Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco today announced that the Department of Human Services Division on Disability Services will hold an Access for All Community Forum on Saturday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Ridgewood Village Hall 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.
This summit is for municipal Access for All Committees in the County of Bergen to come together and discuss local issues, challenges and new initiatives that other towns can emulate. Public officials, safety personnel & volunteers, as well as concerned residents, are invited to attend. Topics will include programs, resources for municipalities, grant opportunities, housing, emergency services, and problem solving.
Moderators include: Freeholder Chairwoman Dr. Joan M. Voss; Freeholders Tracy Silna Zur and Maura DeNicola; Jim Thebery, M.A., CSW, Director Div. on Disability Services; and Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn.
Please join us………..this will be a unique opportunity to hear from all the Access for All Committees to share ideas, learn from others and find out new and creative ways to interact and work together on projects. This is a wonderful event, not to be missed.
April 9,2015Saddle River NJ, In response to the developments in the recent coyote attack, today, April 8, 2015, the Acting Mayor of Saddle River, Dr. Al Kurpis called an emergency meeting. In attendance were:
Today we learned that the coyote responsible for attacking a man earlier this week tested positive for Rabies. In response to this result Officials are implementing the following guidelines to be followed.
· Due to the suspected exposure to a rabid animal one resident immediately started rabies post-exposure vaccination after having an encounter with a coyote.
· As a result of a coordinated effort between Saddle River Police, Saddle River Animal Control and the Department of Fish, Game and Wildlife, the offending animal was captured and euthanized.
· The coyote was brought to the NJ Department of Health and tested positive for rabies. Six dead pups were found in the coyote’s den.
· Currently, The Saddle River Police Department, the Department of Fish, Game and Wildlife are seeking the mate or any other offspring of the rabid coyote.
· At this time, Officials are requesting that no small children or pets should be left unattended outdoors.
· All mammals are susceptible to rabies; rabies is naturally occurring and is well established in our area.
· Normally coyotes are shy animals. According to NJ Department of Health statistics this is only the 6th coyote identified as rabid in the last 25 years.
· All pet owners are reminded to keep their animals up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
· Keeping vaccinations current will prevent a pet from possibly being subjected to a lengthy quarantine or euthanized if it has an encounter with a rabid animal.
· The Health Department reminds everyone to stay clear of all wildlife, especially any that are acting sick or unusually friendly. If you see suspicious acting wildlife please report them immediately to the Saddle River Police Department.
· Any resident that suspects that they or their animals may have been exposed should call the Saddle River Health Office immediately at 201-327-2609 ext. 234
APRIL 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015, 3:31 PM
BY TOM NOBILE
STAFF WRITER |
MAHWAH SUBURBAN NEWS
Mahwah – Township Clerk Katherine Coviello said she expects to announce her findings bynoon Thursday, April 9, as to the validity of a notice of intention to recall Mayor William Laforet.
A Notice of Intention to Circulate a Recall Petition, signed by five township residents, was delivered to the mayor’s office early March 30. If approved by the Coviello, the petition would require signatures from 25 percent of Mahwah’s registered voters – roughly 4,000 residents – to place a recall question on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Annette Freund, one of the petition’s sponsors, said a series of poor decisions by Laforet led to the recall initiative, but it was “escalated” by the mayor’s handling of the recent Department of Public Works controversy.
Laforet had moved to terminate DPW Director and political foe Ed Sinclair after according to Laforet, pornography was discovered on at least one public works’ computer. Supporters of Sinclair objected, calling the move a political ploy, and on March 26 the council voted to overturn the mayor’s action. Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio, enraged by the mayor’s tactics, called him “a piece of (expletive)” during the meeting and led 150 residents in a “recall” chant. A 4-3 vote of “no confidence” in Laforet’s leadership followed.
The notice cited a number of reasons for the recall, including:
n Goss incompetent management of personnel matters with reckless disregard for township policies.
n Failure to abide by municipal statutes governing the protection of the township’s real property assets.
n Breach of fiduciary responsibilities in allowing significant over-expenditures of the police overtime budget without advising the Township Council.
n Accepting political contributions from applicants before the Planning Board on which he sits, and voting favorably on their applications.
n And misuse of the township police communications channel for self-promotion.
Gary Montroy, a former construction official who also sponsored the petition, said the DPW situation was the “straw that broke camel’s back.”
“After what happened with Mr. Sinclair, I was appalled by that whole thing,” he said.
Laforet has stood by his decision to terminate Sinclair, saying the petition is “politically motivated and it disregards the facts.”
“Inappropriate material was being viewed on town computers,” he said.
