>Gov. Chris Christie outlines plan to fix pension crisis during Hammonton town hall meeting
Locals deserve to hear how deeply in debt the state’s pensions and benefits systems are, Gov. Chris Christie told residents of this conservative stronghold as he opened a town hall-meeting Tuesday. (Fletcher, Press of Atlantic City)
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Kostya Kennedy
Saturday, April 2nd @ 11am
Senior Editor at Sports Illustrated, Kostya Kennedy, will sign his new book: 56.
Joe Pepitone
Saturday, April 2nd @ 12:00pm
Former New York Yankee, Joe Pepitone, will sign his new book: Soul of a Yankee.
Only Appearance in New Jersey!
Bill White
Saturday, April 2nd @ 2:00pm
Former First Baseman for the Giants, Cardinals and Phillies, Bill White, will sign his new book: Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play. Books available: April 1st.
>Scott Garrett: the expansion of the ADA would create tens of millions of entitlement recipients who never had been ‘disabled’ before
Michael
Almost 2 years(?) ago, I had a disagreement with a writer about Rep. Scott Garrett voting against expansion of the ADA. She said he was heartless and I said if you apply the new rules, the individuals covered by the ADA would roughly double. She contended that was absurd.
Really?
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/28/new-rules-label-millions-american-workers-disabled/
This is one of those time that I hate when I am right. Garrett said the expansion would create tens of millions of entitlement recipients who never had been ‘disabled’ before.
Well, I never thought the Stimulus or ObamaCare had much of a chance, but I never thought we’d be on track to victimize the entire US population. (ok – that’s a stretch).
>Abbot v. Burke: Not simply about poor, inner-city school districts
“Below adequacy.” It’s not a pleasant phrase, but it could prove to be a critical one as the state Supreme Court weighs what to do next in New Jersey’s ongoing debate over the Abbott v. Burke school funding case. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0328/2349/
>NJ tax revenue to be $4 billion below 2008 level
New Jersey’s tax revenue for the coming $29.4 billion state budget will grow slightly, but still end up $4 billion less than three years ago, a nonpartisan analyst said Monday. (Method, Daily Record)
>Sweeney health plan would save $206 million after 7 years
A health benefits reform bill introduced by Senate President Steve Sweeney would save the state $206.2 million once it is fully phased in, according to an analysis of the bill by the Office of Legislative Services. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
https://www.politickernj.com/46257/sweeney-health-plan-would-save-206-million-after-7-years
>Insurance benefits jump 12 percent in Ridgewood
Monday, March 28, 2011
BY MICHAEL SEDON
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Staff Writer
The biggest number the Village Council must deal with during budget season is the ever-increasing costs of insurance benefits, officials announced at a Monday budget meeting at Village Hall.
The 2010 increase for insurance costs reached $750,000; this year it has increased 12 percent, or $701,000, said village Chief Financial Officer Steve Sanzari.
“The village health plan is very rich in benefits, and based on the quotes that were arrived at, we’re going to stay with the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan,” Sanzari said.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/118779299_Insurance_benefits_jump_12_percent_in_Ridgewood.html
>James,
It gets better…my wife and eldest daughter were at Paramus Stop & Shop this afternoon and one of the solar collectors was covered in bird droppings. Now, are they still effective?
I can think of a few statues who would love the respite from our feathered friends.
M
“NIMBY activism has blocked more renewable projects than coal-fired power plants…”
Are environmentalists an obstacle to clean energy production?
By John Rossomando – The Daily Caller | Published: 1:04 AM 03/28/2011 | Updated: 4:26 PM 03/28/2011
The Obama administration has set a target of having 80 percent of America’s electricity come from “clean energy sources” by 2035, but ironically one of the biggest obstacles to this goal could come from within the environmental movement itself.
From coast to coast, efforts to build everything from wind farms to solar plants has run afoul of local environmental groups and the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) phenomenon. Pro-environmental journals, such as the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, as well as business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have each cataloged this trend.
“Often, many of the same groups urging us to think globally about renewable energy are acting locally to stop the very same renewable energy projects that could create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Bill Kovacs, senior vice president for environment, technology and regulatory affairs with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote in the introduction of the group’s recent “Project, No Project” report. “NIMBY activism has blocked more renewable projects than coal-fired power plants by organizing local opposition, changing zoning laws, opposing permits, filing lawsuits, and using other long delay mechanisms, effectively bleeding projects dry of their financing.”
