MacArthur calls for FEMA administrator’s resignation
U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3), the newest member of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, had some harsh words for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its administrator, W. Craig Fugate, this afternoon.
The Republican wants an “immediate investigation” into the agency over allegations that it knew of fraudulent practices used to deny full insurance payouts to victims of Hurricane Sandy — as well as Fugate’s head. (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
Reader says the Sendon Email was interference with the election process and someone tried to sabotage his job and or his candidacy
I think if the Mayor had even ONCE voiced any outrage over this, and if he had pushed for an investigation, and pursued follow-up, then we would all feel more trusting of him. Yes, it was sent to the Prosecutor’s office, only after certain citizens expressed their anger. Molinelli determined it was not a prosecutable crime, and then it was eventually sent to the Board of Elections (not sure I have the correct name of the agency). Then we heard nothing. Nothing. I am quite certain that if the action had been taken against Mr. Aronsohn, he would have called out all the militia to cross state lines and subpoena the editor at the Staten Island newspaper. This is not such sensitive information that it would be so difficult to obtain. It is disgraceful that this has not been pursued with all possible resources.
The anonymous contact with Mr. Sedon’s employer (a newspaper in Staten Island) informed them that he was a candidate for public office. As such, it was indicated that this was a conflict of interest and I think Mr. Sedon’s employer told him to quit his candidacy or quit his job. The reason the anonymous caller did this was to get Mr. Sedon to quit his candidacy. Instead, he quit his job, and went on to win by a wide margin over the third candidate. If Mr. Sedon had been working for, let’s say The Ridgewood News, then this would have presented a big problem because he could not report on meetings and deliberations of which he was a part. But, this newspaper was in another state, where there could not even be a conceivable problem with him serving on a council in Ridgewood.
You choose to say that it was not such a terrible crime. Well, maybe not. It wasn’t murder or violence. But it most definitely was interference with the election process and someone tried to sabotage his job or his candidacy. Public information that was being relayed – yes, with the express purpose of putting this man off the ballot. It was disgusting.
This business stinks to high heaven. And It DOES seem of a piece with the Mayor’s bat-phone style interactions with The Ridgewood News to squelch political opposition. It has done brutal damage to our local political culture, so frustration that no culprit has been tracked down and held to account is perfectly understandable. The fact that this seamy event is seemingly being swept under the rug, or thrown down some kind of 1984-type George Orwell ‘memory hole’, tempts ordinary residents who had nothing to do with any of it to pretend that it never happened, or that the related civic damage is either not real or not lasting. In the end, though, we know this is just a convenient charade, and we are appalled at the absence of forthright leadership at the Village Council level.
Reader says the Mayor does indeed go out of his way to slant the news.
Do you all recall when our Mayor squelched a negative letter-to-the-editor that Mrs. Linda MacNamara had sent to the Ridgewood News? In the interest of TRANSPARENCY, she gave a copy to the Council in advance of the publication, even though it had already been accepted by the RWD News. The Mayor then told the Editor not to print it (Mr. Ed Virgin was out of town, but his next-in-command took the order from Mayor Aronsohn and obeyed it). Yes, this is true. The Mayor does indeed go out of his way to slant the news. Mind you, this was a letter to the editor, not a news story, so the writer’s opinion should have gone through to printing. It was a horrible, blatant act on the part of Mr. Aronsohn.
Reader says Common Core :The most important reason appears to be the intimate connection between federal funding to support state staffing positions for education
Why are school districts so adamant about subjecting our children to this? The most important reason appears to be the intimate connection between federal funding to support state staffing positions for education. For example, in Alaska 43% of the jobs in the department of education are federally funded. An Alaskan legislator also pointed out that two-thirds of their educational administrative costs are federally funded. Concern over this intimate connection creates a culture of silence where teachers and administrators fear losing their jobs. Another reason is school administrators believe they must have 95% participation on the standardized test in order to receive funding for their schools. Local districts also comply with the tests because they have been both pressured by the federal government and conditioned to obey federal mandates (however unconstitutional).
The SBAC and PARCC tests and Common Core are acts of educational tyranny never agreed to, never voted on by parents or legislatures, and never discussed or debated. This system of so-called educational reform is radical, egalitarian, socialist and counterproductive. Should we accept this conversion to nationalized education with unflinching obedience? It is up to us. Will we protect our children from planned failure based on poorly designed schemes? Or will we refuse this poorly disguised federal tyranny? I will refuse. A growing number of parents are joining me. Will you?
