>The tradition was ‘tinkered with’ by changing the day from Friday to Saturday. Mistake #1. I used to look forward to ditching work early, scoot up to the train station. Sing with a few thousand of my neighbors and have dinner afterwards and stroll the streets. Saturday was hum-drum because you had to give up a weekend day to have all the pomp & such.
Mistake #2: groupthink about the global warming hoax following the Anne Zusy types down to the Square instead of the focal point of the town. And to make matters worse, let’s hang recycling on the tree. I may be alone on this, but my tree may have home-made ornaments by the kids, but there are no used pork n beans cans.
Mistake #3: VOR compounds last year’s error by doing it AGAIN, sans garbage ornaments. Big deal. You know what used to work and brought people in? The traditional tree, singers, bands and such on a Friday night at the station. I remember the throngs of people stretching a block north n south and several blocks down East Ridgewood Ave.
Notice that NYC doesn’t drop the New Years ball over the Smithsonian. And why? Because Times Square is the place. Same reason the celebration belongs back at the station.
New Jersey Patriots Are Taking their Voices to DC Again!
We are taking it to the “buses” on December 15th once again to provide our Senators the visual aid they need to understand clearly that we do not want this Healthcare bill on our backs or the backs of our children or grandchildren. We cannot afford, nor will we tolerate, another power grab by Congress to rule over our very own bodies and force upon us unconstitutional actions to compel us to buy or subsidize government healthcare in any shape or form.
>We’re going Downtown for the Holidays tomorrow night, Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30-9 PM. It’s Ridgewood’s annual December celebration. Stores will be open late and East Ridgewood Ave. will become a pedestrian mall. The Chamber of Commerce will provide free entertainment and hot cider. We’ll have a table at the intersection of Oak St. and East Ridgewood Ave. (northeast corner), across the street from Van Neste Square, near the big clock.
Come say hello and see the new Graydon fundraising items that were a big hit at our Holiday Bazaar:
Car/refrigerator magnets Yard signs (take with you or request free delivery) Note cards with Dorothy Warren scene of ice skating at Graydon (blank inside) Special offer: the same cards with your message and name inside—order now for speedy delivery as Christmas/New Year cards (minimum of 100 for custom orders) Last day of our Cheesecake Aly fundraiser: festive cheesecakes, down-home chocolate chip cookies, and cheesecake gift certificates for home delivery in mid-December. Free samples of raspberry cheesecake while they last.
Coming soon: our online store! Till then, grab a warm coat and meet us Downtown for the Holidays: tomorrow (Friday), 5:30-9 PM.
Swimmingly, Marcia Ringel and Suzanne Kelly, Co-Chairs The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation “It’s clear—we love Graydon!” [email protected] www.PreserveGraydon.org
THE scientific consensus that mankind has caused climate change was rocked yesterday as a leading academic called it a “load of hot air underpinned by fraud”.
Professor Ian Plimer condemned the climate change lobby as “climate comrades” keeping the “gravy train” going.
In a controversial talk just days before the start of a climate summit attended by world leaders in Copenhagen, Prof Plimer said Governments were treating the public like “fools” and using climate change to increase taxes.
He said carbon dioxide has had no impact on temperature and that recent warming was part of the natural cycle of climate stretching over billions of years.
“If you have to argue your science by using fraud, your science is not valid. “ Professor Pilmer
Prof Plimer – author of Heaven and Earth: Global Warming, The Missing Science – told a London audience: “Climates always change. They always have and they always will. They are driven by a number of factors that are random and cyclical.”
His comments came days after a scandal in climate-change research emerged through the leak of emails from the world-leading research unit at the University of East Anglia. They appeared to show that scientists had been massaging data to prove that global warming was taking place
The Climate Research Unit also admitted getting rid of much of its raw climate data, which means other scientists cannot check the subsequent research. Last night the head of the CRU, Professor Phil Jones, said he would stand down while an independent review took place.
>Paying cops to replace to crossing guards??? I never said that as that would be a stupid comment because the cops are already being paid by the town – the point was let’s get rid of the crossing guards and have the cops whom we, as tax payers already pay, do this service for the two hours a day. There is a cost savings initiative already.
