For some, free speech is only good when they agree with it… otherwise it should be deleted.
.
Its one thing to oppose speech with other speech. This is the essence of free speech – an exchange of ideas and opinions – even those you find offensive. Freedom is inherently messy. Authoritarianism is inherently neat, but also repressive.
.
Freedom also means including everyone – another basic tenant – even those who are “below the standard”. Some might say that the definition of freedom (speech or otherwise) IS the inclusion of those who are “below the standard”. Let’s not forget that in a free society, “the standard” is a naturally occurring measure which is based on ALL participants. In a repressive society, the standard is arbitrarily set.
Ridgewood NJ, Don’t miss the second annual Good Life Ridgewood- Wellness Festival 9.25.16 in Van Neste Square! For more information goodliferidgewood@gmail.com
The Mayor’s Wellness Festival. The program goal is to bring attention to Ridgewood as a destination for healthy living and wellness.
Come for the free yoga, stay for the great performances and the best wellness vendors in Ridgewood and beyond! The Good Life Ridgewood Wellness Festival has it all! Join us this Sunday 11-3 in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square
11:00am Yoga Flow with Active Life Fusion
12:00 – 12:30 Art of Motion – Dance Ensemble
12:30 – 1:00 Musical Performers from Ridgewood
1:00 – 1:30 The Jig Factory – Ridgewood Irish Dance Academy
1:30 – 2:00 Ridgewood High School Students – Musical Soloists – Vocals & Guitarists
2:00 – 2:30 Taekwondo All In – Demonstration
2:30 – 3:00 Ridgewood High School Varsity Cheer Squad
Through the Good Life Ridgewood Festival, local businesses will connect with residents to foster long-lasting relationships, while energizing and empowering our community.
The event will be held Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Van Neste Square Memorial Park. The first of its kind to be held in Ridgewood, this festival will bring residents, visitors, businesses, and professionals together to show off what our community has to offer: social services, health lifestyle businesses, healthy places for kids, mental health services, alternative medicine, local medical/dental specialists, nutritionists, and much, much more.
Good Life Ridgewood is self-funding—meaning no Village of Ridgewood funds are being spent to bring this exciting event to our town.
If you are interested in sponsorship/participation Do not hesitate to email the executive committee at goodliferidgewood@gmail.com.
(Pictured from left): Nancy Barrett-Fajardo, Director, Medical/Surgical Services, The Valley Hospital; Martin Kafafian, CIANJ Chairman Valley Receives Best Practice Award from CIANJ and COMMERCE Magazine
September 24,2016
the sstaff of the Ridgewood bog
Ridgewood NJ, The Valley Hospital was recently recognized with a Best Practice Award by The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and COMMERCE Magazine. The award winners were chosen from a total of 100 submissions from chief-executive-officers, managing partners and business owners. The award’s focus is on leadership and collaboration and the submissions were judged based on which were the most clever, extraordinary and innovative.
Valley’s winning submission was one of a select few chosen by a panel of judges including Dennis Bone, Director, Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship at Montclair State University; Rob Field, Former Commander, U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight squad; Bill Hanson, President, NAI James E. Hanson; Debbie Hart, President, BioNJ; Dean Paranicas, President and CEO, Healthcare Institute of New Jersey; and Siamack Shojai, Dean, William Paterson University.
Ridgewood NJ, After six long years of battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, native villager Anthony Daniels is now cancer-free.
Daniels was 19-years-old and a sophomore at Fordham University in New York City when he was diagnosed with the blood cancer.
Despite four relapses and 30 rounds of chemotherapy, Daniels never gave up trying to find a bone marrow match . Daniels struggle was well documented on this blog.
Daniels whose ongoing battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma was the focus of a documentary film, and his fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma even got the attention of actor Bradley Cooper.
Daniels, who never found his perfect match, was told that his final shot at surviving would be to get an alternative stem cell transplant. On March 25th he took his chances heading to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas .With less than a 30% chance it would work it did and now he is in complete remission.
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday morning the Railroad underpass on West Glen Ave will be closed from 7am until 4pm to all vehicular traffic due to utility work. A detour will be in place at Oak Street and North Monroe Street. Police officers will be stationed at intersections around the detour to assist with keeping traffic flowing.
Gotta give credit to the Ridgewood police. They are well trainied professionals who know how to perform their duties with a level of respect and restraint they deem appropriate to the situation and in so doing they are often able to defuse what otherwise could have turned into a confrontation. Just look at the pic.Seemingly friendly and non-confrontational…..but backed up by officers from two other departments just in case things went bad. Consummate professionals !! We are so lucky to have them.