Mary Anne Marcella is a parent and public school teacher who wants the best for her children and students. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of others in the education field.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/03/common_core_state_tests_i_refuse.html#ixzz3TFixLVrj
Port Authority reform override rescheduled for March 16th
Senate vote to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of legislation aimed at reforming an embattled Port Authority has been tentatively rescheduled from March 5th to March 16th, one of the bill sponsors has informed PolitickerNJ.
S-2181, meant to bring greater transparency to the bi-state agency, was vetoed by Christie last year after unanimously passing both the Senate and the Assembly. Democrats pushing the reform measure had originally planned a vote to override that veto in early March, using these last few months to garner Republican support. (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
Port Authority reform override moved to the 16th | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis
Bob Reimer, 92-year-old Ridgewood Public Library “Read to Papa” volunteer and WWII veteran, celebrated his last week working with the Children’s Department on Feb. 9. Bob came to the library to read to young children in October 2013, telling stories, reading and getting to know the patrons and staff. Bob is relocating to Pennsylvania to be with family. Front row from left: Robin Ritter, Bob Reimer and Lois Brodie. Back row from left: Amy McLaughlin, Gina Mitgang, Ashley Loria and Roberta Panjwani.Bob Reimer with Marion Flanagan. Marion introduced the Ridgewood Public Library to Bob Reimer in October 2013 when she met him at the SHARE home on Cottage Place.
Longtime Ridgewood Library volunteer is moving to Pennsylvania
February 27, 2015 Last updated: Friday, February 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Submitted By marion Flanagan
The Ridgewood News
When Robert “Bob” Reimer agreed to read to preschool children at the Ridgewood Public Library as part of its weekly “Read With Nana and Papa” program, some friends at his local senior residence, SHARE, asked, “Why would you do that?”
Reimer, 92, saw the intergenerational offering as an opportunity. His daily routine needed some zip — and how likely was it that his $2 in weekly lottery tickets would ever fund his dream trip to Monte Carlo?
Reimer eagerly signed up for the program and in less than a year has built a loyal following of tykes, who sit beside him on the bench every Tuesday morning to listen not only to picture books, but also to the narratives of his past. Parents huddle round as well, drawn to Reimer’s warm, affable glow like a campfire and rapt as he spins yarns about his hardscrabble life on a 640-acre South Dakota farm during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
Lawsuits put focus on Glen Rock police
March 2, 2015, 7:03 AM Last updated: Monday, March 2, 2015, 12:22 PM
By Chris Harris
staff writer |
The Record
GLEN ROCK — Several lawsuits and disciplinary actions against police officers have placed the department under a microscope, with some residents calling for a change in leadership.
Since October, Glen Rock and its Police Department have been named in three suits alleging retaliation, intimidation and harassment. Those cases — involving one officer fired last year and two others who were suspended — have continued to play out in public.
Resident Rebecca Coll asked whether changes in the department’s leadership were being considered “in light of these credible claims by respected members of our community,” and if investigations into the suits’ allegations would be conducted.
Borough officials said they would await the outcome of the pending litigation before considering whether to initiate an inquiry.
The council has a “high level of confidence” in the entire Police Department, Borough Attorney Robert Garibaldi said after a meeting last week. He also said the borough will mount “aggressive defenses” against all three civil suits, adding that he believes “the Police Department will be vindicated” in court.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/lawsuits-put-focus-on-glen-rock-police-1.1280935
Top 10 lawsuits that cost N.J. taxpayers most in 2014
By Christopher Baxter | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — The state paid out $78.8 million in taxpayer money last year to resolve lawsuits filed against it, an increase of $6.1 million from 2013 and the most since at least 2006, according to records obtained by NJ Advance Media under the Open Public Records Act.
That amount, however, was eclipsed by the more than $346 million the state brought home through litigation, a $42 million increase from 2013, records show. More than half came through a settlement related to the clean-up of the polluted Passaic River.
