Ridgewood Water storage tanks now at 76% of capacity
July 21,2012
the staff of the ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Ridgewood Water Is Feeling the heat after 10 straight years of summer water restrictions . According to the Ridgewood News (RN) ,”As of this morning, we were at a level of 76 percent in our storage tanks,” Village Manager Ken Gabbert said Wednesday. “That’s indicating that we’re getting a very good level of cooperation from the residents of the four communities, and we did have a long weekend when we were watching every foot on the storage facilities.” ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/163221036_Ridgewood_Water_says_residents_are_cooperating_in_water_usage.html )
The RN goes on to say that Ridgewood Water officials have not yet determined when restrictions would be lifted, nor did they speculate how today’s rainfall would impact storage tanks.
As we all know Stage II water restrictions were “Declared” on July 10th Stage II water restrictions mean that residents, businesses, governmental agencies, and all other water users must adhere to Stage II restrictions. No irrigation is allowed on Mondays at any time. Irrigation using a handheld hose is allowed at any time except Mondays. Stage II limits irrigation to alternate days based on the street addresses of properties. Irrigation of properties with odd-numbered addresses shall be permitted on odd-numbered days, while irrigation of properties with even-numbered addresses shall be permitted on even-numbered days.
While the issues is and has been for the last 10 years not that there is not enough water , but the inability of Ridgewood Water to pump and Store water fast enough .
Everyone is well aware of the dangers of low water pressure or not having enough water . The inability to fight a fire or sufficient reserves to offset a water main break like the Village experienced on July 14th when a 10 inch water main broke between Circle Avenue and John Street.(https://theridgewoodblog.net/16338/ ) or two months ago a construction crew working on a gas main replacement project for PSE&G struck a water main at the intersection of Godwin and West Side Avenues. ( https://theridgewoodblog.net/water-main-break-godwin-west-side-avenues/ ) could create a serious issues without needed reserves.
The Bergen record reported that “miles of leaky, aging pipes — routinely loses track of 25 percent of the water it treats before a drop ever reaches customers. And other suppliers lose even more.” ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/bergen_safety/North_Jersey_drinking_water_going_to_waste_as_system_leaks_lose_25.html )
And while it was nice to see Ridgewood Water admit to the Ridgewood news that , “Restrictions on water usage are not unfamiliar to Ridgewood’s water department customers. Moritz said that he could not remember “any other year that we have gone without them.”https://www.northjersey.com/news/163221036_Ridgewood_Water_says_residents_are_cooperating_in_water_usage.html ) It does not excuse the continued unacceptable situation and third world conditions of Ridgewood’s valuable water supply. Making Ridgewood Water more a liability than an asset.
Five myths about free enterprise
Arthur C. Brooks | The Washington Post
July 13, 2012
The 2012 presidential campaign is shaping up to be a battle of two economic philosophies. One favors a greater redistributive and regulatory role for the government; the other prioritizes the values of free enterprise, including private property, individual liberty and limited government. Given the economic hardships the United States has endured in recent years, it is tempting to conclude that free markets are no longer best for us — but that would misread our history, and buy into myths about the impact of free enterprise.
“Given the economic hardships the United States has endured in recent years, it is tempting to conclude that free markets are no longer best for us — but that would misread our history, and buy into myths about the impact of free enterprise.” -Arthur C. Brooks
https://www.aei.org/article/society-and-culture/free-enterprise/five-myths-about-free-enterprise/
1. Free enterprise hurts the poor.
The Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011 and plenty of politicians would have us believe that the free-market system is a contest between the ultra-rich and everyone else (the “99 percent”). But in fact, there never has been a greater force for helping the poor than free enterprise.
Since 1970, the percentage of the world’s population living on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day has fallen by more than 80 percent. Hundreds of millions of people have been pulled out of grinding deprivation.
This miracle was not the result of U.N. development projects or U.S. foreign aid. It was free trade, rule of law, property rights and entrepreneurship that achieved this miracle. In China alone, free trade and foreign investment lifted 400 million Chinese out of absolute poverty between 1981 and 2001.
