>Caught in the middle of ABC Channel 7 vs Cablevision? Here’s how you can still watch the Oscars Sunday, March 7th 2010, 1:24 PM
If you have Cablevision and ABC has gone dark on your TV, here are some alternative ways to follow tonight’s Academy Awards:
ONLINE: Starting at 6 p.m., the red carpet arrivals will be streamed live online at Oscar.com. If you have a Facebook account, you can even ask some of the stars questions.
Oscar.com will also have a “Backstage Cam” showing footage from behind the scenes and press room interviews of winners after they’ve left the stage.
Red carpet coverage from the Associated Press will also be available at www.livestream.com/academyawards, starting at 6 p.m. The AP stream is also on Facebook: become a fan of AP Live to see it.
ABC’s Oscars site has not announced plans to stream the actual ceremony live, but clips should be posted frequently at abc.com.
Clips should also show up quickly at the official Oscars YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/Oscars) and on Hulu.com
Unofficial live streaming may be available at video sites like justin.tv, tv.com, ustream.com, freedocast.com, and atdhe.net.
This Russian site claims it will carry live stream of the telecast: watch-oscar-online.com
ON A BLOG: Hundreds of sites are live-blogging the ceremony. Best bets include Entertainment Weekly, Film.com, the Onion’s A.V. Club, the LA Times and, presumably, oscarsliveblog.com
ON TWITTER: search for the hashtag #oscar for a flood of news and opinion from micro-bloggers across the land.
ON YOUR IPHONE: Several free apps promise to update results as they are announced, including the AT&T Film Awards app and the Vanity Fair Hollywood app. The AP’s Livestream feed can also
FROM A CUSHY THEATRE SEAT: If you have $150 and some fine duds, head to the official Oscar watching party at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Viewers get hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and live jazz before the show and can watch the telecast from theater seats on a giant screen. The open bar runs all evening. More info at www.nycgo.com/OscarNight.
AT A FRIEND’S HO– USE: Lean on pals who have Time Warner, RCN, Verizon, a satellite dish or Direct-TV to host an Oscar party.
In these times of economic distress, massive job losses, shrunken businesses, bloated governments and runaway public spending, we’ve been waiting for some politician (other than Ron Paul) to stand and tell the truth. Politicians excel at “kicking the can down the road” — that is, postponing the inevitable reckoning for unsustainable spending until they are either safely out of office or dead.
But behold! The newly elected governor of New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie, stood in front of 200 of his state’s mayors last week and told them basically that there is no more road down which to kick that proverbial can. In his speech at the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Mr. Christie began by calling the legislature’s $29 billion budget something out of “Alice in Wonderland.” He told the collected hizzoners that the old game of tax and spend was over. He described unhappy meetings in his treasurer’s office, where he was presented with 378 possible freezes and lapses to be used to balance the budget. He accepted 375 of them.
One would think this frank talk would get a lot of media coverage, but as important as I think it to be, the only way I learned about it was from Mike Shedlock’s invaluable blog, Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis. The talk was 24 minutes long and contains blunt descriptions of New Jersey’s huge fiscal problems and the necessary, painful steps that must be taken to remedy them.
“Our citizens are already the most overtaxed in America,” the governor said. “U.S. mayors hear it all the time. You know that the public appetite for increasing taxes has reached an end.” Later, he said, “You know, at some point, there has to be parity between what is happening in the real world and what is happening in the public sector world. The money does not grow on trees outside this building or outside your municipal building. It comes from the hard-working people of our communities who are suffering and are hurting right now.
“And so we need to get honest with each other,” Mr. Christie said. “In this instance, the political class [is] lagging behind the public on this. The public is ready to hear that tough choices have to be made. They’re not going to like it. Don’t confuse the two. But they are ready to hear the truth.” The truth is, for New Jersey and any number of other states and municipalities, it’s useless to pretend; we can have no more of telling people that somebody else is going to foot the bill when that’s no longer true.
“We have no time left,” said the governor, “We have no room left to borrow. We have no room left to tax. So we merely have time left to do this. We are all reaching the edge of a cliff. And it reminds me a bit of that part of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ where he had the seminal decision to make. So what did they do? They held hands and jumped off the cliff. We have to hold hands at every level of government, state, county, municipal, school board. We have to hold hands and jump off the bridge.”
full story : https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.smith0305,0,7737968.column
Ron Smith’s column appears Fridays in The Baltimore Sun. His e-mail is [email protected].
The Village Council is considering a plan to add more parking at the Hudson Street municipal lot that bears some similarities to the one previously abandoned at the North Walnut Street Redevelopment District.
