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‘Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi

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‘Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi

A reader asked , why does the blog publish these types of articles , the answer: this could be my nephew or this could be your son…something to think about  and contrary to assertions that jihadies just need jobs. PJ Blogger
LONDON — The world knows him as “Jihadi John,” the masked man with a British accent who has beheaded several hostages held by the Islamic State and who taunts audiences in videos circulated widely online.

But his real name, according to friends and others familiar with his case, is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming. He is believed to have traveled to Syria around 2012 and to have later joined the Islamic State, the group whose barbarity he has come to symbolize…..

The Kuwaiti-born Emwazi, in his mid-20s, appears to have left little trail on social media or elsewhere online. Those who knew him say he was polite and had a penchant for wearing stylish clothes while adhering to the tenets of his Islamic faith. He had a beard and was mindful of making eye contact with women, friends said.

He was raised in a middle-class neighborhood in London and on occasion prayed at a mosque in Greenwich.

The friends, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, believe that Emwazi started to radicalize after a planned safari in Tanzania following his graduation from the University of Westminster.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html

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NJ Transit considering fare hike, service cuts

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NJ Transit considering fare hike, service cuts

No details yet on possible hike, divulged by Christie administration in budget document

TRENTON – Commuters beware: New Jersey Transit is considering a fare hike and service cuts.

Documents supporting Gov. Chris Christie’s budget plan say NJ Transit “is currently evaluating a range of savings and revenue-generating options that may include the first fare adjustment since May of 2010.”

There’s no detail yet available on the size or timing of a potential fare increase. In 2010, rail and commuter bus fares increased by 25 percent, while light-rail and local bus fares went up 10 percent.

“We are developing options for the governor’s consideration to help us close a budget gap and will be putting everything on the table, including fare and service adjustments,” said NJ Transit spokesman William Smith. “Right now we are working with the state budget numbers as we develop and finalize our own operating plan for the fiscal year.”

Budget documents say the transit agency needs additional funds to meet its operating needs and specifically cite increasing premiums for employee health plans as one of those costs.

Smith said the size of the budget gap has not yet been identified.

https://www.app.com/story/news/politics/new-jersey/2015/02/25/new-jersey-transit-considering-fare-hike/24000719/

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Ridgewood’s Super Science Saturday set for this weekend

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Ridgewood’s Super Science Saturday set for this weekend

February 26, 2015    Last updated: Thursday, February 26, 2015, 3:41 PM
By By Tiffany Katehakis
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News

An experiment in learning at Ridgewood High School (RHS) that was first tried 27 years ago proved to be a huge success.

Super Science Saturday, with its hands-on, kid-friendly demonstrations and contests, is returning on Feb. 28 and is expected to attract more than 1,200 eager visitors.

The event features a slew of interactive exhibits, from professional and amateur scientists alike, with subjects including robotics, 3-D printers, solar telescopes, drones, rockets, the environment, medicine, and technology commonly used by police, fire and EMT professionals.

But what sets “Super Science Saturday” apart from other student science fairs is that it is a non-competitive event where kids and adults can present their work alongside each other.

The event’s organizer, MichaelAaron Flicker, a Ridgewood native who has been running the program for more than 11 years, said that the non-competitive nature of the event is essential so that “kids are not focused on beating anybody – instead people take time to talk to exhibitors and learn about the projects being presented and enjoy the day.”

Flicker added that “there is so much testing and pressure on students to succeed academically these days that what makes this event unique is that it’s a free event where students and members of the community can get together and just have fun learning.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-s-super-science-saturday-set-for-this-weekend-1.1279007

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Judge strikes down federally funded Common Core testing consortium: ‘Illegal interstate compact’

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Children_of_the_Common_Core

Judge strikes down federally funded Common Core testing consortium: ‘Illegal interstate compact’
Victor Skinner
February 26, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri judge this week ruled that a testing consortium designed to administer Common Core exams is an “illegal interstate compact not authorized by the U.S. Congress.”

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green ruled Tuesday in favor of Gretchen Logue and Anne Gassel, editors of the Missouri Education Watchdog site, who argued that the Common Core-aligned Smarter Balanced multi-state testing consortium is “an unconstitutional interstate compact that was not approved by Congress, in violation of the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 3, Clause 10,” Breitbart.com reports.

