>Bergen freeholders vote to overturn lame-duck appointments Wednesday, January 19, 2011 BY MICHAEL GARTLAND NORTHJERSEY.COM STAFF WRITER
The Bergen County Freeholder Board voted Wednesday night to overturn and review several appointments and policy initiatives that were approved late last year by the outgoing county executive, Dennis McNerney, and the lame-duck Democratic freeholder board.
The board, which is now controlled by Republicans, voted 4-2, with one abstention, to rescind the appointment of its clerk, Jennifer Holdsworth Kleinman, and replace her with Karen Mastriano.
It also passed resolutions calling for the review of dozens of other appointments and contracts, as well as the nullification of a $2.6 million bailout of the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood. The appointments, contracts and the bailout were all enacted during the freeholder board’s lame-duck session in November and December.
Pinar 3000 100% Pre Embargo Cuban Tobacco from the 1950’s. Available now in Churchill, Torpedo, and Rothschild.
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood | 10 Chestnut Street | Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 Phone: 201-447-2204 | Email: [email protected] Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
>NJ Senate Committee to Take Up Resolution Forming Obamacare Bureaucracy
Here we go again on Thursday, January 20, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee is once again making an effort to establish the NJ Health Care Reform Implementation Council and begin the process of setting up Obamacare in New Jersey.
This time through a Concurrent Resolution – SCR-141.
The following legislators sit on the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee:
Loretta Weinberg (D-37) Joseph Vitale (D-19) Dawn Marie Addiego (R-08) Diane Allen (R-07) Robert Gordon (D-38) Sean Kean (R-21) Fred Madden (D-04) Ronald Rice (D-28) Robert Singer (R-30) Jim Whelan (D-02)
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Six more states joined a lawsuit in Florida against President Obama’s health care overhaul on Tuesday, meaning more than half of the country is challenging the law.
The announcement was made as House members in Washington, led by Republicans, debated whether to repeal the law.
The six additional states, all with Republican attorneys general, joined Florida and 19 others in the legal action, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“It sends a strong message that more than half of the states consider the health care law unconstitutional and are willing to fight it in court,” she said in a statement.
The states claim the health care law is unconstitutional and violates people’s rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties.
>Housing Starts in U.S. Decreased in December to One-Year Low By Shobhana Chandra – Jan 19, 2011 9:41 AM ET
Builders began work on fewer homes than projected in December, a sign the industry that triggered the recession continued to struggle more than a year into the U.S. economic recovery.
Housing starts fell 4.3 percent to a 529,000 annual rate, the lowest level since October 2009, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 550,000 rate.
>ROTARY CLUBS FEATURE WORLD-RENOWNED JAZZ MUSICIANS AT MARCH 5 BENEFIT CONCERT
The Ridgewood A.M. and Bergen Community College Rotary Clubs will host a benefit jazz concert featuring world-renowned jazz musicians at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, 2011. The concert will be held in the Ciccone Theatre at Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road, in Paramus, NJ.
Tickets for the event are $75 each. Admission includes the concert and an after-party with the musicians. Proceeds from the concert will benefit Community Blood Services, the Social Service Association of Ridgewood & Vicinity, and will fund scholarships for needy students at Bergen Community College.
The concert will feature several world famous musicians, including Bill O’Connell (keyboards), Conrad Herwig (trombone), Steve Slagle (saxophone), Luques Curtis (bass), Dave Samuels (vibraphone and marimba) and Steve Berrios (drums and percussion). Dr. Glenn Godart, a Ridgewood dentist and co-chairman of the event says, “It’s very unusual to have musicians of this caliber perform in Bergen County. These are all top talents on the New York jazz scene, so hearing them will be a real New York City experience, with the convenience of being close to home.”
The musicians will perform a program consisting largely of Latin jazz, drawn from Bill O’Connell’s latest CD, ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ with other works made famous by Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, and others. “I can tell you this,” says Dr. Godart, “even if you’re not a big jazz aficionado, you will like this program. It will be full of the rhythm, passion and fire of Latin jazz. You’ll have a hard time keeping your feet on the floor.”
Mary Ann Copp, President of the Ridgewood A.M. Rotary Club, says, “We’re happy to host this in cooperation with the Bergen Community College Rotary Club, and we have a great venue for the event. The Ciccone Theatre at BCC has wonderful acoustics and comfortable seating. Hearing world-class musicians in this great setting will be an experience you won’t want to miss, and you can benefit three outstanding causes at the same time.”
