Ridgewood NJ, The governor announced that in-person graduations can happen in July. Specific guidance regarding graduations has not yet been provided. Dr. Fishbein has a county roundtable meeting for superintendents, and graduation ceremonies are an agenda item to be discussed. With social distancing, we still face significant hurdles, having a graduating class of approximately 440 students. Managing crowds is also something that must be evaluated to determine the best way to hold graduation that is both special for the Class of 2020 and safe. Another concern is in the area of liability, as pandemics are not covered by our insurance policy. All of these factors are being carefully considered.
Ridgewood NJ, at the Ridgewood Board of Education meeting on Wednesday evening Ms. Brogan shared information on the financial outlook for the state, as outlined in a report by the state treasurer, which is available online. Additionally, Ms. Brogan and Dr. Fishbein attended a Garden State Coalition of Schools meeting earlier in the day, where they heard from some legislators. The state is struggling financially with their response to COVID-19, and there is a huge unknown for the financial outlook of the state and how schools will be impacted. The recommendations outlined in the report appeared to indicate that there will be a cut of new state aid for the district. The current recommendation is to flat fund the 2020-2021 school year at the amount of the 2019-2020 school year. This impacts the $654,000 of new state aid that we anticipated, and it is likely that there will be additional state aid cuts. On top of cuts, there will be a delay in state aid payments to the district from September to October, as well as a delay in extraordinary aid payments, which the district budgeted at $1.5 million. Extraordinary aid is reimbursement for high special education costs based on an application that the district completes in the spring. Typically, extraordinary aid is granted by the state in July, but this year, it is being postponed until September, which will be the next budget year. These are significant unknowns and concerns because we rely on our state aid.
TRENTON NJ, The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development processed a record 1.1 million benefits certifications for the week ending Saturday, as the total amount of benefit payments surpassed $4.3 billion and nearly 90,000 claims were made newly eligible for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
The number of new applications for unemployment decreased to 34,410, the lowest weekly total since mid-March. Employees in casinos, retailers, food service contractors, restaurants, and airlines continue to be the hardest-hit industries.
Trenton NJ, Many families have been scrambling to either do without child care or to try to find alternative care so they can work. Assemblyman Brian Bergen and Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce urged Gov. Phil Murphy to immediately open day care facilities across the state.
Ridgewood NJ, More than 100,000 people are now dead in the United States because of a virus no one had heard of before late last year. This microscopic pathogen COVID19 brought life and lives to a halt.
The most important and ignored Coronavirus statistic is that 43% of U.S. deaths are from nursing homes . That means 2.1 million Americans in Long Term Care facilities , representing 0.62% of the U.S. population, account for 43% of all deaths due to COVID19 . In Ridgewood alone suffered 35 deaths from COVID19 and 28 were in Long Term Care .
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood would like your input about opening Graydon Pool this summer. In order to safely operate the Graydon Pool swimming facility for the residents of the Village during the COVID-19 pandemic this summer, many changes must occur. The facility and park area will be governed and look differently than they have in the past, as we continue to adhere to social distancing safeguards, the Governor’s mandates, and State health regulations.
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) today released guidance regarding commencement ceremonies to honor 2020 graduates during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The guidance outlines three options for K-12 school commencement ceremonies: 1) virtual; 2) drive-through/drive-in; or 3) modified in-person, outdoor ceremonies. Decisions about the most appropriate type of ceremony for each school community will be made locally, in consultation with municipal officials. At this time, only virtual ceremonies are permitted. Beginning July 6, 2020, drive-through/drive-in and modified in-person, outdoor ceremonies will be permitted subject to the requirements set forth in the guidance. These ceremonies must comply with the social distancing protocols and the limitations on in-person gatherings that are in place when the ceremonies are held.
Ridgewood NJ, Andy Moss and Jerry Zheng two New Jersey high school students from Basking Ridge and competitive swimmers started a petition to ask Governor Murphy to reopen pools for competitive swimmers to practice.
That petition, which started on May 17, has since gone viral tracking toward 13,000 signatures. Hundreds of competitive swimmers are looking forward to getting back in the pools to train, and serious competitors are ready to train responsibly. Here is the link to the petition
Trenton NJ, Elected officials, environmental leaders and ordinary citizens throughout the State harshly criticized today’s NJ Turnpike Authority’s approval of a $16 billion plan to widen the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and demanded that Governor Murphy reject the plan, which would be disastrous for the health, welfare and well-being of New Jersey residents and our cash starved State. The widening plan conflicts with the State’s Energy Master Plan and the Governor’s Executive Orders regarding climate change and clean energy, increases pollution, and despite its enormous price tag, undermines the state’s pandemic recovery efforts, and produces no benefit to the State, especially compared to alternatives. The approval will be followed immediately by a 1:30 p.m. special meeting of the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA), which will likely approve $210 million for highway expansions on the Atlantic City Expressway.
Trenton NJ, New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted to increase tolls on the Garden State Parkway and the New jersey Turn Pike .The Parkway and Turnpike increases were both approved by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which manages the highways, in a 7-0 vote during a remotely-held Wednesday meeting. It followed three hours of public comment from many who oppose the increase.
by Ari Lazarus , Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
Ridgewood NJ, Hey college students: even though you’re likely far from campus, scammers are still trying to find you.
Maybe you or your friends have gotten an email claiming to be from the “Financial Department” of your university. The email tells you to click on a link to get a message about your COVID-19 economic stimulus check — and it needs to be opened through a portal link requiring your university login. Don’t do it. It’s a phishing scam. If you click to “log in,” you could be giving your user name, password, or other personal information to scammers, while possibly downloading malware onto your device.
Ridgewood NJ, Due to the health concerns related to COVID-19, the Reorganization Meeting will be conducted via videoconferencing. Comments or questions can be submitted prior to and during the public hearing through the link in the section below.
Point Pleasent NJ, Hundreds of people joined Republican candidate for United States Senate Hirsh Singh in chanting “Shame on Phil Murphy” at Point Pleasant in New Jersey, which was the site of the ‘Freedom March of NJ’ on Memorial Day.
Ridgewood NJ, Governor Phil Murphy today announced that the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) will issue updated guidance allowing school districts and colleges/universities to hold modified in-person graduation ceremonies beginning on July 6. The guidance will include requirements that ceremonies be held outdoors, adhere to social distancing protocols, and observe capacity restrictions in order to protect the health of students and families celebrating these milestones amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Ridgewood NJ, The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to adapt to new rules, forcing many of us to experience a shift in our daily routines and to carry out our work online. With this in mind, we here at STORAGECafé wanted to take a closer look into which states in the US are best prepared for a digital economy future.
