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In Person Protest to Promote Vote-by-Mail in Fair Lawn

five corners post office protest 6

file photo

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

FAIR LAWN NJ, Local grassroots groups are rallying in Fair Lawn in support of the U.S. Postal Service and mail-in voting as the Trump administration seeks to undermine both. The rally will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22 on the sidewalk outside the U.S. Post Office at 14-24 Abbott Road. Remember its to dangerous to vote in person ,but protests are always safe.

Continue reading In Person Protest to Promote Vote-by-Mail in Fair Lawn

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Reader says I often wonder about the people who drive that carelessly

School Crossing

As a member of the Citizens Safety board, I can tell you we and the police and the town are well aware of how dangerous that particular corner is. Additionally, I was the safety chairperson for BF for a long time. Roseanne is a dedicated employee and has literally risked her life many times crossing those kids. People drive through there in criminal fashion – speeding and flagrantly ignoring her. Speeding cars cut it so close and fast they have even clipped her STOP sign while it’s in her hand! I’ve stood there in the morning observing and she does not haplessly waddle, nor does the job render her out of breath.
If anything, it is HER corner that is dangerous enough to warrant extra manpower. True accidents do happen, and it’s tragic, but I often wonder about the people who drive that carelessly. I wonder if they think about the fact that their desperate need to pick a few seconds or minutes to get where they are going could result in the the knowledge – for the rest of their lives- that they killed another human being.

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Daylight Saving Time: Why Does It Exist? (It’s Not for Farming)

Ben Franklin(Barry Stevens)

Ben Franklin(Barry Stevens)

By DANIEL VICTORMARCH 11, 2016

Spring forward, fall back.

But why?

The reason the United States and many other countries, mostly in the West, shift to daylight saving time is contentious and confusing, and some of the more popular explanations are not grounded in reality. (It isn’t for farmers, as you may have learned in school.)

The general concept is to move an hour of sunlight from the early morning, when many would sleep through it, to the evening, when you could most likely do more with the light.

“For most people, an extra hour of daylight in the evening after work or after school is much more usable than the hour of daylight in the morning,” said David Prerau, the author of “Seize the Daylight.”

But since the idea was put in place, it has faced detractors and debate. Several states, including California and Rhode Island, are considering abolishing the practice. As with many other congressional acts, it’s worth considering who the beneficiaries are.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/us/daylight-saving-time-farmers.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDaylight%20Saving%20Time&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection&_r=0

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The Name-Dropper: Franklin Turnpike

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William Frenklin not Ben ( Actor Barry Stevens)

The Name-Dropper: Franklin Turnpike

November 27, 2014    Last updated: Thursday, November 27, 2014, 1:21 AM
By JEFFREY PAGE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD |
The Recor

Who was Lee of Fort Lee, Votee of Votee Park and Merritt of Camp Merritt? The Name-Dropper gives you the lowdown on some of the people whose names you see on public statues, memorial plaques, park signs, highways and even some local streets around North Jersey. Have suggestions? Email them to features@northjersey.com and put Name-Dropper in the subject field.

Everybody knows that Franklin Turnpike was named for the grand old man of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, right?

You remember Ben, the heavyset guy who flew that kite in the electrical storm, who invented bifocals and the concept of the lending library. Ben, who told us: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Caution: Don’t bet on Ben. Truth is that the turnpike, an important north-south route through parts of Bergen County, was not named for Ben, not for Aretha, not for FDR and certainly not for Moe, who played 61 games for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1940s.

The Franklin in question was Ben’s illegitimate son, William, whose politics were far removed from his dad’s. Ben was part of the Colonial revolution. William was a staunch loyalist and, in fact, the Colonial governor of New Jersey for 13 years, appointed in 1762 by no less than King George III. It was during this period that the turnpike was developed and named for William. Franklin Lakes is also named for the former governor.

William made no secret of his loyalist leanings and his devotion to the king. And in William, King George clearly had a man he could trust. In William’s appointment, the king granted remarkable authority to his new governor: “We do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to suspend any of the members of our said council from sitting, voting and assisting therein if you shall find just cause for so doing.”

Later in the appointment document George said: “And you shall and may likewise from time to time as you shall judge it necessary adjourn, prorogue [discontinue] and dissolve all general assemblies as aforesaid.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ben-franklin-turnpike-not-so-fast-it-s-named-for-his-illegitimate-son-1.1142587