>BOE: Teachers and their spouses pose a direct conflict of interest
Teachers and their spouses may be legally permitted to serve on the BOE today. That doesn’t mean that it is a good idea to have people, who directly benefit from certain outcomes from NJEA negotiations that adversely impact taxpayers, involved in the process. Common sense dictates that teachers and their spouses have inherent conflicts of interest (even if they recuse themselves from the direct negotiations) and should not be allowed to serve on the BOE. I will NEVER support a teacher or their spouse in this role.
>New Jersey’s government workforce shrinking
New Jersey saw the second largest year over year drop in government employees of any state in the nation according to federal employment data released Friday. (Isherwood, State Street Wire)
https://www.politickernj.com/46233/new-jerseys-government-workforce-shrinking
>New NJ health chief has ultimate say on Pascack Hospital reopening
New Jersey Health Commissioner Poonam Alaigh announced her resignation Friday due to a family member’s “urgent illness” and Mary O’Dowd, a deputy commissioner, was immediately named as acting health commissioner. Governor Christie said he would ask the state Senate to confirm O’Dowd as commissioner. (Washburn, The Record)
https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/New_health_chief_may_be_key_for_North_Jersey.html
>New Jersey lawmakers continue to pursue green and clean technologies
New Jersey has embraced cleaner ways of generating electricity, such as solar and wind power, but now legislators are looking at other ways to produce energy without increasing global climate change. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0324/2302/
>Social Media and a Tale of Two New Jersey Principals
Liz Willen
Middle-school principal Anthony Orsini of Ridgewood, N.J., made national headlines last year when he urged parents to keep their young adolescents off Facebook — at least until high school.
The slings and arrows of social-media stings by peers — also known as cyberbullying — were far more common than any from adult predators, Orsini said, calling threats from the latter “insignificant compared to the damage that children at this age constantly and repeatedly do to one another through social-networking sites, through text- or picture-messaging.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-willen/social-media-and-a-tale-o_b_840733.html
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YOU NEVER KNOW : A New Novel Just Published by Author Lilian Duval!
Now Available: New Novel Just Published by Author Lilian Duval!
YOU NEVER KNOW: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner
You Never Know, was just published on March 15, 2011, and its main character wins the NJ Mega Millions lottery in a big way halfway through the book.
This book is of special interest to Ridgewood residents! Here’s a short list of facts from You Never Know, which begins in the fictional town of Woodrock, New Jersey, similar to our beloved Ridgewood, my home town.
The book can be read and enjoyed on two levels: for its mesmerizing plot, and for answers to the questions: What makes us happy? Why can it be harder to adjust to great luck than awful luck? At our core, are we still our true selves, regardless of external calamities or blessings?
To read more about the book, please visit my website at www.lilianduval.com. There, you’ll find seven detailed reviews, a synopsis, photos and bio, as well as numerous articles written by the author, and information about the real-life psychological study that inspired the book.
Buy Now on Amazon :
https://www.amazon.com/You-Never-Know-Accidental-Lottery/dp/1604945206/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299528309&sr=8-1
>Valley probably saves time, and therefore money, for the fire department and EMTs because they shorten their drive time
Numerous people in this blog have made the subsidy argument against Valley, but no one has ever put a convincing number on it. I assume that Valley pays for its water, electricity, sewers, and trash removal. If that is not the case, please correct me. I’d be surprised if they use more than 1-2 man-days of police time per week, which would cost only about $25,000-50,000 per year ($60/hr x 8-16 hours/wk x 52 wks/yr). Valley probably saves time, and therefore money, for the fire department and EMTs because they shorten their drive time (compared to having to take people to Hackensack, Pascack, or Patterson). Snow removal costs aren’t impacted, because Linwood and Van Dien would get plowed even if Valley disappears. So far, I can’t find a big subsidy.
I realize that Valley doesn’t pay property taxes as a not-for-profit entity. Neither do the Y or any of the 20 churches in Ridgewood. If you replaced Valley with houses, the Village wouldn’t make any money, because the houses would probably be bought by families with multiple kids per house, who would cost the village and BOE more than they property taxes that they would pay. A park with ballfields in Valley’s location would generate no taxes, but result in costs and annoy the neighbors as well. You could put a commercial development, such as an office complex or retail stores, on Valley’s land. However, I assume that the neighbors would also be opposed to a commercial development, because it would generate traffic and noise.
