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This Thursday October 29th we are going to have violinist and percussionist playing togeather with our DJ’S. Don’t miss The Grand Opening “MASQARADE BALL” @ The New Blend in Ridgewood. 1/2 Price Off Belvedere Coktails All Night! Hit me up or Text me at 201-650-5712. VIP Booth only $250 tab even if with 10-15+ People. NO BOTTLES REQUIRED
>We see little reason not to support the incumbents David Russo and Scott Rumana for Assembly reelection in the 40th District. Scott Rumana,is the former Wayne mayor, and David Russo, long time resident of Ridgewood.David Russo is seeking an 11th term in the Assembly. Both men claim to be fiscal conservatives and social moderates. This stance seems attuned to the values and concerns of the 40th Each claims to favor leaner state government, and Scott Rumana, in particular, has been a very outspoken critic of the new, tougher regulations on COAH housing.We would like to see Mr. Russo a little more engaged in local politics i.e. Ridgewood issues and take more of a leadership role in pushing for less BIG government and more fiscal prudence which at times means saying “NO” on some social issues .
Russo and Rumana’s challengers are Democrats John Agostinelli, a civil engineer from Little Falls and Mark Bombace, a Ridgewood firefighter , former BOE President and another long term resident of Ridgewood .On face value both men seem earnest and eager and serious about public service.While we are not as familiar with Mr. Agostinelli we do commend Mr. Bombace for all his public service and his contribution to the community .
However right now we need “Leadership” more than anything and neither Mr. Bombace nor Mr. Agostinelli have demonstrated much of a grasp or convinced us they do represent some kind of a change. Durring Mr. Bombace’s tenure as BOE President he was perceived as more of a good soldier for the status quo and not a leader. His support for “education” seems to translate more into support for BIG government and BIG unions and not for students. Their campaign rhetoric is loaded with all the “buzz” words which history has demonstrated are merely a ruse from more tax increases.Their support for an increased gas tax based on the fact that New Jersey doesn’t have the highest gas tax yet is ridiculous and out of touch with the present economic situation. In order to be a “Trenton outsider” you need to do more than just talking the talk ,you need to walk the walk.
The Ridgewood blog strongly endorses Russo and Rumana for Assembly.
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
>Horse Flu : A Case of Canine Influenza
WOW!!!! I am beginning to question the value of blog sites like this!! You read the first blog by John and you think he did his research and flu shot is a bad idea. It looks like he did his research by calling an expert hopsital like Oradell!! BUT…. then you read the article in the Record as noted above and you realize that John probably never spoke to Oradell because thier head doctor says vaccination is a good idea!!! Hey John, where did you get your info from or maybe I should ask who do you work for ???
I am really p—ed at the people who knock the Ridgewood vet hospital. They are trying to do the right thing which you should GET because they make you get a Flu shot so everyone is safe and you are saying they just want to make money. We have our dog and our cat groomed at Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital and I know that they would make more money on the grooming than they would on two vaccines. So when they turn people away without a vaccine they are LOSING MONEY!!!! You don’t have to be a genius to see that.
I am speaking out for Ridgewood vet hospital because a year ago they told me I should get a shot for something called leptospirosis that can kill a dog. I didn’t get it cause I was to busy. Well two months ago my dog almost died of leptospirosis but Dr. Cerf saved him!!!! If I’d gotten the shot when Dr. Cerf told me I could have saved a ton of money!!!
So the bottom line is: Who do we trust? A guy named John who says Oradell doesn’t suggest flu vaccine a week before Oradell is in the newspare reommending it or a doc like Cerf who has taken care of my pets since I was a little kid and took care of my Mom’s dog at midnight in the middle of a snow storm?? Daaaaaa?????
Signed
Angry At Ignorance
Dear Angry,
I feel quite the opposite about TRB…it gives us a place to air ALL our views. It’s up to us to filter the content as we see fit. Oradell’s policy may have changed between the first comment and now or they’re all not on the same page. My pets have gone to Oradell, RVH and currently go to Glen Rock Animal Hosp. Why? Dr Steve is great vet, gives personalized attention to my pets and I spend about 1/3 annually than I did at OAH and RVH. If anyone asked me, I would wholeheartedly recommend them.
