file photo
December 21,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Today December 21st is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The Winter solstice (or hibernal solstice), also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere this is the June solstice.
Too many pedestrians are on their cell phones or concentrating on their music and never even attempt to stop or look before entering a crosswalk. This often requires a car to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting them while hoping that their car does not get real ended at the same time.
The second major problem that I find is that I do stop to let the pedestrian cross–but the car behind me does not and goes around me. This turns the pedestrian into a target. If a car is stopped without a signal, it usually means a pedestrian.
Thirdly, the tall plants at the corners are lovely, but after dark, they could easily be a person or vice versa
I also have no problem letting a pedestrian cross in the crosswalk and will always yield to them. As for jaywalking – good luck. It is nerve-wracking enough just driving thru town trying to get from one end to the other without hitting anything!. Watching for the transit bus, runners, jaywalkers, cell phone users, double parkers, sun glare and other cars not paying attention…..to name a few distractions
I find in Ridgewood a majority of people do not use a crosswalk they just step out from between parked cars children in tow and hope you stop. In the central business area, there is a complete lack of police enforcement of motor vehicle laws and nothing is ever done about dumb pedestrians stepping out where ever they wish.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving
December 21,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A large plastic garbage bag filled with human medical waste products somehow wound up on a sidewalk near Ridgewood High School on Tuesday morning, 12/20. The improperly disposed of items were spotted by the manager of a garden apartment building located at 535 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, who in turn notified Ridgewood PD. A Ridgewood EMS EMT assisted uniformed patrol officers and their supervisor in bagging the debris in plastic bio hazard disposal bags, which were then transported in the back of a marked police patrol unit to The Valley Hospital. The errant garbage bag contained no identifying material that would have allowed police officers to determine its origin.
more photos: https://www.facebook.com/theridgewoodblog/
UPDATE ON FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN TAX IMPLEMENTATION
December 21,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In the most recent Ridgewood Public Schools rps.eNews the Ridgewood Board of Education delivered the news that due to “unintended consequences” of the state changing school elections to November, and also state budget software restrictions, the additional $929,800 tax increase approved on the full-day Kindergarten ballot question must be collected immediately.
To rectify, the district will then lower the 2017-18 budget by $929,800, and restore that budget amount in the third year and forward. Understanding that this situation is a consequence of not updating the state statutes and codes when the school elections were shifted to November, the state will now revise the laws to eliminate this issue for other towns going forward.
December 21,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, In observance of the Christmas holiday, Village Hall and the Stable offices will be closed Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26, 2016.
Village Hall and the Stable offices will be open Friday, December 30th. In observance of the New Year holiday, Village Hall and the Stable offices will be closed Monday, January 2, 2017.
SANITATION & RECYCLING SCHEDULE
Sanitation & Recycling Collection – December 23 ; December 30
Recycling Center – Open – December 23 & 24; 30, 31
Recycling Center – Closed – December 26; January 2, 2017
By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Tuesday, December 20, 2016
The FBI believed Huma Abedin’s laptop computer did have evidence she and her boss, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, mishandled classified information, according to a search warrant released Tuesday that shows the basis agents had for upending the presidential election with their controversial election-season probe.
Agents were also hoping to see if anyone had used the laptop to hack into the Clinton emails, according to the affidavit agents filed to justify the warrant.
Ms. Abedin, one of Mrs. Clinton’s top aides from her time in the State Department and again on the campaign trail, shared the laptop with her now-estranged husband Anthony Weiner. The FBI seized the laptop in a probe of Mr. Weiner, but discovered it also had messages between Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Abedin.
“There is … probably cause to believe that the correspondence between them located on the Subject Laptop contains classified information which was produced by and is owned by the U.S. Government. The Subject Laptop was never authorized for the storage or transmission of classified or national defense information,” the FBI said in the affidavit.
FBI Director James B. Comey sent shockwaves through the presidential election in late October when he announced, just months after clearing Mrs. Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in her handling of classified emails, that he was reopening the probe based on new information.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/20/fbi-feared-huma-abedins-laptop-had-been-hacked-con/
file photo by William Thomas
Henry Bodkin
19 DECEMBER 2016 • 7:35PM
Going grey due to stress and anxiety is an inseparable part of being human, but new research suggests we are not alone.
