The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Hawthorne NJ, a Passaic County, New Jersey, man was arrested today in connection with his role in embezzling approximately $2.9 million from an elderly couple, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
photos courtesy of Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh
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Continue reading Grand Opening of the Fair Lawn Avenue Bridge on Monday June 26th
photo courtesy of CBS news
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Woodland Park NJ, Woodland Park Police say a teenager is missing after going swimming in the Great Notch Reservoir in Woodland Park on Saturday afternoon is Passaic County.
Continue reading UPDATE: Teen Missing at Woodland Park’s Great Notch Reservoir
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Ridgewood NJ, both Bergen County and Passaic County were included in FEMA’s Major Disaster Declaration. The declaration will allow individuals in the approved counties to register at www.disasterassistance.gov for direct federal assistance for Ida-related recovery, which may include home repairs, temporary housing, low-cost loans, and other programs to help recover from the effects of the tropical storm.
file photo by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ the National Weather Service has issued a “Winter Storm Watch” for Essex County, Bergen County , Passaic County , Rockland County, Westchester County and Fairfield County .
Continue reading Winter Storm Watch : Snow Accumulations of 6 to 9 inches Possible
file photo
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Ridgewood NJ , the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory from 9am today till midnight tonight . Snow is expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 3 inches, highest in the hills and near the Interstate 287 and Route 23 corridors. Primarily be wary in Eastern Passaic and Western Bergen Counties. From 9 AM this morning to midnight EST tonight. Plan on slippery road conditions.
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Little Falls NJ, A federal grand jury today indicted two men for their roles in two armed bank robberies in Passaic and Little Falls, New Jersey, respectively, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Nicholas Ortiz, 37, of Paterson, New Jersey, and Jose Soto, 49, of Passaic, New Jersey, are each charged with two counts of bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery, and brandishing firearms in furtherance of the bank robberies. They will be arraigned at a date to be determined.
Continue reading Passaic County Duo Indicted for Committing Multiple Armed Bank Robberies
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Continue reading NJ State Troopers Rescue Injured Hiker Along Remote Trail
By GUS PENARANDA
In the era of Trump, not much attention is being paid to the NJ Gubernatorial race right now, but for those who understand what happened last November with the Presidential election, where thousands of New Jersians who rarely voted and democrats who were tired of back-room deals and politics as usual, came out and voted for Donald Trump. This should give New Jersey residents some pause when considering options for the Democratic primary race. When Gov. Christie ran for his second term, he took NJ 60.3% to 38.2%. One of the arguments from the Democratic candidate was that the power boss/es did not come out for her for whatever reasons.
In this year’s Democratic primary, we have several candidates but some corrupt party bosses are crowning their favorite, even before a single “public” vote has been cast. If the residents of New Jersey do not stand up and fight for their right to select the candidate they want to represent them, then the only vote that counts and that has already been cast, is that of the Democratic Chairman for Passaic County. To better understand how control is maintained, we must understand that this chairman controls all the County agencies including the Board of Elections and Freeholders, Passaic County Technical Institute, Sheriff’s Department and Passaic County Community College just off the top of my head. Now to be fair, the departments are run by different staff and professionals but the key elected positions and in some cases executive jobs are mostly the result of political deals made by the Democratic chair. This was not done overnight. It took years for such a process to work, but now that all county and state elected officials are controlled by the Passaic County Democratic Chair, with the exception of Congressman Bill Pascrell who is focused influencing Trenton, have selected a candidate with no governing experience at all but with deep pockets to fund other candidates the chairman has in mind.
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/paterson/articles/only-one-vote-of-approval-will-select-new-jersey
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Ridgewood NJ , Ridgewood Police and the Ridgewood Board of Ed took proactive measures Tuesday after Police in nine North Jersey towns received bomb threats on Monday evening and on Tuesday morning, disrupting the school day for thousands of local students . Schools in Bergenfield, Clifton, Englewood, Fair Lawn, Garfield, Hackensack, Leonia, Teaneck, and Tenafly received the threats. Some school systems instituted lockdowns while others evacuated. While threats turned out to be a false alarm Ridgewood Police and BOE rightfully took no chances .