At its meeting Wednesday, the council floated the idea of issuing request for proposals (RFP) to get design concepts and cost estimates for three different options at the site. The first two options would be to add one or two parking decks to the surface lots. The third would be a parking structure that would include big-box retail spaces to attract anchor stores and possibly a developer who would finance the construction in exchange for tax abatements.
“In looking over this, I’m looking for more of a [North] Walnut Street type deal, where it limits the cost to the village, but yet we receive the parking,” Killion said. “In order to do that there has to be retail, and to answer some of the [Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce’s] questions about having these box stores and anchor stores to bring in business. I know the location isn’t prime, but it is in the CBD [Central Business District] area.”
Killion added that if something is built at the Hudson Street site, it would have to fit in architecturally with the surrounding area.
“I don’t want to see a precast formed parking lot in the middle of the [area],” Killion said.
Councilman Paul Aronsohn requested that a study be performed that would look at the impact of additional retail in the CBD, and he asked for an explanation of the difference between a redevelopment district and a special improvement district, which are two options the council would have in moving forward.
“I think we all want parking at no cost to the village, I think that’s fair to say,” Aronsohn said.
Village Attorney Matt Rogers said that the redevelopment district approach, which was taken with the North Walnut Street site, allows the municipality more leeway in dealing with potential developers regarding the building design. Also, he said, the municipality does not have to accept the lowest bidder and it could work with developers through the RFP process. The drawback is the length of the process, which involves a Planning Board review and recommendation to the council for a vote.
Declaring the Hudson Street site a special improvement district would speed up the process and could be done through a council ordinance, but the village would have little leeway in design changes and it would have to accept the lowest bidder for the project, Rogers said.
Mayor David Pfund said the village entered into discussions with the Chamber of Commerce “years ago” about a possible special improvement district, but because state statute requires that all businesses in the area would have to pay extra taxes to cover the cost, the chamber was uninterested in pursuing that option.
Councilman Pat Mancuso suggested using Hudson Street as a “measure” to find the “least expensive route and the fastest route” to get additional parking in the CBD. He said if the village’s plans for additional parking at Hudson Street are successfully carried out, the council should look to place similar parking structures at other municipal lots around the CBD.
“Add one deck [at Hudson Street], and at least demonstrate to the CBD and the residents that we are moving in that direction,” Mancuso said.
Village Manager Ken Gabbert said there currently are 80 spaces at the Hudson Street lot, and an additional deck would net 70 additional spaces, for a total of 150 spaces.
Councilwoman Anne Zusy said she was in favor of adding a retail component to the project.
“I’m not so sure 150 parking spaces or 70 is going to cut it, given the residents and people who shop in town and also commuters,” Zusy said.
>In the Hong Kong cut-throat world of Chinese education, star tutors drive Ferraris and earn $1.5-million salaries
By Isabella Steger Contributor / March 2, 2010
Their confident faces smile out from billboards across the city. Their promotional grins are plastered across double-decker buses, subway light boxes, even on TV.
In China, kindergarten costs more than college China leads surge of foreign students into US colleges Big market for tutoring These are Hong Kong’s “star tutors,” accorded near-celebrity status for their ability to make learning fun and help students pass exams in everything from English to chemistry.
Tutoring is common in Asia, where intense emphasis on grades and exams means parents are willing to shell out. More than half of Hong Kong’s youths get assistance outside school, a recent survey found.
The industry here is especially competitive and commercialized as tutors mimic the city’s showbiz industry to attract students and grab a share of the $460 million market.
“Those images of fame and stardom have been sustained and re-invented in different forms, resulting in tutors now packaging themselves as the superstars of the education sector in order to appeal to students,” says Gerald Postliglione, a professor at the University of Hong Kong.
Star tutors spare no costs on publicity. Even tutors who belong to one of the four major chains here must self-promote. But successful tutors can command hundreds of students.
Those at the very top see their lives splashed across the pages of the city’s gossip magazines, revealing how many luxury cars they drive or properties they own. Some reports put their salaries as high as $1.5 million a year. One English tutor, Richard Eng, is famous for his love of Ferraris.
Critics worry that the emphasis on good looks and brand names sends youths the wrong message, but some tutors say the gimmicks are indispensable – and that the results are real. “The marketing is only for attracting students – we still need to deliver to keep the students coming back,” says Antonia Cheng, an English tutor at Modern Education, a major chain.
Ms. Cheng says she tries to make English fun, using interactive methods and discussing contemporary issues. Cheng gives out her phone number; many tutors also are on Facebook.