A pioneering study of dogs found has found that the famously loyal four-legged animals may be suffering exactly the same fate.
A survey of more than 400 canines established that going grey around the mouth and face was not only a sign of distinguished old age.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/12/19/stress-makes-dogs-go-grey-humans-new-study/
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Roughly 45% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions each January, and since money is our top stressor, it’s clear that many of our pledges will be financial in nature. In recognition of that, WalletHub today announced its 10 Financial Resolutions for 2017 in order to help progress-minded people attain Top WalletFitness in the new year. This report comes on the heels of WalletHub’s 10 Financial Predictions for 2017, helping to provide a roadmap for financial improvement after the ball drops.
Below you can find a quick rundown of our resolutions, which are based in part on conversations with a panel of leading finance and consumer psychology experts.
For additional context and advice related to each resolution, as well as a complete Q&A with our experts, please visit: https://wallethub.com/blog/
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, This holiday season round out your table with rustic root vegetables and colorful produce – the side dishes and ingredients of the season. From savory to sweet, these sought after vegetables have a ton of natural sugars and are loaded with vitamins, bringing you and your guests a healthy and delicious dish to add to the table.
Kings Food Markets Nutritionist, Shari Bilt Boockvar, MS, RDN Nutritionist, works closely to select options from Kings that offer a variety of inspirational root vegetable recipes to round out your table this season, including:
Shari explains, “This season has a bountiful array of colorful produce, which provides a wonderful source of beta-carotene, potassium, fiber, and other nutrients. Enjoy them simply roasted with olive oil, garlic and seasonings or in a beautiful crudité.” In addition to these inspirational recipes and simple basics from Shari, Kings offers a great assortment of classes to further inspire your meals this holiday season taught by some of the area’s top chefs:
To complete your holiday table Kings offers fully catered meals in their Catering department, covering all of your bases, including root vegetables as well as holiday staples such as Mini Crab Cakes, Kings Apple Pie, Kings Classic Carrot Soufflé and even custom floral arrangements for all your holiday tablescaping needs.
How To: Spiralized Butternut Squash Ragu with Italian Sausage Ragu
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Hailed as an emerging young talent, Maestro Steven Fox, the 38-year old Music Director of Bergen County’s acclaimed Pro Arte Chorale and other musical organizations has received critical praise in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and more. Now, as Artistic Director of New York’s Clarion Music Society, he has been nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance of the Year, for their recording of Maximilian Steinberg’s Passion Week.
Steven and The Clarion Choir recently travelled on a State Department sponsored tour to St. Petersburg and Moscow for the Russian premiere performances of Steinberg’s long-hidden 1920s liturgical masterwork.
The Pro Arte Chorale congratulates Steven on this significant musical achievement, and is honored to share his talent with our local communities in Bergen County and Northern New Jersey through our concert programs.
Founded in 1964, the Pro Arte Chorale is one of New Jersey’s foremost volunteer choruses and is considered one of the top-ranked regional choruses in America. The Chorale has appeared at such major concert venues as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Carnegie Hall, and has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and American Symphony Orchestra.
Pro Arte is committed to supporting local education endeavors and to enriching the lives of its audience and the broader community by exploring a variety of classic musical traditions over more than six centuries, up to and including Opera Choruses, American Spirituals and even Broadway Show Tunes.
To find out how you can become a supporter of Pro Arte or to learn more about its upcoming schedule of performances, visit www.ProArteChorale.org.
Pro Arte Chorale is a nonprofit volunteer chorus of about 50 auditioned members, committed to the public performance of classic choral music in Northern New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan Area. Now in its 53rd consecutive annual concert season, Pro Arte is supported by its operating income and by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Each year, when December comes rolling in, so do the inner doubts and reflections that are part of our year-end experience.
Did I succeed? Has my business or career grown? Is my family happy and healthy? Do I have enough money to get them the gifts they want?
All these questions are nagging at me as I run from one Christmas party to the next. I can’t help but wonder why success is measured by our society in tangibles… I cannot measure my success in tangibles, nor do I want to, as this is not in sync with my passions or my values.
