Patrick A. Roth, MD, FACS of Ridgewood Recognized by Who’s Who Worldwide Publication
March 21, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood, NJ, Patrick A. Roth, MD, FACS of Ridgewood, New Jersey has been included in the Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide Edition for his outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of healthcare.
Patrick A. Roth, MD, FACS resume includes over 20 years experience in the healthcare field. He is the Chairman of Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center and the Founding Partner of North Jersey Brain and Spine which is a medical practice in Oradell, New Jersey. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and conservative treatments for back pain. Dr. Roth runs the residency program at St. Barnabas Hospital. He has published one book, “The End of Back Pain”, as well as book chapters and textbooks. He is affiliated with A.A.N.S. and C.N.S. Dr. Roth was born in Bethesda, Maryland and obtained a M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1987. In his spare time he enjoys tennis, triathlons and physical fitness. For further information contactwww.patrickrothmd.com.
Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide highlights the professional lives of individuals from every significant field or industry including business, medicine, law, education, art, government and entertainment. Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide is both an online and hard cover publication where we provide our members’ current and pertinent business information. It is also a biographical information source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms throughout the world. Our goal is to ensure that our members receive all of the networking, exposure and recognition capabilities to potentially increase their business.
David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’
An election-season essay
By David Mamet Tuesday, Mar 11 2008
See also that most magnificent of schools, the jury system, where, again, each brings nothing into the room save his or her own prejudices, and, through the course of deliberation, comes not to a perfect solution, but a solution acceptable to the community—a solution the community can live with.
Prior to the midterm elections, my rabbi was taking a lot of flack. The congregation is exclusively liberal, he is a self-described independent (read “conservative”), and he was driving the flock wild. Why? Because a) he never discussed politics; and b) he taught that the quality of political discourse must be addressed first—that Jewish law teaches that it is incumbent upon each person to hear the other fellow out.
And so I, like many of the liberal congregation, began, teeth grinding, to attempt to do so. And in doing so, I recognized that I held those two views of America (politics, government, corporations, the military). One was of a state where everything was magically wrong and must be immediately corrected at any cost; and the other—the world in which I actually functioned day to day—was made up of people, most of whom were reasonably trying to maximize their comfort by getting along with each other (in the workplace, the marketplace, the jury room, on the freeway, even at the school-board meeting).
And I realized that the time had come for me to avow my participation in that America in which I chose to live, and that that country was not a schoolroom teaching values, but a marketplace.
Your editorial (“Sinking feeling is settling in,” March 13, page A6) prompted me to telephone the village’s 24-hour “pothole hotline” to report several very bone-jarring potholes on South Irving Street in the vicinity of Cedar Avenue and Arden Court.
Within one hour of placing the call, I observed a two-person crew from the village’s Streets Division working feverishly and skillfully to fill each of the potholes that I had reported.
Thanks are in order to the management and worker bees of the Streets Division for having moved so quickly and professionally to address a report of serious, and potentially hazardous, roadway impediments.
This is a fine example of how quickly the wheels of municipal government can turn if a customer focused action plan is developed, implemented, and assigned to knowledgeable and highly motivated employees.
March 20, 2015 Last updated: Friday, March 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Tiffany Katehakis
STAFF WRITER |
The Ridgewood News
New York Times bestselling author and Ridgewood resident Harlan Coben is certainly no “stranger” to the Ridgewood community.
Although his latest novel, “The Stranger” will be released on March 24, Ridgewood residents will be among the lucky few to be able to purchase the book a day before everyone else. Coben will hold a kickoff appearance for his book tour at 7 p.m.. on Monday, March 23 at Bookends, 211 East Ridgewood Ave.
In this page-turning thriller, the plot centers around a suburban New Jersey family whose picturesque life is threatened by a mysterious man. Once protagonist Adam Price learns a secret about his wife Corinne from the unknown man, he is led to a much darker situation than the secret itself. He discovers that if he doesn’t play his cards exactly right, lives may not only be destroyed, but ended.
Coben’s novels capture relatable situations and characters but surprise readers with twists and turns that keep them guessing for what’s to come.