Gassel wrote on the Missouri Education Watchdog site that “the suit also alleged that Governor (Jay) Nixon and (Education) Commissioner (Chris) Nicastro’s course of conduct in committing Missouri to Common Core was in violation of numerous federal and state statutes.”

https://eagnews.org/judge-strikes-down-federally-funded-common-core-testing-consortium-illegal-interstate-compact/

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Walker Thrills a Packed House at CPAC

GOP 2016 Perfect Candidate

GOP 2016 Perfect Candidate

Walker Thrills a Packed House at CPAC

Scott Walker hit all the right notes when he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday to address a standing-room-only crowd — even gamely handling a heckler. Walker was talking up Republicans’ push to pass a right-to-work law in Wisconsin, a measure to weaken labor unions, when a heckler stood up and began shouting in the packed ballroom. What he said wasn’t clear, but Walker handled it like a pro: He quipped, “Apparently the protesters come [here] from Wisconsin as well.”

The governor, considered a top contender in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, got a quick standing ovation for his response — one of a number he got during his address. After spending some time touting his strong domestic record as governor of Wisconsin, Walker sharply criticized the Obama administration for ineffective strategy in the fight against the Islamic State, and its disapproval of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address before Congress. Looking to sure up his own bona fides on foreign policy, Walker went out of his way to tell the audience that, as governor, he receives FBI briefings about potential threats to his states. And he pointed to his 2011 face-off with public-employee unions as preparing him for these sorts of situations. “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world,” he said.

Read more at: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/414510/walker-thrills-packed-house-cpac

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Study says NJ has 1.3 million recalled, unrepaired cars on roads

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Study says NJ has 1.3 million recalled, unrepaired cars on roads

FEBRUARY 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY RICHARD NEWMAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* 1.3 million autos in state go unfixed, study says

Tens of millions of U.S. motorists are driving vehicles that have been recalled because of potential safety issues but have not yet been brought to a dealership for repair, according to a new study.

Colorado-based Carfax, which sells automobile history reports, examined state vehicle registration data to determine that more than 46 million cars, trucks and SUVs in the United States have at least one outstanding recall that has not been addressed by a qualified repair service. In New Jersey, nearly 1.3 million of 6.5 million registered vehicles have been recalled but not repaired, nearly one in five vehicles.

“Either the manufacturers’ letters are not getting to the car owners, or they are being ignored,” said Christopher Basso, a Carfax spokesman. “One of the most alarming things is that minivans and SUVs, which are family-oriented vehicles, have the highest chance of having an unfixed recall.” Nationwide, one out of every three minivans and one of every four SUVs have unresolved recall issues, he said.

New Jersey ranked 11th in the country by number of vehicles with unresolved safety recalls, according to Carfax. The percentage of recalled-but-not-yet-repaired vehicles to total registered vehicles in New Jersey was 19.7 percent, the seventh-highest rate among the 50 states, Basso said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/jersey-drivers-ignoring-vehicle-recalls-1.1279441

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Ridgewood librarian leaves behind a history

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1940census250

photo from Ridgewood library .org

Ridgewood librarian leaves behind a history

FEBRUARY 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

What was once a few boxes tucked away in the basement of the Ridgewood Public Library has blossomed over time into a unique service provided to village residents eager to learn more about their town’s history.

Although it is certainly not the only contribution Peggy Norris made to the library during her 22-year tenure – she considers herself a reference librarian first – part of her legacy will be the Bolger Heritage Center, a collection of information like no other dedicated to genealogy and local history.

With her retirement on the horizon, friends and family gathered on Thursday, Feb. 19 for a goodbye celebration and to thank her for the two decades of service to the library.

“The reason that we have that beautiful local history center upstairs is because of Peggy,” said Nancy Greene, director of the Ridgewood Public Library. “I knew that the time to do it was when we had somebody like Peggy to lead it. So we kind of built the local history center around Peggy, with her advice, her vision and I’m so glad and proud that we have had you to come and be with us.”

