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RHS alum named rear admiral in Coast Guard

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Friends from his days growing up in Ridgewood went to New Orleans to show their pride when Peter Gautier was promoted to rear admiral in the Coast Guard. From left: Chris Bujara, Shuya Ohno, Rosa and Peter Gautier, John Tees and Jon Haas. 

RHS alum named rear admiral in Coast Guard

OCTOBER 3, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY BETSY MURPHY
CORRESPONDENT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

“Yes, frocked is the word,” says Peg Gautier, referring to her son, Peter. Rear Admiral Gautier, that is. Peg was there to see it all happen, June 27 in New Orleans. With her older son, Andrew, who lives in Connecticut, Peg joined Peter, his wife, Rosa, children, Natalie, 11, and Drew, 12, and other family members to celebrate. They all met at Peter’s house for a party, a gathering of out-of-town guests, before attending the ceremony the next morning on the banks of the Mississippi, with the Marine Band playing for 400 guests. Among those guests were four Somerville and Ben Franklin classmates, who traveled from Oregon, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey: Jon Haas came from Oregon, Shuya Ohno from Washington D.C., John Tees from Hoboken and Chris Bujara from Clifton.

“Peter made two speeches during the ceremony,” says Peg. “I’m so proud of him!” Of her late husband, she says, “Lou would be beaming!”

At a reception following the ceremony, four members of his Coast Guard Academy class were there. That evening there was dinner at a historic building in New Orleans. Next day a luncheon near Jackson Square had people snapping photos from the balcony of the restaurant. There was even a wedding, with guests walking to the reception accompanied by a New Orleans jazz band. Peg admits to being happily exhausted.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/friends-cheer-on-new-rear-admiral-1.1101651#sthash.f3X0dIbo.dpuf

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Ridgewood seeks feedback on proposed changes to meters

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Ridgewood seeks feedback on proposed changes to meters

OCTOBER 2, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014, 4:36 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ridgewood’s two-hour meters, 12-hour meters, and non-resident parking permits might soon be gone.

Village officials are discussing resident-only permit parking and putting a three-hour time limit on all downtown meters (except for the 15-minute spots).

These ideas are being lauded as the latest measures to help improve Ridgewood’s parking situation in the short term. Now, officials are looking for resident feedback, Mayor Paul Aronsohn announced at Wednesday’s council meeting.

The mayor noted that a compilation of the new short-term ideas, titled “Ridgewood Downtown Parking Initiative,” will be put on the village website (ridgewoodnj.net) for public review before any action is taken.

“Parking’s been on everyone’s mind,” Aronsohn said. “We’ve been kicking around a lot of ideas … We really need to take care of Ridgewood residents first.”

According to a preliminary version of the document provided to The Ridgewood News, the village would make parking “easier, simpler, better” by standardizing the rules.

The village would do this first by making all downtown meters run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., cost 25 cents per half hour, and provide three-hour parking. Current meters provide 12-hour and two-hour parking limits.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/feedback-on-latest-proposals-sought-1.1101314#sthash.pkdoMQSd.dpuf

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Booker-Bell Really a 5-Point Race

Jeff Bell

Booker-Bell Really a 5-Point Race
8:28 AM, OCT 2, 2014 • BY WILLIAM KRISTOL

The new Quinnipiac poll of the New Jersey Senate contest shows Jeff Bell only 11 points down to Cory Booker, 51 to 40 percent, among likely voters. It goes without saying that a race can move a dozen points in the final five weeks of a campaign—especially when a little known challenger (but one who’s well-regarded by those who do know of him) is taking on a pro-Obama incumbent who’s barely above 50 percent in an anti-Obama, anti-incumbent year. (Obama’s approval in New Jersey is hovering around 41 percent.)

But take a further look at the poll results. Booker leads Bell, 51-40. Seventy-six percent of Booker supporters and 84 percent of Bell supporters say their mind is made up. Do the math. Among those whose mind is made up, Booker leads Bell 39 to 34 percent.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/booker-bell-really-5-point-race_808457.html

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Scrutiny in Texas to Detect Whether Ebola Has Spread

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Scrutiny in Texas to Detect Whether Ebola Has Spread

By MANNY FERNANDEZ and NORIMITSU ONISHIOCT. 1, 2014

DALLAS — The man who has become the first Ebola patient to develop symptoms in the United States told officials at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital last Friday that he had just arrived from West Africa but was not admitted that day because that information was not passed along at the hospital, officials acknowledged Wednesday.

The man, Thomas E. Duncan, was sent home under the mistaken belief that he had only a mild fever, a hospital administrator said; the information that he had traveled from Liberia, one of the nations at the heart of the Ebola epidemic, was overlooked.

