Category: Bergen County

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Ridgewood rat sightings prompt idea for pest control law at building sites

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Ridgewood rat sightings prompt idea for pest control law at building sites

AUGUST 8, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
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Excessive bird feeding could have drawn in some of the rats, Ridgewood’s health supervisor suggested.

RIDGEWOOD — A recent rise in rodent sightings has village officials exploring the feasibility of an ordinance that would require a pest control presence at future construction sites.

More than a dozen residents have reported seeing rats since Tuesday morning, when it was reported that rodents were being spotted behind homes on Bennington Terrace and Howard Road.

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld told Ridgewood’s governing body at its meeting Wednesday evening that rats have also taken up residence in “14 other areas around town,” including North Pleasant Avenue.

One resident living on that street claims to have trapped more than 20 rats since early July, Sonenfeld said.

A resident in another part of the village said he found a dead rat at the bottom of his in-ground pool.

Ridgewood health officials spent the first half of the week inspecting several properties around where rat sightings were reported.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/towns/ridgewood-rat-sightings-prompt-idea-for-pest-control-law-at-building-sites-1.1064558#sthash.cpwB6Gzt.dpuf

For pest control service in Ridgewood please call New Day pest control NJ

 

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Obama’s FBI to hire firm to rate ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ stories about the agency

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Obama’s FBI to hire firm to rate ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ stories about the agency

Officials mum on need for and use of such info

The FBI is hiring a contractor to grade news stories about the agency as “positive” “neutral” or “negative,” but the agency won’t say why officials need the information or what they plan to do with it.

FBI officials wouldn’t even reveal how they will go about assigning the grades, which were laid out in a recent contract solicitation. The contract tells potential bidders to “use their judgment” in scoring news coverage as part of a new “daily news briefing” service the agency is seeking as part of a contract that could last up to five years.

The move is reminiscent of a similar effort the Obama administration made to grade media coverage of its response to the BP oil spill. A separate defense contract rating reporters’ work was scrapped in 2009.

In a statement of work, the agency says its public affairs office needs a contractor to help monitor “breaking news, editorials, long-form journalism projects and the larger public conversation about law enforcement.”

But the lack of clear public methods and goals raises “troubling questions,” said Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

“You would certainly worry this could affect access,” he said. “It might affect the way they’re going to approach your questions, whether they’re going to be extra careful not to make news if you’re on the ‘bad list.’”

Mr. Kennedy also pointed out that journalism can be nuanced and complicated, raising questions about what sort of guidance the agency provides to contractors to fit stories into positive, neutral or negative boxes.

“If you’re rigorously fair about it and you’re getting the FBI’s point of view out there, they would probably write that as a negative story, but it strikes me as neutral,” he said.

Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/3/fbi-hires-firm-to-rate-news-stories-about-the-agen/#ixzz39WHAdr1E 

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The West’s Death Wish

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Young Palestinian Girls Carrying Rockets, Gaza, Hamas 

The West’s Death Wish
Aug. 03 
By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
   
We’ve seen this movie before.

Israel is bombarded with rockets fired by Hamas-backed terrorists, flush with cash from international humanitarian aid efforts and the enemies of democracy lurking elsewhere, and hiding like the worst species of cowards among civilians in schools, mosques and hospitals: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553643,00.html

Understandably, Israel defends itself by moving into Gaza to destroy the tunnel networks and rocket sites utilized to terrorize and murder its population, the only peoples living in a health Middle Eastern democracy, all the while proving humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.  Wouldn’t we do the same if, hypothetically, Canadian terrorists began raining rockets down on Michigan tomorrow?

Amazingly the West’s answer isn’t universally affirmative.

Not everyone understands or wants to understand. The international community intervenes in the Israeli-Palestinian… by attempting to grab Israel’s wrists and inquiring, in an almost mocking fashion, “why are you hitting yourself?” while Hamas breaks one brokered cease fire after another with impunity. The international media, in turn, focuses on the collateral damage behind Gaza’s lines (remember: Hamas terrorists hide their munitions and fighters behind human shields) and ignores the 3.5 million Israeli citizens living under constant threat of annihilation.

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In a word, Save Jerseyans, the dynamic at work here is insane.

