Reader says Is that the “Village” that we want to live in?
Valley is a nonconforming business that wants an exception so that they can double in size in a residential neighborhood. The downtown developments are looking to build in a commercially zoned area.
I do not like any of the proposed projects and I object to them all because I do not want to live in a city. Imagine Ridgewood with 5 retail/condo developments and a doubled valley hospital.
Is that the “Village” that we want to live in? With no plan anyone can build. When we start having exceptions then the precedent will be set and there will be no stopping developers.
Readers says its time for torches and pitch forks since our public officials are clearly favoring personal agendas over the best interests of the town
It actually may be time for torches and pitch forks since our public officials are clearly favoring personal agendas over the best interests of the town. Residents are having the most implausible “expert testimony” crammed down our throats and the results of “studies” about the impact of all of this building defy all common sense. Then the Gail Price, in a surreal outburst against Valley opponents, dictates that the Planning Board can only consider two unacceptable options and can only use this patently unbelievable testimony to make their decision. So much for public comment and the voice of the people.
When the fix is so blatantly in and when all public opinion is ignored, it’s time for the angry mob to rally. Read your history books folks.
MOSCOW – Russia’s deputy prime minister laughed off President Obama’s sanction against him today asking “Comrade @BarackObama” if “some prankster” came up with the list.
The Obama administration hit 11 Russian and Ukrainian officials with sanctions today as punishment for Russia’s support of Crimea’s referendum. Among them: aides to President Vladimir Putin, a top government official, senior lawmakers, Crimean officials, the ousted president of Ukraine, and a Ukrainian politician and businessman allegedly tied to violence against protesters in Kiev.
It remains to be seen whether the sanctions will dissuade Russia from annexing Crimea, but one an early clue that they will not be effective came just hours later when President Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as an independent state, perhaps an early step towards annexation.
U.S. official have warned of additional sanctions for Russian action, hoping it will deter Russia from any further aggression towards Ukraine, but it didn’t appear to upset the often outspoke Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
Venezuela In Turmoil For Lack Of Flour, Milk And Diapers
by LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO
March 16, 201412:56 PM
Alvaro Villarueda starts his morning the same way every day — putting in a call to his friend who has a friend who works at a Caracas, Venezuela, supermarket.
Today, he’s looking for sugar, and he’s asking his friend if he knows if any shipments have arrived. As he talks on the phone, his wife Lisbeth Nello, is in the kitchen.
There are 10 mouths to feed every day in this family — five of them children. The two youngest are still in diapers.
“The things that are the scarcest are actually what we need the most,” Nello says. “Flour, cooking oil, butter, milk, diapers. I spent last week hunting for diapers everywhere. The situation is really tough for basic goods.”
Common Core money man Bill Gates defends K-12 experiment in ABC News interview
March 17, 2014
Ben Velderman
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Microsoft founder Bill Gates appeared on a Sunday talk show to respond to criticism of Common Core, the one-size-fits-all math and English learning standards that are being used in schools in 45 states.
In a softball interview with ABC “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, Gates addressed concerns that Common Core will undermine local and state control over public education.
“The Common Core is not a curriculum. It doesn’t tell you how to teach. It’s not a federal takeover. Nobody’s pushing for that,” Gates said.
Gates – whose personal foundation has reportedly spent nearly $200 million to get the Common Core experiment off the ground – said the nationalized learning standards are better than states’ previous learning expectations because they emphasize genuine understanding of the material, instead of rote memorization.
“I believe 10 years from now, kids’ competence in math, kids’ scores in math, can be improved a lot,” Gates predicted.
“I think this is going to be a big win for education.”
There are a couple of major problems with Gates’ answers. We’ll start with his predictions that Common Core will help America compete in the global marketplace.
The Common Core standards were not piloted on actual students before they were adopted and implemented back in 2010 and 2011. The fact is no one can say with certainty if Common Core’s approach to math – which emphasizes “critical thinking” over memorizing basic information – is going to produce a generation of more and better mathematicians.
In fact, there are a number of thoughtful scholars who expect Common Core will have a disastrous effect on the national goal of preparing students for a career in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
That same uncertainty applies to Common Core’s English standards which focus on non-fiction, “informational texts” at the expense of classic literature.
