If we want to support pollination of Bees, then why do we have to:
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a) join an organization (Bee City USA),
b) PAY Annual Fees
c) make financial, time and resource commitments (including land)
d) annually send reports to Bee City USA (which requires allocating time resources and personnel)
e) commit to creating and maintain a National Pollinator Week celebration (again requiring time, resources and personnel)
f) create and maintain Bee City publicity and promotion including maintaining a web page/site and actual physical signage in the village
g) create and maintain a “comprehensive Bee Plan” with restrictions/requirements on type and quantity of plants, minimal use of pesticides, tracking of pollinators, leaving acerage undisturbed (unmowed, non-removal of dead or fallen trees, non-removal of leaves, etc) and more restrictions/requirements
f) BE REQUIRED TO REPORT OUR COMPLIANCE AND PROGRESS (increase of bee acreage) to an outside organization annually (Bee City USA).
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WHY do we need to be bound to all of these items?
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IF Ridgewood wants to be more “Bee Friendly” then why can’t we just adopt our own agenda and implement all or none of it on our own pace and schedule?
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WHY the need to tie ourselves (via legal resolution) to a 3rd party organization and be bound and committed to a series of restrictions and requirements that MAY or MAY NOT be beneficial to Ridgewood?
Paramus NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the investigation of a fatal house fire occurring today at 49 Forest Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad and Arson Task Force under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, the Paramus Police Department under the direction of Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigation under the direction of Sheriff Michael Saudino.
At approximately 6:30a.m., the Paramus Police Department received a call from a second floor resident of 49 Forest Avenue, reporting a fire in the first floor apartment within the house. Family members living on the second floor were able to flee the burning structure. Paramus Police quickly arrived to find a heavy smoke and fire condition within the small first floor apartment. The Paramus Fire Department arrived to combat the fire and located a deceased victim inside the apartment. The victim was later identified as David F. WARDE Jr. (DOB: 6/1/1940). Mr. Warde was single and unemployed and was the lone resident of the apartment.
During the subsequent investigation, it was determined that the fire was caused by a faulty electrical outlet strip located in a living room area of the apartment. The residence remains uninhabitable at this time.
Prosecutor Grewal states that the investigation is ongoing. Prosecutor Grewal would like to thank the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Paramus Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
Ridgewood NJ, Can someone please answer why Maple parking lot has no lights for practices that get out after dark? It is very dangerous picking up and dropping off kids in the pitch black. Why does Habernickle parking lot have stadium lights for a field that closes at dark? Is it because the Village allowed a for profit business to open in the park? If that is the reason it’s very upsetting to think the Village is more concerned about the welfare of Healthbarn’s customers then it is for it’s own tax paying children.
Healthbarn seems to be getting a lot of perks handed to it. Very time I have been in that park I see Parks & Rec trucks working by or on the property surrounding the gate house and garbage and recycling collection too, dose Healthbarn pay for the added services? I saw that her rent is only $3,700.00 a month for the length of the entire lease, plus she gets her garden included in that price that seems like a deal a lot of people would want.
Let’s put the tax payers first not some business run by a non resident. Supporting Healthtbarn is only taking profits away from the Village programs run by Parks and Rec.
It may shock you to learn the suicide rate among middle school students is on the rise.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows between 2007 and 2014, there were 50 reported suicides among middle school students in New Jersey.
This is a growing problem, according to experts, because of cyber-bullying, social and academic pressures and fear and uncertainty about the dangerous world we live in.
“The belief in the past has always been that young people just didn’t struggle with mental health issues and that belief is starting to change” said Tricia Baker, the co-founder and program director of Attitudes in Reverse, a group that talks to Jersey kids in middle and high school about suicide.
“Fifty percent of mental health disorders present before age 14, and that’s why it’s so important we talk to young people about what mental health disorder are.”
Baker’s son Kenny took his own life in 2009 when he was 19 after struggling with mental health issues from the time he was a young child.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police Captain of Patrol Division William Amoruso sat down to chat with one of the Village’s younger citizens on Sunday morning,
09/17 at the Daily Treat Restaurant.