Deference to the “cause” of Hamas is so illogical, particularly in light of the latest broken cease fire, that I’m left to assume any support for Hamas is either (1) evidence of Antisemitism or (2) sufficient reason for a CT scan.

I think we’re seeing a LOT of both.

Young Palestinian Girls Carrying Rockets, Gaza, Hamas (Photo credit: IDF Blog)

Contemplate the “cause” as articulated by its supporters and draw your own conclusions. Hamas’s charter unequivocally calls for the destruction of Israel. Not the relocation of Israel, a “land-for-peace” swap with Israel, a political compromise with Israel, or even monetary reparations to be paid by Israel. All of the Jews in the Holy Land dead. That’s their stated goal. Again, you don’t have to take my word for it. They’ve written it down!

Homicidal actors always announce what they’re going to do before they do it. Hitler and his brown shirts were unabiguously violent anti-Semitic in the 1930s. Mass murders regularly disclose their rants online or to those around them in the run-up to the massacre.

– See more at: https://savejersey.com/2014/08/israel-gaza-palestinian-rocket-attack/#sthash.FmX4QNqC.dpuf

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One of the World’s Biggest Sources of Oil Is Right Here in America

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One of the World’s Biggest Sources of Oil Is Right Here in America

Rob Nikolewski / @Watchdogorg / July 29, 2014

SANTA FE, N.M.—Oil production in New Mexico keeps on booming, and it could continue to do so for some time.

“I think the forecast is great,” said Parker Hallam, president and CEO of Crude Energy in Dallas. “I’m excited.”

The Permian Basin, located in eastern New Mexico and West Texas, recently has become one of the world’s biggest sources for crude oil.

The Bakken formation in North Dakota, the Eagle Ford “play” in South Texas and the Permian Basin are each producing more than 1 million barrels of oil per day, with the Permian leading the pack at 1.6 million barrels a day.

Domestic production has grown so large that last month, the International Energy Agency announced the United States surpassed Russia and even Saudi Arabia in oil production.

In New Mexico, field production has doubled in the past three years and is on the verge of surpassing 10 million barrels a month, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“I think the next 10 years, we can expect to see three to 3-and-a-half million [barrels a day from the Permian Basin],” Hallam said. “We could see even more than that.”

The reason?

Horizontal drilling, using hydraulic fracturing—“fracking.”

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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLASH FLOOD WARNING

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file photo Boyd Loving

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLASH FLOOD WARNING

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
311 PM EDT FRI AUG 1 2014

ROCKLAND NY-BERGEN NJ-WESTCHESTER NY-
311 PM EDT FRI AUG 1 2014

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 445 PM EDT FOR WESTCHESTER…NORTHEASTERN BERGEN AND ROCKLAND COUNTIES…

AT 307 PM EDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING OVER THE WARNED AREA. THESE STORMS REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY.

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Malaysian Plane ‘Shot Down’ With 295 On Board

Malaysia-plane

Malaysian Plane ‘Shot Down’ With 295 On Board

A flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur reportedly shot down in Ukraine is thought to have been flying in or near an unsafe zone.

A plane which crashed in eastern Ukraine with 295 people on board was reportedly shot down as it flew through or near airspace deemed unsuitable for passenger jets.

The Malaysia Airlines plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 metres) when it was shot down, Russia’s Interfax reported.

An adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry told the news agency the Boeing 777 was brought down by a Buk ground-to-air missile, killing all 280 passengers and 15 crew members.

https://news.sky.com/story/1302864/malaysian-plane-shot-down-with-295-on-board

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FLASH FLOOD WATCH

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FLASH FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
358 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014

…FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL INCREASES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT…

…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH LATE
TUESDAY NIGHT…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT…
NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK…INCLUDING THE
FOLLOWING AREAS…IN SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT…NORTHERN
FAIRFIELD…NORTHERN MIDDLESEX…NORTHERN NEW HAVEN…NORTHERN
NEW LONDON…SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD…SOUTHERN MIDDLESEX…
SOUTHERN NEW HAVEN AND SOUTHERN NEW LONDON. IN NORTHEAST NEW
JERSEY…EASTERN BERGEN…EASTERN ESSEX…EASTERN PASSAIC…
EASTERN UNION…HUDSON…WESTERN BERGEN…WESTERN ESSEX…
WESTERN PASSAIC AND WESTERN UNION. IN SOUTHEAST NEW YORK…
BRONX…KINGS (BROOKLYN)…NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)…NORTHEASTERN
SUFFOLK…NORTHERN NASSAU…NORTHERN QUEENS…NORTHERN
WESTCHESTER…NORTHWESTERN SUFFOLK…ORANGE…PUTNAM…
RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)…ROCKLAND…SOUTHEASTERN SUFFOLK…
SOUTHERN NASSAU…SOUTHERN QUEENS…SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER AND
SOUTHWESTERN SUFFOLK.

* FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT.

* MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS
THE REGION AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE
TUESDAY NIGHT. THE WARM AND VERY HUMID AIRMASS WILL MAKE FOR
THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO PRODUCE TORRENTIAL
DOWNPOURS…WITH STORM TOTAL RAINFALL BETWEEN 2 TO 3 INCHES.
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS CAN BE EXPECTED. THIS WILL INCREASE THE
FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL.

* THE MAIN POTENTIAL IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE FLOODING OF
URBANIZED AS WELL AS LOW LYING AREAS…ROADWAYS…AND IN AREAS
OF POOR DRAINAGE. IN ADDITION…SMALL STREAMS OR RIVERS MAY
EXCEED BANKFULL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

&&

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Whole Foods recalls salads in New Jersey, 2 other Northeast states

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Whole Foods recalls salads in New Jersey, 2 other Northeast states

JULY 8, 2014, 4:40 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2014, 4:40 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS  — Whole Foods is recalling two pre-packaged salads sold in three northeastern states due to a mislabeling of allergens.

The mini four-ounce containers of pre-packaged Caesar salad and Mesclun goat cheese salad were sold on July 8 in stores in New York, New Jersey (excluding Princeton, Cherry Hill and Marlton), and Connecticut (excluding Glastonbury, West Hartford and Bishop’s Corner).

The company says allergen warnings were mistakenly switched on the two items. The Caesar salad package now contains a warning about tree nuts, when it should contain a warning about fish and egg allergens, while the Mesclun salad contains a warning about fish and egg allergens.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/whole-foods-recalls-salads-in-new-jersey-2-other-northeast-states-1.1048003#sthash.n9XEIs1E.dpuf

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Student-loan debt hurts some North Jerseyans nearing retirement

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Student-loan debt hurts some North Jerseyans nearing retirement

JULY 6, 2014, 9:27 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014, 9:31 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Lingering student-loan debt — which in recent years has been a drag on the economy as borrowers delay big-ticket purchases such as homes and cars — is now beginning to affect millions as they head toward retirement.

More than 16 percent of the nearly $1.2 trillion in outstanding student-loan debt in the nation is held by people over 50, according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank. In New Jersey, the median balance of those loans is more than $16,000.


– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/student-loan-debt-hurts-some-north-jerseyans-nearling-retirement-1.1047009#sthash.np50P2lM.dpuf

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We, the people are violent and filled with rage: A nation spinning apart on its Independence Day

Tuscon shooting rampage suspect Jared Lee Loughner ruled not mentally competent to stand trial

We, the people are violent and filled with rage: A nation spinning apart on its Independence Day

School shootings, hatred, capitalism run amok: This 4th of July, we are in the midst of a tragic public derangement

JIM SLEEPER
FRIDAY, JUL 4, 2014 09:45 AM EDT

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard ’round the world.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Concord Hymn,” 1837

For centuries most Americans have believed that “the shot heard ’round the world” in 1775 from Concord, Massachusetts, heralded the Enlightenment’s entry into history. Early observers of America such as G.W.F. Hegel, Edward Gibbon and Edmund Burke believed that, too. A new kind of republican citizen was rising, amid and against adherents of theocracy, divine-right monarchy, aristocracy and mercantilism. Republican citizens were quickening humanity’s stride toward horizons radiant with promises never before held and shared as widely as they were in America.

The creation of the United States really was a Novus ordo seclorum, a New Order of the Ages, a society’s first self-aware, if fumbling and compromised, effort to live by the liberal expectation that autonomous individuals could govern themselves together without having to impose religious doctrines or mystical narratives of tribal blood or soil. With barely a decorous nod to The Creator, the founders of the American republic conferred on one another the right to have rights, a distinguished group of them constituting the others as “We, the people.”

