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Assemblyman Auth : “It’s time to give the taxpayers an opportunity to catch their collective breath”

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Cresskill NJ, Assemblyman Auth’s Response to Governor Murphy’s State of the State Address :

I am extremely disappointed with Governor Murphy’s lack of a plan for the future of New Jersey. While the State is choking on excessive regulation, unparalleled taxes, and profligate spending; Governor Murphy has decided to double down.

In his speech he listed programs on ad infinitum without a plan to pay for his utopian dream. Eventually, we all know who will bare the brunt of that future bill.

Instead of finger pointing at the President and our former Governor, our new Governor, needs to remember that many of the successes that he took credit for today were the direct result of the past administration. If he truly wants to help the citizenry of our State, he needs to re-think his agenda and work closely with legislators who want to emphasize property tax relief and a reduction in extravagant spending. It’s time to give the taxpayers an opportunity to catch their collective breath.

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CRESSKILL MAN CHARGED IN THE NOVEMBER 10th HIT AND RUN IN TENAFLY

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Tenafly NJ, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced the arrest of PETER J. LEE (DOB: 11/26/1956; divorced; and self-employed as a garment salesman) of 606 Cottonwood Court, Cresskill, NJ for assault By Auto and Leaving the Scene of A Motor Vehicle Collision in Tenafly, NJ. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti and the Tenafly Police Department under the direction of Chief Robert Chamberlain.

Continue reading CRESSKILL MAN CHARGED IN THE NOVEMBER 10th HIT AND RUN IN TENAFLY

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Cresskill Women Steals Over $1Million from Business in Check Forgery Scheme

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August 7,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Cresskill NJ, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced the arrest of TINA MADISON (DOB: 01/02/1962; married; unemployed) of 24 Poplar Street, Cresskill, NJ on Theft By Deception, Forgery, Records Tampering, and Money Laundering charges. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti.

In July 2018, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit received a complaint that Tina MADISON was suspected of forging and cashing checks from the account of her Bergen County-based employer.

An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit revealed that between 2010 and July of 2018, Tina MADISON, who was working as an administrative assistant at a Bergen County business, had gained access to her employer’s checking account and written checks which she negotiated for her own benefit. Tina MADISON forged the writing, signatures, and endorsements on the checks. To negotiate the checks, she either cashed them with a forged endorsement or deposited them into her own business bank account from which she withdrew cash. To conceal the theft, MADISON altered the victim’s bank statements which she would then file for record keeping purposes. The total theft by Tina MADISON was in excess of $1,000,000.

Tina MADISON was arrested on August 3, 2018 in Cresskill, NJ and charged with one count of Financial Facilitation Of Criminal Activity, with the amount involved being greater than $500,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25b(2)(a), a crime of the 1st degree; one count of Theft By Deception, with the amount involved being greater than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4, a crime of the 2nd degree; one count of Forgery Of A Check, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1a(2), a crime of the 3rd degree; and one count of Falsifying Or Tampering With Records, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-4a, a crime of the 4th degree. Tina MADISON is scheduled for a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at 8:30 a.m.Acting Prosecutor Calo states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) service Extenting into Bergen County

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July 5,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

What is Northern Branch?

The Northern Branch is a freight rail line owned by CSX Transportation that runs through Hudson and Bergen Counties to the New York State Border. The Northern Branch Corridor, through which the rail line traverses, is a densely settled suburban environment that has not been served by passenger rail since the discontinuation of service on the Northern Branch and West Shore Lines in the 1950s and 60s.

The Northern Branch Corridor Project calls for transit improvements in northeastern Hudson and southeastern Bergen Counties through the restoration of passenger rail service on an existing freight rail line. The electric light rail service would operate on West Side Avenue in North Bergen, and then on existing railroad right-of-way owned by CSX Transportation (CSX) between 91st Street in North Bergen and the northern border of Englewood and would introduce new station stops in North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and Englewood.

