Tag: Ridgewood Real estate

>My fellow Villagers are behaving like brats

Wellinghorst may have been a gentlwman, but his supporters have behaved badly towards Mr. Train, trying to push him out of the race. They have called him a “bumpkin”, made fun of his frequent Blog replies, accused him of being untrustworthy, criticized his public speaking style, accused him of having a “thin skin”, accused him of being a “fifth column” for Valley, and accused him (with no proof) of planting anonymous postings critical of Mr. Wellinghorst.

Mr. Train has done a good job of generating creative ideas, yet Mr. Wellinghorst’s supporters just insult him and call him names instead of debating the merits of his ideas. Wellinghorst may have been a gentleman, but his supporters have acted like high school punks during the past week. Just for the record, my name is not Oliver Train. I’m just a voter who is disappointed with the behavior of my fellow Villagers, who are behaving like brats because an unexpected (and inconvenient to them) candidate may prevent Mr. Wellinghorst from being able to waltz into office with minimal opposition.

>The election of Steve Wellinghorst would be a wise and complimentary addition as he brings both professional and personal qualities that truly round out the council

Steve Wellinghorst is well known by his neighbors as a local dad in the Travell School District and is often seen walking his kids to school in the morning. He is a socially and intellectually engaging fellow. However, I think his profession is more suited to loud self-promoter types-that’s not Steve. He is a bit of a hidden gem.

I came to know Steve professionally several years ago and what most people don’t understand is how incredibly detailed, professional and focused this guy is. In the legal and business world its important to surround yourself with level headed intelligent people that make good decisions-not just decisions for a reason but for good reasons. Steve is just that type of person. When you elect someone like Steve – someone who gathers the facts, explores the relevant context and develops good reasons for action – he can’t be bullied. Its nice to have people like that representing you.

If you have ever attended a village council, planning board or sports council meeting you would instantly understand the importance of these qualities in the public domain where every special interest bemoans their plight and seeks to impose the greatest pain and stress on our public figures. Most typical people (myself included) wither under that type of constant stress and consequently, governments cater to citizens that scream the loudest (or otherwise game the system) and not citizens in greatest need.

Today, the existing village council, perhaps by luck or good judgment of the people, appears composed of capable and competent individuals that, appear to function extremely well. The election of Steve Wellinghorst would be a wise and complimentary addition as he brings both professional and personal qualities that truly round out the council.

>Reader says it’s time for Mr. Train to drop out of this race

 Dear Mr. Train,

Your barrage of baseless, personal and acrimonious attacks on other candidates, especially, Mr. Wellinghorst, is unconscionable.

But what I, and many others in Ridgewood, find totally unacceptable, is your horrendously bad “Anonymous” behavior. Is that how you would conduct the Village’s business? This certainly is not the behavior of an adult and it certainly is not behavior that would be in the Village’s best interest. That behavior goes way beyond any acceptable level of immaturity. This is not a Tenafly/Mountain Lakes jr. high election and you need to grow up. You are not Al Franken and this is not a joke.

Now that you have been systematically uncovered, do we have to tolerate your total silence? Its amazing how you were capable of typing 90 words per minute under your own name, penning post after post. Or, I assume, you were merely posting letters and comments that were pre-written months earlier. Of course this is the most likely route as this is what you did at the debate when you, not once, looked up from your pre-written script. Someone said you were “Robotic”, but robots are less predictable and devoid of malice.

It is time for you to man-up and drop out of this race. You have completely dishonored yourself and lost all of my respect.

>RHS field lights : It certainly appears that the BOE intended to install the field lights all along

As you may have seen or heard, I spoke at the Village Council last evening about the RHS field lights issues. Attached for your edification are my remarks.The more that I look at this, the stranger it looks. For instance:

How did the BOE pay for the engineering work that went into the field lights bid request on May 16 to possible contractors. Supposedly, the state budget cuts forced the BOE to eliminate teaching positions while at the same time they were spending on professional services for construction engineering for which they told the Planning Board that they had no money?

The actual bid request has language that tells prospective bidders that they must put in the pole foundations before the artificial turf has been installed. This means that the bids that they were seeking for the lights could only be used if the light work was done with the turf installation. Yet at the time the bid packages were prepared (May 16) there was no money to install the lights. Was the BOE clairvoyant in that they knew that they were getting the money in gifts?

How did the BOE approve the contracts with the lighting contractor at the July 19 or August 30 meeting when these monies were not in the Council approved budget? While the BOE accepted restricted contributions from sports groups totaling $79,500 at the August meeting, this was short of the $100,000 needed in the financing that was approved at the August meeting.

It certainly appears that the BOE intended to install the field lights all along and that their surprise at the sports teams getting their act together was just an act.

Jim Morgan

>European air officials say US security goes overboard; British Airways calls demands excessive
 European air officials accused the United States of imposing useless and overly intrusive travel security measures, calling Wednesday for the Obama administration to reexamine policies ranging from online security checks to X-raying shoes.

British Airways’ chairman made the first in a wave of complaints, saying in a speech to airport operators that removing shoes and taking laptops out of bags were “completely redundant” measures demanded by the U.S.

He was joined less than 24 hours later by British pilots, the owner of Heathrow airport, other European airlines, and the European Union. The EU submitted formal objections to a program that requires U.S.-bound travelers from 35 nations to complete online security clearance before departure. It called the system burdensome and said it could violate travelers’ privacy.

https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory?id=11979353

>Family Event in Ridgewood Nov 4th Jeffrey and The Bossy Frog
 I know Bergen County kids have off from school on Thursday Nov 4th and just in case anyone ages 2 – 8 years old is looking for something to do – here’s an event I’m doing for the Ridgewood Parks and Rec Dept. Thanks for checking it out.

