A panel of Appellate Division judges heard arguments Monday on whether New Jersey’s municipalities must zone for the many thousands of affordable housing units that were not approved between 1999 and 2015. David O’Reilly, Inquirer Read more
How N.J.’s 2.6 million unaffiliated voters can cast a ballot Tuesday
While registered Democrats and Republicans can only vote in their party’s primary on Tuesday, New Jersey’s 2.6 million unaffiliated voters are not left out of the process. Matt Arco, NJ.com Read more
The problem is not paying the teachers, the problem is that our Board of Ed treats the teacher salaries as a lower priority. We should pay talent and retain talent. That is the heart of any great business, especially educational businesses.
The start of the solution is getting rid of the 35 people in that building on Franklin Ave. We have far too many administrators each of whom just creates the need for more administration, more secretaries and keep teachers from teaching kids. If the kids in Orchard and Somerville learn a little bit different stuff in math–WHO CARES? It will work out. They will be close enough by the time they get to HS. Use a simple curriculum outline and let the teachers teach.
Also, its enough with the bells and whistles. Make a decision about whether you want new text books or lap tops. You can read on a computer so you really should pick one or the other. Use the laptop and an older text book. They will get what they need.
We dont need rock climbing walls and the insurance that goes with them. Let them play dodge ball. What about considering the real costs of having Football–insurance, equipment, staff, etc. Get rid of the fat and focus on the mission of educating kids. To me it is simple, pay the teachers and let them teach.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Board of Education rejects state-appointed fact finder’s recommendations for a new teachers’ contract. The BOE’s rejection sends contract negotiations, at an impasse since July 2015, back to Square One.
While other readers are glad the BOE is taking a stand , “God forbid you don’t agree with the teachers’ demands. I hope the BOE takes a tough position. Agree that with the schools’ ratings sliding downwards and raises should be performance based. As for the healthcare plans – why would you think you are entitled to a better plan than the taxpayers who pay for yours? The teachers obviously do not care about the children or their profession as much as they care about the almighty dollar. They need to work a little harder and bring the school ratings up before any increases and either contribute more towards their medical insurance or agree to a less expensive plan. Yes, that means $25 co-pays and higher deductibles”
While BOE members have taken the heat say one reader , “The withering and abusive “behind the scenes” attacks on our elected BOE officials should be an embarrassment to all teachers. Why should teachers get better health benefits than the taxpayers who help subsidize them? Surely some of the things these teachers and the REA have pulled are cause for dismissals? Why not bring in some younger teachers who actually want to work with our kids and would be thrilled to teach here?”
Thank you tonight BOE, for supporting Ridgewood properly. Not easy with all these teachers barking at you. The unions need to all be abolished. There was a time and place for these in the early nineteen hundreds. The kids are the real losers here. How can we have fair negotiations if every time it does not go their way. The sick outs start, the field trips are without teachers, and now after school clubs are being cancelled. So one sided and unfair. Shame on the teachers and their unions not the BOE. Some women had the nerve to say we will pay more taxes for these teachers…she is a party of one…even her husband won’t support that! Chuck talking about the bottom half of the county per student? Why weren’t you talking about your second shore home? That you are able to buy because of Cadillac healthcare and pensions we provide? Maybe it’s time for the truly aging overpaid teachers to go? Unions won’t allow it, That’s discrimination, etc. The fact is our teachers are paid fairly and must now use some of this pay to cover more healthcare. Same as everyone else. No one likes it but it has to be done. Healthcare is going to be the death of us all. Fact, I’d pay for the teachers healthcare premiums now if we could…my family now pays 20,000 per year, plus deductibles and $45 co-pays. Wake up teachers and know the facts not what the unions feed you. Enjoy your summer off, we”l be working to pay our very high taxes for you!
