photo Courtesy of Boyd Loving Facebook page
Paramus Accident Results in Assault on other driver
July 28,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ , Paramus EMS personnel transported one (1) person to The Valley Hospital following a 10:30 PM crash on Route 4 eastbound near Route 17. The male driver of one (1) vehicle involved in the crash assaulted another driver and a construction worker who came to that driver’s aid. Paramus PD officers subdued the assailant and placed him under arrest. He is now in the Bergen County Jail.
Fair Lawn police officers investigating a collision between a bicyclist and vehicle at the intersection of Plaza Road and Waverly Avenue
July 27,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ, Fair Lawn police officers investigating a collision between a bicyclist and vehicle at the intersection of Plaza Road and Waverly Avenue in Fair Lawn that took place shortly before 12:30 PM on Saturday, 7/25. More than one (1) vehicle may have struck the victim, who was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson. The victim was reportedly in full cardiac arrest at the scene of the collision. Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation personnel were called to the crash site to assist in the investigation.
Ridgewood NJ, Rep Scott Garrett finds him self in the cross hairs of a over hyped media attack based on unsubstantiated rumor and innuendo.
We have seen this one to many times were the main stream media template trumps the facts and continues to report a false story because it better fits their news template .
The anti Garret charge has once again been led by weak inside the beltway GOP members and the Bergen Record . Who’s publisher Stephen Borg, came to Ridgewood for a “civility forum ” in February and told the crowd , ” the whole problem is that since people have found their voice through social media they have come to so many different opinions civil discourse has fallen .Things were so much better when North Jersey Media had a monopoly on public discussion and could always dictate terms . Borg implied that elites like himself we the only ones qualified to make those decisions. Borg pointed out how this blog and its anonymous posters are the greatest enemy to not only American Democracy but to the dominance of North Jersey Media Group. While I was rather flattered that the Publisher and President, North Jersey Media Group thought this blog shook the very foundations of civil discourse and was viewed as the barbarians at the gate , I would suggest the far larger problem might be the totally bias, and slip shot reporting of his Media Empire. Borg set the tone for the evening which came down silencing critics and reasserting true elitist “we know better than you ” , so time to be quite .”
The whole thing started when Garrett refused to pay his NRCC dues because of a feud with Speaker Bohner, but has been morphed into according to unsubstantiated sources Garrett didn’t support the NRCC because “it actively recruited gay candidates and supported homosexuals in primaries,” .
By the way many in the GOP do not support the NRCC including this blog because despite a landslide win the GOP has failed to deliver on a single issue and has instead conspired to help the “Obama agenda”.
The Jersey media has run with this tripe of coarse without any effort to substantiate facts .The GOP elites in DC have been joined by the usual suspects like “Blue Jersey ” who have hired a “rent-a-mob to protest at Garrets office in Glen Rock today at 1230 at 266 Harristown Rd.
There have been at lest 20 hit pieces to date citing these unsubstantiated comments reporting them as fact , like the Mike Brown ,hands up fake controversy the facts will eventually get in the way of this witch hunt , but until then expect to hear more garbage from New Jersey media sources and more blame falling on the “mean and uncooperative anonymous bloggers” while the media has a free had to quote anonymous sources .
Jennings Column: Few Republicans Publicly Criticizing Garrett for Gay Remarks
The openly gay chair of the Passaic Republicans is putting pressure on other party leaders to denounce Rep. Scott Garrett’s alleged objections to gay candidates. John Traier said he initially gave Garrett the benefit of the doubt, but Garrett did not return his message: (Jennings/The New Jersey Herald)
JULY 26, 2015, 11:16 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2015, 11:20 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
Rep. Scott Garrett’s decision to stop supporting a key Republican campaign fund did more than raise questions about his attitudes toward gay people — it highlighted an often-obscured reality about the political machinery that ties congressional power to cash.
Party leaders — for both Democrats and Republicans — know that certain committee assignments give members of Congress access to lucrative streams of contributions from industries that those committees oversee.
Ridgewood NJ, Two Bergen County residents Joe Delcalzo and Peter Reuther opened the county’s first Brewery, Brix City Brewing, in Little Ferry last month.Due to the small production size of our Brewery we are only on tap at a few bars and restaurants in the area. Make sure to call ahead, as many restaurants and bars rotate taps the beer is sold at . In Ridgewood the Office Beer Bar & Grill sell the beer.
Nestled in the borough of Little Ferry, Brix City Brewing is one of the newest craft breweries to hit the beer scene in New Jersey. Brix City Brewing is dedicated to bold styled beers that showcase intense flavor profiles and the highest quality ingredients. We make the beer we enjoy drinking, so hopefully you do too.
