Assembly panel advances bill to extend length of developer permits
An Assembly panel Thursday advanced a controversial bill that would extend the shelf-life of permits granted for developments, allowing builders to avoid complying with newer environmental laws, building codes or local zoning.
The measure, approved 6-0 by the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee, would also retroactively roll back restrictions on extending permits in areas previous labeled “environmentally sensitive,” reviving some expired permits.
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) said the legislation, the third of its kind in three years, is needed so developers who had construction plans prior to the recession do not need to go through the expensive approval process again. (Baxter, The Star-Ledger)
The current leaf system hasn’t worked in years and yet every year it’s handled the same way. We need new ideas and a new plan, whether it’s bagging leaves (largely impractical for the amount of leaves most of us get), cutting back on other services such as recycling and bulk during leaf season, or outsourcing or getting private landscapers to help, something has to change.
The ordinance requiring leaves not be left on the street more than 7 days before pickup can’t be enforced because the leaves are never picked up according to schedule, so there’s no way to tell if the leaves have been there 7 days or 27 days. In order for streets to remain clear leaves need to be picked up every two weeks from the end of October through the end of December.
In my area there were two pickups all season; one before Halloween before much had fallen, and again about a week ago, where they had to deal with removing all of the leaves of the entire season in one trip, and we had to deal with navigating around the mess for over a month. Maybe leaf pickups before November 1 should be the responsibility of the homeowner – you can bag it yourself and bring to recycling, or get your landscaper to remove it – the October pickup seems to be a waste of time since there’s not much accumulation at that point, so residents could reasonably handle this themselves. After that, the town should come twice in November and twice in December. It can’t be that difficult.
> “Letter: Rejection of Valley was affront to Ridgewo…”: Mr. Halaby’s wife, Cynthia Halaby, is on the Valley Board of Trustees
The author of the letter, Rurik Halaby, states that “My interest in Ridgewood village politics was recently ignited by hearings on The Valley Hospital Renewal.”
>234 mayors endorse Christie plan to alter public employee’s sick leave and vacation benefits THURSDAY, 08 DECEMBER 2011 21:34
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
As Gov. Chris Christie’s office Thursday announced that a bipartisan group of 234 mayors support the governor’s proposal to change how public employee sick leave and vacation pay is allotted, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said the legislation is unconstitutional.
The mayors, Republicans and Democrats from every county have joined Christie’s in calling for what he sees as the Democratic-controlled Legislature’s delay in acting on the proposal. The governor argues his proposal would save taxpayer dollars and deliver budget relief to cities and towns.
11 mayors joined the Christie at a press conference in Teaneck, including Bergen County Executive Kathe Donovan and Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, to call for “action on critical, common sense reforms that will provide significant taxpayer savings and give mayors the tools they need to manage their budgets and hold down property taxes for New Jersey families.”
112th Christmas Bird Count Citizen Science in Action
The count period for the 112th Christmas Bird Count will begin on December 14, 2011. Please check the Current Year’s Results link to the right to find out what CBC circles reported on the 111th CBC.
From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission – often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season.
>11 Leading Health System CEOs Share Top Goals for 2012 Written by Sabrina Rodak | December 07, 2011
Bob Garrett, President and CEO, Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. Hackensack University Medical Center’s goals include reopening Pascack Valley Hospital, working on several construction projects, continuing a physician alignment strategy and enhancing the network development strategy. Hackensack UMC is planning an ED expansion that will double its size, include fixed private rooms and feature pods — different areas within the emergency department that are devoted to specialties such as geriatrics, cardiology and oncology. In 2012, Mr. Garrett hopes to complete construction of the new Heart & Vascular Hospital. In addition, the hospital aims to build a comprehensive wellness center. “It will include a large fitness component as well as wellness programs and community education. It will be the largest fitness and wellness center of its kind in the region,” Mr. Garrett says.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY 345 AM EST WED DEC 7 2011
…HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT…
WESTERN PASSAIC-EASTERN PASSAIC-HUDSON-WESTERN BERGEN- EASTERN BERGEN-WESTERN ESSEX-EASTERN ESSEX-WESTERN UNION- EASTERN UNION- 345 AM EST WED DEC 7 2011
…FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM EST THIS MORNING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A
* FLOOD WATCH FOR A PORTION OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY…INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS…EASTERN BERGEN…EASTERN ESSEX…EASTERN PASSAIC…EASTERN UNION…HUDSON…WESTERN BERGEN…WESTERN ESSEX…WESTERN PASSAIC AND WESTERN UNION.
* FROM 10 AM EST THIS MORNING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT.
* AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL PASS JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE REGION LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT…BRINGING A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL GENERALLY RANGE FROM TWO TO TWO AND ONE HALF INCHES…WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO FALL DURING THE FIRST HALF OF TONIGHT.
* THE RAIN MAY LEAD TO FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS…POOR DRAINAGE AND URBAN AREAS…AND ROADWAYS. THE LARGER RIVERS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO REACH FLOOD STAGE AT THIS TIME.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON CURRENT FORECASTS. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.
