>NJEA: good job teachers union. due to your lack of support for the Race to the Top improvements, NJ is not getting any federal funds to improve the system.
Good job teachers union. good job teachers union. due to your lack of support for the Race to the Top improvements, NJ is not getting any federal funds to improve the system. NJ finished ranked #11 (out of the money). they would have made the cut if the union supported it.
NY is getting up to $750m to help fix the education problems in the state.
way to go teachers!!!
-Thed NJ finished ranked #11 (out of the money). they would have made the cut if the union supported it.
NY is getting up to $750m to help fix the education problems in the state.
>The Ridgewood Y is introducing a Youth Fencing class
The Ridgewood Y is introducing a Youth Fencing class for 8-14 year olds. Fencing is the ultimate cross-training program! Participants will learn to dodge, parry, and thrust from Coach Vitalii Druzhynin. Coach Vitalii has over 30 years of fencing and coaching experience.
Contact Chris at 201-444-5600 ext. 339 or [email protected] for more information or to sign up!
>There is a problem when only like 2 teachers got canned for poor performance in the whole state in the last two years(out of 116,000 teachers)
I agree. you know there is a problem when only like 2 teachers got canned for poor performance in the whole state in the last two years(out of 116,000 teachers). that’s 0.0017%.
something is definitely wrong. there’s no way that that there aren’t bad teachers out there. the system needs to be fixed.
i’m tired of teachers hiding behind the tenure by scaring the public that the positions will be affected by political pressure if tenure is eliminated. i’ll tell you what — there are political pressures in every job, public or private. but everyday, job decisions are made based not only on job performance but relationships, who you know, etc. don’t you think that people happen to lose their jobs because of changes in administration at companies? it happens all the time. especially when companies merge, etc.
so, let’s expose teachers to the same forces the rest of the country face.
there is no free lunch. we are paying for it with our taxes and our childrens’ education.
>Kyleigh’s Law : parents, especially of women, think the decals can alert perverts to young drivers.
Cop out: 6 months study of red decals
Young drivers must continue to put red decals on their license plates under legislation approved by the Senate. Many parents don’t like the decals which are meant to show police there is a young driver in the car subject to curfews and special rules regarding number of passengers. But parents, especially of women, think the decals can alert perverts to young drivers. Instead of repealing that section of the so-called Kyleigh’s Law, lawmakers voted to have the Attorney General’s Office and others conduct a six-month study. That’s a cop out from lawmakers who can’t admit they screwed up the first time. Want to bet how that study turns out? “We don’t need a six-month study to do what is plain common sense and the will of the people,” said Assemblyman Scott Rumana who sponsored the repeal.. (Ingle, Asbury Park Press)
>Anna Little campaign poll shows GOP challenger within striking distance
The Anna Little Campaign this evening released the results of a poll that show the Republican mayor of Highlands trailing U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) by six points in the 6th Congressional District. (Editor, PolitickerNJ)
>Senate approves bill eliminating 40 inactive, outdated N.J. agencies
TRENTON — The Senate unanimously approved legislation today that makes good on Gov. Chris Christie’s promise to shrink the state government bureaucracy by eliminating more than 40 inactive and outdated boards and commissions. (Livio, Newark Star-Ledger)
The first bills Gov. Chris Christie signed after taking office in January enacted state pension reforms, but the system remains underfunded by tens of billions of dollars.
The settlement with the Security and Exchange Commission makes it official: For years, New Jersey had been cooking its books and neglecting to tell investors it was grossly underfunding pension plans.
The SEC calls that securities fraud, because $26 billion worth of bonds, issued between 2001 and 2007, probably were worth less than investors were led to believe.
With a cease-and-desist order, the state is admitting no guilt, of course, and the SEC (thankfully) won’t make matters worse by assessing hefty penalties that would be paid by unsuspecting taxpayers and not the irresponsible public officials who allegedly bamboozled investors.