The state paid out in cases ranging from medical malpractice to train accidents and State Police trooper misconduct. Below is a list of the 10 largest payouts last year, as well as a database of every case in which the state handed over taxpayer money:
$10 million: Angelique Marlene Delaney Baker vs. Jean Dalme and NJ Transit
Angelique Marlene Delaney Baker sued in 2011 in state Superior Court in Essex County alleging her purse got stuck in a door of an NJ Transit bus in East Orange. She freed herself from the strap, the lawsuit said, but fell underneath the bus, which crushed her arm, legs and pelvis. She suffered serious injuries that require ongoing care.
New Jersey is one of five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.
How powerful are public employee unions in your state?
By Jason Hart / February 26, 2015 | Watchdog.org
More than half of the public employees in 13 states are union members, and government union membership rates exceed 25 percent in 27 states.
Labor unions work against employers — local, state and federal taxpayers, in the case of public employees. While slamming labor reforms as “anti-worker,” America’s four largest unions enrich themselves and their members at taxpayer expense.
The National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have a combined total of more than 7.5 million members.
Over 3.3 million unionized public employees work in California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.
Ridgewood Concert Band : The Lincoln Legacy
Sunday, March 8, 2015 , 7:00 PM
West Side Presbyterian Church ,Ridgewood, New Jersey
Special Guest
Ramapo College Chorale – Dr. Lisa Lutter, Director
Soloist
Diana Powers Rettie – Flute
Buy Tickets Now https://ridgewoodband.org/purchase/singleticket.aspx
Program Highlights
Major Dwayne S. Milburn is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1986 he graduated from UCLA with a BFA in Music and received a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1992. In 1993 he became the Director of Cadet Music for the Unites States Army Military Academy at West Point. He received his Ph.D. in Music from UCLA in 2009 and is in great demand as a conductor, composer, arranger and clinician. Milburn notes that “American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in [his] family history as church musicians.” He grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four hymns featured in this work: Prelude on “Wondrous Love” (“What Wondrous Love Is This”), Ballad on “Balm in Gilead,” Scherzo on “Nettleton,” and March on “Wilson.” Milburn says that “whilst many audience members will certainly make various religious connections to the piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage.”
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Lincoln Portrait – Aaron Copland
Lincoln Portrait was commissioned by Andre Kostelanetz for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in early 1942. Copland initially chose Walt Whitman as his subject, but immediately picked Lincoln instead when Kostelanetz suggested a historical government figure. For the narration, which occurs only in the Portrait’s third and final section, Copland used Lincoln’s words, adding his own brief descriptions of the former president. Characteristic of Copland’s populist and patriotic music, Lincoln Portrait quotes traditional popular tunes: “Springfield Mountain” and Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races,” while the largest portion of the musical work is Copland’s own genius.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Battle Hymn of the Republic- Peter Wilhousky
Battle Hymn of the Republic originated when Julia Ward Howe, the wife of a prominent Boston abolitionist, visited a Union army camp in Virginia during the Civil War. There she heard soldiers singing “John Brown’s Body” to a tune attributed to William Steffe, a Philadelphia insurance salesman, and probably composed in 1855 or 18566. Howe decided to write new verses more fitting to the conflict between the North and theSouth. Her “Battle Hymn” was published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 and has expressed America’s resolve during every conflict since. The arrangement heard here was prepared by Mr. Wilhousky, a New York-based chorus master. This setting has become the definitive rendition of the work as it never fails to stir the emotion of its audience.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Washington Greys – Claudio Grafulla/L. Schissel
This classic march is Grafulla’s most widely known composition, and it has been arranged and rearranged for countless contemporary bands. Research indicates that The Washington Greys were the 8th Regiment of New York, based at Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Their name is chiseled in stone in the Armory entranceway. The 8th became the 258th Field Artillery and is still part of the 42nd InfantryDivision (Rainbow) of the Army National Guard. Prior to the Civil War, gray was a standard color for military uniforms; it was not until the development of the Confederacy that the Union uniform color became blue. The Washington Greys were the original honor guard for George Washington when he was welcomed back to New York City after the British evacuated in 1783. The Washington Greys March is Grafulla’s most famous work because of the way the march is constructed. It is musically cohesive, with its running sixteenth notes and a responding rich bass voice making a magnificent counterpoint. This very spirited march demands virtuosity from its performers.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Marching through Georgia – John Philip Sousa/Brion