That’s the value of this blog. Discussion, communication, information, opinion. Thanks PJ!
>I hate taxes as much as anyone. But, your logic is absurd. It sounds like what you are suggesting is that we should stop spending what is necessary to maintain our schools and allow our school system to deteriorate. Then young families won’t move here and the existing families can stay here after their kids move away, without fear of tax increases to pay for other people’s kids’ education, the way previous families did for their children. Is that about right?
So, what you want is for Ridgewood to gradually become a town with a run down school system full of elderly people with no kids, who pay low taxes. Sounds like you should move to Saddle River.
Besides, the whole reason that people move to Ridgewood is because it is such a family town. I never heard anyone say “let’s raise our family in Ridgewood…its a great retirement community.”
I have a little dose of reality for you. Families moving to town is not what forces the BOE to issue bonds, resulting in tax increases. There are two primary reasons for the need for bond issuance.
1) The BOE is not allowed to set aside funds for long-term planned maintenance or construction. Every dime in the school budget must be spend in that fiscal year. Therefore, when large unexpected expenses impact the budget, like $millions for a new roof, or large construction projects must be undertaken, like GW School, the only way to fund them is through a special bond issuance.
2) The reason the school budget is so tight and there is no wiggle room for unexpected expenses or large projects, is that 85% of the entire budget goes to teachers’ comp and benefits. The negotiated contract that the BOE has to deal with sucks all the money out of our $90mm budget. There is nothing left for the operation and maintenance of the school system. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should pay teachers well. But, they do not need to be over paid, given guranteed employment and automatic raises. Oh, and by the way, even though we’ve been in a deflationary environment for the past 18-24 months, you and I made less money last year and our friends got laid off, the teachers got their automatic maximum slaray increase in 2008 and they will get it again this year.
>With just a week to go in New Jersey’s closely contested race for governor, Republican Chris Christie holds a three-point advantage over incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Jersey show Christie with 46% of the vote and Corzine with 43%. While the margin is little changed from a week ago and the week before, the biggest news may be that support for independent candidate Chris Daggett has dropped four points to seven percent (7%). The number of undecided voters is down to four percent (4%).
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2009/new_jersey/election_2009_new_jersey_governor
>Congrats! from the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Aronsohn Brings Nearly Two Decades of Private and Public Sector Experience asFormer Pfizer Executive, Congressional Candidate, Member of Clinton andMcGreevey Administrations and Current Ridgewood Councilman
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — MWW Group (https://www.mww.com/), one ofthe nation’s top 10 public relations firms, announced today that Paul Aronsohnhas joined the company as a vice president. Aronsohn brings nearly 20 years ofexperience working directly with elected officials, legislators,administrators and corporate executives. His extensive communications andpublic affairs background spans across both the public and private sectors. As a result, Aronsohn will service roles in both MWW’s corporate and publicaffairs practice.
Aronsohn’s experience includes senior public affairs positions at Pfizer Inc.and within the Clinton and McGreevey Administrations. Additionally, hecurrently serves as a Councilman in Ridgewood, N.J.
“Paul is an outstanding addition to our team. He brings extensive experienceand perspective to our team, gained from having worked in high level positionsin the private sector and in the top levels of federal and state government,”said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group. “His insider’sknowledge and deep network of relationships will be a tremendous asset to ourteam and clients.”
Before joining MWW Group, Aronsohn served as a public affairs executive atPfizer Inc., where he led public affairs efforts to promote life enhancing,life saving medicines and handled issues management on international, nationaland regional levels.
