Category: Village of Ridgewood

>Christie proposes health care cost increase for public workers

Gov. Chris Christie proposed significantly higher health insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of public workers in New Jersey on Thursday, saying overly generous benefits are threatening to bankrupt the system. (Delli Santi for The Associated Press)

https://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110114/COMMUNITIES/301140003/1005/NEWS01/Christie-proposes-health-care-cost-increase-for-public-workers

>Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., said he’s waiting to see the SEC’s study on the need for a SRO’s for advisers 


House subcommittee chairman sees merits of SROs, fiduciary standard

But Garrett waiting to read SEC’s reports on both before taking a position
Mark Schoeff Jr.
January 11, 2011

The new chairman of a House subcommittee with jurisdiction over investment adviser issues is holding his fire on two crucial questions effecting the industry — until he reads upcoming reports addressing the topics.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., said he’s waiting to see the Securities and Exchange Commission’s study on the need for a self-regulatory organization for advisers — as well as the commission’s report on the efficacy of a universal fiduciary duty for retail investment advice — before taking a firm position on either.

Despite holding off until getting the reports, which are both due this month, Mr. Garrett indicated that SROs have a track record of success.

“I do see them as positive forces … having worked effectively in other areas,” Mr. Garrett, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, said in an interview with InvestmentNews on Jan. 6. “They hold merit.”

If the SEC recommends an adviser SRO, it will have to be authorized by Congress. The SRO report must be delivered to the appropriate House and Senate committees by Jan. 17.

The fiduciary-duty study, which will assess the differences in oversight of investment advisers and broker-dealers, and any gaps in regulation, is due Jan. 21. The SEC can then write a rule establishing a universal standard of care for retail investment advice.

MORE: https://www.investmentnews.com/article/20110110/FREE/110119993

>Former Judge to AZ Sheriff: ‘Shut Up Before You Do Any More Damage to the Prosecution’s Case’

Wednesday, January 12, 2011
By Nicholas Ballasy
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Louis Gohmert (R.-Texas), a former prosecutor and judge and a current member of the House Judiciary Committee, is offering some advice to Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who has gained national attention since Saturday for his suggestions that radio and television talk shows were somehow responsible for the shooting attack in Tucson that took the lives of 6 people and wounded 14 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Says Rep. Gohmert to the sheriff: “Shut up before you do any more damage to the prosecution’s case.”

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/congressman-az-sheriff-dupnik-shut-you-d

>The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR) is pleased to announce that Pete McKenna has been elected as the new President

Paul Gould Moves to Texas in Career Relocation

Ridgewood, NJ – January 11, 2011. The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR) is pleased to announce that Pete McKenna has been elected as the new President of CRR, a grassroots non-profit organization committed to maintaining the residential character and the quality of life of the village of Ridgewood, and announces that Paul Gould, president to date of the organization, will be moving to Texas in a career re-location.  Mr. McKenna is well qualified to take on this role as an 18-year village resident who has worked closely with Mr. Gould and other CRR members to keep Ridgewood a resident-friendly community since Valley Hospital announced its “Renewal” initiative to double its size at its Ridgewood campus.

In accepting his position as elected by the CRR Steering Committee, Mr. McKenna said, “We are thankful for Paul’s commitment, passion and tenacity in supporting the community and protecting the residential character of our village.   While the face of our effort has changed, most of the Steering Committee members and key roles remain filled by the people that have actively supported Paul behind the scenes.”

Mr. McKenna expressed confidence in CRR’s membership and committees in carrying out the many aspects of CRR’s current work, including: a court case to overturn the Master Plan Amendment that was passed last June to allow the proposed expansion; opposition to any future ordinance by Village Council that would be required for the expansion to take place; research and fact-finding to support these efforts; attendance at public meetings; continuing communications among residents; and fundraising.

Mr. McKenna will emphasize a continuing push to raise funds within the community to support legal and other professional support needed for this effort, and said he and the Steering Committee are actively seeking support via the “stopvalley.com” website, including through its new PayPal option for donations.

Offering a historical perspective, he said, “While I appreciate that times change, much of what we value in Ridgewood is the result of the hard work and dedication that our predecessors put into the Master Plan and supporting ordinances that focus on keeping Ridgewood primarily zoned for single family residential homes,” Mr. McKenna said.

“I am not anti-Valley, but I think we need to look both at the past and the future to see what is right for Ridgewood relative to Valley’s ambitions.  Valley is no longer the community hospital that provided services to an under-served suburb in the 1950’s.  It is a major medical delivery company that has a Ridgewood address and some deep present day and historical ties to the community.  It’s a shame that the decades of goodwill that were built have been so badly damaged by this process,“ he said.

Mr.McKenna also shared the following about the Master Plan Amendment process culminating last June: “The Planning Board’s process for evaluating the Master Plan Amendment was lengthy without being thorough.  The process failed to consider some very important precedents, and not enough critical thinking and challenge of Valley’s assertions were evident from the Planning Board and the experts it hired.”