Whatever the Occupy movement claims, every American earning more than $34,000 a year is in the world’s top 1 percent, as World Bank economist Branko Milanovic calculates in his book “The Haves and the Have-Nots.” Americans make up less than 5 percent of the planet’s population, but we’re about half the members of the world’s 1 percent. And we’ve accomplished that through our commitment to free enterprise.
2. Free markets are driven by greed.
I once asked Charles Schwab how he built the $16 billion investment company bearing his name. He never said a word about money. He spoke instead about accomplishing personal goals, creating good jobs for employees and the sacrifices along the way — including when he took a second mortgage on his home so he could make payroll.
Entrepreneurs are rarely driven by greed. According to Careerbuilder.com, in 2011, small-business owners made 19 percent less money per year than government managers. And as Northwestern University business professor Steven Rogers has shown, the average entrepreneur fails about four times before succeeding.
Free markets and entrepreneurship are driven not by greed but by earned success. For some people, earned success means business success, while for others, it means helping the poor, raising good kids, building a nonprofit, or making beautiful art — whatever allows people to create value in their lives and in the lives of others.
Earned success gets at the heart of “the pursuit of happiness.” The General Social Survey from the University of Chicago reveals that people who say they feel “very successful” or “completely successful” in their work lives are twice as likely to say they are very happy about their overall lives than people who feel “somewhat successful.” And it doesn’t matter if they earn more or less; the differences persist.
3. Free enterprise breeds envy.
Americans don’t resent the wealthy. In a poll in April, the Pew Research Center found that 88 percent said they admired people who get rich by working hard.
This is one way the United States is exceptional. In the World Values Survey conducted between 2005 and 2007, researchers asked people in 54 nations whether success flows from hard work or from luck and connections. Americans were more likely than people in other developed countries — twice as likely as the French, for example — to say success comes from hard work. “In a society that rewards initiative and offers opportunity, free enterprise fosters aspiration and ambition.” -Arthur C. Brooks
In a society that rewards initiative and offers opportunity, free enterprise fosters aspiration and ambition. In a social democracy with economic stagnation, you find envy, resentment, unrest — just look at Greece and Spain, where people are demanding government benefits instead of demanding to keep more of what they earn.
4. The free market caused the financial meltdown.
It wasn’t free enterprise that was at fault; it was the lack of free enterprise. Statism and its co-dependent spouse — corporate cronyism — melted down our economy.
As my American Enterprise Institute colleague Peter Wallison has documented, two decades of misguided government policy contributed to a massive bubble in housing. When it began to deflate, so did the whole financial system. And who showed up first in the bailout line? Large corporations, including car companies and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Find me an opportunistic politician chumming the waters with tax loopholes, and I’ll show you a corporate shark.
This isn’t the free market at work — not even close. It’s a toxic mix of big government and its corporate clients. We need more free enterprise, not less — free enterprise where entrepreneurs put their money on the line and earn a profit or suffer a loss.
5. Free enterprise is unfair.
When I was an economics professor, my students would sometimes argue that it was “not fair” for the rich to have so much more than the poor. So halfway through the course, I proposed that a quarter of the points earned by the top half of the class be passed on to the students in the lower half, to improve grade equality. Unanimously, the students agreed that this would be unfair.
I didn’t have to spell out my point much.
Income redistribution is necessary to pay for the state and desirable to finance a social safety net, but as long as incomes are legitimately earned, redistribution is not intrinsically “fair.” For a majority of Americans, fairness means not redistribution, but rewarding merit — and that is what free enterprise does.
In 2006, the World Values Survey asked a sample of Americans to consider two similarly placed workers, one of whom was more reliable and efficient than the other. Was it fair, they asked, that the better one was paid more? Approximately 89 percent of respondents said it was.
And since 1973, the General Social Survey has asked Americans this question: “Some people say that people get ahead by their own hard work; others say that lucky breaks or help from other people are more important. Which do you think is most important?” For 40 years, between 60 percent and 70 percent of Americans have chosen “hard work.”