Project Planning
The growth of automobile usage and accompanying roadway congestion in recent decades led planners and officials to search for solutions to the growing traffic problems in the Bergen County area. In the mid-1990s the West Shore Region Study provided a comprehensive examination of multi-modal opportunities throughout Bergen County, New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. Recommended for further study was an extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) from 85th Street in North Bergen along the Northern Branch to Tenafly, New Jersey.

The Northern Branch Corridor DEIS was prepared by NJ TRANSIT in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to evaluate the benefits, costs and social, economic and environmental impacts of constructing and operating passenger rail service on the Northern Branch. The DEIS evaluated two Build Alternatives: the Preferred Alternative, which extended existing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) service from North Bergen to the Tenafly-Cresskill border, and a similar HBLR extension that terminated at Route 4 in Englewood.

The DEIS was published in November 2011, and can be reviewed here: Northern Branch DEIS.

Public hearings were held in January 2012, and the public comment period closed on February 21, 2012. More than 1,200 comments were received and reviewed by NJ TRANSIT. While many comments expressed support for the service, residents and community leaders in Tenafly were strongly opposed to the extension of service into their community. After considering the comments, FTA and NJ TRANSIT have developed a new alignment that would extend HBLR service from North Bergen to Englewood Hospital, which is north of Route 4 and south of Tenafly. Light rail service would not extend past Englewood.

This new alignment results in changes to the service plan and potential environmental and social impacts explored in the DEIS circulated for comment in 2012. As a result, this new alignment and associated changes have been analyzed in a Supplemental DEIS (SDEIS) and circulated for public comment and agency feedback in a process closely approximating the one undertaken for the DEIS.
The SDEIS was published on March 24, 2017, and can be reviewed here: Northern Branch SDEIS.

Similar to a DEIS, an SDEIS requires a public hearing and public comment period. The comments on the SDEIS and DEIS will be addressed together in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). A 60-day public comment period will follow the notice of availability (NOA) of the SDEIS, during which time NJ TRANSIT will hold a public hearing. Comments will be collected and reviewed in the same manner as conducted for the DEIS. Provided that the SDEIS comments do not present compelling arguments for substantial revision to the SDEIS Preferred Alternative, an FEIS will be prepared, incorporating the SDEIS findings and unchanged elements from the DEIS. A response to comments chapter will be included in the FEIS, addressing all comments received during the prior two comment periods.

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CHANGES TO NJ TRANSIT BUS SERVICE IN HACKENSACK TAKE EFFECT ON APRIL 7

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April 2,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  of the City of Hackensack, NJ TRANSIT bus service in that city will have slight adjustments to bus routes and/or stops which take place effective April 7.

All NJ TRANSIT bus service will be moved off of Main Street between Court and Passaic streets and will no longer operate through that area. These changes are the result of the City of Hackensack’s implementation of the next phase of their Main Street streetscape and redevelopment project.

Certain NJ TRANSIT bus routes will see some adjustments to their routes in Hackensack as the city makes improvements to enhance pedestrian safety and improve traffic flow. Customers who normally board their bus along Main Street will now board their bus along State or River streets.

The bus routes that will have slight adjustments are: 83 (to Jersey City), 165 (to Westwood), 168 (to New York and to Paramus), 751/755 (to Paramus), 752/770 (to Ridgewood/Oakland/Paterson), 753 (to New Milford/Cresskill and to Paramus), 762 (to Paramus), 772 (to Meadowlands and to Paramus) and 780 to Passaic and to Englewood). The 76 and 712 bus routes will have slight changes to a few bus stops.

Northbound bus service currently operating along Main Street will be relocated to State Street and River Street.

The trip destination signs seen on the front of the bus will not be affected.

Fares and the frequency of service will not change.

Customers are encouraged to sign up for My Transit Alerts, which provide customized notifications via email or text messages based on a customer’s preferences. My Transit alerts can be accessed by creating a free account on njtransit.com. Real-time bus arrival information is available through MyBus, using the five-digit code at the bus stop.

A “Hackensack’s Main Street’’ brochure, which highlights individual route and bus stop locations, is available in printed form and for viewing at njtransit.com.

