Hearing On School Violence, Vandalism And Substance Abuse
October 22,2012
By the Numbers
Ridgewood NJ, Hearing On School Violence, Vandalism And Substance Abuse (Including HIB) Report Ridgewood High School Assistant Principal Mr. Basil Pizzuto presented and reviewed the district-wide School Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse (including HIB) Report for January – June 2012.
The total number of students involved in all reported incidents was 51 over the whole school year. Regina Botsford, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, reminded the Board that this week is School Violence Week and that several awareness programs have been scheduled at the schools to supplement the ongoing efforts that are made all year.
o Incidents of violence, including HIB, January – June 2012: 16 (21 total year)
o Incidents of vandalism, January – June 2012: 5 (9 total year)
o Incidents of weapons, January – June 2012: 0 (0 total year)
o Incidents of substance abuse, January – June 2012: 5 (8 total year)
Panel Presentation on Language Arts in the Professional World
Hosted by the RPS Curriculum Communication Committee Tuesday, November 27 at the Education Center, from 7:30-9 p.m.
Featuring notable panelists: Harlan Coben — renowned novelist, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Alan Finder — freelance writer and editor, former New York Times reporter, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Laura Nicosa — Associate Professor of English and English Education Coordinator, Montclair State University Donald Taylor — Senior Vice President/Portfolio Manager, Franklin Equity Group/Franklin Equity Services, LLC., Ridgewood resident and RPS parent Nadia Tscherny — Art History scholar/college professor/SAT and college essay tutor, Ridgewood resident and RPS parent.
Parents and guardians are invited to come out and hear what these noted panelists have to say about:
What skills, attitudes and pursuits in the Language Arts literacies of reading, writing, listening, speaking or viewing have benefitted you in your professional life?How might schools best create learning experiences that foster success in using the Language Arts literacies in students’ lives and in their future careers?
Dr. David Coward awarded the RHS Distinguished Alumni Award
Ridgewood NJ, David Coward, eminent physicist and a member of RHS Class of 1952, was awarded the RHS Distinguished Alumni Award during the 60th reunion of the class in October.
Dr. Coward collaborated on the discovery of quarks, for which his colleagues received the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Following the reunion festivities, Dr. Coward spoke to more than 400 RHS students about his research in finding quarks and the work of scientists in today’s world.
NJ’s top three supers open up about life inside the system
All told, the three men represent more than 50 years of school leadership — in different New Jersey communities with different challenges.
Whatever their differences, however, the three share a common bond: They were named yesterday as the top school superintendents in their regions. They also share a common sentiment: the expectations and pressures now facing New Jersey’s schools are unprecedented, especially in the face of constrained resources and strict caps.
They weren’t complaining about their jobs, something they made clear in a joint interview with NJ Spotlight. Recent changes in the state’s tenure laws and coming changes in curriculum offered some equally unprecedented opportunities, they said. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
A state Democratic campaign worker accused of stealing GOP signs
A state Democratic campaign worker was arrested early Tuesday morning, suspected of stealing signs supporting two Republican Bergen County Freeholder candidates, police said.
Mahwah Police Detective Kevin Hebert and Officer Michael Blondin were investigating another matter near the Mountainside Avenue entrance to Route 17 south around 12:40 a.m. when they saw David M. Gins, 27, of Washington, D.C., remove a “Re-elect [Rob] Hermansen and Elect [Peg] Watkins” sign from the ground and put it on the floor behind the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Traverse with New Jersey license plates, Chief James Batelli said Tuesday.
The officers approached the vehicle and discovered eight identical signs to the one that had been removed and several blue blue signs supporting the reelection of Sen. Bob Menendez, he said. (Pries, The Record)
The RHS Upper Level Latin Academic Team took first place at its first competition of the season at Montclair State University on October 19. The team competed with 17 regional schools in Latin grammar, Roman life and Greco-Roman mythology.
Pictured left to right with their gold medals and gift book are: Francesca Felder, Vidushi Sharma, Akari Armatas, Megan Felder, Britta Potter and Zoe Blecher-Cohen. Latin teachers are Catherine Venturini (Academic Team Coach) and Stefanie Gigante.
5 Crucial Questions for the Presidential Foreign Policy Debate
Amy Payne
October 22, 2012 at 8:45 am
Tonight’s final presidential debate will focus solely on foreign policy. Moderator Bob Schieffer announced that the topics will be: “America’s Role in the World,” “Our Longest War—Afghanistan and Pakistan,” “Red Lines—Israel and Iran,” “The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism,” and “The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World.” Heritage’s foreign policy experts have written a series of tipsheets for prepping on each of these issues, featured on our Debate 2012 page and linked below.