Unless you believe that Americans don’t earn their success, you must recognize that free enterprise makes our nation more fair.
Arthur Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute and the author of “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise.”
Weekly Jobless Claims Post Rebound; Jobs Market Still in Doldrums
Published: Thursday, 19 Jul 2012 | 8:36 AM ET
By: Reuters
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rebounded last week, pushing them back to levels consistent with modest job growth after a seasonal quirk caused a sharp drop the prior period.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week’s figure was revised up to 352,000 from the previously reported 350,000.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Obama birth record ‘definitely fraudulent’
PHOENIX (AP) — Investigators for an Arizona sheriff’s volunteer posse have declared that President Barack Obama’s birth certificate is definitely fraudulent.
Members of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s posse said in March that there was probable cause that Obama’s long-form birth certificate released by the White House in April 2011 was a computer-generated forgery.
Now, Arpaio says investigators are positive it’s fraudulent.
Mike Zullo, the posse’s chief investigator, said numeric codes on certain parts of the birth certificate indicate that those parts weren’t filled out, yet those sections asking for the race of Obama’s father and his field of work or study were completed.
Zullo said investigators previously didn’t know the meaning of codes but they were explained by a 95-year-old former state worker who signed the president’s birth certificate. Zullo said a writer who published a book about Obama’s birth certificate and was aiding investigators let them listen in on an interview he conducted of the former state worker.
Boards and Committees:
Council Representative to the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce
Planning Board
Deputy Mayor:
Albert Pucciarelli
apucciarelli@ridgewoodnj.net
Boards and Committees:
Mayor’s Representative to the Ridgewood Library Board of Trustees
Planning Board
Historic Preservation Committee
Councilman:
Thomas M. Riche
triche@ridgewoodnj.net
Boards and Committees:
Council Representative to the Ridgewood Fourth of July Committee, Inc.
Council Representative to the Project Pride Committee
Council Representative to the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Committee
Boards and Committees:
Council Representative to and Chair of the Ridgewood Enviromental Advisory Committee (REAC)
Council Representative to and Chair of the Ridgewood Green Team Advisory Committee (GTAC)
Village of Ridgewood’s Representative to the Bergen County League of Municipalities
Council Representative to and Chair of the Citizens Safety Advisory Committee
Councilwoman:
Gwenn Hauck
ghauck@ridgewoodnj.net
Boards and Committees:
Council Liaison to the Ridgewood Community Center Advisory Board
Council Representative to the Field Committee of the Village of Ridgewood
Council Representative to the Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Board
Council Representative to the Ridgewood Board of Education
photos and information: https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/council.cfm
Report: Countrywide won influence with discounts
Associated PressBy LARRY MARGASAK | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former Countrywide Financial Corp., whose subprime loans helped start the nation’s foreclosure crisis, made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, according to a House report.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said that the discounts — from January 1996 to June 2008, were not only aimed at gaining influence for the company but to help mortgage giant Fannie Mae. Countrywide’s business depended largely on Fannie, which at the time was trying to fend off more government regulation but eventually had to come under government control.
Undercover driver sting operations in full force in Central business District in Ridgewood
July 6,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , In an effort to head off more pedestrian accidents the Ridgewood Police Department was out in force all Friday afternoon in an effort to enforce traffic laws in the Central business District or CBD . The Ridgewood Police are looking to make the CBD more pedestrian safe this summer .
NJ law requires cars to stop for a pedestrians in the crosswalk and has been in effect since April. Violations carry a potential for a hefty fine for drivers who do not obey ,yet a rash pedestrian instances the last 3 years raise questions as to whether drivers or pedestrians are paying any attention.
Virus could black out nearly 250,000 PCs
By Jim Finkle
(Reuters) – About a quarter-million computer users around the world are at risk of losing Internet access on Monday because of malicious software at the heart of a hacking scam that U.S. authorities shut down last November.