Mr. Duncan came back to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday and was admitted for treatment, but in those two days in between, his contacts with a number of people — including five schoolchildren and the medics who helped transport him to the hospital — potentially exposed them to Ebola, forcing officials to monitor and isolate them in their homes and to begin a thorough cleaning of the schools the students attended. Mr. Duncan is now in serious but stable condition.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/us/after-ebola-case-in-dallas-health-officials-seek-those-who-had-contact-with-patient.html?_r=0

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Wary of Ebola, Dallas parents pull kids from school

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Wary of Ebola, Dallas parents pull kids from school
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 01, 2014
BY BILL HANNA

[email protected]

DALLAS — Parents rushed to get their children from school Wednesday after learning that five students may have had contact with the Ebola patient in a Dallas hospital, as Gov. Rick Perry and other leaders reassured the public that there is no cause for alarm.

The patient, identified by The Associated Press as Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia, arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 20 to visit family. Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson said county officials suspect that 12 to 18 people may have had contact with Duncan.

“Right now, the base number is 18 people, and that could increase,” he said. Thompson said more details are expected by Thursday afternoon. The number includes five students at four schools, Dallas school district Superintendent Mike Miles said.

“This case is serious,” Perry said during a news conference at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where Duncan is being treated. “Rest assured that our system is working as it should. Professionals on every level on the chain of command know what to do to minimize this potential risk to the people of Texas and of this country.”

Miles said Dallas school officials learned Wednesday morning that five students at four schools — Tasby Middle, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary, Dan D. Rogers Elementary and Conrad High — had come in contact with Duncan. Lowe Elementary is also being watched because it connects to Tasby.

Read more here: https://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/01/6165611/officials-say-only-one-ebola-case.html#storylink=cpy

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No-Show Legislating Comes to NJ

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No-Show Legislating Comes to NJ

Sep. 30 State Assembly, State Senate 2 comments

By Scott St. Clair | The Save Jersey Blog

Only in government and on union jobs does a no-show get paid. Now, the Assembly has codified the practice, allowing members to phone in their presence in order to obtain a quorum for the transaction of business.

Caught by The Star-Ledger with their absentee hands in the cookie jar as being “present” when they were nowhere near Trenton, the Assembly unanimously passed a measure to legitimize the shady practice of being recorded as attending a session you didn’t.

Irrespective of what’s on the agenda, voters elect representatives to be physically on the job when there is business to transact, not to not be on the job.  If you can’t commit 100 percent, then find a new hobby.

https://savejersey.com/2014/09/no-show-legislating-comes-to-nj/

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Ridgewood Toastmasters International group opens lines of communication

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Ridgewood Toastmasters International group opens lines of communication

OCTOBER 1, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014, 10:10 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The topic was “excellence.”

Speakers had one minute to give an impromptu speech on the subject, guided only by a famous quote.

After his name was pulled randomly from a jar, one young man wearing running shorts got up nervously to the podium in the front of nearly 30 other people, of all ages, sitting in a back room of The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood last Tuesday night.

Mahwah resident Joseph Liberatore, a personal trainer who was only at his second Ridgewood Toastmasters meeting, silently re-read the Greek poet Hesiod’s quote about “badness.”

“Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by, but in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.”

“When you’re sitting alone, and you’re just trying to think of nothing, bad thoughts can stream into your mind…” he began.

By the time he was done, with the ding of a bell – 1 minute and 23 seconds later – he leaned over, laughed and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Jitters,” he said, as he walked back to his seat.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/group-opens-lines-of-communication-1.1099947#sthash.bvJZnWac.dpuf

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Ramsey luxury car dealer under probe after accusations of fraud

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Melissa Gorga Goes to Court to Fight Five Traffic Citations Received While Driving Her Bentley Borrowed from Emporio and Scammer Bobby Khan (Updated 9/26/2014)

Ramsey luxury car dealer under probe after accusations of fraud

OCTOBER 1, 2014, 11:44 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014, 11:56 PM
BY JOAN VERDON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Bobby Khan spoke the language of luxury car lovers. He could discuss whether a Lamborghini Aventador could outrace a Ferrari F12berlinetta. He said he could tell a Bentley from a Rolls-Royce blindfolded, by the smell of the leather.

In his Ramsey auto showroom filled with gleaming models built for style and speed, Khan dressed in expensive suits and charmed his customers, who believed they were dealing with someone who loved cars as much as they did. He persuaded them to buy from him, or give him their cars to sell on consignment.