“Teachers communicate in a way we understand, unlike at school, which we find really boring,” says Casper Chan, a high-schooler.
Tutors have capitalized on changes roiling the educational system since 1997, when Hong Kong reverted to China. The government introduced “mother-tongue teaching” to popularize Cantonese in the classroom, but that weakened English proficiency and was scrapped. It also recently switched to a more US-style “3-3-4” system for junior high, high school, and college. This year it introduced liberal studies in high school, to improve critical thinking skills.
“There’s been a lot of confusion … in the last few years. Tutor centers have to be result-oriented,” says Trino Chan, who recently opened his own center. “When the system doesn’t deliver what parents expect, they are willing to pay for tutors. This is why there will always be money to be made in tutoring in Hong Kong.”
>NJ TRANSIT ANNOUNCES INTERNAL CUTS, SPENDING FREEZE TO HELP FILL BUDGET GAP
March 2, 2010 NJT-10-019
NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today implemented an emergency spending freeze and told employees that it will reduce its workforce by more than 200, rollback spending on retirement accounts, and cut executive salaries.
A total of more than $30 million in reductions have been identified to help solve a combined $300 million budget gap projected for FY 2010 and 2011. The force reduction represents about 2% of the total workforce, and includes both union agreement and non-agreement employees.
“These are extremely painful steps, but unavoidable ones. We must close our serious budget shortfall, and we at NJ TRANSIT must do our part by making this the leanest, most efficient agency possible, without compromising safety,” said Executive Director James Weinstein. Weinstein noted that the workforce reduction will be the deepest one-year reduction in NJ TRANSIT’s 30-year history.
Meanwhile, the corporation’s contributions to employee 401K accounts will be reduced by one-third, and executive salaries will be cut 5%. These reductions follow in the wake of hiring and salary freezes that began last year, as well as unpaid furloughs for administrative (non-agreement) employees.
NJ TRANSIT officials also have identified cost reductions in parts, fuel, utilities, and contracts that will be renegotiated to avoid escalations. The emergency spending freeze allows the agency to halt spending that is not directly tied to operations or that is not critical for safety.
The agency also is continuing to develop fare and service change plans to respond to this financial crisis. Those proposals will be announced next week.
“Unfortunately, fare and service changes will have to be a part of NJ TRANSIT’s overall response to this financial crisis,” Weinstein said. “I know this will be painful for our customers. I welcome their suggestions and ideas as well as those of the public.”
He added: “The decisions we must make will not be easy. But together we can get through this very difficult time, and NJ TRANSIT can emerge a strong, stable agency that will be ready to respond to the transit needs of New Jersey citizens.”
About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 12 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 165 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
>I’m a teacher who sometimes posts on this blog. I have one nagging question. How would one measure ‘merit’? Let’s assume we’re talking about an art teacher, a music teacher, etc. Is there some type of test you propose to give the kids? Would that prove the teachers’ merit? What about special education teachers?
If I’m a good teacher, I may get more kids in my classes that have 504 plans and IEP’s (google it) because “I can handle it” or maybe my schedule works better with the services that these kids get. Now if you test my classes, my kids would score lower overall. Do I get punished?
The second that someone can explain to me exactly HOW merit pay would work, I would jump on board. Maybe then I would finally make what I am worth.
‘If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.’ By Jim Bunning
I have been serving the citizens of Kentucky for nearly 24 years in Washington. During that time I have been a member of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. I have taken thousands of votes in relation to spending the taxpayers’ money. I will be the first one to admit that I have cast some bad votes during my tenure, and I wish I could have some of them back. For too long, both Republicans and Democrats have treated the taxpayers’ money as a slush fund that does not ever end. At some point, the madness has to stop.
Over a month ago, Democrats passed and President Obama signed into law the “Pay-Go” legislation. It calls on Congress to pay for bills by not adding to our debt. It sounds like a common sense tool that would rein in government spending. Unfortunately, Pay-Go is a paper tiger. It has no teeth. I did not vote for the Democrats’ Pay-Go legislation because I knew it was just a political dog-and-pony show to get some good press after some political setbacks. Since the Pay-Go rule was enacted, the national debt has gone up $244,992,297,448.11 (as of Wednesday, that is).
Why now?
Last week, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked to pass a 30-day extensions bill for unemployment insurance and other federal programs. Earlier in February, those extensions were included in a broader bipartisan bill that was paid for but did not meet Sen. Reid’s approval, and he nixed the deal. When I saw the Democrats in Congress were going to vote on the extensions bill without paying for it and not following their own Pay-Go rules, I said enough is enough.