photo by Dan Glazer
Dear Nattering nabob of negativity,
This is a reminder that primary elections for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees will be held tomorrow in New Jersey. Our polls are open from 6 AM through 8 PM. If you have any questions about the election please contact our Municipal Village Clerk at 201-670-5500, ext 201 or email Heather Mailander at hmailander@ridgewoodnj.net
As an additional reminder, there will be another election held on Tuesday, June 21st. This is a Ridgewood election that represents a binding referendum to approve the municipal financing of a parking deck at Hudson Street. If you are considering voting by mail-in ballot for this election, application forms are available at the Municipal Village Clerk’s Office and must be received by the County no later than June 14, 2016. Alternatively you can go directly to the County’s website to obtain a mail-in ballot form:
https://www.bergencountyclerk.
Best,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, Join the Ridgewood Guild in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square for family fun and entertainment. We show films great for the whole family on a 25 foot screen and professional sound system. Bring snacks, a picnic blanket, and get ready for a great evening with your community.
2016 Movies in the Park Schedule
All movies are on Wednesdays and start at sundown (approximately 9pm in June and July and 8:30pm in August). In case of rain (or other inclement weather), or the latest inforamtion, check our Facebook page, or back here for a rescheduling of the movie.
June 15: To Kill a Mockingbird
June 29: Vertigo
July 13: Grease*
July 27: Raider of the Lost Ark
August 10: Despicable Me
August 24: Harry Potter and the Sorcer’s Stone
*Join us for an event with live 50’s music, a sock hop, food and more!
June 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Registration for the Ridgewood YMCA’s Summer 2016 session will open Monday, June 13 at 8:30am. The 8 week session of classes and programs will begin on Monday, June 27 and run through Monday, August 22.
Registration is available online at www.ridgewoodymca.org, in person at the Y, or by phone at 201.444.5600. Active membership is required to register for classes.
A complete listing of Ridgewood Y program offerings is available at www.ridgewoodymca.org.
The Ridgewood YMCA is located at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Phone (201) 444 5600.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On the first Friday of June, July & August from 6:30-9pm meet us on the sidewalk outside of Memorial Park on Van Neste Square local artists will sell their works (with 20% going to the Ridgewood Guild). Listen to live music, browse beautiful art, and enjoy the warm Friday night! It is also the 7th season of Music in the Night in downtown Ridgewood .
June 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Summer Water Restriction season once again and the Ridgewood blog just has to ask ; are we the only one who wonders what it is going to take to fix this thing and get the Ridgewood water system up to speed. Sorry folks but summer water restrictions every single summer is too much 3rd world for the kind of taxes Ridgewood taxpayers are paying .
This not a critique of Ridgewood water but an attempt to get the ball rolling on a discussion which has for too long been swept under the rug . Do residents really want to live with perpetual water restrictions, law suits and assorted water quality issues.
-For information on the Ground Water Under Direct Influence of Surface Water (GWUDI) monitoring program click HERE.
-For information on PFOA and PFOS click HERE.
Stage I will be in effect each year starting on June 1st and will continue through August 31st. If conditions warrant, irrigation will be prohibited on additional days of the week up to and including a total ban on irrigation.
Compliance with the initial restrictions will reduce the likelihood that more severe controls will be needed. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Stage I (Moderate) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. Irrigation using a hand-held hose shall be allowed at any time. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays except for the use of a hand held hose.
Stage II (Severe) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for the use of a hand held hose. Irrigation using a hand held hose shall be allowed at any time.