7:53 – you must be married to a cop or have one in your family. I never said that I hated cops, I was pointing out the waste of having a larger than required force. I was also pointing out the need for cops to do more than just nothing – how do you know that I was not there when the good Lt. smacked into the civilian car on Linwood Avenue? You seem to know a lot about me. Also, if there are crimes been committed in this town, it is duty of the police via the press to inform us, the taxpayers. I actually witnessed two blue hairs going at it one day in the Daily Treat – it was over moving too slowly. Bar brawls in Ridgewood – that is funny – I might go out this weekend to witnessed one myself.
In reference to Graydon – we all know that those people looking to preserve Graydon pool are fighting a losing battle. When the town’s pediatric physicians stop telling parents that their kids are suffering from the Graydon Syndrome, when they get sick in the summer from swimming in the dump and when this same group of preservationists come up with a rejuvenation plan of their own, then and only then might we see a change in the direction the battle is heading.
My whole point is this – we need cuts and proper investments for the stability and growth of this great town. Like any business, cuts will hurt but not only do we need cuts in wasteful spending, we need investment in cash generating ventures. Ridgewood needs to be promoted as a town that is good for business, good for families in that it not only offers a respectable environment, but it offers an exceptional educational experience for all children up through the completion of secondary school, with qualified teachers that are the best at what they do and it offers the best in the region round-year activities for the town’s families to enjoy. If we don’t make the necessary cuts and investments, if we don’t make the necessary changes to Graydon pool and if we don’t clean up our act in our schools, our town will continue to lose revenues to other towns.
>A growing movement to restore nature to children’s lives in our overbuilt, overpaved, overprotective world is receiving wider attention.
In an op-ed piece last summer, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof described a camping experience with his daughter. He notes that many children today experience nature mostly through the TV screen and consider nature to be exotic and removed from their daily lives. He writes, “Suburban childhood that once meant catching snakes in fields now means sanitized video play dates scheduled a week in advance.”
An article in yesterday’s New York edition of the New York Times describes a “forest kindergarten” in Saratoga Springs, New York. Children lucky enough to attend this school gain an appreciation and love of nature that they are unlikely to forget. Later, when today’s children become the stewards of the earth, those with important memories and experiences connected to nature will be more likely to care about the earth and to take good care of it than those who spent childhood in a protective bubble.
We at the Preserve Graydon Coalition believe strongly in the importance of encouraging children to connect with nature. This point represents only one of our many reasons for caring deeply about preventing the loss of Graydon Pool and working hard to achieve that aim.
It’s easy to imagine holding some mild equivalent of a “forest kindergarten” at Graydon all year ’round. Would this be possible with a concrete pool?
Here is the article on an outdoor kindergarten just one state away. The “slide show” is wonderful.
Extensive, interesting, well-presented information is available at the website of the Children & Nature Network: https://www.childrenandnature.org/. The site includes articles on a wide swath of related topics, including the value of nature to healing and the medicinal qualities of dirt. Yes, dirt. BBC News reports, “Children should be allowed to get dirty, according to scientists who have found being too clean can impair the skin’s ability to heal. Normal bacteria living on the skin trigger a pathway that helps prevent inflammation when we get hurt, the US team discovered.”
We are part of the earth whether we like it or not. The farther we attempt to separate ourselves from it, the worse that will be for us and our children. Let’s teach them to embrace that connection instead.
Marcia Ringel Co-Chair, The Preserve Graydon Coalition www.PreserveGraydon.org
TRENTON — To help close an unexpected budget gap, the state plans to withhold $20.7 million in aid payments to municipalities, a move that could force cuts in services or higher property taxes, according to three legislative sources briefed on the move.
The decision to place the final aid installment in reserve rather than distribute it to towns is expected to be announced by the Corzine administration Tuesday along with other budget-trimming moves, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.
The payment represents 5 percent of the total annual aid authorized for municipalities under the Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Act. But that is enough to throw into turmoil the budgets of more than 400 towns that prepare their budget on the calendar year schedule, forcing them to scramble for last-minute cuts, said William Dressel, executive director of the state League of Municipalities.
