DECEMBER 2, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014, 9:19 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
On Thursday nights at The Office, 80-year-old George Shabet stands out among the amateur karaoke singers.
Fully transformed into his entertainer persona – Johnny Horizon – he belts out tunes like “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” conjuring the “Man in Black” himself, Johnny Cash, as he puts on a show in an all-black getup with a cowboy hat, wide belt buckle and bolo tie.
While readers of The Ridgewood News might know the longtime resident for his years of writing letters to the editor, for The Office’s Karaoke emcee Gerry Porto, on Thursday nights known as DJ Geryoke, this is the only version he knows of Shabet.
They first met more than a decade ago at a Hawthorne karaoke bar where the announcer/entertainer relationship blossomed; Porto channels his best Ed McMahon to introduce Johnny Horizon and Shabet ensures that all eyes are on Porto’s business.
“I would say it’s the best I’ve heard in karaoke,” Porto said. “Johnny kind of brings a flavor that makes it more genuine. You really get the feeling that he’s passionate about the song. It’s a Johnny Horizon tribute to Johnny Cash.”
Rising frustration with Washington and conservative electoral victories across much of the U.S. are feeding a movement in favor of something America hasn’t done in 227 years: Hold a convention to rewrite the Constitution.
Although it’s still not likely to be successful, the effort is more serious than before: Already, more than two dozen states have called for a convention. There are two ways to change or amend the founding document. The usual method is for an adjustment to win approval from two-thirds of the Congress and then be ratified by three-quarters of the states. There have been 27 amendments adopted this way.
The second procedure is separate from Congress. It requires two-thirds of the states, or 34, to call for a convention. The framers thought this was necessary because Congress wouldn’t be likely to advance any amendments that curtailed its powers. But this recourse never has been used.
Two states, California and Vermont, have called for a convention to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that permits huge amounts of unregulated money into federal campaigns. Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, wants a conventionto adopt sweeping changes, including a single six-year presidential term and concomitant House and Senate terms, to create more of a parliamentary system. Petitions to adopt term limits for members of Congress have circulated for years.
But much of the current impetus comes from fervent fiscal conservatives. This includes calls for an amendment requiring abalanced budget and other restraints on the federal government’s spending and taxation powers.
Reader says Free Speech If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The First Amendment has existed for hundreds of years and it gives Americans enviable freedom (unlike, say, in the UK where people have been literally jailed for offensive tweets). It protects against politicians making speech that threatened their power illegal. If you can’t handle it, there are many countries you can relocate to where what you can say is state-controlled.
RHS New Players Company Puts on A Christmas Carol December 11-13
Click here for the flyer with full information on times and tickets.
Click here to view the 2014-2015 season program. Click here to go to the New Players website donation section
The RHS Marching Band will have its last performance of the season on Friday, December 5 at Ridgewood’s Downtown for the Holidays event.
Children’s Puppet Show “Neighborhood Animals”December Recess
Ridgewood Parks and Recreation welcomes the return of Marcia the Musical Moose with a children’s show perfect for our youngest residents. You won’t want to miss it!
This fun, interactive puppet show and sing-a-long features Digger the dog who does not want to share his backyard. He chases and barks at all the underground animals until they are all gone. When he realizes they have left, he is so sad, learning a most valuable lesson.
The show will take place on Monday, December 29th, 1 pm, at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue (snow date is 12/30, 1 pm).
Admission is $5.00 for all attending (under 2 free). As seating is limited, it is suggested tickets be purchased in advance either online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass, or at the Recreation Office at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, weekdays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
For additional information kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560.
Ridgewood Parks and Recreation welcomes Explore Science, Inc. during the December recess with fun hands-on building events:
Balloon Buggies – Grades K through 2
Monday, December 29th, 10 am to 12 noon, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Ave.
Cost: $40 per person, all materials provided (non-residents $50 if space allows).
Students will create their own balloon buggy while learning the third law of motion – for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. The group will enjoy racing fun with their finished projects.
Young Inventors Little Bits Engineering and Robotics – Grades 3 through 8
Tuesday, December 30, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue.
Grades 3-5, 10 am to 12 noon
Grades 6-8, 1 to 3 pm
Cost: $40 per person, all materials provided (some for on-site use only).
(non-residents $50 if space allows).