Stage III (Pending/Critical) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to the use of a hand held hose on Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation of any kind shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Stage IV (Critical) – Irrigation is prohibited at any time. Exceptions for irrigation using a hand held hose may be allowed under conditions prescribed by the Village Manager of the Village of Ridgewood.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Wake up teachers and your rotten unions. Time to pay more and your fair share. That is the real need here. You Gimme, Gimme, Gimmes are wrong and this why the intelligent BOE is right. Thank you BOE for doing your jobs and not rubber stamping these unreasonable demands. The parents and students should wake up and know these facts. When these reasons are known by all, the educated will support the students and the BOE. The upcoming meeting at BF will have bus loads of teachers wearing RED. While the BOE, Tax Payers should be SEEING RED! Enough is enogh, stop kicking the unions can and caving in. All contracts are shoot high and hope to reach a middle ground. No, not any more. Thank you to all o0n the BOE for standing up for us and the students. The teachers have ruined this year for all our students and we can’t get that back. Shame on the unions more than the lemming teachers. Not to be mean but to bring up an old statement. Those who can’t do teach….I’d like to add those who can’t negotiate for themselves stand behind their cowardly oh so powerful Unions…ugh, makes me sick
BOE Meets on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at BFMS Auditorium
June 5,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, June 6, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
The Regular Public Meeting, originally scheduled to be held in the Board Room at the Education Center, will begin at 7:30 p.m., in the Auditorium at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Action will be taken at this meeting.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at BFMS or view it live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.
Click here to view the agenda for the June 6, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the 2016-2017 Budget presented at the May 2, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the Full Day Kindergarten Recommendation presented to the Board at their March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
the staff of the Ridgewoood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the 15th Annual Kessler Foundation WTFUSA National Wheelchair 10K Championship, part of the Fred D’Elia Ridgewood Run, was held on Memorial Day, May 25, 2015 at Graydon Pool–201 North Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, NJ. This event is one of the largest integrated races in the country, as wheelchair athletes compete on the same course, at the same time, as the runners. Racers compete for cash prizes!
The Wheelchair 10K began at 8:15am, with registration opening at 7am. All participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Kessler Foundation will host a brief awards ceremony with refreshments immediately following the Wheelchair 10K. Congressman Scott Garrett pitched in and held the ribbon at the finish line.
A few words from Congressman Scott Garrett at the 2016 Kessler Foundation Wheelchair 10K…https://soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation/2016-ridgewoodrace
“It was an honor to have one of the most important jobs at the Ridgewood Wheelchair 10k–holding the ribbon at the finish line! Congratulations to everyone who participated!”
If not for our grassroots involvement, a decade of massive demolition and construction would likely be underway today at Valley Hospital, doubling in size in a location that is already over-burdened.
1) Finish our legal work. The flawed Master Plan Amendment of 2010 is still on the books of Ridgewood. The current or any future council could allow Valley to build to the 1.2 million square foot limits approved compared to the current building approximating 550,000 square feet. While expensive, this legal action is essential to putting a final halt to Valley’s determined drive to expand in the Village.
2) Continue public advocacy before Ridgewood’s Village Council and Land-Use Boards. The Valley Corporation has seemingly infinite resources and connections to get their way. It is imperative that we continue our grass-roots efforts to counter their efforts to put an incompatible building in our midst.
ALL DONATIONS ARE NEEDED. BECAUSE LEGAL WORK IS COSTLY, WE ASK YOU CONSIDER $200 OR MORE. HOWEVER, ANY DONATION WILL HELP.
Concerned Residents of Ridgewood
P.O. Box 150 Ridgewood, NJ 07451.
Checks should be made out to Concerned Residents of Ridgewood
The group does not push that hard for money, but we cannot let them pay for this themselves. Please consider giving any amount–small is a lot better than zero. Let’s dig deep so that Valley doesn’t! Once is not enough–this has been going on for nearly a decade and is expen$$$$ive.
photo by Boyd Loving
BY KATHLEEN LYNN AND DAVID SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
In the overheated housing market of 2005, Barbara O’Leary and Dennis Poletto bought a Bergenfield colonial for $440,000 — just five years after the previous owner had paid $175,000.
Now, they’d like to downsize into a place with no stairs. But they feel they can’t move, because real estate agents have told them their home would probably sell for about $330,000.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-home-values-trapped-in-a-time-warp-1.1610704
