Posted on Leave a comment

>$48 million dollar Referendum :85% of the entire budget goes to teachers’ comp and benefits

>I hate taxes as much as anyone. But, your logic is absurd. It sounds like what you are suggesting is that we should stop spending what is necessary to maintain our schools and allow our school system to deteriorate. Then young families won’t move here and the existing families can stay here after their kids move away, without fear of tax increases to pay for other people’s kids’ education, the way previous families did for their children. Is that about right?

So, what you want is for Ridgewood to gradually become a town with a run down school system full of elderly people with no kids, who pay low taxes. Sounds like you should move to Saddle River.

Besides, the whole reason that people move to Ridgewood is because it is such a family town. I never heard anyone say “let’s raise our family in Ridgewood…its a great retirement community.”

I have a little dose of reality for you. Families moving to town is not what forces the BOE to issue bonds, resulting in tax increases. There are two primary reasons for the need for bond issuance.

1) The BOE is not allowed to set aside funds for long-term planned maintenance or construction. Every dime in the school budget must be spend in that fiscal year. Therefore, when large unexpected expenses impact the budget, like $millions for a new roof, or large construction projects must be undertaken, like GW School, the only way to fund them is through a special bond issuance.

2) The reason the school budget is so tight and there is no wiggle room for unexpected expenses or large projects, is that 85% of the entire budget goes to teachers’ comp and benefits. The negotiated contract that the BOE has to deal with sucks all the money out of our $90mm budget. There is nothing left for the operation and maintenance of the school system. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should pay teachers well. But, they do not need to be over paid, given guranteed employment and automatic raises. Oh, and by the way, even though we’ve been in a deflationary environment for the past 18-24 months, you and I made less money last year and our friends got laid off, the teachers got their automatic maximum slaray increase in 2008 and they will get it again this year.
Bookmark and Share

Microsoft Store

Posted on Leave a comment

>Rasmussen Reports: Christie takes back lead in New Jersey

>With just a week to go in New Jersey’s closely contested race for governor, Republican Chris Christie holds a three-point advantage over incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Jersey show Christie with 46% of the vote and Corzine with 43%. While the margin is little changed from a week ago and the week before, the biggest news may be that support for independent candidate Chris Daggett has dropped four points to seven percent (7%). The number of undecided voters is down to four percent (4%).

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2009/new_jersey/election_2009_new_jersey_governor

Posted on Leave a comment

>Paul Aronsohn Joins MWW Group as Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs

>Congrats! from the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Aronsohn Brings Nearly Two Decades of Private and Public Sector Experience asFormer Pfizer Executive, Congressional Candidate, Member of Clinton andMcGreevey Administrations and Current Ridgewood Councilman

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — MWW Group (https://www.mww.com/), one ofthe nation’s top 10 public relations firms, announced today that Paul Aronsohnhas joined the company as a vice president. Aronsohn brings nearly 20 years ofexperience working directly with elected officials, legislators,administrators and corporate executives. His extensive communications andpublic affairs background spans across both the public and private sectors. As a result, Aronsohn will service roles in both MWW’s corporate and publicaffairs practice.
Aronsohn’s experience includes senior public affairs positions at Pfizer Inc.and within the Clinton and McGreevey Administrations. Additionally, hecurrently serves as a Councilman in Ridgewood, N.J.

“Paul is an outstanding addition to our team. He brings extensive experienceand perspective to our team, gained from having worked in high level positionsin the private sector and in the top levels of federal and state government,”said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group. “His insider’sknowledge and deep network of relationships will be a tremendous asset to ourteam and clients.”

Before joining MWW Group, Aronsohn served as a public affairs executive atPfizer Inc., where he led public affairs efforts to promote life enhancing,life saving medicines and handled issues management on international, nationaland regional levels.

Previously, Aronsohn ran for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th CongressionalDistrict, receiving a higher percentage of the vote than any Democrat inrecent decades. Prior to that, he served for a year as communicationsdirector and spokesperson for then Governor James McGreevey. Aronsohn alsospent eight years working on foreign policy and national security issues as amember of the Clinton Administration. At the U.S. Department of State, hehandled a wide range of international security matters – fromnon-proliferation to arms control to peacekeeping to Middle East policy.Aronsohn also served three American Ambassadors to the United NationsMadeleine Albright, Bill Richardson, and Richard Holbrooke.