There were no apparent problems at the Route 17 dealership he opened in April 2013 until a month ago, when irate customers began posting on Yelp.com, the business review website, that they had not been paid for cars Khan sold on consignment, or had not received titles for purchased cars. In mid-September, Yelp posters began urging all victims to file complaints with the police, and customers began sharing information through text messages and emails.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ramsey-luxury-car-dealer-under-probe-after-accusations-of-fraud-1.1100311#sthash.XYdFP2qw.dpuf

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SPECTRUM FOR LIVING PARTNERING WITH ALEX AND ANI FOR CHARITY BY DESIGN EVENT IN RIDGEWOOD

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SPECTRUM FOR LIVING PARTNERING WITH ALEX AND ANI
FOR CHARITY BY DESIGN EVENT IN RIDGEWOOD
 
RIDGEWOOD, NJ (October 2014) – On Wednesday, October 15th, Alex and Ani will be hosting a Charity by Design event that will benefit Spectrum for Living. 15% of all sales between the hours of6P.M. and 8P.M. will go directly to our organization to further help serve our clients.

“CEO, Founder and Creative Director of Alex and Ani, Carolyn Rafaelian, created Charity by Design, which serves as a unique division focused solely on giving and making the dreams of charitable organizations come true. Charity by Design empowers non-profit organizations both on a national and local scale to reach their goals by sharing their mission through the power of positive energy and creative design.” (www.alexandani.com)
If you are interested in shopping and cannot join us on October 15th, begin your shopping on Sunday, October 12th in the Ridgewood store or by placing an email order to [email protected](pick up only). *Whether shopping in store or by email, do not forget to mention you wish to take part in the Spectrum for Living fundraising event.Currently, Spectrum for Living facilities and services touch the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities in over 100 New Jersey communities. Spectrum for Living is one of New Jersey’s most respected and recognized not-for-profit organizations assisting adults with developmental disabilities in Bergen, Passaic, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. Spectrum provides a wide array of housing, medical, clinical, habilitative, social and educational services to more than 200 residential consumers and hundreds of community clients.

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Jeff Bell : Takes on the Myth that the GOP is the Party of the Rich

Jeff Bell

Jeff Bell : Takes on the Myth that the GOP is the Party of the Rich 
NJ Senate Candidate Jeff Bell 
Leonia, NJ

The Democrats are out-fundraising the Republicans dramatically, yet the GOP is seen as the party of the rich. It’s the worst of both worlds.

Why? The answer to the first part is simple. The Democratic Party has become the party of Big Money. It dominates in fundraising on Wall Street, from the legal profession, in Hollywood, and just about every other major sector of wealth in this country. This year it’s raised more money at every level, including for Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives even though the party acknowledges it has no chance of taking back Congress in 2014.

So why have Republicans gotten the reputation as the party of the rich? I believe it’s because the GOP’s policies coming out of Washington haven’t done enough to address the economic concerns of middle and lower income voters. I admire Mitt Romney for many reasons, but I can point to his 2012 convention speech that emphasized helping business owners rather than workers as a widely-watched Republican message that turned people off. Too frequently, the proposals offered by Republican candidates target help toward businesses (and they do need help under President Obama) and neglect to directly address the concerns of working Americans such as rising prices and falling pay.

So what would I do differently? I propose that we level the playing field of money. We can do this by making our dollar as good as gold. Under this monetary system, no one will have to worry about the value of their wages declining over time the way they have under the pure paper dollar; 85 percent since we went off the gold standard in 1971! A gold-backed dollar will let the American people rather than central bankers control the supply of money in the economy, so there will be no financial crashes caused by the Federal Reserve like we had in 2008.


In 1992 I published a book called Populist vs. Elitism. You can guess which path I recommended the Republican Party follow. I’ve been pushing since then for ideas besides the gold standard that put people first: immigration reform, a culture of life rather than abortion, and a tax system with one low flat rate. These are all part of my Senate campaign in 2014.

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A ‘terrifying’ day looms for N.J. ‘Real Housewives’ Teresa and Joe Giudice

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A ‘terrifying’ day looms for N.J. ‘Real Housewives’ Teresa and Joe Giudice

TMZ is reporting Teresa will claim the Real Housewives show is scripted and fake 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 5:08 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014, 3:05 PM
BY KAREN SUDOL
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

“I can’t believe that this is my life.”

It was a moment of introspection for Teresa Giudice, a volatile, free-spending and combative star of the reality TV show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” She and her husband, Joe, had admitted that they committed bank and mortgage fraud.

“I know who Joe and I are. We’re good people,” she said on an episode of the show that dealt with their visit to the federal courthouse in Newark to plead guilty in March.

On Thursday, the Giudices, of Montville in Morris County, are to be sentenced. Each could get a prison term, and Joe, a citizen of Italy, could be deported.