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on September 22, 2016 at 7:15 AM, updated September 22, 2016 at 5:02 PM
TRENTON — Ask hospital leaders whether New Jersey’s nonprofit hospital CEOs earn too much money, and they will confidently say no. Their compensation packages are based on what other CEOs are making in a highly competitive market.
But a tax court judge last summer sharply disagreed with that assessment, describing this method of comparison as a “wholly self-serving” justification.
State Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco ruled Morristown Medical Center should lose its tax-exempt status — in part because of its parent company CEO’s $5 million-a-year pay package.
Ridgewood NJ, A telephone call from a citizen to Ridgewood PD regarding two (2) adult males who were sitting on a curb smoking cigarettes after abandoning their vehicle in the middle of a busy intersection resulted in police making two (2) arrests, impounding a vehicle, and calling upon the services of Midland Park PD and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office K9 Division to assist in effecting the arrests and conducting the subsequent investigation. The incident began at 1824 hours at the intersection of South Maple Avenue and Dayton Street. No information was available at the scene as to the nature of charges associated with the arrests, however police officers were observed administering a field sobriety test to the individual suspected to be the vehicle’s driver.
“You DID NOT originally say that “everyone can make their points without the use of foul or derogatory comments” (which btw who is the arbiter or what is and is not ‘foul’ and ‘derogatory’ – you?). Nor did you originally say that this language is a “part of free speech and legally permitted”. Nor did you ASK that people use language that doesn’t deliberately attack other people. . What you DID say was: 1. A comment “should be deleted“ to “Do the right thing 2. Using the blog to “display discriminatory comments is not a justified use“ 3. People can “say the worst things about people without using language that should be banned“ . These statements are very clear and very specific – – DELETE comment – NOT justified – should be BANNED . For someone who is so keen on language use (and has established herself to be the arbiter in this area), to come back with revisionist language: (” Of course they are part of ‘Free Speech” and are legally permitted”; ” I’m just asking that people use language that doesn’t deliberately attack other people) is disingenuous at best and reveals you to be someone who is quick to criticize and judge others but is above criticism and error and not to be held to your own standard.”
Ridgewood NJ,on Wednesday Ridgewood FD personnel and PD officers assisted an adult male who was injured in a crash at the intersection of West Ridgewood Avenue and Corsa Terrace, Ridgewood on 09/21. One (1) summons was issued to the driver of a 4-door sedan involved in the incident. The other vehicle appeared to be a Ridgewood Schools vehicle.
The crash victim, who reportedly sustained a back and shoulder injury, was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital. Schools open please drive carefully .
Ridgewood NJ, Main/Bergen and Port Jervis line service has resumed in both directions, following earlier police activity near Ridgewood station.
NJT reports ,”trains are now delayed up to 60 minutes in both directions. NJT bus and private carries are still accepting rail tickets and passes system wide.”
Train service on NJ Transit’s Bergen and Main Lines was halted through the RIdgewood Station for over one (1) hour on Thursday morning, 09/22 as a result of a suspicious package found near or under a bench on the station’s center platform. Pedestrian & motor vehicle traffic was restricted within a 1000 foot perimeter of the affected bench. Train service and pedestrian & motor vehicle traffic resumed after the package was inspected and cleared by members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad. Ridgewood PD and NJ Transit PD officers provided motor vehicle traffic and crowd control throughout the incident.
Earlier this morning a false alarm was set off when a NJT officer called in the bomb squad over what ended up being a pair of shoes .
the concern is that the lot slopes from one side to the other and that when developers like these start building they can play games with the grade from which the building is measured. By measuring from the high point of the property, they can get away with more building.
The problem here is that just as they were being chased out of office, Aronson & Co. passed laws allowing for these multi-unit, multi-family complexes to be built throughout Ridgewood. We are all struggling with the legacy of these laws. This site, for instance, could potentially add a few hundred cars, students, etc to our budget. It is only one of several sites already in the works. Undoubtedly other land speculators and profiteers are lining up to try and build more. Saurabh and others are doing their best to try and either prevent the monstrosity from moving forward or keep it as curtailed s possible.
You should go to the planning board meetings where these projects are being discussed. See if there is anything you can do to prevent the damage that is about to happen. First and foremost you can write your council people and the planning board members to use the means available to them to undo these monstrosities before they are built.
Ridgewood NJ, The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released a report raising concerns about the presence of chromium 6 – also known as hexavalent chromium – in public water supplies. Hexavalent chromium, a suspected carcinogen, is the contaminant made famous by the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich.”
Ridgewood Water shares the EWG’s concern for water quality and public health protection. Water utilities currently monitor for “total” chromium, of which hexavalent chromium is a component. Most public water utilities, including Ridgewood Water, are in compliance with the existing standard.