Gates and company believe more practical reading assignments will better prepare students for the ever-changing economy. Critics say the standards will produce an ignorant citizenry that won’t be prepared to think seriously about history, culture and politics.
This means Gates’ prediction that the “higher standards” will yield great academic fruit is just a wild guess. The opposite could just as easily turn out to be true.
But Gates’’ biggest misstatement was his assertion that Common Core doesn’t represent a “federal takeover” of America’s public education system.
While we agree that Common Core isn’t an outright takeover of the nation’s public schools, we believe it does give D.C. bureaucrats backdoor access to the nation’s classrooms.
Jersey shore rentals slow in second post-Sandy season
MARCH 16, 2014, 3:35 PM
BY WAYNE PARRY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOMS RIVER — In a normal year, many of the prime summer beach house rentals at the Jersey shore would be gone already, snapped up by vacationers months in advance.
This is not a normal year, again.
As the second summer season following Superstorm Sandy approaches, shore rentals are still available because of a combination of factors keeping many renters from making up their minds as quickly as they had in years past. That’s good news for vacationers, who could have more options than usual, but not-so-great news for shore towns counting on this summer to be noticeably better than last year’s.
Cyndy Yates, of Valley Forge, Pa., is one of the late bookers. She decided last week on a place in Avalon because her usual rental is being renovated.
“We would make our decisions definitely by January at the very latest,” she said. “A lot of times, between November and the end of the year, we would know where we were going to rent.”
A big factor in the late-developing market, particularly in Ocean County, is the ongoing project to rebuild Route 35. That is the second-busiest highway at the shore, a crucial north-south route winding through beach towns that were among the hardest hit by the Oct. 29, 2012, storm. Lane closures, stop-and-go traffic and heavy equipment tearing up pavement have led to massive backups during the winter.
Another factor is uncertainty over which beaches will be open for the 2014 season as repairs continue in the worst-hit shore towns.
And a seemingly never-ending series of winter storms and frigid temperatures has kept people huddled inside instead of driving to the shore to check out potential vacation spots.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/jersey-shore-rentals-slow-in-second-post-sandy-season-1.743778#sthash.0GlJk5QA.dpuf
MARCH 8, 2014, 12:53 AM
BY BOB WARBURTON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
MUSIC
WHO: Real Estate.
WHAT: Indie rock.
WHEN: 7 p.m. April 5.
WHERE: Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St., Manhattan; Ticketmaster or websterhall.com.
HOW MUCH: $20.
LISTEN: realestatethe band.com.
If the cover artwork for “Atlas,” the new album by indie popsters Real Estate, looks strangely familiar, you probably grew up in North Jersey – as the band’s founding members did, in Ridgewood – or spent more time than you care to remember, at least before 1998, driving past the intersection of Routes 4 and 17 in Paramus.
“Atlas,” which was released Tuesday, features 15 separate sections from artist Stefan Knapp’s mammoth abstract mural that graced the southerly façade of Alexander’s department store for decades, even after the store shut for good in 1992.
“I just randomly remembered it one day,” Martin Courtney, Real Estate’s songwriter and lead singer, said during a recent lunch with bassist Alex Bleeker in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“It was so alien,” Bleeker said, recalling the 200-foot-long, 50-foot-high mural set against the backdrop of an “ocean of a parking lot, totally empty and overgrown with weeds.” He added, “The funny part is, we don’t have any memory in our lifetime of the store being open.”
“Apparently my dad used to work there, which is kind of interesting,” Courtney said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/music/ridgewood-band-real-estate-returns-with-new-album-1.733282#sthash.QdRXbWbv.dpuf
Mark Twain , “St. Patrick had no politics; his sympathies lay with the right–that was politics enough. When he came across a reptile, he forgot to inquire whether he was a Democrat or a Republican, but simply exalted his staff and ‘let him have it.'”