Tickets, at $75 each, are available through Dr. Godart, [email protected] or (201) 314-2182. Special-rate tickets are available to students and employees of Bergen Community College, but do not include the reception following the concert. Parking at BCC is plentiful and free of charge.
>New Jersey will greatly increase its number of public charter schools this Year
More charters on tap in N.J.
New Jersey will greatly increase its number of public charter schools, adding 23 this year, the Christie administration said Tuesday.
The additions, including nine in Newark, would bring the number of charter schools in New Jersey to 97 by September. (Fleisher. The Wall Street Journal)
>Zimmer helms recently formed political arm of pro-vouchers group
Republican allies of Gov. Chris Christie leaned on tax exempt nonprofits to generate support for Christie’s budget measures and for GOP redistricting efforts. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
It was news enough that Gov. Chris Christie yesterday announced 23 new charter schools in New Jersey, the largest class yet of the semi-autonomous schools. Nine were approved for Newark alone, nearly doubling the total in that city. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>Rasmussen polls: Most Think Congress Doesn’t Read What It Votes On
Most Think Congress Doesn’t Read What It Votes On, Favor Putting Bills Online Well In Advance Tuesday, January 18, 2011
House Speaker John Boehner like many of his predecessors has pledged that the new Congress will be more open and transparent than the previous one, but voters want even more openness than he has promised.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 11% of Likely U.S. Voters think most members of Congress read laws before they vote on them. Sixty-five percent (65%) don’t think that’s the case, and another 24% are not sure.
Just before Democrats in Congress passed the national health care bill last March, only 20% of voters believed most members of Congress understood what was in the plan.
>Abbott Schools : Pouring other people’s money into the patronage mills of urban schools and the unions which hold these children hostage.
It has been disproved that poor children can’t perform as well as those in more affluent districts. It is time to stop blaming the kids’ home environment and start looking at how these failing schools are run and by whom.
Educrats and the teachers’ union use poverty as an excuse for their own failings.
Abbott is a typical liberal solution, pouring other people’s money into the patronage mills of urban schools and the unions which hold these children hostage.
>Valley Renewal : The Renewal doesn’t expand the ER department at all
The Renewal doesn’t expand the ER department at all. Remember it’s all about the single patient rooms and the bigger operating rooms for day surgery (that won’t attract any new patients or traffic :-)).
Don’t buy the Renewal as a way to end over-crowding in the E.R. Valley will do what they did in the past, get a massive expansion approved, then come back for the ER later. “What, you don’t want a bigger ER?” To parapharse, those who don’t study history are destined to repeat it.
More than half of Americans prefer receiving a gift card or cash rather than receiving a gift. American Express Gift Cheques offer versatility in comparison to gift cards because they can be used at virtually any store, restaurant, hotel, and merchant accepting American Express. Further,gift cheques never expire and can be redeemed for cash. Unlike cash, an American Express Gift Cheque can be easily replaced if lost or stolen. For a flat fee of only $2.50, select a denomination of $25, $50, or $100 for the perfect gift to that special someone.
**Purchase American Express Gift Cheques at The Travel Center / American Express Travel Representative. ** “Ridgewood’s ONLY Travel Agency”
The Travel Center/American Express 50 E. Ridgewood Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 447-3311 [email protected]
Or visit our NEW website: www.TheTravelCenterAE.com
>PJ – Happy New Year.. I haven’t checked in for some time.. My apologies.
ON A SEPARATE NOTE.
I want to commend the men and woman with Ridgewood’s DPW on how they have been handling this barrage of snow storms and now this icy mess. I can only speak for myself, but I am sure that I am not alone in saying how tired I am of cleaning my driveway, never mind the countless miles of road the Village has to clear up.
So let me take this moment and say with all sincerity, GOOD JOB EVERYONE and MOST IMPORTANTLY…THANK YOU.
>In 2011 redistricting, population change will drive GOP gains
New Jersey’s legislative redistricting process officially kicks off in Trenton this morning, as the state commission in charge of reapportioning legislative districts after the 2010 U.S. Census meets for the first time. (Magyar, NJ Spotlight)
