>WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM EDT SATURDAY.
MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY SNOW AND SLEET WILL LIKELY CHANGE TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN THIS EVENING. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL RANGE FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES BEFORE THE ACCUMULATING SNOW ENDS LATER TONIGHT. UP TO A HALF INCH OF ICE ACCRETION FROM FREEZING RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE… MAKING DRIVING AND WALKING CONDITIONS QUITE HAZARDOUS.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW… SLEET… AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.
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>BOARD APPROVES PRELIM BUDGET – The Board of Education at its March 12, 2007, meeting approved a preliminary budget for the 2007-2008 school year to be submitted to the Bergen County Superintendent. The public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, 2007. The budget calls for $79,404,637 in expenditures, which represents a 3.5 percent increase in the tax levy. For the average Ridgewood home owner, whose home is assessed at $473,330, the budget represents an increase of $289. The Board also approved a Second Question to be placed on the ballot for voter approval along with the budget. The Second Question covers the replacement of outdated equipment at Ridgewood High School. The total is $669,087 for the new technology and would cost the average home owner an additional $80.29. Elements of the preliminary budget are subject to change. The final budget will not be available until the public hearing on March 27. The Annual School Election and Budget Vote is Tuesday, April, 17, 2007. Polls are open from 7 AM to 9 PM. Please vote!
PUBLIC COMMENT POLICY – The Board is considering a new public comment policy to replace the one that expired last month. The new policy reads, “In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board shall provide for two periods of public comment at all regular meetings. At all meetings the public comment periods will be scheduled at approximately 7:30 PM and approximately 9 PM or just prior to the end of the meeting, whichever occurs first. The first opportunity for public comment may be limited by the presiding officer to conclude at about 8 PM in order for the Board to continue with its scheduled agenda. The second opportunity for public comment will occur at about 9 PM at the discretion of the presiding officer taking into consideration a break point in the agenda.” The second reading and final adoption of the policy will take place at the next Board meeting.
>MC AVEY LLC – An amended application for the development of property at 237 Godwin Avenue, Block 2202 Lot 20 in an R-3 zone. Applicant is seeking approval for a re-orientated, two-lot subdivision with the proposed lots facing on Godwin Avenue instead of South Monroe Street. The uses will be as follows: the existing three family house now located on the property will be modified to two family use, (proposed lot 20.02) which is permitted in the zone and the vacant Bozzo house located at 54 South Monroe Street, Lot 21, Block 2403, moved to the proposed new corner lot (lot 20.01), remaining a single family home. The net result will be a reduction from the four dwelling unit proposal currently before the Board to a three dwelling unit proposal permitted by the regulations. Variances for lot 20.01 are as follows: Front yard setback will be 17 feet where 40 feet is the minimum required, building height will be 33.3 feet where 30 feet is the maximum permitted. Variances for Lot 20.02 are as follows: Coverage by improvements within 140 feet of the front lot line will be 47.6% and coverage by improvements for the total lot will be 46.6% where 45% is the maximum permitted for both.
>Registration opens March 1st for the next season – September to November 2007 for children 1st to 12th grades. A variety of programs are offered for all skill levels. Please go to www.ridgewoodsoccer.org for details. To access online registration system visit www.ridgewoodsports.org. Only credit card payments will be accepted this year. After May 1st a $50 late fee will be assessed and travel players will be put on a wait list to determine space availability.
> Ridgewood BOE members will meet on Monday, March 12 at @ 7:30 p.m. in the Education Center on Cottage Place to adopt a tentative 2007-2008 budget for submission to the County Superintendent.
> Starting in 2007, daylight time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time, which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time. These dates were established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. no. 109-58, 119 Stat 594 (2005).
Not all places in the U.S. observe daylight time. In particular, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use it. Indiana adopted its use beginning in 2006.
In 2006, daylight time begins on April 2 and ends on October 29.
In 2007, daylight time begins on March 11 and ends on November 4. [New law goes into effect.]
In 2008, daylight time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2.
Many other countries observe some form of “summer time”, but they do not necessarily change their clocks on the same dates as the U.S.