Captain of Patrol Division William Amoruso engaged in a little community policing over coffee.
Community policing creates partnerships between law enforcement agency and other organizations like government agencies, community members, nonprofit service providers, private businesses, and the media. The media represent a powerful pattern by which the police can communicate with the community. Community policing recognizes that police cannot solve every public safety problem alone, so interactive partnerships are created. The policing uses the public for developing problem-solving solutions.
The contemporary community policing movement emphasizes changing the role of law enforcement from a static, reactive, incident-driven bureaucracy to a more dynamic, open, quality-oriented partnership with the community. Community policing philosophy emphasizes that police officers work closely with local citizens and community agencies in designing and implementing a variety of crime prevention strategies and problem-solving measures.
1. All government records are subject to public access under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), unless specifically exempt.
2. A request for access to a government record under OPRA must be in writing, hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically, or otherwise conveyed to the appropriate custodian. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.g. The seven (7) business day response time does not commence until the records custodian receives the request form. If you submit the request form to any other officer or employee of the Village of Ridgewood, that officer or employee must either forward the request to the appropriate custodian, or direct you to the appropriate custodian. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.h.
3. Requestors may submit requests anonymously. If you elect not to provide a name, address, or telephone number, or other means of contact, the custodian is not required to respond until you reappear before the custodian seeking a response to the original request.
4. The fees for duplication of a government record in printed form are listed on the front of this form. We will notify you of any special service charges or other additional charges authorized by State law or regulation before processing your request. Payment shall be made by cash, check or money order payable to the Village of Ridgewood.
5. You may be charged a 50% or other deposit when a request for copies exceeds $25. The Village of Ridgewood custodian will contact you and advise you of any deposit requirements. You agree to pay the balance due upon delivery of the records. Anonymous requests in excess of $5.00 require a deposit of 100% of estimated fees.
6. Under OPRA, a custodian must deny access to a person who has been convicted of an indictable offense in New Jersey, any other state, or the United States, and who is seeking government records containing personal information pertaining to the person’s victim or the victim’s family. This includes anonymous requests for said information.
7. By law, the Village of Ridgewood must notify you that it grants or denies a request for access to government records within seven (7) business days after the agency custodian of records receives the request. If the record requested is not currently available or is in storage, the custodian will advise you within seven (7) business days after receipt of the request when the record can be made available and the estimated cost for reproduction.
8. You may be denied access to a government record if your request would substantially disrupt agency operations and the custodian is unable to reach a reasonable solution with you.
9. If the Village of Ridgewood is unable to comply with your request for access to a government record, the custodian will indicate the reasons for denial on the request form or other written correspondence and send you a signed and dated copy.
10. Except as otherwise provided by law or by agreement with the requester, if the agency custodian of records fails to respond to you within seven (7) business days of receiving a request, the failure to respond is a deemed denial of your request.
11. If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Village of Ridgewood to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (“GRC”) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at PO Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email protected], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The Council can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
12. Information provided on this form may be subject to disclosure under the Open Public Records Act.
Click here to download OPRA Request Form ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/images/VillageOPRA.pdf )
Ridgewood NJ, file this under , “so that’s how they do that “, Ridgewood FD Firefighter/EMT David Kelly filling a Yodock 2001M Water Filled Traffic Barricade with hydrant water on Sunday morning, 09/17. The Yodock barricade, located on Cottage Place, Ridgewood, was deployed by Ridgewood PD as a pedestrian safety/security measure in connection with a large street fair. Ridgewood FD personnel filled dozens of similar barricades throughout Ridgewood’s Central Business District prior to the street fair’s kick off time.
by Victor Davis Hanson
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
America is experiencing a diversity and inclusion conundrum—which, in historical terms, has not necessarily been a good thing. Communities are tearing themselves apart over the statues of long-dead Confederate generals. Controversy rages over which slogan—“Black Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”—is truly racist. Antifa street thugs clash with white supremacists in a major American city. Americans argue over whether the USC equine mascot “Traveler” is racist, given the resemblance of the horse’s name to Robert E. Lee’s mount “Traveller.” Amid all this turmoil, we forget that diversity was always considered a liability in the history of nations—not an asset.
