Category: Bergen County

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Gas prices in North Jersey Continue to Surge

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March 27,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, after bottoming out in February gas prices have continued to raise with the arrival of spring. The average price of regular gasoline per gallon in the Bergen-Passaic market rose 2 cents Friday to $1.81, according to data from the daily fuel gauge report by the American Automobile Association or  AAA. The data also showed the average has surged  in recent weeks: one week ago the average was $1.73, and a month prior it was $1.58.

Prices historically start to rise in the springtime, when the refining industry transitions from winter heating oil  to summer gasoline and just ahead of the traditional summer driving season.

Tom Kloza, co-founder of Oil Price Information Service in Wall Township, said in a tweet on Thursday that the average price of gasoline in the United States rose above $2 per gallon for the first time since Dec. 31. He also predicted that the average would continue to creep higher in the next five months.

In New Jersey gas is still a bargain . By Friday, the national average for regular gasoline was $2.03, compared with New Jersey’s average of $1.81. Though the state average is significantly lower than the national rate, gas prices at both levels appear to rise and fall at a parallel rate. Both averages bottomed out in February – the national average at slightly below $1.73, and the state average near $1.63 – and have been steadily rising since.

Though the Bergen-Passaic average for regular gasoline was $1.81 on Friday, retail pumps offered gas at a wide range of prices.

According to GasBuddy.com, an online source for gasoline data, the lowest reported price in the Bergen-Passaic market on Friday was at a Power Fuel station in Woodland Park that sold regular gasoline for $1.57 a gallon. On the higher end, a Lukoil station in Wyckoff sold gas for $2.59, the highest in the state, according to GasBuddy.com.

Though gas prices are on the rise, AAA data showed that prices Friday were still significantly lower from one year ago, when the regular price of gasoline in the Bergen-Passaic market averaged $2.19. Last year’s average is still well below the highest recorded average of $4 a gallon on July 6, 2008.

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Republican” Norwood Councilman Allen Rapaport Decision to Back Gottheimer called ‘Betrayal’

Bob_yudin_the ridgewoodblog

Rapaport may face expulsion from BCRO.

March 25,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Norwood NJ, “Republican” Norwood Councilman Allen Rapaport  demonstrated more of the cowardise that has so typified the GOP establishment. deciding to defect from his county party organization’s support of Scott Garrett (R-5), the incumbent Republican congressman in his district. Thursday morning, Rapaport joined Garrett’s Democratic challenger Josh Gottheimer in Paramus to declare his decision to endorse him over Garrett , finishing his political career.

With this move Rapaport joins and other failed politicians with Gottheimer in support of Wall Street bailouts , big banks .

Once again Bergen County Republican Organization Chairman Bob Yudin, can not seem to deliver the vote . Yudin told POLITICERNJ ,  that decision by Rapaport was a “betrayal.”and Yudin says he is looking at the bylaws to see how Rapaport’s decision will be dealt with by the BCRO. It seems that the councilman’s future is unclear. https://politickernj.com/2016/03/yudin-republican-councilmans-decision-to-back-gottheimer-was-a-betrayal/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Wake%20Up%20Call%20NJ
“It is a betrayal of his office,” Yudin told PolitickerNJ. “He holds office as a Republican. Our Republican bylaws allow for his expulsion from the BCRO for endorsing the Democratic congress candidate and I am looking into that matter. He is no longer a Republican in good standing.”https://politickernj.com/2016/03/yudin-republican-councilmans-decision-to-back-gottheimer-was-a-betrayal/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Wake%20Up%20Call%20NJ

Rapaport’s decision to endorse Gottheimer comes hot on the heels of the January party switch of “Double dipper “Sheriff Michael Saudino. The once-Republican will now be running as a Democrat on the November ballot. Yudin’s challenger for the BCRO chairmanship Paul DiGaetano, like the rest of the BCRO, he is supporting Garrett.

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State Sen. Gerald Cardinale : Lawful citizens should be able to carry guns, not just Criminals

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March 25,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood  blog

Trenton NJ,  A veteran state lawmaker State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) is at it again saying on Thursday he will soon launch another push to make it easier for law-abiding residents in New Jersey to obtain permits to carry a handgun.