Youth will engage in the scientific process of invention with the newest electronic components. Little Bits puts the power of electronics in their hands allowing them to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary. Modules include pressure sensors, LED sensors, sound sensors, fan sensors and more. Students will showcase their inventions at the end of the session.
Register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass, or by mail/in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue. Locate the registration forms on the Recreation homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation.
Don’t hesitate to contact the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with questions or if special accommodations are needed.
Drunk Driving Enforcement Crackdown to be Conducted Locally as Part of Statewide Year End Campaign
Village of Ridgewood — Law enforcement officials from Ridgewood will be cracking down on drunk drivers as part of the annual holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide campaign. Beginning December 5, 2014 and continuing through January 2, 2015, local and state law enforcement officials will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated.
The national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” effort endeavors to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through a combination of high-visibility enforcement and public education. “This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent,” said Chief John Ward. “This initiative brings attention to the serious consequences of drunk driving and the grave danger those who choose to drink and drive pose to all who share the road with them.”
Last year, 22% of all motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey were alcohol-related. Nationally, more than 10,000 people die each year in drunk driving crashes. The societal cost associated with drunk driving crashes is estimated to be $37 billion annually.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over 2014 Year End Holiday Crackdown offer the following advice for holiday season:
• Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity or party is held.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.
• Always buckle-up, every ride. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
• If you are intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive or escort you to your doorstep.
• Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.
Today 6pm Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul & Mary Singing and Signing at Bookends
At 6pm Tuesday December 2, PETE YARROW from Peter, Paul & Mary will be performing (for a half hour) and then signing his new book: PETER, PAUL & MARY: FIFTY YEARS IN MUSIC AND LIFE ($29.95).
*Seating for this event is First come, First served. Please call ahead to reserve your book and seat.
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings. Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable. While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely. Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Posted: Dec 01, 2014 10:43 AM EST Updated: Dec 01, 2014 10:43 AM EST
By Tamara Laine, @ChasingTamara
Paterson, New Jersey (My9NJ) –
In Paterson, New Jersey only 19 kids who took the SAT’s are considered college ready. This means that they scored at least a 1500 out of 2400 on the standardized test, and this number is truly shocking considering how large the school district is.
Paterson resident Jason Williams is one of the lucky ones. He just graduated high school last year and has been enrolled in college since September, after taking the SAT’s three times determined to score over 1500. He says that the key to his success was not falling victim to the streets.
“Just last summer, my friend and teammate, he was shot and killed that summer and that really affected me,” he said.
The RHS Department of Fine & Applied Arts is looking for alumni to participate in the Tenth Annual Alumni Art Show. Last year’s show was a great success and it is hoped to reach even more of our alumni this year. The exhibition will be a showing of work created after graduating from RHS. It will be held in the Carroll Art Gallery, Room 137, from December 15 through January 9, 2015. There will be a reception for the artists on Thursday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m. All students, alumni, friends, family and staff are invited to the reception as well as to view the exhibition during school hours.
Participating artists should drop off their ready-to-hang artwork by the week of December 8. Question may be directed to the Department of Fine & Applied Arts at 201-670-2800, ext. 20542, or email the department in care of [email protected].
Event information and other news is continually updated on the Arts at Ridgewood Public Schools’ Twitter profile: @Arts_at_RPS and Facebook account page, www.facebook.com/TheArtsatRPS.
Reader says Criticism and the resulting public discourse, I believe, does much more good than harm
I am a strong believer in free speech no matter how stupid, hateful, or unpopular that speech is, but I suppose if you twisted my arm I could compromise and allow bans on one form of speech. That would be blowhard elected officials singlehandedly defying the New Jersey State Sunshine Law by egotistically grabbing the public microphone (!) and executing one of the most exquisite, hypocritical, logic-twisting, irony-defining, triple-twister-with-a-backflip dives into the capacious pool of numbnutted man-child foolishness imaginable by breezily calling for censorship and limits on free speech – which I find hateful and “excessively objectionable.”
I’m just kidding of course, because by allowing people to express their wrongheaded opinions at imprudently-convened unofficially official privately public meetings, you are giving others a chance to respond to and criticize those ideas (see: these comments). The resulting public discourse, I believe, does much more good than harm. And although some mistakenly claim that restrictions on free speech are unlikely to be abused in Orwellian and Authoritarian ways in the USA (what with our infallible government and all), you’ll find plenty of such instances from the last century of American history alone.