Harlan Coben Monday, March 23rd @ 7:00pm International Bestselling Author, Harlan Coben, will sign his new book, The Stranger Books available March 23rd
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Due to the winter storm forecast, the Ridgewood Public Schools will have an EARLY DISMISSAL / EMERGENCY MINIMUM DAY on Friday, March 20. Cafeterias will not operate and lunches will not be provided. Students will attend school as follows:RED Program: 9-11 a.m.
Novo in Ridgewood bringing new tastes and flavors to North Jersey
MARCH 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015, 4:01 PM
BY ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ
FOOD EDITOR |
THE RECORD
Executive chef Elie Kahlon is sitting in the elegantly subdued 74-seat dining room of Novo in Ridgewood, arguably North Jersey’s best new restaurant. In front of him is a big, plastic bag stuffed with smaller plastic bags that hold spices he had brought back from his last trip to his native country, Israel.
“I don’t like to use local spice,” said the dark-haired, olive-skinned Kahlon in heavy-accented English.
The 6-foot, 4-inch Ridgewood resident quickly opens bag after bag, sniffing and tasting what’s inside: Moroccan coriander, Middle Eastern curry, dried Persian lime, dried sumac flowers, a Mideast cinnamon-like clove, Tunisian paprika … “You see how red the paprika is,” he says, holding up its see-through bag. “It’s so much better than the paprika you can get from anywhere else.”
Many food lovers would argue that Kahlon’s food is not only better than the fare found in most North Jersey restaurants — The Record gave the five-month-old restaurant a 3 1/2-out-of-4 star review in January — but it is unlike much, if not all, food found in the area. His is a refined modern Mediterranean cuisine; think foods of the Middle East and North Africa, elevated by the use of sophisticated, most often, French cooking techniques.
He uses a Middle East open-flame oven, called a taboon, to sear and roast meats, vegetables and flatbreads; a couscoussier, an Arabic double-chambered food steamer, to make his own couscous; a dehydrating machine to produce dried-out fruits popular in Mideast dishes, including lemons, oranges and olives, which he uses to make crusts for fish or garnishes for salads.
Tweets, FaceBook, Instagram and other social media being tracked! Not only by the NSA, but by Pearson Education and the NJ Department of Education!!
MicheleNJTPC
CRITICAL UPDATE – COMMON CORE
We recently wrote about this story that appeared last week concerning the PARCC tests. This is a follow up with more troubling news.
Bob Braun, former Star Ledger education reporter, reported about the surveillance of students’ social media following their taking of the PARCC test at Watchung Regional HS, and the superintendent’s reaction. Pearson asked, through the NJ Department of Education, that the students be disciplined, on account of their tweets concerning the test. The NJDOE contacted the school district and forwarded Pearson’s request to the district. One student was suspended as a result, but the superintendent’s e-mail to her colleagues has also been posted, expressing concern about the compromise of student privacy.
This story has now exploded across NJ and the nation, as other reports of Pearson snooping into student social media accounts have surfaced. Now, in addition to the Watchung Regional School District. Two high schools in the HANOVER PARK REGIONAL HS District (three blocks from my house), and COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL in Maplewood HAVE REPORTED SIMILAR CASES OF PEARSON’S SNOOPING.
Worse – Pearson has confirmed their interests in maintaining test security through monitoring of student social media, and a call this morning to the NJ Department of Education defended the practice as not violating student privacy, because it was obtained not through the school district, but through information posted “publicly” on social media, by the students themselves. PLEASE, PLEASE – read Bob Braun’s entire blog, for which the link appears above. He indicates that his story has NOT been covered by the Star Ledger, for which he used to work!!!
As a result of this news, NJ Commissioner of Education, David Hespe, and Pearson have been called before the NJ Assembly Education Committeethis Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in Trenton to answer questions.
PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING. UNLESS PARENTS AND THE PUBLIC ACT DECISIVELY, THERE IS NO DOUBT THIS UNIMAGINABLE AND OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR, MONITORING OF STUDENT DATA AND ABRIDGEMENT OF EVERYONE’S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH WILL CONTINUE!!!.
PEOPLE GET THE GOVERNMENT THEY DESERVE!!! FAILURE TO ACT WILL ASSURE THAT THIS MONITORING WILL CONTINUE !!!
