Honor Gold Star Mothers and Families ,Sunday, September 30, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Van Neste Park, Van Neste Sq. & E. Ridgewood Ave
A Gold Star Mother is a woman who has lost a son or daughter in military service to the United States. In honor of these women, the last Sunday in September is observed as a day to show support for mothers and family members of our Fallen Heroes.
In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resident Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the moms who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Grace’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congressional resolution established the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters.
Join us at Van Neste Park in Ridgewood. Luminaries will be on display 7:00-9:00pm. OR honor our nation’s Gold Star Mothers by placing a luminary at the end of your driveway at sundown away from anything that can catch fire.
Dr. Fishbein claims drop in NJ Monthly School rankings due to the fact that RHS students are required to take the AP tests, while other schools do not have that requirement.
September 12,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein commented on the NJ Monthly School rankings where Ridgewood High School (RHS) has dropped eight spots in the past two years in a biennial ranking of New Jersey’s top 100 public high schools.
Ridgewood Superintendent Daniel Fishbein gave a brief overview of comparative data from the recent NJ Monthly high school rankings. According to Dr.Fishbein Ridgewood High School (RHS) performed as well as, or better than, surrounding schools in Bergen County that were ranked higher by the magazine.
The AP test score category is the one area that RHS did not score as high; this discrepancy may be due to the fact that RHS students are required to take the AP tests, while other schools do not have that requirement.
Can someone enlighten all of us about Ken Smith property?
September 17,2012
Ridgewood NJ , Readers continue to speculate on the fate of the Ken Smith property. There are lost of theory’s but not many answers .
Who owns it, how is it zoned, are there any concrete plans right now or all speculation? Rumors have it that the person that owns this property is well connected. He is one of the five member of the self appoint parking garage committee. He is also the head of the Library Board and gave a large campaign contribution to our new Mayor. You should see what other names pop up on the Ridgewood Library Board. This is the politics Ridgewood residents wanted.
With Ken Smith Motors closed, I’ve heard the Town of Ridgewood might make a play of Eminent Domain to purchase the property and create a giant parking lot. I believe it may be worth 3 million for the approx. 1.7 acre lot. Should be cheaper than building 2 parking garages in the parts of town the town has discussed.”
I think the price will be higher that is why he published his income. My understanding that the town does not get it for what the property is assessed but rather what is fair and equitable value . Hence the money published in the Ridgewood News. Even with the price of $3 mil then you have to do site remediation because you best better believe that there is oil in the soil from the lifts and what ever else the dump there all those years. Then you have to build that big structure . NJTV money has dried up.
I think the die is already case for the for the plan that is on the table. Deals have been made and promises have to be kept.
We doubt it ,there’s no money in the budget to make such a purchase and having such a huge property off of the tax rolls would prove problematic from a budgeting standpoint.
What seems more realistic at the moment is that All American Ford might be planning to move their used car operation into the Ridgewood property and sell only new cars on Route 17. Looks like work taking place now on the property in terms of painting, spruce up, etc.
A long-distance move: Relocating to Bergen County
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
BY VIOLET SNOW
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS
THE RECORD
“This is the sixth move my family has made,” says Steve Klipstein, who recently relocated from Leesburg, Va., to Old Tappan with his wife, Julie, and three children. “This one was probably the most challenging because of all the different towns in Bergen County. It was hard to get a sense of where would be the right place for us.”
A long-distance move can be difficult not only because of the buyer’s unfamiliarity with the new locale but also because past expectations may have to change. Luckily, the Klipsteins had both their own strategy and professional assistance.
Working in the automotive industry, Klipstein says, means that “relocation is standard fare.” He has been bounced from Baltimore to Detroit to Dallas to Virginia, and he began working at Volvo’s North American headquarters in Rockleigh this May, commuting to Virginia on weekends.
RHS 2012 Varsity Football Schedule – All Home Games Are Night Games?
September 14,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
8:13 PM
Ridgewood NJ, Weren’t the residents who live near RHS advised that there would be a limited number of night football games in response to concerns they expressed about the installation of stadium lights?
Well, it would appear that every single home football game in the 2012 season will be played at night.
9-year-old Nicholas Lampiasi of Ridgewood debuts in Newsies on Broadway
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012
BY JANE HARLIN
CORRESPONDENT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Learning how to brace yourself when you get stuffed in a barrel during a fight scene isn’t in the curriculum followed by most fourth graders. But that’s just one of the things 9-year-old Nicholas Lampiasi of Ridgewood had to learn in preparation for his Broadway debut this week.
Nicholas, known to most people as Nick, just took on the role of Les Jacobs in the Broadway production of “Newsies,” a musical about the New York newsboys’ strike of 1899. He is the youngest and smallest of the newsboys, so he fits perfectly into that barrel. The tricky part is to come out without bumps and bruises.