Join us tonight at 9 p.m. ET to watch the debate live on the Debate 2012 page. In addition to the live stream, our experts will be live blogging, and you can join in the conversation on Twitter.
Our experts have submitted five questions they consider vital to the foreign policy debate:
Given that the Taliban movement still poses a threat to the futures of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, how do you plan to ensure stability in the region and prevent either country from serving as a base for international terrorists intent on attacking the U.S.?
Over the last several years, the Chinese have become increasingly aggressive in pressing territorial claims against their neighbors, threatening to upend peace, security, and the free flow of commerce in the region. What policies will your Administration undertake in the first year to make clear to this new Chinese leadership that the U.S. will remain committed to its friends and treaty allies in the western Pacific?
The U.S. is not the world’s policeman, but it is a leader in world affairs. Can we maintain our influence and protect our vital national interests around the world (such as the “pivot to Asia” that the Administration has announced) if defense cuts continue? Do these cuts encourage adversaries and extremists (as in Libya) to test U.S. resolve?
In the months since Osama bin Laden was killed, al-Qaeda franchises in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and North Africa have grown stronger and continue to pose a significant threat to Americans. Yet the U.S. appears to be stuck in a “whack-a-mole” tape loop. How should U.S. counterterrorism policy be changed to effectively counter this evolving threat?
Although sanctions have been ratcheted up against Iran, a new study by the Congressional Research Service has concluded that sanctions have not succeeded in accomplishing their principal objective “to compel Iran to verifiably confine its nuclear program to purely peaceful uses.” Tehran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium and is closer than ever to a nuclear weapon. Can sanctions alone stop these trends? What else should the U.S. do to end Iran’s nuclear defiance?
Luring cases are part of new reality across North Jersey
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY OCTOBER 20, 2012, 2:13 PM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN AND DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
At New Milford police headquarters on Friday, after the town became the latest in Bergen County to have an attempted child luring reported, cops got to talking about the way things used to be.
Police in four towns have released sketches based on incidents reported in their jurisdictions. The sketch shown was released by the Westwood Police Department on Thursday.
“We used to ride our bikes to school,” Chief Frank Papapietro said. “We would be in the woods all day long. It was just a different time.”
These days, the streets around schools in New Milford and many other towns in North Jersey — where kids once nonchalantly walked or biked without chaperones — are clogged with cars dropping students at the schools’ doorsteps. Kids are tethered to parents by cellphones and carefully managed schedules. At home and in school, children learn about “stranger danger.”
The concern over the steady stream of luring incidents in recent weeks — New Milford reported a second one on Friday afternoon — highlights the current anxiety over raising kids in Bergen County, known for its safe streets and good schools. With nearly a dozen incidents and four police sketches since mid-September, school districts have posted public alerts. National and international media have picked up the story of a “child abductor” and “North Jersey pervert” on the loose.
No child has been abducted during this string of attempted lurings.
“Which Vision of America Will We Leave to Our Children and Grandchildren?” – Presented by Nick Rago
Election 2012 – A War of Ideologies – October 24 Wednesday Evening, October 24, at 7:30 p.m. 79 Pascack Road, Township of Washington, NJ 07676
Hosted by Knights of Columbus – Mother Seton Council #5427
What is happening in America? Our First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion are under attack. Our children’s futures have been mortgaged by unconscionable spending. The Constitution, as well as centuries of Judeo-Christian traditions and mores, have been cast aside in the name of political correctness by a progressive secularism that is eroding the very foundations of our republic.
Members of both political parties have abdicated their roles as stewards of the American Dream. The salvation of this nation, a nation founded under a Divine Providence to forever be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, rests squarely on the shoulders of you, the citizens of this country.
If we truly believe that “…government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed…” then we must accept the responsibility to engage ourselves in the political issues facing us as a nation.
President Obama’s Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures
Ashe Schow
October 18, 2012 at 8:25 am(64)
It is no secret that President Obama’s and green-energy supporters’ (from both parties) foray into venture capitalism has not gone well. But the extent of its failure has been largely ignored by the press. Sure, single instances garner attention as they happen, but they ignore past failures in order to make it seem like a rare case.
The truth is that the problem is widespread. The government’s picking winners and losers in the energy market has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and the rate of failure, cronyism, and corruption at the companies receiving the subsidies is substantial. The fact that some companies are not under financial duress does not make the policy a success. It simply means that our taxpayer dollars subsidized companies that would’ve found the financial support in the private market.
So far, 36 companies that have received federal support from taxpayers are faltering — either having gone bankrupt or laying off workers or heading for bankruptcy. This list includes only those companies that received federal money from the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy and other agencies. The amount of money indicated does not reflect how much was actually received or spent but how much was offered. The amount also does not include other state, local, and federal tax credits and subsidies, which push the amount of money these companies have received from taxpayers even higher.
