NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey voters want to see transit improvements like a new tunnel for trains to New York. They just don’t want to pay for it.
A new Quinnipiac University Poll out Wednesday finds 53 percent of registered voters surveyed support building a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
But 58 percent oppose hiking the gasoline tax tofinance road and mass transit improvements.
Still, the idea is more popular than it was in August when 63 percent opposed it.
New Jersey’s transportation trust fund is on the verge of bankruptcy. Lawmakers have been meeting to find asolution.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie has said all options are on the table.
NEW YORK (AP) — Would-be 2016 presidential candidates take note: the Internet may potentially make or break your campaign.
More Internet users than ever view online efforts as key to political campaigns, according to a survey released Thursday by the University of Southern California.
The USC Annenberg School’s Center for the Digital Future has polled more than 2,000 U.S. households about their Internet and technology use each year, starting in 1999. It has published the results every year since 2000, with the exception of 2011.
The latest results from the 2013 survey show that that 75 percent of Internet users age 16 and older agree that the Internet is important for the political campaign process. That was up from the previous high response of 72 percent in 2010.
And 37 percent of users in that age range said that by using the Internet, people like them can have more political power. That’s up from 29 percent in 2000.
“We may be entering a realm where the Internet plays a larger role in political campaigns than television does,” Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future, said in a statement.
In 2012, television ads were the primary communications tool for the campaigns of President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, despite the gradual but persistent shift of viewers from television to the Internet. But both teams maintained a robust social media presence and used online ads for micro-targeting voters based on their reading and shopping habits.
Floor Drama: Boehner Embarrassment As House Nearly Kills Omnibus On Procedural Vote
The final vote on Speaker John Boehner’s 1,603-page, more than $1 trillion omnibus spending bill is in jeopardy after members almost killed the bill on the rule. A total of 214 members voted for it, less than the majority of members in the House, but since all members weren’t voting, the 212 against the rule wasn’t enough to kill it.
Time for voting had run out minutes before, and briefly the nays—those against the rule—had the majority. At least one Republican had switched a vote from being against the rule to for it, at which time the presiding officer used procedural chicanery to quickly call the vote passed.
Republican Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Dave Brat (R-VA), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Paul Broun (R-GA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Walter Jones (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Steve King (R-IA), Raul Labrador (R-ID), Tom Massie (R-KY), Bill Posey (R-FL), Matt Salmon (R-AZ) and Steve Stockman (R-TX) held the line and voted no. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) switched his vote from nay to yay at the last minute.
If the numbers that are being reported—50 to 60, maybe more—of Republicans hold on against the final passage of the bill later in the day, and all the Democrats who opposed the rule oppose the bill, the bill would fail on final passage. It remains to be seen what will happen.
Ridgewood Fire Department Gets its second ever woman firefighter
December 11,2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, Robin Savage was sworn in during the Village Council’s meeting Wednesday night. Robin is only the second woman to join the ranks of Ridgewood’s volunteer fire department, in the department’s more than 100-year history.
Besides Robin two Career Fire Department Personnel were also sworn in Fire Lieutenant Justin O’Connor and
Fire Captain Gregory Hillerman
The Ridgewood Police Report a Number of “phone scams” in Recent Weeks
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Police Department has experienced a number of “phone scam” reports from residents over the past several weeks. Below are some examples of phone scams that have been recently reported by several residents.
Scammer(s) have been placing calls and have even left voice messages stating that they are from a government law enforcement agency. The IRS has been popular recently, however scammers will sometimes us a name of an agency that is fake, for example: “National Bureau of Crime”. The scammer will advise the person that criminal complaints have been signed against them or a family member and unless they give money or personal identifying information, charges will be “filed”. They may also claim that you owe “back taxes” or some form of payment is required. This scam is not aimed at the elderly and anyone can be a victim of this. Please understand that no legitimate law enforcement agency will EVER contact you this way.
Another past phone scams, scammers(s) have used the “Grandparent Scam”. This often involves a person who calls posing as a family member in trouble. He or she places a call to an older person and when they pick up, the scammer will say something along the lines of: “Hi Grandma, do you know who this is?” When the unsuspecting grandparent guesses the name of the grandchild the scammer most sounds like, the scammer has established a fake identity without having done any background research. The fake grandchild will usually ask for money to solve some unexpected problem (arrested and need bail money, overdue rent, payment for car repairs, etc.), to be paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, which don’t always require identification to collect. At the same time, the scam artist will beg the grandparent “please don’t tell my parents, they would kill me.” The fake grandchild will generally say they are in another state and may even say they are in another country on “vacation”.
