Oakland Nj, On Tuesday, March 22 the Bergen County Municipal Alliance Program is hosting Hidden In Plain Sight, an interactive awareness event for parents, community members, educators, and caretakers to learn about where their children may be stashing their drugs and to discuss current trends. There will be a dynamic presentation by Tim Shoemaker, a Q&A with experts in the field, resource tables and a prescription drug drop box to dispose of unwanted or unused prescription medications, no questions asked. Due to the nature of this event all attendees must be 18 years or older. This is a county-wide event; registration is required by contacting Jamie England ([email protected] or 201-634-2757), or by visiting www.bergenhealth.org. The event will be held at Indian Hills High School, 97 Yawpo Ave., Oakland from 7-9 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Click here for the flyer.
A judge on Tuesday shot down former Bergen County Democratic Party leader Joseph A. Ferriero’s bid to remain free while he appeals his federal corruption conviction, setting the stage for his surrender on Thursday to begin serving a nearly three-year prison sentence. Peter J. Sampson, The Record Read more
Oftentimes we miss opportunities in Trenton. Today New Jersey faces several major economic issues including pension funding and our transportation trust fund which is running out of money. Our only options to make the State fiscally sound are to 1. Increase revenues, 2. Cut spending and/or 3. Raise taxes. We are currently the highest taxed state in the nation and raising taxes is not a smart option. We have the potential to bring in additional revenue through expansion of casino gaming but as currently drafted NONE of that money will be able to be used to stabilize our pension system or to pay for our crumbling infrastructure costs. Instead, the legislature has handcuffed itself and is ensuring that taxes will rise again in the future. What are we doing? Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi
According to Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, SCR1, a constitutional amendment that would allow casino expansion outside of Atlantic City must be reshaped in order for additional casinos to be a worthwhile addition to New Jersey. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
The settlement of a prolonged contract dispute between NJ Transit and unions representing 4,200 of the railroad’s employees was reached only after provisions were made for recent retirees to receive retroactive pay increases, a published report said Sunday.
The unions had threatened to strike after five years of working without a contract, but on Friday night the two sides reached a tentative deal to avoid a shutdown of the commuter rail lines between North Jersey and New York City.
Ridgewood NJ, Joshua S. Gottheimer is a lawyer, speechwriter, and public policy adviser. He has been active within the Democratic Party as a speechwriter for Bill Clinton and an advisor for the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. He is currently running for the United States House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 5th congressional district.
The New York Times called Gottheimer a “Protégé of Clintons” saying , “few can claim as direct a connection to the former secretary of state as Mr. Gottheimer, who began his career as a young speechwriter in the Clinton White House and advised Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 campaign. Mr. Clinton and Chelsea Clinton have already quietly appeared at a Manhattan fund-raiser in late October, where Ms. Clinton introduced Mr. Gottheimer as something of a family member.” https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/nyregion/protege-of-hillary-and-bill-clintons-targets-us-congressional-seat.html
On February 8th the FBI disclosed in a federal court filing, that it is looking into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. On March 2nd the Justice Department granted immunity to a former State Department staffer, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s private email server, as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official.
While the Ridgewood blog has already reported that Gottheimer is being funded by Wall Street interests looking to expand the current “too big to fail” policies and make Wall Street and Corporate bailouts even more frequent something Garret is vehemently opposed too. The NYT again reported ,”Mr. Gottheimer reported raising around $1 million for his campaign through September. A review of his filings found that about one dollar in six came directly from fellow alumni of the Clinton White House and campaigns — many of whom are scattered across powerful companies like Time Warner Inc., Bloomberg L.P. and Goldman Sachs — or from major donors and employees of consulting firms tied closely to the Clintons. “https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/nyregion/protege-of-hillary-and-bill-clintons-targets-us-congressional-seat.html
And all this before any mention of the Clinton foundation ,which the National Review called an , ” elaborate slush fund, includes numerous donors and even one-time board members with dodgy backgrounds, shady dealings, and even criminal convictions that should repel rather than lure a once and perhaps future president of the United States. Peter Schweizer’s meticulously researched new best-seller Clinton Cash” (complete with 635 endnotes) delineates this ultimate power couple’s sordid circle. https://www.nationalreview.com/article/419791/clinton-foundation-reeks-crooks-thieves-and-hoods-deroy-murdock
BY DAVE SHEINGOLD AND JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Reforms enacted in 2011 to keep the nation’s highest property taxes in check are showing signs of weakening as a growing number of New Jersey towns fail to stay within the 2 percent cap on increases that formed the cornerstone of the effort.