Previously, Aronsohn ran for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th CongressionalDistrict, receiving a higher percentage of the vote than any Democrat inrecent decades. Prior to that, he served for a year as communicationsdirector and spokesperson for then Governor James McGreevey. Aronsohn alsospent eight years working on foreign policy and national security issues as amember of the Clinton Administration. At the U.S. Department of State, hehandled a wide range of international security matters – fromnon-proliferation to arms control to peacekeeping to Middle East policy.Aronsohn also served three American Ambassadors to the United NationsMadeleine Albright, Bill Richardson, and Richard Holbrooke.
Aronsohn is currently a Councilman in Ridgewood, NJ where he works on issuesacross both the public and private sectors. He is also a member of RotaryInternational and a Board Member of the National Spinal Cord InjuryAssociation. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from The GeorgeWashington University.
About MWW GroupMWW Group is one of the nation’s top ten public relations agencies and isknown for its results-driven approach to public relations and “Aim High.Deliver” commitment to client service. For four years in a row, MWW Group washonored with the #1 ranking in the Holmes Report agency client satisfactionsurvey. MWW Group achieved top rankings in the categories of accountleadership, strength of account team, creativity, strategy and planning, andprogram execution. In 2008, MWW Group was named PR Agency of the Year by TheAmerican Business Awards and Mid-size PR Firm of the Year by PR News, inrecognition of the firm’s growth, strategic account leadership andindustry-leading employee retention. MWW Group is part of the InterpublicGroup of Companies (NYSE: IPG).
SOURCE MWW Group
Karla Merida of MWW Group, +1-212-827-3756, [email protected]
>I chair the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project and thought that your blog’s readers might be interested to know of my plan to gather up ALL the Village Council’s meeting minutes, including work sessions, regular meetings, special meetings and closed meeting, from July 1, 2008 through to September 30, 2009 and put them on-line. I’m doing this because the Village’s web site is not up to date and I believe that citizens should have ready access to the Village Council’s meeting minutes. (Note, this matter has already been reported in the Ridgewood News.)
I put the minutes that I have gathered so far, plus a table that shows which ones I’m still seeking access to, on the Internet at
https://www.lpcnj.org/OGTF/RidgewoodMinutes.pdf
Also, I learned that the Village is improperly suppressing minutes from public meetings held as early as March 2009 and executive meetings held as early as November 2008. Since the Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act requires meeting minutes to made “promptly available,” I have notified the Mayor and Council that I will file suit unless they discuss the matter at their October 28, 2009 meeting and agree to make substantial changes to their minute release policy by October 30, 2009. My letter to the Mayor and Council, that contains a draft of the lawsuit I intend on filing, is on the Internet at
https://www.lpcnj.org/OGTF/RidgewoodLawsuitThreat.pdf
If you would like more information, contact me at 732-873-1251.
John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey
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RHS Lacrosse Car Wash
Rescheduled to Saturday, October 31
The Ridgewood High School Girls Lacrosse Teams’ Car Wash has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 31 from 10AM to 2PM in the Ridgewood High School Parking Lot near E. Ridgewood Avenue entrance. Good opportunity to support the 2010 RHS Girls Lacrosse teams!
Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Networking in Ridgewood
Tue, November 10, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM Location: A Mano, 24 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood
Cost:$10 Ridgewood Chamber Members,$15 all others
FREE PARKING IN RIDGEWOOD AFTER 6PM! RSVP by November 9. Call 201-445-2600 or email [email protected], fax 201-251-1958.
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Robert Reich: What An Honest President Would Say About Health Reform ; )
>The Record: Rumana, Russo in the 40th
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Record
https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/65963057.html
THE REPUBLICAN primary campaign for the Assembly in the 40th District was not pretty to watch. The feud that had long simmered between Passaic County Republican Party Chairman Scott T. Rumana and his rivals, Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca, spilled over into a full-scale civil war.
There were two different Republican tickets in many Passaic County Assembly district races. But in the 40th, where Rumana was also an incumbent, the race was most bitter.
In the end, Rumana and his running mate David C. Russo beat back the challenge and seem in fit form as they head toward the home stretch in a heavily Republican district.
