Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving Tractor trailer tangles with rotted tree in Ridgewood
January 16,2014
Boyd A. Loving
4:04 PM
LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION
Ridgewood NJ, A rotted tree fell on a tractor trailer in front of 594 Spring Avenue, Ridgewood early Thursday afternoon resulting in the loss of cable television service to the home’s occupants, and the closure Spring Avenue between Kenilworth Road and South Pleasant Avenue for approximately 2 hours while crews worked to free the truck and remove debris. The truck driver was uninjured when the tree fell. The large truck wound up on the ordinarily quiet residential street due to a posted detour on nearby East Ridgewood Avenue because of an on-going PSE&G pole replacement project. Village of Ridgewood Shade Tree Department personnel used a bucket truck and chain saws to facilitate removal of the tree’s branches and trunk. The truck was able to drive away on its own power after the tree was removed. Damage to the vehicle appeared to be centered on the tractor’s wind deflector. It is believed that the tree was hit by the truck’s trailer, causing it to fall.
by Imara Jones
Wednesday, January 15 2014, 7:00 AM EST
As the White House prepares to launch a major economic opportunity effort, record high unemployment among black and Latino youth underscores how essential it is to create job opportunities for young people of color.
The critical issue here is that the ages of 16 to 24 are make or break years for lifelong earning potential. With one out four blacks and one out of six Latinos under the age of 25 without work, a generation of youth of color risks falling behind.
The situation for black and Latino unemployed youths is so alarming that leading think tanks and economists are raising red flags about it at a staggering pace. One report on the topic by Demos, the public policy organization, argues that the “exclusion of young people of color” from job opportunities “weakens the promise of America.”*
It’s a Jersey Thing: Why Chris Christie – or Any Pol From the Garden State – Can’t Go National
Nick Gillespie|Jan. 15, 2014 5:32 pm
I’ve got a new column up at Time.com which discusses what being from New Jersey means for Chris Christie, the embattled governor of the greatest state in the country. Snippets:
Shows such as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire only make sense in a place like New Jersey, where everyone has a chip on their shoulder, is hustling to make a buck, and is desperate for prestige (as South Park memorably summarized it in 2010, “It’s a Jersey thing”). That’s the reason, too, that Abscam, the FBI sting operation that informs the plot of the acclaimed new movie American Hustle, was centered around Atlantic City and took down mostly New Jersey politicians, too. Even more than the typical elected official, Garden State pols want money, power, and respect.
But as Tony Soprano (played so memorably by the late Jersey native James Gandolfini), could tell you, the same forces that spur ambition and success also carry within them their own demise. It quickly becomes difficult to know when serious lines are being crossed or the wrong messages are being sent to the people around you….
It’s telling that in his rise to national prominence, Gov. Christie captured headlines less for what he did than how he did it. Where other Republican governors have implemented major structural changes to collective bargaining (Wisconsin’s Scott Walker) or educational policy (Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal), Christie has essentially governed as a big-government conservative, spending more money each year he’s been in office and doling out conventional corporate welfare to favored constituents. The State of the State address he delivered yesterday didn’t change any of that.
What’s made him famous — or infamous, depending on your politics — was his willingness to shout down teachers, reporters, and even voters that he deemed idiots or worse. In short, it’s his Jersey attitude, not his policies, that have put him on top of potential Republican presidential candidates….
End of Extended Benefits Makes Hard Times Even Harder for Jobless in NJ
Unemployed fear they’ll hit bottom soon as they fall through gaping hole in safety net
Kathy Vanco of Rahway has been out of work for six months. She has been surviving on a biweekly unemployment check of about $700. That came to an end this week, however, and now she may have to dip into her savings to make ends meet.
“Without unemployment, I won’t be able to pay the car insurance, and forget about health insurance,” she said.
A year ago, Vanco would have been eligible for up to 47 weeks of emergency unemployment benefits – for a total of 73 weeks of aid — but the federal program expired on December 28 and has not been renewed, having stalled in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Unemployed workers now are eligible only for the 26 weeks of state assistance.
An estimated 90,300 unemployed New Jerseyans who were receiving emergency benefits were cut off late last month when a House and Senate budget deal did not include an extension. Another 89,100 jobless workers in the state will see their regular state unemployment benefits run out over the next six months. All workers who qualified for state benefits would have been eligible for the federal extension when the state aid expired. (Kalet/NJSpotlight)
The ceaseless nightmare of Hurricane Sandy victims has a new twist: More than a year after their homes were wrecked, hundreds of people face yet another hurdle that could further delay relief.
The reason is that New Jersey, unlike New York, requires a letter from a local flood expert to certify a home is substantially damaged before relief money is awarded. That may be a reasonable guard against fraud, but the implementation, again, has been botched.