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Ridgewood High School All Set for #NationalSchoolWalkout initiative

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March 11,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Nice to see the $105,000,000 school budget not go to waste and of coarse its always a please seeing adults use children for political purposes . The #NationalSchoolWalkout initiative is promoted by Women’s March Youth Empower. The national walkout is to take place March 14 at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes—one for each person who killed on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus on Valentine’s Day. Per the group’s web page, other participating high schools in Bergen County include Hackensack High School, Paramus High School, Lyndhurst High School, Fusion Academy in Englewood, Paramus Catholic High School, Ridgewood High School, Emerson Junior/Senior High School, Tenafly High School, Cresskill High School, Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, and Mahwah High School.

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John McCann Announces His Candidacy for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District

2John McCann Announces His Candidacy for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District

November 30,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ ,  Surrounded by his family and hundreds of supporters at VFW Post 6699 in Paramus, John McCann announced his candidacy for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District.

John J. McCann is a conservative leader who has successfully fought for conservative principles at every level of government. A resident of Oakland, McCann is General Counsel to the New Jersey Sheriffs Association and former Cresskill Councilman. In addition, John served as Counsel to the Bergen County Sheriff and he was involved in the effort to defeat HillaryCare in the United States Senate.

“I am working to protect the American Dream for people who work hard and play by the rules to help create jobs and opportunity for all Americans, and to safeguard the freedoms that are under attack by liberal politicians in Washington,” said McCann.

A practicing attorney, John McCann advises Sheriffs across the state on both legal and policy issues as General Counsel to the New Jersey Sheriffs Association. During his career, McCann has been a legal advisor for many Chiefs of Police, as well as serving as General Counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation in New York City. In 2010, McCann helped elect the first Bergen County Republican Sheriff in nine years and then he served as General Counsel for the Sheriff of Bergen County, where he played an integral role keeping the office’s budget below the rate of inflation. John was credited with saving taxpayers over a million dollars in inmate medical spending, while at the same time drafting and implementing a new family leave policy that dramatically reduced overtime costs. Most significantly, he is recognized for shepherding through a legal strategy that eliminated a redundant law enforcement agency in Bergen County, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

“Voters are tired of words without action. We need to elect people who have a track record of actual success,” said McCann. “Throughout my career, I’ve worked to protect taxpayers, keep our community safe and defend the Constitution.”

As a candidate for office in 1995, McCann first proposed a 2% property tax cap for New Jersey and, while serving on the town council in Cresskill, John fought against 10% municipal pay increases. On the town council, John worked to build a recreation center without any taxpayer money, which continues to operate solely through the fees it generates. As a Fellow working in the United States Senate in 1993-94, John McCann created the chart that helped shift public opinion in opposition to President Clinton’s proposed HillaryCare legislation.

“My campaign is to create a more affordable future for families in New Jersey,” McCann said. “The liberal agenda pushed by lifelong bureaucrat Josh Gottheimer isn’t right for New Jersey, and isn’t right for the people of the 5th congressional district.”

“John McCann is the right candidate to bring the republicans back in control of the 5th district,” said Ginnie Littell, Former Republican State Chairman.
John and his wife, Sharon, have been married for 27 years. They raised their two daughters in Cresskill and now reside in Oakland. Sharon is a high-risk obstetrician who has delivered thousands of babies who may not have made it to term. She has repeatedly received New York Magazine’s “New York’s Best Doctors” award in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Their daughters currently attend Georgetown University and Fordham University. In 1981, while on duty working for Brinks, John’s father was shot in a holdup perpetrated by people associated with domestic terrorism.

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Ridgewood Public Schools Ranked 13th in Niche.com New Jersey School Rankings

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January 18,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The 2017 Best School Districts ranking is based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, public school district ratings, and more.

Niche bills itself as a website that helps you discover the schools and neighborhoods that are right for you. We rigorously analyze dozens of public data sets and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards, and profiles for every K-12 school, college, and neighborhood in the U.S.

Their ranking system assesses 10,364 U.S. public school districts. The same methodology is used to produce the Overall Niche Grade for each ranked school district as well as additional school districts. Statistics obtained from the U.S. Department of Education represent the most recent data available, usually from 2014–2016, as self-reported by the school districts.

