Clueless reporters: The important news you’re missing
By John Stossel
Published July 09, 2014 FoxNews.com
Wars, plane crashes, mass murder — it’s easy to report news that happens suddenly. Reporters do a good job covering that. But we do a bad job telling you about what’s really changing in the world, because we miss the stories that happen slowly. These are usually the more important stories.
Recently, President Obama was mocked for saying: “The world is less violent than it has ever been. It is healthier than it has ever been. It is more tolerant than it has ever been. It is better fed than it’s ever been. It is more educated than it’s ever been.”
A car crash that kills a family is terrible news. But gradual improvements in driver behavior, car and road safety, and attitudes about drunk driving should be even bigger news.
Although these comments received criticism, he was absolutely right. Despite the current violence in the Middle East, the world today is actually less violent than it used to be. In the 21st century, about 50,000 people a year died from war — about a third the number who died each year during the Cold War and half the number during the 1990s, a decade thought of as a time of peace and prosperity.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other agencies are cautioning the public about a email phishing scam disguised to be a warning about unpaid tolls.
Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
An example of the email shows a subject line, “In arrears for driving on toll road.” The body of the email shows what appears to be the E-ZPass service center logo, along with the following message:
“Dear customer,
You have not paid a toll for driving on a toll road. This invoice is sent repeatedly, please service your debt in the shortest possible time.
The invoice can be downloaded here.”
A link to download and pay an invoice follows.
The bottom of the email shows a series of links including “phishing policy.” But E-ZPass said it doesn’t want those who receive the email to be fooled.
The email is not authorized by E-ZPass, the Port Authority or any other toll agency associated with E-ZPass, the agency said.
“We advise customers in receipt of this email not to open or respond to such a message. The safest thing to do is to delete the email,” the agency said.
The Port Authority said the real E-ZPass Service Center does not send emails to notify people of unpaid tolls. Any invoices will be sent through U.S. Mail.
Several other agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, have also issued warnings about the scam. Anyone with questions about whether a message from E-ZPass is real is asked to call the E-ZPass New York Customer Service Center at 800-333-8655
Residents and Council Class Over Councilwomen Hauck’s Selective Skype Appearances at Council Meetings
Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli, and Village Attorney Mathew Rogers each got nasty with Village resident Marcia Ringel during last night’s Village Council Work Session. Mr. Pucciarelli went so far as to raise one of his arms and point a finger aggressively at Ms. Ringel as he addressed her from his seat on the dais.
All of this came after Ms. RIngel suggested that Mr. Rogers’ professional opinion regarding the legality of Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck’s July 1 meeting participation by Skype was result driven (i.e., votes needed to ensure outcome of election for Mayor and Deputy Mayor) as opposed to being based on an existing Village ordinance or precedent.
This blogger finds it somewhat amusing that just prior to Ms. Ringel being publicly thrashed for suggesting there was only one reason for the July 1 Skype connection, Councilwoman Hauck had been officially recorded as being absent from the meeting at which the thrashing was taking place.
It was convenient for Ms. Hauck to connect by Skype to the July 1 meeting, but not convenient last night?
And a upstanding citizen of this community is verbally abused in public for suggesting that politics may have played a large role in the incident?
Reader says crime really does pay in Bergen County
Wow, crime really does pay in Bergen County. He just got off with no jail time, a “sorry”, and his initial downpayment was only $64,337.55, not the $69,000 agreed to in the initial plea deal. The check was handed to the Bergen County prosecutor, not any Village representative. How do we know we get the check ?
The deal calls for Rica, who also forfeited his $30,000 pension and $8,000 accumulated leave, to pay the village $2,000 a month for five years, for a total of $120,000. Ridgewood will also keep $4,000 it seized during a search of Rica’s home following his arrest.
That puts Rica’s restitution at $226,000, of which he’s only paying back $184,337.55; the rest comes from his forfeited pension and accumulated leave, and the $4,000 (16,000 quarters) seized during his arrest. He stole over $460,000, so the Village is out here $234,000.
How is this justice for the Village ? How did this guy get such a sweetheart deal ? Where are the other arrests if he did have leverage ? I hope the Record and Ridgewood News and the Village Council have answers for us.
Ridgewood Police Department : Passing of retired Lieutenant Sidney Richard Smith
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of retired Lieutenant Sidney Richard Smith. Lt. Smith affectionately known as “Zoomer” proudly served the Village of Ridgewood from 1962 -1987. I am proud to say that I had the privilege of serving under his command. He is survived by his wife Renetta, sons Steven and Kevin and daughter Cheryl.