Indeed, the wounds from infighting have begun to heal, and there is little reason not to support the incumbents for reelection. Rumana, the former Wayne mayor, and Russo, of Ridgewood, are both attorneys. Russo seeks an 11th term in the Assembly. Both men are fiscal conservatives and social moderates, attuned to the values and concerns of their district and to the ever-escalating cost of living in New Jersey. Each favors leaner state government, and Rumana, in particular, has been an outspoken critic of the new, tougher regulations on affordable housing.
The problem we have with Rumana is not about policy. It is about his continued role as Passaic County Republican Party chairman. It might not have hurt his campaign for reelection, but certainly it hurts his party. More important, it is a distraction he doesn’t need as he works for the people of the 40th District.
Russo and Rumana’s challengers are Democrats John Agostinelli, a civil engineer from Little Falls and Mark Bombace, a firefighter and former school board member from Ridgewood.
Both men are earnest and eager and serious about public service. Agostinelli just missed being elected mayor of Little Falls a year ago. He sees many of Trenton’s problems occurring because of a “lack of planning.” Bombace believes the state’s recovery rests on a stronger education system that measures “one student at a time, based on their individual potential.”
Overall, though, and by comparison to their opponents, Agostinelli and Bombace lack governing experience and a full grasp of the issues and hard choices that must be made in Trenton in the coming term. Facing an $8 billion budget deficit, the Legislature needs as many fiscally prudent lawmakers as it can find. Rumana and Russo fit that bill.
The Record endorses Russo and Rumana for Assembly.
>If your looking to run ads or get in touch with the Ridgewood Blog please send all correspondence to [email protected]
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So why would we allow this? Punish the 85% that have earned insurance benefits to reward those that do not…wouldn’t it be the ‘smart’ thing to help that 15% without insurance ( Which I believe we already do through State Benefits for the poor and disabled) before we attempt to ‘dictate’ to all what coverage they will be ‘allowed’. We have the best health care in the entire world- don’t fix what isn’t broken…what we currently have can be improved upon but by no means should it be dismantled. This plan to reform our entire health care system is not helpful; it is harmful. America is smarter than this- don’t let the government insult our intelligence any longer. We are all fully capable of choosing for ourselves what is best for our families! They work for us~ we don’t work for them!
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Human-Nature
Our relationship with the natural world.
by Peter H. Kahn, Jr., Ph.D.
Created Oct 23 2009 – 12:05am
In a New Jersey town, a controversy about a pool has pitted neighbor against neighbor. Here’s the issue, as reported in the New York Times (9/7/2009). There’s a natural swimming hole, called Graydon Pool. It’s 2.6 acres. For over 90 years, children in that town have grown up swimming in this pool. It has a sandy bottom. Cool spring currents flow into it. But many residents would like to plow under this natural pool and replace it with a blue, concrete pool with “thoroughly disinfected” chlorinated water. They call this a “real pool” – a “bona fide pool.”
My colleague, Dr. Pat Hasbach (a clinical psychologist in Eugene, Oregon) and I recently presented a paper at the North American Association for Environmental Education. In our presentation, we asked: What would be missed by future generations if the “bona fide pool” people win out? For one thing, kids and adults won’t feel the sand between their toes. They won’t sense the fluctuations of water temperature in places where the cool streams feed into the pool. They won’t experience the periodicity of usage due to the seasonal fluctuations, the presence of bugs that might land on the water and birds that might be on the shore, leading to a deeper connection to a natural ecosystem. They’ll lose a sense of healthy fear that emerges in unstructured bodies of water.
Children will lose these experiences and not even be aware they’ve lost them. This is the issue I’ve written about in other posts as the problem of Environmental General Amnesia [click here; and also here]. The problem is that as we lose the richness and depth of pervasiveness of interaction with nature, we shift the baseline of what is recognized as healthy nature experience.
To counter the problem of Environmental Generational Amnesia, there’s a lot of work being done in connecting children to local, domestic nature. In his important book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv develops this idea. My co-edited volume, Children and Nature, speaks to this issue, as well.
