The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Palisades Park NJ, in recent years, a growing trend has emerged among local governments: hiring professional public relations firms to manage municipal communications. Towns like Palisades Park and Clifton are among the latest to join this movement, which aims to streamline how information reaches residents.
Continue reading Why Local Governments Are Turning to Public Relations Firms for Communication
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Clifton NJ, the Catholic Diocese of Paterson is investigating the disappearance of cash, checks, and credit card information from approximately 500 North Jersey donors. The missing contributions, intended for the annual Diocesan Ministries Appeal, were last seen at the diocese office in Clifton in late October before being dropped off for shipping.
Continue reading Paterson Diocese Investigates Missing Donations from 500 Parishioners
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Paterson NJ, Catholic Charities Diocese of Paterson is set to hold its prestigious Caritas Gala on November 7, 2024, at The Meadow Wood in Randolph, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The event will celebrate the invaluable contributions of the organization’s honorees, supporters, and volunteers, all of whom have played pivotal roles in shaping the lives of Northern New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents.
Continue reading Caritas Gala for Remarkable Leaders Transforming Northern New Jersey
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
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Fair Lawn NJ, a minor Friday morning, 06/14, hit-and-run crash on Route 80 westbound in Saddle Brook involving a Honda Accord and a Dodge Ram pick up truck, lead to a more serious crash in Fair Lawn, followed by a high speed pursuit shortly thereafter through Fair Lawn, Paterson, and Hawthorne. The adult female driver of the Honda Accord was taken into custody after she fled from the Morlot Avenue, Fair Lawn crash site at high speed, and would not yield to pursuing police officers until they trapped her vehicle in a private driveway on Heights Avenue in Fair Lawn.
Continue reading Minor Crash Leads to High Speed Pursuit Through Fair Lawn, Paterson, and Hawthorne
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Garfield NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 30-year-old TRISTAN COLQUHOUN of Paterson, NJ on charges of drug distribution, weapons related offenses, and receiving stolen property. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Suffern (NY) Police Department under the direction of Police Chief Andrew Loughlin.
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced a state grand jury has voted to indict a Paterson housing and zoning inspector as well as an accomplice, charging them for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to accept money in exchange for illegitimate building permits bearing forged signatures, purported to be issued by the City of Paterson.
photo courtesy of FOX News
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Clifton NJ, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik, a prominent law enforcement figure with strong connections to North Jersey, tragically took his own life on Tuesday afternoon at the renowned Turkish restaurant Toros in Clifton, as confirmed by multiple sources.
Continue reading Passaic County Sheriff Dies of Self Inflicted Wounds
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Paterson NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of BRANDON M. HERNANDEZ (DOB: 6/1/1995; single; unemployed) of 56 Park Avenue, Paterson, NJ, on charges of terroristic threats and cyber-harassment. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love.
Continue reading Paterson Man Charged Threatening to Shoot and Bomb Government Buildings
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) announced today that DCR has issued a Notice of Violation against an individual advertising his services on the gig economy website TaskRabbit, as well as on other platforms. Melquisedec Francis, the advertiser, stated that he would not provide services to Jewish patrons in at least three online communications in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced the filing of criminal charges against a Paterson voter based on her alleged falsification of a vote-by-mail ballot, the defendant’s subsequent attempts to mislead investigators about that crime, and the defendant’s attempts to mislead investigators about how certain mail-in ballots were cast in the May 2020 Paterson municipal election.
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced today that the Paterson City Council President, Alex Mendez, has been brought up on new charges in connection with an election-fraud case, after investigators determined the defendant personally collected ballots and oversaw the fraudulent mailing of ballots, while members of his campaign stole ballots from residential mailboxes and discarded several that did not cast a vote for their candidate. It is also alleged that defendants tampered with witnesses to avoid prosecution.
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Paterson NJ, in the city’s sixth homicide in October, a man was fatally shot at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning near the parking lot of the Food Fair supermarket on Market Street, near East 36th Street, authorities said. The outbreak of October killings all in separate shooting incidents, represents Paterson’s worst month for homicides in more than three years.
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River Edge NJ, The PowerPoint presentation focuses on Paterson as the First Planned Industrial City in the United States founded in 1792 by Alexander Hamilton and the Society for Useful Manufactures. We will explore the City’s history from the creation of the land, approximately 250 million years ago, the first inhabitants (Paleo-Indians through Lenape), the Early European Settlements, the Revolution War, the establishment of the S.U.M., and the major industries that made Paterson world renowned, Silk, Locomotives and Airplane Engine production. An examination of the technologies and people behind these great industries will be highlighted. The talk will conclude with the designation of the National Historical Park and the current developments.
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced that about three and a half pounds of suspected fentanyl powder and over 1,000 suspected fentanyl pills were among the narcotics seized when a search warrant was executed in Paterson. The drugs seized have a street value of nearly $1 million, and the suspect is alleged to have been distributing drugs in bulk.
Continue reading Major Drug Mill Raided in Paterson Nearly $1 Million Worth of Drugs Seized
file photo
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced a new indictment against Shelim Khalique, the operator of a pair of Paterson school bus companies who had been previously indicted in June 2020 for allegedly using unqualified drivers to operate school buses and misleading public-school districts. On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, the state grand jury returned a superseding indictment in the case that includes charges stemming from the role that Khalique, 53, of Wayne, played in continuing to operate school buses in Paterson, and elsewhere, with unqualified drivers — even after his original indictment — through another company. The superseding indictment adds a new count of second-degree theft of services stemming from tens of thousands of dollars in outstanding tolls those buses allegedly racked up with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