On Tuesday Cardinale introduced a measure that sparked controversy . Measure (S1982) that would allow legislators and judges in the state to obtain carry permits if they complete at least eight hours of training.

Critics and proponents alike said it amounted to nothing more than the state bring “dueling” back to Trenton Dueling a time honored tradition in Politics  was made most notable in New Jersey by the Burr–Hamilton duel . The former secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and sitting vice president, Aaron Burr, dueled on July 11, 1804. The duel was the culmination of a long and bitter rivalry between the two men. The duel took place .in Weehawken, in New Jersey, Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton. Hamilton was carried to the home of William Bayard on the Manhattan shore, where he died the next day.

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Former Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano Formally Announces Bid for BCRO Chairmanship

Paul DiGaetano
March 25,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Former Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano will officially be challenging current Bergen County Republican Organization Chairman Bob Yudin. DiGaetano mailed a letter the members of the BCRO on Wednesday morning announcing his intentions to run during the party’s mid-June election.

DiGaetano said “After many discussions with County Committee members and leaders throughout the County, it has become clear that there is a strong desire to change the direction in which our beloved party is heading here in Bergen County,” DiGaetano said in the announcement. “Republicans across the County have wasted far too much energy on infighting, and the Democrats have capitalized on our disarray with increasingly regular wins and with increasing margins of victory. We need to come together and stop the bleeding now, before it is too late.”

Rumors had swirled and DiGaetano had previously made it clear that he was looking to pursue the chairmanship of the troubled BCRO. With Wednesday’s announcement he officially submited his candidacy.

Previously, the race for BCRO chairman was poised to become a three-person race between Yudin, DiGaetano and Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney.  Rooney dropped out of the race earlier this month and backed Yudin claiming that the party needed to be united in the face of a strong Democratic opposition and not waste energy on a race for chairman leaving just DiGaetano as the prime candidate to replace the often controversial Bob Yudin.

The challenge to Yudin’s chairmanship and leadership comes after a series of set backs and unsuccessful elections for Bergen County’s Republicans. Last year, Republicans failed to pick up any seats on the county’s freeholder board and lost in LD38, initially seen as one of the most competitive districts in the state . Earlier this year Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, rocked party officials defecting to the Democrats . Yudin’s leadership has been under strain for years and to many the statesman like DiGaetano may be the one to right the ship and turn things around for the Bergen GOP.

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Rep. Garrett says his stance on gay candidates is being distorted by political opponents

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BY HERB JACKSON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT |
THE RECORD

U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett said Wednesday that his position on gay candidates running for Congress is being distorted by his political opponents, and that the media are letting it happen.

In an interview in his Washington office, Garrett said he was not, as some critics have said, opposed to gay people seeking office. That is “everyone’s right,” he said.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/rep-garrett-says-his-stance-on-gay-candidates-is-being-distorted-by-political-opponents-1.1532077

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FBI offers reward for information on ‘Count Down Bandit’ in North Jersey bank robberies

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BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information about a man they have dubbed the “Count Down Bandit,” who has allegedly robbed seven banks in North Jersey since July.

In most of the robberies, the man approached the teller and demanded money, the FBI said in a statement. The man then counted from 15 or 10 to one and fled with the cash.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/fbi-offers-reward-for-information-on-count-down-bandit-in-north-jersey-bank-robberies-1.1531831

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Now Englewood Steps Up with Teaneck to challenge their local hospitals’ exemption from property taxes

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BY MARY DIDUCH AND LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

Both Teaneck and Englewood are challenging the tax-exempt status of their local hospitals, joining a growing list of municipalities who want non-profit hospitals to pay property taxes.

The councils of the two municipalities voted to file tax appeals against Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. Of 62 non-profit hospitals in the state, 17 others now face similar lawsuits.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/englewood-teaneck-to-challenge-their-local-hospitals-exemption-from-property-taxes-1.1532070

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Why smart people are better off with fewer friends

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By Christopher Ingraham March 18

Hell might actually be other people  — at least if you’re really smart.