The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:
Evergreen Solar ($24 million)*
SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
Solyndra ($535 million)*
Beacon Power ($69 million)*
AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)
Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
SunPower ($1.5 billion)
First Solar ($1.46 billion)
Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
Amonix ($5.9 million)
National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)
Fisker Automotive ($528 million)
Abound Solar ($374 million)*
A123 Systems ($279 million)*
Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)
Johnson Controls ($299 million)
Schneider Electric ($86 million)
Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
ECOtality ($126.2 million)
Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
Range Fuels ($80 million)*
Thompson River Power ($6.4 million)*
Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
LSP Energy ($2.1 billion)*
UniSolar ($100 million)*
Azure Dynamics ($120 million)*
GreenVolts ($500,000)
Vestas ($50 million)
LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)
Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
Navistar ($10 million)
Satcon ($3 million)*
*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.
The problem begins with the issue of government picking winners and losers in the first place. Venture capitalist firms exist for this very reason, and they choose what to invest in by looking at companies’ business models and deciding if they are worthy. When the government plays venture capitalist, it tends to reward companies that are connected to the policymakers themselves or because it sounds nice to “invest” in green energy.
The 2009 stimulus set aside $80 billion to subsidize politically preferred energy projects. Since that time, 1,900 investigations have been opened to look into stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse (although not all are linked to the green-energy funds), and nearly 600 convictions have been made. Of that $80 billion in clean energy loans, grants, and tax credits, at least 10 percent has gone to companies that have since either gone bankrupt or are circling the drain.
UPDATE: Some of the companies on this list received money from government agencies other than or in addition to the Department of Energy. We are updating the numbers to reflect the most accurate figures available.
A Multivitamin a day may reduce cancer risk
October 17, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Does a multivitamin a day keep the doctor away? The answer according to a large scale study ,The Physicians Health Study II of almost 15,000 men for 11 years came to the conclusion that ,those who took the pills were 8% less likely to develop cancer of any kind
The “modest” reduction is thought to mirror the benefits of eating a healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables.Multivitamins contain a wide range of nutrients that might be missing from a less than ideal diet.
The AP reports that researcher Howard Sesso, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said: “Many studies have suggested that eating a nutritious diet may reduce a man’s risk of developing cancer. “Now we know that taking a daily multivitamin, in addition to addressing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, may also be considered in the prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men.”(https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/vitamins-may-reduce-cancer-risk-143845025.html )
The Physicians Health Study II (PHS II) trial involved male American doctors who received either a daily multivitamin tablet or an inactive placebo pill.
Over an average 11.2 years, a total of 2,669 cancers were diagnosed, including 1,373 cases of prostate and 210 cases of bowel cancer.
During the follow-up period, 2,757 (18.8%) of the men died, including 859 killed by cancer. Compared with men not taking multivitamins, pill users experienced an 8% reduction in total cancer incidence.Results of the study were presented at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in Chicago and also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ( https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/vitamins-may-reduce-cancer-risk-143845025.html )
So yes a multivitamin pill a day does seem to reduce a man’s risk of cancer.
More evidence of White House deception on Benghazi attacks in Libya
By Jennifer Rubin
President Obama’s attempts to wriggle free from his own words and actions on Libya are making things worse.
American Crossroads, taking exception to Obama’s announcement last night that he really had declared Benghazi to be an act of terrorism, has sent out a memo, which reads:
The President clearly misled the American people with this claim, because if Obama’s Rose Garden speech was indeed the White House position, it did not inform any subsequent statement by the White House press office — and was even directly contradicted by his own spokesman several days later.
On September 20 — eight days after Obama claims to have called the Benghazi attack an “act of terror” — Jay Carney affirmed to reporters that the White House had never called it “a terrorist attack.”
From the gaggle on Air Force One, en route to Miami, 9/20/2012: Q: Can you — have you called it a terrorist attack before? Have you said that? MR. CARNEY: I haven’t, but — I mean, people attacked our embassy. It’s an act of terror by definition. Q: Yes, I just hadn’t heard you — MR. CARNEY: It doesn’t have to do with what date it occurred. Q: No, I just hadn’t heard the White House say that this was an act of terrorism or a terrorist attack. And I just —
MR. CARNEY: I don’t think the fact that we hadn’t is not — as our NCTC Director testified yesterday, a number of different elements appear to have been involved in the attack, including individuals connected to militant groups that are prevalent in eastern Libya, particularly in the Benghazi area. We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda’s affiliates, in particular al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Here, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney actually affirmed Gov. Romney’s position that the White House did not call the Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. Carney also said the now infamous video “precipitated some of the unrest in Benghazi” the day before.
