The book does not hit shelves until May 5, but already the Republican Rand Paul has called its findings “big news” that will “shock people” and make voters “question” the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich,” by Peter Schweizer — a 186-page investigation of donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign entities — is proving the most anticipated and feared book of a presidential cycle still in its infancy.
The book, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, asserts that foreign entities who made payments to the Clinton Foundation and to Mr. Clinton through high speaking fees received favors from Mrs. Clinton’s State Department in return.
“We will see a pattern of financial transactions involving the Clintons that occurred contemporaneous with favorable U.S. policy decisions benefiting those providing the funds,” Mr. Schweizer writes.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood School district has announced the winners of the annual Recognition Program for teachers and education services personnel.
The Board of Education approved the following winners at its April 13, 2015 meeting: Susan Fink, Educational Services Personnel; Paul Cronk, Hawes School; Ellen Wolff, Orchard School;
Nicole Blatt, Ridge School; Samantha Stankiewicz, Somerville School; Amanda Zampolino, Travell School; Paul Wyka, Willard School; Amber Nizza, Benjamin Franklin Middle School; Janelle Jacoby King, George Washington Middle School; and Nancy Reilly, Ridgewood High School.The 2014-2015 winners were chosen by a panel of parents, teachers and administrators from nominations solicited from parents, students and community members.
The Ridgewood Teacher Recognition Award reception will be held at the Education Center on Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. for the award recipients, their families, school parents, teachers and friends. Each award recipient will receive a stipend of $500 ($250 awarded by the individual Home and School Association and $250 awarded by the Board).
By Paul Mulshine | The Star Ledger
on April 19, 2015 at 7:53 AM, updated April 19, 2015 at 7:54 AM
That’s not because Amanda Lott is a retiree. It’s because she’s a financial planner. If this plan goes through, financial planners will make a fortune trying to rescue future retirees from its effects.
“The proposed benefit reform could remove more than 20 percent of the retirement income from an American couple,” the email read. It went on to point out how the Christie plan could cause even more retirees to flee New Jersey than are currently leaving.
I decided to give Lott a call at her office in Morristown to learn more about the problems with the plan.
“This punishes people who have been fiscally responsible and have saved all of their lives,” Lott said. “But people who haven’t planned ahead will be rewarded.”
The problem is the “means testing” that is the basis of the plan. Means testing is usually something pushed by Democrats for the obvious reason that it takes from the rich and gives to the poor.
APRIL 19, 2015, 10:36 AM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015, 10:36 AM
BY RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Republican or Democrat, the next president will have the chance to remake the nation’s health care overhaul without fighting Congress.
The law signed by President Barack Obama includes a waiver that, starting in 2017, would let states take federal dollars now invested in the overhaul and use them to redesign their own health care systems.
States could not repeal some things, such as the requirement that insurance companies cover people with health problems. But they could replace the law’s unpopular mandate that virtually everyone in the country has health insurance, provided the alternative worked reasonably well.
A Democrat in the White House probably would use the waiver to build bridges to Republican governors and state legislators opposed to the law. The “state innovation” provision, Section 1332 of the nearly 1,000-page law, has gotten little public attention.
But “you would be hard pressed to find a state that doesn’t know what Section 1332 is,” said Trish Riley, executive director the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan forum for state policymakers. “It provides some opportunity for taking the rough edges” off the Affordable Care Act, as the law is known.
For a Republican president, state waivers could be the fallback option to avoid the political cost of dismantling Obama’s law and disrupting or jeopardizing coverage for millions of newly insured people, not to mention the upheaval for insurers, hospitals and doctors.
“If you were a Republican on record as opposing or wanting to repeal the ACA, but really felt deep down that you couldn’t accomplish that even as president, then you could say your second preference would be to use this provision to go down a completely different road,” said Stuart Butler, a health policy expert at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution.
Butler, who was with the conservative Heritage Foundation for 35 years, has long been a voice for Republican thinking on health care policy. “The short answer is, this presents a tremendous opportunity for either party,” he said.
The state waiver was the idea of Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who has a record of crossing party lines in search of ways to tackle health care costs and coverage.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ridgewood, NJ will conduct its 11th Annual Service of Healing on Sunday, April 26th at 1pm. The church is located at 155 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. 201-444-3600.
The worship service will be led by The Rev. Andrew D. Nelson. Thisservice is being held in cooperation with the Parish Nurse/Care Ministry atThe focus of this worship service will be wholeness. Healing does notmean just the lack of illness or disability. The root of the word “heal” meanswholeness.
As Christians, we remember that our wholeness involves harmony in all areas of our lives- body, mind and spirit, with Christ at its center. Christian healing directs us toward being the person God is calling us to be at every stage of our living and our dying. For some, healing is comfort, for some, strength, for others, physical healing.