Thursday Nov 4th 11am Jeffrey and The Bossy Frog character will do a special Thursday morning show for the Ridgewood, NJ Parks and Recreation Department. Community Center at Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450

$5 for all attendees. Pre-school Audience
Tickets sold in advance at Ridgewood Parks & Recreation, The Stable 259 N. Maple Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 or call (201) 670-5560
Thanks
Jeffrey

>Village Council Elections :Decisions , Decisions

>New Jersey Senate Race a Referendum on Christie as Unions Back Democrats

New Jersey’s organized labor and major political parties are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a special election to serve one year of a vacated state Senate seat, a race that may test the strength of first-term Governor Chris Christie’s attack on employee unions.

Candidates in the 14th District, which includes suburbs of the capital city of Trenton and is home to thousands of state workers, have spent $1.2 million, more than 80 percent of the total for New Jersey’s legislative elections on Nov. 2. The Democrat seeking that seat, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, raised $876,000 through Oct. 26 with help from unions for teachers and public employees, campaign-finance reports show.

Greenstein faces incumbent Tom Goodwin, the first New Jersey Republican to seek election since Christie won the 2009 governor’s race. Christie has since gained national fame for assailing the cost of public-sector pay and benefits. He isn’t on the ballot until 2013, so Goodwin is drawing the labor attacks in his place, said Statehouse lobbyist Jeff Tittel.

“I think it’s the unions’ line in the sand,” said Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, which endorsed Greenstein. “If Greenstein loses, they’re going to be in much more serious trouble next year.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-28/new-jersey-s-senate-race-a-referendum-on-christie-as-unions-back-democrat.html

>Village Council Election: I’m not looking for checkmate. I don’t want a fight, I want a solution.

I’m not looking for checkmate. I don’t want a fight, I want a solution. The balanced solution that is genuinely best for the whole village.

Forenza has lived through the changes this village has gone through for almost 60 years. He’s managed a municipality through exactly the same fiscal challenges we face today.

Someone that’s actually been there and done that versus someone that has talked a lot. Easy decision

>Top Union Official Caught on Tape Discussing Voter Fraud

>Independents turn to GOP in Senate races

Independent voters are tuning into Senate races and settling on candidates in the final week before the election, clarifying some of the hardest-fought contests of the campaign.
And with many of these unaffiliated voters unhappy with President Obama and the country’s direction, they’re showing signs of breaking to Republicans. (Martin, Politico)

https://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44220.html#ixzz13YD43TRS

>Trenton Democrats don’t care about your property taxes

On Monday, October 25th, I went to Trenton to attend an event organized by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, which is the largest and oldest Mayor’s organization in the United States. The purpose of the event was to meet with Governor Christie, the Assembly Republicans and the Assembly Democrats to urge the passage of a key provision of the Governor’s “Tool Kit” reforms: capping interest arbitration awards to the 2% property tax cap passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor last Summer. (Mayor Michael Halfacre, guest columnist for PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/42542/trenton-democrats-don-t-care-about-your-property-taxes

>Democratic leaders look to skirt cap public-employee raises

N.J. Assembly tables vote on measure to allow exceptions to proposed cap on public-employee raises
Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — Republican Gov. Chris Christie beat back the Democratic leaders of the Legislature Monday — and he used one of their own to do it.

Christie joined with the Democratic Essex County executive to stop a legislative effort to water down his proposal to cap public-employee raises. And by day’s end, even the governor’s most vocal adversaries could do nothing but admit defeat.

Democratic lawmakers were trying to pass a bill that would have allowed exceptions to Christie’s proposal for a so-called “hard cap” on salary increases in public-worker contracts.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/postponed_nj_bill_on_arbitrati.html

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Witches Moonlight Masquerade Ball

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2010
DoubleTree Hotel
180 Route 17 South
Mahwah, NJ 07430

8:00 p.m. to Midnight
Tickets – $50 each presale – $55 each at door
(Price of ticket includes 3 chances for raffle)

ALL PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT
ST. JUDE’S HOSPITAL
AND
FOUR LEGS GOOD.

AUTHENTIC RITUAL!!!!
Featuring Settie Nave!!!!!
All invited to attend
Commences PROMPTLY at 8:30 p.m.
(no one admitted into ritual after it starts)

Dinner!!!! Dancing!!!!! DJ!!!!! Raffles!!!!!!!
Prizes for Best Costumes!!!!!!
Psychic Readers*!!!!!

https://sacredlightcenter.com/masquerade.shtml

>Voters overwhelmingly prefer a free market economy to an economy managed by the government

Only 14% Prefer Government-Regulated Economy Over Free Market

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 Email to a Friend ShareThisAdvertisement
Voters overwhelmingly prefer a free market economy to an economy managed by the government and think government economic control helps big businesses at the expense of small ones.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/october_2010/only_14_prefer_government_regulated_economy_over_free_market

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Likely U.S. Voters think a free market economy is better than an economy managed by the government. That’s up five points from December 2008 following Barack Obama’s election as president but consistent with findings in surveys since then.

Only 14% think government control of the economy is better. (To see survey question wording, click here).

The Political Class isn’t so sure. Ninety percent (90%) of Mainstream voters prefer a free market economy. Among Political Class voters, however, just 34% feel that way, while 30% like a government-managed economy better and 35% are undecided.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of all voters think increased competition rather than increased government regulation is the best way to hold big business accountable. Thirty-four percent (34%) say increased regulation is the best way to go.

But again while 74% of Mainstream voters favor increased competition, 70% of the Political Class prefer increased regulation.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/october_2010/only_14_prefer_government_regulated_economy_over_free_market