Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood district parents and guardians will have the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback to the Board of Education in May, through a satisfaction survey distributed by email.
The 2016-2017 satisfaction survey will solicit parent / guardian opinions in a variety of areas, ranging from the quality of their children’s education to their satisfaction with school facilities. The middle school and high school surveys will also include questions on the district’s 1:1 Chromebook Initiative, which distributes laptops to all students in grades 6-12 for use at school and home.
The survey period will run from Tuesday, May 8 through Friday, May 19. All district parents and guardians with email addresses on file with the district will be sent a link to the brief survey for each school that their children attend. Instructions will be included to complete the questionnaire based on their youngest child’s experience at each school.
The surveys are set up to be completely anonymous and cannot be tracked back to responders. Survey results will be collated and shared with the community and used by the Board of Education and administration as part of their evaluation of district policies and practices. A dedicated email address has been set up to take questions or concerns about the 2016-2017 satisfaction survey at [email protected]
Mark Krulish , Staff Writer, @Mark_Krulish2:57 p.m. ET April 27, 2017
RIDGEWOOD — In an effort to add parking spaces at the train station, the council is weighing a plan to reduce the size of a grass median and create new spots for compact cars.
The design, presented by Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser to the council Wednesday, calls for narrowing the island on the western side of the train tracks by 4.5 feet to accomodate parking for compact cars on both sides of the median. The new layout would add 41 spots.
Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County is sponsoring a free event – “A Historical Portrayal of Jackie Kennedy Onassis” presented by the American Historical Theatre – Tuesday, May 2 at 11 a.m. in Village Hall Court Room. All are welcome!
There were a lot of beautiful people from out of town in Ridgewood for some kind of Hollywood-style movie premiere (on a smaller scale) at the Warner Quad theater yesterday evening. Dollars to donuts the rainbow-flag dust-up at Village Hall was a pre-planned “astroturf” event brought to us courtesy of these glamorous visitors who doubtlessly regard Ridgewood as just another flyover town populated by provincial rubes in dire need of progressive enlightenment
I don’t think the point was merely that they spoke and left, but that they left as a group, confirming the impression that the entire display had been organized and orchestrated rather than representing a number of individuals who wished to make statements on the same issue. Yet they had previously been told that this issue would be on the agenda of the following council meeting, which would have been the time to discuss it. And if anybody does not recognize the Aronsohn touch, they have not been watching. And by the way, I am not very interested in hearing what somebody who lives in Elmwood Park (or wherever it was) thinks about which flags should fly in Ridgewood.
So, someone who is gay feels very proud of himself. Fair enough, it is his business. Now to express his pride he wants a flag flying in the middle of the village. Why? Can’t I also have a flag flying for myself? I am very proud of being a straight man. Where is the equality here? I claim I am being discriminated if a rainbow flag goes up and mine doesn’t. The only flag I want to see in the middle of the village is the flag of the USA which represents the pride of all Americans be it straight, gay, yellow, brown, black, white or whatever you want to be. In my opinion if you feel like the US flag doesn’t represent you you need to fly your own flag in your property.
Ridgewood NJ, NJT reminder , delays Estimated at 30 Minutes in/out of New York due to Amtrak Track Maintenance, Track Inspection & Speed Restrictions this Weekend – April 29-30, 2017
Resulting in Possible Delays for Raritan Valley Customers during this Weekend’s Busing Service between Cranford and Union Stations
For Amtrak service delays, click HERE.
For Raritan Valley weekend busing service info, click HERE.
THIS WEEKEND (Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30), NJ TRANSIT rail service in/out of New York should anticipate estimated delays of 30 minute due to Amtrak track maintenance, track inspection and speed restrictions.
As a result, Raritan Valley Line customers may experience delays this weekend during the planned outage due to NJ TRANSIT and Conrail’s track and switch maintenance work between Cranford and Roselle Park stations.
During this time, buses will replace trains between Cranford and Union stations. Conrail work is scheduled to be completed at 7:30 Sunday, April 30.