That revolutionary effort is not just in trouble now, or endangered, or under attack, or reinventing itself. It’s in prison, with no prospect of parole, and many Americans, including me, who wring our hands or wave our arms about this are actually among the jailers, or we’ve sleepwalked ourselves and others into the cage and have locked ourselves in. We haven’t yet understood the shots fired and heard ’round the world from 74 American schools, colleges and military bases since the Sandy Hook School massacre of December 2012.

These shots haven’t been fired by embattled farmers at invading armies. They haven’t been fired by terrorists who’ve penetrated our surveillance and security systems. With few exceptions, they haven’t been fired by aggrieved non-white Americans. They’ve been fired mostly by young, white American citizens at other white citizens, and by American soldiers at other American soldiers, inside the very institutions where republican virtues and beliefs are nurtured and defended.

https://www.salon.com/2014/07/04/we_the_people_are_violent_and_filled_with_rage_a_nation_spinning_apart_on_its_independence_day/

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Dr. Fishbein: Reflecting on the school year

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Dr. Fishbein: Reflecting on the school year

JUNE 27, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY DANIEL FISHBEIN
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Each June I reflect on the many great opportunities the Ridgewood Public Schools and the Village of Ridgewood provide our youngest citizens, culminating in the Ridgewood High School graduation at the close of the school year.

While the many school-related activities are too numerous to list, here are some representative highlights from the district this past school year:

The Remedial Early Development (R.E.D.) graduation at the Glen School. This event is more than an important milestone for the students, parents and staff; it is a personal career highlight for me. Friday Friends is a fabulous program where students with special needs meet, learn and play along with their peers.

The Orchard Museum of Art (OMA). Held at Orchard Elementary School each year, the museum is a celebration of the creative process in the fine and performing arts, culminating with a performance — this year Romeo and Juliet — in the school’s unique outdoor amphitheater.

The Ridge Restaurant and 18th century encampment. Ridge Elementary School’s fifth graders open a restaurant every fall to raise money for their June promotion activities. During the school year they also participate in an 18th century encampment, spending 36 hours as recruits in the Continental Army where they sew, cook, drill, set up camp and are spectators at a musket shooting demonstration by Ridgewood Board of Education Facility Manager Steve Tichenor, who is also a military re-enactor.

Hawes ducks. Perhaps you saw the 100-plus Hawes Elementary School ducks running in the Ridgewood Memorial Day Run this year. Their inspiration comes from real-life mother duck Henrietta, who nests each spring in the school’s inner courtyard and, once the ducklings are hatched and ready to swim, marches her brood through the halls of the school, out the door and into the brook beyond.

Up mountains and under the sea at Willard. Willard Elementary School students were treated to an author visit this year by everyone’s sweetheart, “The Sound of Music’s” Julie Andrews. Students also had a Skype session with Jacque Cousteau’s grandson from his underwater lab.

Acting at Somerville. Somerville Elementary School students in kindergarten through fifth grade took action for a cause, participating in a walk for autism and raising nearly $1,000. In addition, fourth and fifth graders put on a lively production of “Shrek the Musical.”

Travel at Travell. Travell Elementary School students traveled the world at their International Expo heritage celebration featuring their community’s cultural foods, artifacts and performances. Fifth graders went to circus school for a week and put on a show highlighting the importance of teamwork and cooperation. The school readied for summer recess with a children’s book swap to encourage reading while away.

Celebrating history at GWMS. George Washington Middle School eighth graders just returned from their annual overnight trip to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The school’s sixth graders worked with Civil War re-enactors to gain a better understanding of what life was like in the nineteenth century.

Music and more at BFMS. Benjamin Franklin Middle School had a fantastic concert season, as orchestras, concert bands and choirs all performed to full-house crowds of parents and grandparents. The school community also donated more than 120 turkeys to needy families as a result of their annual Thanksgiving “turkey trot.”