Daylight time and time zones in the U.S. are defined in the U.S. Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX – Standard Time.
History of Daylight Time in the U.S. Although standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight time became a local matter. It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 20 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.
During the “energy crisis” years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time. In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time was not subject to such changes, and remained the last Sunday in October. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007, daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
For a very readable account of the history of standard and daylight time in the U.S., see
Ian R. Bartky and Elizabeth Harrison: “Standard and Daylight-saving Time”, Scientific American, May 1979 (Vol. 240, No. 5), pp. 46-53.
>Although no professional engineering study has been undertaken, Mayor Dave Pfund has publicly insisted that repairing and restoring the Pease Library building would cost taxpayers $1 million. Mayor Pfund has also publicly indicated his reluctance to issue municipal bonds that would cover such costs.
Knowing that Mayor Pfund and Village Manager Jim Ten Hoeve don’t want to spend $1 million to fix things up at Pease, could they be considering swapping the Pease property for 120 Franklin Avenue (The Town Garage), which Mr. Wells now owns? Cost avoidance of $1 million at Pease could justify swapping the Garber Square location for a property of lesser value.
If a property swap is indeed being considered, some potential issues for the Mayor and Village Manager to think about:
What happens to the E911 center now in Pease’s lower level? Would they pay rent to Wells, or move to a municipally owned location? Is there a way for the Village to ensure that Wells wouldn’t eventually demolish the landmark building and replace it with something modern? How would public access to Pease (if left standing) be guaranteed if the Village didn’t own it?
>Oh great…The Hummmmmer is back. He is always good for some intelligent comments…
Several posts above have asked you conspiracy theorists to explain what is so illicit, shady, unlawful, unethical, or whatever else you think it may be, about this transaction. So far not one of you has presented a clear explanation. All you idiots do is spead innuendo.
Here’s a radical idea…maybe Wells saw an opportunity to make a quick buck.
Comsider this. The Angellos won’t move without a new site. The Village Council can’t make such a land swap as part of their offer. Wells recognizes this and steps in with a deal that satisfies the Angellos by offering a lower price than the Village’s offer, but includes a long term lease at a new site that actually saves the Angellos money and improves their cash flow. Now Wells owns the Town Garage property and is free to sell it to the Village at their original offer price for a quick $400-500K profit. Meanwhile he collects rent from the Angellos at their new site for the next ten years.
I don’t know if this is what happened. But, if it did, all you could say about Wells is that he is a shrewd businessman, who had the foresight and financing to make it happen. By the way, if it went down this way, the Village’s interests were served because they needed a private partner to offer a land swap anyway. Furthermore, in this scenario, the Village pays the same price that the Angellos originally turned down. Notice, by the way, that this scenario did not involve any discussions between the Village Council and Wells about non-public information.
So, I ask you Fly, Hummmmmmmer and anyone else who insists that our Mayor or Wells are involved in some nefarious scheme, what are you complaining about? That Wells saw an opportunity that you didn’t? Or, is it just that Wells is wealthier than you and a lot smarter than you (which is how he became wealthier than you to begin with)?
>Jeffery Wells owns of the 21-room Blauvelt mansion in Oradell a property on Kinderkamak road are no strangers to controversy and have been the subject of much community debate in Oradell. After years of hosting events at the mansion ,the Wells family wants to turn the property they own into a banquet business but their neighbors are opposed to a commercial business located in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The Wells’s attempted to sell the four-acre property for $8 million, hoping to keep the house intact and find someone interested in restoring the house. According to sources the only offers came from developers, who wanted to raze the mansion and build new homes — an option Wells rejected. The Wells family saved the mansion from possible destruction in 1978, when Jeffrey’s father, Raymond Wells, purchased the property from a developer who had sought to develop the property with single-family homes .
> No rent payments over a 10 year occupancy period, but a promise to undertake “significant” building improvements/restorations to the Pease Library. That’s the deal being offered by Village Council members to Wells Associates – Architects.
What’s your opinion? Should the Village collect monthly rent and contract for the improvements/restorations itself, or should officials agree to the deal proposed by Wells Associates?
