Posted on

Reader says parents wanting to give their children everything, forgot to give them the tools of life that mattered

kids-on-smartphones

The bottom line is that parents and teachers are giving so much safe space that there is no thinking on the part of the student as they mature to find their way through difficulties and problems. Parents solve the child’s problems immediately and at every turn which sets them up when they are young adults for FAILURE since they have no clue how to interact to a amicable conclusion. Now the idea is just to call your opposing individual names and label them to intimidate or cry for a safe space. Those parents who have taught their children the skills to interact, accept success in a humble manner and accept failure and the consequences as a growth tool to tackle the problem differently in the future….are the ones that will succeed – you know them when you see them. These are the young adults that companies WANT to hire, the others will stumble and fall many times before figuring it out, but it didn’t have to be that way….their parents wanting to give them everything, forgot to give them the tools of life that mattered. Pity.

Posted on

Reader says in New Jersey it Pays to Be A Crook

parking+meters_the+ridgewood+blog

So what’s goin to happen to them nottin. Like the guy who stole the quarters from the meters, basically nottin.
Whereas I once mistakenly years ago put quarters in the meter next to me along Van Nest square. The meters are super close together and if you are not used to meters , you can make a mistake. My meter had no time, the one next to me had a half hours worth of time and no vehicle was parked in the space, that was the one I had put the quarters into; I got a ticket; a cop was around, I pointed out the problem. He ignored my plea and I paid a parking fine. I will never forget.
The law is absolutely subjective. If you are rich ; if you drive a fancy car; I don’t, If you are a physically attractive women; If you have influence; if you run for congress against Garrett even if you lose. If you work for the Village, even if it turns out you are a crook; you get a pass. You are welcomed back to work in Ridgewood even if you stole near a million in quarters. If I walk into a shop here, browse and decide not to purchase an item, the next time I walk in I am treated coldly.

Posted on

Did Ridgewood BOE also unlawfully use taxpayer dollars by erecting this sign on taxpayer owned property?

BOE

November 28,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, given the recent finding of ethics violations against the former Mayor Paul Aronsohn and his side kick former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld  for promoting instead of educating the public ,did the Ridgewood Board of Education unlawfully use taxpayer dollars by erecting this sign on the lawn of a taxpayer owned building in an attempt to influence voters prior to the Fall 2016 General Election?

What do you think ?

Posted on

What’s going on at the Town Garage property in Ridgewood?

Onyx Equities, LLC

November 28,2017

by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, A van owned by John Saraceno’s company (Onyx Equities, LLC) was recently observed parked in the lot of the former Town Garage property, 120 Franklin Avenue. We wonder if this means that Mr. Saraceno is now involved in a formal business relationship with the owners of this property, just as he now seems to be with the owners of the former Ken Smith property.

If things keep moving the way they have been, pretty soon Mr. Saraceno will control more properties in the Village than the Russo-Ferraro partnership does.

Hmm?

Posted on

Judge Rules Healthy Choice Organic Mattress of Ridgewood,sheep Betsey to Remain Indoors till Further Notice

Healthy Choice Organic Mattress of Ridgewood,

photo courtesy of Healthy Choice Organic Mattress of Ridgewood

November 28,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Betsey the sheep had her day in court and according to Healthy Choice organic Mattress of Ridgewood, “Betsy was found guilty for loitering, grazing, sunbathing etc. in front of our Healthy Choice Organic Mattress store on Wilsey Square. The judge at the Ridgewood Municipal Court kindly reduced her excessive fines. Being a peaceful and respectful soul, Betsy has agreed to remain indoors until the day the town ordinances allow her to once again roam free.”

Still seems a bit of selective enforcement on the Village’s part . Now if we could only get the Village to follow through with the same action on the walls and planters that litter the side walks of the Central Business District and at times make it impassable as well as represent a fire hazard.