>Are you taking the George Washington Bridge less since the toll hike? Published: Tuesday, December 06, 2011, 11:08 AM By S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com
Considering the tolls have gone up, and we’re not even sure where they’re going, a lot of people are grumbling about taking the Port Authority-controlled bridges and tunnels to New York.
So are you taking the train more?
The New York Times reported this week that traffic on the George Washington Bridge is down by 890,000 cars — or 4 percent — since cash tolls jumped from $8 to $12 in September.
At the same time, according data the Times collected from the Port Authority, traffic on the PATH rose by 560,000 riders — about 3.7 percent.
We are continuing our efforts to remove branches as a result of the Halloween Weekend snow storm in addition to leaf pick up. With over 200 lane miles and almost every home in the Village affected by this storm our leaf removal efforts have been many, many times the normal Fall amounts. Normal procedure involves pushing large piles by our street sweepers. Because of the large branches which are in the piles we are not able to do this. We must use loaders which is a much slower process. To date we have collected over 38,000 cubic yards of debris which is over double our normal leaf volume to date.
We are currently in Area B – consisting of West of N. Maple Ave. to the Midland Park border and from the Waldwick border South towards W. Glen Ave. It will take approximately 5 days to get through Area B. Area C is scheduled for December 12 to 14 and Area D is scheduled for December 15 to 19.
How can you help? By cutting the brush into lengths no longer than 4 feet in length and separating it from the leaf piles while keeping in mind not to block streets or sidewalks. Also you can continue to bring leaves and branches to the Recycling Center Monday through Saturday from the hours of 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM which is located at 205 E. Glen Avenue. Landscapers ONLY can bring material to our compost facility which is located on Lakeview Drive.
>Audrey Meyers : Social darling or community pariah?
Audrey Meyers has had a bad week. First the State Health Planning Board gave the OK to the reopening of Pascack Valley then the Ridgewood Village Council strongly rejected her management team’s bid to massively expand Valley Hospital. To her followers, Meyers seems to have moved from social darling to a pariah in the community. What happened and why?
If you have lived in Ridgewood for more than 5 years you will remember the first Valley Renewal fliers that began appearing in mailboxes in late 2006. The early renewal propaganda all featured large images of Meyers with her serene expression and steady gaze looking out of the page from beneath her straight black fringe. I guess the public relations company decided that they could appeal to the perceived community popularity of Meyers to help sell the Renewal. But even at the beginning of the campaign was Meyers really a popular community figure in Ridgewood? From her vantage point on Highland Ave and her salary of over $1.3 million it was hard to see her as person of the people. Ever since Meyers took the job as CEO at Valley she has constantly surrounded herself with a small circle of her executive team. Stories have emerged from within Valley of people who expressed views counter to Meyers being fired. Yet Valley PR has repeatedly claimed that Audrey has the ear of the Ridgewood community from which the Renewal enjoys full support. After two council elections for Village council where candidates who did not publically support the renewal were elected, the truth about broad community support has proved to be false.
So who are the Audrey supporters? This group is really the Hospital Ancillary. At its heart the Hospital Ancillary is really a club that holds social events in support of the hospital. IRS documents reveal that the ancillary contributes just over 2 million dollars in donations per year. With the total hospital revenue near one billion dollars the financial contribution from the Auxiliary is in reality small. However, in the community Ridgewood, the Auxiliary is really THE social club in town, especially amongst the ladies who lunch. It is a club where the very comfortably well-off can rub shoulders with the very wealthy and feel like they have made it. At least twice a month members of the auxiliary can be seen gracing the social pages of the Ridgewood News or in photos in the health section. Gala balls, dinners and fashion shows are all opportunities to display a member’s taste in fine clothes, food and wine. Like the socialites buzzing around Miss Hilly in THE HELP’s depiction of Jackson Mississippi, Ridgewood’s social scene is also clearly divided between the ancillary crowd and everyone else. In this environment it would be easy for Meyers to believe that she has overwhelming support. Surrounded by employees are compelled to follow the boss and the members of the ancillary fawning over her to get a place in the social order it is easy to see why she still believes she is on top in public opinion. This is because all she hears is support as no one who she surrounds herself with dares to tell her anything different.
After months upon months of unemployment stuck at or above 9 percent, the American people may finally see a sliver of relief in today’s jobs report from the Department of Labor. The report suggests the month of November saw 120,000 net new jobs created and the unemployment rate drop to 8.6 percent–driven in part by the 315,000 people who have given up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. That news is cold comfort to the 13.3 million Americans who are still out of work and the 402,000 workers who filed for unemployment last week.
The question is whether this improvement is real and enduring or a fluke. The economy is growing, but there’s little evidence of the real strength the report suggests, and there’s a lot in the report to suggest something’s amiss with the numbers–something likely to be corrected in the next report. For example, is it likely the labor market strengthened as much as the job number suggests at the same time so many people abandoned the workforce? And this is only one of the anomalies in the report.
The White House would therefore be wise to trumpet today’s news with soft notes. The fact remains that under President Barack Obama’s watch, the U.S. unemployment rate remains high because America just isn’t creating enough new jobs. And if the only way the Obama Administration can get the unemployment rate to drop is by convincing people to quit looking for work, that’s bad news for the American economy. Or to quote liberal blogger Matt Yglesias, ”Decreasing unemployment by shrinking the labor force is not exactly winning the future.”