Many people asked me, “Why now?” My answer is, “Why not now?” Why can’t a non-controversial measure in the Senate that would help those in need be paid for? If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.
America is under a mountain of debt. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a hearing last month that the United States’ debt is unsustainable. We are on the verge of a tipping point where America’s debt will bring down our economy, and more people will join the unemployment lines. That is why I used my right as a United States Senator and objected.
Only in Washington
After four legislative days of impasse, I reached a supposed deal with Majority Leader Reid to have an up-or-down vote on a pay-for amendment that would fully fund the legislation and not add to the debt. Only minutes before the vote, Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver to set aside my amendment and not vote on the actual substance of it. Only in Washington could this happen. The Democrats did not want to vote on my amendment because they knew they were in the wrong and ignored their own rules. Hypocrisy again rules the day in Washington.
I have 40 grandchildren, and I want them to grow up in a country where they have all of the same opportunities I had as a child. I fear that they will not have those opportunities if Washington continues on its course of spending without paying for it. We are at over $12 trillion in debt. I know many Americans sit around their kitchen table and make the tough decisions. It is time for the politicians in Washington to do the same.
Jim Bunning is a Republican senator from Kentucky.
Bergen County Republicans say that County Executive Dennis McNerney stole their idea to cut an open space tax because he’s facing a tough reelection battle. “Our organization and our candidates have argued for years that the open space tax is being misused and that it must be cut to provide tax relief, but the Democrats have ignored our proposals,” said county GOP Chairman Bob Yudin in a written statement. “Now all of a sudden, when McNerney is facing a desperate election, he is trying to co-opt our ideas that he ignored for years.” McNerney, a Democrat, mentioned the idea in his “state of the county” address last night. (Friedman, PolitickerNJ)
>Both sides of this discussion are missing the point.
The NJEA exists to get the highest compensation/benefits and maximum number of days of with pay for its members that it can. That’s it! It doesn’t care about the students or the quality of education.
Now that we understand the NJEA’s purpose. The question is whether the $731 that a full-time teachers pays to the union each year ($98mm in NJ annually) achieves that goal. By the teachers’ own admission, the answer is “no”. Every teach on this blog has complained about being underpaid in comparison to the private sector. So, clearly the private sector non-union approach allows deserving professionals to earn higher levels of compensation. If I was a good teacher, I would be angry about having my earnings potential artificially capped, in exchange for minimum guarantees. I would be angry that other teachers, who are not as qualified or as effective as me, earn as much or more than I do. I would want the opportunity for my hard work provide a higher standard of living for my family.
From the taxpayer’s perspective, the current cost structure for public education and its source of funding is unsustainable. At the current rate in Ridgewood, we will see more and more service, programs, athletics and curricula cut to accommodate the NJEA’s negotiated terms and meet the budget. Eventually, this leads to uncertainty about the existence of some teachers’ very jobs. This is the opposite of what teachers want. Taxpayers want the best school systems for their children. That means the BEST teachers. In a free market environment, the best teachers will go where they are rewarded for their efforts and receive the best treatment. This would require school systems to compete with each other to attract the best talent. In other words, quality teachers could command the best benefits. There is no reason why the best teachers should not earn well over $100K a year.
There is a common ground here. And, the common ground does not require the abolition of the union. However, it does require that the terms of the discussion change. The nature of the workplace has evolved dramatically in the past 100 years.
Few, if any, employers can afford to cover the cost of their employees’ benefits without a substantial shared financial responsibility from the employee. Yet, it is as if the people, who support the NJEA’s current position, are ignoring the facts that come out of Washington every day on the healthcare debate. Costs have risen exponentially. It is unrealistic to expect the status quo to continue, without something breaking down. And, what is breaking down is the ability to fund our current level of education. So, teachers must begin to assume a greater financial responsibility for the cost of their benefits – across the board, not just with new teachers. I would argue that the majority of teachers’ union dues would be better spent to help cover the cost of their family benefits.
It is time for the NJEA and school boards to agree on merit based pay. Maximum pay scales must rise and guarantees on the other end must be removed. The incentive to earn more money as a result of superior work is a powerful motivation. So is the fear of unemployment or reduced compensation. It is possible to phase this in. But, the devil is in the details and it will be a difficult transformation. This is in the best interest of teacher, students and taxpayers, alike. It must be done to salvage education in NJ.
The reality is that tenure must be abolished to allow for these changed to work. Tenure serves no legitimate purpose toward meaningfully increasing a teacher’s earning potential, improving the quality of education or motivating a teacher. The natural tendency is for a teacher to view tenure as the “goal”. Tenure is not particularly difficult to attain and, once attained, there is no motivation not to “coast” to retirement.
