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Readers say pay is commensurate with the skill-level involved

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Readers say pay is commensurate with the skill-level involved

I know its cold and heartless, but if you want to make more money, its up to you to aim a bit higher than a minimum wage job. And if you continue to earn minimum after experience on the job, consider yourself at the pinnacle of your potential.

There is nothing wrong with that, and certainly pride in a hard day’s work – but you shouldn’t expect things handed to you that aren’t earned. The consumer will be the one who pays – taken to an extreme, just look at the it cost to take the family to a sporting event to help pay the salary of someone who is fortunate enough to have the talent to simply hit or throw a ball.

The pay is commensurate with the skill-level involved. It’s work that is at the lowest level of human performance, and as such, it is intended for teenagers and those that are looking to get their start on the working ladder of life, coming from the lowest levels of acedemia. How on earth this job got to be mainstream, where parents now see it as some kind of way to support their families, and then complain that it isn’t enough, is beyond me.

 If you are truly at that stage in your life when you have taken on the responsibilities of having your own family, then for goodnesss sake, take some steps to make the appropriate changes in your working skills. Don’t load up on these family responsibilities and then expect your employer to somehow pay you more just because you increased your own responsibilities. The market should always be the determining factor in how much people are paid. If you don’t like it, then step aside. There are literally millions who are only too eager to take your job.TaylorMade R1 Driversshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=205477

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Its that time of the Year Again : Its ‘for the kids’

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Its that time of the Year Again : Its ‘for the kids’

Just in case anyone here doubts it…the majority of our ‘temporary residents’ don’t give a shit about the finances here or the taxes, since they will be leaving the rest of us once their latest offspring graduates RHS.(my neighbor just said this again and they were here for 3 yrs so far!)
They THINK paying more for teachers means their dumb kid will get into a better college.
And they ‘suck it up’, pay the taxes, then beat feet out of here.
I have a proposal, and it should be applied to property taxes STATEWIDE, just as is done in Florida.
You pay property taxes based upon the assessment or purchase price when you bought it.
It protects long time residents from tax increase from the whims of newbies.
Keeping long time residents who actually CARE about the community is why the newbies like it enough to move here.
And if you’re dumb enough to pay an inflated value for the perceived benefits…be my guest. Just don’t stick me with the tab.
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What Happens When America Goes Bankrupt?

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What Happens When America Goes Bankrupt?

Hat tip Tyler Durden, Zerohedge.com

Submitted by Simon Black via Sovereign Man blog,

Last week in the Land of the Free, I heard a radio campaign ad for a local political candidate while in Texas.

In the ad, he was talking about the debt and excessive government spending. And then he said something along the lines of, “We need to get this under control before America goes bankrupt.”

‘Buddy,’ I remember thinking, ‘America isn’t going bankrupt. It already IS bankrupt.’

Just so that we don’t mince words, my dictionary defines ‘bankrupt’ as “any insolvent debtor,” i.e. a debtor whose liabilities exceeds assets.

That’s the US government, by its own admission.

As we’ve discussed before, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) publishes financial statements each year in which they list all official government assets and liabilities.

The liabilities far exceed the assets. Big time. And the hole is getting deeper each year.

At this point the government’s net worth is roughly NEGATIVE $17 trillion, about 110% of GDP. That’s textbook insolvency.

The only reason the US government is still able to service its debts is because they are borrowing money just to pay interest… and because the Federal Reserve keeps printing money to buy up US debt.

These are hardly sustainable fiscal strategies.

Read the rest of the story here:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-14/what-happens-when-america-goes-bankrupt

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Today is Ridgewood Project Pride Day

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Today is Ridgewood Project Pride Day

All Welcome to Help!
Ridgewood’s Project Pride Day Saturday, May 17th, 9:30 a.m. All Ridgewood residents, church groups, local social service agencies, students, scouts, and those with or without green thumbs, are invited to join the leaders of Project Pride in a community effort to beautify our Village. Volunteers are to meet on Saturday, May 17th, at 9:30 a.m. near the Clock Tower (corner of Oak Street and Ridgewood Avenue). Located throughout the Central Business District of Ridgewood are many large containers that are filled with blooming flowers and foliage which line East and West Ridgewood Avenue and the side streets of Oak, Walnut, Chestnut, Broad and Franklin Avenue. This beautification project is accomplished with the assistance of volunteers each year, and the enhancement of our local parks, business district and downtown brings about a true sense of community and pride. This community building effort also provides ownership, accountability and respect. The Project Pride Committee is responsible for the summertime floral hanging baskets, the winter’s illuminated kissing balls, presentation of the HomeScape Awards, and maintenance of local pocket parks and seasonal garden plantings. If interested in obtaining Project Pride membership, or to obtain further information, please contact the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 weekdays between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
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Veterans scandal risks engulfing Obama

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Veterans scandal risks engulfing Obama
May 16, 2014 5:40 pm
By Geoff Dyer in Washington

Amid contrived outrage over Benghazi and the improving fortunes of its healthcare reform, the Obama administration could be facing a genuine scandal about its treatment of military veterans that has the potential to attract broad political condemnation of its competence.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing mounting evidence that some of the hospitals it runs have been keeping two sets of books to make it look as if they were reducing waiting times to see a doctor

More damning, the department is investigating the claims of a whistleblower doctor in Arizona that dozens of patients at one hospital died while they were languishing on a hidden waiting list without ever being given an appointment.