Sousa marches often bear a dedication to people, places, or events. Marching Through Georgia is a powerfully inventive patrol setting of Henry Clay Work’s immensely popular 1865 civil war song. It was written to commemorate William Tecumseh Sherman’s famed and decisive Union Army “March to the Sea” which historically broke the backbone of the rebellious Confederacy. The patrol setting gives the listener the aural view of the band approaching from the distance, sounding full as it passes, and fading in its retreat.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Spring Song – Jean Sibelius arr. Patrick Burns
Sibelius wrote extensivelyand wonderfully for orchestra, yet relatively few of his tone poems are performed regularly in this country, apart from Finlandia, and the Swan of Tuonela. Spring Song is a hymn to nature tinged with a hint of the wintry melancholy that can linger into the sub-arctic spring of Sibelius’s beloved Finnish homeland. Mr. Burns has honored both the composer and the Ridgewood Concert Band with his concert band arrangement of this Sibelius jewel composed originally in 1894. Although gentle and wistful in its opening, the work also contains some lovely and memorable melodies that will now be available to performers and audiences alike in this delightful new setting, as the Ridgewood Concert Band premiers this new arangement.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Precious Metal – D.J. Sparr
Precious Metal is a concerto for flute and winds and is based on the three metals of which the flute is made. Each metal is a descriptive title that influenced the construction and materials of each movement of the work. In the first movement, Silver Strettos, the flute is heard as bright and pristine within the simple and pure melodic material and the call and response canonic orchestration. In the second movement, Platinum Sheen does not have the glimmer of silver, so the orchestration in this movement is not as flashy as in the first movement, but as with platinum, the orchestration is strong and durable – using the low instruments of the ensemble for a strong foundation. Gold Rush begins with a solo flute motive based on material from the first movement but now in a minor key. The ensemble interrupts with a pulsating crescendo that leads to a virtuosic flute cadenza. The middle section of this movement features a long accelerando with a soaring flute melody that ultimately leads to a musical accompaniment to a westward bound journey into the sunset, a search for gold and riches.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
NJ Department of Education Unit “Q” Double-Dippers collected roughly $5.9 million last year
March 2,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Speaking of salaries, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on an investigation from New Jersey Watchdog that found that an obscure unit of the NJ Department of Education called Unit “Q” employs 40 “double-dipping” staff members, who collect pensions as well as paychecks. For example, Cathy Coyle, who collects an annual pension of $73,765 from the State, also takes home $151,862 for her DOE job as a “special services” employee in Unit Q.
From the Inquirer:
• Two-thirds of NJDOE’S top 60 Unit Q special services workers collect state pensions.
• Those 40 employees collected roughly $5.9 million last year – nearly $2.9 million in state pay plus almost $3 million from retirement checks.
• Thirty-eight of the double-dippers have six-figure incomes. Five receive more than $200,000 a year.
Most of them seem to work as either County Superintendents (irony alert: they control merit bonuses for district superintendents; see post below this) or Regional Achievement Center Executive Directors, who oversee NJ’s most troubled districts.
Data collected by https://watchdog.org/category/new-jersey/ and the https://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Obama, Netanyahu on Collision Course 6 Years in the Making
WASHINGTON — Feb 28, 2015, 12:41 PM ET
By JULIE PACE and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press
For six years, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been on a collision course over how to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a high-stakes endeavor both men see as a centerpiece of their legacies.
The coming weeks will put the relationship between their countries, which otherwise remain stalwart allies, to one of its toughest tests.
Netanyahu is bound for Washington for an address to Congress on Tuesday aimed squarely at derailing Obama’s cherished bid for a diplomatic deal with Tehran. At the same time, Secretary of State John Kerry and other international negotiators will be in Switzerland for talks with the Iranians, trying for a framework agreement before a late March deadline.
In between are Israel’s elections March 17, which have heightened the political overtones of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
The prime minister is speaking to Congress at the request of Republicans. His visit was coordinated without the Obama administration’s knowledge, deepening tensions between two leaders who have never shown much affection for each other.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street, said Netanyahu was “crossing some lines that haven’t been crossed before and is putting Israel into the partisan crossfire in a way it has not been before.”
But the largest pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has tried to play down the partisanship.