Through prayer, anointing with oil and confession we cast our burdens on the Lord. We confess that Jesus meets us in our brokenness and pain and brings His love to bear – forgiving, transforming, redeeming and healing by His grace. Jesus does this in God’s way, in God’s time, and according to God’s loving purpose for each individual.
Our physical, mental and emotional hurts and ills are not signs of God’s rejection but symptoms of our fallen world in which sin and death reign. We are invited by God to commend our ills on Him for this life, realizing that ultimate healing awaits us in heaven.
Please join us as we come together for this renewal of body, mind and spirit on Sunday, April 26th at 4pm. Light refreshments will follow in the parlor. All are welcome, bring a friend!
The members of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridgewood want you to know that God has a plan for you and He loves you. Our faith is in Christ. Our guide is in the Bible. Our love is for all. Come celebrate with us.
Bethlehem has active ministries in music, education, community outreach and sports. For our regular worship schedule, we offer 2 Sunday services: Contemporary Praise Service at 8:45am and Traditional Worship at 11am with Sunday School and Bible Class at 10am. Please join us at 155 Linwood Avenue, The mission of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church is to Trust God and care for His people by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in our world, community, work, church, and home. Please visit our website www.bethlehemchurch.com
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, reflected on his heritage Saturday in calling for a renewed emphasis on pursuing the American dream.
Jindal spoke of his parents immigrating from India to Baton Rouge, La., where he was born months later, joking about his dad missing a hospital payment and forcing the couple to return the baby.
“We used to be proud to call America the great melting pot,” Jindal said later in his remarks at the First In The Nation leadership summit in New Hampshire, noting his parents were proud of their heritage.
Chinese Mahjong, Instructional, Tuesday, April 17, 7pm. Registration required and space limited. Please contact Jin Lee at [email protected] or 201-670-5600, ext. 125. Drop-in practice, Tuesday, April 24, 10am. No registration required.
Highlights of Italian Opera: La Traviata, Sunday, April 19, 2pm. Sung by students of tenor Francisco Casanova. All welcome. Donations are greatly appreciated.
Mysterious China, Tuesday, April 21, 6:30pm. Dr. Jim Kane shares lecture of his 300-mile journey. Free, all welcome. Light refreshments.
Women & Finance, Thursday, April 23, 7pm. RW resident and UBS VP Kathy Entwistle and guest speaker, Randi Bale, teach how to improve your financial picture and get your life in order. All welcome.
MakerSpace Saturday: Poetry Magnets, Saturday, April 25, 11am-12pm. Drop in to celebrate April Poetry Month. Complimentary for RW residents; $5/project for visitors. Kids under 10 should be accompanied by an adult.
Rave On!, Sunday, April 26, 2pm. Classic early rock from Buddy Holly, Orbison, more. All welcome. Donations are greatly appreciated.
*NEW* Memoir Writing Club, Tuesday, April 28, 3pm. Ever think your life story could be a novel? Want to share your family stories with future generations? We have a new writing group to help turn your memories into memoirs. No writing experience required. Contact Kerri for more information at [email protected] or 201-670-5600, ext. 103.
Documentary Screening—Blue Gold: World Water Wars (2008, 90 min), Wednesday, April 29, 7pm. What can we do to save our dwindling water supply? Screening of award-winning documentary followed by q&a with Barry Scheibner, business manager, Ridgewood Water. Co-sponsored by the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee (REAC) and the League of Women Voters of Ridgewood.
World Language Café: Italian, Thursday, April 30, 2-3pm. Meet in our auditorium and brush up on your Italian. Registration required and space is limited. Register atwww.ridgewoodlibrary.org or contact Kerri at 201-670-5600, ext. 103 [email protected].
Making a Good Impressionism, Thursday, April 30, 6:30pm. French Impressionist and American paintings from art museums of Montclair, Princeton University and Newark. Speaker: Dr. Michael Norris. Free, all welcome. Light refreshments.
Ridgewood Library Valley Hospital Wellness Partnership
Saving the Spring in Your Step, Tuesday, April 28, 7-8:30pm. Foot and ankle problems are caused by injuries, diabetes, arthritis, genetics—or maybe just the wrong shoes. Learn about prevention, symptoms and relief. Speaker: Dr. Andrew Brief, M.D., orthopedic surgeon. All welcome, registration required. To register: 1-800-825-5391 or www.valleyhealth.com/events.
Local History & Genealogy
Internet Genealogy, Monday, April 20, 7pm. Learn the best steps to accessing genealogy records and information on the Internet. For info/registration, please contact Sarah Kiefer [email protected] or 201-670-5600, ext. 135.
Researching Civil War Ancestors, Saturday, April 25, 10:30am. For info/registration, please contact Sarah Kiefer at [email protected] or 201-670-5600, ext. 135.