“There are towns that are going to be confronted with a serious cash flow problem,” said Dressel, who fears that other municipal aid accounts could also be cut. “I’m very much concerned that this is just the first salvo of many more to come.”
Spokesmen for Gov. Jon Corzine and Treasurer David Rousseau did not return calls seeking comment today. Corzine has asked his departments to deliver $400 million in cuts by Tuesday.
One key lawmaker, Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), said the decision is poorly timed, because the towns left with a year-end deficit will have to build tax increases into their budgets for next year. Sarlo, the incoming chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, said he’s also concerned about the state’s legal obligation because it has approved the municipal budgets and certified their state aid.
follow the link for the rest of the story ….
Statehouse Bureau reporter Lisa Fleisher contributed to this report.
>Ridgewood has the ability to save money much like many other towns in this county. We just need to get rid of the excess numbers of town employees that we have, including those teachers that are not adding any value to the quality of education that our kids are getting.
We don’t need traffic wardens – the cops can that do that job when they are not crashing into unsuspecting motorists or when they are not doing their job as drivers speed through our streets and Joe Cop is talking on his cell phone and not doing anything about what’s going on around him.
Go to the train station any work day morning and you will find any number of town employees sitting inside the station drinking coffee and bullshitting with the coffee lady when they should be out doing their job. If they have time to do this at that hour of the morning, we don’t need – get rid of them.
In regards to the cops, we don’t need half the number of the force that we currently have because it’s not like we live in Dodge – it’s Ridgewood for God’s sake – read the Police Blotter in the local rags and what you will see is a listing of those three or four drivers that have been stopped for DWI. We don’t have serious crime – the cops should also do the school crossing guard job so they can look busy. We don’t need the elderly folks stepping out and helping children to cross our roads (some actually try to direct the traffic when they have helped the kids cross the street and that really pisses me off). Let the cops do it – maybe if motorists saw a cop car on the streets by our schools they would be forced to slow down – they currently don’t slow down for some old guy rushing groups of kids across the street.
Let’s start bringing revenue-making businesses back into town. We need to work towards enhancing consumer traffic into the down town area by bringing back some of the retail stores that this town could do with. We don’t need anymore banks, we need to start bringing brand-name stores back to town so that our money is not going to the big malls in Paramus. We can no longer have a day out in Ridgewood because two stores and Star Bucks and its time to go home – Let’s start catering to the residents of this town and not to the demands of its public officials, town employees and teachers – we need to get Ridgewood back on track and focused on the need to modernize itself and that includes a total revamp of the piss pot – otherwise known as Graydon Pool. We are loosing revenues there big time – stylish food courts, party rental space, etc., could all be major revenue earners for this town.
The overall message needs to be – stop complaining about the financial situation that we are in and that we are digging ourselves deeper into – bloody do something about and if our elected officials won’t listen to us, then their time in office will be a short lived experience – but not many people have the balls to switch party alliances in this town – that is why we are in the state we are – the saga continues…
Municipalities brace for steep cuts in state aid By Star-Ledger Staff November 29, 2009, 10:45AM
In Hope Township, Mayor Tim McDonough said he’s considering cuts to “sacred cows” like money for senior groups, food banks and recreation programs.
Paterson Mayor Jose Torres said the city may trim budgets for police and fire protection.
All across New Jersey, municipal officials are faced with grim cost-cutting choices as they brace for the possibility of unprecedented cuts to state aid by year’s end, leaving them little room to maneuver.
Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerGov. Jon Corzine delivers his 2009 budget speech to a joint session of the New Jersey Legislature.
Gov. Jon Corzine said Thursday he might give towns only a portion of a planned December payment to help patch a growing budget deficit that now stands at $1 billion.
Faced with strained finances, municipalities are already scrambling for savings as they struggle to keep their heads above water, experts and government officials say.
“This isn’t like the good old days, when you adopted the budget and you waited until the following June to put together another budget,” League of Municipalities Executive Director William Dressel said. “Now we’re going month to month, week to week.”
On Wednesday, the state revealed it may freeze up to $400 million in payments to municipalities, schools, higher education, hospitals and pensions.