But what I’ve written about in an earlier post [click here] is that to flourish children need to interact not only with domestic nature, but wild nature.
If we’re brainstorming on a grand level, maybe there’s a new movement to start. Maybe we could call it – The Rewilding of the Child Movement. Or maybe that’s part of a larger movement: The Rewilding of the Human Species Movement! And likely enough, to rewild the species we need to rewild ourselves. How do we rewild ourselves? I’ve been wondering about that. I’ve been trying to feel a little of what that space might be like. With that in mind, here’s a brief personal reflection, which I used to conclude the conference presentation to environmental educators:
There’s a mountain pool that you find hiking up the wild river. The water emerges into it from porous volcanic rock. The water flows from the cold country. It’s too cold to plunge in. But you’re in. You’re in because your lover is nearby and you need to prove your manly-hood. But just as fast you’re out. Your mind can’t believe that mere water can be that cold. It would have been twenty strokes across. You give up that thought. You need to get warm fast. How? It’s easy. You move naked to your beloved and put your arms around each other. Other people say that that pool is too cold. You can’t swim in it. They say let’s make a better one. They do. It’s filled with chlorinated water that’s not too hot and not too cold. Every day of the year it’s that same temperature. It’s called the tepid pool. The pool-man comes once a week. He squeegees the sides and adds blue dye and oils the pump. The pool-man says you gotta love the tepid pool.
Where would you like to swim? Your choice.
>Agostinelli & Bombace Will Donate a Portion of Assembly Salaries for 40th District Grants
‘Running for office isn’t about padding salaries – but serving the people’
Ridgewood, NJ – John Agostinelli and Mark Bombace are pledging to donate portions of their Assembly salaries if elected in November to various grants throughout the 40th District. Agostinelli and Bombace will donate to various scholarship and educational opportunities to send a message to 40th District voters that their Number One reasoning for running is to serve – not to pad their salaries.
“John and I never got in this race to make money,” stated Bombace, “We want to give back to our communities – and since we are financially stable – we thought it appropriate to create more opportunities for the district by donating to various causes.”
“This was never about the salary that an Assembly member receives,” stated Agostinelli. “We want to give back to the various charities and scholarship organizations in the 40th. If we are honored to serve for the 40th District – this seems like a no-brainer to the both of us.”
Election Day is Tuesday November 3rd, 2009. The 40th Legislative District encompasses parts of Bergen, Essex, and Passaic Counties, including the following towns: Cedar Grove Franklin Lakes, Little Falls, Mahwah, Midland Park, Oakland Ridgewood, Ringwood, Verona, Wanaque, Wayne, and Wyckoff.
www.40thDistrict.com
>October 22, 2009
Democrats Lose Big Test Vote on Health Legislation
By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/health/policy/22health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
WASHINGTON — Democrats lost a big test vote on health care legislation on Wednesday as the Senate blocked action on a bill to increase Medicare payments to doctors at a cost of $247 billion over 10 years.
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, needed 60 votes to proceed. He won only 47. And he could not blame Republicans. A dozen Democrats and one independent crossed party lines and voted with Republicans on the 53 to 47 roll call.
The Medicare bill has become a proxy for larger issues in the debate over legislation to overhaul the health care system.
Mr. Reid said the bill, by averting big cuts in physician fees, guaranteed that doctors would continue accepting Medicare patients. But since none of the costs were offset or paid for, Republicans said it was fiscally irresponsible, and some Democrats said they shared that concern.
By addressing doctors’ fees in a separate bill, Senate Democrats could hold down the cost of the broader health legislation, keeping it within the limits set by President Obama. House Democrats are considering a similar tactic. Republicans said it was a transparent ploy to hide the cost of a health care overhaul.
Democrats had hoped that by passing the Medicare bill they could appease doctors and secure their support for the broader legislation.
Senate Democratic leaders said the bill to protect doctors’ fees had strong support from the White House, the American Medical Association and AARP.
Among the Democrats who voted against the party leadership were Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bill Nelson of Florida and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/health/policy/22health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
