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Posted on February 13, 2015June 27, 2021 by James — 2 Comments

League of Women Voters hosts Sunshine Law – Open Public Meetings Act Presentation

League of Women Voters hosts Sunshine Law – Open Public Meetings Act Presentation

League of Women Voters Program – All are Welcome

The League of Women Voters of Ridgewood is proud to present a program on the “Sunshine Law” – the Open Public Meetings Act. Walter Luers, Esq., President of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) will explain the details of the Open Public Meetings Act, as well as the Open Public Records Act. NJFOG is a well-respected authority on the Sunshine Law, and Mr. Luers was recognized as one of ten “Lawyers of the Year” for his work on the Open Public Records Act. When: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 7:00 PM Where: Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave, Ridgewood NJ, Senior Center Lounge, First Floor There will be ample time for questions after the presentation. All are welcome, and refreshments will be served. The guiding principle of the LWV is the informed and active participation of citizens in government. For more information: [email protected]

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 by James — 6 Comments

Ridgewood school board trustees discuss changes to district calendar

Ridgewood school board trustees discuss changes to district calendar

FEBRUARY 13, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ridgewood school officials are expected to approve the 2015-16 district calendar later this month after a period of gathering and weighing the opinions of parents and teachers alike.

During their Feb. 9 meeting, Board of Education trustees whittled Superintendent Daniel Fishbein’s original list of five calendar options to one. The majority of board members opted for an academic year beginning with the annual Teachers’ Convocation on Thursday, Sept. 3 and followed by a professional development day on Sept. 4.

Under the proposed calendar, which will be open to public comment and up for board vote at the Feb. 23 meeting, students will report for the first day of class on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The last day of instruction and Ridgewood High School graduation are slated for June 22, 2016.

One of the most significant differences between the anticipated calendar and the second alternative is the length of the February recess. Like this year, the 2016 February break will only be two days.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/trustees-discuss-changes-to-2015-16-school-calendar-1.1270698

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 by James — 1 Comment

PARCC Refuseniks :Issue of refusal to take tests draws a crowd

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PARCC Refuseniks :Issue of refusal to take tests draws a crowd

FEBRUARY 13, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The state Assembly Education Committee drew a crowd to Trenton on Thursday with a bill that would give parents the right to refuse new state tests for their children.

The tests are about two weeks away, and the bill was up for discussion only and not for a vote, but it landed at a time of heightened anxiety and debate about the exams called PARCC.

The controversial tests, which will be given in math and language arts in Grades 3-11, won’t count for graduation, grade promotion or class placement, but a growing number of parents say they are refusing to allow their kids to take the tests.

Parents and teachers argued at the hearing that the tests are too hard and draw resources from the classroom and that they shouldn’t be used to measure teacher performance. But supporters said the tests better prepare students for college and build critical thinking skills.

“Parents should not have to worry that their children will face negative consequences … if they refuse the test,” said Marie Blistan, vice president of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. “The NJEA believes that parents have the right to act in the best interests of their children.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/issue-of-refusal-to-take-tests-draws-a-crowd-1.1270874

Posted on February 13, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

GOP Sen Ron Johnson: We Have 16,000 Unique Lerner Emails with Potential Admin Contacts

GOP Sen Ron Johnson: We Have 16,000 Unique Lerner Emails with Potential Admin Contacts

Thursday on Fox New Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) explained in November the Treasury Inspector General reported that it had recovered almost 80,000 missing emails from the seized IRS disaster recovery tapes. Upon investigation it was found approximately 80 percent are duplicates, which leaves roughly 16,000 recovered, unique Lois Lerner emails.

The Wisconsin senator promised “a number of committees,” working together will spend the next couple of month “sorting through” the emails to “piece together this plot.”

Johnson said, “This administration has been completely opaque. But that’s one question. Who was communicating with Lois Lerner? What emails were exchanged with the White House or Treasury department? That’s what we are trying to get to the bottom of.”

https://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/02/12/gop-sen-we-have-16000-unique-lerner-emails-with-potential-admin-contacts/

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — 2 Comments

Trenton (still) refuses to tackle the onerous fee that’s really an insidious tax

Trenton (still) refuses to tackle the onerous fee that’s really an insidious tax

Posted by Joe Sinagra On February 11, 2015 2 Comments

By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog

The Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) was established in 1968 to offset the costs of tracking real estate transactions. It may be called a fee, Save Jerseyans, but in reality it’s another insidious stealth tax place upon New Jersey home owners. Sometimes this tax is referred to as an “exit tax.”

How does it work? The New Jersey Division of Taxation states that the Realty Transfer Fee is calculated based on the amount of consideration recited in the deed or, in certain instances, the assessed valuation of the property.

Why? This tax started out as a $350 flat fee paid to help support the recording of real-estate transactions such as the upkeep of books, records and maps keeping them up to date.