Ancient Greece’s numerous enemies eventually overran the 1,500 city-states because the Greeks were never able to sublimate their parochial, tribal, and ethnic differences to unify under a common Hellenism. The Balkans were always a lethal powder keg due to the region’s vastly different religions and ethnicities where East and West traditionally collided—from Roman and Byzantine times through the Ottoman imperial period to the bloody twentieth century. Such diversity often caused destructive conflicts of ethnic and religious hatred. Europe for centuries did not celebrate the religiously diverse mosaic of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians, but instead tore itself apart in a half-millennium of killing and warring that continued into the late twentieth century in places like Northern Ireland.
In multiracial, multiethnic, and multi-religious societies—such as contemporary India or the Middle East—violence is the rule in the absence of unity. Even the common banner of a brutal communism could not force all the diverse religions and races of the Soviet Union to get along. Japan, meanwhile, does not admit many immigrants, while Germany has welcomed over a million, mostly young Muslim men from the war-torn Middle East. The result is that Japan is in many ways more stable than Germany, which is reeling over terrorist violence and the need for assimilation and integration of diverse newcomers with little desire to become fully German.
History offers only a few success stories when it comes to diversity. Rome, for one, managed to weld together millions of quite different Mediterranean, European, and African tribes and peoples through the shared ideas of Roman citizenship (civis Romanus sum) and equality under the law. That reality endured for some 500 years. The original Founders of the Roman Republic were a few hundred thousand Latin-speaking Italians; but the inheritors of their vision of Roman Republican law and constitutionalism were a diverse group of millions of people all over the Mediterranean.
History’s other positive example is the United States, which has proven one of the only truly diverse societies in history to remain fairly stable and unified—at least so far. Although the Founders are now caricatured as oppressive European white men, they were not tribal brutes. The natural evolution of their unique belief that all men are created equal is today’s diverse society, where different people have managed, until recently, to live together in relatively harmony and equality under the law.
Unlike present-day Mexico, China, or Japan, America never developed a fixed idea, either culturally or formally in its written constitution, that race or religion de facto defined citizenship. Instead, an imperfect America was always being reinvented in dogged pursuit of the Founders’ promise of equality and the toleration of difference.
Despite a Civil War that took over 600,000 lives, years of oppression and segregation, dozens of major riots, and thousands of court cases and legislative fights, our American exceptionalism held that America alone could pull off the bizarre idea that diverse peoples could eventually live together as a single people in brotherhood. But the American experiment is not static, nor is it settled. The nation’s racial, ethnic, and religious diversity is by nature volatile, and prone to exploitation by demagogues and opportunists.
A diverse America requires constant reminders of e pluribus unum and the need for assimilation and integration. The idea of Americanism is an undeniably brutal bargain in which we all give up primary allegiance to our tribes in order to become fellow Americans redefined by shared ideas rather than mere appearance.
Unfortunately, there are increasing signs that our political, religious, ethnic, and racial diversity is overwhelming our shared but fragile notion of national unity. Growing geographical separation into blue coastal liberal states and red interior conservative counterparts is starting to mimic the North-South regional divide of the Civil War, a split in national geography that is fueling political differences. Not surprising, there is talk of a Calexit, or a Confederate-like secession of California from the United States—and during the Obama administration, there was news of a secessionist movement in Texas.
There is currently little real free speech on American campuses. A new kind of racial segregation is occurring in college “theme” and “affinity” houses. Recent street violence in places like Charlottesville between extremists of the left and right resembled the brawling between totalitarian Stalinists and racist brown shirts of 1930s Germany. The successful melting pot is caricatured; the unproven salad bowl is canonized.