Let’s hear what all of you Anti Government Grumblers have to say! Thanks.
>
The current hot discussion topic among those who monitor Village Hall happenings is how an out of town firm was able purchase the Town Garage property from right out under the noses of Village Council members. Village ownership of the subject property (see posted photo) is seen as key to the successful construction of a municipal parking garage.
Reportedly, Village officials had offered previous owner Richard Agnello more than the $1.265 million sale price. However, it is being reported that Mr. Agnello refused to sell until the Village found a suitable location nearby for him to relocate his motor vehicle repair facility.
So the fly would like to know: 1) How was the Wells partnership able to buy the property for less than what Village officials had offered Mr. Agnello? 2) Will Mr. Agnello be closing up shop, or has the Wells partnership found a location for him to move his operation to? And, 3) What prompted the Wells partnership to purchase a piece of property destined for involvement in eminent domain proceedings?
>Unsung Heroes :This is a new column on the Ridgewood Blog devoted to all those people who most of us only notice when something goes wrong ,but most days things work so we never pay any attention.
The Street Department wants you to know that they are getting the town spruced up for the 4th of July parade ,by patching roads, sweeping the streets, cleaning storm drains. Also, puting out 350 barricades thru the parade route, so there is safety. On rainy days and storms they constantly are cleaning low line areas to compile with the regulations so there is no additional flooding in the streets.
>***Graydon Pool Closed TODAY (6/28/06)***
Due to extreme rain and flooding of both the north and south Graydon Pool Parking Lots, the Ridgewood Fire Department has closed the pool for today, Wednesday, June 28th. Check here for further updates.
Raising of the Flag Parade begins 10:00 am (Rain or Shine) – North Monroe and Godwin: See the Parade route. Special guests, marching groups, and bands are –
Grand Marshals – Dave Vanderbush and Dottie & Nick Capasso Special Guest Bob Greenlaw American Legion Post #53 – Ridgewood American Merchant Marines, Dennis Rodland Chapter Antique Vehicles Arizona Territorial Rangers Bushwackers Drum & Bugle Corps Caballeros Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps Clown Friends Community Blood Services Cub Scouts Pack 55 Den 3 Diabetes Foundation Fair Lawn Fire Department Fair Lawn Rescue Squad Fidelity Lodge #113, Free & Accepted Masons Garden State Band High Point Marketing, Inc. Ho-Ho-Kus Volunteer Fire Department Illumination Twirlers Jamboree Scholarship Fund, Inc. Mahwah Fire Department Melrose Blackhawks Drum & Bugle Corps Midland Park Volunteer Fire Department Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter #522 Motor Corps of Salaam Shrine New Jersey Militia/Heard’s Brigade NJ Live Musicians – NJ Polka Band NJ Live Musicians – Patriot Band NJ Live Musicians – Shore Brass Band NY Scottish Pipes Ridge Elementary School Ridgewood AM Rotary Ridgewood Board of Education Ridgewood Emergency Services Ridgewood Fire Department Ridgewood High School Marching Band Ridgewood Knights of Columbus Council #1736 Ridgewood Mayor and Village Council Ridgewood Police Department Ridgewood Project Pride Committee Ridgewood Village Manager Rockland County Marine Corps League Society for Education of American Sailors South Park Pipes & Drums Spirit of Newark Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps, Inc. Tenth Special Forces, Airborne Group – Green Berets Uncle Sam — Christopher J. Marion Unitarian Society of Ridgewood Vietnam Vets of America Chapter #333 Rockland County Waldwick Band Willard Elementary School
Woman’s Club of Ridgewood Evening Celebration and Fireworks – Veteran’s Field: Rain Date- Saturday, July 8th. No refunds or exchanges will be given. Fireworks’ patrons and belongings are subject to security checks when entering Veterans Field. Expect additional street closings around Veteran’s Field. The ice cream trucks on the field sell more than just ice cream. Hot dogs and hamburgers are also available. For directions to the Evening Entertainment use your favorite map website and enter 131 N. Maple Avenue. Gates open – 6:30 PM Illumination Twirlers The Hobbyaires under the direction of Joe Hovan Mayors Address Sky Divers Dads’ Night Band Jamboree Singers National Anthem
Fireworks The Ridgewood Fourth of July Committee is proud to announce that our Fireworks company will once again be Pyrotecnico. Security and fire protection for the fireworks display is by The Ridgewood Fire Department. If you thought last year’s grand finale was great, wait until this year!Handicap parking for the Parade is available on Dayton Street behind Van Neste Park.Handicap parking for the Evening Entertainment is available at the parking lot to the east of Veteren’s Field. Approach Veteren’s Field on Linwood Avenue from the east. Turn left onto Northern Parkway. Turn right into the parking lot. There are 20 spaces available on a first come first serve basis. A police officer will be posted there.