Last night my husband, , and another parent active in the community, Brian Dowd, announced their intention to run for the two Council seats that we believe will be vacated this year by David Pfund and Pat Mancuso. I will forward their bios as well as their position paper, but our immediate need is to collect 165 signatures from registered voters to enable them to be candidates. Here is the text of the message that was sent last evening, and I apologize of you already received this directly:
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
We are pleased to announce that we are running for the two Village Council seats that are available this year. We feel strongly that Ridgewood is a very special town that is reaching a pivotal point in its history, and it requires responsive government. As parents of school age children who plan to make the Village our home for many years, we are committed to preserving the fabric that makes our town unique, while providing the strong leadership and business acumen needed to manage our current fiscal situation and adequately plan for our future needs.
We look forward to discussing our thoughts with you in more detail in the coming weeks, but our immediate focus is to collect the 165 signatures needed to secure a place on the May 11 ballot.
We ask for your support by having each registered voter in your home sign both petitions by Friday, March 12. The petitions can be printed from:
Please note that each registered voter in your home may sign a maximum of two petitions this year. Additional nominations will be voided by the Village Clerk.
The signed petitions can be dropped at 404 Shelbourne Terrace (mail slot located on front door), or, if you contact us, we are happy to pick them up.
>March 2, 2010, 6:35 pm Fuel Taxes Must Rise, Harvard Researchers Say By SINDYA N. BHANOO
To meet the ,Obama administration’s targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions some researchers say, Americans may have to experience a sobering reality: gas at $7 a gallon.
To reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector 14 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, the cost of driving must simply increase, according to a forthcoming report by researchers at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
The 14 percent target was set in the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget for fiscal 2010.
In their study, the researchers devised several combinations of steps that United States policymakers might take in trying to address the heat-trapping emissions by the nation’s transportation sector, which consume 70 percent of the oil used in the United States.
Most of their models assumed an economy-wide carbon dioxide tax starting at $30 a ton in 2010 and escalating to $60 a ton in 2030. In some cases researchers also factored in tax credits for electric and hybrid vehicles, taxes on fuel or both.
>Greatest Science Extravaganza in Northern New Jersey Presented at Ridgewood High School, E. Ridgewood Ave. from 9am to 1:30pm – FREE ADMISSION – Previous Presenters Are NASA & Cornell on the Mars rover Findings; Valley Hospital & Youth Fitness; Ridgewood Police & Fire; Whole Foods Nutritional Experts; Goffle Poultry Farm & Turtle Back Zoo – check out the website for updated infor www.SuperScience Saturday.org Join us at Ridgewood Middle and High School Students for a special area for you to present your projects. Meet doxens of professional presenters along with hundreds of other students also excited about science. More information – Michael Aaron Flicker 201/300-2900 or [email protected]
Today, March 2nd at the Ridgewood Library at 1:00 PM TODAY Show Janice Leiberman Consumer Reporter – how to shop from groceries, energy efficient appliances and HOW TO SHOP FOR A HUSBAND – her fun book! SNOW got you down? Here’s a treat right around the corner.
Join the members of the College Club and let’s have some fun AND learn from TV Consumer Reporter and Journalist Bergen County’s own Janice Lieberman. ….discussing her latest book “How To Shop For A Husband” . Janice will give insight and practical ways to shop for a husband that may surprise you. Great information on how to keep that marriage, friendship or relationship going too. Hear from a variety of TV “friends”
She will also share lots of other “deals and steals” she has learned through the years giving advice and assistance to all of us who shop for everything from the family dinner to buying that energy saver appliance.
Bring a friend ($10 fee) …College Club members: this program is free to you!.
Janice will autograph her books for us and as usual Bookends in Ridgewood will work with us to give us a percentage of the sales. What a great gift for family and friends and you help the scholarship fund.
Mar 2, 2010 at 1:00 PM “How to Shop for a Husband” Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood Janice Lieberman, a journalist and consumer reporter for The Today Show and the Reader’s Digest will autograph copies of “How to Shop for a Husband” 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 2 at the Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood. Bookends will donate a percentage back to the Ridgewood College Club for all books sold. For more information, please call Bea O’Rourke, (201) 445-9423 or e-mail [email protected]. College Club Program Committee
— O’Rourke Group Bea O’Rourke CSW, RP, GRS 321 Spring Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450-4511 [email protected] 201-445-9423
“The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.” “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”
Ridgewood Library 131 North Maple Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450-3256 (201) 670-5600