DECEMBER 2, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Village officials are seeking volunteers to serve on a number of boards and committees.
The council needs residents to serve on the Community Relations Advisory Board; the Open Space Committee; the Library Board of Trustees; the Green Team Advisory Committee; the Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Board; Project Pride; and the Shade Tree Commission.
The Community Relations Advisory Board deals with diversity issues in the village, while the Open Space Committee examines properties in Ridgewood for potential open space preservation.
The library trustees establish library policy, and the Green Team Advisory Committee promotes green initiatives. The Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Board recommends rules for use and monitors recreation facilities. Project Pride plants and maintains flowers and plants in the central business district, and members of the Shade Tree Commission regulate trees in the village.
Bergen County Sheriff’s Department drops plan to acquire surplus military vehicles
DECEMBER 1, 2014, 8:28 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014, 8:28 PM
BY HERB JACKSON AND JOHN ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department has dropped plans to obtain two armored mine-resistant vehicles from the military in part because “it was no longer worth the effort,” a department spokesman said Monday.
The decision means Sheriff Michael Saudino is making permanent a delay announced in August.
The decision puts an end to a contentious debate that reverberated throughout this year’s elections for Bergen County executive and freeholder and one that started well before a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo.
The use of military-style vehicles, weapons and armor in response to protests in Ferguson led to state and federal reviews of programs that deploy surplus equipment from the Defense Department to domestic law enforcement.
The White House released one of those reviews on Monday and President Obama directed his cabinet to bring him concrete recommendations to ensure police departments “aren’t building a militarized culture.”
St. Louis Tea Party Coalition Hopes to Help Ferguson Merchants
Melissa Quinn / December 01, 2014
Natalie DuBose, owner of Natalie’s Cakes & Things in Ferguson, Mo., lost her livelihood last Monday night.
Earlier that night, a grand jury had gone public with its decision not to indict a white police officer for shooting and killing a young black man. Anger quickly spread through a crowd of protesters gathered in the streets of the St. Louis suburb.
They marched and chanted, and some of them looted and rioted, leaving smoldering buildings, broken windows and damaged storefronts in their wake.
Now, DuBose and other Ferguson merchants must rebuild, grappling with how to pay the bills. And Christmas soon will be here.
That’s where Bill Hennessy, a founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, hopes to help.
Hennessy drafted a list of eight ideas to save Christmas in Ferguson and help DuBose and other business owners and employees.
“Who got hurt last night?” he wrote on his blog Tuesday. “1. People who own businesses. people who work at businesses. 3. People who rely on businesses.” He continued:
Time is short. The people affected by last night’s riots need help rebuilding and jobs right now. While I don’t have complete plans, I can throw out eight ideas. Please make one of these come to life.
>>> Area Residents Take to Ferguson’s Streets. But Not For the Reason You Think.
Among other calls to action, Hennessy asked 100 companies in the St. Louis area to hire one person affected by the looting and riots for one year beginning Dec. 1 He proposed that companies both in the region and around the country “adopt” a damaged business and assist with rebuilding. Many of these, he wrote, need money to begin the process of fixing the damage.
“We cannot rely on government — government is the problem, not the solution,” he wrote. “We have to rely on ourselves.”
Hennessy, a native of Wildwood, Mo., organized a “buycott” in Ferguson in August as a way to help boost the local economy.
After Officer Darren Wilson, 28, fatally shot Michaell Brown, 18, on Aug. 9, protests quickly turned violent and businesses were looted much in the same way as after last week’s announcement that the grand jury would not indict Wilson..
At the time, Hennessy called on consumers to head to Ferguson to shop in affected stores.
“The goal is to let everyone in the area know that those places are open and to generate commerce in the area,” he said. “A lot of them are very small. … The little shops are left on their own.”
More than 40 residents affiliated with the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition shopped in Ferguson during the buycott.
“With the city’s main business district laid to rubble, buycotts won’t have much effect,” Hennessy wrote last week. “And Christmas is around the corner.”
Social Security’s trustees projected in 1983 that the recently enacted Social Security reforms would keep the program active for at least the next 75 years, through 2058. However, according to research by James M. Roberts, a research fellow for economic freedom and growth at The Heritage Foundation, that approach date has accelerated.
“If the trend since 1983 continues, the program will become insolvent in 2024—34 years earlier than originally projected,” Roberts writes.