We have received several inquiries today concerning threats to area schools today. Approximately 9 schools throughout Bergen and Passaic Counties received threats and have taken appropriate measures to address their specific needs. Although our schools have not received any threats, the Ridgewood Board of Education and the Ridgewood Police upon hearing of the regional issues, took proactive measures, conducting school security checks of all schools. This proactive approach is part of our ongoing efforts with Dr. Fishbein and the Board of Education towards enhancing the safety of our schools and community.
Chief John M. Ward
OCTOBER 30, 2015, 2:42 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015, 6:53 PM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Two dozen elected Democrats from across New Jersey gathered Friday morning in Paterson to announce a new coalition that will push to bring NJ Transit trains to a rail line through Bergen and Passaic counties that has not seen passenger service since the 1960s.
An earlier effort to bring passenger trains back to the line died in 2008, at least partly due to the recession that started that year, said Congressman Bill Pascrell, D – Paterson, who led Friday’s event. This effort is separate from one to extend the Hudson Bergen Light Rail into Bergen County.
The group got together in advance of discussions scheduled for next week in Congress next week about a bill to fund transportation construction projects for the next five years, after years of political deadlock that resulted in one short-term patch after another.
“We’re going to start talking about that Monday, so now’s the time to advance any projects we feel should be part of it,” Pascrell said.
Unmentioned was the fact that some of the officeholders who spoke Friday, including Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D – Secaucus, are up for reelection on Tuesday. A poll released this week by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University found that three-quarters of New Jersey residents have no idea the election is about to happen.
APRIL 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Employment, interest rates cited as Passaic, Bergen home sales rise
Fueled by a stronger job market, housing sales activity is picking up steam, with existing home sales up 6.1 percent nationwide in March, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
A separate report, from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said that home prices nationwide were also on the rise — up 5.4 percent in the 12 months ending in February. But prices were up only 2.6 percent in the Middle Atlantic region, which includes New Jersey.
That story was reflected in Bergen and Passaic counties, which saw little price improvement but an increase in sales activity.
“After a quiet start to the year, sales activity picked up greatly throughout the country in March,” said NAR economist Lawrence Yun. “The combination of low interest rates and the ongoing stability in the job market is improving buyer confidence and finally releasing some of the sizable pent-up demand that accumulated in recent years.”
Existing-home sales nationwide in March were at an annual level of 5.19 million.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/jobs-encourage-housing-1.1316077
file photo
Biz bankruptcies decline in Bergen and Passaic counties
JANUARY 29, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Business filings in Bergen, Passaic at lowest since 2007
A decline in the number of business bankruptcies in Bergen and Passaic counties from 2013 to 2014 has left New Jersey with its lowest level of business bankruptcy since the recession started at the end of 2007, federal figures show.
Business bankruptcies fell by 13 percent in Bergen and 30 percent in Passaic, according to figures released by the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. Figures for the state show the business bankruptcy level as a whole nearly the same in 2014 as it was the previous year.
Figures for the state and the two counties now show there were fewer bankruptcies in 2014 than at any time since 2007, the year the recession began in December.
The number of consumer bankruptcies provides a less positive picture, however. Although Bergen, Passaic and New Jersey as a whole saw a fall in the number of consumer bankruptcies, they remain well above the 2007 figure.
Bankruptcy attorneys differed in their assessment of what the data say about the economy, and what is driving the figures.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bankruptcies-plummet-1.1260782
file photo Boyd Loving 25 Oak Street
Under snow, roofs cave in across Bergen, Passaic counties
Friday, February 14, 2014 Last updated: Saturday February 15, 2014, 12:39 AM
BY MATTHEW MCGRATH AND SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITERS
The Record
First came a pair of storms last week that dumped more than a foot of wet snow on the region. A week of subfreezing temperatures followed, creating a dense ice pack that began to stress roofs across North Jersey.
But it wasn’t until the nor’easter on Thursday pounded the region with 12 to 16 inches of snow, rain and ice that roofs began to be brought down under the weight of this winter’s unrelenting misery.
An elementary school in Wallington, a department store in Woodland Park and a sports complex in Waldwick were among at least a dozen buildings that partially collapsed on Friday. A ShopRite in New Milford was closed after the ceiling buckled. No major injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/hillsdale/Roof_collapsing_in_North_Jersey_under_weight_of_snow.html#sthash.VQrR78Ec.dpuf