In 2010, co-founder Pete left the Army after serving in the infantry for four years, two of which were spent in Germany where he began to appreciate the many different styles of beer. Upon his honorable discharge, he was unsure of what he was going to do with his life. At the same time, fellow co-founder Joe was attending college as an accounting major while working part time, also unsure about what he would be doing in the future.
The two men had been friends since high school and both shared a passion for beer. They would soon buy a home brew kit, and before you knew it they were knee deep in the craft brewing world, most of their free time from that point on was spent brewing (and drinking for that matter). Before long, the two had the crazy idea that they could make this wonderful hobby a career and they began developing the brewery that would unfold to be Brix City Brewing.
JULY 22, 2015, 9:28 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015, 9:46 PM
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
PARAMUS — The Borough Council should abandon an ordinance to raise the tobacco buying age to 21, Paramus’ attorney recommended during a council work session Wednesday night.
Attorney Paul Kaufman told the council that the ordinance it introduced June 9 could make the borough vulnerable to costly litigation because of concerns over preemption by the state law and enforceability.
The way the law is written, Kaufman said, it’s silent on whether the tobacco buying age would be preempted by the state law, which puts the purchasing age at 19.
Related: Paramus to discuss tobacco-buying age
“I don’t think the taxpayers here should have to pay $100,000 in legal expenses to find out the answer,” he said.
Kaufman also said that it “breeds disrespect for the law to enact an ordinance that’s not enforced.”
Instead, Kaufman suggested the council pass a resolution urging the state to amend the statute.
“I get the point that when you enact an ordinance like this that you’re sending a message to the state Legislature,” Kaufman said. “I think there’s another way … to get that point across.”
The resolution could be brought to the state by hometown Assemblyman, and former Councilman, Joe Lagana. Also, the Paramus clerk could share the resolution with the Bergen County Municipal Clerks’ Association of New Jersey to spread the word, Kaufman suggested.
JULY 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015, 12:32 AM
BY KELLY NICHOLAIDES
STAFF WRITER |
SOUTH BERGENITE
The municipalities of Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Lyndhurst and Rutherford have filed lawsuits in Superior Court against the Council on Affordable Housing and Mt. Laurel ruling.
The municipalities seek declaratory judgment granting temporary immunity from exclusionary zoning lawsuits also known as builder’s remedy lawsuits, five months to complete an updated affordable housing methodology and judgment of compliance and repose, the documents read.
The COAH process has inundated courts since the agency failed to adopt new third round regulations. COAH third-round obligations from 2004 were challenged in 2007, with the Appellate Division invalidating various aspects of regulations, and a revised third round was published in 2008, only to have amendments added. The transfer of jurisdiction to the courts later showed that the growth-share methodology was invalid, and COAH should use methodologies adopted in the first and second rounds. COAH deadlocked on adopting revised third-round regulations, and the Fair Share Housing Center filed a motion to enforce litigants’ rights. The court ruled COAH’s administrative process non-functional, and allowed developers to go directly to court bypassing the agency — setting up towns for lawsuits from builders.
Although municipalities had until July 8 to submit their affordable housing plan to the court, East Rutherford, along with at least 70 municipalities, is asking for a five-month extension from the date of the court ruling and opted to hire experts to come up with a new methodology to calculate fair share housing since COAH failed to adopt revised regulations. The towns hired Robert W. Burchell and Rutgers, in a Municipal Shared Services Defense Agreement to prepare a statewide fair share affordable housing analysis to be undertaken by Rutgers and Burchell. Burchell will analyze any challenges to the Initial Fair Share Analysis and prepare a rebuttal report for the court
JULY 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY REBECCA GREENE
CORRESPONDENT |
WYCKOFF SUBURBAN NEWS
The five-year-old class action lawsuit filed by Wyckoff, and joined by Midland Park and Glen Rock, claiming overcharges by Ridgewood Water to the tune of $3.3 million has been remanded to Superior Court — a favorable development, according to local officials.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2010, alleges that a 21 percent rate hike in 2010 and 5 percent increases in 2011 and 2012 were used to plug gaps in the Village of Ridgewood’s budget.
The towns are seeking a return of the amount officials believe their residents were overcharged: Wyckoff, 1,640,492; Midland Park, $619,635; and Glen Rock, $1,049,165.
A 25-page opinion handed down Wednesday, July 15, by the Appellate Division of state Superior Court reversed a decision by Superior Court Judge Lisa Perez Friscia in December 2013 that the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) should handle the litigation.