Here is an excerpt from Braun’s FaceBook blog:
Bob Braun’s Ledger
March 15, 2015
The Brave New World of testing expands
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterEmail this to someoneShare on LinkedInShare on Google+Share on StumbleUpon
BLOG: HANOVER – Two other New Jersey school districts-Hanover Park Regional in East Hanover and South Orange-Maplewood-were notified by state officials that “monitoring”-spying?- Twitter traffic revealed students had used social media accounts to post a forbidden messages regarding the PARCC tests. No surprise, really-it’s happening everywhere, including Maryland where a state official said he gets daily reports from Pearson, the publisher of the standardized tests. on what students are saying about testing on their internet accounts.
“PARCC has a very sophisticated system that closely monitors social media for pretty much everything (comments like the one you shared, test item questions that students use cell phones cameras and take),” said Henry Johnson, the state assistant education commissioner in Maryland. The state, like New Jersey, has a contract with Pearson.
“We get those reports daily.”
Let’s run that one by you again:
“PARCC has a very sophisticated system that closely monitors social media for pretty much everything….”
The phrase “pretty much everything” aptly describes the broad reach of how this brave new world of testing and cooperation with government works. Pearson will say-as it told the Washington Post-that it is doing it for “security” reasons.
But security is itself a broad term. Here is what the State of New Jersey and Pearson agreed encompassed the idea of security and its possible breach-it’s codified in the testing manual developed by the state and sent out to all the districts:
“Revealing or discussing passages or test items with anyone, including students and school staff, through verbal exchange, email, social media, or any other form of communication.”
Another opportunity for repetition for emphasis here-discussing? Any other form of communication?
So, if children come home from school and their parents ask-“How was your day, sweetheart?” and the children talk about a really dumb question on the PARCC, they will be violating the rules and be subject to whatever punishment is meted out for cheating-as a blogger did who learned from a child who hadn’t taken the test that there was a passage on it about The Wizard of Oz.
In addition, research into Pearson has shown that by students logging on to take the test, their district-held “personal” information is forwarded on to Pearson, then to Amazon Cloud servers – where the only remaining protection is a “promise” that whatever companies it is then shared with will have and honor a privacy policy. Pretty risky, given the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to promote Common Core.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Read the entire Braun blog, and FORWARD THIS ON TO EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST!!!! To do this, please use the “forward” buttons at the top and bottom of this e-mail, rather than using your own server to forward, as you may unwittingly “unsubscribe” yourself from our e-mails if someone you sent it to “unsubscribes”.
2. Let’s show up in Trenton on Thursday. Three other bills are on the agenda, in addition to Hespe and Pearson being called to testify. I am told that testimony must be on the bills, not on the privacy issue alone. Therefore, I would suggest that you address your remarks to A4268, that establishes a PARCC task force (deja vu all over again!). Click here for a link to the text of the bill. You will see it looks a whole lot like the bill proposed last spring and ultimately voted on and passed, almost unanimously by the Assembly. This is like tying your child to the train track as the train approaches, but telling him to relax, you’re going to study how fast it is coming, how far it will go, how many people are on board, whether you CAN stop it, etc.!!!
3. Call and/or e-mail all of the contacts for Senate and Assembly Ed committees, and the Governor’s office.
4. Call and/or e-mail your own 2 assembly representatives and your state senator.
Ridgewood Village Council amends residency rules for hiring
MARCH 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015, 10:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
After a lengthy discussion during a work session earlier this month, the Village Council introduced an ordinance last Wednesday amending residency requirements to indicate that all civilian classified titles in Civil Service will be opened to the entire state with the exception of police and fire department public safety titles.
A previous ordinance, which gave preference to Bergen County residents, followed by residents from contiguous counties and then state residents, was adopted unanimously on Aug. 13, 2014, according to the minutes of that night’s meeting. However, this was deemed impermissible by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and was sent back for revisions.
The new ordinance, which was introduced by a 3-2 vote, would open those jobs to residents from anywhere in New Jersey without a tier system.
During discussion on March 4, Councilman Michael Sedon acknowledged that he voted in favor of removing the residency requirement in August, which he said was “a mistake.” He stated his belief that hiring residents from the village puts them ahead of those from outside of Ridgewood.
I wanted to let you know that we experienced at least 6 car burglaries overnight with one car stolen. Surrounding towns have had a similar experience.