PLEASE NOTE: This weekend, Raritan Valley customers can expect train delays in and out of New York due to Amtrak track maintenance, track inspection and speed restrictions. Customers should anticipate estimated 30 minute delays as some tracks may become out of service from time to time. Please allow for extra travel time.
PLEASE NOTE – SYSTEMWIDE CROSS-HONORING: This Weekend ONLY, NJ TRANSIT rail tickets and passes will be cross-honored on NJ TRANSIT Bus, Light Rail, Private Carriers and with PATH at Newark Penn Station, New York-33rd Street and Hoboken.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
For further information, please call NJ TRANSIT Customer Service at (973) 275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and5 p.m. daily.
The following info was taken from the 2010 “Open Space Committee Report to The Village Council”: The Village has been highly successful in securing state and county Green Acres Funds of approx. 5.1 million dollars toward the 10 million dollar acquisition cost of the three properties: Habernickel, Schedler and expansion of Citizens Park. We still remain eligible for additional grants in the amount of 2.1 million dollars for the properties. At a previous council meeting at the time, former VM James Ten Hove said the price of a large field at Schedler would be about 9 million dollars. The council dismissed any development there due to the cost and lack of funds. When I hear people say we paid over 7 million dollars of tax payers money for the Schedler property, I think they must be referring to ” alternative facts.”
you must be new in town if you think this is the worst council ever. This council is honest and is not in the pockets of the developers like Aronsohn and his crew were. Unlike the previous people, there are no ethics violations pending against any of them (Aronsohn and Sonenfeld). Unlike the previous group, no one on this council attempted to destroy a person’s career in order to keep them from running for office (Aronsohn). Unlike the previous council, no one on this council has conflicts of interest with developers and Valley (Hauck, Aronsohn, Pucciarelli). Unlike the previous council, this council engages in friendly dialog with people who come to meetings instead of calling them names like terrorist, stalker, etc (Hauck, Pucciarelli, Aronsohn, Sonenfeld). Unlike the previous council, this council does not have their spouses posting trash about their colleagues on social media (Hauck). Unlike the previous council, no one has signed a police complaint against any of them for their outrageous behaviour. Yep, you must be new in town if you think this is the worst council ever.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police, EMS, and Fire Department personnel were dispatched to aid an adult male who reportedly fell off of a NJ Transit bus at the intersection of East Ridgewood and North Pleasant Avenues late Thursday afternoon, 04/27. Preliminary results of an on-scene evaluation conducted by EMTs determined that the victim was apparently uninjured from the fall, but likely highly intoxicated. He was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital for further evaluation/examination. The bus was released by Ridgewood PD and continued on its route.
Ridgewood NJ, at Wednesday nights council meet ,Jan Phillips once again attempted to strong arm the council in the name of civility by pushing them to hang a Gay Pride flag over Village Hall. Many will remember her as the one who called everyone “GRANDSTANDERS” who objected to Aronsohn’s giant garage fiasco.
If Susan and company do not put the flag up, Jan will make it her mission to brand all of them as anti-gay which is completely untrue.
A reader wrote us ….
So, Last night as I was watching the Village Council meeting from the comfort of my easy chair, I could hear what sounded like a rather large crowd and wondered what everyone might be there for. Could it be Schedler? Clinton Avenue? Parking? I was pretty surprised when people started going up to the microphone talking about hanging the Gay Pride flag over Village Hall. This was obviously an orchestrated demonstration of power and pride by people who fully support inclusion, welcoming, understanding, and civility toward non-heterosexuals. I am one of those people. I not only support LGBTQ, but I support all minorities, everyone who is marginalized, I support interracial and inter-religious marriage, immigrants’ rights, religious freedom, inclusion of all with physical handicaps, and every single nationality on our planet. I do not support, however, putting up one flag to indicate acceptance of one group that has most unfortunately been discriminated against. If the Village Council opts to do this, then what is to stop someone who wishes to have the Confederate flag hang over Village Hall for one month, or perhaps the newest addition to the lineup, the “Straight Flag.” We could wind up with the flag of the month, pretty much diluting the overall message of inclusion. I like to think that our Village welcomes everyone. It is not necessary to hang a flag to indicate that one group is accepted, when in fact all “groups” are accepted. I was about to get in my car and drive over to the meeting to say this, but I was afraid I would be branded as anti-gay. Sadly, a quick condemnation of someone for stating their feelings is all to common, and I would be devastated if I had to start defending myself. I hope that our elected officials will be able to say “no” to this request. Although the request is well-intended, hanging this one flag welcoming one group would be wrong.
Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education
EXECUTIVE ORDER
– – – – – – –
ENFORCING STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS ON FEDERAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to restore the proper division of power under the Constitution between the Federal Government and the States and to further the goals of, and to ensure strict compliance with, statutes that prohibit Federal interference with State and local control over education, including section 103 of the Department of Education Organization Act (DEOA) (20 U.S.C. 3403), sections 438 and 447 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), as amended (20 U.S.C. 1232a and 1232j), and sections 8526A, 8527, and 8529 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7906a, 7907, and 7909), it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to protect and preserve State and local control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, and personnel of educational institutions, schools, and school systems, consistent with applicable law, including ESEA, as amended by ESSA, and ESEA’s restrictions related to the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Sec. 2. Review of Regulations and Guidance Documents. (a) The Secretary of Education (Secretary) shall review all Department of Education (Department) regulations and guidance documents relating to DEOA, GEPA, and ESEA, as amended by ESSA.
(b) The Secretary shall examine whether these regulations and guidance documents comply with Federal laws that prohibit the Department from exercising any direction, supervision, or control over areas subject to State and local control, including:
(i) the curriculum or program of instruction of any elementary and secondary school and school system;
(ii) school administration and personnel; and
(iii) selection and content of library resources, textbooks, and instructional materials.
(c) The Secretary shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, rescind or revise any regulations that are identified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as inconsistent with statutory prohibitions. The Secretary shall also rescind or revise any guidance documents that are identified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as inconsistent with statutory prohibitions. The Secretary shall, to the extent consistent with law, publish any proposed regulations and withdraw or modify any guidance documents pursuant to this subsection no later than 300 days after the date of this order.
Sec. 3. Definition. The term “guidance document” means any written statement issued by the Department to the public that sets forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue or an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue, including Dear Colleague letters, interpretive memoranda, policy statements, manuals, circulars, memoranda, pamphlets, bulletins, advisories, technical assistance, and grants of applications for waivers.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Ridgewood NJ, NJ TRANSIT’s spring rail schedule change continues the effort to best match equipment and timetables to customers’ travel needs. Highlights of the plan, to go into effect on May 7th, include adding additional seating capacity to ease overcrowding on heavily traveled trains and adjusting the schedules on certain trains to provide improved connections at Secaucus and Newark Penn Station in response to customer feedback. An additional weekday evening stop at Newark Airport also will be available for North Jersey Coast Line customers.
The following is a summary of some of the improvements:
Easing weekday overcrowding:
Main Line train #1206, the 8:22 a.m. arrival in Hoboken from Waldwick, will add an additional car, making it a total of seven cars.
Extended connection times at Secaucus:
Eight Main/Bergen County (ML/BC) and Pascack Valley Line (PVL) trains in the late afternoon and early evening will depart Hoboken several minutes later to extend connection times at Secaucus from seven minutes to ten minutes. This is in response to customer feedback received at a recent “We Are Listening” forum in Secaucus suggesting improved connection times.
#1271 – (BC) Departs Hoboken 2 minutes later at 6:02 p.m. #1175 – (BC) Departs Hoboken 3 minutes later at 7:18 p.m. #1277 – (BC) Departs Hoboken 1 minute later at 8:41 p.m. #1127 – (ML) Departs Hoboken 1 minute later at 7:46 p.m. #1129 – (ML) Departs Hoboken 1 minute later at 8:46 p.m.
#1641 – (PVL) Departs Hoboken 3 minutes later at 7:29 p.m.
#1643 – (PVL) Departs Hoboken 3 minutes later at 8:23 p.m.