“We conclude the trial court misconstrued the jurisdictional provision [in state statute] causing it to erroneously transfer this case to the BPU,” the appeals panel wrote. “We discern no legal or public policy basis to defer to the BPU’s jurisdiction a function historically associated with and inherently performed by the Superior Court.”
“We’re pleased that the Appellate Division finally remanded it back to a Superior Court judge,” Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney said. “We have a strong case and the facts are clear. We want our day in court.”
Note for the editor : John actually the GOP needs to offer some competitive ideas on how to run the county , not just be the party of “Democrat Lite “
LYNDHURST—John Mitchell, a challenger in Bergen County’s race for the Board of Chosen Freeholders said he is running for reelection in November for two reasons: 1. He wants to bring Bergen County back to a two party system and 2. He believes his budget methodology can benefit residents of Bergen County. (Alfaro/PolitickerNJ)
file photo Boyd Loving
JULY 16, 2015, 7:41 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2015, 11:00 PM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
While eyeballing cars from a shoulder on Route 17, police usually don’t get too excited by speeds that inch past the 55-mph limit. But when a jet-black Jeep shot by his cruiser at 79 mph this week, a Waldwick cop hit the gas pedal for a short chase that yielded a skittish speeder with a sense of humor.
“He told me it’s scary out here,” Sgt. Bob Woessner said moments later as he wrote a ticket. “He wondered how we do this each night.”
Sgt. Robert Woessner pulls over a speeding car on Route 17 south, close to the spot where Waldwick Officer Chris Goodell was killed after a tractor-trailer slammed into his police car one year ago.
The speeder might as well have been preaching to the choir. As he does most nights, Woessner was using radar to chase down speeders on a busy stretch of 17 where scariness reached a new threshold just one year ago today when a tractor-trailer slammed into a police cruiser carrying a colleague who was also pulling radar duty there. Patrolman Chris Goodell, 32, the sergeant’s close friend, was killed instantly.
Tedesco unveils a very expensive initiative to bring Internet to low-income high schoolers in Bergen County
JULY 15, 2015, 7:29 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015, 9:18 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Bergen County Executive James Tedesco on Wednesday unveiled an initiative aimed at providing basic broadband Internet service to low-income families with children who are starting high school this fall.
Tedesco announced he will provide a $50,000 grant from a discretionary fund in his budget to Jersey On, a non-profit that aims to connect more low-income families to the Internet.
A wireless router is the hub of your home or business network, delivering a single Internet connection to other devices on the network, through either wired Ethernet or a wireless connection. Some routers, targeted at novice users, are easy to set up, while others take a little more know-how. Routers also vary in the throughput they can manage, depending on the antenna configuration and the hardware inside.https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398080,00.asp
The organization is headed by Josh Gottheimer, a Microsoft executive who is a Democratic candidate for the 5th Congressional District seat now held by Republican Scott Garrett.
The $50,000 will provide a pocket-sized Wi-Fi hotspot device good for up to five wireless devices at no cost to 531 freshmen within the county whose families are eligible for the free or reduced-cost lunch program, starting this fall.
Those families also will receive free wi-fi for the four years that their student is in high school.
JULY 14, 2015, 6:23 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015, 6:39 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A Ridgewood woman has sued a state administrative law judge, claiming the judge has been violating her right to due process as she contests her dismissal from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office.
The federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Newark by Alexis Fitzsimmons, an advanced practice nurse laid off from the Sheriff’s Department in the spring of 2011. Days after losing her job, Fitzsimmons — who’d been working as the department’s chief nursing officer — challenged her dismissal, contending it was “illegitimate” and political retaliation, the suit reads.
Fitzsimmons’ lawsuit, filed June 15, claims she lost her job soon after Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino assumed office. The suit claims Saudino’s move was sparked by “groundless rumors” he had been told claiming Fitzsimmons was romantically involved with his predecessor as sheriff, Leo McGuire. Fitzsimmons’ suit further claims she was given 20 days’ notice prior to her dismissal and not 45 as is required by law.
Months later, the Civil Service Commission cleared the way for Fitzsimmons to appeal her layoff. The matter was assigned to New Jersey Office of Administrative Law Judge Irene Jones. Jones is named as a defendant in Fitzsimmons’ suit, as is Judge Laura Sanders, who oversees the administrative law office.
In February of 2013, Fitzsimmons’ suit claims, she filed a motion to compel the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office to provide discovery as well as answers to several questions. For nearly eight months, Jones declined to rule on the motion, reads the suit. Then, a two-page order issued September 30, 2013 denied the motion without offering any explanation for the opinion.