For me, success is measured by the intangible not by the tangibles we think we see! What does that mean? The tangibles we see are the big house or car that you already physically own. We think these things matter because of others’ expectations of what we should have to be successful and to be of a certain social standing. Having these tangibles is then a way to prove to others and yourself that you have succeeded.
This brings me straight back to the nagging questions I have about success and how we measure ourselves and others.
As I watch my colleagues talk about their accomplishments of the past year, I see a picture in my distant memory of a mother decorating a tree. Christmas, too, is about intangibles… For my family, Christmas was steeped in traditions; however, the only thing I truly recall was the gift of being together, thus the intangible… When did Christmas become such a big industry that we as families have become a slave to it?
We seem to focus so much on giving and receiving tangible gifts that we forget that they will not be remembered. Think back to your childhood while reading this and you will remember the smiling faces among the things that you treasured, but not really what was in the wrapped presents!
Sadly, this truth is not reflected in our talk and in our actions. Your child will go back to school after the holidays and teachers and friends will immediately ask “What did you get?” and not “How was your Christmas?”
Today, there is so much pressure on every member in a family to outshine everyone around you at work or school that I truly feel sad for those that forget that there are so many things we cannot see but they are there. They truly matter!
Here are a few examples of intangibles that matter every day: knowing that you can count on that one person to help you through difficult times. Every child who knows deep down that their parents will help them even if they are mad! Or what about the immense satisfaction a mother feels when her child takes those first few steps. Or the ability you have to put a smile on someone’s face, just because you can! In all our milestones, having someone encourage us as if we were an athlete crossing the finish line. That happy face in the crowd that clapped just a bit louder than everyone else… That, ladies and gentlemen, is success—when we have that one friend or relative who gives us courage to be ourselves!
How others make you feel cannot be seen but boy—can you feel it! All these examples are intangible—not evident, untouchable, we cannot see them. But that does not mean they don’t exist. In fact, I wish that people paid more attention to the intangible. Why?
If you ask any human being who they value the most, they almost always answer family. Then I ask what do they value most, even though geography, culture, and personal values might influence the answer to this question, the overall response I have heard the most is “some form of security.” Which often equates back to family.
So is success then not logically how each individual values and cares for their families and friends?
At the end of a person’s life, don’t we consider a person successful, not by their job, but by how well they treated their family and friends?
Set aside your self-doubt, the nagging questions, and dump the pressure to look good, and instead count the family members and your friends who are in your life. Your relationship with each individual and the joy it brings can be the new measure of your success!
So during this month of giving, forget for one moment all of the materialistic gifts—the tangibles that we obsess too much over—and try to concentrate on giving as many intangible gifts as you can to everyone around you. The gift of yourself, being there, listening, laughing, being truly present are the gifts that matter most and that will be truly remembered.
A few action points if you would like to give the gift of the intangible:
1. If you are a parent and have adult children, write down a short story of something your child did when they were younger that moved you and that is locked in your memory forever!
2. If you are a parent of a child, you can suggest they make a coupon book for you instead of a tangible gift. For example, they can give you a coupon with breakfast in bed. Or a coupon where they clean out your room!
3. If you are a friend searching for the perfect intangible gift to give another friend, share a fond memory together that you hold dear. The receiver will sit in awe hearing it!
ABOUT GABRIELLA VAN RIJ
The leading voice of the Kindness movement, Gabriella van Rij (www.gabriella.global) is a speaker, author & activist for kindness whose presentations blend humor, original analogies and her life story to create a rare perspective-shifting experience that speaks to all and that provides the tools audiences need for more productive relationships. Gabriella has been seen by millions on Dr. Phil, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.
Rurik Posted: I took this on a trip to Paris in 1969. The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous structures in the world and the symbol of Paris. Millions visit it every year. An interesting tale behind the building of the Tower. When the the plans were announced in the 1880‘s a committee of 300 leading citizens of Paris issued the following statement, per Wikepedia: “We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection … of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower … To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the Dome of les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal.” Makes you think of their present day Ridgewood descendants, the Vocalantis, those self absorbed fools who are unable to see past the tip of their noses.
this was posted on Facebook in the “it take a Ridgewood Village ” group on Monday December 19th.