Ellis Island, Monday, Monday, April 27, 7pm. Monthly meeting of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County. All welcome.
Great Decisions Discussion Group
“Sectarianism in the Middle East,” Thursday, April 23, 12:30-2pm. Many of the current Middle East conflicts have been attributed to sectarianism, a politicization of ethnic and religious identity. How have governments manipulated sectarian differences? And what is the U.S. doing about it? Pre-registration and readings required. Please contact Eileen Colyer at 201-670-5600, ext. 132 or [email protected].
ESL for Adults
Spring Conversation Group, Wednesdays, 1-2:30pm, March 18-May 6. No class on April 1. Free for all ESL students. No registration required. For info, contact Eileen Colyer, ext. 132 [email protected].
Readers Choice Book Group
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Friday, April 17, 1-2:30pm. Copies available at the Circulation desk. Led by Dr. Ginny Hyman.
Movies
Monday Night Movie, Birdman (2014; R; 119 min), Monday, April 20, 6:30pm. Washed-up actor tries to overcome former superhero role. Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone. Academy Award Best Picture.
Friday Matinee, Gone Girl (2014; R; 149 min), Friday, April 24, 1pm. When Amy disappears, her husband is suspected of murder. Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike
THE LATEST: PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS WOO NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS
2:15 p.m. (EDT)
School choice is at the center of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to woo Republican primary voters.
A crowd of Republican activists gathered in New Hampshire loved what he had to say on the subject.
“We trust the American people more than bureaucrats,” Jindal told the crowd to cheers Saturday. “We have gotta get rid of Common Core.”
The Common Core education standards, adopted by nearly every state, are drawing ire from conservative voters across the country. So far at New Hampshire’s two-day gathering of presidential hopefuls, Jindal is the only person making school choice the focus of his campaign-in-waiting. To make his case, he’s pointing to Louisiana policies enacted during his tenure that make it easier for children to attend private or charter schools.
Sen. Ted Cruz is among a shrinking number of Republican lawmakers still calling for the Affordable Care Act’s repeal. (Jim Lo Scalzo / European Pressphoto)
By NOAM N. LEVEYcontact the reporter
After five years and more than 50 votes in Congress, the Republican campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act is essentially over.
GOP congressional leaders, unable to roll back the law while President Obama remains in office and unwilling to again threaten a government shutdown to pressure him, are focused on other issues, including trade and tax reform.
Less noted, senior Republican lawmakers have quietly incorporated many of the law’s key protections into their own proposals, including guaranteeing coverage and providing government assistance to help consumers purchase insurance.
And although the law remains very unpopular with GOP voters, more than 20 million Americans now depend on it for health benefits, making even some of the most conservative Republicans loath to cut off coverage.
The Ridgewood Guild is proud to be sponsoring its 5th Annual Spring Film Festival! The two day event is slated for Wed. and Thurs. April 29 and 30, 2015 at the BowTie Cinema (formerly Clearview Warner) in downtown Ridgewood, NJ. The Festival will include a red carpet ceremony, an awards presentation, and after party. All proceeds of the festival will go to The Ridgewood Guild to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
The Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival is in its fifth year of celebrating excellence in US and International independent films of all genres.
With celebrity guests and film screenings complemented by lively and informative Q&A sessions with cast members and filmmakers, the annual RGIFF is highly anticipated by independent filmmakers, professionals, film lovers and enthusiasts as well as students who participate in our ‘Student Filmmaker Night’
This year a new evening of Foreign Films at the Ridgewood Public Library has been added to the Festival.
Join us at the Film Makers Lounge which has been added on Thursday from 4:30-6pm at Park West Tavern, 30 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ. Come and enjoy a special food and drink menu for Filmmakers and Filmgoers before attending the Red Carpet event and Film Festival.
Thursday’s Film Festival After Party and Awards Ceremony will take place from 10:45pm at Park West Tavern, 30 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ. Join us and mingle with the Filmmakers, Actors, Festival Goers, Ridgewood Guild Members while enjoying complimentary bites as we announce the winners of the 2015 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival.
Tickets are always available each night of the Festival at the door [even when online sales have ended]
Tickets are now on sale for THE 5TH ANNUAL RIDGEWOOD GUILD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL! WEDNESDAY 4/29 & THURSDAY 4/30 AT THE WARNER THEATER/BOW TIE CINEMA.
FRIDAY 5/1 FOREIGN FILM NIGHT HAS BEEN ADDED AT THE RIDGEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY!
All are invited to join us as we kick off to our Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival!!
