists. While the businesses simply sell headstones to consumers, the archdiocese sells “inscription rights,” retaining ownership of the headstone while allowing the bereaved to engrave a message on it. This means maintenance of the headstones in the archdiocese’s 11 Catholic cemeteries will be at the Church’s expense in perpetuity.
With the threat of losing more business to the Catholics, the Monument Builders Association sued the archdiocese in 2013, but the lawsuit failed because it was not illegal for religious institutions to sell grave markers.
Stopped by the courts, the MBA turned to the state legislature. A bill banning religious institutions from selling grave markers sailed through the state legislature in December 2014 with bipartisan support.
Lawmakers who backed the bill said they were worried about the nonprofit archdiocese taking business away from monument dealers.
“We’re not millionaires. We are small businesses trying to survive,” said John Burns Jr., president of the Monument Builders Association of New Jersey, told lawmakers.
Now the issue is back in court. The Archdiocese of Newark, along with two of its constituents and the Institute For Justice, a libertarian law firm, is challenging the banon religious institutions selling grave markers.
The state of New Jersey has asked the U.S. District Court in New Jersey to dismiss the complaint, but the case is still pending.
The Institute For Justice says the case could be a model for attacking similar protectionist regulations in other areas of the economy, an issue on which federal courts have established no settled rules.
Until that gets resolved, consumers in New Jersey will have fewer options when it comes time to purchase a grave marker for a family member or loved one. The state is one of just three in the country to ban religious institutions from selling gravestones.
“This new law protects only the interests of funeral directors and monument dealers while eliminating the rights of families we serve and our ministry,” Schafer said Wednesday.
A New Jersey lawmaker has an idea that hits a grand slam of nannyism.
It’s the rare occasion when we can celebrate an idea that is overly paternalistic, completely unnecessary, entirely unenforceable and laughably ridiculous, all at the same time.
Shutterstock image
DON’T TEXT AND WALK: Be aware of your surroundings, because texting while walking could land you in jail if one New Jersey lawmaker gets her way.
State Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden, has proposed a bill to ban texting while walking.
Yes, while walking.
After being mocked by several news outlets in New Jersey, Lampitt apparently pulled the bill from consideration and the state has erased all traces of it from the state legislature’s website.
A one-line description of the bill still appears online, however. It says Lampitt’s legislation would have established a motor vehicle offense of “unlawful use of hand-held wireless telephone by pedestrians.”
Can you imagine receiving a traffic ticket for walking, on a sidewalk, with a cell phone in hand? That’s pretty much what the bill would have done. According to NJ.com, which first covered the proposal, the penalty for texting while walking would have been $50 and offenders could have been required to attend classes on highway safety.
Get caught more than once and you could end up in jail.
“Distracted pedestrians, like distracted drivers, present a potential danger to themselves and drivers on the road,” Lampitt said in a statement, according to NJ.com.
Lampitt was apparently not messing around with this idea. According to Philly.com, her proposal called for repeat offenders to be sent to jail for 15 days – where, one would assume, they would not be texting, interfering with traffic or walking very far.
Image via Ballotpedia
LAMPITT: State Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt’s bill is a rare occasion to celebrate a Nanny State grand slam. It’s an idea that is overly paternalistic, completely unnecessary, entirely unenforceable and laughably ridiculous, all at the same time.
ALSO IN NEW JERSEY: State ban on churches selling gravestones takes effect
Being distracted by texting is indeed a measurable problem, and one that seems to be increasing as more people spend more time with their noses buried in their cell phone screens. The Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that there were 2 million injuries to texter-walkers during 2010, a three-fold increase since 2004.
But is throwing people in jail the right response?
Lampitt’s proposal will likely not become law in New Jersey – at least not this year – but she’s actually behind the times in some parts of the state.
In Fort Lee, New Jersey, a town already famous for politically manufactured traffic problems, it’s already illegal to text while walking around. Getting caught cellphone-in-hand will leave you with an $85 fine and ticket for jaywalking.
Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department, told ABC News that the borough instituted the new fines in 2012 after having three fatal accidents involving pedestrians in the span of one year.
Other states might soon be following in New Jersey’s finger and footprints.
Texting while driving bans have been implemented in 46 states plus the District of Columbia. Fourteen states (including New Jersey) plus D.C. have bans on any and all cell-phone use by drivers.