Some blogs and news reports hyped the risk of an outage, warning of a potential “blackout” and describing the Alureon malware as the “Internet Doomsday” virus.
Yet experts said only a tiny fraction of computer users were at risk, and Internet providers would be on call to quickly restore service. They said they considered the threat to be small compared with more-prevalent viruses such as Zeus and SpyEye, which infect millions of PCs and are used to commit financial fraud.
As of this week, about 245,000 computers worldwide were still infected by Alureon and its brethren, according to security firm Deteque. That included 45,355 computers in the United States.
The viruses were designed to redirect Internet traffic through rogue DNS servers controlled by criminals, according to the FBI. DNS servers are computer switchboards that direct Web traffic.
As I did last year, I’ve prepared an audio slideshow of the parade. The slideshow can be accessed at the link below. I’ve also included a tab with last year’s show.
A geothermal energy company with a $98.5 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration for an alternative energy project in Nevada — which received hearty endorsements from Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — faces financial problems, and the company’s auditors have questioned whether it can stay in business.
Much like Solyndra LLC, a California solar-panel manufacturer with a $535 million federal loan guarantee that went bankrupt, Nevada Geothermal Power (NGP) has incurred $98 million in net losses over the past several years, has substantial debts and does not generate enough cash from its current operations after debt-service costs, an internal audit said.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/4/lights-go-dim-on-another-energy-project/
Homeland Security Report Lists ‘Liberty Lovers’ As Terrorists
Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority, reverent of individual liberty” deemed domestic threat
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A new study funded by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority,” and “reverent of individual liberty” as “extreme right-wing” terrorists.
Entitled Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States, 1970-2008 (PDF), the study was produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. The organization was launched with the aid of DHS funding to the tune of $12 million dollars.
While largely omitting Islamic terrorism – the report fails completely to mention the 1993 World Trade Center bombing – the study focuses on Americans who hold beliefs shared by the vast majority of conservatives and libertarians and puts them in the context of radical extremism.
The report takes its definitions from a 2011 study entitled Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism, produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, in which the following characteristics are used to identify terrorists.
Ridgewood Water says DEP Fine is a result of Residents who ignore Water Restrictions
July 2,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Ridgewood Water Company exceeded its water allocation by 60.1 million gallons.
The company was quick to point out that Ridgewood Water Company was fined because too many residents disregard water conservation rules and fail to pay attention to the summer water restrictions imposed by the Village.
Frank Moritz told the Ridgewood News ,”We put in watering restricting and we put them in every year, “It’s voluntary and we did it in 2010 but the sprinklers go on and keep going on.”
There was no mention of the fact that water restrictions have become a permanent part of summer vacation in the Village for the last 10 years , or any speculation on the water use of the BOE or Valley Hospital . It has been alleged that the BOE has been know from time to time to time to leave sprinklers on whether willfully or just by mistake ignoring the watering bans.
Ridgewood Water services over 20,000 households in Glen Rock, Wyckoff, Midland Park and Ridgewood and is currently embroiled in a rate lawsuit brought on by Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff customers who allege the the Villages own bad fiances have been covered up by over sized commingled rate increases at Ridgewood Water.
According the the Ridgewood News Moritz and Ridgewood Water have been negotiating with the state Department of Environmental Protection to reduce the $38,000 fine, which the DEP hit the company with for using 60.1 million gallons more than they were allowed in 2010.
Critics of Ridgewood Water like to point out the antiquated pumping infrastructure caused by the lack on investment over the last 20 years and heavy federal ,state and local regulation make the utility more of an albatross and an asset to the Village .
Chronic pain is determined by emotions, scientists believe
Emotions may determine why some people are more likely to suffer chronic pain than others, a study has found.
By Telegraph reporters6:00PM BST 01 Jul 2012
The emotional state of the brain can explain why different individuals do not respond the same way to similar injuries, say scientists.
Some recover fully while others remain in constant pain.