While Mr Halaby attempts to use the Eiffel Tower as a symbol of what the rejection of Aronsohn’s flawed vision of Ridgewood could mean we suggest the Nazi occupation of Paris a more fitting symbol.
Here is a small history lesson:
Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army in 1940. The French government departed Paris on June 10, and the Germans occupied the city on June 14. During the Occupation, the French Government moved to Vichy, and Paris was governed by the German military and by French officials approved by the Germans.
For the Parisians, the Occupation was a series of frustrations, shortages and humiliations. A curfew was in effect from nine in the evening until five in the morning; at night, the city went dark. Rationing of food, tobacco, coal and clothing was imposed from September 1940. Every year the supplies grew more scarce and the prices higher. A million Parisians left the city for the provinces, where there was more food and fewer Germans. The French press and radio contained only German propaganda.
Jews in Paris were forced to wear the yellow Star of David badge, and were barred from certain professions and public places. On 16–17 July 1942, 13,152 Jews, including 4,115 children and 5.919 women, were rounded up by the French police, on orders of the Germans, and were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The first demonstration against the Occupation, by Paris students, took place on 11 November 1940. As the war continued, anti-German clandestine groups and networks were created, some loyal to the French Communist Party, others to General Charles de Gaulle in London. They wrote slogans on walls, organized an underground press, and sometimes attacked German officers. Reprisals by the Germans were swift and harsh.
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the French Resistance in Paris launched an uprising on August 19, 1944, seizing the police headquarters and other government buildings. The city was liberated by French and American troops on August 25, and General Charles de Gaulle led a triumphant parade down the Champs-Élysées on August 26, and organized a new government. In the following months, ten thousand Parisians who had collaborated with the Germans were arrested and tried, eight thousand convicted, and 116 executed. On 29 April and 13 May 1945, the first post-war municipal elections were held, in which French women voted for the first time.
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Over the last few weeks Jeff Voigt publicly slammed Mayor Knudsen for looking into complaints against the Financial Advisory Committee. He also implied our Mayor acted unjustly and had broken the law. However, he never gave specifics and failed to substantiate his allegations. As if that wasn’t enough, he then turned to social media and started a “behind closed doors” movement to talk about his beef with Mayor Knudsen.
Residents responded to his social media posts demanding transparency along with a public explanation and proof of his allegations. Jeff Voigt has yet to respond.
Residents response to Voigt’s public message, “You publicly berated the Mayor and implied that something illegal was going on. A PUBLIC explanation is due. Lies, bullying and back door talks will not be tolerated. PROVE IT OR RESIGN.”
If you missed it, here are links to Voigt’s attacks.
file photo by Boyd Loving
December 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood NJ, Governor Chris Christie today released the following opinion editorial on legislation being considered that would update mandates requiring certain legal notices to be published in newspapers. It can be found in full below or on medium.com.
“On Thursday, the Legislature advanced a commonsense piece of legislation that was first proposed in 2004 and will reform the archaic practice of requiring taxpayers and private businesses to pay for costly legal notices in print newspapers. The legislation provides the option of posting notices online and citizens will be allowed to take advantage of modern technologies that are already in use by the vast majority of the people in our State.
“It also saves money.
“The current unfunded mandate that is being addressed by this legislation costs New Jersey taxpayers and private citizens more than $80 million per year. That is $80 million annually from property taxpayers, including those facing the nightmare of foreclosure.
“The taxpayers and citizens of New Jersey can no longer afford this arrangement and thanks to technology, they don’t have to.
“In the case of foreclosures, every family going through that trauma is charged an average of $910 just for the legally required newspaper notices. That is unconscionable and in response to the advancing legislation the New Jersey Press Association proposes increasing those charges.
“As a result, required legal notices earned newspapers approximately $14 million for the 12-month period ending in October 2016. And these costs were borne by the 15,764 financially distressed people who had just suffered a foreclosure of their home in that time period. This is simply unacceptable.
“Today, there are more than 65,000 foreclosures currently pending in New Jersey. That’s $59 million in potential revenue going to private media outlets that can instead be saved by citizens experiencing a foreclosure. Giving them a choice to post online at no cost helps them prevent losing what little equity they may have left or sinking them further into debt.