Busy-body lawmakers in those states are now eyeing pedestrians. Variations on the “no texting while walking” bill have been introduced in Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada and New York, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. None of them have been passed into law.
Fines and jail time are completely inappropriate punishments for this type of activity, occasionally dangerous though it may be. Instead, hey, maybe just be aware of your surroundings and wait until you’re someplace safe to continue snapchatting with your friends.
And if any state is going to pass a law punishing people for texting while walking, we can only hope they make it a little bit of fun.
Instead of a traffic ticket and a fine, how about something that involves bears?
Astonishing : 1 in 41 children in Jersey have autism.
Ridgewood NJ, The number of children with autism continues to rise in New Jersey, which is already the highest rate in the nation, according to a CDC report published Thursday.
The CDC report found no significant change in the autism rate nationally, but in New Jersey the percentage of school-age children diagnosed with autism increased from 2.1 percent in 2010 to 2.5 percent in 2012, or 1 in 41 children.
The CDC says that Nationally, 1.5 percent of children have autism, or 1 in 68.
Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a developmental disability that can affect how people communicate, behave, learn and interact with others or their environments. Signs of autism begin to become evident in early childhood.
In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the CDC says it’s still not clear why New Jersey’s rate is so high, “but it could be related to how children are identified and connected to services in their local communities.”
By Terence P. Jeffrey | March 31, 2016 | 3:20 PM EDT
People in line at an ATM machine in Athens, Greece, on July 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Spyros Tsakiris)
(CNSNews.com) – Sometime in the next four years the global population of human beings who are 65 and older will surpass those under 5 for the first time, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“For the first time in human history, people aged 65 and older will outnumber children under age 5,” says the report, entitled “An Aging World: 2015.”
“This crossing is just around the corner, before 2020,” says the report.
“These two age groups will then continue to grow in opposite directions,” it says. “By 2050, the proportion of the population 65 and older (15.6 percent) will be more than double that of children under age 5 (7.2 percent).
“This unique demographic phenomenon of the ‘crossing’ is unprecedented,” says the Census Bureau.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog Ridgewood NJ, Parents often are encouraged to teach their children how to handle money and to begin the lessons at an early age.
One problem with that, though, is many adults aren’t all that financially literate themselves.
For example, one survey revealed that about 80 percent of Americans admit to making some sort of financial mistake, such as not saving enough for retirement, failing to track their spending or taking on too much debt.
“People can make financial mistakes for a lot of reasons,” says Brett King, the managing/founding partner and Senior Vice President Investments for Elite Financial Associates (www.elitefinancialassociates.com).
“But often it’s because they simply haven’t taken the time to make a personal budget and plot out their spending and investing habits.”
April is National Financial Literacy Month, making it the opportune time for people to review their fiscal situation and figure out how to do better.
King says there are several steps to consider as people try to make sure they are getting the most out of their money:
• Build a reserve account for emergencies. Major medical problems, job loss or other unexpected events can undermine anyone’s financial stability. That’s why it’s important to build an emergency fund. Many experts recommend the fund be large enough to cover all your expenses for three to six months, though that’s a tough goal for most people. But something is better than nothing, King says, so try to stash away at least a little each week. • It’s never too early to start saving for retirement. “A lot of people tell themselves they will begin to save for retirement when their income reaches a more comfortable level,” King says. “But the longer you delay, the harder it’s going to be to accumulate the amount of money you will need when you retire.” If saving is difficult right now, one strategy would be to start small and increase your contribution each year as your salary grows. Even setting aside a small amount out of each paycheck now can make a big difference over time because of the power of compound interest. • Adjust your strategies as financial circumstances change.Reviewing your income and expenses shouldn’t be a one-time event. For example, if you become a new parent you may want to shift some of your money into a college-savings plan for your child. Be ready to change to deal with the new realities life tosses your way.
“If you have concerns about whether you’re making the right decisions about your money,” King says, “you should seek the assistance of a financial professional who can give you guidance in getting your financial house in order.”
About Brett King
Brett King is the managing/founding partner and Senior Vice President Investments for Elite Financial Associates (www.elitefinancialassociates.com). Brett is a registered representative of IFS Securities. His career in financial services spans more than three decades. He holds a Series 7 stockbroker license, a Series 22 for limited partnerships and a Series 24 Securities Principle license. He also holds insurance and annuity licenses in multiple states.