Almost everything in America today is politicized and thus polarized, from the fundamental to the trivial: sports events, music, art, Hollywood movies, mute statues, cable television, university curriculums, Silicon Valley corporations, and now even the names of horses. Fewer people are unified. The schools and the media do not remind Americans that their country can be quite good without having to be perfect—and is far better than the contemporary alternatives elsewhere. At the same time, these institutions have convinced Americans that the evils of human kind—racism, sexism, homophobia, slavery, serfdom, and class oppression—are the unique sins of democratic America. Few today appreciate that only in America has there been a culture of self-critique, introspection, and dissent—and thus remedies for the nation’s shortcomings, a self-correcting culture not known elsewhere.
The fashion today is to identify yourself by your ethnicity, race, or sexual preference—as something that transcends both being American and a unique individual. In contrast, there are vanishing incentives for people to simply call themselves Americans, allowing the content of their character to trump the color of their skin. In this regard, we can welcome the recent change in name of the preeminent Latino lobbying group from the racialist National Council of La Raza to Unidos US. (Raza is a Franco-era chauvinistic buzzword meaning “The Race.”)
If America is to survive this fourth century of its existence, it will soon have to recalibrate from “celebrating diversity” to “celebrating unity.” The bleak alternative is history’s long list of genocides, tribal feuding, ethnic warring, religious conflicts, and pogroms. In sum, the United States will at some point have to subordinate the fad of multiculturalism to the ideal of multiracialism: many different-looking Americans who are nonetheless one in their shared customs, citizenship, and culture, while holding diverse political and cultural views not predicated on identity politics.
“Difference” is a plus when it is a matter of enjoying diverse foods, music, fashion, art, and literature that enhance a central, shared, and unchanging set of values based on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
We all enjoy Mexican or Chinese food, but not Mexican or Chinese ideas of democracy and human rights. We all are enriched by Caribbean music but not by Caribbean notions of law and justice. We all value political and ideological diversity—but only when they rely on collective tribal allegiances. And we are impressed by Middle Eastern hospitality and family solidarity, but not Middle Eastern treatment of women, minorities, gays, and diverse religions. What makes millions of immigrants strive to reach and stay in America at all costs is not our racial make-up or our many languages but the racially-blind promise of freedom, liberty, the rule of law, prosperity, and security which are the dividends of Americans abiding by the precepts of the U.S. Constitution.
If America’s set of values becomes a pick-and-choose potpourri, there is no unity. And then America will certainly become yet another one of history’s casualties of diversity.
Ridgewood NJ, on Sept. 26th at the Ridgewood Public library the library in conjunction with the Village of Ridgewood ,the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and The Ridgewood Guild will hold a forum titled, Moving Forward Together: Fostering a Pedestrian Friendly Community.
The event is designed to help us create a more connected and vibrant community. Numerous organizations are collaborating on this effort. The forum with take place from 7-8:30pm .
This event will be followed by a second event which is a village-wide, month-long walking initiative that will take place during October titled Walktoberfest. Guided walks are being scheduled to entice residents to learn more about our village and its businesses. There will be historic, architectural, food, fashion, beauty, parks, interfaith and municipal building tours available. Please watch for promotional materials and emails throughout the coming weeks.
Ridgewood NJ, Its official Ridgewood becomes the first Bee City in New Jersey! To learn more about this important and amazing program visit https://www.beecityusa.org/
Bee City USA endorses a set of commitments for creating sustainable habitats for pollinators, which are vital to feeding the planet.
Bee City USA fosters ongoing dialogue in urban areas to raise awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities and what each of us can do to provide them with healthy habitat.
Ridgewood NJ, Free screening of Angelina Jolie’s movie, First They Killed My Father, tomorrow at George Washington Middle School – Monday, September 18th at 7 pm in GW Library – brought to you by the Ridgewood Cambodia Project – concession snacks and Cambodian items for sale to benefit RCP – please join us! Film is appropriate for ages 14 and over.
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers is a 2000 non-fiction book written by Loung Ung, a Cambodian author and survivor of the Pol Pot regime. It is a personal account of her experiences during the Khmer Rouge years.