> Locales from the New York Metropolitan Area flock to see the abstract artist Jeffrey Terreson with his passionate eye for color , texture, & his intrinsic appreciation of nature. Born in Bronxville, NY and raised in Bedford, NY, Terreson had the pleasure of knowing what he was going to do at an early age. From his kindergarten report card, noting an early aptitude for art, through his secondary schooling, Terreson excelled at art. He earned a four-year Merit Scholarship to Columbus College of Art and Design, where he rose to the top of his classes and found inspiration in his teachers and mentors: Ron Tardino, Robert Bruss, and Dennis Drummond. Upon graduation Terreson returned to New York City to begin a career as an artist. For years Terreson painted and supported himself through illustration and design, with artwork published by such nationally recognized periodicals as Time Magazine and Newsweek. After a great deal of success in the New York art scene, Terreson decided it was time to raise his four children and take his art in a new direction. He currently works in a Neo-Impressionistic painting style that embraces the textures of digital and traditional media. Terreson continues to steadily produce pieces, based on his original roots as a painter, while exploring and integrating elements of mixed media. An Artist StatementEver since I can remember, design has been my touchstone. It is where I begin and the guide I consult. Design is the core of all my work, the very center of my initial connection.The impulse to create grabs me at any moment of the day. An obscure image from a newspaper, how the sun hits a shape, the angle of a shadow. It is almost a beloved curse. The isolation of nature in its environment. The natural graphic. This is when I already see a design in a single rock, tree, water, person, or shape. Whatever it is, it becomes isolated by its place in the environment –a simple design just sitting there…and the rest disappears. Like Waveny Park Pink, on my website; I did not see trees creating a canopy, I saw verticals. Strong verticals. I saw it the first time I went there ten years ago. I did not see leaves on the woodland floor; I saw a background that placed those verticals, and a pink one at that. The vision and image captured me and I had to record it. There is no choice. For me, the image always triggers the challenge. First, I pencil in a rough sketch to remind me where I am going. I use archival paper or canvas, which I have either adhered to hardboard or stretch on a frame. The under painting is the foundation of my art. It includes blocking out the colors and choosing the various textures: gel medium, sand, wax, thick and heavy paint. The textures may be digitally inspired, or physically created. Once the under painting is in place, I breathe life into my work with oils. I love the texture of oils. And I love color; it is an ally. I love moving it around, layering it into the textures, setting up verticals and horizontals against each other. I find myself intent on moving the process outside of my initial box of reference and into the impressionistic field that defines what I do. I also look for inspiration from other artists. Pearls in the ocean of art, like Mark English, Robert Heindel, and other impressionists who influence my vision, my structure, the application of technique and materials, as well as the interpretation and drive toward impressionism. When I stay with a challenging design, or uncover an intuitive sense of color, when I struggle fluidly and push myself to where I haven’t been before, then I embrace a sense of success rising from the pure elation of the creative process. I love what I do. -Jeffrey Terreson
Terrson’s current show May 18th – June 5th 2006 C.Magor Gallery Gala Opening: Thursday May 18th 5pm-9pm 21 OakStreet Gala Opening :Saturday May 20th 2006 5 pm- 9pm Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201)670-0555 Wine, cheese & entertainment.
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