Members of the governing body declined to comment on the petition, but indicated that the growing between the mayor and governing body began early in his tenure.
Council President John Roth said the tension is often due to a “lack of communication between him and the council.”
“The communications that we get are often suspect [and] misleading,” Roth said.
The installation of an ice rink on township property without the council’s knowledge and using the Nixle system for political purposes are among the most recent disputes.
While Freund remains confident the petition can achieve the 4,163-signature threshold, supporters face an uphill battle.
APRIL 6, 2015, 9:25 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015, 1:35 PM
BY JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
SADDLE RIVER — A man working in his garden in the Twin Brooks area of the borough was attacked Monday by a coyote that was then hunted down and euthanized, authorities said.
The man, whose identity was not released, was taken to a hospital for treatment and then released for recovery at home, according to a report on the Saddle River Police Department’s Facebook page.
The man was attacked from behind by the animal and managed to escape, the police report said.
APRIL 4, 2015, 11:38 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015, 12:02 AM
BY TARA SULLIVAN
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
Morgan Hoffmann has always been a man with a plan. From the one he hatched as a little boy to become a pro golfer, to the flight plan he registered for sometime today so he’ll be able to fly his private plane from Florida to Georgia, he is a man who decides what to do and does it.
So it is with meticulous planning that Hoffmann has put himself on the cusp of his first Masters tournament, completing yet another step in the golf journey that started on the manicured lawns of his Wyckoff home. A transcendent end to the 2014 season saw him rocket up the year-ending FedExCup standings, and that was followed by a 2015 start that included a recent fourth-place finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And now the 25-year-old Hoffmann stands among the world’s elite.
But if golf offers many barometers of individual success, from simply making the PGA Tour all the way to contending for major titles, there is an even more exclusive bubble inside that world: qualifying for The Masters. Augusta represents something more, something bigger, something so coveted it is on every aspiring golfer’s dream-come-true list.
“It truly is the experience of a lifetime, playing, walking, watching. If you are a golfer, it’s heaven,” said Jim McGovern, the teaching pro at Haworth’s White Beeches Golf & Country Club and the last area golfer to compete at Augusta, finishing tied for fifth in 1994.
APRIL 5, 2015, 10:04 AM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015, 10:05 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Paramus police got their goat Saturday.
Members of the department apprehended a small white goat shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday after getting a call that the animal was head-butting a door in the Beech Lane area of the borough.
The goat, described as “disorderly” on the Paramus Police Department’s Facebook page, was captured by Officers Christian Tsentas and Steve Nepola.
The animal was brought to Tyco Animal Control. Anyone with information about the goat should call the Paramus Police Department at 201-262-3400.
The police department’s Facebook page included a photo of the horned creature, wrapped in a large of piece yellow plastic, being held by Officer Jonathan Henderson.
The post about the goat launched a long string of cheeky comments, including, “Update, the goat was charged and tried for burglary. The judge was lenient on him because he was just a ‘kid.’”
APRIL 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
WALDWICK — When Anthony Celeste was elected councilman three years ago, he had a starry-eyed view of local politics as free of the dysfunction in Washington, D.C. But just two years in a ground-level office has made him reverse that outlook.
Celeste, a 25-year-old devotee of libertarian Ron Paul and Waldwick’s youngest-ever councilman, this week announced he’s leaving politics “for good” and won’t seek reelection.
“Unfortunately, our political dysfunction from D.C. via Congress has spread like a disease to our NJ Assembly, county, and local municipalities,” Celeste wrote on Twitter late Monday.
Celeste, a Republican, won his first three-year term in November 2012. It will now be one of two council seats up for grabs in November, with Republicans Joseph Oravetz and incumbent Charles Farricker likely vying against Democrats John Danubio and Joseph Giovannoli. Republican Mayor Thomas Giordano, now in his first term, will run against Democrat James Schultz.
In an interview, Celeste said he remains optimistic about politics, but that state lawmakers are failing future generations by not addressing sky-high property taxes and a huge pension crisis.
“The country’s in dangerous territory,” Celeste said. “I don’t want to sugarcoat anything.”
APRIL 1, 2015, 9:35 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015, 1:59 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The brother of a fugitive luxury car dealer was arrested in Egg Harbor Township after a motor vehicle stop Monday.
Anil A. Iqbal, 36, of Egg Harbor Township, was wanted by Ramsey police in connection with an April 2014 crime, Ramsey Police Chief Bryan Gurney said in a news release.
Iqbal’s brother is Afzal “Bobby” Khan, who isaccused of bilking dozens of car owners, banks and financing companies in deals involving Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Porsches at his dealership, Emporio Motor Group in Ramsey.