A memorial service and viewing will be held at CC Van Emburgh Funeral Home on Wednesday 7/16/14 from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. Followed by a grave side service at George Washington Cemetery in Paramus.
I would like to thank the Smith family for sharing Zoomer with our community. He helped to make Ridgewood a safer place to live, work and play
Censorship: 38 journalism groups slam Obama’s ‘politically-driven suppression of news’
BY PAUL BEDARD | JULY 9, 2014 | 11:21 AM
In unprecedented criticism of the White House, 38 journalism groups have assailed the president’s team for censoring media coverage, limiting access to top officials and overall “politically-driven suppression of the news.”
In a letter to President Obama, the 38, led by the Society of Professional Journalists, said efforts by government officials to stifle or block coverage has grown for years and reached a high-point under his administration despite Obama’s 2008 campaign promise to provide transparency.
Worse, they said: As access for reporters has been cut off, the administration has opened the door to lobbyists, special interests and “people with money.”
And as a result, they wrote, Obama only has himself to blame for the current cynicism of his administration. “You need look no further than your own administration for a major source of that frustration – politically driven suppression of news and information about federal agencies. We call on you to take a stand to stop the spin and let the sunshine in,” wrote David Cuillier, president of SPJ.
The administration has dismissed similar charges from other journalism groups, notably the White House Correspondents’ Association, but the new letter sent Tuesday provided several examples of censorship and efforts to block reporter access. Among them:
• Officials blocking reporters’ requests to talk to specific staff people.
• Excessive delays in answering interview requests that stretch past reporters’ deadlines.
• Officials conveying information “on background” — refusing to give reporters what should be public information unless they agree not to say who is speaking.
• Federal agencies blackballing reporters who write critically of them.
“In many cases, this is clearly being done to control what information journalists — and the audience they serve — have access to. A survey found 40 percent of public affairs officers admitted they blocked certain reporters because they did not like what they wrote,” added the letter.
In addition to asking for openness, the groups demanded Obama create an ombudsman position to help clear away barriers to news coverage.
NJ TRANSIT ADOPTS FISCAL YEAR 2015 OPERATING, CAPITAL BUDGETS NO FARE INCREASE
Fares held stable for fifth consecutive fiscal year July 9, 2014
NEWARK, NJ — The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today approved a Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015) operating budget that holds fares stable for the fifth consecutive fiscal year, as well as a capital program that supports continued investments in infrastructure and equipment to maintain the system in a state of good repair and enhance the overall customer experience.
“NJ TRANSIT is moving forward with a balanced, fiscally-sound budget that holds the line on fares for a fifth consecutive year and continues to deliver the same level of service to our customers,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim. “We will continue to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible to best respond to the needs of the customers who rely on our service day in and day out.”
The Board approved a $2.019 billion operating budget and a $1.203 billion capital program for the fiscal year that started July 1, 2014.
Nearly half of the revenue in the FY 2015 operating budget comes from fares ($928.6 million), supported by a comparable amount from state and federal program reimbursements ($936.1 million) with the balance from a combination of commercial revenues ($113.7 million) and state operating assistance ($40.3 million).
The capital program funds continued state-of-good-repair investments in transit stations and infrastructure, supports an ongoing fleet modernization program and advances service reliability, safety and technology initiatives.
Operating Budget
The FY 2015 operating budget reflects a stable level of state, federal and other reimbursements, which will enable NJ TRANSIT to hold fares stable this fiscal year.
Approximately 58 percent of the operating budget is dedicated to labor and fringe benefits costs. Other significant expenses include contracted transportation services, fuel and power, and materials, which together comprise approximately 28 percent of the operating budget.
This year’s operating budget reflects an $8 million (one percent) growth in passenger revenue, based on employment projections and ridership trends. Overall passenger revenue and commercial revenue represents approximately 52 percent of the total FY 2015 operating program.
Capital Program
The FY 2015 capital program continues to prioritize investment in infrastructure to maintain an overall state of good repair, enhance reliability and safety, and improve the overall customer experience on the system.
The program continues to invest in upgrades to the Northeast Corridor (NEC), the agency’s most utilized rail line. The NEC is allocated $76 million in FY 2015 as part of NJ TRANSIT’s ten-year, $1 billion Northeast Corridor investment program that includes funding for the new North Brunswick Station, the Mid-Line Loop—a new flyover track to improve Corridor operations and increase operational efficiencies—and upgrades to County Yard.
Highlights of the program include $46 million in rail station improvements, including $9 million for Elizabeth Station reconstruction, $5 million for Newark Penn Station improvements, and $12 million for projects to make Perth Amboy and Lyndhurst stations accessible to customers with disabilities.