And what does the size or value of your property have to do with how much tax the seller pays? I would think in this day and age, with all the technology we have, that all of this record keeping should not be as involved as it once was. If the county clerk’s office where all these transactions get recorded, supposedly became more modern and efficient, why have the costs escalated other than being an easy money grab for the state as a guaranteed source of revenue.

https://savejersey.com/2015/02/realty-transfer-fee-new-jersey/

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

How This Left-Wing Activist Manipulates the Media to Spread His Message

How This Left-Wing Activist Manipulates the Media to Spread His Message

‘Jetsetting terrorist’ Peter Young tells us how he gets malleable bloggers and lazy journalists to generate outrage and attention for him

By Ryan Holiday | 02/11/15 10:16am

I first heard of Peter Young when a reporter at the Daily Dot asked me if I was somehow involved in 2013’s “Ex-Vegans” stunt in which dozens of former vegans were exposed for having eaten meat. After dominating the media cycle for several days, the surprise left hook of the campaign landed: All the traffic and inbound links were redirected to footage of appalling slaughterhouse conditions. Hundreds of thousands of people were unwittingly exposed to the very unpleasantness that media attempts to shield from them.

I’m not a vegan, and I had nothing to do with the campaign—but I do have a lot of respect for its brilliance and execution and for the fact that it reveals a salient fact about our times. Today’s media system is a bit like an emperor with no clothes. Peter Young resembles nothing so much as Mathew Carpenter, the man who recently turned a stunt about shipping glitter to your enemies into $100,000. They both understand intuitively how the media works and have used it repeatedly to advance their interests. While they did what they did for very different reasons, I learned that they’d both read my book, Trust Me, I’m Lying, and it had influenced their actions.

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — 3 Comments

Congress, Don’t Be Fooled; Obama Still Believes in Unlimited War

Congress, Don’t Be Fooled; Obama Still Believes in Unlimited War

By BRUCE ACKERMANFEB. 11, 2015

PRESIDENT OBAMA is going before Congress to request authorization for the limited use of military force in a battle of up to three years against the Islamic State. On the surface, this looks like a welcome recognition of Congress’s ultimate authority in matters of war and peace. But unless the resolution put forward by the White House is amended, it will have the opposite effect. Congressional support will amount to the ringing endorsement of unlimited presidential war making.

Whatever else they decide, the House and Senate should revise the White House initiative to guarantee that it won’t have this tragic result. First do no harm; before proceeding with a debate over the limits of our continuing military engagement, Congress should make it impossible for future presidents to evade its final decision.

The problem is the double-barreled position advanced by Mr. Obama. He asserts that he already has sufficient congressional authority for an open-ended war with the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS. He bases this claim on an expansive reading of Congress’s 2001 resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to make war on Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks. As long as this resolution remains on the books, Mr. Obama claims, he can continue fighting, even if Congress never agrees to a new resolution.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/opinion/obama-still-believes-in-unlimited-war-isis.html

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

They’ll Just Hate to See Jon Stewart Go (So They Say)

They’ll Just Hate to See Jon Stewart Go (So They Say)

By JEREMY W. PETERSFEB. 11, 2015

WASHINGTON — He has all but called them losers and fools, but when Jon Stewart announced on Tuesday that he would leave “The Daily Show” sometime this year, many politicians and news media personalities had something of an unusual reaction: grief.

“When he gives me a hard time, I understand that I’ve arrived,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican whose recent announcement that he was considering a run for president sent Mr. Stewart into a fit of sarcastic ecstasy. “Thank you, Jesus!” Mr. Stewart cried as a six-person ensemble marched onstage playing “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Mr. Stewart went on to call Mr. Graham, a foreign-policy hawk, “delusional,” but the senator said in an interview on Wednesday that he harbored no ill will.

Does Mr. Graham ever feel offended? “No,” he said. “I’m going to try to go on that show before it’s over with.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/arts/television/theyll-just-hate-to-see-jon-stewart-go-so-they-say.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=fb-nytimes&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&smtyp=aut&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&_r=0

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by James — 3 Comments

N.J. tax collections running $180M ahead of revenue projections

N.J. tax collections running $180M ahead of revenue projections

FEBRUARY 11, 2015, 5:29 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015, 5:29 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

Tax collections for Governor Christie’s $32.5 billion state budget were running $180 million ahead of revenue projections at the halfway mark of the state fiscal year according to figures released by the administration Wednesday.

The numbers were obtained in response to a public records request filed by The Record and show a marked difference from this time last year when the state was running a $331 million revenue shortfall.

New Jersey’s constitution requires a balanced budget, and Christie was eventually forced to delay property tax relief payments and significantly reduce the state payment into the public employee pension last year to address a gap that later swelled to $1 billion.