Richard Griffin, the department’s acting inspector general, admitted on Thursday that its review could lead to criminal charges. In the first political casualty of the scandal, Robert Petzel, the department’s undersecretary for heath, resigned on Friday.

If the evidence of mismanagement continues to accumulate, the Obama administration will find itself not in another partisan knife-fight, but under fire from both parties in a Congress where the uniformed military is venerated.

The veterans’ healthcare scandal is, in part, one of the unintended consequences of the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq, which have created “our 9/11 generation who have served with honour in more than a decade of war,” as President Barack Obama described them on Thursday.

More than 970,000 veterans from those wars have filed disability claims, taking the total enrolled in the VA system to 8.57m by the end of 2012.

https://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/328546c0-dd10-11e3-8546-00144feabdc0.html#axzz31xV3xAMc

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Ridgewood Crew collects seven Garden State gold medals

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Ridgewood Crew collects seven Garden State gold medals

May 16, 2014    Last updated: Friday, May 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
Pages: 1 2 > display on one page

Ridgewood Crew had nine boats row to medals at the April 26 Garden State Scholastic Championships, including seven gold-medal winners in the event held on the Cooper River in Camden.

The Garden State regatta features 1,500-meter sprint races and is the New Jersey qualifier for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) Championships later this month.

Under the direction of head coach Boris Roque Alvarez, Ridgewood finished strong in almost every category, placing in early heats and successfully advancing to the finals.

Ridgewood Crew is an independent, privately-funded club not affiliated with Ridgewood High School, though its 70-rower roster is comprised almost entirely of RHS students. The club, now in its 11th season of operation, is structured similar to that of most high school-sanctioned sports in that it is split up into varsity, junior varsity and novice levels.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/ridgewood-crew-team-collects-seven-garden-state-gold-medals-1.1017389#sthash.c8AMIkh6.dpuf

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Republicans Paint Reid as Bogeyman in 2014 Senate Races

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Republicans Paint Reid as Bogeyman in 2014 Senate Races

By Kathleen Hunter 2014-05-16T04:00:00Z

Republicans are invoking a harrowing image of Senate Majority Leader

Harry Reid to lure independent voters away from Democrats and motivate their party base ahead of November’s election.

The strategy has a big glitch: Almost half the voters don’t know who Reid is.

Republicans needn’t worry too much, though, as Reid’s line of attack against them isn’t much better. He’s focused on an even lesser-known pair of bogeymen, the energy billionaire Koch brothers, who are financing a number of pro-Republican groups.

“To normal independent voters, the most obscure story possible would be a fight between Reid and the Koch brothers over Benghazi,” said John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, in a reference to the 2012 attack on a Libya diplomatic post that left four Americans dead.

“Most normal human beings outside of the the state of Nevada neither know nor care who Harry Reid is. I’m sure most people associate the Koch brothers with a certain cola beverage,” Pitney said.

Unlike presidential campaigns, elections held in the middle of a White House term tend to lack broad themes and big personalities. Even so, that hasn’t stopped leaders in Washington from trying to latch on to Reid and the Koch brothers to personify the traits of the other party that could turn voters away.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/republicans-paint-reid-as-bogeyman-in-2014-senate-races.html

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Ridgewood Girls Lacrosse surges to 10th straight county championship

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Ridgewood Girls Lacrosse surges to 10th straight county championship

MAY 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE

MAHWAH – For at least a little while, it looked like the No. 1 Ridgewood High School girls lacrosse team might not bring home another Bergen County championship last Saturday.

Ridgewood seniors Devon Maltz, left, and Darby Kiernan kiss the Bergen County championship trophy after the Maroon girls lacrosse squad claimed the prize for the 10th time in as many tries.

But that possibility dissipated when the stubborn storm clouds threatening to postpone the tournament final at Mahwah High School dispersed, and the Maroons were able to show that they remain the best team in the county by a wide margin.