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/at-the-library/librarian-leaves-behind-a-history-1.1279319

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Ridgewood Parents ask Are we smarter than a 5th grader

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Ridgewood Parents ask Are we smarter than a 5th grader 
Ridgewood parents take the PARCC test

FEBRUARY 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Local parents and residents gathered at the Ridgewood Public Library on Wednesday evening to put themselves in the shoes of students by taking the controversial PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test.

Ridgewood Cares About Schools, an advocacy group that studies Common Core-driven changes in curriculum and the PARCC assessment itself, hosted the program, which allowed parents the opportunity to step into the role of a student in today’s educational climate.

Many believe that giving parents that experience will lead to better insight into what fears or concerns students may have. With that idea in mind, the adults fired up their laptops or tablets to prepare for testing.

The “pupils” had the ability to choose a test from any grade level in either math or English and language arts (ELA).

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/parents-take-the-parcc-test-1.1279260

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Ridgewood League of Women Voters hosts panel on good government

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Hair Broadway

Ridgewood League of Women Voters hosts panel on good government

FEBRUARY 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Good government was the topic of conversation for an audience made up of community leaders and residents at a forum hosted by the Ridgewood League of Women Voters on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Members of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) were invited to present and educate the public on the Sunshine Law, also known as the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), and aid in an open dialogue about transparency in government.

“It’s the mandate of the Ridgewood League of Women Voters to educate the public about government,” said Crystal Matsibekker, president of the Ridgewood League of Women Voters. “And it is in this positive spirit of education that the Ridgewood League of Women Voters is hosting this event. Rather than discussing specific incidents or people or groups, we hope that tonight’s meeting would inspire a positive discussion about the future of our village.”

Walter Luers, the president of NJFOG, served as the keynote speaker for the forum. Luers also works as an attorney who often takes cases related to OPRA and OPMA. He presented the public with a basic background on the two laws and the ways he would like to see them amended.

Luers described OPRA as the best way to request copies of public documents from public agencies. In order to utilize it, a written request pursuant to OPRA must be prepared and sent to the public agency’s records custodian. If someone other than the records custodian receives the request, that person has an obligation to identify the records custodian to the requestor or forward the request.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/forum-puts-focus-on-good-government-1.1279175

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Ridgewood to purchase canisters to collect coins from meters

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Seattle_-_Worker_emptying_parking_meter,_1960

Ridgewood to purchase canisters to collect coins from meters

FEBRUARY 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY STEPHANIE ALBERICO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Village Council moved forward on Wednesday with a new parking policy for Cottage Place and a resolution to award a contract to purchase secure canisters for meters.

The council also agreed to begin using Park Mobile, the cell phone application that allows people to use an online account and credit card to pay for parking.

New collection mode

The village will be replacing buckets with enclosed canisters and carts with lock boxes to transport coinage from Ridgewood’s parking meters.

The move comes in response to a theft of approximately $460,000 worth of quarters by former public works employee Thomas Rica, who stole the coins from a locked room in Village Hall. A recent audit released in early February revealed that an additional $377,000 had vanished from the coin room, totaling approximately $850,000.

New collection containers and the corresponding cart system will better secure the coinage that is collected twice a month from village parking meters, said Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/canisterswill-keepquarterssecure-1.1279203

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“Let’s Just Kill ‘Homeland Security'” Already!

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“Let’s Just Kill ‘Homeland Security'” Already!

Nick Gillespie|Feb. 25, 2015 2:07 pm

After you’ve read through Jesse Walker’s exclusive look at the much-hyped Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report of “sovereign citizens,” check out my argument for disbanding DHS altogether. Created in the “mad crush of panic, paranoia, and patriotic pants-wetting after the 9/11 attacks,” DHS oversees 22 agencies. It was a stupid idea from the beginning and it has continued to disappoint. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) regularly lists it as awful and ineffective at just about anything except wasting taxpayer dollars and surveys of federal employees document that even the Post Office has higher employee morale.

Absent legislative action, come Friday DHS will be unfunded due to an ongoing fight over Barack Obama’s executive action regarding illegal immigration. The Republican Congress is threatening to pull funding for the whole department and the Dems are (so far) standing firm in their threat to shut down the government.

