Gary Mikulec, chief of the Ankeny, Iowa police force, which raided Ms Prince’s home in January, said that the suspects arrested “were not very good people”. One had a criminal history that included three assault charges, albeit more than a decade old, and on his arrest was found to have a knife and a meth pipe.
It is easy to see why the police like to be better armed than the people they have to arrest. They risk their lives every day, and are understandably keen to get home in one piece. A big display of force can make a suspect think twice about pulling a gun. “An awful lot of SWAT tactics are focused on forcing the suspect to surrender,” says Bill Bratton, New York’s police chief.
But civil libertarians such as Radley Balko, the author of “Rise of the Warrior Cop”, fret that the American police are becoming too much like soldiers. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams (ie, paramilitary police units) were first formed to deal with violent civil unrest and life-threatening situations: shoot-outs, rescuing hostages, serving high-risk warrants and entering barricaded buildings, for instance. Their mission has crept.
Ghada Abbasi Ranked Number One in Bergen for homes sold in 2013
March 23,2013
Ridgewood NJ, Ghada Abbasi, a sales associate affiliated with the Ridgewood/Glen Rock office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, NY, ranked as the top Bergen County agent out of all real estate companies in 2013 based on homes sold, with closings in excess of $54 million and 87 closed units (homes sold), according to the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service.
Specializing in Bergen County real estate, she has been the number one agent in the Ridgewood office for 13 consecutive years. She was also one of the company’s top agents in 2013, ranking fourth in total gross commission income and sixth in total units sold out of more than 3,000 affiliated associates in New Jersey and Rockland County.
“Ghada has achieved top status in one of New Jersey’s most in-demand counties. That is an incredible accomplishment and is due to the exceptional service and complete care she offers to each and every client. I am extremely proud of Ghada for her continual success,” said Hal Maxwell, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, NY.
To contact Abbasi, call 201-407-6630 or 201-493-2969. The office is located at 44 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood.
$750,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404330
336 BROOKMERE CT, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Lisa Sammataro, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.TF6ADtDa.dpuf
$750,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1408168
255 HEMPSTEAD RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Ghada Abbasi, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
25
$839,999 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1406440
515 STERLING PL, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Derek Eisenberg, Broker Associate
Continental Real Estate Group, Inc.
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
11
$1,095,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1404714
538 VAN DYKE ST, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Rose Hueneke, Broker Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
16
$1,095,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1407185
234 PALMER CT, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Ettie Rais, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
20
$1,155,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1405673
776 WOODFIELD CT, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
2 Half Bath, COL
Marisa Traverso, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
18
$1,199,999 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1402281
706 HILLCREST RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Jennifer Brito, Sales Associate
William F. Gilsenan Jr, Broker
Gilsenan & Co.
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
22
$1,399,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1343418
436 FARVIEW ST, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
David H. Larsen, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 3/23
9
$1,399,999 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1336796
261 BELLAIR RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Mary Tarvin Passaro, Broker Associate
Sarah(Sally) Tarvin Thurston, Sales Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 3/23
17
$1,475,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1408561
226 FAIRMOUNT RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath,
2 Half Bath, COL
Marilyn Nuber, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 3/23
25
$1,595,000 in RIDGEWOOD
MLS # 1403728
184 BEECHWOOD RD, RIDGEWOOD, NJ 07450
5 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, COL
Jennifer Springer, Sales Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 3/23
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.TF6ADtDa.dpuf
Village Council Public 2014 Budget Hearings – March 27, April 7, 10
The Village Council has scheduled several Public Budget Hearings to take place in Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood.
Wednesday, March 19 from 5 – 7PM in the Court Room;
Friday, March 21 from 5 – 7PM in the Court Room;
Thursday, March 27 from 5 – 9:30PM in the Senior Center;
Monday, April 7 from 5 – 7PM in the Court Room;
Thursday, April 10 from 5 to 10PM in the Senior Center
Departments Hearings:
March 19 – Overview of Budget, Community Services – Building Dept; Zoining, Health Dept, Tax Assessor.