The Ridgewood Police asks that you spread the word about these scams to your friends and family (especially the elderly). Please remember to always be cautious when providing any personal identifying information to strangers over the phone and/or internet.
For more information on phone scams and ways to protect yourself please visit the following links:
DECEMBER 10, 2014, 9:14 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014, 4:36 PM
BY GEOFF MULVIHILL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Jersey’s three largest pension funds for public workers sued Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday over his decision to cut contributions earlier this year.
The lawsuit was filed in state chancery court on behalf of the Public Employees Retirement System, Police and Fire Retirement System and the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund. Unions representing public workers previously sued over the contributions cut after a surprise fiscal crunch this year.
“The unions were doing their thing on behalf of their membership,” said Tom Bruno, chairman of PERS. “Our thing is a little different. Ours is a matter of trusteeship.”
The funds also represent nonunion public workers. Bruno says the three members of the PERS board who represent Christie’s administration abstained from the vote on whether to sue and the state attorney general’s office recused itself from the issue.
One key accomplishment of Christie’s first term as governor was an agreement to catch up funding for pension funds. For decades, governors had skimped on or skipped pension payments. As part of the agreement, retired public employees saw their cost-of-living increases suspended and current employees had to increase their retirement contributions.
DECEMBER 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014, 12:14 AM
BY KAREN SUDOL
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The stalking began several years ago, when an older man entered a store and spoke with a female college student from Morris County who worked there. He returned three or four times before the student called the police. They told the stranger to stay away from her.
Since then, the man has repeatedly followed the young woman. She quit her job and eventually transferred to another college, her parents, Roger and Ann Kriete, said. He was arrested in New Jersey, made bail, found her at her new address and was arrested again, they said. Her life has been turned upside down. She is afraid to go out with friends, walk the dog at night or go out by herself.
“It was like she was the criminal who was restrained,” said Roger Kriete, who requested that his daughter’s name not be used. “It’s heartbreaking to see someone’s youth being taken away.”
Now they’re hoping to get some peace of mind for their daughter and other victims of stalking. They plan to testify at a hearing of the Assembly Judiciary Committee today to push for a bill that would allow judges to order stalkers to wear electronic monitors after a second stalking conviction.
“The intent is to protect those who are stalked,” said Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz, R-Union, who introduced the bill in October.
Ridgewood Police : Images of Burglary Suspect and vehicle caught on home security system.
Ridgewood NJ , On Friday, December 5, 2014, at 7:53 pm a Westside resident reported that their home had been forcibly entered while they were out. The unidentified actor had entered the home after smashing a first floor window with a large rock setting off the home’s alarm system. A check of the homeowner’s video surveillance system showed the attached pictured actor ringing the front door and standing outside of the home just prior to the alarm activation. Additionally the attached pictured vehicle, which appears to be a late model full size pickup truck dark in color possible with an extended cab circled the block just prior to the activation. The scene was processed by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation Crime Scene Unit and the matter is currently under investigation by the Ridgewood Police Department Detective Bureau. If anyone has any information concerning this crime please contact Detective Douglas Williams at (201) 251-4537.
BLACK ICE DEVELOPMENT CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1226 AM EST THU DEC 11 2014
…ICY SPOTS THIS MORNING…
BLACK ICE DEVELOPMENT CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS…ESPECIALLY ON UNTREATED SURFACES…AS SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES INTERACT WITH RESIDUAL MOISTURE AND NEW SNOWFALL. EXTRA CAUTION SHOULD BE — USED WHEN TRAVELING.
Before Hiking Gas Taxes, Michigan Needs to Spend Money for Roads More Wisely.
Joel Griffith / @joelgriffith / December 10, 2014
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is leading an effort to gradually double the state’s 19-cent per gallon gas tax. Doing so would boost the state’s transportation coffers by over $1 billion new tax dollars.
But Snyder isn’t sure that’s enough, saying, “The money I’m talking about is to get us to fair to good roads. They’re not even going to be great roads, folks. We can’t afford to have great roads in this state given what we need to invest.”