 

Posted on

New Jersey Local Finance Board Finds Against Village of Ridgewood’s former Mayor and former Village manager in Ethics Complaint

Paul_Aronsohn_theridgewood blog

file photo by Boyd Loving

November 28,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, On November 13, 2017, the New Jersey Local Finance Board (LFB) issued Notices of Violation to the Village of Ridgewood’s former Mayor and former Village manager for authorizing and appearing in a video that advocated only one side of a referendum question that was pending before Village voters.

The ethics complaint was filed on June 13,2016 by the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project with the Local Finance Board–the agency that enforces the Local Government Ethics Law.

The complaint alleged , “Mayor Aronsohn’s statement in the video that its purpose is to educate and inform the public about this issue, the video goes well beyond providing neutral facts. Rather, the video is clearly an advocacy piece intended to persuade Village residents to vote “yes” on the proposal. For example Mayor Aronsohn made the following statements at the noted times in the video.”

The Notices of Violation, issued against former Mayor Paul Arohnson and former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, both arose out of a June 21, 2016 referendum question which sought $11,500,000 in bonds or notes to finance the cost of constructing a new parking deck. Under New Jersey law, government officials may use public resources to educate ,but not to persuade voters on public issues.

The LFB concurred and found that the one sided video was persuasive and not purely educational because it advocated only one side of the question and “urg[ed] citizens to vote ‘yes.'” Using public resources to persuade voters to vote “yes” on a referendum is unfair because the referendum’s opponents do not have access to those resources and have to use private resources to distribute their message.

Arohnson and Sonenfeld, by supporting and appearing in the video, were found to have “attempt[ed] to use [their] official position[s] to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for [themselves] or others in violation of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5(c).”

 

Posted on

American campuses are now overwhelmingly made up of students born after 1980, many of whom are incapable resolving conflict on their own

285-KidsHeadphones

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, At a recent NYU debate, psychologist Jonathan Haidt was one of several panelist who discussed free speech and the exchange of ideas on college campuses, as well as the rise of microaggressions (ideas or statements that might be subtly offensive to some people or groups).

Haidt offers several explanations as to how campuses transformed from places where ideas were freely exchanged into “safe spaces” where professors cannot interject ideas that might be deemed controversial.

People born before 1980, Haidt said, generally accept the following principles regarding life on a university:

“You are here to come to terms with ideas that might be upsetting or disconcerting.”
“We need opposition to help us learn and help us grow.”
“We know we are imperfect and prone to bias and ad hoc reasoning.”

These are individuals who generally grew up in environments in which they often were forced to confront challenges and dangers on their own. “If someone called you a stupid idiot, you either called him a stupid idiot back or you punch him,” Haidt said.

That is in stark contrast to how children were raised by helicopter parents after 1980, he said, when children were given less independence. They were taught to resolve conflicts through figures of authority. Another words they “rat” on the perpetrator of the perceived wrong .

Haidt claims , “People born after 1980 are much more likely to be in a state of moral dependency,” he said. “If somebody has done something to me, I won’t deal with it myself. I will get an adult authority, a bureaucratic authority, a diversity a department, something to punish the person who did this to me.”

American campuses are now overwhelmingly made up of students born after 1980, many of whom are incapable resolving conflict on their own.

The result is a process Haidt calls erasure, in which universities and educators strip away anything that could possibly be construed as unsettling or offensive. Eventually, ideological conformity (on campuses that implies progressivism) replaces original thought.

“This makes it impossible to teach. This makes it impossible to have an intellectual community,” he said. “I’m a liberal Professor and my liberal students scare me.”

Posted on

Nonstick Cookware Cancer Causing Chemical Found in Jersey Drinking Water

glass_of_water_privatisation

November 27,2017

the staff Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey scientists are urging the state to impose a strict limit on a chemical that has been linked to cancer, developmental problems, and changes to the human immune system in the latest move to curb the presence of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in drinking water.

The Drinking Water Quality Institute will this week consider a recommendation to set a limit of 13 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) as the level at which human health would be protected over a lifetime of exposure.