Some towns helped storm victims get these letters, due today. Others didn’t. The result is a bureaucratic mess, housing advocates say.
Sandy victims in less proactive towns say they knew nothing about this requirement until late November or well into December. That’s when the state warned 900 storm victims — nearly 1 in 4 people approved for rebuilding grants — that they’d be bumped to the waiting list unless they could get this letter in by Jan. 15.
Which means that after making it all the way to the finish line, they might lose their long-awaited relief money. Today was a hugely important deadline. Why were so many apparently caught unaware?
The blame falls on both state and local officials. The state agency in charge of the rebuilding program, the Division of Community Affairs, requires these letters to be written by a full-time floodplain manager. That’s a position many towns don’t have. (Star-Ledger Editorial Board)
Bergen County freeholders want hearing with PA officials over GWB lane closings
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2014, 11:46 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The Bergen County freeholders want the Port Authority’s chairman and its New Jersey commissioners to appear before them to explain their roles in the controversial lane closings that clogged traffic at the e George Washington Bridge for four days in September.
The invitation stems from a vote on Wednesday to table a last-minute attempt by the newest freeholder to call for the resignation of Port Authority Chairman David Samson and the New Jersey commissioners.
Freeholder James Tedesco asked the board to back a call for the resignations based on the unfolding scandal over what many see as an attempt to use the closing of the local toll lanes in Fort Lee as political payback against the borough’s Democratic mayor.
Tedesco, a former Paramus mayor, took the unusual step of waiting until last night’s meeting to submit his resolutions. He explained that he had spent 12 to 14 hours leading up to the meeting preparing the resolutions and could not get them to the board sooner.
But after several freeholders said they needed more time to consider the resolutions, the board unanimously voted to table them for 30 days so they could hear from Samson and the commissioners.
YWCA Bergen County January Vacation Day Program Includes Trip to FunPlex in East Hanover, NJ Ridgewood, NJ—December 11, 2013 – YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on January 20, 2014. Trip includes transportation, unlimited foam frenzy & bumper cars, 20 game tokens, pizza and soda. The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $55 per child per day for families that are currently participating in YWCA Before or After School programs, and $75 for non-participating families. Advance registration is required. To register call 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms. YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. An after kindergarten program is available in Oradell. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.
NJ TRANSIT has created a limited edition commemorative pass for Super Bowl Week 2014 – called SUPER PASS.
The special $50 pass is valid for unlimited travel from Monday, January 27 through Monday, February 3, 2014 on all NJ TRANSIT rail, bus, light rail and Access Link services throughout New Jersey, including travel to and from Newark Liberty International Airport and New York City.
If you’re planning to travel to the Super Bowl and other fun activities during the week – SUPER PASS is for you. Take advantage of the savings and enjoy the convenience of not having to purchase tickets for every trip.
We also know you’ll want to keep this unique collectible as a valued souvenir of Super Bowl XLVIII. Each 3 7/8″ X 5 1/2″ pass will feature its own unique QR code and serial number.
This limited edition pass will only be available here until January 20, 2014. Your SUPER PASS, along with a matching lanyard to hang the pass around your neck, will be mailed to you in advance of Super Bowl Week.
BUY YOUR SUPER PASS HERE AND BE READY FOR ALL THE EXCITEMENT!
Second real estate agent accused of having sex in Wayne home claims she was blackmailed
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2014, 5:48 PM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Suit: Real estate agents used Wayne home for sex
Robert Lindsay; Jeannemarie Phelan.
A former Wayne real estate broker who was sued last month along with a male colleague for allegedly having sex numerous times in a client’s vacant home joined him in filing a countersuit Wednesday accusing the homeowner of attempted extortion.
Jeannemarie Phelan, a former Coldwell Banker agent, filed a countersuit in state Superior Court in Passaic County accusing Wayne homeowner Richard Weiner of demanding $990,000 or else he would file a lawsuit and release video of the trysts that was taped by the home’s security cameras.
“This is tantamount to extortion,” said Woodland Park attorney Kal Geist, representing Phelan. He said that while his client’s actions may not have been appropriate, they were not the basis for a lawsuit and did not cause the Weiners any harm.
Suit: Real estate agents used Wayne home for sex
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2013 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY DECEMBER 23, 2013, 5:50 PM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
A former president of the Passaic County Board of Realtors is accused in a lawsuit of steering potential buyers away from a couple’s vacant Wayne home so he could use it for “sexual escapades,” which were captured on hidden cameras.