The figures from the state Department of Treasury show tax collections in December 2014 came in $237 million above revenue projections, helping reverse a nearly $50 million shortfall from November. That left tax collections 1.6 percent ahead of revenue projections at the midway point of the state fiscal year, which runs through June 30.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-tax-collections-running-180m-ahead-of-revenue-projections-1.1269294

Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by James — 2 Comments

Law Makers Hope to Bury ‘Death Tax’ in New Jersey

Law Makers Hope to Bury ‘Death Tax’ in New Jersey

This is just another one of those things that unfairly impact Bergen County because of property values

TRENTON, N.J. — No state in the nation levies taxes when people die as aggressively as New Jersey.

Most states charge nothing. New Jersey is one of only two states with both an estate tax on the assets of the person who died and an inheritance tax charged to some people who are bequeathed money or assets. Moreover, of the states with an estate tax, New Jersey exempts the fewest from having to pay.

That could change. (Symons/Asbury Park Press)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/10/lawmakers-hope-to-bury-death-tax-in-nj/23194471/

Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Seton Hall law professor examines Hoboken blogger trial

Seton Hall law professor examines Hoboken blogger trial

After Tuesday’s decision by a Hudson County Superior Court judge to dismiss a defamation case filed against two Hoboken-based bloggers, a Seton Hall law professor outlined for PolitickerNJ what it takes to make a defamation claim stick in New Jersey’s rough-and-tumble political atmosphere. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Seton Hall law professor examines Hoboken blogger trial | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Hoboken blogger trial ends with dismissal

Hoboken blogger trial ends with dismissal

JERSEY CITY – The jury trial of two Hoboken-based bloggers accused of defamation ended on Tuesday after the presiding judge ruled in favor of a defense motion to dismiss the case, stating that the plaintiffs had failed to make a prima facie, or sufficient, case against the defendants.

“New Jersey has a particularly high regard for free speech,” said Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Arre is his ruling, noting that the involvement of plaintiffs Lane Bajardi and his wife Kimberly Cardinal Bajardi in the “political factions” constantly fighting in Hoboken make them public figures, and therefore subject to a higher standard when it comes to defamation. “Political speech is subject to the highest possible public protection. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Hoboken blogger trial ends with dismissal | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by James — 1 Comment

Spirited cancer patient glad to be a role model

Spirited cancer patient glad to be a role model

FEBRUARY 9, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Anthony Daniels is still fighting.

The 23-year-old, who is battling an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has inspired several bone marrow drives in his honor, but has yet to benefit from any of them.

Still, he remains undeterred, determined to conquer the cancer that has ravaged his body since he received his diagnosis more than three years ago.

“I’ve become a lot stronger this past year and couldn’t be more motivated,” said Daniels, a Fordham University business student and former Ridgewood High School hockey player. “There has been a huge influx in positivity that keeps me going and focused on helping others and myself.”

Daniels just started a five-week oral drug trial — his 11th round of chemotherapy in his quest to stop Hodgkin’s, a cancer of the immune system that attacks white blood cells.

He’s also been working as the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s ambassador — an appointment he received after being featured in the documentary film “To Be Strong.” The attention also landed him a weekly gig writing a motivational column for CureToday.com, an online news resource for people with cancer.

“The film gave me a voice and presented me with other opportunities to help a large group of people,” he said.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/spirited-cancer-patient-glad-to-be-a-role-model-1.1267341

Posted on February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by James — 2 Comments

Hoboken blogger trial continues, highlighting Hudson city’s political rifts

Hoboken blogger trial continues, highlighting Hudson city’s political rifts

JERSEY CITY – A defamation case involving Hoboken political bloggers continued before jurors in Hudson County Superior Court on Monday, underscoring freedom of speech issues and the general nastiness of political discourse in Hoboken, Hudson’s real estate boom town.

The trial, which began last week, is rooted in a lawsuit filed by Hoboken resident Lane Bajardi and wife Kimberly Cardinal Bajardi in July 2012 in Hudson County Superior Court seeking $2 million in damages. The Hoboken-based bloggers Roman Brice and Nancy Pincus are named as defendants, as well as 10 other unnamed individuals – listed in the court documents by their on-line screen names – for allegedly posting remarks in 2011 and 2012 that allegedly injured the careers and future employment of the Bajardis. Lane Bajardi is a WINS 1010 radio reporter. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Hoboken blogger trial continues, highlighting Hudson city’s political rifts | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

Posted on February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by James — Leave a comment

Feds won’t release IRS targeting documents

Feds won’t release IRS targeting documents
By Bob Cusack – 02/10/15 06:00 AM EST

The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups.

Twenty months after the IRS scandal broke, there are still many unanswered questions about who was spearheading the agency’s scrutiny of conservative-leaning organizations.

The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups.

TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal. TIGTA also declined to comment for this article.

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/232249-feds-wont-release-irs-targeting-documents

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