JULY 27, 2015, 8:58 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015, 8:17 AM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Donald Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, has been on a 30-year mission to blanket New Jersey with his self-named businesses. It’s a story that has been perplexing and awe-inspiring, infuriating and romantic — sometimes all at once.
What began in the 1980s with a few casinos in Atlantic City soon became a grand tour in which Trump registered 41 businesses in the state; submitted plans for a massive golf community in southern Bergen County and a mega-mall in Paramus; came up with four different ideas for Trump amusement parks; hosted Mike Tyson boxing matches and concerts by Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson; ferried passengers to his casinos on his own airline; and developed three golf courses.
The golf courses were huge successes. And the casinos had a solid run in the 1980s and the early 1990s. But there was also the wreckage: plans that went nowhere, casinos that faltered, deals that fell through and developments that were rejected by state officials.
JULY 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015, 10:32 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood voters will have a referendum question on their ballots in November.
The Village Council this month authorized the placement of a non-binding referendum related to financing a municipal parking garage.
The referendum question was approved unanimously by the governing body and asks voters whether or not they support a proposal to finance the construction of a parking garage in downtown Ridgewood, which officials anticipate will be paid through parking revenues, by bonding up to $15 million in public funds.
The proposed garage would be built on the parking lot at the corner of Hudson and South Broad streets. The cost of such a structure is not yet known, though village officials have given placeholder estimations of between $10 million and $15 million as the possible tab for a garage.
Attached to the question is an interpretative statement, which says the referendum seeks to gauge public opinion on the development of a multi-story parking garage, which would provide additional parking for commuters and the Ridgewood residents and visitors who are patronizing the shopping and dining establishments as well as other services available in the Central Business District (CBD).
It is anticipated the parking garage would provide a net increase of approximately 300 spaces over what currently exists without negatively impacting local property taxes, the interpretive statement reads.
Fed Accidentally Released Confidential Staff Projections
by Christopher CondonCraig Torres
The Federal Reserve said it inadvertently released staff projections for interest rates and the economy late last month, renewing doubts about its measures to protect confidential information.
The Fed said in a statement Friday in Washington that projections prepared for the June 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting were posted in error on a public website on June 29. Staff projections are normally released with a five-year lag when transcripts of FOMC meetings are published.
The disclosure follows congressional criticism over the Fed’s handling of a leak of internal policy deliberations in 2012, which is being investigated by the House Financial Services Committee.
“It regrettably appears once again that proper internal controls are not in place to safeguard confidential Federal Reserve information,” Jeb Hensarling, the Texas Republican who chairs the House panel, said in an e-mailed statement.
In a separate incident in April 2013, a member of the Fed’s congressional liaison staff accidentally e-mailed a copy of the minutes of an FOMC meeting to more than 100 people, including bank lobbyists and congressional staff, about 19 hours before the minutes were due to be published.
The latest mishap “does raise questions as to what procedures are in place to safeguard confidential information and to make sure there is fair disclosure of market-sensitive data,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A YouGov poll conducted through Wednesday not only shows that Donald Trump’s support has surged among Republicans in the wake of the backlash against unfortunate comments the billionaire businessman made about Senator
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
43%
’s war record, veterans currently serving in the military view Trump more favorably than McCain.
Among current veterans, a full 53% view Trump favorably compared to just 41% for McCain.
McCain’s unfavorable rating with this group is also higher than Trump’s, 49% to 42% respectively.
PRINCETON, N.J. — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ favorable rating among Americans has doubled since Gallup’s initial reading in March, rising to 24% from 12% as he has become better known. Hillary Clinton’s rating has slipped to 43% from 48% in April. At the same time, Clinton’s unfavorable rating increased to 46%, tilting her image negative and producing her worst net favorable score since December 2007.
Sanders’ increased favorability reflects the broader increase in the public’s familiarity with him since March. Overall, 44% of Americans are able to rate him today, up from 24% in March. Not only has the percentage viewing him favorably increased, but also the percentage viewing him unfavorably has risen, up eight percentage points to 20%.
Clinton’s Inauspicious Rivals
Clinton maintains a higher absolute favorable rating from Americans than any of her official rivals for the 2016 Democratic nomination. In contrast to the relative prominence of numerous candidates on the Republican side, she remains the only Democratic candidate known well enough by a majority of Americans for them to rate her, which helps Clinton maintain a higher overall favorable score.
Sanders is still an unknown to a majority of Americans, with just 44% able to rate him compared with Clinton’s 89%. Total familiarity drops still further among the other three announced Democratic candidates: to 23% for former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb at 23%, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at 22% and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee at 17%. With slightly more Americans viewing each of these candidates unfavorably than favorably, their favorable scores reach no more than 11%.
