>57% of Likely U.S. Voters see the president as more liberal than they are
Most voters still believe President Obama is more liberal than they are, while just one-out-of-four say they share the same ideological views as the president.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters think Obama is more ideologically liberal than they are, while only 13% view him as more conservative. Twenty-four percent (24%) say their political views are about the same as the president’s. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The number who see the president as more liberal than they are stayed at 57% in three-out-of-four previous surveys conducted since August of last year. That number climbed to 61% in late February. The number who view the president as more conservative ranged from nine percent (9%) to 12% in that same period.
The Annual Village home owner flight is upon us the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ – So its that time of the year again when a new generation of High School seniors graduates and looks forward to reshaping the world in their own image . The Future looks bright and there are nothing but an endless horizon of possibilities for as far as the eye can see .
But wait whats this , hundreds of homes for sale in the Village well timed for sellers to coincidentally skate just in the nick of time for the diplomas to be passed to the next generation of leaders. Amazing how those moving trucks line up in the driveways so neatly of so many now former Ridgewood residents their bags packed
Now the empty Nester’s take flight ,yes flight from bills due for turf fields, stadium lights , and assorted other amenities that’s useful life has now been fulfilled and long term liabilities must be avoided at all cost for over extended families.Leaving those left with ever higher property taxes , declining maintenance, quality of life and lower educational standards .
>Firms to cut health plans as reform starts: survey 30% of companies say they’ll stop offering Health Insurance coverage due to Obamacare
By Russ Britt, MarketWatch LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Once provisions of the Affordable Care Act start to kick in during 2014, at least three of every 10 employers will probably stop offering health coverage, a survey released Monday shows.
While only 7% of employees will be forced to switch to subsidized-exchange programs, at least 30% of companies say they will “definitely or probably” stop offering employer-sponsored coverage, according to the study published in McKinsey Quarterly.
The survey of 1,300 employers says those who are keenly aware of the health-reform measure probably are more likely to consider an alternative to employer-sponsored plans, with 50% to 60% in this group expected to make a change. It also found that for some, it makes more sense to switch.
Desperate to nail Christie the main stream media pulls out the “black helicopter” theory . Perhaps the mainstream media wouldn’t mind telling everyone where they were during the creation of $56 billion Pension deficit or the $66 billion health care problem or perhaps the $500 million more for the failed Abbott schools ? And what about the $6.4 billion gone missing from the school construction authority or the $3 billion gone from Highway Transportation trust fund ? Where was the media during the 9% or was it 13% pay raise for state workers ,but hey the State of New Jersey only has an annual $10 billion dollar deficit . Should I go on it’s gonna be a long night…..
In Ridgewood we spend more for golden toilets at Vets field than the Governor did .Sorry folks but what Ridgewood parent wouldn’t fly to their kids LAX game in a chopper if they could or they probably do . It’s for the children and you know you would . Sorry but this helicopter story is just too much of an insult to everyonesintelligence even in a state that brought you the Jim McGreevy follies , ‘the Jersey Shore ” and the “Jersey House Wives” TV shows.
PJ Blogger
Gov. Christie calls Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle a ‘jerk’ for criticizing his use of State Police copter
Gov. Chris Christie Thursday criticized Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) for criticizing him for using a State Police helicopter to fly from Trenton to Montvale Tuesday to watch his son Andrew play in a high school playoff baseball game. Vainieri Huttle charged the governor wasted taxpayers dollars flying to the game where he then stayed until the 5th inning before flying off to a political meeting in Princeton. (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)
>Hackensack University Medical Center formally applied for state permission to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital
Hackensack formally applies to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY JUNE 1, 2011, 8:47 PM BY LINDY WASHBURN AND MARY JO LAYTON STAFF WRITERS THE RECORD
Hackensack University Medical Center formally applied for state permission Wednesday to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood as a 128-bed full-service community hospital. If approved, the for-profit hospital would open late next year.