The program also supports continued investment in rolling stock renewal, with $104 million invested in rail rolling stock improvements and $44 million toward the purchase of new buses.
Funding is also provided for technology and security upgrades, and rail, bus and light rail infrastructure improvements.
Approximately 40 percent of the capital budget comes from the Transportation Trust Fund, with the balance coming from federal and other sources.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving Clean up from overnight storm continues in Ridgewood July 9,2014 Boyd A. Loving 4:02 PM
Ridgewood NJ, Clean up from an overnight storm continued into this afternoon in Ridgewood, where a large tree branch took down cable television & telephone lines of a home in the 600 block of Whithill Road, and also smashed the front windshield of a vehicle parked in an adjacent driveway. Crews from the Village of Ridgewood’s Parks & Recreation Department-Shade Tree Division were observed using chain saws, backpack leaf blowers, and a giant chipper/shredder to clear debris from two (2) homes on the block. No power outages were reported on the block. Damage appeared to have been limited to the car windshield, some shrubs, and a wooden fence.
Ex-Ridgewood inspector apologizes for stealing nearly half a million dollars in quarters
JULY 9, 2014, 2:39 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014, 2:57 PM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
HACKENSACK — Ridgewood’s former public works inspector repeatedly apologized on Wednesday for stealing nearly half a million dollars in loose parking meter quarters from the village.
“I am sorry for what I have done,” Thomas Rica told Judge Patrick Roma moments before being sentenced to five years’ probation. “I am very sorry. I’m…I’m just sorry.”
Rica, who lives in Hawthorne, was employed by the village for 10 years before his arrest early last year.
As part of a plea deal accepted by Roma Wednesday, Rica plead to four counts of third-degree theft, and will pay back a little more than half of what he admits he stole from his former employers.
Rica admitted in March to taking the coins over more than two years from a storage room within Village Hall.
Defending the plea agreement Wednesday, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Daniel Keitel said it took months to negotiate and will “get as much of the money back to the public as quickly as possible.”
Had the state tried Rica for second-degree theft, Keitel said he may have faced five years behind bars, but would not have been legally bound to return any of the stolen money
Rica’s lawyer, Robert Galuntucci, handed Keitel a check during Wednesday’s proceedings for $64,337.55 — his client’s initial downpayment.
The Cubans, the prostitutes, the senator, and The Daily Caller
The competition was stiff, but there was no stronger/stranger headline yesterday than “CIA is said to link Cuba to plot to smear senator.” Five Washington Post reporters broke the story that Cuban-American (and resolutely pro-embargo) Sen. Bob Menendez was “asking the Justice Department to pursue evidence obtained by U.S. investigators that the Cuban government concocted an elaborate plot to smear him with allegations that he cavorted with underage prostitutes.” It had been more than a year since sources in the Menendez “scandal” recanted or disappeared; now, it was reported that the mysterious “Pete Williams,” who tried to pitch the story to several outlets but only succeeded with the Daily Caller, was a golem created by “operatives from Cuba’s Directorate of Intelligence.” (Weigel/Slate)
Ridgewood YWCA program focuses on the costs of clutter
JULY 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2014, 3:05 PM BY BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER
As women milled about the room in the Ridgewood YWCA at the end of a presentation on de-cluttering, the topics of conversation between them were about anything but “stuff.”
Some talked about issues with aging or dying parents, others talked about relationship struggles, and some talked about their children.
Randi Bale, the de-clutter expert, wasn’t surprised.
There are costs to clutter – financial and personal – and Bale has made a career out of helping women understand the emotional tolls of clutter and the happiness and health benefits that come when you break free.
“Clutter is an energy zapper,” she said, speaking to about 30 women furiously taking notes.
Bale’s presentation was part of a new series at the YWCA called Women’s Empowerment Network. The series began in March with the “Week of the Women” and events have been held monthly since, with topics like healthy living and successful communication. The vision is to create a space that inspires and connects women for personal and professional gain.
Bale helps her clients with the practical side of de-cluttering, like organizing an office, and educates about the personal ramifications of clutter.
To put it bluntly, clutter “makes us crazy,” Bale said.
“Fear is the source of all evil,” Bale said, and that can manifest when you hold onto stuff and don’t let go.
“When you clear out, you clear out emotionally and mentally,” she said.
Clutter can stifle creativity and become overwhelming when “stuff” is not dealt with quickly.
“Piles don’t go away,” Bale said. “They haunt you.”