To cope, towns could lay off workers, borrow money, cut services or spend surpluses. Next year, they may have to raise property taxes to compensate, Dressel said.
Corzine hasn’t said where he’ll cut, but local leaders are holding their breath.
New Jersey municipalities have relied on regular state assistance to fund services since the early ’90s, said Mary Forsberg, who leads New Jersey Policy Perspective. That keeps property taxes, already among the highest in the country, from rising even faster.
“I’ve been through a lot of these budget crises,” Forsberg said. “This is the most serious of any of them that we’ve had.”
Municipalities have already been cutting costs in ways big and small.
New Brunswick eliminated 25 full-time jobs in 2008, then another eight this year. Mount Arlington shares its municipal court with four other towns. In Lambertville, metered parking is in effect three hours longer and the city has imposed a $35 fee for what had been free trash collection.
More cuts like those being weighed in Paterson and Hope Township are still possible, but Forsberg criticized local officials for not cutting more.
“Municipalities are complaining a lot about their situations, but I don’t think many municipalities have really seriously tightened their belt,” she said. “Reality has not sunk in.”
FROM BAD TO WORSE
Bad financial news has been constant background music since Corzine took office in 2006. Falling revenues helped drive down the state’s budget from $33.5 billion in 2007 to $29 billion this year.
Corzine is asking his departments to come up with $400 million in spending cuts by Tuesday, but the state also says it needs $350 million in additional spending, according to a financial disclosure statement released last week.
Tax revenue through the year is off more than $412 million, though two big payments are still pending: holiday sales tax and April income tax.
Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who takes office Jan. 19, said the budget gap is his first priority, saying: “The news of the last 48 hours just shows how desperately out of control government has been in New Jersey.”
Christie’s transition team is scheduled to meet for a second time with Treasury officials next week, and there are already signs of disagreement. Rich Bagger, one of Christie’s top fiscal advisers, said the $350 million in extra spending is unacceptable.
“These budget shortfalls make it clear that the Corzine administration must take urgent and immediate action to bring the budget under control,” he said in a joint statement with Robert Grady, another Christie adviser.
The spending includes items such as Medicaid waivers from the federal government that have not yet come through, Bagger said.
Treasury representatives, who were furloughed Friday in a cost-cutting measure, did not return messages.
FOGGY FORECAST
The state promised $1.77 billion in municipal aid this fiscal year, down from $1.83 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June. Municipalities use the money to fund anything from police and sanitation to health programs and public employee salaries, Dressel said.
Bradley Abelow, Corzine’s former treasurer, said there have always been mid-year budget adjustments at the departmental level, but the economic crisis has stumped forecasters.
“In the past, they’ve been off a little bit, but over the last two years (revenues) have been much harder to project,” he said.
Officials across the state rely on the state’s projections and commitments to plan their budgets, which causes a ripple effect when goals aren’t met.
New Jersey is likely to face more financial pain. In the last fiscal year, the state’s shortfall grew to $4 billion by June. The state is legally required to keep a balanced budget, so state leaders raided rainy day funds and dedicated revenue sources, took millions in federal aid and delayed worker pension and school aid payments.
They also cut department spending and delayed a state employee salary increase.
“No matter how pessimistic the revenue estimates are, they turn out to be not pessimistic enough,” said Jon Shure, deputy director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
By Chris Megerian and Lisa Fleisher/The Star-Ledger
John Reitmeyer and Mike Frassinelli contributed to this report.
>You get what you pay for. If you want second rate teachers with a high turn over, then pay less and reduce benefits. If we want our schools to be nothing more than day care centers with minimum wage workers your taxes will be reduced. However, the value of you house will also be reduced. Even if you don’t have children in the school system this will cost you in the long run. I think the BOE has made some poor business decisions and that the administration is top heavy. BUT, I still believe that we get above average service from the hands on class room teachers.
Don’t forget, no one is breaking down the school house doors in the nation looking for teaching jobs. Most of us in Ridgewood could not afford to live on $100,000 a year, even with the top level health benefits and a good pension.