The Westwood hospital closed due to bankruptcy in November 2007. The new plan aims to address the state’s looming physician shortage as well as provide patient care to the northeastern part of Bergen County, which has been underserved since Pascack closed due to bankruptcy in November 2007, said Robert C. Garrett, Hackensack’s president and chief executive officer.
The application is “the next phase of restoring much needed healthcare services to the Pascack Valley and Northern Valley,” Garrett said.
Although a final decision on the application is not expected until November, Hackensack’s joint-venture partner appears confident enough of the application’s success to have named a chief executive officer for the new facility.
There are seven seats on the state Supreme Court. Four votes are normally required to issue a binding opinion and order action. The ruling of the court last week on public school funding, mandating a half-billion-dollar increase in state aid for poor districts, was written by Justice Jaynee LaVecchia. (Ahearn, The Record)
Students at the Cooperative Nursery School of Ridgewood took to their tricycles on May 24th to help St. Jude’s. The children participated in the Trike a Thon to raise money for the research center. They got to help out a great cause, have fun and learn about riding safety. This is just one of the many fun events that children participate in while at the Co-op.
A nonsectarian school, The Co-op also offers morning and afternoon classes for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds, as well as Mommy & Me classes and Kindergarten enrichment. Setting the school apart from other nursery schools, The Co-op is organized and run by the parents. This enables parents to actively participate in their child’s early learning experience. Music, physical education, field trips, indoor and outdoor play time and an in-house library are just a few of the experiences to which the children are exposed as supplements to the daily education plans.
For more information on the school or to set up an appointment to visit, please call (201) 447-6232 or email the school at [email protected].
>New Jersey Choral Society Concert Benefits Center for Food Action
Experience the passion, spirituality, and richly diverse musical legacies of Antonin Dvorák and Leonard Bernstein as the New Jersey Choral Society presents “Legacy” on Friday, June 3 at 8:00 pm in Ridgewood’s West Side Presbyterian Church and on Saturday, June 4 at 8:00 pm in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Montclair. Under the direction of dynamic conductor Eric Dale Knapp, the New Jersey Choral Society concludes its 30th Anniversary Season with a reflective and uplifting program featuring Antonin Dvorák’s lyrical meditation Mass in D Major with its tuneful, folk-like melodies and Leonard Bernstein’s famous Chichester Psalms(Ridgewood performance only), a rhythmic, dramatic, yet fundamentally spiritual choral work of a number of Hebrew psalm texts. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ romantic and transcendentalToward the Unknown Region, based on the poetry of Walt Whitman, will conclude the program. Linda Sweetman-Waters will be featured on the organ. Solists for this event are Katie DeLavega, soprano, Alicia Luick, mezzo-soprano, Daniel Lynch Jr., tenor, Bruce Cain, bass, and Jake Lucas, boy soprano. Come one hour prior to concert times for The Inside Line, a complimentary lecture for all ticket holders. Hosted by the NJCS Board of Trustees (Emily Hewetson, President) and friends, the lecture will feature “A New Jersey Choral Society 30th Anniversary Retrospective: where we have been and the exciting future of NJCS.” In support of the Center for Food Action, the New Jersey Choral Society will be collecting nonperishable food items at each concert. Donated food items can be deposited in one of the receptacles in the lobby.
The Center for Food Action is a non-profit organization that provides emergency food, rental and utility assistance, counseling and advocacy for people in need. Advance tickets are $20.00 for general admission, $17.00 for students, seniors, and patrons with disabilities, and $12 for children 12 and under (Add $5.00 at the door). Season subscriptions and group discounts are available. The West Side Presbyterian Church and the Church of the Immaculate Conception are wheelchair accessible and large print and Braille programs are available with two weeks notice. For reservations or more information, call the New Jersey Choral Society at (201) 379-7719 or visithttps://www.njcs.org. Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.
The forecast for the summer driving season: Hit the road early. Not to beat the traffic, but to beat the higher gas prices expected in mid-July.
Goldman Sachs’ crystal ball is proclaiming that oil will soon soar to $135 a barrel, and likely have service stations jacking up fuel prices to $5 a gallon in New York just like the summer of 2008 that preceded the recession.
>Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending – May 2011 Introduction
The Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending (Taxpayers’ Guide) provides officials and the public the opportunity to view and compare all dollars spent on students for which public schools must provide services. Since previously reported per pupil costs did not include all expenditures, the Department has created a new variable that includes the total amount that is actually spent on students from preschool through grade 12.
The “Total Spending” calculation enhances the Budgetary Per Pupil Cost (formerly known as the Total Comparative Cost) by adding previously omitted categories of spending. Specifically, the Department added the following expenditures to arrive at the total spending number: transportation, special revenues, pension and benefits paid by the state, facilities (including debt service), equipment, total food services, judgments against the school district, and tuition/costs for students sent out of district (except payments to Charter schools). Consistent with the decision to include tuition for students sent out of district, the associated students are added to the enrollment denominator.
In addition to the new total spending measure, the Budgetary Per Pupil Cost Indicators are included to allow districts to review and compare various components of a school district’s annual budgeted data with other districts in the state through a series of “indicators” presenting costs on a per pupil basis. The Budgetary Per Pupil Cost is the amount that districts publish in their User-Friendly Budgets prior to the school election. It was formerly called the “Total Comparative Cost.” Unless otherwise noted in the indicator descriptions, districts are ranked from lowest to highest costs.
> Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee recognizes and thanks those who make it all possible
It is with great enthusiasm and gratitude that the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee recognizes and thanks the following businesses and residents for their role in making it all possible. Without the generous support from participants like these, our celebration would not happen. Because of their generous support Ridgewood has one of the best small town Independence Day observations and a Parade that brings 30,000 people into the business district.
Applebee’s, Baumgarts Café, C.C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home, Columbia Bank, Country Pancake House, Daily Treat Restaurant, Dr. Kevin J. Emery, Fidelity Lodge #113, Free Masons, Home, James LLC, It’s Greek to Me, Susan E. and Edwin P. Kane, North Jersey Community Bank, Omega Settlement, Ridgewood Fire Volunteers, Ridgewood PBA Local 20, Ridgewood Press , Carl Rockermann, DMD, David L. Rutherford, Attorney at Law, Dr. Timothy Santo, Tarvin Realtors, Ulrich, Inc., Valley Hospital and Washington Elm Post 192. The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration is organized by the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee, an all-volunteer community group. The Committee is not part of the Village of Ridgewood government and receives no direct funding from the Village. All aspects of the Celebration including fireworks, bands, evening performers, insurance, some police and fire personnel, are funded by voluntary assistance from businesses and individuals as well as the sale of fireworks tickets.
The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee will sponsor its 101st anniversary parade and fireworks on Monday, July 4, 2011. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Celebrate the Constitution”. It is vital that we have community support. Please consider helping to “Support the Tradition”. Because of generous support from the community, we have one of the best small town Independence Day celebrations. Donations may be made online at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org or by mailing your check Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration, Inc., P.O. Box 140, Ridgewood, NJ 07451. Additional information and answers to many of your questions can be found on the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration’s website at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org. Thank you for “Supporting the Tradition,”
Margie Downs President Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee
N.J. Agriculture Dept. touts state’s national ranking in plant, flower sales
An agricultural survey released Friday helped maintain New Jersey’s nickname as the Garden State, as sales of plants and flowers grew 7 percent last year over 2009’s total. (Hassan, State Street Wire)
New Jersey officials seek approval to change Medicaid structure
State health officials are seeking federal approval to significantly change the way New Jersey handles Medicaid, as Gov. Chris Christie’s administration looks to save $300 million on the health care program for low-income and disabled residents. (Harper, Press of Atlantic City)
New Jersey Senate Republicans have been asked to consider taking a unified position on public education, including removing the state Supreme Court from school-funding decisions and granting the Legislature the power to determine what it means to provide a “thorough and efficient” education in public schools. (Delli Santi, The Associated Press)