LAREDO, Tex. — A defiant Donald Trump, visiting the U.S. border with Mexico here Thursday, said again that he will not apologize for his hard-line rhetoric on illegal immigration or back away from his plan to build a wall between the two nations.
During a whirlwind visit — it was less than three hours from when his jet touched down to when it took off — Trump blazed around in a presidential-style motorcade that included seven SUVs and even more police cars. Local officers blocked off roads, including Interstate 35, for Trump’s entourage.
The Republican presidential candidate, leading the GOP field in national polls but increasingly under fire from the establishment wing of his party, said repeatedly that he had been told he would be in “great danger” if he visited this town of 236,000 in southern Texas — even though Laredo, which is roughly 96 percent Hispanic, has a significantly lower murder rate than Trump’s home town of New York City. He would not say who had told him that he was at risk.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has “clarified” requirements for individuals becoming naturalized citizens by stripping out the requirement of defending the United States through military service.
“Effective July 21, 2015, new guidance (PA-2015-001) in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifies the eligibility requirements for modifications to the Oath of Allegiance. Reciting the Oath is part of the naturalization process. Candidates for citizenship normally declare that they will “bear arms on behalf of the United States” and “perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States” when required by the law. A candidate may be eligible to exclude these two clauses based on religious training and belief or a conscientious objection,” an email from USCIS clarifying the requirements states (bolding is mine).
For all the hammering Donald Trump has taken from the media over his statements on illegal immigration and the southern border surge, it’s not having much effect on the likeliest group: Hispanics.
[Republicans Primary Voters Only] Assuming you had to vote today, which 2016 GOP Candidate would you vote for? (PRNewsFoto/One America News Network)A poll released by One America News Network finds Nevada voters are giving Trump a commanding lead among the Republican presidential contenders:
A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.
Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago.
City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show.
These developments seem to be linked to some extent, according to a growing body of research. Various studies have found that urban dwellers with little access to green spaces have a higher incidence of psychological problems than people living near parks and that city dwellers who visit natural environments have lower levels of stress hormones immediately afterward than people who have not recently been outside.
Kelsey Harkness / @kelseyjharkness / July 21, 2015
An undercover video was released today allegedly showing a Planned Parenthood senior executive negotiating the price of aborted fetal body parts.
The video, released by the Center for Medical Progress, adds to allegations that Planned Parenthood is profiting from fetal tissue donation. It follows the release of an earlier undercover video with another Planned Parenthood executive that sparked congressional investigations and calls for federal defunding of the organization.
Planned Parenthood maintains that it is not profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. The video released today shows Dr. Mary Gatter, president of Planned Parenthood’s Medical Director’s Council, saying she doesn’t want to “lowball” the price of an aborted fetal part.
Gatter and the investigators eventually agree on a $100 price tag per specimen, but Gatter says she has to ask Planned Parenthood Federation of America “for a waiver” before moving forward.
According to the Center for Medical Progress, Gatter was medical director at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles until 2014, and she now oversees their Pasadena affiliate. Gatter holds additional leadership and advisory positions at the national level of Planned Parenthood.
Gatter said she “wouldn’t object” to asking the surgeon to use a “less crunchy” abortion technique that would increase the odds of an intact specimen, which would violate patient protocol.
At the end of the negotiations, Gatter tells investigators, “I want a Lamborghini.”
Last week, another senior executive at Planned Parenthood was caught on camera by the Center for Medical Progress. In that video, actors portraying potential buyers from a “human biologics company” met with Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s senior director of medical services.
Mr. Trump Takes Action and Shows Commitment to Military and Vets
(New York, NY) July 20th, 2015- Today Donald J. Trump has ordered all flags at Trump properties around the country to be flown at half-staff in honor of the five fallen soldiers who were tragically killed in last week’s shooting. Mr. Trump has long been a dedicated supporter of our military and our Veterans and if the President won’t act, he will.
Mr. Trump stated, “This disgraceful omission is unacceptable and yet another example of our incompetent politicians. It is a simple yet meaningful and important gesture that signifies our respect and recognition for these great soldiers who lost their lives. We must do better for all Americans, especially our military. We must Make America Great Again!”
In addition to the lowering of the flags, Mr. Trump has established a hotline (855- VETS- 352) and email address ([email protected]) for Veterans to share their stories about the need to reform our Veterans Administration.