RHS graduated the Class of 2014. Finally, I hope you had an opportunity to see the Ridgewood High School graduation. It is a beautiful community celebration! The real accomplishments of the Class of 2014 happen in the classroom, on stage, on the field of competition or in a studio. Ninety-one percent of the Class of 2014 will attend a four-year college or university this fall. Five percent are headed to two-year colleges. The balance is headed to work, the armed forces or taking a “gap” year.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/reflecting-on-the-school-year-1.1042467#sthash.dHZlvuJC.dpuf

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Nothing like a little sour grapes…

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Nothing like a little sour grapes…

Valley supporters continue to attack this blog and the the “mean spirited anonymous posters ” for their utter failure to aggrandize them selfs with an over sized monstrosity .

The Ridgewood Planning Board summed it up best ,“The impacts from this amendment are detrimental to the community,” end of story.

We are told the failure of this plan had nothing to do with the fact that it was ill advised, ill planned, and poorly executed . 

And that Valley and its supporters behaved  behaved like a bunch of spoiled 2 year old brats with their  ,gimme gimme gimme attitude .  

Valley in it unlimited arrogance even when as far as to demand the Village comply with their business plan. Apparently that included destroying the character of the Village.

Valley supporters even went as far as to purchase anonymous IP’s from hacker and spammer sites  so as to attack residents on this blog  I remind you of all the “thats what happens when you buy cheap houses near a hospital”  posts .

And while we would love to take al the credit , for blocking the ill suited expansion , groups like CRR  did most of the heavy lifting .

The fact that a $100 million dollar hospital could not get this done says far more about management and strategy than anonymous posts .

Unlike the sports people who love send derogatory emails to peoples employers or the schools system that picks on your kids if you speak out of line , the Ridgewood blog has not engaged in any of this “COWARDLY” behavior.
Posters can remain anonymous to protect them selves  from unscrupulous bullies , like the RBSA , BOE and Valley Hospital .
cry me a river>>>>>next time do your job!

Microsoft Store

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A Majority of Young Adults Are Having Kids Outside Marriage. Why That Hurts Kids’ Futures.

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had a baby together before getting married. (Photo: Judy Eddy/WENN/Newscom)

A Majority of Young Adults Are Having Kids Outside Marriage. Why That Hurts Kids’ Futures.

Rachel Sheffield June 21, 2014

Rachel Sheffield focuses on welfare, marriage and family, and education as policy analyst in the DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.

Among young adults, first comes baby, then (maybe) comes marriage. This increasingly is the new normal.

According to a new study from Johns Hopkins University, 57 percent of mothers between 26 and 31 are unmarried when their child is born

But not all young adults are having kids outside of marriage. Instead, the key factor appears to be whether a young woman has attended college.

Among mothers without a high school degree, 63 percent of births occur outside marriage. But among college educated young women, 71 percent of births occur within marriage.

Unfortunately, these differences have consequences. “The U.S. is steadily separating into a two-caste system with marriage and education as the dividing line,” says my colleague Robert Rector.

“In the high-income third of the population, children are raised by married parents with a college education. In the bottom-income third, children are raised by single parents with a high school degree or less.”

Similarly, the authors of the Hopkins study found that “American society is moving toward two different patterns of family formation and two diverging destinies for children.”

But one of those destinies is far less promising, leaving a significant portion of the nation’s next generation with less opportunity.

Children in single-parent homes are more than five times as likely to experience poverty. That isn’t simply because of their parents’ generally lower education level. Even parents with lower levels of education are at far less risk of poverty if they are married.

Children raised by their married, biological parents have other advantages. They are more likely to graduate from high school or college, less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors and less likely to become single parents themselves.

So why do many young adults then still have children outside of marriage?

It’s not because they’re anti-marriage: Research suggests that young, single mothers are not hostile to marriage. Yet they don’t believe it is necessary to marry prior to having children. Rather than seeing marriage as a step to achieving a stable family and social mobility, they view it as a capstone that occurs after they have arrived.

Still, , young men and women don’t seem to understand the consequences of the breakdown of marriage. Thus, the first step would be to get the message out about the importance of marriage in building stable families and communities, particularly in areas where this stability is not the norm.

Additionally, leaders at every level should engage in finding ways to strengthen and maintain healthy families. Examples of this include high schools in Alabama that have taught relationship education courses to youth, the community healthy marriage initiative in Chattanooga, Tenn., that provides relationship education and other resources to couples and families, or the state healthy marriage initiative in Oklahoma that operates marriage and relationship education programs for lower-income couples.