Admittedly, Michigan’s nearly 10,000 miles of state highway are in need of repair. The 2014 annual highway report from the U.S. Department of Transportation[?] ranks Michigan at a lackluster 32nd, in terms of overall highway performance ranking. Certain aspects of the system rank even lower, such as its urban interstate pavement condition (38th) and rural interstate pavement condition (40th).
Trouble with Michigan’s approach is, simply hiking taxes without fixing underlying spending problems isn’t the responsible solution. As a recent Reason Foundation report on state highway funding comparisons suggests, Michigan and other states seeking to raise taxes on drivers are overlooking a big problem: they aren’t spending existing tax revenue on the right things to benefit the people paying the taxes in the first place. And they’re squandering money on counterproductive regulations
Consider Wyoming, which has mountain terrain and primarily rural expanses of highway. The state ranks first overall in highway performance–although its spending per mile is nearly 63 percent less than Michigan. Texas, which has more than 80,000 miles of state highway, ranks far higher than Michigan on both the condition of rural highways and urban highways, yet spends nearly 24 percent less each year per mile.
Neighboring Ohio—with large urban centers of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus—easily thumps Michigan as well. Spending 15 percent less per mile overall, Ohio manages to rank twelve spots higher on rural highways and nine spots higher on urban ones.
And let’s not forget the administrative costs of the state highway system, Michigan lacks efficiency. Administration costs gobble up nearly $10,000 per mile every year. To put that figure in context, consider that it’s ten times as much as Kentucky spends per mile on administration, nearly five times that of Arkansas, nearly three times Texas, more than double that of North Carolina, and close to twice the level of Virginia.
In Michigan, maintenance per mile is nearly $30,000 per year— more than twice as high as fifteen states (including Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina) and more than triple the cost of eight states.
The fact is, from 1984-2012, across the country, the pace of increase for capital expended on roads and bridges has been nearly triple the inflation during this period (330 percent vs. 121 percent). And this occurred during a stretch where the nation’s population grew by only one-third.
Michigan taxpayers are suffering more than residents in many other states from this spending binge. The more than $113,000 per mile spent each year on state highway capital projects is higher than 33 other states— and it’s more than double the amount of spending per mile in a dozen states.
How did this happen?
One possible problem: many road projects require union wage rates that inflate costs. Get rid of those inflated salaries and more roads can be built with fewer dollars.
Even worse is the money that Michigan has wasted and continues to waste on urban transit systems, such as the notorious People Mover in Detroit, with few riders and spectacular operating costs and subsidies. If existing gas tax dollars went to roads, not white elephants, the crisis would be largely alleviated without higher costs. Also, Michigan would have a better grasp on what funding level is actually needed to maintain and repair its roads and bridges.
In the end, Michigan spends more $200,000 per mile each year for each mile of state –controlled highway—more than thirty other states without much to show for it. It’s time to reign in the spending first—not hike taxes on the working man without a second thought.
This article has been modified from its original version.
Half of Americans Don’t Want Their Sons Playing Football, Poll Shows
Dec 10, 2014 7:00 AM EST
Women and elites in particular want to keep their boys off the gridiron.
Annie Linskey
Television ratings are up and merchandise sales arebooming, but longer-term trends don’t look as rosy for football. According to a new Bloomberg Politics poll, 50 percent of Americans say they wouldn’t want their son to play the sport and only 17 percent believe it’ll grow in popularity in the next 20 years.
These are grim numbers for a sport that’s seeing an onslaught of negative attention, including a parade of National Football League players accused of abusing their wives or children; a team name so offensive that some news organizations refuse to print it; and, perhaps most troubling to parents, the growing body of evidence that repeated blows to the head can cause long-lasting brain damage. The sport’s troubles have caught the attention of Congress, whose members hauled a league official to Washington for a Senate hearing earlier this month. Individual lawmakers have proposed ending the league’s tax-exempt statusand putting its coveted anti-trust exception up for a five year review.
The finding suggest that, over the course of time, football could go the way of boxing, a marquee American sport in the early part of the 20th century that declined amid a similar set of dynamics: changing perceptions of its brutality and star athletes making headlines for violent crimes.
RHS Bands Perform for the Public on December 10
Ridgewood NJ, The RHS Bands will perform their annual Winter Concert on Wednesday, December 10. The concert, featuring the school’s three curricular bands – the Symphonic Band, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble — will be held in the Ridgewood High School Campus Center, starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.