About the 2014 Film Festival
The two day event took place on Wednesday and Thursday April 23 and 24, at the Bowtie Cinema (formerly Clearview Warner) in downtown Ridgewood, NJ. The Festival included a red carpet ceremony, an awards presentation, and after party at Park West Tavern (30 Oak St.). All proceeds of the Festival went to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
About the 2013 Film Festival
The two day event took place on Wednesday and Thursday April 17 and 218, at the Clearview Warner Theater in downtown Ridgewood, NJ. The festival featured over 40 films from award winning filmmakers from around the country, as well as local artists and student films from Ridgewood and surrounding towns. All proceeds of the Festival went to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
About the 2012 Film Festival
The two day event took place on Wednesday and Thursday April 25 and 26, at the Clearview Warner Theater in downtown Ridgewood, NJ. All proceeds of the Festival went to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2015, 2:29 PM
Updated: Friday, April 17, 2015, 4:39 PM
Dr. Oz doesn’t walk or talk like a duck — but 10 prominent critics say he’s still a quack.
The group of nationally known doctors, in a lacerating letter to his boss, called for the TV doctor’s dismissal from the prestigious post of vice chairman of Columbia University’s department of surgery.
“He’s a quack and a fake and a charlatan,” said Dr. Henry Miller of Stanford, the first person to sign the poison-pen letter.
“I think I know the motivation at Columbia,” he continued. “They’re star-struck, and like having on their faculty the best-known doctor in the country. But the fact is that his advice endangers patients, and this doesn’t seem to faze them. Whether they’re hoping Oprah will come and endow a center for homeopathic medicine, I don’t know.”
The one-page letter was also signed by Dr. Gilbert Ross, executive director of the American Council on Science and Health.
“We find it a shame that he has fled from the ethical and responsible practice of medicine to exploit his television popularity,” said the Manhattan-based doctor.
BY EDDIE SCARRY | APRIL 15, 2015 | 12:51 PM the other theory Harry Reid was beaten up by his gay lover ?
holding Harry Reid to the same standard he hold himself ?
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who recently announced plans to retire, rebutted conservative media speculation on Wednesday that his severe injuries are the result of a run-in with the mob.
On CNBC’s “Speakeasy,” host John Harwood asked Reid about theories put forth by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart News that the injuries Reid sustained at the beginning of this year, including a blow to his right eye, are not, as he has said, the result of an accident involving elastic exercise equipment.
“The last few days, a bunch of people are saying, Reid, he didn’t have an exercise accident, he got beat up by the mob,” Harwood said.
New Hampshire man who confronted Chris Christie on ‘Bridgegate’ changes story
A New Hampshire man who confronted Chris Christie about his role in the Bridgegate traffic scandal on Wednesday was mistaken about being stuck in the paralyzing September 2013 traffic jam in Fort Lee, New Jersey, he told POLITICO.
At a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Christie was greeting potential voters on his tour of the Granite State, Richard Moquin claimed to have sat in the infamous traffic jam with his wife as they traveled to Manhattan to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
N.J. releases figures on opt-out rates for new state tests
APRIL 15, 2015, 7:17 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 7:43 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
TRENTON — The state education commissioner is urging students to sit down for the second round of new state tests, which starts in two weeks in many schools, even if they were among the thousands who opted out in the first round of testing.
Refusal rates for the tests ranged from 4 percent to 15 percent, depending on grade level, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The numbers were part of a snapshot of testing that Commissioner David Hespe provided Wednesday.
“We are encouraging school leaders to reach back out to parents and students and the school community and continue the message of how important participation is and how valuable those school reports are going to be,” Hespe said in an interview with The Record.
Hespe described the first round of tests known as PARCC as “successful,” despite refusals and protests from parents and teachers who argue that they take up too much time and resources and are too difficult. The commissioner noted that 98 percent of students took the test by computer – the highest rate of the 11 states that gave the tests – and that there were few, mostly minor problems with technology.
APRIL 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* State authority approves sizable grants
New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority on Tuesday approved more than $130 million in tax credits aimed at convincing several companies to expand in New Jersey, rather than in nearby states. The action included two sizable grants in Jersey City.
“The assistance approved at today’s meeting illustrates the breadth of programs EDA offers to support the revitalization of our cities,” the authority’s chief executive officer, Melissa Orsen, said in a statement.
The EDA voted Tuesday to offer Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., a private bank, $19.4 million of tax credits over seven years to keep 435 jobs in Jersey City. The New York-based company also said it hopes to add 110 jobs, some through growth and some through relocations from New York City. The project would bring the state a net benefit of $193 million over 20 years, according to the authority.
The authority also approved a $33.9 million worth of tax credits over 10 years to New York Life Insurance Co. to move 325 jobs from Parsippany to 30 Hudson St. in Jersey City, where it would hire 300 more workers. Without the grant, New York Life would consider moving the Parsippany workers to Manhattan or Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. The New York Life project would bring the state a net benefit of $430.4 million over 20 years, the authority said.
