The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, on January 10th, TapintoRidgewood ran are article on the Ridgewood School board reorganization ,with the headline , “BOE votes to Support later Start times at Ridgewood High School and Middle Schools “.
staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, With the scholastic fall sports season rapidly approaching, legislation sponsored by Senator Michael Testa and Assemblyman Erik Simonsen to allow additional time for high school and middle school athletes to pass sports physicals was signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy.
“My being conscientious about not placing leaves in street until placement day does not go unpunished.
On my block area A in front of Benjamin Franklin Middle School everyone has put their leaves out before the next placement date which is Nov. 23. Leaves blow in front of my driveway making a big mess.
Continue reading “No good deed goes unpunished in the Village of Ridgewood” Part 2
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Dr. Fishbein also presented information on the process for district capital projects. Dr. Fishbein addressed “rumors ” of a spending referendum.
Continue reading RIDGEWOOD SCHOOL BOARD PROCESS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS
Sheila Brogan horrified the assembled multitude that night at BF and sure enough, her comments have returned to haunt us many times over. They were quickly turned into PowerPoint slides by Valley’s attorneys. Our elected BOE hires the Superintendent of Schools, not the reverse, and should have stood firm, acting as a staunch defender of students’ and teachers’ health, safety, and ability to learn and teach in peace and health. That defection was one of the harshest blows in this nearly decade-long fight to prevent Ridgewood from becoming Valleywood. Ms. Brogan’s failure to support the children and teachers was a terrible and unexpected blow. She has a great deal to answer for and should stop running for reelection to the BOE.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Rather a quiet meeting but we did get a bit of a lecture from our council pilot, Albert. Residents both in Ridgewood and surrounding towns are concerned about the change in flight routes in and out of Teterboro that will increase the number of planes flying over our area and will bring increased noise. Albert who loves planes explained how this change was for the greater good and well, planes make noise.
It looks as though the council is due in court on May 9th as they were also sued by Valley along with the Planning Board. The PB settled as per the vote on Tuesday. A trial is expected to last anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks. Not sure this is this another chance to stop Valley?
It is interesting that a new council will be elected on May 10th. Also, we will be going to trial against Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park for improper use of funds by Ridgewood Water. That case should be decided in the next week or so. Nothing was mentioned at the meeting. In all, nothing of consequence was mentioned.
April 4 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, Only the terms of the mediated settlement between Valley Hospital and the Planning Board is known at this moment and Ms. Hauck had nothing to do with that negotiation. It was PB Chairman Nalbantian and Vice Chairman Joel.
Ms Hauck and Ms. Knudsen are the two VC members negotiating Valley Hospital’s suit against the Village Council. We understand that a court date is set for early May. At that time we will know more about that case.
In the meantime, CRR has not stopped their efforts and are encouraging people to show up to Monday’s PB meeting. They are also working on educating a whole new group of younger parents that are less familiar with this issue. If you would like to help, contact No2valleysettlement@gmail.com orhelpdesk@stopvalley.com
photo courtesy of “it takes a village” group on Facebook
April 3,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , the Attached please find a picture of a typical Saturday at BF. middle school. Students from across the county participating in track and field events OUTSIDE. Hundreds of kids use the field on a regular basis .
Valley construction will involve noise , and dust
Whats will be the impact on out door activities at Middle school during the long construction phase at Valley Hospital
the staff of the Rjidgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Look in the sky its a bird no its a plane and the new flight path to Teterboro Airport, intended to reduce noise around Hackensack University Medical Center, could take jets over Valley Hospital and Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood . This according to a map of the new flight procedure published by a navigational aid company ahead of a six-month trial of the route, which is due to begin on Monday.
The Bergen Record is reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has emphasized that its new they call it the “quiet visual” approach for Teterboro Airport shifts aircraft west of their current route to track Route 17 south from Mahwah to Rochelle Park. The idea is to minimize noise pollution by keeping aircraft over or close to the highway, itself a source of noise.
But the new flight procedure, published by Jeppesen, a Boeing company, shows that a significant portion of the approach takes pilots west of Route 17, particularly between Waldwick and Paramus.
The new flight path according to Jeppesen’s chart has jets approaching Teterboro dropping to a minimum of 3,000 feet around Mahwah, passing over Mahwah and Ramsey high schools. The next descend brings flights to about 2,000 feet, as they approach Julia A Traphagen Elementary School in Waldwick. Then planes would continue south, passing Ho-Ho-Kus Elementary School and, in Ridgewood, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and The Valley Hospital.
As flights continue over Paramus, jets will fly over Stony Lane School and Midland Elementary School as well as close by Bergen Community College, before coming in to land over the top of IKEA and the Westfield Garden State Plaza, while staying more than 1 mile west of Hackensack University Medical Center.
NOVEMBER 9, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015, 11:27 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A breast cancer awareness fundraiser that took place at Benjamin Franklin Middle School (BF) on Oct. 30 showed that, should enough duct tape be applied, a person can indeed be held by tape in midair for a good cause.
The scene was a strange one, with permanent substitute Daniel Cermack, a staff member with whom many of the students are close, hanging suspended from a pillar in the BF cafeteria for 90 minutes by pieces of pink duct tape. The strands, which were purchased by the students, were the school’s means of raising money for breast cancer research, which it has done for many years. All of the money raised was donated to the Avon Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.
“For the past 10 years, we have sold pink ribbons, pink Livestrong bracelets, etc., to raise money for breast cancer awareness,” said Dave Tashian, a guidance counselor and student council advisor at BF. “The kids were looking for something new. A student saw this idea of duct taping people to the wall, and we came up with an idea of how to make money off of it.”