>Ladies Night Out Networking: Holiday Baking Mon, December 07, 2009 Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Location: Ridgewood Culinary School, 223 Chestnut Street, Ridgewood Cost: $35 per person
You are invited to Networking – Holiday Baking Style Food provided by Whole Foods Market Chefs Nancy and JoMarie
While you are Networking, enjoy cooking, eating and take home goodies to share at the office and/or home.
$35 per person. Reservations only, limited space. Door prizes! Bring your favorite wine to share a glass with someone else. Do not forget the business cards and 30 second commercial.
RSVP to the Chamber Office, (201) 445-2600 or email [email protected].
Networking in Ridgewood Tue, December 08, 2009 Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM Location: Artis Gallery, 11 Prospect Street, Ridgewood Cost: $10 per person
Start the holiday season by networking your business! Enjoy wonderful hors d’oeuvres, beverages and a lot of holiday spirit!
FREE PARKING AFTER 6PM.
Cost: $10 members; $15 non-members
Please RSVP to the Chamber by 12/7. Call (201) 445-2600 or email [email protected].
>We thought your readers might want to know about a promotion we are running this Holiday season. We are giving prizes away amounting to over $2000 over as 12 day period. Starting on Monday 11/30 and ending on Saturday 12/12 we will be raffling off one prize each day. We attached our ad that ran in the Record this week.
“On the First Day of Christmas Irish Eyes gave to me…..” NOV 30th………Belleek CELTIC MINI CACHE POT 2009 Annual Piece $40 DEC 1st…………………………..Belleek ARTIST SIGNED KILKENNY CASTLE $45 DEC 2nd………………………………………..Men’s OR Women’s WOOL SCARF $49 DEC 3rd……………………………………………..ORNAMENT of CHOICE Up To $79 DEC 4th………………………………WATERFORD MARQUIS Quadrata Bowl $99 DEC 5th………………………MULLIGAR PEWTAR Tankard with Shamrock $100 DEC 7th………….….WATERFORD Mondavi Pinot Noir Set with Carafe $100 DEC 8th………………………………………FOUR BELLEEK Trademark Mugs $120 DEC 9th………………………………SOLVAR Sterling Silver Heart Pendant $128 DEC 10th…………………MEN’s or WOMEN’s Fisherman Wool Sweater $175 DEC 11th………………………………………………..BRANNIGAN’s TARA CAPE $215 DEC 12th…………………………………………..14K GOLD CLADDAGH RING $575
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at Irish Eyes.
Sláinte,
Tara and Gene Callaghan Celtic Pride LLC dba Irish Eyes Imports Ltd 1 Cottage Place Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201.445.8585 – Phone 201.445.8597 – Fax [email protected] www.celticpride.com
>Holiday Bazaar to benefit The Preserve Graydon Coalition Sunday, November 29, 2009 10 AM–4 PM 250 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood (private home, directly across Maple from the Stable) Free admission
What you’ll find: “Save Graydon Pool” car magnets and “Keep Graydon Natural” lawn signs
Christmas/holiday cards featuring Graydon ice skating scene by Dorothy Warren (custom imprinting available);
original oil paintings by late Ridgewood artist Dorothy Warren (above: “Roses in Abundance”)order Cheesecake Aly cheesecakes, choc. chip cookies for delivery Dec. 19
The Key lime is crustless, sugar free, and gluten free—delicious for all! photos of Ridgewood’s downtown clock in all seasons, matted for framing delicate origami constructions, original jewelry, unique pottery home-baked cookies, Dove Chocolate Discoveries Christmas ornaments, wreaths, flameless candles And much more from over 20 vendors!
Park on Mastin Pl., Brookmere Ct., or Meadowbrook Ave. (or other streets off Maple) or in the Stable parking lot.
If you are volunteering at the bazaar, please leave the best parking spots for customers.
See you at the bazaar, 10am–4pm, Sunday, Nov. 29, at 250 N. Maple Ave. Note: Many vendors require cash or check.
Swimmingly, Marcia Ringel and Suzanne Kelly, Co-Chairs The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation “It’s clear—we love Graydon!” [email protected] www.PreserveGraydon.org