“For government entities, hundreds of millions of dollars of future resources to be spent on required legal notices could now be made available for public schools and other municipal and county services rather than on an outmoded method which has been supplanted for the majority of New Jerseyans by the Internet.
“The NJ Press Association has acknowledged the inescapable truth – newspapers have a vested interest in seeing this reform movement fail, and it is why they are making baseless charges to support taxing homeowners and bilking those subject to foreclosure unnecessarily.
“For years newspapers have enjoyed a statutorily-protected monopoly on the publication of a vast array of legal notices. Monopolies are always bad for our economy and, in this case, awfully expensive for our citizens.
“The facts are clear: nearly 90 percent of New Jersey households have an internet connection and 100 percent of the state’s public libraries provide free internet access to their more than 43 million annual visitors. Only 22 percent of New Jerseyans buy a print newspaper. This reform will bring New Jersey government directly to the people, who primarily spend their time online accessing information – for free. According to a Pew Research Center study from this summer, 81 percent of adults get their news from online sources or through mobile devices.
“Contrary to the flailing assertions of the NJ Press Association, there will be no lack of transparency and no harm to the public as a result of this reform. These are merely scare tactics by their paid Trenton lobbyists designed to protect the interests of newspaper companies who argue for a free press, but are really arguing for a taxpayer funded subsidy in disguise. This bill, and their fight over it, unmasks their greed. In fact, their true disinterest in transparency and the public’s access to information through a free press – not to mention their undeniable hypocrisy – are fully displayed by the fact that this op-ed was refused publication. I was therefore left with no choice but to disseminate this opinion myself, which will no doubt be read by a vast majority of the population online.
“The truth is this reform legislation maintains the requirement for local governments to provide advance public notice for matters such as meetings, agendas, bid requests and contract awards, while also establishing the requirements for public websites to ensure ease of access for the public. Government entities and individuals would still be able to fulfill notice obligations, but what would no longer be mandatory is the requirement of publishing an exorbitantly expensive notice in a newspaper.
“Although the NJ Press Association insists that this reform bill will result in an overwhelming burden for municipal staff, they intentionally ignore the basic facts. Most importantly, they ignore the fact that this legislation is optional. If municipal clerks can’t manage to transfer the text of a legal notice and post it on their website, they are not required to change their process. However, 532 of the 565 municipalities in New Jersey already maintain websites that provide public notices and information – adding the legal notices that are currently published in newspapers will not be a major leap.
“The New Jersey Association of Counties, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and the New Jersey School Boards Association all support this bill. The only group raising alarms on behalf of municipalities is the NJ Press Association.
“In 2004, when a nearly identical bill was proposed, Assemblyman Wisniewski, then-Assemblyman (now Senator) Gordon, and then-Assemblywoman (now Senator) Weinberg voted for it. Yet now they have the chutzpah to turn their backs on the taxpayers they serve in order to further their misguided political agenda.
“We must update and modernize the public notification responsibilities of local government so that residents are fully informed and we eliminate the outrageous cost for the taxpayers of New Jersey. It will permit a greater number of citizens access to government. The NJ Press Association’s attempts to hang on to an antiquated, self-serving, money making statutory scheme is shameful. The Constitution guarantees a free press, not a government-subsidized one.
“That is why I support this bill, and all taxpayers who don’t have Trenton lobbyists arguing for government-ordered profit for them, should as well.”
Brendan Brown, Contributor
Dec. 12, 2016, 4:54 AM
As any avid book reader can tell you, immersing yourself in a great book can make your brain come alive. It sounds romantic, but science is now proving this to be true.
When we read, not only are we improving memory and empathy, but research has shown that it makes us feel better and more positive too. Science has shown that reading has some amazing health benefits, including helping with depression, cutting stress, and reducing the chances of developing Alzheimer’s later in life.
If you’re one of countless people who don’t make a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing out. This infographic provided by The Expert Editor might just inspire you to become an avid reader, for your health’s sake.
https://www.businessinsider.com/14-reasons-why-reading-is-good-for-your-health-2016-12