JULY 15, 2015, 2:19 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015, 2:23 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Years-long litigation against Ridgewood Water must be decided by a Superior Court judge, a state appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
The Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court reversed a trial judge’s 2014 decision transferring the suit to the Board of Public Utilities for resolution.
In a 25-page ruling, the Superior Court Appellate Division remanded the matter back to the trial court, noting “this is not a case requiring the particular expertise associated with the jurisdiction of the BPU.”
Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn declined to comment Wednesday, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation.
The class action lawsuit was filed against Ridgewood Water in Superior Court by Wyckoff officials in 2010, with the municipalities of Glen Rock and Midland Park joining the action as plaintiffs a year later.
The lawsuit alleges the water utility raised its rates in 2010 by 21 percent and that rates further rose 5 percent in 2011 and 2012.
The suit contends the rate hikes were approved in an ordinance adopted by the village council, and characterizes the increases as “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable and, accordingly, should be declared invalid and unenforceable.”
John Mitchell, Taxpayer Advocate Award to Bergen County Sheriff Mike Saudino. Under Sheriff Saudino’s leadership the taxpayer has saved over $2.5 million through prudent budget cuts and significant overtime reductions. Bravo Sheriff Mike!!
Three Democrats will try to fend off a challenge by Republicans led by Bergen GOP Chairman Bob Yudin
By Alyana Alfaro | 07/14/15 1:35pm
In the upcoming November 2015 election, Bergen County Republicans will have the chance to usurp three seats on the Board of Chosen Freeholders currently occupied by Freeholder Vice Chairman Steve Tanelli, Freeholder Tracy Silna Zur and Freeholder Thomas Sullivan Jr.
The incumbent Democrats are opposed by Republicans John Mitchell, Ken Tyburczy and Daisy Ortiz-Berger.
For Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, the main determining factor of the upcoming November freeholder election is going to be property taxes.
“There was a four percent increase in the total budget this year under the Democratic majority,” Yudin said. “That increase led to increased property taxes.”
According to Yudin, since Democrats currently have the majority on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders—only two of the seven members are Republican—the issue of increasing the budget became a partisan one.
“To call it non-partisan is a joke,” Yudin told PolitickerNJ. “We need a serious reduction in the budget. The Republican Party in Bergen County is overwhelmingly in favor of a reduction in property taxes.
Eschewing Yudin’s argument, Democrats note that the chairman of the budget process was Freeholder John Felice, a Republican; and that the budget passed 7-0 with GOP support.
Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37), also believes that property taxes are an issue in New Jersey. However, she thinks that the issue stems from a reduction in state funding to schools and counties, not a function of there being a democratic majority on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
“I think property taxes are a problem in New Jersey, a big problem,” Weinberg said. “But I don’t think that anybody believes that one party or the other owns it or that one group of freeholders is going to find a unilateral solution.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE REUVENI FAMILY
Gabrielle Reuveni
Surprise plea in jogger’s death; admission of guilt brings tears of relief to Paramus family
JULY 10, 2015, 12:54 PM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2015, 12:30 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Gabrielle Reuveni’s parents had waited almost three years for this moment: an admission by the man who killed their daughter that he was under the influence of painkillers when his pickup swerved off a Pennsylvania road, striking a young woman who aspired to a future of helping others.
Philip Cise, 51, stood in the chambers of a Pennsylvania judge on Friday, even as potential jurors were assembled in the courtroom for jury selection to hear the case against him, pleading guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, the most serious charge that he faced.
Reuveni, 20, Paramus High School’s 2010 valedictorian and a member of her university track team, had been running along a road near her family’s vacation home in the Poconos on July 14, 2012, when, witnesses say, Cise, a Morris County man with a long history of mental illness and minor criminal offenses, swerved for no apparent reason. Authorities said he told them he had taken painkillers obtained from a friend
Major Crash on Rout 17 South takes out Utility Pole
July 07,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, The male driver of a 4-door Toyota Corolla was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center’s main campus following a rollover crash on Route 17 southbound near Route 4 at approximately 10:00 AM on this Friday morning,
The crash severed a utility pole, knocking out phone and electric service to a nearby Porcelanosa tile showroom. The right shoulder and two (2) travel lanes of Route 17 southbound were closed due to the incident. The Corolla was removed by a flatbed tow truck. Paramus PD, EMS and FD Companies 2 & 4 responded to the incident. NJDOT crews assisted in blocking traffic lanes. PSE&G crews arrived at approximately 10:45 AM to attend to the utility pole issues.