March 21 – 5PM Police Department; 5:45PM Fire Department; 6:30PM MIS
March 27 – 5PM Village Council, 5:15 PM Insurance & Debt Service, 5:45PM Engineering, 7:30PM Traffic & Signal, W.P.C.F., Property Maintenance, Parking, Utilities, 7:30PM Municipal Clerk & Elections, 8PM NWBCD
April 7 – 5PM Municipal Court & Public Defender, 5:30PM Emergency Services, 5:45PM Emergency Management, 6PM Library, 6:45PM Village Manager
April 10 – 5PM Parks & Recreation, Project Pride, Graydon Pool, 6PM Streets, Fleet Services, Recycling, Yard Waste Recycling, Solid Waste, 7PM Water Dept., 7:45PM Finance, Tax Collection, Village Attorney
Financial Advisory Committee Meeting – April 7
Notice: The Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) will meet on Monday, April 7 instead of their standard of the 2nd Monday of the month. the meeting will take place at 7:30PM in the Garden Room, Village Hall.
Special Ridgewood Planning Board Amendment to Meeting Schedule – April 1 Meeting
Special Public Meeting: Tuesday, April 1, 2014
In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2014, in the GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, 155 Washington Place, Ridgewood, NJ beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The Board may take official action during this Special Public Meeting. The agenda for the meeting includes the following:
1. Continued public hearing concerning a proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan, which amendment would recommend creation of new zone districts and changes in zone district boundaries within the Central Business District and surrounding area including AH-2, B-3-R, C-R and C Zone Districts.
2. Other Planning Board business per the agenda.
The proposed master plan amendment and related exhibits are at the office of the Secretary of the Ridgewood Planning Board on the third floor of Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey and are available for public inspection Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The amendment and exhibits are also posted as a courtesy on the Village’s website at www.ridgewoodnj.net.
All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.
Financial Advisory Committee Meeting – April 7
Notice: The Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) will meet on Monday, April 7 instead of their standard of the 2nd Monday of the month. the meeting will take place at 7:30PM in the Garden Room, Village Hall.
Readers say Rica Settlement Raises More Questions than are Answered
Why was Rica about to get a promotion.
How do you take around 3,500 quarters a day every working day without being sent to jail?
How do you steal a half million and only have to repay it over time? How do you get your pension and accrued time off to count towards that restitution?
Something is fishy. The sheer amount of theft tells me he’s covering for others who were involved, and the fact that he’s been allowed this ridiculous plea smells
I would like to know who was asleep on this one how is this unnoticed and who’s going to be held accountable?
How do you take around 3,500 quarters a day every working day without being detected? That’s not pocket change.
Leadership needed to establish goals
by Martin Walker
This letter was also sent to the Ridgewood Planning Board.
To the editor:
“Options ‘come down to economics’” (The Ridgewood News, Friday, Feb. 21, page A1) made good headlines, but Planning Board member objections to assisted living and parking facilities around building heights, location and aesthetics in North Walnut Street Redevelopment miss the enormity of issues affecting our community. Are we fiddling while Rome burns, or is there no leadership establishing goals and priorities?
The Organizational Development giant on leadership, Elliott Jacques, demonstrated that levels of institutional authority are correlated with the degrees of future time span awareness. Is no one in town governance articulating a vision for Ridgewood’s future? Doesn’t compromise require a shared goal in order to balance competing needs in the service of a greater good? Visionary leadership for Ridgewood requires a clearer articulation of where we are going.
The two perennial certainties, aging and taxes, provide the most stable variables around which to articulate any family community’s future. Every single one of us will age and the fact that tax revenue is tied to property values means our taxes will increase indefinitely. Visionary leadership must articulate what this means for our town.
Aging: Are we an aging-in community or an aging-out community? Should Ridgewood be required to provide a space for all of our lives, or only parts of it? Should our old age take place here, with easy access to all that we love, or should our elders go live somewhere else?
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/letter-leadership-needed-to-establish-goals-1.736297#sthash.nYJUpHp7.dpuf
Bergen County among hardest hit in N.J. epidemic of heroin deaths
MARCH 23, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014, 12:47 AM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The dead include a former high school football player, a mother from Oakland and best friends who died within two weeks of each other. Seven of them were under 30. Four were women. Nearly all died in their Bergen County homes.
So far this year, heroin has claimed the lives of at least 13 Bergen County residents — a rate of more than one per week. If the trend continues, by year’s end deaths would vastly exceed the county’s 27 fatal overdoses in 2013.