The limit, proposed by the DWQI’s health effects subcommittee, would be the strictest set by any state, and would build on New Jersey’s growing status as a national leader in the regulation of a family of chemicals that are found at higher concentrations in New Jersey’s drinking water than in most other places.

The plan to regulate PFOS follows similar recommendations for two related chemicals, PFNA and PFOA, which are being assigned “Maximum Contaminant Limits” (MCLs) by the Department of Environmental Protection after research by DWQI scientists over the past three years.

PFOS and other PFCs were made for consumer products like fabric coatings and nonstick cookware over more than 50 years and were phased out by the main U.S. manufacturer in the early 2000s because of concerns about their health effects.

According to Ridgewood Water , “PFOA and PFNA are contaminants that belong to a class of man-made chemicals called PFASs.  PFASs are not found in the natural environment and have historically been used in nonstick cookware, upholstery, carpets, waterproof materials, fire-fighting materials, and food packaging.  PFASs do not break down easily and remain in the environment for a long period of time. ”

Ridgewood Water has been participating in DEP unregulated contaminant testing for PFASs since 2009.  Ridgewood Water has been proactively working to introduce treatment for PFASs in our system long before this announcement, beginning with the decommissioning of the Carr wells in Ridgewood in January 2017, which possessed the highest level of PFOA in the system.  Ridgewood Water is scheduled to install a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter to strip the water supply of PFASs, and we expect that the Carr facility will be back online producing treated water by the last quarter of 2018.  Ridgewood Water will be initiating a robust testing protocol by the end of 2017 to determine if other system locations require treatment.

Posted on

The Educational Monopoly is Beginning to Break Up

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Kerry McDonald is a Senior Contributor for Intellectual Takeout , ” Parents are fed up. As mass schooling becomes more restrictive, more standardized and more far-reaching into a child’s young life, many parents are choosing alternatives. Increasingly, these parents are reclaiming their child’s education and are refocusing learning around children, family, and community in several different ways.”

It started as a trickle but now over two million U.S. children will be avoiding the school bus altogether in favor of homeschooling, an educational choice that has accelerated in recent years among both liberal and conservative families.

On top of homeschooling, an additional two million children will be educated this fall in charter schools. According to recent U.S. Department of Education data, the number of students currently enrolled in charter schools increased from 0.9 million in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2014, while the number of children enrolled in traditional public schools declined by 0.4 million during that same period. Taxpayer-funded but administered by predominantly private educational organizations, charter schools allow parents flexibility in choosing a school that is better aligned with their expectations and their child’s needs. Charter schools are often exempt from district policies and collective bargaining agreements that can halt innovation and experimentation, allowing them more instructional and organizational freedom. Demand for charter schools often outweighs current supply, with statewide charter caps, admissions lotteries, and long waiting lists leaving many parents discouraged and angry.

When Gov. Chris Christie leaves office , one of his clear legacies will be the growth of charter schools in New Jersey, with school enrollment more than doubling in his eight years in office.In July , his administration finished the job, announcing the final approval of five more schools to open this fall. That brings to 89 the number of charters that will be open when Christie steps down in January.

There will be close to 50,000 students enrolled in charters this fall, according to the state, up from less than 25,000 when he took office. More than 56,000 seats will be authorized with the latest approvals.

Advancing technology has also played a key roll . As online learning improves and expands, more parents are choosing virtual schools for their children over traditional public schools. Data from the non-profit organization, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, find that 310,000 young people in grades kindergarten through 12th grade participated in fully online programming in 2013, up from 200,000 in 2010. In addition to homeschoolers, charter school students, and virtual learners, more than four million children will avoid a traditional district school this fall to attend a U.S. private school.

 

Posted on

Pro Arte Chorale Christmas Celebration

Pro Arte Chorale presents: A Christmas Celebration

Sun, December 03, 2017
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Bethlehem Lutheran church, 155 Linwood Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Cost: 25

Ridgewood NJ, Pro Arte Chorale will be joined by members of the NJ Wind Symphony in a concert featuring Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata, Vaughn Williams’ The Blessed Son of God, favorite traditional carols and more!