The action was historic: New Jersey is the first state targeted by the SEC for securities fraud. But with pension funds crumbling everywhere, other states probably will join us in shame. But from this day forward, cross our hearts and hope to die, New Jersey has agreed to tell the truth about its grossly and dangerously undernourished pension funds
>The 2010 Barclays Daily Tournament Schedule Tuesday, August 24
Gates open at 9 a.m. Practice Round for Professionals The Barclays “Shirts for Savings” Clothing Drive Wednesday, August 25
Gates open at 7 a.m. 7:30 a.m., The Barclays Pro-Am competition (shotgun start) 1:30 p.m., The Barclays Pro-Am presented by BJ’s Wholesale Club (shotgun start) Military Appreciation Day The Barclays “Shirts for Savings Clothing Drive Thursday, August 26
Gates open at 7 a.m. First Round of Competition- 7:15 a.m. approximate starting time 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., ESPN Radio/The Michael Kay Show broadcast at Ridgewood Country Club The Barclays “Shirts for Savings” Clothing Drive Friday, August 27
Gates open at 7 a.m. Second round of competition- 7:15 a.m. approximate starting time 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., ESPN Radio/Jody MacDonald and Ian O’Connor broadcast at Ridgewood Country Club The Barclays “Shirts for Savings” Clothing Drive Saturday, August 28
Gates open at 7 a.m. Third round of competition- 8:00 a.m. approximate starting time The Barclays “Shirts for Savings” Clothing Drive Sunday, August 29
Gates open at 7 a.m. Final round of competition- 8:00 a.m. approximate starting time 10 a.m.-12 a.m., ESPN Radio/Ian O’Connor broadcast at Ridgewood Country Club The Barclays “Shirts for Savings” Clothing Drive
The New Jersey education commissioner dismissed only two teachers for poor performance in the last two years.
That’s out of roughly 116,000 public school teachers.
Revoking tenure is such an arduous undertaking that school officials are usually reluctant to pursue it unless a teacher is clearly insubordinate or dangerous. The process can drag on for years and cost a district hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Leaders in New Jersey and across the nation, all the way up to President Obama, say they want to make it easier to weed out teachers who don’t help students learn, while rewarding superb educators and helping teachers with potential to improve.
The National Council on Teacher Quality says the skill levels of the teacher workforce follow a bell curve: About 15 percent are ineffective, 15 percent are highly effective, and most are somewhere in the middle. Still, few teachers are pushed out. Nationally, districts dismiss only about 2.1 percent of teachers each year for poor performance, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
“Our children have a right to have a great teacher in the classroom,” said New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. “No one has a right to a job where their performance doesn’t matter.”
Yet even when a teacher is accused of beating students, it can be expensive and time-consuming to dismiss him.
>Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean: the “ground zero mosque,” “a real affront to people who lost their lives.”
Former Democratic Presidential Candidate and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean is defending his comments on the so-called “ground zero mosque,” which he has called “a real affront to people who lost their lives.”
Writing on Salon.com, Dean states he is “not going to back off” his earlier comments – but then stops short of explicitly calling for the project to be moved, as he had earlier suggested.
He calls for compromise in the column, writing that “I personally believe that there are other possible solutions that could result from [a dialogue] and that a genuine exploration of those possibilities is something we ought to try.”
>How is it that the village government listened to some residents and not others?
The tank size was scaled back because of neighbor complaints. So we have the same problems. The tank would hanh helped with water distribution in Ridgewood. We are left with something that is inadequate.
Valley, on the other hand, has not been scaled back in spite of significant opposition from neighbors and the greater Ridgewood community.
Valley is a business that serves the tri state area. They use village resources without paying taxes.
How is it that the village government listened to some residents and not others? Is it because valley has $$$$ and contracts to offer?
>MUSIC FOR FARMS TO PLAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10 BENEFIT CONCERT FOR ROCKLAND FARM ALLIANCE IN CHESTNUT RIDGE, NY
Rockland County, NY-based composer, pianist and percussionist John McDowell (www.johnmcdowell.net) teams up with Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich, cellist Julia MacLaine (www.juliamaclaine.com), and string bass player Evan Premo (www.evanpremo.com) to create the musical ensemble Music For Farms which will perform a concert entitled “A Musical Harvest” at the lovely, wood-paneled Threefold Auditorium at 260 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY on Friday, September 10, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $20 ($15 for students, $10 for children). For more information, call 845-362-0207 or email [email protected].
John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich, who practice music and farming side by side (McDowell at Camp Hill Farm in Pomona, NY; and Vukovich in Quebec, Canada), have formed an international initiative, Music for Farms (www.johnmcdowell.net/musicforfarms), which works to revive and sustain local organic agriculture and farming communities through the arts. Julia MacLaine and Evan Premo join them for this special concert. The program, described below, includes the music of Bach, several original works in contemporary and classical idioms, and the quartet’s own creative arrangements that incorporate African drum rhythms and reflect a weaving of Eastern and Western traditions. This concert will be a benefit for the Rockland Farm Alliance (RFA). The mission of the RFA (www.rocklandfarm.org) is to facilitate local sustainable agriculture in Rockland County, New York.