They rated Tenafly Public Schools number 6,Fair Lawn School District 15th, Glen Rock Public School District 19th,
Pascack Valley Regional High School District 27, Mahwah Township Public Schools 28,Park Ridge Public Schools 33,Cresskill Public School District 35, and Paramus Public Schools 39.

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YWCA Bergen County October Vacation Day Program Includes Fun Trips for Kids

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September 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on October 3rd and October 12th. Trips and activities include FunPlex, Aqua Adventures and Lentini Farms. Transportation is included. For complete details, please visitwww.ywcabergencounty.org/mSIqO.

The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $70 per child per day for families that are currently participating in YWCA Before or After School programs, and $90 for non-participating families. Advance registration is required. To register call 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms.

YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. An after kindergarten program is available in Oradell. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.

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Newsweek releases its 2016 Rankings of Nation’s Best Public High Schools

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August 12,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, in Newsweek’s annual ranking of public high schools 51 in N.J. made the cut. Noticeable absent was Ridgewood High School and Tenafly High School.

Ridgewood’s slip has not gone unnoticed, as many long time residents have commented ,” Years ago it was ranked highly in the nation.  It fell from that to being ranked highly in the state, then down to County level and now basically is ranked no where. ”

Newsweek looked at six measurements and weighted them to come up with a “college readiness index.” The rankings are meant to show how well high schools do at preparing students for college.

Those measurements and their weight are:

Holding power: 10 percent
Ratio of counselor/full-time equivalent to student enrollment: 10 percent
Weighted SAT/ACT: 17.5 percent
Weighted AP/IB/dual enrollment composite: 17.5 percent
Graduation rate: 20 percent
College enrollment rate: 25 percent

Here’s a look at all of the New Jersey high schools that made Newsweek’s list and where they came in on the national list (in parentheses):

(2) Academy for Math, Science and Engineering, Rockaway
(4) Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains
(10) Middlesex Cty Acad. for Sci,, Math, & Engineering Tech., Edison
(11) Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
(12) Academy of Allied Health and Science, Neptune
(14) Biotechnology High School, Freehold
(20) High Technology High School, Lincroft
(21) Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Scotch Plains
(23) Academy for Information Technology, Scotch Plains
(27) Communications High School, Wall
(31) Middlesex County Academy for Allied Health & Biomedical Sciences, Woodbridge
(40) Chatham High School, Chatham
(41) Bergen County Technical High School – Teterboro, Teterboro
(67) Westfield High School, Westfield
(71) Ridge High School, Basking Ridge
(76) Summit High School, Summit
(84) Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, Manahawkin
(88) Bernards High School, Bernardsville
(91) Holmdel High School, Holmdel
(108) Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, Bridgewater
(112) Moorestown High School, Moorestown
(115) Madison High School, Madison
(127) John P Stevens High School, Edison
(131) Watchung Hills Regional High School, Warren
(137) Glen Rock High School, Glen Rock
(144) Rumson-Fair Haven Regional HS, Rumson
(158) Morris County School of Technology, Denville
(181) Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands
(189) Union County Vocational Technical High School, Scotch Plains
(192) Governor Livingston High School, Berkeley Heights
(198) Montville Township High School, Montville
(203) Academy for Performing Arts, Scotch Plains
(210) Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Scotch Plains
(217) Hillsborough High School, Hillsborough
(222 Wayne Hills High School, Wayne
(226) Allentown High School, Allentown
(227) Northern Valley Regional High School Old Tappan, Old Tappan
(233) North Hunterdon-Voorhees, Annandale
(234) Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Demarest
(237) Pequannock Township High School, Pompton Plains
(365) Hanover Park High School, East Hanover
(366) Mahwah High School, Mahwah
(377) Cranford High School, Cranford
(383) Livingston High School, Livingston
(417) Wayne Valley High School, Wayne
(421) Marlboro High School, Marlboro
(425) Cresskill High School, Cresskill
(429) Whippany Park High School, Whippany
(473) Kinnelon High School, Kinnelon
(482) Mount Olive High School, Flanders
(497) Middletown HS South, Middletown

https://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2016

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Population rebounds around train stations in New Jersey

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By CHRISTOPHER MAAG

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — When Kevin Eleby started commuting by train to New York City in 2001, the station in downtown Paterson was nearly empty. Every morning he climbed the stairs to the platform to wait alongside three other riders.