Each length of tape cost $1, though for $2, the middle-schoolers were given the opportunity to snap a selfie with Cermack as he hung from the pillar like an insect in a cocoon.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/school-fundraiser-a-sticky-situation-1.1451780
The homemade clock Ahmed Mohamed brought to school was mistaken for a bomb. (Irving Police Department)
Why a ninth-grader’s arrest over a home-built clock struck a chord across America
A week after 9/11, a lapse of judgement ?
By Abby Phillip and Sarah Kaplan September 16 at 6:20 PM
Ahmed Mohamed just wanted to impress his teachers with a homemade invention. The story of what happened next has made the 14-year-old from Irving, Tex., the object of national outrage and attention.
Eager to show off to his engineering teacher, Mohamed walked into MacArthur High School on Monday morning with his hastily assembled invention: A digital clock.
Hours later, the ninth-grader was escorted out of the school in police custody after teachers mistook the device for a bomb.
The incident has triggered allegations of racism and made a Texas school district the target of outrage that began online and quickly spilled into the most powerful offices in the land.
As the story spread, along with a photo of Mohamed in a NASA T-shirt and handcuffs, support came flooding in.
“Cool clock, Ahmed,” President Obama wrote in a tweet Wednesday. “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
APRIL 1, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015, 10:19 AM
BY MALCOLM HERBERT
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood school district saved about $70,000 last year by installing solar panels at eight schools, and could be looking to increase those revenues by adding more solar energy units at the two middle schools.
Jim Wavle, president of Verterra Renewable Energy Group and a village resident, oversaw the installation of solar panels at all but two of Ridgewood’s public schools nearly three years ago. He was brought back by the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) to discuss possibly adding some more.
The potential new units would be set up at George Washington (GW) Middle School, which currently does not have any solar panels, and Benjamin Franklin (BF) Middle School, Wavle said at a BOE meeting last month.
Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein reported that the district is exploring this possibility at this time because “the pricing point for us to expand our solar has come to a better point now.”
The district is considering a small solar project at GW and a larger, carport-based system at BF.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/new-solar-panels-may-add-to-savings-1.1299905
Ridgewood Schools Phase II Solar Proposal
Phase II Solar Proposal is Presented at the March 23 BOE Meeting
Click here to view the Verterra Phase II Solar Presentation presented at the March 23, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
• Eight Ridgewood schools have been receiving a portion of their electricity from solar power since late 2012/early 2013 • Ridgewood High • BF Middle • Glen • Hawes • Orchard • Ridge • Somerville • Travell • Total installed solar capacity of 841 kW • 2014 solar energy production of ~875,000 kWh • 2014 savings from using solar energy ~$70,000
Additional Solar Potential :
GW Middle School • 34.77 kW Rooftop Mounted System • $0.117/kWh year 1 PPA Price with a 3% Escalator • Year 1 Savings ~$3,500 • 15-Year Savings Potential >$50,000 BF Middle School • 329.4 kW Carport Mounted System • $0.125/kWh year 1 PPA Price with a 3% Escalator • Year 1 Savings ~$18,000 • 15-Year Savings Potential >$275,000
New York Voices with Jazzmasters Big Band
Benjamin Franklin Middle School
Ridgewood, NJ
Ridgewood NJ, Returning to Ridgewood, NJ for the first time since 1997, The Grammy Award winning vocal jazz quartet consisting of Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian, and Lauren Kinhan will be joined by an all star line up of professional music educators to perform for one night only.
Having recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, New York Voices is the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. They are known for their close-knit voicings, inspired arrangements and unparalleled vocal blend. Their chameleon-like musicianship allows them to move seamlessly from setting to setting, be it orchestral/big band to the intimate trio lineup. With deep interests rooted in jazz, Brazilian, R & B, classical, and pop, their music mixes traditional sensibilities with more than a dash of the unexpected.
The Voices will perform 2 sets of music including selections from their popular recorded repertoire plus A Cappella features performed only in a live setting.
The Jazzmasters Big Band was formed in 2013 by Ridgewood High School Band Director Jeffrey Haas to provide a way for his students to hear live big band jazz performed by excellent musicians. Jazzmasters is an ensemble of celebrated performers – Grammy nominees, public school teachers, college professors, private instructors and Broadway musicians – who all share a passion for playing and teaching music in the big band tradition. The group has since branched out from the educational clinic setting to well attended and highly acclaimed public performances.
The Jazzmasters Big Band is:
Saxophones: Julius Tolentino, Paul Larsen, David Demsey, James Garde and Jeff Haas
Trumpets: David Rogers, Ben Hankle, Jeffrey Lesser and John Luckenbill
Trombones: Matt Bilyk, Pete McGuinness, Matt Tracey and Henry Heyzer
Rhythm: Willy Dalton(guitar), Jeffrey Kunkel(piano), Brian Glassman(bass), Steve Johns(drums) and Gary Fink(percussion)
Reader claims had the BF field been sold and leased back to the BOE under the long-term lease, as proposed the entire need for Valley to expand with taller structures today would have been avoided
Had the BF field been sold and leased back to the BOE under the long-term lease, as proposed, Valley would have placed parking under ground and the entire need for Valley to expand with taller structures today would have been avoided. But, the same NIMBYs, who prevented that plan, are the ones opposing Valley’s expansion plans today.
BTW, part of that proposal was to provide a turf facility at BF for free, which would have saved the BOE (taxpayers) almost $1mm. Go over and look at the “recently improved BF field” today. It is a dirt lot!!! And, the spring season is only 3 weeks old.
In retrospect, working with Valley to create a win/win for the village back when they presented the BF field proposal would have been a pretty good/smart idea. Anyone, who is proud of shooting that idea down is part of the group who is responsible for the current state of Ridgewood