In my latest Daily Beast column, I argue that scrapping over this small corner of DHS activities misses the bigger picture insight that the whole cabinet-level departmet should be chucked “into the dustbin.”

https://reason.com/blog/2015/02/25/lets-just-kill-homeland-security-already

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Bergen Police Merger good to go

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buford-t-justice-3

Bergen Police Merger good to go

Freeholders give final approval to combining Bergen County Police and Sheriff’s Office

February 25, 2015, 9:32 PM    Last updated: Wednesday, February 25, 2015, 9:53 PM
By JOHN C. ENSSLIN
staff writer |
The Record

The Bergen County freeholders took what was called a “historic” final step Wednesday toward creating one unified county law-enforcement agency by combining the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

By identical 6-to-1 votes, the freeholders gave final approval to two ordinances that will place the 98-year-old County Police Department’s 95 officers under the command of Sheriff Michael Saudino.

Freeholder Maura DeNicola, who has questioned the estimated savings of the consolidation plan, cast the lone dissenting votes.

DeNicola said she realized the plan was moving ahead and she wanted it to happen as efficiently as possible.

“But I’ve always felt that this takes us in the wrong direction in Bergen County in terms of trying to save money and make policing more efficient,” DeNicola said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/freeholders-give-final-approval-to-combining-bergen-county-police-and-sheriff-s-office-1.1277828

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The Society Cafe Concert Series Presents ,Spook Handy – Remembering Pete Seeger

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The Society Cafe Concert Series Presents ,Spook Handy – Remembering Pete Seeger

Acoustic Singer and Songwriter Concert

Spook Handy – Remembering Pete Seeger

Ridgewood NJ, The Society Cafe Concert Series offers a series of acoustic singer/songwriter concerts at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood. Wine, dessert and coffee, all provided by local vendors, are available before the shows and during intermission. Doors are open at 7 p.m. for coffee and refreshments and the concert starts at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased via PayPal on the Society Cafe website, www.societycafeconcertseries.com. Tickets are $25 the night of the concert. On Saturday, February 28th we welcome Spook Handy in his “Remembering Pete Seeger” World Tour

show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=355335
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Yellen Defends Fed Against Republican Charges of Party Bias

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Representative Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican, went on to spell out seven pieces of evidence that he said proved the Fed’s involvement in politics, including a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House before Election Day, and another later in November with labor and community organizers.

“You’ve already made monetary policy a partisan political exercise,” Garrett said.

Yellen Defends Fed Against Republican Charges of Party Bias

(Bloomberg) — Janet Yellen was forced to defend the Federal Reserve against accusations that it’s politically partial to the Obama administration and liberal groups during heated exchanges with Republican members of Congress.

“The Federal Reserve is independent,” the central bank chair told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday in response to a question about her regular meetings with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “I do not discuss monetary policy or actions we are going to take with the secretary.”

The exchange reflects rising tensions between the Fed and Republican lawmakers, who are vexed by its aggressive monetary policy and expanded supervision of banks since the financial crisis, and have proposed legislation to curb its powers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/yellen-defends-fed-against-republican-charges-of-political-bias

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Ridgewood Water Customers Socked With High Bills After Meter Overhaul

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Ridgewood Water Customers Socked With High Bills After Meter Overhaul

February 25, 2015 5:43 PM

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – People in Bergen County say they’re drowning in outrageous water bills.

As CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock reported, Ridgewood Water overhauled its systems, but that was not a good thing for many customers who suddenly got socked with bills running into the thousands of dollars.

Two homeowners, one from Wyckoff and one from Glen Rock, both have the same problem: exorbitant water bills.

“In the thousands,” Scott Hornak, of Glen Rock, said.

“They charged us $2,500,” Wyckoff resident Dominick Marano said.

Hornak called after receiving the heart-stopping bill.

“I said, ‘Is there a leak or something?’ And they said no, we’ve just been doing estimated water bills,” Hornak said.

With new meters being installed, one-time-only back charges are being assessed, Murdock reported.

“It can be estimates for six months or for as many as five or six years,” Frank Moritz said, director of operations for Ridgewood Water.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/02/25/ridgewood-water-customers-socked-with-high-bills-after-meter-overhaul/