Restoring a culture of marriage is crucial to today’s generation and to the generations they will raise. The goal for all individuals, families, churches, communities and policymakers should be to give every child–regardless of economic background–the greatest opportunity to be reared by their mother and father in a stable married relationship.

https://dailysignal.com/2014/06/21/majority-young-adults-kids-outside-marriage-hurts-kids-futures/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

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Trenton’s Broken Record

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Trenton’s Broken Record
Jun. 19  
By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog

“This plan is not only a matter of fairness and responsibility with pension payments, it is really about the full range of government services and opportunities, including such things as property tax relief, college affordability, public schools, law enforcement, transportation and many more priority needs,” NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney said on Wednesday as he rolled out his counter-proposal to Governor Chris Christie’s budget. “We have to maintain the state’s commitment to all New Jersey residents by meeting all of our commitments. This is a fair and responsible plan that will help meet those needs as it restores balance to the budget in a fiscally responsible way.”

So in all the years and administrations prior to Christie being governor, the 154 tax increases, raising the state sales tax from 6% to 7%, a 4% corporate tax surcharge, a 25% increase in liquor taxes, increased taxes for the citizens of New Jersey by over $10 billion dollars, an increase in the Realty Transfer Tax of $62 million on the state level, another $22 million on the county level, along with another $8 million tax on the lottery. . . Senator Sweeney now suddenly believes we need a fair and responsible plan?

What happened to all of the revenue that was already collected?

Even the promised tax rebate disappeared. On average, property taxes went up 55 percent statewide from the prior seven years before Corzine and another 20 percent when Corzine took office, and Corzine left us a $2.2 billion shortfall that existed when Christie took office on Jan. 19, 2010.

And Senator Sweeney decides now is the time to meet the commitments of the residents? Why is it that more is never enough in this state?

– See more at: https://savejersey.com/2014/06/new-jersey-budget-sweeney/#sthash.VrJfTZ1d.dpuf

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The good school-expensive home dilemma

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The good school-expensive home dilemma
June 13, 2014, 10:00 a.m. EDT

Peter and Megan Dale of San Francisco say their two-bedroom condominium in Cole Valley, just south of the Haight-Ashbury District, is starting to feel cramped; their two school-aged children share a single room. But they have no plans to leave the condo, which they bought for $990,000 in 2007. The reason: The nearby public school is rated a “9” out of 10 by GreatSchools.org, an Oakland, Calif.-based education-advice website.

A good local school can be one of the biggest drivers of home prices in a community. And parents hoping to get their children the best education possible are often willing to stretch their finances for a pricey home in a good school district, sometimes taking out ambitious loans. When the Dales bought their condo, they took out an interest-only jumbo mortgage that allowed them to put down just 3% instead of the usual 20%. When the market fell, they briefly found themselves underwater on the home. And they face hefty payments ahead when their loan resets to a principal and interest payment. Mr. Dale, a 42-year-old software designer, says the headaches are worth it for the great school and a short commute to his Montgomery Street office: “Some things are just more important than money,” he said.

In the past year, relatively low rates for jumbo loans have made buying in expensive school districts a little easier for some borrowers. Even so, some jumbo borrowers say they have trouble competing in markets where cash-only deals are commonplace. Anna Sikha, who lives in San Francisco with her husband, needed jumbo financing when they shopped for a home in the same neighborhood as the Dales in the hope of getting their 3-year-old son into same school. They lost out on several homes to all-cash buyers. “We were constantly getting outbid. It was so depressing that we thought about renting,” Mrs. Sikha, who works for a biotechnology company, said. Ultimately, they bought a condo in the neighborhood for $1.25 million, with the help of a jumbo loan.

Mark Livingstone, president of Cornerstone First Financial, a mortgage broker in Washington, D.C’s Georgetown neighborhood says he often needs to write aggressive preapproval letters for his jumbo-loan clients that waive appraisals and financing contingencies in neighborhoods such as Bethesda, Md., that have highly rated public schools. “Families are willing to pay more for a home to get into a well-rated public school. They see themselves saving $10,000 to $20,000 year in private-school tuition,” Mr. Livingstone said.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-good-school-expensive-home-dilemma-2014-06-13?mod=latestnewssocialflow&link=sfmw