That’s the implication of fascinating new research published last month in the British Journal of Psychology. Evolutionary psychologists Satoshi Kanazawa of the London School of Economics and Norman Li of Singapore Management University dig in to the question of what makes a life well-lived. While traditionally the domain of priests, philosophers and novelists, in recent years survey researchers, economists, biologists and scientists have been tackling that question.

Kanazawa and Li theorize that the hunter-gatherer lifestyles of our ancient ancestors form the foundation for what make us happy now. “Situations and circumstances that would have increased our ancestors’ life satisfaction in the ancestral environment may still increase our life satisfaction today,” they write.

They use what they call “the savanna theory of happiness” to explain two main findings from an analysis of a large national survey (15,000 respondents) of adults aged 18 to 28.

First, they find that people who live in more densely populated areas tend to report less satisfaction with their life overall. “The higher the population density of the immediate environment, the less happy” the survey respondents said they were. Second, they find that the more social interactions with close friends a person has, the greater their self-reported happiness.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/18/why-smart-people-are-better-off-with-fewer-friends/

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Teaneck to legally challenge Holy Name Medical Center’s exemption from local property taxes

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BY MARY DIDUCH AND LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

Teaneck’s township council voted Tuesday to file suit against Holy Name Medical Center’s exemption from local property taxes, as municipal governments around the state take aim at non-profit hospitals for potential tax revenues.

The council voted, 5-1, to authorize the action after two Holy Name executives spoke against the resolution.

“We can avoid all those legal expenses,” said Ryan Kennedy, the hospital’s chief financial officer, appealing to the council to work with the hospital to find a solution.

“It’s a silly route to go,” Michael Maron, the hospital’s president and CEO, said before the meeting. “We’ve had a reasonable relationship over the course of time. We should sit down and talk.” Once a tax appeal is filed, both sides have to hire lawyers and litigation takes years.

The town should wait and negotiate with the hospital, he said. “Worst case scenario, another year goes by,” he said. “Is that the end of the world?”

“We support the town, and we’re willing to consider supporting the town even more,” he said.

Emboldened by a recent state tax court decision, the council took action to “preserve its rights” to potential tax revenues as an Apr. 1 deadline for 2016 tax appeals looms.

Under the current tax rate, if Holy Name’s entire 20-acre property were to be taxed, the liability would be about $2 million. But Maron said the hospital already pays taxes on various smaller properties it owns. It provides free flu vaccines to borough employees, supplies to the ambulance corps, and funds to support special township initiatives, he said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/teaneck-to-legally-challenge-holy-name-medical-center-s-exemption-from-local-property-taxes-1.1531590

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New Jerseyans on the scene in Brussels recount panic

Brussels terror attacks

BY NICHOLAS PUGLIESE AND ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

As she waited for a flight out of Brussels, Wyckoff native Ashley Bruggemann saw people suddenly rushing toward her on Tuesday morning, and thought they were trying to catch a plane.

“Then a whole lot of people started running,” Bruggemann, 25, said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. “They were panicked. A few people were crying.”

Another New Jersey native live-tweeted his evacuation from a Brussels subway train and wrote that there was smoke in the tunnel as he and others walked in darkness to the nearest safe station, with a child heard crying on a video he posted.

New Jersey residents with Belgian roots received text messages from relatives letting them know they were safe, and expressed shock at the terrorist attacks in Brussels at the airport and a train station that left at least 34 people dead and scores injured.

“People cannot get their minds around something like this,” said Wim Vanraes, a Hillsborough resident who grew up in Belgium and was an editor of a Belgian-American newspaper based in Michigan. He said some people in his native country have been expecting a terrorist attack for “a long time” but that others have been “in denial.”

Valerie Blouin-Hunter of Oakland, whose mother came from Belgium, said she received text messages from aunts and cousins Tuesday morning letting her know they were safe. She said she thought about the possibility of a terrorist attack in her mother’s homeland after the Paris attacks last year but put it out of her mind. After Tuesday, she said, “I am very concerned for my family.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-jerseyans-on-the-scene-in-brussels-recount-panic-1.1531558

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Wyckoff chief agrees to step down while N.J. investigates his email defending profiling

wyckoff township committe ridgewood blog

from Facebook, Left to Right: Mayor Douglas J. Christie, Township Committeeman Kevin J. Rooney, Officer Christopher, Township Committeemen Brian D. Scanlan, Haakon Jepsen, Rudy Boonstra and Benjamin C. Fox, Chief of Police.