RHS DANCE TEACHER HELPS TO ELIMINATE THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS
RHS Dance Teacher Jennifer Landa will choreograph a collaborative performance by local dance groups that will join together to raise awareness and remove the stigma associated with mental illness.
The performance, coordinated by the Paramus Stigma-Free Zone, will be on Saturday, January 25 at the Paramus Park Mall. The performance aims to raise awareness and remove the stigma associated with mental illness.
There will be shows at 2:30, 3, and 3:30 p.m. The RHS Dance Company will participate as one of several goups in the piece, entitled “Let’s Help.” For more information visit the Paramus NJ Stigma-Free Zone at www.ParamusStigmaFree.org.
More Than 11 Million Young People Have Fled Facebook Since 2011
According to one analyst estimate
Skeptics of Facebook’s business model have long pointed to anecdotal evidence that the social network is losing its luster with teens as evidence that the firm will ultimately be unable to justify its $140 billion valuation. Indeed, even Facebook itself admitted last fall that it had lost younger users. “”We did see a decrease in [teenage] daily users [during the quarter], especially younger teens,” Facebook chief financial officer David Ebersman said during a call with analysts.
But it’s always been difficult to gauge exactly what the magnitude of this lost interest has been. On Wednesday, the digital consultancy iStrategy Labs released a study that draws from Facebook’s Social Advertising platform to glean exactly how many young users have left the social network in recent years. The resulting estimates are pretty staggering. According to iStrategy, Facebook has 4,292,080 fewer high-school aged users and 6,948,848 college-aged users than it did in 2011.
Experts tell Ridgewood parents: Math studies add up
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2014, 10:06 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The classic advice “the journey is more important than the destination” may conjure up images of laid-back surfers, backpackers and road-trippers. Mathematicians? Not as likely.
Yet this was one of several perspectives on math education that four professionals, each of whom regularly uses math in the workplace, had to offer Ridgewood school administrators.
The professionals, including two Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduates and a parent of former Ridgewood students, engaged in a panel discussion on mathematics in the professional world at a public event hosted by the district last month.
Math is not really about integrals or derivatives or being the first to calculate the answer; it’s about learning how to reason through a problem and think logically in all aspects of life, the speakers emphasized.
The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack determined that the attack was ‘preventable,’ faults State and Defense departments
~Anastasia
The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack. The report determined that the attack was ‘preventable,’ faults State and Defense departments, and cites failure of Obama administration to ‘bring the attackers to justice.’
The Senate Intelligence Committee has released a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack finding the tragedy was “preventable” and the administration failed to respond to “ample” warnings that security was deteriorating before Sept. 11, 2012.
The report faulted the State and Defense departments. It also cited the failure of the Obama administration to “bring the attackers to justice.”
Specifically, the report said the intelligence community provided “ample strategic warning” that security in eastern Libya was deteriorating and U.S. personnel “were at risk.” The report said multiple “tripwires” were crossed signaling security problems, and the State
Department should have increased its security posture in response.
The report also detailed a possible failed ambush, where attackers tried to lure the CIA into the hospital where Ambassador Chris Stevens’ body was being held.
The CIA did not take the bait.
“The committee worked on a bipartisan basis to investigate the various allegations that have come out since the terrorist attacks in Benghazi in September 2012 and to get to the truth about what happened leading up to, during and after the attacks,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement, adding she hopes the report puts “conspiracy theories” to rest.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., top Republican on the panel, also said the report provides “needed and deserved answers.”
“In spite of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and ample strategic warnings, the United States Government simply did not do enough to prevent these attacks and ensure the safety of those serving in Benghazi,” he said.
Senate report: Benghazi attackers tied to Al Qaeda groups
More Americans Worse Off Financially Than a Year Ago
Yet most expect to be better off within a year
by Andrew Dugan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – More Americans, 42%, say they are financially worse off now than they were a year ago, reversing the lower levels found over the past two years. Just more than a third of Americans say their financial situation has improved from a year ago.
Democrats Plan to Pressure TV Networks Into Covering Climate Change
Sens. Sanders and Schatz are gathering colleagues’ signatures on a letter asserting that the shows are ignoring global warming.
Senate Democrats pledging to get more aggressive on climate change will soon pressure the major TV networks to give the topic far greater attention on the Sunday talking-head shows.
Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, are gathering colleagues’ signatures on a letter to the networks asserting that they’re ignoring global warming.
“It is beyond my comprehension that you have ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, that their Sunday shows have discussed climate change in 2012, collectively, for all of eight minutes,” Sanders said, citing analysis by the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America.
Sanders mentioned the letter during a press conference with most other members of Senate Democrats’ new, 19-member Climate Action Task Force, and he elaborated on it in a brief interview afterward.
