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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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
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
The Rules are for Everyone else : Politicians Seek to Carry Guns while residents are denied
Bergen Senator Seeks Gun Carry Permits for Judges and Legislators
Veteran Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39) wants New Jersey to allow legislators, as well as judges at the superior and municipal court levels, to obtain permits to carry handguns provided they complete at least eight hours of firearm safety training. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
Some Bergen County politicians reacted with surprise earlier this month when the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was moving a busy flight path to Teterboro Airport, apparently at the last minute.
Voters in dark on key details of casino expansion referendum
When New Jerseyans decide in November whether to approve two new casinos in the northern part of the state, they’ll likely have only a vague notion of what they’re voting on. Wayne Parry, Associated Press Read more
A toxic chemical that recently raised concerns throughout the region when it was found near the Wanaque Reservoir has been detected in several smaller drinking water supplies that serve more than a dozen North Jersey towns.
Test results compiled by the federal government in the past three years show 1,4-dioxane, a probable carcinogen, in Fair Lawn, Garfield, Pompton Lakes and several other towns that rely heavily on wells. It has also been found in almost 80 other water systems in every part of the state, from Shore towns to Highlands communities.
Environmental officials say there is no imminent health threat from the levels of 1,4-dioxane that were detected, but there is still no clear consensus on how much of the chemical can be in drinking water before it makes anyone ill. The federal government has yet to develop a national standard for the chemical in water supplies. New Jersey does not yet have one. And the standards established in other states vary wildly.
Those whose drinking water has 1,4-dioxane are left with little information or guidance about whether it is dangerous.
“We need direction based on good science,” said Ken Garrison, the borough engineer for Fair Lawn, which supplies water to 32,000 residents. “It’s difficult for a water supplier to do anything without getting guidance from the regulators.”
The findings in North Jersey range from a barely traceable amount in Park Ridge to a sample almost 30 times greater taken from some of Fair Lawn’s wells that are in a Superfund site.
While the amounts of 1,4-dioxane found in North Jersey are incredibly small — the highest recording of 3.24 micrograms per liter in Fair Lawn is equivalent to three drops of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool — they are important to regulators in setting baselines that determine how much exposure creates a health threat.
Unlike arsenic, PCBs and other dangerous substances that scientists have studied for decades, 1,4-dioxane belongs to a group of chemicals the Environmental Protection Agency classifies as an “unregulated contaminant” because the agency doesn’t have enough data to determine all of its health implications and its prevalence in water supplies.
The chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is a clear, man-made substance used in paint strippers, degreasers and varnishes. It is also created unintentionally when mixing certain chemicals. It blends with water very easily and is difficult to remove.
Drinking 1,4-dixoane can cause liver and kidney damage and is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the U.S. Department of Health. In 2010, the EPA determined that 1,4-dioxane is more likely to cause cancer than previously thought: Cancer could occur in one person out of 1 million exposed to 0.35 milligrams per liter of the chemical over a lifetime.
The chemical made news recently after it was discovered in groundwater at the Ringwood Superfund site in the Ramapo Mountains, where Ford Motor Co. dumped tons of paint sludge almost 50 years ago. Although that groundwater is in the watershed that supplies the Wanaque Reservoir, 1,4-dioxane has not been detected in the reservoir, which serves up to 3 million people.
But it has been found in water systems that serve Fair Lawn, Garfield, Pompton Lakes, Oakland, Ramsey, Park Ridge, Elmwood Park, Ridgewood, Wallington, Hawthorne, Mahwah and other towns that receive most of their water from wells, according to an analysis of EPA data by The Record.
BY JOHN SEASLY AND MATTHEW MCGRATH
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
BERGENFIELD — An 11-year-old boy discovered the bodies of his parents late Saturday morning, after what authorities suspect was a murder and suicide, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said.
The deaths, which took place at 268 West Clinton Ave., are being investigated as a case of domestic violence, Grewal said during a brief news conference at the scene late Saturday afternoon.
The boy — who like his parents was not identified by authorities pending notification of other family members — alerted a neighbor that his parents weren’t breathing Saturday morning and the neighbor placed a call to 911 about 10:21 a.m., Grewal said.
BY BRETT CARROLL
STAFF WRITER |
PASCACK VALLEY COMMUNITY LIFE
Elderly residents around Pascack Valley can eat well thanks to the efforts of their local “Meals on Wheels” program, a service that delivers food to their doorsteps.
Meals on Wheels is a national organization that delivers food to elderly citizens who cannot drive to get food on their own. It is one of the oldest national food programs and there are chapters across every state.
The Westwood House, the senior living facility in the borough, is the Meals on Wheels chapter for Pascack Valley, and Jeanne Martin is the woman who runs and operates the program.
“I’ve been doing this for 11 years now,” Martin said during a delivery run the morning of Tuesday, March 8. “I was at Pascack Valley Hospital doing [Meals for Wheels] until it closed. I’ve been here for 8 years now.”
Most of the program is paid for through private grants and subsidies from the government, she said.
New Jersey Congressman Scott Garrett accompanied her that day for his biannual checkup on programs in New Jersey.
He was pleased to see the dedication and enthusiasm of Martin, and applauded the benefits of the program.
“This is a program that is helping a lot of people,” the Garrett said “There are so many people in this area that need this. I’m glad we have people like Jeanne who want to help and serve.”
New Rutgers-Eagleton poll found that 56 percent of New Jerseyians oppose a gas tax hike.
Ridgewood NJ, Chanel 12 news reports that a new poll conducted by Rutgers-Eagleton Poll found that more than half of New Jersey residents are opposed to a gas tax increase. However, many of New Jersey’s lawmakers say that raising the gas tax is likely to happen.
New Jersey’s transportation fund is set to run out of money in June and the state’s legislators have not yet introduced a way to replenish the fund. Many have mentioned a gas tax hike as a way to increase revenue.
According to lawmakers ,the transportation fund pays more than a billion dollars each year for maintenance and repairs. Lawmakers have until June 30 to renew the fund.
Many political experts say that introducing the hike would be a politically unpopular proposal.
Critics of the increase in the gas tax point to the high cost of New Jersey road construction , the fact the New Jersey already allocates one of the high amounts of funding in the nation to roads and bridges thru tolls and gas tax . To many it appears that Trenton has used the (TTF) as a political slush fund to finance other state business ie … the TTF has financed everything but roads.
Many suggest an audit for the Transportation trust fund (TTF ) , and any money in the fund be specifically related to transportation projects only.
we had to repeat this Trenton , Ridgewood , they are just not listening
By Matt Friedman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — New Jersey’s state government would seek to better understand why companies are leaving the state under legislation approved by a Senate panel today.
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted 10-0 to approve the bill, which would require the state’s labor commissioner conduct a written survey of any major company that’s either moving out of state or laying off a large number of employees.
The legislation comes in the wake of Mercedes-Benz decision to vacate its Bergen County headquarters and take 1,000 jobs with it to the outskirts of Atlanta, citing the South’s lower cost of doing business.
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), a senior member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement after the House Budget Committee passed his amendment to encourage House leadership to find $30 billion in cuts in future fiscal bills. Garrett’s amendment was the only amendment that was adopted by the committee. The budget was ultimately reported out of committee with Garrett’s support.
“During the House Budget Committee markup, almost every one of my colleagues recognized that our national debt is approaching $20 trillion and we need to act now. That’s why I’m pleased that my colleagues on the committee and Speaker Ryan were supportive of my amendment to make sure that the House will vote on additional spending cuts. It’s an uphill battle, but these are the fights the American people are expecting us to have, and I’m proud to be at the forefront of this serious debate.”