Aronsohn is currently a Councilman in Ridgewood, NJ where he works on issuesacross both the public and private sectors. He is also a member of RotaryInternational and a Board Member of the National Spinal Cord InjuryAssociation. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from The GeorgeWashington University.

About MWW GroupMWW Group is one of the nation’s top ten public relations agencies and isknown for its results-driven approach to public relations and “Aim High.Deliver” commitment to client service. For four years in a row, MWW Group washonored with the #1 ranking in the Holmes Report agency client satisfactionsurvey. MWW Group achieved top rankings in the categories of accountleadership, strength of account team, creativity, strategy and planning, andprogram execution. In 2008, MWW Group was named PR Agency of the Year by TheAmerican Business Awards and Mid-size PR Firm of the Year by PR News, inrecognition of the firm’s growth, strategic account leadership andindustry-leading employee retention. MWW Group is part of the InterpublicGroup of Companies (NYSE: IPG).

SOURCE MWW Group

Karla Merida of MWW Group, +1-212-827-3756, [email protected]
Bookmark and Share

Posted on Leave a comment

>Suit Threatened against Ridgewood for "Sunshine" Violations

>I chair the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project and thought that your blog’s readers might be interested to know of my plan to gather up ALL the Village Council’s meeting minutes, including work sessions, regular meetings, special meetings and closed meeting, from July 1, 2008 through to September 30, 2009 and put them on-line. I’m doing this because the Village’s web site is not up to date and I believe that citizens should have ready access to the Village Council’s meeting minutes. (Note, this matter has already been reported in the Ridgewood News.)

I put the minutes that I have gathered so far, plus a table that shows which ones I’m still seeking access to, on the Internet at

https://www.lpcnj.org/OGTF/RidgewoodMinutes.pdf

Also, I learned that the Village is improperly suppressing minutes from public meetings held as early as March 2009 and executive meetings held as early as November 2008. Since the Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act requires meeting minutes to made “promptly available,” I have notified the Mayor and Council that I will file suit unless they discuss the matter at their October 28, 2009 meeting and agree to make substantial changes to their minute release policy by October 30, 2009. My letter to the Mayor and Council, that contains a draft of the lawsuit I intend on filing, is on the Internet at

https://www.lpcnj.org/OGTF/RidgewoodLawsuitThreat.pdf

If you would like more information, contact me at 732-873-1251.

John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey
Bookmark and Share

3balls Golf Bargain Basementshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=184674

Posted on Leave a comment

>Man about Town… Events in Ridgewood

>
RHS Lacrosse Car Wash

Rescheduled to Saturday, October 31
The Ridgewood High School Girls Lacrosse Teams’ Car Wash has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 31 from 10AM to 2PM in the Ridgewood High School Parking Lot near E. Ridgewood Avenue entrance. Good opportunity to support the 2010 RHS Girls Lacrosse teams!

Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Networking in Ridgewood

Tue, November 10, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM Location: A Mano, 24 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood
Cost:$10 Ridgewood Chamber Members,$15 all others
FREE PARKING IN RIDGEWOOD AFTER 6PM! RSVP by November 9. Call 201-445-2600 or email [email protected], fax 201-251-1958.

Microsoft Store

Posted on Leave a comment

>The Record endorses Russo and Rumana for Assembly over Agostinelli and Bombace

>The Record: Rumana, Russo in the 40th
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Record

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/65963057.html

THE REPUBLICAN primary campaign for the Assembly in the 40th District was not pretty to watch. The feud that had long simmered between Passaic County Republican Party Chairman Scott T. Rumana and his rivals, Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca, spilled over into a full-scale civil war.

There were two different Republican tickets in many Passaic County Assembly district races. But in the 40th, where Rumana was also an incumbent, the race was most bitter.

In the end, Rumana and his running mate David C. Russo beat back the challenge and seem in fit form as they head toward the home stretch in a heavily Republican district.

Indeed, the wounds from infighting have begun to heal, and there is little reason not to support the incumbents for reelection. Rumana, the former Wayne mayor, and Russo, of Ridgewood, are both attorneys. Russo seeks an 11th term in the Assembly. Both men are fiscal conservatives and social moderates, attuned to the values and concerns of their district and to the ever-escalating cost of living in New Jersey. Each favors leaner state government, and Rumana, in particular, has been an outspoken critic of the new, tougher regulations on affordable housing.