Leading up to his opening night, Nick spent a lot of time in rehearsals, typically lasting five to seven hours a day. Karen, his mom, who drove him to most rehearsals, said, “I’ve spent a lot of time walking around the city. It’ll be better once the show starts … right now it’s tough because on these long days, it’s 10 to 12 (o’clock) and then they have a one-hour break. We’re responsible for them on the breaks. They aren’t responsible for themselves on breaks until they’re 16.”
116 Ridgewood High School Students named Advanced Placement Scholars
September 14, 2012
Ridgewood NJ , One hundred sixteen students at Ridgewood High School (RHS) have been named AP Scholars by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college level Advanced Placement Examinations.
According to the BOE website ,about 18 percent of the more than 1.9 million high school students worldwide who took AP Examinations in May 2012 performed at a sufficiently high level to merit such recognition. Seventeen award recipients are juniors. These students have at least one more year in which to do college-level work, and possibly earn another Advanced Placement Award.
The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on the students’ performance on AP exams. At RHS:
Six students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4.0 or higher on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
Forty-five students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
Twenty students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
Fifty-one students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3 or higher.
Willard is Named a National Blue Ribbon School
September 11, 2012
Ridgewood NJ – Willard Elementary School has been named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. The announcement was made last week by the U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Willard is one of only 269 schools in the nation to receive the award. Willard earned the Blue Ribbon designation for its overall academic excellence, in the category of “Exemplary High Performing.”
“It is a great honor for the entire Ridgewood Public Schools district that Willard School has been named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon winner,” said Dr. Daniel Fishbein, Superintendent of Schools. “The Willard School community serves as a prime example of the Ridgewood Public Schools tradition of excellence. Principal Marianne Williams, the Willard School teachers and the support staff are to be congratulated for the hard work that they do every day with the children. They are also to be complimented on the hard work that went into the Blue Ribbon application process, which required much commitment and effort from many members of the Willard community over a lengthy period of time.”
Principal Marianne Williams will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 12 to attend a recognition ceremony given by the U. S. Department of Education honoring the approximately 219 public and 50 private schools that won National Blue Ribbon awards. The award comes at a particularly big moment in the history of Willard Elementary School, which just completed a year of celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Much of that anniversary year was spent tackling the Blue Ribbon application, a rigorous process undertaken by several Willard School administrators and staff members, following notification of the school’s nomination by New Jersey Department of Education officials. The application was then vetted for acceptance before the final certification as a National Blue Ribbon Award winner.
“Cake Boss” Valastro planning bakery in Ridgewood
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Bergen County fans of TLC’s “Cake Boss”: Are you sitting down?
Buddy Valastro says he has signed a lease to open a bakery in Ridgewood.
It would be a second location of his Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken and is designed as an interactive experience with an open kitchen, where customers can order birthday cakes, watch them being made on the spot at a “cake bar” and celebrate birthdays in a party room.
Construction has not yet begun at 12 Wilsey Square – on the west side of downtown, in the former site of Mona Lisa Pastry Shop and Café – but Valastro says he is aiming to open the 3,300-square-foot bakery in November. He expects that “Cake Boss” will do some filming in town.
“I want to make it an experience. I want families to come to the bakery and take a peek at bakers making pastries and goodies,” says Valastro, who grew up in Little Ferry. “I want to bring back Old World quality bakeries, and I want to do it where people are going to appreciate it.”
He says he had long wanted to open a bakery in Bergen County because of his ties to the area, and chose Ridgewood because “it’s got a great little downtown” area.
911 – WE SHALL ALWAYS REMEMBER
NJ Tea Party Coalition
No words can suffice, no words will ever be said that can take the pain and sadness away from many who lost or suffered on 911 and since. We shall always remember and never be deterred from ensuring liberty and freedom in these United States no matter the attempts or actions taken by those who wish to change or intimidate us.
It is and shall always remain “We the People” for our nation is truly unique made up of the many different and diverse people weaving the tapestry of America.
Severe thunderstorms with Freak Tornado Warnings Wreck Havoc in North Jersey
September 9 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ ,Rare tornado warnings were issued yesterday after severe weather hit the tri-state area on Saturday knocking down trees ,creating flooding and damaging power lines.
Tornado watches in this part of the country are fairly uncommon, but a tornado warning coupled with a more urgent advisory to seek shelter because of existing tornadic weather conditions is very unusual. There were no actual tornados reported in Northern Jersey, although several were reported elsewhere in the New York tri-state region.
Overcast sky’s , damaging rains and heavy winds were all in play here for much of the day and the fast moving line of storms packed a punch, though fortunately less than originally feared.
Over 10,000 PSE&G customers in New Jersey were left without power, with a concentration in Passaic, Essex and Bergen counties with the Village of Ridgewood among areas that sustained the most damage, with trees and wires down in a dozen locations.
NJ Transit reported that two trains were delayed just after 6 p.m. when a tree branch fell across a track in Glen Rock, with a handful of passengers on both east- and west-bound trains disembarking and boarded trains on an another track while workers spent about 45 minutes clearing away the tree.