After lightning delayed the start of the game by about an hour, Ridgewood wasted no time in taking control, scoring the first seven goals on its way to a 17-3 victory over second-seeded Immaculate Heart to capture the school’s 10th straight county championship. The streak includes two North Jersey Invitationals (2005-06) and eight Bergen County tournaments (2007-present).

“It’s so good to celebrate as a team, because making history like this means a lot,” senior captain Darby Kiernan said.

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-lacrosse/decade-of-rhs-dominance-1.1017456

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The Ridgewood Council honored Wrubel with a proclamation that thanked him for his lengthy service as a member of the village’s Historic Preservation Commission

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The Ridgewood Council honored Wrubel with a proclamation that thanked him for his lengthy service as a member of the village’s Historic Preservation Commission

Ridgewood ‘gem’ lays foundation for the future

MAY 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER

To refer to Arthur Wrubel as a notable Ridgewood resident would be a vast understatement; after all, much of the village’s overall appearance today and in the future can and will be traced to his concepts and handy work.The Ridgewood Council honored Wrubel with a proclamation that thanked him for his lengthy service as a member of the village’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) while acknowledging his long list of architectural and planning projects here and throughout the world.

Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh said the village has “a gem” in Wrubel.

Walsh recalled her early years in elected office, when she served as the council liaison to the HPC, which was tasked with receiving and reviewing an array of applications for any exterior building changes. She recalled that Wrubel “would segue into the history of the property,” which Walsh said she found fascinating.

“I was the student listening to Art at those meetings,” she said. “I’m so happy I can call you a friend now.”

Councilman Tom Riche said he worked with Wrubel while serving on the HPC as the liaison from the Planning Board. During that time, Riche observed Wrubel’s “historical knowledge and love for preserving architecture,” characteristics that “served as the inspiration for the group.”

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/village-gem-lays-foundation-for-future-1.1017569

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The Internet’s 51 New Regulators

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The Internet’s 51 New Regulators

The FCC goes ahead with its plan to control Web pricing.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler went ahead with his proposal on Thursday to give his agency the power to decide whether the terms and prices of broadband Internet services are “reasonable.” That’s bad enough as political discretion, but according to dissenting Commissioner Ajit Pai, regulators from every state will also be able to get into the act.Mr. Wheeler’s goal is to satisfy the “net neutrality” supporters demanding that every broadband customer receive the same deal, no matter how much bandwidth they consume. Backed by two other Democrats, Mr. Wheeler said he prefers the “reasonable” pricing standard. But he also suggested another, even worse option to regulate broadband prices: reclassifying Internet connections as “telecommunications services.”

For two decades Congress has wisely refused to give the FCC the same power over the Internet that it holds over the telephone system. And for two decades the Internet has enabled a gusher of creativity that was unimaginable over a century of regulated telephony. Mr. Wheeler’s brainstorm to change all this is simply to pretend the Internet is a phone network.

This would apply to today’s broadband networks common-carrier rules that were designed for monopoly telephone companies—and created decades before the inventors of smart phones and social media were even born. Since this designation would automatically impose myriad obligations that have nothing to do with current customer needs—and that many modern firms could not possibly fulfill—the commission would then have to issue a flurry of exemptions (“forbearance” in FCC parlance) to prevent chaos in the market for Internet connections.

https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304547704579564151980296612?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304547704579564151980296612.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

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Ridgewood elementary school to welcome new principal

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Ridgewood elementary school to welcome new principal

MAY 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

Caroline Hoffman

A district educator will replace the retiring Marianne Williams as principal at Willard School.

Effective July 15, the school will be helmed by George Washington Middle School (GW) Assistant Principal Caroline Hoffman, who will be receiving a salary of $155,000 in her new position.

According to the April 28 Board of Education (BOE) meeting agenda, Hoffman, who began her career as a third grade teacher at McCormick Elementary School in Baltimore, was a teacher at Somerville Elementary School for seven years before being named GW’s assistant principal in 2007. In 2003, as a third grade teacher, she received Somerville’s Teacher Recognition Award before being designated a “lead teacher,” overseeing other teachers, in 2006.

She possesses state certification as an elementary school teacher, reading specialist, supervisor and a principal, according to the BOE. Hoffman holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola College, as well as a master’s degree in educational leadership from the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown.

Hoffman told The Ridgewood News that she is “very excited for this opportunity” to be returning to an elementary school.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/willard-to-welcome-new-principal-1.1017451

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Proposals For the Long Term Ground Lease for Development On Village Owned Property

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Photo courtesy of Tax Assessor’s office, Village of Ridgewood
Proposals For the Long Term Ground Lease for Development On Village Owned Property
May 15,2014
Boyd A. Loving
12:16 PM

Ridgewood NJ, Today at 11:00 AM, proposals were opened in connection with the Village Council’s plan to develop VOR owned property on East Ridgewood Avenue between Gilsenan Realty and The Gap.  This property now serves as a metered, surface parking lot.