The problem we have with Rumana is not about policy. It is about his continued role as Passaic County Republican Party chairman. It might not have hurt his campaign for reelection, but certainly it hurts his party. More important, it is a distraction he doesn’t need as he works for the people of the 40th District.

Russo and Rumana’s challengers are Democrats John Agostinelli, a civil engineer from Little Falls and Mark Bombace, a firefighter and former school board member from Ridgewood.

Both men are earnest and eager and serious about public service. Agostinelli just missed being elected mayor of Little Falls a year ago. He sees many of Trenton’s problems occurring because of a “lack of planning.” Bombace believes the state’s recovery rests on a stronger education system that measures “one student at a time, based on their individual potential.”

Overall, though, and by comparison to their opponents, Agostinelli and Bombace lack governing experience and a full grasp of the issues and hard choices that must be made in Trenton in the coming term. Facing an $8 billion budget deficit, the Legislature needs as many fiscally prudent lawmakers as it can find. Rumana and Russo fit that bill.

The Record endorses Russo and Rumana for Assembly.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/65963057.html

Posted on Leave a comment

>Stay In Touch ………….

>If your looking to run ads or get in touch with the Ridgewood Blog please send all correspondence to [email protected]

thank you for your support!!!!

Special Events
Garage Sales
Open Houses
Birthday’s,
Birth Announcements
Obits
News
Tips
ADVERTS
blogging

thanks again

PJ Blogger
the Ridgewood Blog

also now on twitter : www.twitter.com/ridgewoodblog

Speak Your Mind ……………………..

bicycle

Bookmark and Share

Posted on Leave a comment

>Why Punish the 85% that have earned insurance benefits to reward those that do not?

>

So why would we allow this? Punish the 85% that have earned insurance benefits to reward those that do not…wouldn’t it be the ‘smart’ thing to help that 15% without insurance ( Which I believe we already do through State Benefits for the poor and disabled) before we attempt to ‘dictate’ to all what coverage they will be ‘allowed’. We have the best health care in the entire world- don’t fix what isn’t broken…what we currently have can be improved upon but by no means should it be dismantled. This plan to reform our entire health care system is not helpful; it is harmful. America is smarter than this- don’t let the government insult our intelligence any longer. We are all fully capable of choosing for ourselves what is best for our families! They work for us~ we don’t work for them!
Bookmark and Share

Posted on Leave a comment

$48 million dollar Referendum :Today’s Rain is another perfect example of why the village needs the turf fields

Today was another perfect example of why the village needs the turf fields proposed in the BOE referendum. For the third time in six weeks, the RJFA was forced to cancel their Saturday flag football program due to over-saturtion of the fields at Vets. Families paid $75 per child for this program, which plays once a week on Saturday mornings from 8-9am. About 80 2nd and 3rd graders spend about 20 minutes going through basic skill drills and then spend the rest of the hour scrimaging against other teams of 5-6 within the program. This is a great introduction to football in a fun environment. Yet, the children have only been able to play 3 times this fall, due to rain the night before.

Our fields drain so poorly, that they cannot handle even modest amounts of rain, forcing the closure of fields and/or cancellation of sporting events that these children look forward to all week and parents spend several hundred to thousands of dollars for (esspecially when more than one child is involved).

So, while I would rather have grass fields in a “perfect world”, in the reality of Ridgewood today we need more fields like the one at Maple. These fields are safe and do not have “residue” (dangerous or otherwise) that comes off, as claimed in the post above. These fields would provide an environmental benefit by saving approximately 100,000 car tires from being placed in land-fills, avoiding thousands of pounds of fertilizer and chemicals from being deposited in the flood plain and saving hundreds of hours of mowing at each field each year. In addition, most kids prefer the synthetic surface for some reason.

Between last spring and this fall, over 30% of youth sports practices and games scheduled on Ridgewood fields (other than Maple) have been canceled or moved to Maple. That is simply unacceptable. If the BOE can build fields at Stevens and RHS that have the same aesthetic appeal of Maple, then I am strongly in favor of the proposal in the referendum.

Bookmark and Share

Posted on Leave a comment

>The Tepid Pool? — Choices We Make in Connecting with Nature

>
Human-Nature
Our relationship with the natural world.
by Peter H. Kahn, Jr., Ph.D.