#1645 – (PVL) Departs Hoboken 2 minutes later at 9:44 p.m. to Spring Valley
Adjustments to accommodate customer travel patterns
NEC train #3817, the 6:34 a.m. departure from PSNY to Trenton will depart PSNY 5 minutes later at 6:39 a.m.
NEC train #3897, the 12:14 a.m. departure from PSNY to Trenton will arrive in Trenton 6 minutes later at 1:55 a.m.
NJCL train #3269, the 5:34 p.m. departure from PSNY to Long Branch will no longer stop at Secaucus to improve Raritan Valley Line connections at Newark Penn Station. Train #3267 will add a Secaucus stop at 5:35 p.m.
NJCL train #3271, the 5:52 p.m. departure from PSNY to Long Branch will depart PSNY 3 minutes later at 5:55 p.m.
NJCL train #3283, the 8:22 p.m. departure from PSNY to Long Branch, will make a stop at Newark Airport at 8:46 p.m.
IMPORTANT CUSTOMER NOTE: Customers are advised to carefully check the new timetables, which are available at major stations and online at www.njtransit.com, for changes that may affect their itinerary. Customers with questions may call NJ TRANSIT at 973-275-5555
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Centers for Disease Control says a deadly superbug fungus has hit hospitals in the United States, primarily in the Tri-State Area.
As CBS2’s Meg Baker reports, it’s an infection that can easily be misidentified and become deadly, and now health officials are on high alert.
“The organism can be spread patient to patient as well as environmental surfaces which make it unique in that regard,” Dr. Neil Gaffin said.
Gaffin is an infectious disease specialist at the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey — which has not had any cases of the dangerous superbug.
He explains it’s a yeast known as Candida auris that is being spread around hospitals, mainly around New York and New Jersey.
Ridgewood NJ, Today, April 27, the Ridgewood High School Department of Fine and Applied Arts will present the final Maroon & White Music Recital for the 2016-17 school year. The last of five such events for this year, the concert will be held in the newly renovated RHS Learning Commons beginning at 3:45PM, followed immediately by a reception in the Carroll Art Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.
The recital will feature three outstanding musicians, presenting a varied program and will begin with a performance by Stefanie Haas, a freshman trombonist making her Maroon and White debut. Miss Haas, who has performed as a member of the All-Bergen County Band, as well as the Region I Intermediate Band and Junior Jazz Ensemble, will perform the second and third movements of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s renowned Concerto for Trombone. Kari Wong, a junior harpist who has also been recognized for her outstanding performance on the oboe in the All-Bergen County, Region I, All State and All Eastern Bands, will perform Susann McDonald’s Ballade, Claude Debussy’s First Arabesque, and the Chanson dans la nuit by Carlos Salzedo. Grace Gu, a sophomore pianist and First Prize winner in the 2015 Cremona (Italy) International Music Academy and Competition, will round out the recital by performing the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Frederico Mompou’s Paisajes II – El Lago, and the Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto by Franz Liszt.
Following the concert, audience members are invited to a reception in the Carroll Art Gallery, which is currently showing the Maroon and White Senior Art Exhibit.
The Maroon and White Recital Series began in 1964 as a means of highlighting outstanding Ridgewood High School musicians in a featured solo capacity. Over the past five decades, the series has expanded to include art exhibits as well as a recital featuring only dancers. Musicians and dancers are selected through competitive audition, while artists are chosen after an extensive portfolio revue. Past Maroon & White recitalists include Jonathan Spitz, principal cellist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Ostling, associate principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the piano duo of Sarah and Susan Wang, renowned Broadway singer/dancer Ali Stroker, Stephanie Buesser, dancer with Ballet West, New York City choreographer Yael Nachajon, Broadway director Marc Bruni, jazz organist Jared Gold and many others. The list of past artists includes Lauren Roth of Lauren Roth Art, renowned illustrator Kyle McCullough, Giovanni Forlino, whose work can be seen on display at the Getty and Guggenheim museums, plus a host of professional freelance artists who work in a wide variety of visual art related fields.