BY STEFANIE DAZIO, STEVE JANOSKI AND JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

The Wyckoff police chief agreed to temporarily step aside Tuesday night while the state Attorney General’s Office conducts an investigation into a complaint that an email he wrote to his officers in 2014 condones racial profiling.

The email, written by Chief Benjamin C. Fox, was anonymously sent to the New Jersey branch of the American Civil Liberties Union last week, according to a statement from the organization.

The ACLU said that, if the email was found to be genuine, authorities should “fire Fox, retrain officers, and conduct audits for both racially biased policing and use of force.”

Document:   Copy of the email provided by the ACLU (PDF)

Wyckoff officials were made aware of the email on Tuesday, a township press release said, and engaged in a “series of discussions” on the matter with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Township Committee convened an emergency meeting Tuesday night to address it.

Fox, who was present at the meeting, asked to go on immediate administrative leave while the investigation was pending, the release said, because he felt it was in the “best interest of the department since it would avoid unnecessary distractions.” It would also give Fox the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Prosecutor’s Office and “explain the contents of his email and demonstrate that neither he nor our police department has ever condoned or engaged in profiling.”

The committee unanimously agreed to the request.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/wyckoff-police-chief-to-step-aside-in-racial-inquiry-1.1531382

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Bergen County GOP organization endorse slate of candidates for June primary

Maura DeNicola

BY TODD SOUTH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

HACKENSACK — The Bergen County Republican Organization on Monday night endorsed its candidates — including Donald Trump for president — for June 7 party primary nominations to the fall general elections.

More than 500 county Republican Organization committee members and elected officials cast their ballots at the party’s headquarters here.

Trump led with 332 votes, followed by John Kasich with 116 and Ted Cruz with 77.

U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, won the party organization’s nod for his re-election nomination campaign with 273 votes. Garrett faced challenger Michael J. Cino, who drew 44 votes. Cino said he would continue to run against Garrett in the primary.

At the county level six positions are up for election in November: sheriff, surrogate, clerk and three freeholder seats.

The county GOP has lost county offices in recent years. Democrats hold all county offices and five of seven freeholder seats. The Republicans have only one incumbent running in this year’s election, Freeholder Maura DeNicola.

Bergen County GOP Chairman Bob Yudin said he hoped that those candidates who won party organizational support Monday would not face continued challenges leading up to the June primary so that the party could focus on fundraising and defeating the Democrats in the November election.

Though the party won elections for freeholder, county executive and sheriff during his tenure, Yudin readily admitted that fighting the Democrats is an uphill battle.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-gop-organization-endorse-slate-of-candidates-for-june-primary-1.1531117

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Snubs Garrett in favor of Wall Street Bailouts , Amnesty and Crony driven Export-Import Bank

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photo Garrett working to shut down corrupt Import Export bank  

march 22,2016

the  staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce which favors corporate and Wall Street bailouts, Amnesty for illegals , the crony driven Export-Import Bank to name a few snubs Rep. Scott Garrett in favor of over favor driven politicians . Special interests have clearly put a target on Garrets back. The snub implies Garrett is the tax payers only friend in New Jersey

Which N.J. Republican was snubbed by Chamber of Commerce?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce feted five of the six New Jersey House Republicans for supporting the business lobby’s positions on issues such as funding transportation, eliminating the tax on multimillion-dollar estates, and renewing the Export-Import Bank. The Auditor, NJ.com Read more

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Sen. Paul Sarlo Bill Move to Limit Public Access to Information and Limit Transparency

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The Record: Transparency first

STATE SEN. Paul Sarlo is concerned about what he calls “nosy-bodies.” We are more concerned about transparency. And a bill Sarlo introduced early this year would greatly limit the public’s access to police videotapes. This is a misguided idea.

Sen. Paul Sarlo is concerned about what he calls “nosy-bodies.” We are more concerned about transparency. And a bill Sarlo introduced early this year would greatly limit the public’s access to police videotapes. This is a misguided idea. The Record Read more