Created Oct 23 2009 – 12:05am

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/human-nature/200910/the-tepid-pool-choices-we-make-in-connecting-nature

In a New Jersey town, a controversy about a pool has pitted neighbor against neighbor. Here’s the issue, as reported in the New York Times (9/7/2009). There’s a natural swimming hole, called Graydon Pool. It’s 2.6 acres. For over 90 years, children in that town have grown up swimming in this pool. It has a sandy bottom. Cool spring currents flow into it. But many residents would like to plow under this natural pool and replace it with a blue, concrete pool with “thoroughly disinfected” chlorinated water. They call this a “real pool” – a “bona fide pool.”

My colleague, Dr. Pat Hasbach (a clinical psychologist in Eugene, Oregon) and I recently presented a paper at the North American Association for Environmental Education. In our presentation, we asked: What would be missed by future generations if the “bona fide pool” people win out? For one thing, kids and adults won’t feel the sand between their toes. They won’t sense the fluctuations of water temperature in places where the cool streams feed into the pool. They won’t experience the periodicity of usage due to the seasonal fluctuations, the presence of bugs that might land on the water and birds that might be on the shore, leading to a deeper connection to a natural ecosystem. They’ll lose a sense of healthy fear that emerges in unstructured bodies of water.

Children will lose these experiences and not even be aware they’ve lost them. This is the issue I’ve written about in other posts as the problem of Environmental General Amnesia [click here; and also here]. The problem is that as we lose the richness and depth of pervasiveness of interaction with nature, we shift the baseline of what is recognized as healthy nature experience.
To counter the problem of Environmental Generational Amnesia, there’s a lot of work being done in connecting children to local, domestic nature. In his important book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv develops this idea. My co-edited volume, Children and Nature, speaks to this issue, as well.

But what I’ve written about in an earlier post [click here] is that to flourish children need to interact not only with domestic nature, but wild nature.

If we’re brainstorming on a grand level, maybe there’s a new movement to start. Maybe we could call it – The Rewilding of the Child Movement. Or maybe that’s part of a larger movement: The Rewilding of the Human Species Movement! And likely enough, to rewild the species we need to rewild ourselves. How do we rewild ourselves? I’ve been wondering about that. I’ve been trying to feel a little of what that space might be like. With that in mind, here’s a brief personal reflection, which I used to conclude the conference presentation to environmental educators:

There’s a mountain pool that you find hiking up the wild river. The water emerges into it from porous volcanic rock. The water flows from the cold country. It’s too cold to plunge in. But you’re in. You’re in because your lover is nearby and you need to prove your manly-hood. But just as fast you’re out. Your mind can’t believe that mere water can be that cold. It would have been twenty strokes across. You give up that thought. You need to get warm fast. How? It’s easy. You move naked to your beloved and put your arms around each other. Other people say that that pool is too cold. You can’t swim in it. They say let’s make a better one. They do. It’s filled with chlorinated water that’s not too hot and not too cold. Every day of the year it’s that same temperature. It’s called the tepid pool. The pool-man comes once a week. He squeegees the sides and adds blue dye and oils the pump. The pool-man says you gotta love the tepid pool.

Where would you like to swim? Your choice.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/human-nature/200910/the-tepid-pool-choices-we-make-in-connecting-nature

Posted on Leave a comment

>Democrats Agostinelli & Bombace offer Voters Incentive

>Agostinelli & Bombace Will Donate a Portion of Assembly Salaries for 40th District Grants

‘Running for office isn’t about padding salaries – but serving the people’

Ridgewood, NJ – John Agostinelli and Mark Bombace are pledging to donate portions of their Assembly salaries if elected in November to various grants throughout the 40th District. Agostinelli and Bombace will donate to various scholarship and educational opportunities to send a message to 40th District voters that their Number One reasoning for running is to serve – not to pad their salaries.

“John and I never got in this race to make money,” stated Bombace, “We want to give back to our communities – and since we are financially stable – we thought it appropriate to create more opportunities for the district by donating to various causes.”

“This was never about the salary that an Assembly member receives,” stated Agostinelli. “We want to give back to the various charities and scholarship organizations in the 40th. If we are honored to serve for the 40th District – this seems like a no-brainer to the both of us.”