New Jersey Senate to vote on slowing Common Core implementation July 8, 2014 ALISSA MACK
TRENTON, N.J. – Another state could put a crimp in the Common Core takeover by the end of this week.
The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill on June 16 with a 72-4 vote with two abstentions to delay the use of new student assessments linked to Common Core by at least two years, according to Capitol Quickies.
The bill (A3081) would create a task force to review the standards and give school districts the option of administering PARCC tests in the upcoming two school years.
Capitol Quickies reports:
The state Senate has scheduled a vote for Thursday afternoon on legislation (A3081) that establishes an Education Review Task Force to analyze the Common Core standards, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments and the use of students’ test results in evaluating teachers…
The bill says that for at least two years, or longer if the task force’s final report isn’t completed within the year it’s supposed to take, PARCC assessments can’t be used as a high school graduation requirement or for other school or students accountability purposes. It also says that growth in students’ test scores can’t be used for at least two years for a teacher’s or principal’s evaluation…
The task force would have 15 members, including acting Education Commissioner David Hespe or his designee and eight members recommended by the following organizations: the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the New Jersey Council of County Vocational Schools, the New Jersey Education Association, the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, the New Jersey School Boards Association and the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network.
Three public members would also be appointed to the task force.
The new site did not seem confident that Gov. Christie would sign the bill should it reach his desk this week.
Menendez’s Senate colleagues call for probe of alleged Cuban plot to smear him
JULY 8, 2014, 7:22 AM BY HERB JACKSON WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT THE RECORD
A report that Cold War animosities fueled an Internet-age attack against Sen. Bob Menendez brought new attention to the scandal that has nagged him since early last year and, with his own call for more investigation, is unlikely to end soon.
Menendez, an ardent opponent of the Castro regime in Cuba, was on the offensive Tuesday, saying revelations published by The Washington Post meant the Justice Department had to investigate whether Cuban agents were connected to a prostitution smear against him.
The CIA uncovered evidence, including Internet protocol addresses, that links Cuban agents with efforts to spread allegations to media outlets that Menendez had trysts with prostitutes at the Dominican Republic resort home owned by his friend and campaign contributor, Salomon Melgen, the Post reported on Tuesday.
The prostitution allegations were first published by The Daily Caller, a conservative website, days before Menendez’s reelection in November 2012. They burst into the mainstream media the following January, when the FBI raided the Florida office of Melgen, an eye surgeon who was later ordered to refund $8.9 million in improper Medicare payments.
The prostitutes featured in the Daily Caller story later told Dominican authorities they were paid to lie and had not met Menendez.
Whole Foods recalls salads in New Jersey, 2 other Northeast states
JULY 8, 2014, 4:40 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2014, 4:40 PM ASSOCIATED PRESS Print
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS — Whole Foods is recalling two pre-packaged salads sold in three northeastern states due to a mislabeling of allergens.
The mini four-ounce containers of pre-packaged Caesar salad and Mesclun goat cheese salad were sold on July 8 in stores in New York, New Jersey (excluding Princeton, Cherry Hill and Marlton), and Connecticut (excluding Glastonbury, West Hartford and Bishop’s Corner).
The company says allergen warnings were mistakenly switched on the two items. The Caesar salad package now contains a warning about tree nuts, when it should contain a warning about fish and egg allergens, while the Mesclun salad contains a warning about fish and egg allergens.
The president’s policies have failed to enforce the law and are hurting American citizens.
The crisis on our border is the direct and predictable result of President Obama’s sustained effort to undermine America’s immigration laws. As the president’s previous director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Sandweg recently acknowledged: “if you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero.” Enforcement has collapsed.
Today President Obama says he needs $3.7 billion from Congress to handle the crisis his lawless policies are creating. Amazingly, the funding request further advertises his administration’s amnesty efforts and our fraud-riddled asylum programs, while explicitly omitting any request for expedited deportation authority. The request is also not paid for. The administration wants to borrow every penny.
President Obama has yielded to the demands of open borders groups, to whom he pledged amnesty in 2008. He has dramatically abandoned his lawful duty to the American people. Immigration enforcement for the world’s most powerful nation is now held hostage by a small band of radical immigration activists. That is why the administration still refuses to deliver the crucial message necessary to halt this flow: if you attempt to cross our border illegally, you will be apprehended and deported.
Most egregiously, the president has announced his intention to yet again bypass Congress in order to expand his far-reaching non-enforcement directives. His unlawful actions guarantee that the $3.7 billion will be only the beginning, and that the deluge of illegal immigration — and the huge costs — will only grow.