“AIPAC welcomes the prime minister’s speech to Congress and we believe that this is a very important address,” spokesman Marshall Wittmann said. “We have been actively encouraging senators and representatives to attend and we have received an overwhelmingly positive response from both sides of the aisle.”
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-netanyahu-collision-years-making-29292210
WINTER STORM TO IMPACT THE TRI-STATE TODAY INTO EARLY MONDAY
MORNING
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
324 AM EST SUN MAR 1 2015
…WINTER STORM TO IMPACT THE TRI-STATE TODAY INTO EARLY MONDAY
MORNING…
…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS
MORNING TO 7 AM EST MONDAY…
* LOCATIONS…NEW YORK CITY…LONG ISLAND…NORTHEAST NEW
JERSEY…THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY AND FAIRFIELD COUNTY.
* HAZARD TYPES…SNOW…WITH FREEZING RAIN ACROSS NEW YORK
CITY… LONG ISLAND…MOST OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY…AND
COASTAL PORTIONS OF THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY AND FAIRFIELD
COUNTY.
* ACCUMULATIONS…SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 5 INCHES…ALONG
WITH AROUND A TRACE OF ICE.
* VISIBILITIES…ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES.
* TIMING…SNOW DEVELOPS LATE THIS MORNING OVER WESTERN PORTIONS
OF THE TRI-STATE…THEN EXPANDS OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE
ADVISORY AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THE SNOW WILL MIX WITH OR CHANGE
TO FREEZING RAIN ACROSS NEW YORK CITY… LONG ISLAND…MOST OF
NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY…AND COASTAL PORTIONS OF THE LOWER HUDSON
VALLEY AND FAIRFIELD COUNTY SUNDAY EVENING. THE PRECIPITATION
WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
* IMPACTS…SNOW COVERED SURFACES…COATED WITH ICE IN AREAS…
WILL MAKE TRAVELING DIFFICULT AT TIMES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CA– USE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND — USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.
Bozell to CPAC: ‘Cultural Fascism Has Arrived in America’
February 27, 2015 – 9:57 AM
By Barbara Hollingsworth
(CNSNews.com) – “Cultural fascism has arrived in America,” Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“Tyranny is knocking at our door,” Bozell said.
“Webster defines fascism as ‘a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control,’” he said. “Cultural fascism has arrived in America.”
“Let us understand this soberly and unequivocally,” Bozell told hundreds of conservative activists.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we know this to be true. So it begs the question: What is our response?”
“Something terrible is happening to our country,” Bozell noted, listing numerous instances in which Americans in politics, the media, and academia have been persecuted for their political and religious beliefs, including the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which he called “the most feared arm of the federal government”.
Bozell reminded the CPAC audience that “the radical Left now controls most levers of political and cultural power, and is using both in a relentless campaign to destroy the last vestiges of freedom in America.”
“The radicals now control the Federal Communications Commission and the FCC is out of control in its zeal to control free speech,” he pointed out. “The North Koreans would approve of this. Last summer it was making quiet preparations to put a federal monitor in every newsroom to assess stations’ ‘news philosophy,’ and ‘the process by which stories are selected.’ This shocking abuse of governmental authority was exposed and stopped — but by no means have the radicals stopped,” Bozell said.
“The radicals have shown their fangs,” he added. “They will do anything, using any means at their disposal, legal or otherwise, to control our very freedom of speech.”
Glen Rock police hope to get break in bank robbery case soon
FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 4:38 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 7:01 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
GLEN ROCK — Police are optimistic the wig-wearing, epicene robber who is at large for the hold-up of the Glen Rock Savings Bank won’t be free for long.
Detective James Calaski said Friday the department’s investigation into last Wednesday’s bank robbery continues, and that he’s hopeful there will be a break in the case early next week.
The robber, who wore oversized black sunglasses, white boots, black gloves and a dark coat, made off with more than $100,000 in cash, police said.
The rose-colored wig and the robber’s gun were shed as the suspect fled, authorities said.
Police later said the weapon wielded during the stick-up was a paintball gun.
Late last week, Calaski said detectives were exploring a possible connection between the borough’s robber and a female suspect who pulled off a bank robbery last month in Connecticut.
Calaski said this week that he still isn’t confident about the Glen Rock suspect’s gender, which has been a source for much online speculation over the last week.