Brain scan studies showed for the first time how chronic pain emerges as a result of an emotional response to an injury.
The process involves interaction between two brain regions, the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens.
Lead scientist Professor Vania Apakarian, from Northwestern University in Chicago, US, said: ”The injury itself is not enough to explain the ongoing pain. It has to do with the injury combined with the state of the brain.”
NJ TRANSIT OFFERS EXTRA SERVICE AND SAVINGS FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY
Money-saving Family Super Saver Fare in effect continuously from June 29 until July 9
June 27, 2012
NJT-12-051
NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today announced a special extension of the Family Super Saver Fare, which allows up to two children 11 and younger to travel free with each fare-paying adult. Usually limited to weekends and holidays, the Family Super Saver Fare will be in effect continuously from 7 p.m. Friday, June 29 until 6 a.m. Monday, July 9, on all trains (except for travel to/from Metro-North stations), buses and light rail lines in honor of Independence Day.
In addition, NJ TRANSIT will offer extra service in advance of Independence Day and on the holiday itself to give customers more travel options, whether leaving work early to get a head start on festivities or attending fireworks displays on the Fourth of July.
On Friday, June 29, extra buses will operate from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on more than two dozen bus routes starting around noon. Visit njtransit.com for details.
On Tuesday, July 3, extra outbound trains will operate on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley, Morris & Essex, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines starting at approximately 1 p.m. Extra buses will operate from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on more than two dozen bus routes starting around noon. Visit njtransit.com for details.
On Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4, trains will operate on a weekend/major holiday schedule on all lines. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule. Newark Light Rail will operate on a Saturday schedule. River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule. Bus schedules vary by route—customers are advised to check their timetables or visit njtransit.com for schedule information.
Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Service
To accommodate spectators traveling to the New Jersey Waterfront to view the annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks display over the Hudson River, NJ TRANSIT will supplement existing weekend rail service on the Morris & Essex Lines with additional trains to and from Hoboken Terminal. An additional trip will also operate to Hoboken on the Port Jervis Line. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate additional trips between Tonnelle Avenue and Hoboken starting after 4 p.m.
Also on July 4, extra trips will operate to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on selected bus routes.
Detailed service information is available at njtransit.com/fireworks.
Summer Savings
With the summer season in full swing, now is a great time for customers to take advantage of NJ TRANSIT’s discounted travel packages to destinations including the Jersey Shore, Six Flags Great Adventure and Monmouth Park:
Beach Packages: Save up to $6.50 on admission to one of five beaches— Long Branch, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach and Belmar—by purchasing round-trip train fare and a beach pass for one price at NJ TRANSIT ticket vending machines (choose “Special Promotions” and select “Beach Package”) or at ticket windows. Customers can purchase the package for $31.50 from New York Penn Station or any station on the Main, Bergen County or Pascack Valley lines (except from Metro-North stations), and for $23.50 from Hoboken Terminal or Newark Penn Station.
o Shore EZride Jitney provides shuttle service to beaches, shopping and dining locations in Long Branch, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach Friday through Sunday. Starting July 4, NJ TRANSIT customers can ride the jitney FREE on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays plus Independence Day and Labor Day with a coupon available at njtransit.com/summer. For jitney info and shore activities, go to visitmonmouth.com.
Six Flags Great Adventure or Hurricane Harbor: Save up to $51 by purchasing round-trip bus transportation and park admission together. NJ TRANSIT provides express bus service to Six Flags from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York, Newark Penn Station, Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal and the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden.
Monmouth Park: Board a train anywhere on NJ TRANSIT’s rail system and save up to $6.00 when you travel to Monmouth Park Racetrack. Simply purchase a round-trip package to Monmouth Park from NJ TRANSIT ticket vending machines (choose “Special Promotions” and select “Monmouth Park”) or at ticket windows, and receive Grandstand Admission and an official track program for $1 plus round-trip train fare.
For details on NJ TRANSIT’s Summer Services and customer discounts, visit njtransit.com/summer.
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