Caitlin Reiter, a 21-year-old from Franklin Lakes, died of a heroin overdose on Feb. 2 at her father’s home. Her addiction began in high school with prescription pills; no rehabilitation facility or family intervention could stop it.
The toll has alarmed county officials, who fear that opiate addiction is growing more entrenched in North Jersey.
Related story: Anti-drug ads aim to raise parents’ awareness about the rise of addiction in Bergen County
“It starts at a party with a painkiller and ends alone at night in your bedroom,” said Sgt. David Borzotta of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office narcotics task force.
In 2012, New Jersey saw roughly 800 opiate-related drug deaths, half of which involved heroin, a drug whose resurgence across the Northeast in recent years has been linked to the widespread availability and abuse of prescription painkillers.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving 2-alarm fire guts Ridgewood barn
March 22,2014
Boyd A. Loving
7:31 PM
Ridgewood NJ, A barn located in the rear of a home at 122 Cottage Place Ridgewood was gutted by a 2-alarm fire that was reported by a passerby at approximately 6:45 PM on Saturday. The owners of the property were not home at the time Ridgewood fire fighters arrived and found the barn totally engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported. Fire officials at the scene could not provide an immediate cause of the blaze. Response by Ridgewood FD, Ridgewood PD, Ridgewood EMS, and Ridgewood Emergency Services personnel.
NY Times Buries Republican Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Successes in Blurb On the 14th Page
By Michael Hausam
Scott Walker has transformed Wisconsin, but the New York Times doesn’t think it’s very newsworthy. They buried a tax cut story on page fourteen and gave it only a few lines.
The news:
Wisconsin legislature just passed a half-billion dollar tax cut
The state’s budget surplus is almost a billion dollars
When Walker took over the deficit was almost $2 billion
Unemployment has dropped by a third
But why wouldn’t someone like these things? It would seem that partisan political beliefs would be the only reasonable explanation. After all…
Walker infuriated the public unions with changes to their collective bargaining agreement
He’s the first-ever governor to survive a recall election
The state legislature has moved solidly from Democrat to Republican
Walker is an unabashed conservative and a 2016 Republican front runner
Had Walker caved on union demands, raised taxes, publicly urged moderation and bi-partisan compromises, and followed the types of policies endorsed by the left – and still have gotten similar economic results – it seems like the Times would be trumpeting this on page one. But he didn’t and so they haven’t.
New evidence Common Core was a waste
March 22, 2014
Heartland Institute
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new set of data analyses provides more evidence Common Core is likely a massive waste of time and money.
Here’s the conclusion of the Common Core portion of the Brookings Institution’s 2014 Brown Center report:
It is doubtful that even the most ardent Common Core supporter will be satisfied if the best CCSS can offer–after all of the debate, the costs in tax revenue, and blood, sweat, and tears going into implementation–is a three point NAEP gain.
The 2012 Brown Center Report predicted, based on an empirical analysis of the effects of state standards, that the CCSS will have little to no impact on student achievement. Supporters of the Common Core argue that strong, effective implementation of the standards will sweep away such skepticism by producing lasting, significant gains in student learning. So far, at least–and it is admittedly the early innings of a long ballgame–there are no signs of such an impressive accomplishment.
Column: How Democratic donors benefit financially from climate policy
BY: Matthew Continetti
March 21, 2014 5:00 am
Some lies just won’t go away. In February the Washington Post published an article with the following headline: “Why There’s No Democratic Version of the Koch Brothers’ Organization.” It was the umpteenth attempt to explain, in a particularly simplistic manner, how the millionaires and billionaires who donate money to the Democratic Party are nothing, absolutely nothing, like those meanie cancer research philanthropists Charles and David Koch.
The author, Reid Wilson, interviewed “Democratic strategists who deal frequently with high-dollar donors,” and these Democratic strategists told him, strategically, that their high-dollar donors are better than Republican ones. “For the Koch brothers, electing the right candidate can mean a financial windfall,” Wilson wrote. “Democratic donors revolve more around social issues.” On the one hand you have petty, greedy rich men, and on the other you have committed liberals willing to sacrifice for causes they believe in. The morality play writes itself.