For more information and advance discounted ticket sales
please visit: www.proartechorale.org
info@proartechorale.org or 201-497-8400
Tickets: Adult $25 / Senior $20 / Student $10

Posted on

Community Pasta Dinner at Emmanuel Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Wed, November 29, 2017
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Emmanuel Baptist Church, 14 Hope Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Ridgewood NJ, Third Tuesday of each month at 6pm in Heritage Hall Dinner of pasta, meatballs, sausage, salad, dessert and coffee.

Suggested donation is $4 per adult and $2 per child.

Looking for an affordable night out?

Please join us for our next monthly non-fundraising Community Pasta Dinner

Save the Date: November 29th

6:00 pm in Heritage Hall

Please contact Emmanuel at 201-444-7300 to reserve your seat.

Posted on

Santa in Ridgewood

santa

Sat, December 02, 2017
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 AM
Location: Downtown Ridgewood, Various Locations in Downtown Ridgewood

Ridgewood NJ, Santa comes to Columbia Bank – 60 S Broad St
Gifts and pictures for all children
10:00 am – 1:00 pm

FREE movie for children – BowTie Warner Theater
10:30 am – Elf is back…great funny movie for all.

Visit Santa in his house in Van Neste Square
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

For more info or details 201-445-2600

Posted on

Perhaps a bit more enthusiasm for Small Business Saturday would be in order ?

winterfest the Ridgewood Guild

photo courtesy of the Ridgewood guild

November 26,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, yesterday was small business Saturday and once again the Village seemed under enthusiastic for the Shopping day that focus directly on the types of business that the central business district pretends it represents .The Ridgewood chamber did virtually nothing .

The Ridgewood Guild’s Winterfestook took place at 12:00 at Memorial Park , with great performances by Orpheus Men’s Chorus and Ars Musica. There were Ice sculptures, horse drawn hay rides, trackless train rides, arcade games, complimentary hot chocolate, marshmallows and more under the Raymond’s tent and lots of elves!

There was a nice crowd some holiday shopping from Mango Jam, Love Handles, Rock Road Jewelry, Dparz Shoes, Gigi’s Boutique, and Hot Jewelry Box. At lest some small businesses participated. The Guild did a great job.

So the question often comes about , when your asking taxpayers to lay down some money for a parking garage , is don’t you think a bit more enthusiasm exhibited for “small business Saturday ” might be in order?

Posted on

Reader says the school of Aronsohn, not a school from which anyone wants to earn a degree.

civility_the_ridgewoodblog

Beware anyone who PREACHES civility. If Jan Philips is any indication, those who PREACH it do not practice it. And Jumpin Jeff Voigt, oh my gosh, he is busy trying to be kind and soft-spoken but we have seen his dark side, his outbursts, his evil doings, nope, not buying it. And they are both in the school of Aronsohn, not a school from which anyone wants to earn a degree.

Posted on

Readers Not Impressed With Fishbien’s Letter Nor the Ridgewood Board of Ed attacking Parents who Pressed for Answers

Ridgewood Police at RHS

Strange letter from our great communicator. What is he saying? About forgiveness. Should we forgive him for that Alice in Wonderland mad queen letter about the INCIDENT that has no name and that we should not talk about even to ask what happened. Should we forgive him for not saying one word, no response, to the anxious and desperate residents of Ridgewood at board of ed meeting when parents pleaded questions to him about what happened and how and if school faculty is going to address the student body as a whole, the student body many of whom do not know what happened and many of whom are frightened. Should we forgive Fishbein for letting his mouthpiece, board of ed president accuse the concerned , anxious residents of Ridgewood for insulting himself and Fishbein for asking relevant questions, sincere from the the heart questions about the unnamed incident, at board of ed meeting. Or should perhaps a competent communicator be the new school Supt. of Ridgewood