If he is elected President he will take care of these and all Veteran complaints very quickly and efficiently like a world-class business man can do, but a politician has no clue.
Lawyers for Sen. Robert Menendez accused federal prosecutors and FBI agents Monday of lying to win a corruption indictment against him this spring, saying the Justice Department would “stop at nothing” to try to convict the powerful lawmaker. The allegations are included in more than 400 pages of legal arguments filed to try to persuade the court to dismiss the case against Menendez (D-N.J.) and a longtime friend and donor, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, who is accused of buying favors from the senator with gifts and vacations. The joint filings by lawyers for the two men demonstrate the aggressive legal strategy that Menendez, 61, has adopted as he readies for the fight of his life to save an enduring career that helped him rise from a childhood in a tenement apartment as a son of Cuban immigrants to become one of the country’s most influential senators. By Carol D. Leonnig/WaPo
Poll: Donald Trump takes double-digit lead over the GOP presidential field
The Pundits Seem to under estimate how much the base hates McCain
POSTED 2:59 PM, JULY 20, 2015, BY CNN AND AARON HEPKER, UPDATED AT 04:14PM, JULY 20, 2015
AMES, Iowa – Donald Trump ignited a political furor with his weekend comments about Sen. John McCain’s war record, but the first polling released since then shows no change in his standing.
A Monmouth University poll of Iowans released Monday and conducted over the weekend showed Scott Walker continues to maintain a solid lead in the Iowa Republican caucus, though Trump has gained an edge over the rest of the field and now stands alone in second place.
Of likely caucus attendees, 22% told pollsters that they’d support the Wisconsin governor in next winter’s matchup, but 13% said they would back Trump, who has suddenly catapulted to the front of some national polls. Trump only earned 4% of Republicans’ support in a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg survey conducted in May, a month before Trump announced his campaign and made a string of controversial comments that came alongside his rise.
Poll: Donald Trump takes double-digit lead over the GOP presidential field
By Neetzan Zimmerman
Donald Trump is soaring over his GOP rivals in a new nationwide Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted amid his controversial comments about Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) “war hero” status.
According to the just-released poll, Trump — with 24 percent support among likely Republican voters — holds a comfortable, double-digit lead over nearest competitor Scott Walker, who captures 13 percent support.
Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, and Sen. Marco Rubio round up the top 5 with 12, 8, and 7 percentage points of support, respectively. Sen. Rand Paul, meanwhile, sits in sixth place with 5 percentage points.
Despite his seemingly frontrunner-like numbersand a significant 20 point bump since the lastWashington Post/ABC News poll was taken in May, the poll’s authors said Trump suffered a considerable drop following his remarks about McCain on Saturday.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Never let a good crisis go to waste, Rahm Emanuel famously said. But what do you do if the “crisis” turns out to be a dud? Easy–invent a new one.
That’s what we’re seeing currently in Washington and Brussels, where government regulators, deprived of one environmental calamity–by, of all things, data–are scrambling for a new narrative.
For years environmentalists have been raising alarms about the “bee-pocalypse”–a supposed catastrophic decline in honeybee populations–and calling for an immediate ban of a new class of state-of-the-art “systemic” pesticides called neonicotinoids (“neonics” for short) which they blamed for the die-offs.
The media were all over the story, endlessly replaying the environmentalist meme that without bees to pollinate our crops, “one-third of every bite of food we eat” would disappear. Banning neonics and saving bees was tantamount to saving the world from starvation.
The science supporting a ban was questionable, to say the least. Poorly designed experiments that overdosed bees in the lab were contradicted by large-scale field studies that confirmed real-world experience–honeybees actuallythrive in neonic-treated crops. But those lab studies were enough for the regulators in Brussels, who ignored their own scientists and the loud objections of the British, among others, and passed an EU-wide ban which started at the end of 2013.
Please visit the Graydon Pool homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon to learn about membership rates, program offerings and pool amenities. Be sure to bookmark our Graydon homepage on your computer for future special events and program offerings. Opening day for Graydon Pool was Saturday, June 6th.
2015 season memberships may now be purchased online via Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass. Be sure to refer to your online confirmation when purchase is complete for detailed information on how to obtain your photo identification badge.
Aquatic programs, including the Graydon Swim Team and instructional and recreational swim, are also available online at Community Pass, or you may review levels and print program registration forms from our Graydon homepage referenced above. Meet the Aquatic Staff and learn more on the following dates at the pool.
American Red Cross Waterfront Lifeguard Training (recertification/bridging and new) is available through Ridgewood Parks and Recreation. Details/registration are also available on the Graydon Pool homepage.