Nearly a decade passed. A few new people started showing up. Then a few more. A few weeks ago, when his train rushed into the station at 7:39 a.m., Eleby was surrounded by a crowd of 45 people.

“This place was deserted. Now you come up here and it’s full. Look at all these people!” said Eleby, 48, a Paterson resident who works in information technology for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. “It’s a big change,” he told The Record (https://bit.ly/1V8CxLm).

It’s a change that’s taking place across New Jersey and in some of the nation’s largest metropolitan regions. During the housing boom of the early 2000s, New Jersey’s population grew by 2.8 percent, but car-dependent suburbs saw their populations grow by 4.1 percent, according to a study by Tim Evans, research director at New Jersey Future, which advocates for transit-oriented development.

Meanwhile, neighborhoods within a half-mile of a transit station barely grew at all.

Then came the 2008 recession — and a major shift in population and commuting patterns.

Statewide, population growth slowed, dropping to 1.5 percent from 2008 through 2014, the latest year for which data is available. Car-oriented suburbs grew at roughly the same rate.

But during the same period, transit-oriented neighborhoods saw their population surge. Since the recession, they have accounted for 38.3 percent of the population growth in New Jersey, Evans found.

“It’s really dramatic, actually, how little these transit places were growing before 2008 and now they’re growing really quickly,” Evans said. “And the outlying counties that were the locus of sprawl are now losing population.

In Bergen and Passaic counties, many older suburbs grew up along train lines, and many newer ones are dependent on cars. That means the change in population patterns is not as stark here as elsewhere around the state, Evans said.

Yet the pattern holds. Most car-based municipalities in North Jersey continued to grow after 2008, but at a slower pace than before the recession, Evans said. Places like Montvale, Cresskill, Upper Saddle River in Bergen County; Wanaque in Passaic County; and Pompton Plains in Morris County all saw their growth rates stagnate.

But many transit-oriented neighborhoods grew. In Bergen County, Fair Lawn, Lyndhurst, Garfield, Ridgewood and Glen Rock all went from losing population before the recession to gaining population since 2008.

https://www.hastingstribune.com/population-rebounds-around-train-stations-in-new-jersey/article_ff935216-b5aa-523a-b990-256991a56ce6.html

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YWCA Bergen County April Vacation Day Program Includes Fun Trips for Kids

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April 4,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on April 11th through 15th from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Trips and activities include Bowling, FunPlex, Jump On In, Planet 301 and Movies. Transportation and lunch is included. For complete details, please visit https://www.ywcabergencounty.org/programs/youth-services/vacation-day-program/.

The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $65 per child per day for families that are current YWCA members, and $85 for non-members. Advance registration is required by Tuesday, April 5, 2016.

Forms not received by deadline cannot be guaranteed and will be charged a late fee of $25. To register call Mary Agnello at 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms.

YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.

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Bergen GOP to Run DOC, FBI Alum Against “Double Dipper” Saudino for Sheriff

Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino

“Double Dipper” Saudino for Sheriff

By Alyana Alfaro | 02/29/16 3:41pm

Alfonso is running for sheriff in Bergen County.

Manuel Alfonso of Cresskill announced at Thursday’s Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) Lincoln Dinner that he is pursuing the nomination for sheriff.

Alfonso’s entrance into the race follows current Sheriff Michael Saudino’s party switch. The former Republican announced in January that he would be pursuing reelection as a Democrat. That departure left Bergen’s Republican Party scrambling in an effort to fill Saudino’s spot on the ballot. Enter Alfonso, a 26-year Department of Corrections and law enforcement veteran who also on an FBI joint terrorism task force for five years.

Though Alfonso has not been involved in politics or run for office before, he says he is excited to enter the fray.