It is the Council’s intent to lease the property to a developer, with the expectation of collecting ground lease fees and property taxes on any structure constructed thereon.  Council members envision that a developer might wish to construct a 2-story building with retail on floor one and office space above.  The developer would be responsible for finding suitable tenants and leasing/managing the property.

Two (2) proposals were received today.  Submitters were:

Langan Development
200 Riverfront Boulevard
Elmwood Park, NJ
https://www.riverdrive.com/overview.html

Initial ground lease fees = $75K per year

Tantum Realty LLC
66 York Street
Jersey City, NJ
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tantum-Realty-LLC/434182256712388

Initial ground lease fees = $30K per year

VOR staff members will shortly begin the process of reviewing each proposal to ensure conformity to established criteria and then forwarding compliant proposals to the Village Manager and Council for review

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Ridgewood school board trustees question adding administrators

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Ridgewood school board trustees question adding administrators

MAY 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

Administrative work is rising, but so are district costs and taxes.

Because of this Catch-22, some Board of Education (BOE) members are at odds over a proposal, made by Superintendent Daniel Fishbein at last Monday’s BOE meeting, to hire two new administrators to supervise science and special education.

Ultimately, Fishbein wants to reinstate all seven administrative positions lost during budget cuts several years ago. This would include the two positions proposed for next year, two that would be proposed for 2015-2016 and the three administrators hired last year: Ryan Kenny, the new technology manager; Dara Gronau, supervisor of English for grades 6-12; and Jean-Anne O’Neill, supervisor of elementary education. All three receive a salary of $130,000.

BOE trustee Jim Morgan said he believes that the district is operating successfully without the additional administrators, who would add fixed costs to the already-tight budget. Morgan noted that in recent years, when the superintendent has presented the district’s proposed budgets, he has highlighted Ridgewood’s relatively high number of students per administrator while emphasizing Ridgewood’s relatively low costs per student, in comparison to other similar districts’ costs.

“I have serious reservations about the proposal,” Morgan said. “First is the funding. These two positions, which were envisioned last year, were not included in the budget. We’ve spent no time explaining to the community why we want to expand the administrative ranks by two people, which will cost us in excess of $300,000 a year.

“I don’t really fully understand the need,” he said. “We’re continuing to highly perform.”

Fishbein, who proposed to pay for the positions with “breakage” (the differential between the costs of a more highly paid retiring employee and a new hire), justified the positions by pointing to rising administrative work.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/trustees-questionadding-supervisors-1.1017421

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Ridgewood officials mull plan to address abandoned properties

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Ridgewood officials mull plan to address abandoned properties

MAY 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

Ridgewood officials will soon have new guidelines to refer to when dealing with owners of abandoned commercial and residential properties.

The Village Council introduced an ordinance on Wednesday to adopt the state’s “Abandoned Property and Rehabilitation Act” for Ridgewood’s own village code.

The council has been discussing abandoned properties in Ridgewood since the issue was raised by Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck earlier this year. Hauck discussed the guidelines with the council at a meeting in March.

Hauck said she knew of a few locations within Ridgewood, which she did not name, where owners have let their properties go into disrepair, and she believed that putting the state’s guidelines in Ridgewood’s code could help village officials put more pressure on these individuals.

“We have to create a system whereby people know that they’re on record as being a problem,” she said at last Wednesday’s council meeting.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/village-officials-mull-plan-to-address-abandoned-properties-1.1017425

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Paving plans in Ridgewood hit potential roadblock

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Paving plans in Ridgewood hit potential roadblock

MAY 15, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014, 4:25 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER

Already behind with last year’s street repaving plan, the village might experience a delay or potential cancellation of the proposed 2014 paving project.

The Ridgewood Council’s 3-2 vote to introduce a capital bond ordinance, which would fund this year’s street paving, created a degree of uncertainty that the governing body might not approve the funding at its May 28 meeting. According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, a simple majority is needed to introduce the ordinance; however, a supermajority (at least four affirmative votes) is required to adopt a capital ordinance.

Recognizing that the council members introduced the 2014 general capital ordinance by 3-2 vote last month, Sonenfeld removed the street repaving portion from the capital budget. Her intention, she explained this week, was to ask the council to consider the paving project, which amounts to $1.549 million, separate from the other items in the capital budget.

“I think paving to everybody is kind of a bread-and-butter or meat-and-potatoes issue. We need to get it right,” she said. “I have broken out paving as a separate capital budget item. I would like the council to really consider working off of that proposal, so if there is a disagreement over the total capital budget, as least we can get paving done in 2014.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/paving-plans-in-ridgewood-hit-potential-roadblock-1.1017200