The memo goes on to argue that Obama’s position on Libya is “untenable.” That’s about the shape of things. Did he call it an act of terror and go around misleading the country for two weeks that it was a spontaneous reaction to the anti-Muslim movie? Or did he not call it terror on Sept. 12 and lie to the voters last night?
There is another problem with Obama’s response. Recall this part of his answer: “So as soon as we found out that the Benghazi Consulate was being overrun, I was on the phone with my national security team, and I gave them three instructions. Number one, beef up our security and — and — and procedures not just in Libya but every embassy and consulate in the region. Number two, investigate exactly what happened, regardless of where the facts lead us, to make sure that folks are held accountable and it doesn’t happen again. And number three, we are going to find out who did this, and we are going to hunt them down, because one of the things that I’ve said throughout my presidency is when folks mess with Americans, we go after them”
So there was no actual meeting of the National Security Council at which everyone could share information and get on the same page? (David Axelrod has refused to say.) It doesn’t sound like it. But you know Obama was busy that day — flying to Las Vegas for a campaign event. So really, why have a meeting? Well, the weeks of confusion and dissembling that followed should answer that.
Moreover, if he actually did instruct his team to heighten protection for the Libya Consulate, why was the consulate left unsecured so that CNN could waltz in to grab Ambassador Chris Stevens’s diary? Did Obama not make himself clear, or were his instructions not followed?
The more we learn the more we see how both dishonest and incompetent has been the handling of this entire incident. The Obama White House may be out spinning the press to buy into the Obama-Crowley line, but no one is buying it. As the rest of the information comes to light, the president retains less and less credibility. Like a fish on a line he flops this way and that, trying to break free of his self-created trap.
‘Amazing Race’ set for this weekend in Ridgewood
Wednesday October 17, 2012, 11:27 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood’s next great race will not pass through Veterans Park, nor will it close off any residential streets. All participants, however, will be challenged and likely break a sweat.
Based loosely on the television reality program, the Amazing Ridgewood Race is a scavenger hunt that will take contestants through a combined lesson in shopping and village trivia while leading them on a tour of the Central Business District (CBD).
Several full teams have already signed up, but additional squads and individuals can register through race day on Saturday, Oct. 20, according to Tony Damiano, owner of Mango Jam and president of The Ridgewood Guild.
Sponsored by the Guild, the race is designed to attract consumers to local businesses and promote the various restaurants, shops and professional services that are available in the CBD.
“It’s hard to come up with retail events other than running a sale,” Damiano said, adding that the Guild’s Music in the Night and Movies in the Night programs are “terrific for our restaurants.”
“That’s why it was not hard to get the businesses involved [in the Amazing Race]. We didn’t have to coerce any business into joining. They couldn’t say no to the idea,” he said.
About three dozen Ridgewood businesses have committed to help out in the race, Damiano told The Ridgewood News.
ANOTHER OBAMA FAIRY TALE TURNS TO DUST: CBO CONFIRMS $24 BILLION LOSS ON BAILOUTS
By: John Hayward
10/16/2012 09:22 AM
According to CNS News, Barack Obama is still running around and claiming “we got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system.” Like so many other Obama and Biden statements, that is absolutely false:
The Congressional Budget Office–based on figures from Obama’s own Office of Management and Budget—gives a different assessment.
“The cost to the federal government of the TARP’s transactions (also referred to as the subsidy cost), including grants for mortgage programs that have not yet been made, will amount to $24 billion,” said the CBO report, which was released on the same day Obama spoke.
TARP is the Troubled Asset Relief Program – the formal name of the government’s financial bailout program passed in October 2008.
CBO said that the cost of TARP “stems largely from assistance to American International Group (AIG), aid to the automotive industry, and grant programs aimed at avoiding home mortgage foreclosures,” noting that the losses will be so large they will eclipse the financial gains the government will realize from bailing out other large financial institutions.
In fact, CBO reported that as of now $65 billion in TARP funds remain outstanding.
Additional upgrades for Habernickel Family Park planned
MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2012, 3:07 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Residents who visit Irene Habernickel Family Park will notice a difference at the former horse farm over the course of the next year.
Changes to the aesthetics and comforts are currently being planned and will likely, village officials hope, come at little or no cost to Ridgewood taxpayers.
Ridgewood officials applied for a Bergen County block grant of $90,000 to help offset the expense of installing proposed ADA accessible restroom facilities.
Village staff had previously prepared preliminary designs for the new restrooms, which will be built at the former horse barn structure. At the least, a basic and rudimentary sketch is required with the application submission, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said, though a more concrete plan will be expected.
The plans also call for new entry ramps leading into the horse barn.
“At this point, we just want to get something into the mix and go forward with the block grant application,” Gabbert said.
Applications for 2013 Community Development Block Grants were to be filed with the county by Oct. 5, according to the Bergen County website.