Three vehicle crash at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Pascack Road in Paramus
March 11,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, No injuries were reported in a three (3) vehicle crash at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Pascack Road in Paramus that occurred late Friday afternoon, 03/11. However, Pascack Road was closed for over one (1) hour in both directions between Linwood Avenue and Ridgewood Road, Washington Township due to a unsafe utility pole that was damaged during the crash. Paramus PD officers responded to the scene along with Washington Township PD and FD units. Two (2) vehicles involved in the crash were heavily damaged and towed from the scene by separate flatbed tow trucks
Though the senate and assembly races in Republican-leaning LD40 won’t be held until 2017, a number of moving parts have made the district one to watch. When Senator Kevin O’Toole announced that he would not be pursuing reelection when his term ends, it opened the door for speculation on what would happen when his retirement came. Now, some are wondering who will eventually become the Republican nominee for his seat and what will happen to the assembly positions in the district.
O’Toole’s decision brings into question the fate of his district mates, Assemblyman Scott Rumana and Assemblyman David Russo. Some wonder if O’Toole’s decision to depart will entice either of the sitting assemblyman to pursue the LD40 senate seat. That move would open at least one spot in the assembly.
The mayor of Wyckoff is no longer pursuing the BCRO chairmanship.
Despite considerable speculation that Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney dropped from the race for Bergen County Republican Organization Chairman in order to pursue an LD40 assembly seat, the mayor said he is not planning on making the move at this time.
“I am happy where I am,” Rooney told PolitickerNJ. “We have two assemblymen who just got elected so why would I even try that?”
On Tuesday, Rooney announced that he would be exiting the BCRO race for chairman and would be endorsing current chairman Bob Yudin. According to his remarks, Rooney’s decision stems from a desire for Bergen County’s Republicans to move forward as a unified front to the November elections.
“If we are going to win this November and in the future we must unite and stop the interparty fighting,” Rooney said. “I know some of you will be disappointed by my decision, but now is not the time for a ugly divisive chairman’s race, this will only lead to a democrat victory.”
On Wednesday, Assemblyman Scott Rumana held a successful fundraiser in Little Falls. Over 130 guests were present and the event drew the likes of Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, Congressman Scott Garrett, Senator Gerald Cardinale, Conference Leader Dave Rible, Passaic County Chairman John Traier, Ocean County Chairman George Gilmore, and NJ Federation of Republican Women President Vanessa LaFranco.
According to one source, any speculation on what impact O’Toole’s departure might have is nothing more than conjecture. Because the LD40 races are not until 2017, the source said it is hard to know how the process will play out until after this year’s elections are no longer a main priority.
“Rumana is out there fundraising and, as far as I know, David Russo has not said that he is retiring,” the source said. “It is a rumor. Everybody is always looking for the curve behind the curve and, sometimes, there really isn’t just anything there. I think you are going to see a lot of candidates running for a lot of things depending on what happens in the next year.”
Even so, some insiders are saying that Rumana may be positioning himself to run for the Senate seat to be vacated by O’Toole in 2017. Others are saying that he might accept a judgeship.
ENGLEWOOD—The bank robbery occurred at the Citibank branch in a quiet North Jersey suburb.There were no alarms, no guns, no menacing notes and no threats of violence. More than $52,000 was taken and the bank in Englewood didn’t even know it had been robbed until long after the cash went out the door.
That same day in December 2012, just a week before Christmas, the same guys hit another Citibank in Florham Park. And over the next three weeks they would target additional branches of the bank in New Jersey and New York—walking away with more than $1 million in cash taken from Citibank ATM machines through hundreds of counterfeit bankcards encoded with personal information stolen from unsuspecting customers.
Kevin Rooney announced at a Tuesday Bergen County Republican Organization meeting that he would be dropping out of the race for BCRO chairman, according to a source.
Despite being critical of current chairman Bob Yudin in the past for his leadership of the group, Rooney also backed Yudin for reelection the source said.