The Safe Drinking Water Act, which was established to protect the quality of drinking water, requires a rigorous scientific approach for evaluating contaminants for regulation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been looking at health effects data on hexavalent chromium. Ridgewood Water has been testing for this substance as part of the unregulated contaminant sampling program which provides data to EPA for scientific evaluation.
It’s important to remember that detecting a substance in water does not always imply a health risk. The key question that researchers seek to answer is whether the substance presents health concerns at the level it is detected. That’s why the federal regulatory process requires
EPA to examine potential health impacts of the substance, paths of exposure and occurrence data. A thorough evaluation of all this data increases the likelihood that new regulations will offer meaningful risk reduction. Ridgewood Water is committed to meeting all regulatory standards for public water supplies including any new requirements for hexavalent chromium that may be instituted.
For more information on chromium in drinking water, please refer to the following links:
Reader explains, “Actually, its not a petition but a formal motion asking the planning board to take action and correct the problems caused by the prior planning board. Those problems included conflicts of interest by board members and dramatic mistakes in the planning board hearings. In short, it is apparent that the residents of Ridgewood were denied due process because of transgressions. The new planning board has the opportunity to make amends.
The motion is not “in support” of the RCRD’s lawsuit. That lawsuit is independent and it seeks to undo the Aronson ordinance allowing multi-family housing.
In any event, while the motion is not a petition, any interested party can join in the request to the Board by signing on to a copy of the motion paper.”
Ridgewood NJ, In the film “Erin Brockovich,” the environmental crusader confronts the lawyer of a power company that polluted the tap water of Hinkley, Calif., with a carcinogenic chemical called chromium-6. When the lawyer picks up a glass of water, Brockovich says: “We had that water brought in ‘specially for you folks. Came from a well in Hinkley.”The lawyer sets down the glass and says, “I think this meeting’s over.”
It’s almost 25 years after that real-life confrontation, the conflict over chromium-6 is not over. A new EWG analysis of federal data from nationwide drinking water tests shows that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.
Federal and state regulators are stalled with no national regulation of a chemical yet ,state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels.
Alarm bells have been rung by the Environmental Working Group a Environmental Advocacy group who’s mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. With breakthrough research and education, we drive consumer choice and civic action.
EWG says in 2008, a two-year study by the National Toxicology Program found that drinking water with chromium-6, or hexavalent chromium, caused cancer in laboratory rats and mice. Based on this and other animal studies, in 2010, scientists at the respected and influential California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that ingestion of tiny amounts of chromium-6 can cause cancer in people, a conclusion affirmed by state scientists in New Jersey and North Carolina. https://www.ewg.org/research/chromium-six-found-in-us-tap-water
In New Jersey, the press reported the water quality institute’s recommendation before it could be formally submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection for development of a regulation. According to former DEP planner Bill Wolfe, now an environmental advocate, this angered Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, appointed by Gov. Chris Christie. Wolfe said Martin not only blocked submission of the recommendation, but effectively stopped the institute from meeting for four years,[15] delaying drinking water regulations for more than a dozen chemicals.
In a statement to EWG, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said the department “vehemently disagrees with the EWG’s contention that political pressure in any way influenced the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute’s consideration of an MCL for chromium-6.” The spokesman said EWG’s characterization is based on the “opinion of a single, former NJDEP employee who was last employed by the agency 12 years ago,” and that EWG’s criticism is “critically flawed – and blatantly misleading.” https://www.ewg.org/research/chromium-six-found-in-us-tap-water
Human studies by government and independent scientists worldwide have definitively established that breathing airborne chromium-6 particles can cause lung cancer, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets strict limits for airborne chromium-6 in the workplace. Whether inhaled or ingested, it can also cause liver damage, reproductive problems and developmental harm. Studies have found that exposure to chromium-6 may present greater risks to certain groups, including infants and children, people who take antacids, and people with poorly functioning livers. https://www.ewg.org/research/chromium-six-found-in-us-tap-water
In a 2009 letter the NJ DEP stated , “We agree that the results of the recently completed National Toxicology Program (NTP, 2007) chronic drinking water study indicate that hexavalent chromium is carcinogenic by ingestion. We also agree that development of an oral cancer slope factor for hexavalent chromium based on a non-threshold approach is appropriate, and that the data from the NTP (2007) study provide an appropriate basis for developing such an oral cancer slope factor. Prior to the completion of the NTP (2007) study, several laboratory animal and human epidemiology studies suggested that hexavalent chromium could be carcinogenic by the oral route, but no study showing this definitively or providing data suitable for quantitative risk assessment was available.” https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/water/comment/112509nj.pdf
