Face it – – Its an issue we need to deal with and not stick our heads in the sand over – – we don’t have enough water to sustain what we are doing. It was a key issue brought to the attention of Mayor Airbag when he forced through the tenement buildings in downtown Ridgewood and now we will have to pay the price of providing water to over 500 new families when they move to town.
They’re Ridgewood residents and it’s not simply a choice. I think they’re being as diplomatic as the law alllws them to be.
They have to adhere to the law and the ordinances in place. Pay attention to the whole picture. They’re doing what they can. But where was your outrage and outcry long before now. When things could have been done.
You’re too late. And you’re not correct.
That said. Sure. Go to the meeting and speak. I think it would be refreshing to see some people in attendance at a planning board meeting. I go and I watch. Never anyone there.
photo courtesy of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association
May 19,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, So it safe to say this is really happening!, hundreds of people who love and support Ridgewood High School will gather under this beautiful tent on Veterans Field to celebrate 125 years of excellence. It will be a total and complete celebration of a place that has educated thousands .
Food stations, hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine and speciality drinks — along with musical entertainment — will help celebrate Ridgewood High School’s 125th anniversary at the “Party in the Park” on May 19
Word is they are dangerously close to selling out, there is still room for a few more. Same day registration will be open. Party in the Park 2017.
May 19,2017
PJ Blogger
Ridgewood NJ, The James Rose Center, a nonprofit landscape research and study foundation, is housed in what was the home of the late landscape architect James Rose.
Unfortunately during a wind storm last year, a large tree uprooted and caused significant damage to the roof garden and adjacent structures . The damage also revealed other structural problems with the home leading to expensive repairs that are necessary to make the property safe.
If you do not know James Rose was a real character . A true iconoclast . Along with Garrett Eckbo and Dan Kiley, James Rose was one of the leaders of the modern movement in American landscape architecture. I had the opportunity to meet him many times in the late 70’s and very early 80’s. He would always make an impression .Love him or hate him , you would never forget him. Rose was known for his out spoken hi-jinks and his cavalier way of making you feel like an idiot. He was brilliant, creative and someone who always thought out side the box. That would however get him in trouble from time to time .I credit him with my appreciation of gardening and landscaping.
I had a landscaping business at the time and he gave me a signed copy of his book , “Gardens Make Me Laugh” which fundamentally altered the way I looked at the world. It is most likely the single most obnoxious gardening book ever written. The off beat book had an over sized influence on my life. The book is loaded with gardening and philosophy antidotes and is also one of the main reasons I was never accepted into the college of my choice . I used the book for all my college essays and apparently admissions offices did not share Mr. Rose’s and my sense of humor. However during my early college days I actually got a job based on the fact that I knew who James Rose was .
His most famous quote , “The problem is you live here” is one of the guiding principles of the Ridgewood blog to this day
To make a donation : https://jamesrosecenter.org/donations/donate/
photos by Boyd Loving
May 19,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Thursday, May 18th was Touch-A -Truck an interactive day of fun for children at Memorial Park at Van Neste Square Adults and children are invited to take a seat behind the wheel of a real police cruiser, climb aboard a fire truck, explore up-close a fleet of the other emergency and public works vehicles you’ve only seen at a distance. The event was a free treat for children of all ages .The event is sponsored by the Village of Ridgewood and the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce.
more photos on the Ridgewood blog Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/theridgewoodblog/
Published: May 17, 2017 9:43 p.m. ET
Young Americans are constantly told by the media — and, sometimes, their own parents — that they think the world owes them a favor. Bad news for baby boomers: It may be the exact opposite.
Millennials say people should be able to pay for their own housing at 22 years of age, pay for their own car at 20.5 years of age and be responsible for their own cell phone plan at 18.5 years of age, according to a new study from personal-finance site Bankrate.com.
In all three cases, the younger cohort’s average response is about a year and a half earlier than when baby boomers feel these three landmarks of financial independence should happen.
“Millennials are often stereotyped as being entitled,” Sarah Berger, a columnist and analyst at Bankrate.com, said in a statement on the survey released Wednesday. “It’s refreshing to see that millennials really do have high expectations of gaining financial independence and getting off their parents’ payroll.”
file photo by Boyd Loving
511 municipalities. Home rule isn’t cheap. Delayering administration and management would yield tons. How many police chiefs in NJ vs. NYC, which have about the same population? How many superintendents? rationalize pay scales too. Unfortunately, it’s all aspirational…if you look at some of the school regionalizations that did not take place, a big reason was proportionate representation and cost allocation. It’s easy to sloganeer, it’s tough to end local rule.