Iqbal was remanded to the Bergen County Jail on $1 million bail. He is charged with conspiracy to commit theft, theft by extortion, theft by deception and fencing.
Iqbal was an employee at the dealership in April 2014 when a victim brought a 2013 Lamborghini into the dealership on a consignment sale, Gurney said. The car was sold to a Nevada resident for $368,274, but the money was never delivered to the original owner.
Ramsey Detective Brad Smith investigated Iqbal’s alleged crime. Officials from Ramsey, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI have been investigating the Emporio Motor Group and Khan remains a fugitive.
file photo County Executive James Tedesco in Ridgewood
Bergen County freeholders approve government reorganization; set up monitor for fraud and waste
MARCH 25, 2015, 9:35 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015, 9:38 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County freeholders on Wednesday approved a sweeping reorganization plan for how county government works, including creation of an inspector general post that will investigate for waste and fraud.
In a unanimous, bipartisan vote, the board approved the 21-page rewrite of the county administrative code, which serves as a rule book for how county government operates.
County Executive James Tedesco requested the changes, calling them the most extensive since voters approved the county executive form of government in November 1985.
Tedesco said previously that the changes will make county government more efficient without adding costs. He said the inspector general work will go to one of the attorneys already working in the county counsel’s office.
Chuck Powers, president of Bergen Grassroots, a citizens group that successfully pushed for pay-to-play limits on county campaign contributions, welcomed the new position.
“I think it’s a very exceedingly important development for this county,” Powers said.
Examining New Jersey’s Highest in Nation Highway Costs
SATURDAY, 07 MARCH 2015 12:36
BY BRAD SCHNURE
SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
In response to concerns that New Jersey highways are the nation’s most expensive to build, operate and maintain, Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) hasdrafted legislation that will give policymakers the information they need to lower costs for drivers and taxpayers.
As Doherty expressed in a recent editorial, the new measure addresses the dual concerns of excessive state highway costs highlighted in a recent report by the Reason Foundation and calls by some legislators to raise the state’s gas tax to fund new transportation projects.
“Some may quibble over how much more New Jersey spends on our highways than other states, but nobody disputes that we do spend more than everyone else,” said Doherty. “With New Jersey drivers already shouldering such a heavy tax and toll burden, it’s imperative that we find out why the many millions we spend on our roads get us so little in return.”
According to the Reason Foundation’s 21st Annual Highway Report, New Jersey’s overall highway performance ranked 48th among the states despite our roads being the nation’s most expensive. The next most expensive state, Massachusetts, was found to spend two-thirds less per mile than New Jersey despite similarities in population density, climate and highway system size.
Doherty’s legislation would create the “State Transportation Cost Analysis Task Force” to conduct a methodical analysis of the factors that contribute to New Jersey’s road costs, compare our costs to those of other states, and provide recommendations to complete projects more cost-effectively.
Massive fire at Edgewater’s Avalon apartments; hundreds evacuated
JANUARY 21, 2015, 5:51 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015, 2:08 AM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Firefighters battled a five-alarm blaze at an Edgewater apartment complex Wednesday evening, but the advancing flames defied their efforts and destroyed the larger building of the four-story Avalon at Edgewater complex.
There were no deaths or serious injuries in the blaze at 102 Russell Ave., authorities said, but nearly 1,000 people were displaced from their homes.
Photos: Firefighters battle 5-alarm blaze in Edgewater
Police Chief William Skidmore said some people had fallen and suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, and a firefighter had cut a finger.
By 11 p.m., when Edgewater Mayor Michael McPartland announced that the fire was “more or less under control,” the main building in the two-structure complex was completely destroyed, with flames still licking at parts of the skeletal remains and the collapsed debris. When he was asked what he meant, he said the fire was “contained” and that it was no longer spreading.
DECEMBER 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY SCOTT GARRETT
THE RECORD
The code is also unfair, as many of the loopholes target small numbers of high-income individuals, while New Jersey’s middle-class families get stuck with the tab. It should come as no surprise that New Jersey has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation when you figure in the tidal wave of local, state and federal taxes.
Scott Garrett represents the 5th District in the House of Representatives. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Budget Committee. He is chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises for the House Financial Services Committee, where he oversees the Securities and Exchange Commission and government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
ON MAY 1, 1931, with the push of a button at the White House, President Herbert Hoover officially commenced the opening of the Empire State Building. The 103-story structure was built with a powerful combination of steel girders, rivets and American ingenuity. This engineering feat and cultural icon took more than 7 million hours to complete.