It goes without saying that if the U.S. economy loses more jobs than it creates, the unemployment rate goes up. If job losses are low but few new jobs are created, then the unemployment rate treads water and remains high, with occasional dips and rises–and that’s what we’re seeing today.
As Heritage’s James Sherk writes, in the last quarter of 2007, private employers created 7.6 million jobs and shed 7.4 million jobs. That was enough net new jobs to keep unemployment steady as new workers entered the labor force. During the recession, job losses increased, hitting 8.5 million jobs lost in the first quarter of 2009. The good news is that today, job losses are well below their pre-recession rates, hitting a record low in the first quarter of 2011. The bad news is that few new jobs are being created, leaving America in the economic doldrums. Sherk explains:
The All Seasons Chamber Players will return to the Ridgewood Public Library Sunday afternoon, Dec. 11 for a 3 p.m. concert. The popular classical ensemble has been performing at the Ridgewood Library annually for many years. This concert is part of the Sunday Afternoon Performance Series of the Friends of the Ridgewood Public Library.
The library, located at 125 North Maple Ave. in Ridgewood, provides excellent concert facilities and is handicapped accessible. There is a $3 suggested donation at the door. Refreshments may be purchased at the snack shop at intermission. For more information or directions, call the library at 201-670-5600.
The program, entitled Vive la France! will offer three centuries of chamber music by famous French composers from the baroque era to the 20th century. The featured work will be a musical tour de force – Maurice Ravel’s great Piano Trio in A Minor (1914). The program will also include a baroque Trio Sonata in D by Jean-Marie Leclair; the tuneful and playful Dolly Suite for Piano Duet by Gabriel Faure; and the ever-popular Sonata for Flute and Piano by Francis Poulenc. Robert Lawrence, co-director for programs, will introduce each piece to the audience with personal spoken program notes.
Vincent Loncto is sworn in as Ridgewood schools trustee
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011
BY EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – A former chief financial officer for major corporations was sworn in Monday night as the school district’s newest trustee.
Vincent Loncto took his seat as a trustee at Monday’s school board meeting at the district’s Education Center on Cottage Place.
The certified public accountant was one of six candidates interviewed for the trustee post after Charles Reilly resigned earlier this year.
“The school budget is in the process of being developed, so I’m coming in at the right time,” said Loncto, who retired earlier this year from a 40-year career in financial management.
“It has to be done collaboratively,” he said. “What we are talking about here is enhancing the quality of the school system under budgetary constraints. It is detail-intensive work.”
>I don’t see how this pertains to Ridgewood : “Friday Night Lights Prove To Be Budget Busters”:
I don’t see how this pertains to Ridgewood. I also wonder whether the original poster actually read the article. It is not a discussion about youth sports, which are self-funded in Ridgewood, turf, lights or even that high school football programs in Dallas, Texas are cost prohibitive. It was about how ALL high school football teams in Dallas, Texas generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue to defray the costs of their programs and, in a few rare cases, highly successful programs can EASE school budget constraints. The essence of the article is summed up in this line, “as schools are forced to cut back, football teams can offer a rare revenue generator to a district’s general fund — if they are winning football teams.” It concluded that winning football records directly impact whether the school districts studied in Dallas make a profit or not. Interestingly, it very clearly went on to say that “Nothing costs a district more than coaching stipends and salaries.” Sound familiar?? Of 31 schools, the median school’s total net football expenses were less than 3% of the school’s total annual expenses and the head football coach’s salary (alone) was approximately 2% of the school’s total annual expenses. Perhaps that is the message to take away from the article.
The last time I checked, high school sports are not intended or expected to be profit-making enterprises. They are an operating expense for school districts around the country. In Texas, however, the unique culture around high school football creates an opportunity for some winning programs to generate more money for the school than they cost. Those profits then go to the general revenue fund to support non-football programs. That is a nice benefit. But, it is not the objective of any high school sports programs in the United States.
Contrary to the misleading headline of the commentary that was posted on the Ridgewood Blog, the point of the article is NOT to suggest that high school football programs in Dallas are “busting” their school district budgets. It did not blame elaborate facilities or special considerations that are not integral to all sports programs for adversely impacting school budgets. Although as noted above, it did point out that the average head coach’s salary is 40% of he average school expenditure on football. This did not include benefits or the salary and benefits for assistant coaches.
The full article and survey results can be viewed at this address:
The bottom line is that I am not aware of any Ridgewood high school sports program that generates revenue even close to that of high school football programs in Dallas. I am not sure how the expenses compare. My guess is that RHS football is the most expensive athletic program in the school. But, I doubt that Chuck Johnson’s salary is 2% of the total school budget. So, I don’t see the relevance of this article to Ridgewood. More to the point, it has nothing to do with youth sports, college scholarships, the rationale for high school athletics, turf fields or lights.
So, I think the original question, which has gone unanswered, is a fair one. Why was this posted on the Ridgewood Blog?