“What made me decide was I was tired of sitting down and complaining and seeing a level of mismanagement that is unwarranted and unneeded and no one doing anything about it,” Alfonso said. “I decided to put myself in the mix and do something about it. I decided to do some research and I was dumbfounded. I come from a department that is significantly bigger and I can’t justify those expenses, especially the overtime budget.”

https://politickernj.com/2016/02/bergen-gop-to-run-doc-fbi-alum-against-saudino-for-sherriff/

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A Capella competition set for Jan. 23 at Northern Highlands

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JANUARY 19, 2016    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016, 3:41 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
TOWN JOURNAL

A Cappella groups from around Bergen County and the greater Tri-State Area are gearing up for the quarterfinal round of the International Championship of High School a Cappella (ICHSA) taking place at Northern Highlands Regional High School on Jan. 23.

Locally, groups representing Cresskill, Ridgewood, Paramus and host Northern Highlands will put their voices to the test against a number of schools from both New Jersey and New York.

The ICHSA Mid-Atlantic Regional competition will feature two rounds this year due to a boost in the number of high schools participating in the competition. The top three finishing groups on Saturday will compete in the semifinal round on March 19.

“It’s kind of exploding,” said Tom Paster, the director of the Northern Highlands group Highlands Voices, which has won the regional competition for the past five years in a row.

One of those newcomers is a group known as The Octaves, a collection of vocalists from Paramus High School.

The Octaves stand in contrast with many of the groups competing as it is completely run by its students. Junior Victoria Marchlewski handles the musical arrangements and vocal parts while Blu Frankel, a senior, runs the meetings and rehearsals.

“They’re pretty much in charge,” said Amanda Faley, the original advisor to the group. “They run the meetings, send out messages, practice at houses on weekends and meet in my room or the auditorium during the week to rehearse and put stuff together.”

The Octaves are still a relatively young group, only about nine months old. They were formed during the spring in the last school year and were able to enter the A Cappella Festival at Northern Highlands last April. Right away, the nascent group was sharing the stage with high school groups from northern and central New Jersey as well as Casual Harmony from Rutgers University.

Since then, The Octaves have performed at other small functions around Paramus, such as the Relay for Life event at Bergen Community College, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a senior citizen breakfast at Paramus High School, but the big focus for the students has been the ICHSA competition.

“[The students] are so mature and so responsible,” said Faley. “A lot of teams, they have these big musical coaches who went to places like Julliard. They have professionals hired doing these things with these groups. I’m not making any arrangements or choreographing for them, which is really cool.”

Over at Ridgewood High School, both men’s and women’s groups are feverishly preparing sets of their own. Ridgewood will be sending both the Maroon Men and the Acabellas to the competition.

“The kids are doing well,” said Steven Bourque, the director of both groups. “They’re working hard and I have for the first time some student arrangements. Kids within the group arranged music for the competition.”

Bourque said the students are in the midst of working out an optimal visual component to go along with the songs. Bourque said the Maroon Men tend to favor rock and roll songs while the Acabellas gravitate more toward slower, more powerful songs.

“It’s figuring out how to create formations that are interesting, that don’t involve a lot of movement and getting it to be represent each song that we are singing,” said Bourque.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/a-capella-competition-set-for-jan-23-at-northern-highlands-1.1494859

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Ridgewood High School Ranked 28th best in the State

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2016 Best Public High Schools Ranking

November 24,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Niche put out its 2016 Best Public High Schools ranking providing a comprehensive assessment of the overall experience of a public high school. This grade takes into account key factors such as the strength of academics, quality of teachers, school resources, the quality of student life, as well as student and parent reviews, in an attempt to measure the overall excellence of the school.

Factors considered were, Academics Grade, Health & Safety Grade, Parent/Student Surveys on Overall Experience , Student Culture & Diversity Grade, Teachers Grade, Resources & Facilities Grade , Extracurriculars & Activities Grade, Sports & Fitness Grade.

Ridgewood Placed 28th in the state of New Jersey and some of our neighbors ; Tenafly High School came in 33rd, Pascack Valley High School 36th, Cresskill High School 42nd,Glen Rock High School 43, Ramapo High School 54 and River Dell Regional High School 67th .

the List : https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/s/new-jersey/