“I think the Village Council has learned from the Planning Board’s errors and will conduct the ordinance process with a genuine interest in the residents’ concerns,” Mr. McKenna
added.  

>Hong Kong ranked world’s freest economy: report

HONG KONG (AFP) – – Hong Kong remained the world’s freest place to do business for the 17th year in a row in an annual US league table published Wednesday.

The United States lost ground and mainland China came 135th in the table compiled by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, and The Wall Street Journal.

Hong Kong, a former British colony which was returned to China in 1997, edged out regional rival Singapore to claim top spot in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom.

After Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia and New Zealand took third and fourth spots respectively

https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20110113/tbs-world-us-economy-hongkong-2486404.html

>

National School Choice Week (NSCW) — January 23-29

This is going to be huge. Events all over the country!

Please support or consider sponsoring a National School Choice Week (NSCW) event in your area. You can find complete information at the National School Choice Week website. Also don’t forget to “Like” the NSCW Facebook page.

>Highway fight could take a toll on Christie

Last week, it looked like the Christie administration had pulled a fast one on the Democrats by introducing a plan to bail out the Transportation Trust Fund with revenues that would have gone to the canceled ARC tunnel project.

This week: Not so fast.

That’s what John Wisniewski is saying. And he’s getting backing from Steve Lonegan. (Mulshine, The Star-Ledger)

https://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2011/01/highway_fight_could_take_a_tol.html

>Governor thrusts New Jersey to fore of an education fight

Gov. Chris Christie’s tough-on-schools approach in a state that has zealously protected its public schools — and its teachers — has already put him at loggerheads with legislative leaders, unions and some parents in New Jersey. (Hu, The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/education/13jersey.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

>N.J. local taxes jump an average of 7 percent in the past year

Had the state’s new 2-percent limit on property tax increases been in effect last year, most New Jersey towns wouldn’t have been in compliance.

In fact, most would not even have been close. (de Vries, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/nj_local_taxes_jump_average_of.html

>Star school reformer’s quick NJ stop leaves people talking

Was Michelle Rhee’s high-profile visit to Trenton this week a powerful statement that puts New Jersey in the national forefront of school change? Or was it a political prop for the governor to distract his critics, as one Democratic leader claimed? (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0113/0032/

>Chris Christie eyeing ending teacher tenure

Thanks to tenure, many believe that teachers’ jobs are basically guaranteed, no matter how students do.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wants to change that: He is seeking to end tenure and on Wednesday said he would support switching to a system that gives individual teachers five-year contracts, which districts could renew based on merit. He said he believes that if the worst 5% of teachers were churned, there would be a “quantum effect” on performance. (Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal)

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704803604576078342021667196.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

>Daily Permit Parking offered by Clearview Cinemas

Ridgewood’s Warner Clearview Cinema is offering:
Daily Permit Parking at 199 Dayton Street
at $75 per month.
For more information contact:
Keira Gomez – 908-918-2017
kgomez@clearcin.com

>Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory

By: Cindy Perman
CNBC.com Staff Writer

As the economy revs back to life, with signs of hiring on the horizon, the housing market is being left behind like Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.”

In the past few years, we’ve all been careful to choose our words carefully, not calling it a recession until it fit the technical definition and avoiding any inappropriate use of the “D” word — Depression.

Things were bad but the broader economy never reached Depression territory. The housing market, on the other hand, just crossed that threshold.

Home values have fallen 26 percent since their peak in June 2006, worse than the 25.9-percent decline seen during the Depression years between 1928 and 1933, Zillow reported.

November marked the 53rd consecutive month (4 ½ years) that home values have fallen.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/41019790

>Arizona shooting: Pima County Sheriff’s Department, college won’t release data on suspect

Sheriff’s Department and community-college officials in Pima County are refusing to release a wide range of public documents about the man charged in Saturday’s shooting rampage that left six dead and more than a dozen wounded.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Pima Community College have declined to release documents that could shed light on run-ins they had with 22-year-old Jared Loughner in the months prior to the shooting.

The Arizona Public Records Law requires that records be “open to inspection by any person at all times” unless officials can prove releasing the information would violate rights of privacy or confidentiality or otherwise harm the best interests of the state.

The Arizona Republic requested that records, including incident reports on campus and calls for dispatch of deputies to Loughner’s home, be released under the law. Such reports are often released as a matter of course in criminal cases.

College officials have not indicated when or if they will release the information, saying they want prior approval from the FBI and are concerned about violating federal laws protecting the privacy of student information. The Republic did not request student academic records.

Pima Community College officials confirmed Saturday that they suspended Loughner after a series of outbursts in classrooms and the library, five of which involved campus police

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/12/20110112gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-pima-county-wont-release-jared-loughner-records.html#ixzz1AqdauhiL