They hope that because they both agreed to plead guilty, Teresa, at least, will get probation.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/a-terrifying-day-looms-for-n-j-real-housewives-teresa-and-joe-giudice-1.1099474#sthash.MaM8d83z.dpuf

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Common Core : Here We Go Again Welcome back to the Math Wars

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Common Core : Here We Go Again Welcome back to the Math Wars 

PARCC testing is supposed to be more about the child’s facility with using a computer than his or her knowledge of the subject matter being tested. This is untested, seat-of-the-pants, thrown-together Obamacare website territory we will be in, and there will be a huge blowback. Fifth graders in particular need to be ready for anything, given that their standardized math scores for this year constitute the first 1/7th part of the rubric that determines whether they are ranked in the top 10 percent of their middle school in math at the end of sixth grade. If they are not so ranked, they will be prevented from taking Algebra in 7th grade and will be exposed to the Constructivist CMP math curriculum during all of 7th and 8th grade. This will stunt their growth at a critical time, and will eventually seriously limit their ability to compete for acceptance to a top notch school of engineering or science upon graduation from high school. CMP math in the middle schools is ‘the one that hot away’ about six years ago during the most recent battle in Ridgewood’s protracted Math War.

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Midland Park OKs dispatching negotiations

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Midland Park OKs dispatching negotiations

OCTOBER 2, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN
CORRESPONDENT
MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS

MIDLAND PARK — The Borough Council voted Thursday, Sept. 25, to table an ordinance introduced two weeks earlier to enter into an agreement with Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch for emergency dispatch services .

Instead, the council passed a resolution “to enter into negotiations with the Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch, including the ownership communities’ governing bodies of the Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch.”

Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch is an independent multijurisdictional service owned by the municipalities of Ridgewood and Glen Rock, which is allowed by state statute.

“We were agreeing to something that was not contractually ready,” said Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan. “[The agreement] was not properly presented to all the parties we are dealing with.”

The council’s action appears to correct a procedural misstep.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/council-authorizes-dispatching-talks-1.1100717#sthash.sSFOYlmq.dpuf

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New Jersey making passing new tests a graduation requirement

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New Jersey making passing new tests a graduation requirement

OCTOBER 1, 2014, 4:59 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014, 11:59 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

New Jersey is making all students pass new tests in English and math or hit a minimum grade on a college admissions exam to get a high school diploma beginning in 2016.

The decision appears to be a reversal for the administration, which had promised the new tests wouldn’t count right away.

Acting Education Commissioner David Hespe denied that the administration was backing off its promise, because the tests will not be the only option. Students can also graduate if they reach certain minimum scores on tests such as the SAT or ACT or can show a portfolio, he said.

Two years ago, Governor Christie publicly endorsed the new tests based on standards adopted by New Jersey and other states. But as the standards, which are known as the Common Core, have grown controversial among parents and conservative voters, the governor has said little publicly about them. In July, he said he would form a commission to examine the new tests and standards, but no members have been announced yet.

Asked whether the governor agreed to the changes, Hespe said, “that’s between you and the governor’s press office.” Christie’s office declined to comment when reached late Wednesday, and the governor was in California for a Republican Governors Association fundraiser.

The change drew rebukes from parents, teachers and education activists who say it’s unfair to rely on tests that are unfamiliar.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-jersey-making-passing-new-tests-a-graduation-requirement-1.1100217#sthash.qVibM0yy.dpuf

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Amtrak tunnel closures loom for badly needed repairs on aging Hudson River crossings

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Amtrak tunnel closures loom for badly needed repairs on aging Hudson River crossings

OCTOBER 1, 2014, 7:40 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014, 12:17 AM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Traveling from New Jersey to New York City is about to get even harder.

The salty floodwaters of Superstorm Sandy caused so much damage to two train tunnels under the Hudson River that they must be closed for additional hours every week, which will mean fewer trains and longer waits for commuters, officials said. Already, the tunnels are closed for large portions of the weekends for repairs. Now, those closures will extend into the week.

And that work is just a stopgap because the 104-year-old tunnels will continue to deteriorate, said Stephen J. Gardner, an Amtrak spokesman. Eventually the tunnels must be closed for about a year apiece and completely rebuilt. That could come to pass within the next 20 years, officials have said.

Before that happens, Amtrak’s leaders hope to build two additional new tunnels capable of handling existing traffic. But those will cost in excess of $10 billion, and likely much more. New tunnels were being built, but the project was scrapped in October 2010 by Governor Christie, who cited potential cost overruns that would have to be borne by New Jersey taxpayers.

If the old tunnels close before new ones are constructed, the region’s transportation network could be crippled, said Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of Amtrak’s board of directors.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/amtrak-tunnel-closures-loom-for-badly-needed-repairs-on-aging-hudson-river-crossings-1.1100258#sthash.QBGeMQWP.dpuf