There is another labor-intensive, American-made feat that happens every April 15. Unfortunately, we don’t get the productive equivalent of 192 Empire State Buildings for the 1.35 billion man-hours American workers spend filing tax returns each year. Instead, our outdated and complicated tax code rewards us with sluggish economic growth, wasted resources and a whole lot of frustration around the kitchen table.
We must fix our broken tax code and replace the outdated system with a pro-growth tax system, built upon the tenets of simplicity, fairness and efficiency. This is a tall order, but we have a lot at stake here in New Jersey and across the nation.
Currently, the U.S. tax code is the worst of all worlds. First, the system is notoriously complex, with individuals and families spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year trying to solve a numerical riddle of rules, deductions and tax schedules.
The code is also unfair, as many of the loopholes target small numbers of high-income individuals, while New Jersey’s middle-class families get stuck with the tab. It should come as no surprise that New Jersey has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation when you figure in the tidal wave of local, state and federal taxes.
Inefficient tax structure
According to a recent Monmouth University poll, half of New Jerseyans want to eventually leave the state because of the tax burden.
Moreover, the U.S. tax structure is as inefficient as a horse-and-buggy in the age of the high-efficiency hybrid engine. Considerations such as how to legally game the tax code, rather than business fundamentals, often distort individual decisions to work, save and invest. For example, tax economists Seth Giertz and Jacob Feldman argue that the tax code encourages businesses to switch their investments from productive activities (like hiring more workers) toward unproductive ones (like lobbying for special tax preferences).
As a result, not only is our current tax system unfair, but it also wastes resources, slows economic growth and leads to fewer jobs. We need to eliminate the special exemptions, simplify the rates and create a tax code that encourages savings, investment and job creation.
I remain hopeful that President Obama is willing work with Senate and House Republicans to revamp our tax code. Encouragingly, the White House website states “the tax code has become increasingly complicated and unfair. Under today’s tax laws, those who can afford expert advice can avoid paying their fair share and interests with the most connected lobbyists can get exemptions and special treatment written into our tax code.” Mr. President, I couldn’t agree more — now, it’s time to put meaning behind your words.
It is also important to recognize the political hurdles facing tax reform. While Republicans will control both the Senate and House in the New Year, without cooperation from the president, tax reform is as good as dead on arrival.
Serious about tax reform
The president has not yet demonstrated that he is serious about bringing tax reform across the finish line. Instead, the president views the tax code as a political tool to punish industries he happens to support (green energy) and those that don’t fit the party line, such as the oil and gas industry. Rather than talk about a simplified tax code to encourage job creation, the president remains committed to the theory that increasing the overall tax burden on working families in New Jersey somehow means these families are paying their “fair share.”
Most recently, the president threatened to veto a tax deal between the Senate and the House. Here is an example of both houses of Congress working together in a bipartisan manner, and the president killed the deal. For tax reform to work, the American people need a willing partner in the White House.
The American people gave Republicans the responsibility of controlling both houses of Congress for the next two years. In return, we can repay the American people by advancing solutions that help America’s families. And like President Hoover’s dedication of the Empire State Building, hopefully President Obama can work with Republicans to hit the switch and inaugurate another feat of American achievement: a reformed tax code.
Scott with Old Tappan resident Soyoung Park, the winner of the 2014 Congressional Art Competition
Rep Scott Garrett Statement on Obama’s Unconstitutional Amnesty
Nov 20, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), founder and Chairman of the Congressional Constitution Caucus, issued the following statement after President Obama announced that he would violate his oath to uphold the Constitution and grant approximately 5 million illegal immigrants work permits:
“After repeated admissions that the Constitution precludes him from granting amnesty, President Obama has chosen to cast aside his oath to uphold the supreme law of the land and is going to grant amnesty anyway. The president’s frustration with Congress, as the Washington Post’s editorial board noted, ‘doesn’t grant the president license to tear up the Constitution.’ No provision of the Constitution grants the president the power to change the law simply because the president disagrees with Congress. This sets a fatal precedent – is there no longer any limit to a president’s power?
“Today, President Obama has also turned his back on American workers and law-abiding immigrants. At a time when American workers are desperate for jobs, the president has decided to unfairly reward those who have blatantly broken the law with blanket amnesty and work permits, allowing them to directly compete with American workers for jobs that are hard to find already. I am committed to undoing the damage this unconstitutional action will have on our republic.”
BACKGROUND: As the New York Times’ Michael Shear pointed out, President Obama has already explained why he cannot do this:
In a Telemundo interview in September 2013, Mr. Obama said he was proud of having protected the “Dreamers” — people who came to the United States illegally as young children — from deportation. But he also said that he could not apply that same action to other groups of people.