Ridgewood Police reported ,on March 16, 2015 the Ridgewood Police Department responded to six reports of car entries on Heights Road, Crest Road and Sunset Avenue. The vehicles were unlocked and unknown items were taken.
A 2009 Escalade was also reported stolen from a Sunset Avenue home. These matters are all under investigation.
The Ridgewood Police Department would like to remind residents that they should lock all car doors and never leave the keys in the vehicle. Items that may be expensive and vulnerable to theft should not be left in the vehicle. Please report any suspicious persons immediately.
Please take note of the following precautions with your vehicles:
Please do not leave your cars unlocked in your driveway.
Please do not leave any valuables in your car; if you have valuables in your car make sure they are not visible.
Please do not leave your car keys in your car, make sure they are in a safe place.
The Ridgewood Police Department is actively working on this. If you see something suspicious, please contact the Police Department. We will apprise you of any progress on this matter when available.
Be safe,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
-PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS-
Fort Lee man among three charged in alleged burglary scheme targeting seniors
MARCH 13, 2015, 8:49 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015, 9:38 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Police have arrested a Fort Lee man and two others who allegedly ran a scheme targeting elderly people across several states by distracting them while their homes were burglarized, authorities said Friday in a news release.
The men were caught by a law enforcement task force after they allegedly attempted to run the scam in Ridgewood on Tuesday but came away from a Greenway Lane home without taking anything, said Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano. The men were arrested in Lyndhurst, he said.
The task force had been assembled in Somerset County after the three men allegedly stole a safe with $75,000 cash and an undisclosed amount of jewelry from a 90-year-old woman in Somerville late last year; one of the men had distracted her by saying he was with the water company and had come to check the pipes, Soriano said.
Support Covenant House for Homeless Teens Teens and Broadway Stars Sing for Homeless Kids– March 24 Local Voice Teacher Prepares Covenant House Youth to Perform in Ridgewood, NJ On March 24, a very exciting musical event – A Night of FUTURE Broadway Stars – will be bursting out of the windows of Ben Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood beginning at 7:00 pm.
Shining stars from high schools around Bergen County will be performing show stopping tunes alongside Broadway Stars John Treacy Egan (The Producers, Nice Work), Sally Ann Skoric (Jekyll and Hyde, Victor Victoria), Richard Todd Adams, (Phantom, Les Miserables) and David Elder (Curtains, 42nd Street) to benefit Covenant House New Jersey. “One of my favorite days of the year is the day I go down to Covenant House in Newark and meet the young person who will be singing at our show with my students,” says Susan McBrayer. “Wait until everyone hears David. He is so talented, and such a joy!” Students from Stage Right, Art of Motion, McBrayer Vocal Studio, and Ridgewood High School will also be there sharing their talents and their passions to help homeless youth. “This will be my 5th year to perform at A Night of FUTURE Broadway Stars and I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” exclaimed Sally Ann Skoric, a Broadway performer and Ridgewood mother. “My students at Art of Motion are busy rehearsing their big number! And I heard today that Hollywood Anderson, a beautiful Covenant House youth who made it all the way to Hollywood this year on American Idol will be with us too! How fun is that going to be?” Several young men and women from Covenant House will share their inspirational stories and be singing in the finale. “Each of our homeless kids comes to us with their own story, and we don’t turn any away. We are so grateful to all of these performers – close to 100 Bergen County students – and volunteers who are making it possible for us to keep our doors open for the young people who need us”, says Marcia Mann,
Development Director for Covenant House New Jersey. Covenant House New Jersey serves homeless young men and women between the ages of 18 and 21 at crisis centers and transitional housing in Newark, Montclair, Elizabeth, and Atlantic City. A Night of FUTURE Broadway Stars, March 24, 7:00 pm at Ben Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, NJ. Tickets are $25, $20 for Students and Seniors, and can purchased on-line at chnj.booktix.com, and at the door. For more information, contact Marcia Mann at [email protected].
Mark Cuban: Forgiving student loans is ‘bailout’ for universities
March 13, 2015
Victor Skinner
DALLAS – Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire investor Mark Cuban is waving red flags at higher education, and he’s arguing against the idea to forgive student debt amid the current “student-loan bubble.”