– Letter Read at a Dinner of the Knights of St. Patrick, 16 March 1876
Readers debate State worker give backs on pensions and healthcare
The pensions and benefits for the officials and employees has already been reduced by the legislature, the costs of health benifits should be curbed by the legislature as well, but for the health care providers to raise costs they should have to go before the board of public utilities regarding tax funded health care costs. Why come after the worker when the health care vendors are milti-billion dollar enterprises, I’ll tell you why, too many politicians at all level of Govt. own stock in these companies and that kind of legislation might affect the stock prices.
Hummm , well in the Private sector I used to pay over $600 per month for health insurance for a single person working in finance and now I have a consulting contract were as part of the deal I pay a bit over $400 per month for insurance (up over 25% since Obamacare) So for the record how much do you really pay in??
Bridgeaplooza: Reader says Once again the Record chooses to continue its GWB bad joke columns
Once again the Record chooses to continue its GWB bad joke columns. At least this time it kept the Roman Catholic Church from a bashing probably because it took care of the required daily Christie bashing. The Archbishop backtracked a bit, however. This piling on should be put to rest.
P.S. All these jokes & songs that the Record so loves to quote are not even funny so why bother. Oops I forgot, the Record won an award for breaking the GWB story.
Reader says Ridgewood’s effective property tax increase was +4% based on the realized decline in property prices.
According to a Tarvin Realtors report on Ridgewood home sale prices as a percentage of tax assessment value, the average sales price in 2013 was 108.35% of the full tax reassessment in 2012-2013 (source: https://www.tarvinrealtors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2013-December-RWD-Sold-v-Assessed-Value.pdf ). The 2012-2013 reassessment cut the average home value in Ridgewood by 13%, so that implies that average property prices fell by 4.65% YoY vs. 2012 based on realized sales prices in 2013 (8.35% – 13%). However, overall property taxes were flat to up YoY, so that’s an effective tax increase of +4% based on the realized decline in property prices.
Reader says We do not need pitchforks to say NO to over development
Much like the valley hospital situation, these people need an exception to the master plan. We do not need pitchforks to say NO. We do not even need a middle ground. These entities are all looking to build/expand so that they can make more money. Nothing personal, it’s just business.
What is in it for the town? More traffic, more kids in the schools and even less parking?
The Ridgewood blog Suports Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh as a Candidate for the Republican Nomination for Bergen County Freeholder
March 17,2014
PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
At this time the Ridgewood Blog wholeheartedly endorses Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh as a Candidate for the Republican Nomination for Bergen County Freeholder.
Bernie is uniquely qualified as a native of Bergen County and a sitting Councilwoman in the Village of Ridgewood to represent Bergen County as a Freeholder.
Bernie has extensive knowledge of the County and County operations and as a Council Person Bernie has balanced budgets, participated in Union Contract negotiations and is currently Chair our Safety Commission.
Bernie has proven herself to be an honest, reliable and a no holds barred advocate of Republican values.
Bernie has worked tirelessly on Republican campaigns over the years to ensure these values and views are heard throughout the County, State and beyond.
Bernie is a Corporate Relocation Consultant and Real Estate Appraiser and works throughout the County and State.
Bernie’s corporate experience comes in business of keeping people employed and making sure Bergen County is affordable and attainable at every level.
Because of this experience Bernie has tools to work within the County Government and to develop plans to lower taxes, strengthen property values and make Bergen County the pride of New Jersey.
Bernie and her husband Michael have been married for 21 years and they have resided in Ridgewood for the past 17 years.
Bernie is the mother of three energetic, thoughtful and caring children ages 16, 14, and 10 and is raising them to be productive, respectful and fun kids.
Reader says There’s a big difference between ‘opinion’s’ and ‘slander’.
There’s a big difference between ‘opinion’s’ and ‘slander’.
If someone makes a statement about a particular individual that is false and or defamatory, I’d say they could be liable for it. (one would have to prove damages in court and that’s a difficult and expensive task)
A ‘public person’ *elected official, govt employee* vs a ‘private person’ also has certain definitions and parameters of what is acceptable and expected to be written about them.
If I recall, one of the earlier online blogs set a legal precedent where online posters could state opinions, but not false accusations and slander.
The blog owner was sued and the problem there…and im not 100 percent certain…had to do with his editing of posts or selectively allowing some posts and not others vs. allowing all posts.
It was “emerson eye’ or ‘eye on emerson’… something along that name.