Until the age of five, Loung Ung lived in Phnom Penh, one of seven children of a high-ranking government official. She was a precocious child who loved the open city markets, fried crickets, chicken fights, and sassing her parents. While her beautiful mother worried that Loung was a troublemaker—that she stomped around like a thirsty cow—her beloved father knew Loung was a clever girl.
When Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army stormed into Phnom Penh in April 1975, Ung’s family fled their home and moved from village to village to hide their identity, their education, their former life of privilege. Eventually, the family dispersed in order to survive. Loung trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, while other siblings were sent to labor camps. As the Vietnamese penetrated Cambodia, destroying the Khmer Rouge, Loung and her surviving siblings were slowly reunited
The Ridgewood blog highly recommends this movie for all you “would-be commies” and any of you “hate America first types” the totally brutality of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge (utopian communism) will cure you of any of those maladies .
The Ridgewood Art Institute Instructor’s Exhibition Opening Reception: Sunday, October 15th, 2017 2-4pm On view: October 6th – November 2nd, 2017 The Ridgewood Art Institute 12 East Glen Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201 652-9615
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Art Institute is a prominent player in the perpetuation of Classical Realism today and is considered one the nation’s best community art associations. It’s origins are based in the 19th Century French Barbizon School and it is closely tied to The Art Students League’s history, as there are many esteemed artists who have taught and studied at both RAI and ASL.
The Ridgewood Art Institute Instructor’s Exhibition features beautiful still lifes, florals and landscapes and will give art enthusiasts a wonderful sampling of the quality of work available for sale at our events. For art students this is a wonderful opportunity to explore the possibilities of starting either a new class or a new medium in one of our beautiful studios.
The Ridgewood Art Institute is a non profit organization providing the finest instruction in Classical Realism in a variety of mediums. Classes are offered on an open enrollment basis, and can be joined at anytime. Each student is taught in direct relation to their personal skill level. Our two unique north lit studios as well as our three galleries are just a part of what RAI offers. We also sponsor events and workshops throughout the year, that are of interest to artists and art enthusiasts alike. Why wait? Come see why RAI has become a treasured haven to so many, for more than 70 years.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood YMCA announces a new program, Saturdays in Action, for youth with special needs beginning Saturday, October 7. Youth ages 3 to 18 years old are invited to participate with their families in this program. Planned activities include: art projects, swimming, sports and games, and S.T.E.M. classes. The program will meet the first Saturday of every month from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Ridgewood Y. There is no cost to attend.
You can register for the upcoming program sessions online at www.ridgewoodymca.org. For additional information, please contact Michelle Burke at 201.444.5600 x337.
The Ridgewood Y is also looking for local volunteers to help out with this program. The time commitment is only 2 hours. You can volunteer as an individual or along with your work colleagues or family members. Please contact our volunteer coordinator at x375.
The Ridgewood YMCA is located at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ. Tel: 201.444.5600
The Ridgewood YMCA offers a free community program called Saturdays in Action for youth from ages 3 to 18 years with special needs.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Emergency Services took possession of a new rescue truck this week! The chassis is a 2017 Ford F550, with an 11 foot rescue body with lots of storage space for just about every tool they can put in there. It has 4 telescoping LED flood lights to illuminate their emergency scenes at night. It also has a large Wanco LED message board to help direct traffic. The custom truck was built by Unruh Fire of Sedgwick, Kansas .
Voigt attempted to mislead and misrepresent what happened in court to trick us residents . He went to Facebook and posted that he was found innocent. Wrong. Voigt was not found innocent the case was dismissed, according to the article, because of lack of evidence. Lack of evidence doesn’t equate to not guilty and it doesn’t mean innocent . Voight did what he did and he’s responsible. Instead of apologizing went straight to Facebook to continue bullying and intimidating the same residents. Then voigt added more resident names to his hate list.
Voights bullying and intimidation is intended to stop residents from participating in government. Anyone is at risk for the same retaliation by Voight for disagreeing with him.. It would be terrible for all of us to lose residents who are engaged because of voights bullying.
Voigt has embarrassed himself and embarrassed the Village. In trying to misrepresent a dismissal he’s proven he can’t be trusted.