Juilliard and McGill trained Emmanuel Vukovich is the recipient of Canada’s first Golden Violin Award, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts Orford String Quartet scholarship. His twin passions of farming and music are brought to expression in this artistic Musical Harvest. John McDowell is best known as composer of the score to Oscar winning Born into Brothels. He has toured with rock/world band Rusted Root as a pianist and percussionist and founded/led the internationally acclaimed band Mamma Tongue. Cellist Julia MacLaine has been consistently singled out by The New York Times for her rich tone, sweet vibrato and superb musicianship, and performs throughout North and South America and in Europe as a recitalist and chamber musician. Like Julia, an alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s resident Ensemble ACJW, Evan Premo performs chamber music regularly at Carnegie Hall and does outreach in public schools in NYC. An active chamber musician and soloist, Evan also practices farming, woodworking, and ‘homesteading’.
The program will be drawn from the following selections:
Bach, works for solo violin and solo cello
F Major, by John McDowell
Swara Kakali (transcription of a work by Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar)
In the early 20th century, current owner Tom Hillmann’s great-grandfather retired as a PSE&G lineman to start an electrical contracting firm to wire all the new construction going on in Ridgewood in 1910 and convert the older homes from gas to the so-called “new” electric.
“We actually may be older than 100 years, but my great grandfather’s electrical contracting company was listed as a contributor in the 1910 July 4th parade, and we have been contributing ever since,” Hillmann said.
As for his own contribution, he maintains that his family’s legacy had little to do with his joining the business.
“Most summers during my school years, I did not work for my family, seeking employment in a variety of businesses instead. After graduating from college with a marketing degree, it just made sense. Because the business was actually two businesses (retail and electrical contracting) my father and I had separate daily activities and it worked,” Hillmann explains.
As for the time he has spent at the company, he says there is no one memory that stands out in his mind. However, this is due not to lack but to abundance.
“Of course there is the satisfaction of having control over your own destiny that many working for a large corporation don’t receive. But all the best memories are working with the people, whether they were customers, other business owners or town officials. I have also been blessed to have some great employees during my tenure and all my current crew have been with me between 15 and 35 years.”
See the attached below for a comprehensive history of Hillmann Electric & Lighting’s 100-year stint in Ridgewood. The picture located to the left shows the front of Hillman Electric & Lighting circa 1948.
Congratulations to Hillmann Electric & Lighting for an outstanding century in the business, and here’s to wishing them a bright future for many years to come.
The reigning Miss USA has come out against the Ground Zero mosque, saying “it shouldn’t be so close” to Ground Zero.
The 24-year-old Rima Fakih, is the first Muslim winner of the Miss USA contest and is preparing for the Miss Universe Pageant, scheduled for Monday in Las Vegas.
“I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on Constitutional rights of freedom of religion,” Fakih told “Inside Edition” in an interview that will air tonight.
“I also agree that it shouldn’t be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion.”
This comes as the imam spearheading controversial plans for the mosque and Islamic center near the site of the 9/11 attacks said today that extremism poses a security threat in both the West and the Muslim world — and is even working on a plan to “Americanize” Islam.
The comments by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf come during the first leg of a 15-day Middle East tour — funded by the US State Department — to discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance.
Speaking after leading prayers at a neighborhood mosque in Bahrain’s capital Manama, Rauf said he hopes to draw attention during his trip to the region to the common challenges to battle radical religious beliefs.
“This issue of extremism is something that has been a national security issue — not only for the United States but also for many countries and nations in the Muslim world,” Rauf told Associated Press Television News.
“This is why this particular trip has a great importance because all countries in the Muslim world — as well as the Western world — are facing this … major security challenge.”
Rauf also said he has been working on a way to “Americanize Islam,” although he did not elaborate on what an American version of Islam might look like.
“The same principles and rituals were everywhere, but what happened in different regions was there were different interpretations,” he said. “So we recognize that our heritage allows for re-expressing the internal principles of our religion in different cultural times and places.”
The comments differ greatly from what Rauf said in December 2001. Just two months after the 9/11 attacks, the imam wasn’t so quick to condemn radical religious beliefs in his own faith.
“The United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened, because we have been an accessory to a lot of innocent lives dying in the world,” he said during an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes. “In fact, in the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.”
Rauf, meanwhile, refused to discuss the political firestorm over plans for an Islamic cultural center near the site of the World Trade Center towers. The center would include a mosque, a swimming pool, gym auditorium and other facilities on a plot of land some two blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Foes of the project say it is insensitive and disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and their families. The debate has become politicized ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.