The quick-changing weather also affected many outdoor events, forcing a storm delay in a college football game at MetLife Stadium and delaying the men’s semifinals and causing the women’s singles finals to be rescheduled for today at the U.S.
YWCA Before and After School Programs operate each day during the school year at Hawes, Orchard, Somerville, Ridge, Somerville, and Willard
Schools. Children enjoy healthy snacks, participate in games, art projects and outdoor play, and are given time do homework. The YWCA staffs each school with a Site Supervisor and Recreation Counselors who are ready and waiting before the dismissal bell rings. Children may enroll at any time during the school year. Financial assistance is available to income-eligible families.
YWCA Before and After School Programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families. Before School Program hours: 7:15 a.m. – first bell of school After School Program hours: dismissal time until 7 p.m. Onsite programs offered at: For information call 201-444-5600, ext. 352, or for a registration form visit www.ywcabergencounty.org.
Christie task force recommends education law changes
Gov. Chris Christie’s task force on education said Wednesday that the state should implement the governor’s major education recommendations, as well as get rid of regulatory provisions in an effort to give schools and their teachers more leeway for spending their resources and organizing their classrooms.
The recommendations range from big ideas — using public money to send some students to private schools — to small ones — ending the mandate that school districts employ one janitor for every 17,500 feet of building space.
In its final report, the Education Transformation Task Force convened by Christie a year ago called for changing the law to allow schools to lay off more experienced teachers if less experienced ones get better marks on evaluations and to put in place new standards for how schools under state control can become independent again. (Mulvihill, Asbury Park Press)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of a New School Year
Amy PayneSeptember 4, 2012
As of today, the vast majority of American students have begun a new school year. As lunches are packed and carpool lines grow, Heritage reviews the good, bad, and ugly in education.
The Good
Support for school choice is at an all-time high. In a poll released in August, school choice favorability jumped 10 percentage points since last year, a sign that the proliferation of options such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and online learning is creating a welcome choice for families across the country.
Options like the education savings accounts implemented in Arizona, statewide vouchers in effect in Louisiana, and tuition tax credits benefitting children in Florida provide families with greater control over education—something more and more parents are expressing they want.
Social promotion is becoming less popular. In North Carolina, legislators approved a measure to end social promotion. Rather than automatically passing students on to the next grade, all third-grade students will be required to read at grade level before advancing to the fourth grade. Other states that have implemented this policy suggest that it is helpful in boosting student achievement.
Online, customized learning is on the rise. Individualized online learning options allow more emphasis on areas where students are struggling, without holding back their peers who may be ready for the next level.
Teachers union membership is declining. The National Education Association is projecting a loss of 308,000 members since 2010. One of the union’s top officials, treasurer Becky Pringle, blames “stupid” education reform: “We’re living with a recession that just won’t end, political attacks that have turned brutal, and societal changes that are impacting us—from stupid education ‘reform’ to an explosion of technology—all coming together to impact us in ways that we had never anticipated.”
The Bad
The Administration is singling out minority students for government “help” instead of raising them up through increased options. Over the summer, President Obama signed an executive order to form the new White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. According to the White House, the new initiative, which will work across federal agencies, “aims to ensure that all African American students receive an education that fully prepares them for high school graduation, college completion, and productive careers.”
Parents and taxpayers would be correct to be skeptical of a new Washington initiative to improve student outcomes. A new evaluation by Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institution and Paul Peterson of Harvard shows a far more promising route to improving academic opportunity for the students the President’s initiative aims to help: school vouchers. The study of low-income students in New York City found a 24 percent increase in college enrollment among African-American students who were awarded and used vouchers to attend private schools.
This success has already proven the vital role of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Students who have used vouchers to attend private schools in the nation’s capital have a 91 percent graduation rate, while graduation rates in D.C. public schools hover around 60 percent.
The Ugly
Average per-pupil spending in public schools is reaching historic highs. Nationally, average per-pupil spending exceeds $11,400 this year, meaning a child entering kindergarten today can expect to have no less than $148,000 spent on his or her education by the time the child graduates high school. In all, more than $570 billion will be spent on public K-12 education this year.
Continual increases in the money spent per child and in overall spending haven’t led to increases in academic achievement. Heritage’s Lindsey Burke notes:
We continue to fund institutions—sending that money to schools—instead of actually funding children. Imagine if a child could put those dollars in a funding “backpack” and take that $11,400 to any school—public, private, or virtual. As in every other sector of American life, we would likely see outcomes improve as a result of competitive pressure placed on the government school system.
Despite the successes of more individualized learning and school choice, the Obama Administration wants to further centralize education in Washington through national standards and tests. It has been trying to entice states with waivers from the onerous No Child Left Behind law, which it gives to states that agree to adopt the Administration’s standards instead.
Implementing Washington-controlled education standards means that states, local school boards, and ultimately parents will have less say in their children’s education. This year’s homework assignment for conservatives: continue the fight for increased parental control, individualized options for students, and decreased government interference in education.