“Forgiving the debt is the worst thing you can do, because all it does is bail out the universities,” Cuban recently told Business Insider.
Cuban’s comments come a week after Sweet Briar College announced it will close following the spring 2015 semester “as a result of insurmountable financial challenges,” according to the news site.
The closure is the latest in what Cuban calls a “student loan bubble” brought on by a cycle of ever-increasing tuition and student loans. Cuban, who bought collegedebt.com to keep tabs on student loan debt, believes it’s simply a matter of time before the benefits of higher education are outweighed by the costs.
“What you thought you were going to get in quality of life by going to that college,” he told Business Insider, “you’ve just undermined with the amount of debt you’re taking on.”
Collegedebt.com shows student loan debt in the United States currently totals about $1.3 trillion.
Cuban told Business Insider that an initiative laid out by President Obama this week to help students with federal student loans may have some merit, but cautioned against a college debt bailout.
“Anything that causes lenders and service companies to act fairly is a good thing,” he said. “The challenge is that you can’t subsidize or forgive existing debt without very strict rules. Otherwise it allows schools to tell future students not to worry. They too will get some portion forgiven. Which in turn gives the school more leeway to raise tuition.”
Cuban said he thinks a bailout would only exasperate the current situation.
After news of the Sweet Briar College closure last week, Cuban tweeted “this is just the beginning of the college implosion.”
“At some point,” he said, the student loan bubble is “going to pop.”
Cuban told Inc.’s GrowCo conference last year that if he was “running the economy, I’d go and say, ‘Sallie Mae, the maximum amount that you’re allowed to guarantee for any student in a year is $10,000, period, end of story,’” according to Business Insider.
“There’s all kinds of things that have been proposed to reduce existing student debt,” he said. “At some point, there’s got to be legislation where we put a limit on how much you can take out on a loan.”
Commissioner Hespe Talks PARCC Testing to Senate Education Committee
Given the debate swirling around the new PARCC assessments — not to mention the muted roar over the testing itself — state Education Commissioner David Hespe should have plenty to say when he goes before the State Senate education committee this morning to answer questions from legislators.
The discussion is sure to get another jolt from the two pending bills that could significantly affect the testing going forward: one to put a moratorium on using the new tests for evaluating students, teachers, and schools and another setting a statewide policy for families who want their kids to sit out the tests. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
Ridgewood settles resident’s sewage ‘blowback’ case for almost $22,000
MARCH 11, 2015, 9:59 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015, 10:04 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD NJ— The village has agreed to pay $21,920 to settle a resident’s claim for repairs to her finished basement that flooded when the municipality cleared its sewer lines last September.
The settlement was approved Wednesday night by Mayor and Council.
Resident Jill Feeney said she reached out to village officials soon after discovering the carpet in her basement was soggy and stank.
“It literally smelled like the men’s room at Penn Station on a hot day,” Feeney said Wednesday, noting one foot of sewage-contaminated water was forced up through the drain in her basement’s sink by the village’s work.
As village crews worked to unclog a sewer line next to her Stevens Avenue home in September, Feeney said a pocket of pressurized air formed within a nearby sewer line — the pipe leading to her basement’s sink. The air escaped through the sink, and the contaminated water followed, tainting everything it touched.
Plumbers refer to this rare phenomenon as “blowback.”
MARCH 11, 2015, 11:59 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015, 12:10 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – A councilwoman with three sons in line for village police jobs claims several officials broke the law last month by meeting behind closed doors to discuss changes to Ridgewood’s residency requirement.
“This belonged in open session,” Councilwoman Susan Knudsen insisted at a recent council meeting, noting no specific village employee’s position was discussed during the closed-door meeting, but rather a policy relating to Ridgewood’s hiring practices.
“We did not follow the law,” Knudsen said. “That’s not an allegation, it’s a fact.”
But Village Attorney Matthew Rogers maintains officials acted appropriately, saying “the topic under discussion” by the council that evening “fit into the exceptions” outlined in the Open Public Meetings Act.
The village’s labor attorney also concluded the council did not violate the law.
“Generally, at the time the decision was made, it is my understanding there was reason to believe such discussions could impact upon the terms and conditions of employment of specific prospective employees or employee groups,” said Beth Hinsdale-Piller.