Election Day is Tuesday November 3rd, 2009. The 40th Legislative District encompasses parts of Bergen, Essex, and Passaic Counties, including the following towns: Cedar Grove Franklin Lakes, Little Falls, Mahwah, Midland Park, Oakland Ridgewood, Ringwood, Verona, Wanaque, Wayne, and Wyckoff.

www.40thDistrict.com

Posted on Leave a comment

>Democrats Lose Big Test Vote on Health Legislation

>October 22, 2009

Democrats Lose Big Test Vote on Health Legislation
By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/health/policy/22health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

WASHINGTON — Democrats lost a big test vote on health care legislation on Wednesday as the Senate blocked action on a bill to increase Medicare payments to doctors at a cost of $247 billion over 10 years.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, needed 60 votes to proceed. He won only 47. And he could not blame Republicans. A dozen Democrats and one independent crossed party lines and voted with Republicans on the 53 to 47 roll call.

The Medicare bill has become a proxy for larger issues in the debate over legislation to overhaul the health care system.

Mr. Reid said the bill, by averting big cuts in physician fees, guaranteed that doctors would continue accepting Medicare patients. But since none of the costs were offset or paid for, Republicans said it was fiscally irresponsible, and some Democrats said they shared that concern.

By addressing doctors’ fees in a separate bill, Senate Democrats could hold down the cost of the broader health legislation, keeping it within the limits set by President Obama. House Democrats are considering a similar tactic. Republicans said it was a transparent ploy to hide the cost of a health care overhaul.

Democrats had hoped that by passing the Medicare bill they could appease doctors and secure their support for the broader legislation.

Senate Democratic leaders said the bill to protect doctors’ fees had strong support from the White House, the American Medical Association and AARP.

Among the Democrats who voted against the party leadership were Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bill Nelson of Florida and Ron Wyden of Oregon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/health/policy/22health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Posted on Leave a comment

>$48 million dollar Referendum: Turf Field or Turf Toe?

>The cost for the turf alone will be well below the total cost that the BOE has put in the proposal. Based on current prices, similar projects in the area and the cost of the turf for of Maple Park the cost of the turf alone should be in the $2.2 to $2.5 million dollar range. The BOE has include other items in the cost of the project including new bleachers, a press box, new fences, electrical upgrades, removal of the track at RHS, and construction of a new track at BF. There is no turf scheduled for BF.

The problem with the sound bite world we live in now is that the entire proposal gets boiled down “$50 million for Turf!” or “$6 million for Turf!” and neither one is true. With off sets from the State the total cost to taxpayers of the entire proposal is closer to $38 million (still A LOT of money) and the cost to the taxpayers of the athletic facility piece is closer to $3.2 million. ($5.4 minus the $2.2 from the state) That $5.4 million number includes a lot of things that may or may not get done depending on what the State says in regards to construction in the flood plain but I would expect the turf part of the project gets approved as Maple is very similar and the State approved that.

PJ… as you often do… please re-post the 6:58pm comments, if you deem them to be important enough. Breaking down the cost of this is important. I support the project, but only after I too checked the facts. We should all be smart enough to do so.

If someone can shoot holes in the above post… rational holes, based on facts and competitive market data.. IE, the cost of exisitng turf facilities in the area, lets hear all about it. New bleachers, new regulation sized track moved to BF… not much talk about that. Dont support it, fine.. but dont lump this all unto new Fieldturf facilities

Bookmark and Share

Posted on Leave a comment

>Valley Hospital : What is Cord Blood Banking?

>The Valley Hospital’s Center for Women, Children and Family Education is offering a What is Cord Blood Banking? This one-session class will discuss the topic of cord blood banking, which is the collection and storage of the stem cells found in your newborn’s umbilical cord. Today, cord blood stem cells have been used successfully in the treatment of over 70 life-threatening diseases. When you bank your baby’s cord blood, you are making a choice that could potentially provide a life saving treatment for your child or a family member.

This 1 hour class will be held on Wednesday, November 11 from 6 – 7 p.m. The fee for this class is $10. For more information, to schedule an appointment, or to obtain a complete course catalog and schedule for Valley’s Parent Education Programs, please call The Valley Hospital’s Center for Women, Children and Family Education at 201-291-6151.

Valley is proud to be your not-for-profit hospital serving the healthcare needs of more than 400,000 people in our region.

As a not-for-profit hospital, Valley is committed to giving back to the community. Valley serves the community by providing thousands of hours of healthcare education and screenings, support groups and classes to assist those in need, and care to all those who come through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay.

The Valley Hospital is proud of its history of quality patient care and community service, and looks forward to serving you and your family in the future.