Now, these liberals are not totally selfless, Wilson cautions. They are human beings; they have egos; they seek affirmation. “Donors like being recognized for their philanthropic gestures.” Hedge-fund billionaire and radical environmentalist Tom Steyer, for example, “cooperated with the New Yorker when it wrote a profile of him last year.” Charles and David Koch, though, “didn’t cooperate when the magazine took a look at their political activities,” presumably because “no one needs to send the message that the better-known Koch brothers are there for Republican candidates.” So that’s why the Kochs didn’t talk to Jane Mayer.
Does Reid Wilson believe in Santa Claus? His willingness to suspend disbelief when confronted with the image of a mythic creature—the un-self-interested liberal—suggests as much. The words “labor” and “union” appear nowhere in his article, despite the fact that unions are 6 of the 10 top all-time donors recently compiled by OpenSecrets.org, despite the fact that unions spent some $4.4 billion on politics between 2005 and 2011. (Incidentally, every member of the OpenSecrets.org top ten either leaned Democratic or split money evenly between the two parties. The Democrats are not hurting for money.)
Unions, their leadership, and their staff see political giving as “an investment,” any non-cross-eyed observer of the political scene would agree, with donations laundered back to the SEIU, AFSCME, NEA, UAW, and others in the form of generous and unsustainable pensions, wage laws benefiting closed shops over free labor, government-mandated dues and contracts, and job protections that make it difficult even for child predators to be fired from schools. That’s an ROI the hosts of the Shark Tank would envy.
USA Today: 5 craziest crimes of the week Ridgewood Scores Number One
Editors, NewserA most unusual municipal theft and a mailman with a criminally bad work ethic make this week’s list:
Jersey official steals $460K … in quarters: Last year, the public works inspector in Ridgewood, N.J., got caught stealing $500 in quarters from the room where the village dumped its parking-meter coins. To say that’s not the half of it doesn’t even come close. Turns out, Thomas Rica stole taken $460,000 over two years—in the simplest of ways.
Cops: Lazy mailman trashed 1K letters, packages: If you never got grandma’s Christmas card and happen to live on Long Island, this might explain things: A mail carrier threw more than a thousand pieces of mail into garbage bins along his Massapequa and Seaford route.
Restaurant review: Cravings Tapas Bistro in Ridgewood
MARCH 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 5:47 PM
BY ELISA UNG
THE RECORD
I admit I was skeptical about Ridgewood’s newest dinner spot, Cravings Tapas Bistro. First of all, the name “Cravings” makes me think of a mall food-court stand that sells limp salads and soft-serve ice cream. Second, Cravings’ menu can come across as wildly unfocused. Do you want hummus or Mexican street corn? Ricotta gnocchi or a cheesesteak empanada? Tuna tartare or eggplant Parmesan?
Another ratings agency drops New Jersey’s credit outlook to ‘negative’
MARCH 21, 2014, 3:32 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 4:40 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD
Another Wall Street ratings agency is warning investors about the credit outlook for New Jersey, citing the state’s slow recovery from recession and a state budget that remains structurally imbalanced.
Fitch Ratings on Friday maintained New Jersey’s “AA-” credit rating, but lowered the state’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative.” The action follows a similar warning issued in December by Moody’s Investors Service, which also affirmed the state’s credit rating but changed the outlook from “stable” to “negative.”
Standard & Poor’s, another Wall Street rating agency, has held a negative outlook for New Jersey since September 2012
Fitch attributed its change in New Jersey’s credit outlook to both state economic conditions and issues with the state budget.
“The state’s economic performance has lagged the nation in recovery from the recent recession, with improvement in 2013 trailing off at the close of the year,” Fitch said Friday.
“Minimal cash balances have been maintained in recent years, providing limited flexibility to absorb unforeseen needs or revenue under-performance from overly optimistic forecasting,” Fitch said.
But the ratings agency cited as positives New Jersey’s wealthy population and Governor Christie’s strong executive powers, as well as the state’s “consistent history” of making spending reductions when necessary. Recent improvement in New Jersey’s unemployment rate was also noted.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/another-ratings-agency-drops-new-jersey-s-credit-outlook-to-negative-1.748156#sthash.29qP7Tn9.dpuf