Yudin’s leadership came under fire last year after Bergen County Republicans failed to win any seats on the freeholder board and because of a controversy in LD38 that crippled the Republican race in what was initially pegged as one of the most competitive districts in the state.
A battle is brewing in Bergen County over law enforcement salaries, with a police union claiming that its contract was violated when a controversial plan to combine the Sheriff’s Office and County Police was enacted.
The gambit, if successful, could lead to higher raises and back pay for its members.
At stake is a chunk of the $3 million that County Executive James Tedesco says has been saved thus far by folding the county force into the Sheriff’s Office last year.
At issue is a clause in the current agreement between PBA Local 49 and the county — a so-called “poison pill” — which calls for the contract to revert to earlier terms if the county police are merged into the Sheriff’s Office.
In recent weeks the union, which represents the former County Police, filed three grievances that were released following an Open Public Records request: one of them saying officers had been merged and earlier salary provisions should be activated.
The county says the grievance is without merit, maintaining that there has been a “realignment” of services. The former Bergen County Police Department now operates as the Bureau of Police Services under the Sheriff’s Office. Tedesco noted in a statement that the department remains “a distinct operating unit, which now reports to the Bergen County sheriff rather than the county executive.”
They inch wormed closer as a group, but they still aren’t ready. A month ago, one their number, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PolitickerNJ that he couldn’t back Trump. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
I go to Glen Rock to eat, get a haircut, etc., I park, I pay nothing. I go to Midland Park to the hardware store or the shoe repair shop or others or to eat, I park, I pay nothing. I go to Wyckoff to shop or eat or go to the bakery, I park, I pay nothing. I go to Allendale to shop or eat, I park, I pay nothing. I go to Hawthorne for whatever (including, most often, the movie theater, but also restaurants and shops), I park, I pay nothing, and I don’t worry that the meter will expire before the movie is over, because there isn’t one. I go to Waldwick to the hardware store or to shop or eat, I park, I pay nothing. I go to Ramsey to shop or eat or go to the movies (two different ones), I park, I pay nothing, ditto re: worrying about meter expiring because there isn’t one. That’s not to mention free parking at Route 17 stores, strip malls, and bigger malls, and we won’t even mention the internet (can’t eat lunch or get a haircut there).
What is wrong with this picture? Ridgewood, my own town, is not so special that it’s worth paying so much to park and (more important) looking at my watch and worrying about risking a ticket, which we’ve been assured will soon be increased in price and monitored intensely.
Just no. Sorry. I am frankly embarrassed by this entire thing. We don’t need a garage and we are already paying too much to park. Entire project was a waste of time and resources and will only get worse. Even more distressing is that it’s not going to work. Could end up ripping the whole thing out just as the one-lane underpass road/suicide bike lane will eventually be replaced by the two lanes we had before.
A former Glen Rock police officer — whose duties included working with juveniles and handling evidence — admitted Thursday that he sent sexually explicit text messages to two teenage girls and that he pawned guns that were surrendered to the department.
Eric Reamy, 51, of Fair Lawn accepted a pre-indictment plea deal before Judge Susan J. Steele in Superior Court in Hackensack that will likely send him to prison for three to five years.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 24.
Reamy stood with his hands – one bearing a gold wedding band – folded at his waist while admitting that he sent suggestive text messages and naked pictures to two girls, ages 14 and 17. Both youths were involved in complaints that he, as the juvenile officer for Glen Rock police, was investigating.
A state judge has challenged a core argument by more than 200 municipalities opposing advocates’ call for construction of more than 200,000 low- and moderate-income housing units statewide over the next 10 years.
Judge Marc Troncone’s Feb. 18 ruling in Superior Court, Ocean County, marks the second time a judge has ruled that local governments can’t ignore the housing demand that’s built up since 1999 amid stagnant action on the issue.
Troncone is one of 15 judges reviewing the affordable housing plans of hundreds of municipalities statewide — and what should be their baseline numbers.
Both municipalities and housing rights groups cite experts with sharply different ways of calculating so-called affordable housing needs until 2025. Each side says it is the one being realistic.
Troncone’s opinion specifically questions a Dec. 30 report, commissioned by a group of 283 municipalities, putting the need at just under 37,000 units. The Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions report doesn’t include the “gap period” of 1999-2015, when a state agency failed to set affordable-housing quotas for communities..