“If we start broadening that, then essentially I’ll be ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally,” Mr. Obama told Jose Diaz-Balart in the interview. “So that’s not an option.”
During a news conference in Australia, he said that his earlier answers about the limits of his executive authority were prompted by people who asked him whether he could enact, by fiat, a bipartisan immigration bill that had passed the Senate, which would have provided a path to legalization for more of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants here.
“Getting a comprehensive deal of the sort that is in the Senate legislation, for example, does extend beyond my legal authorities,” Mr. Obama said Sunday. “There are certain things I cannot do.”
The president was pressed on that very issue during a Google Hangout in February 2013. An activist asked whether he could do more to keep families from being “broken apart” while Congress remained gridlocked on immigration legislation.
“This is something that I have struggled with throughout my presidency,” Mr. Obama said. “The problem is, is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed.”
The Record endorses Robert Avery and Bernadette Walsh for Bergen County freeholder The Record: Bergen County freeholders
OCTOBER 29, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014, 7:25 AM THE RECORD
OPPORTUNITY beckons for Bergen County Republicans. Unlike last year, when Republicans were fighting merely to retain a minority of seats on the county Freeholder Board, the GOP can take control of the board by winning two open seats next Tuesday.
The Republican candidates are Robert Avery, a onetime Municipal Court judge in Ridgefield, and Bernadette Walsh, a former member of the Ridgewood Village Council.
Sandy Aid from the Timeline of the Ridgewood blog a Quick Refresher coarse
Since the NJ Media has for so long ignored Scott Garrett we though we would fill in the gaps debunk the myths starting with our own editorial
Seems Roy Cho has joined the choirs of the Sandy Scammers
Sandy Aid should go to Victims and not Special interests
Sandy Aid should go to Victims and not Special interests
January 8, 2013
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, No opportunity squandered . With help of the local media NJ politicians have waged a carefully orchestrated plot to capture as much cash as possible form the federal government in the form of Hurricane Sandy Aid. Sandy Aid is viewed as a treasure chest of goodie for politicians to hand out to their favorite sponsors .
Sounding almost jealous on Monday New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said that Gov. Chris Christie might have “prayed” for Superstorm Sandy, because it has provided cover for what Sweeney said are the governor’s failed economic policies.
And after all failed policies over the last 3 decades have left New Jersey with little more than hope for handouts to get this economic basket case of an economy going . The New Jersey legislator with help from their colleagues in the media recently wasted over 3 months pushing a bill that would have forced dogs to wear seat belts while New Jersey suffered the worst recession since the 1930′s.
We are told the New Jersey’s economic growth in 2013 hinges to an unprecedented extent on what the federal government does — or doesn’t — do. It isn’t just a question of whether Congress eventually authorizes the full $60 billion in Hurricane Sandy relief, economists and tax experts agree . ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/Sandy_recovery_is_top_priority_for_Christie.html )
No wounder Governor Christie after what seemed like a romantic walk on the beach with President Obama has nothing but hostility for house Republicans who had the nerve to assume that Hurricane Sandy Aid should actually only go to the victims of the hurricane .
We are told that Sandy recovery is top priority for Christie, once again referring to the “need to get miles of debilitated boardwalk repaired. Thousands of devastated homes and shuttered businesses reopened. Destroyed bridges, highways, pipelines, rail cars and even amusement parks replaced.” (https://www.northjersey.com/news/Sandy_recovery_is_top_priority_for_Christie.html ) I am wondering if Christie can explain why having $154 million in the hurricane-relief fund for Alaskan fisheries? or how $2 million for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC to nake just a few is going to help rebuild the boardwalk in Seaside Heights ?
Why Christie is fighting with Congress and his own party to help pay for it supported by New Jersey ‘s media like the Ledger’s Tom Moran who published a scathing column today on Republican Congressman Scott Garrett, who cast the lone vote in the New Jersey delegation against the fiscal cliff compromise ,that raised taxes on almost everyone in New Jersey .
Congressman Scott Garrett is seen as the prime obstacle for lobbyist want to get there hands on your money. (https://addins.njherald.com/blogs/insidepolitics/2013/01/star-ledger-columnist-hammers-scott-garrett ) .
Moran seems to be in favor of the rumored back room deal between Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn and NJ Legislature Kevin O’Tool to oust Garrett and bring home the beacon by forcing a primary challenge .
Clearly the victims of Sandy have not gotten their money because the priority has been given to lobbyist who politicians deal with everyday and not to voters who most politicians only deal with once every four years.