Number of houses in Ridgewood hasn’t changed in a long time. How come now the company can’t keep up with the needs? A few years ago there were no issues with irrigating, right? What happened in the meantime? You cannot blame this situation to automatic sprinklers. After all most of them work very early morning when people are asleep. We are getting more restricted every year. In a couple of years showerheads will probably be declared illegal in Ridgewood. What I smell is a collaboration between Rwg Water and VC to make this situation as tough as possible in order to convince people that the only alternative it to block the sun with some huge deposits in the middle of the village. It always works this way.
Yes, Ridgewood Water was mismanaged for many years. After the new director took over, the problems are being addressed. Thanks to the current council, the village is currently undergoing a $42 million capital investment to address the various infrastructure issues. Selling to a private supplier isn’t a good idea. The wáter will still come from the same source, might actually taste worse, and it will be much more expensive. Have you tasted the wáter supplied by Suez?? Eeewwww
I have absolutely no idea why you people don’t understand what goes on around here…connotating that just because their residents and they sit on the board this gives them the option of refusal is a joke. You really don’t get it do you? You can step up to the mic and blather all you like and petition for redress but we all know at the end of the day the decisions were made long ago and you were not and never will be a part of that process. Your job is pay the patently absurd taxes that we scam you with under the pretext of wonderful schools, over paid municipal workers ( Et Al) and to not complain. It’s how it’s done around here. We’ve been doing it for years. And getting away with it. SO DONT ROCK THE BOAT
“Facts are important.” Indeed. So where are the facts to support the allegations of mismanagement in this post? All we get are rainfall data which suggest a fundamental lack of appreciation for the difference between groundwater and surface water supplies. Yes, drought conditions impact an aquifer, but up to a point, excess rainfall simply runs off. The problems Ridgewood faces are not unique and have been decades in the making. In a nutshell: too much lawn irrigation (especially automated lawn sprinkling that has proliferated in the last 20 years) and increase in impervious surfacing which increases runoff and diminishes aquifer replenishment.
The fix is a little more complicated other than the obvious idea of preventing people from over-watering their lawns. More tank capacity would help but not solve the problem. You also will face enormous NIMBY resistance to locating such tanks where they are needed in residential areas. Partnering with a surface water supplier? Expensive, but an option if we want to underwrite the lavish lawn irrigation that we seem addicted to. Selling to a private supplier? A nightmare option of increased rates and unresponsive profit-motivated management.
Is RW management perfect? Or even good? Maybe not, but the infrastructure issues here come down to over-development and over-sprinkling of lawns. I see the water restrictions as inevitable and entirely reasonable. Get used to them.
file photo by Boyd Loving
May 18,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that on May 12, a business located on Chestnut Street reported a theft of services. The restaurant reported two males ordered and consumed about $60 worth of food and then left without making payment. The Ridgewood Detective bureau is investigating the incident.
file photo Ridgewood Police
ief is at it again May 18,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report the sign thief is at it again . On May 13, Ptl. Jack Knudsen responded to the Travel Elementary School located on a report of criminal mischief. Upon arrival a school staff member reported signs affixed to the fencing of the school property were removed between 5/12/17 and 5/13/17. The signs were apparently maliciously cut and removed from the fencing. If anyone has any information about this incident, please contact the Ridgewood Police Detective Bureau at 201-251-4535.
As an RHS student- these numbers are completely false. This survey was given on a volunteer-only basis, and to participate, your parent needed to sign a consent form. I didn’t take this survey, and I have never met a single student who did. I believe it was also administered in the RHS campus center with teachers all around. This year, the student editors of the RHS High Times gave their own version of the survey that had much more accurate results (these were only published in print and are not on the website). Every student in RHS and many teachers make fun of the social norms survey and the attempts by the school to push all of the drug/alcohol problems under the rug.
Facts are important. This problem is wholly and entirely a mismanagement issue by the village and RW Water. Rainfall and water supplies are not impacting this issue. This is a poor infrastructure, lack of planning, and foolish government decisions. Real leaders would solve the issues. From the US site
Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding: Record precipitation was observed in parts of the Northwest, Northeast, Southern Plains and Mid-Atlantic. North Carolina had its wettest April on record. Rains caused widespread flooding in the Mid-Mississippi River Valley and contributed to numerous landslides in the West.
Drought shrunk to lowest extent since 2000: On May 2, 5 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought. This was the smallest drought footprint since the Drought Monitor began in 2000. Despite improvement in many areas, drought worsened in the Southwest and across parts of the Southeast where several large wildfires burned in Florida and southern Georgia.
