‘NSA should come clean about domestic spying’: Ray Kelly
By JENNIFER BAIN
Last Updated: 6:18 PM, June 17, 2013
Posted: 4:09 PM, June 17, 2013
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly launched a stinging rebuke to the federal government’s secret phone and Internet monitoring campaign — and suggested leaker Edward Snowden was right about privacy “abuse.”
“I don’t think it ever should have been made secret,” Kelly said today, breaking ranks with US law-enforcement officials.
His blast came days after the Obama administration and Attorney General Eric Holder outraged New York officials by endorsing a federal monitor for the NYPD.
Kelly appeared to firmly reject Holder’s claim that disclosure of the monitoring campaign seriously damaged efforts to fight terrorism.
‘Smoking’ Alcohol: Is It Safe?
June 14, 2013 6:11 PM
DETROIT (WWJ) – It’s a different way to get drunk. The practice of “smoking” alcohol is gaining popularity — and a local poison expert says it’s dangerous.
The idea is to use very high-proof alcohol, heat it up, and breath in the vapors through a straw. Multiple videos on YouTube show young people giving it a try.
Susan Smolinske, Director of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Regional Poison Control Center, says it creates an instant and euphoric high, but users are likely to take in more than their bodies can handle.
57% Fear Government Will Use NSA Data to Harass Political Opponents
Friday, June 14, 2013
There is little public support for the sweeping and unaccountable nature of the National Security Agency surveillance program along with concerns about how the data will be used.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide believe it is likely the NSA data will be used by other government agencies to harass political opponents. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 30% consider it unlikely and 14% are not sure.
A new group which will meet beginning this Thursday, June 13, 7pm-8:30pm, through Thursday, August 8, 7pm-8:30pm at 4 Wilsey Square, Suite 2 Ridgewood, NJ 07450
The purpose is so participants increase awareness of their expectations from
their marriage, contributing factors to these expectation, and to increase
their trust of evaluating these expectations.
It is not a pre-divorce or divorce group. It is a group so that people can become more familiar and at ease with the factors on which their marriage is grounded.
The title is because often people feel lonely in their marriage and have little certainty as to the reason.
This group will activate inner resources so that clarity and confidence of
“why” and “what” of marital satisfaction, becomes likely.
ACLU sues over NSA phone records program
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Last updated: Tuesday June 11, 2013, 6:02 PM
BY ELLEN NAKASHIMA AND SCOTT WILSON
THE WASHINGTON POST NEW SERVICE
The Record
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. government’s surveillance program that collects from U.S. phone companies the call records of tens of millions of Americans.
It is the first substantive lawsuit following reports in The Washington Post and the Guardian last week detailing two sweeping surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency under laws authorized by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The ACLU suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the legality of the spy agency’s collection of customer “metadata,” including the phone numbers dialed and the length of calls. The lawsuit is asking the court to force the government to end the program and purge any records it has collected.
Access to lifesaving device a concern for some towns
Tuesday June 11, 2013, 10:50 PM
BY DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A kid on a recreation field is hit by a ball and his heart stops. A jogger suddenly drops from an apparent heart attack.
As critical moments tick away before police arrive, onlookers try to help. And increasingly on North Jersey’s playing fields, they can assume there’s an automated defibrillator somewhere nearby to use.
But where is it? Is it under lock and key?
And who’s allowed to use it?
Answering those questions is a concern facing almost every community, as defibrillators are rapidly being acquired for public places, including athletic fields. The problem: The lifesaving devices cost anywhere from $850 to $3,000, and if they’re openly accessible, they could be stolen or vandalized. Using them could also put a life-and-death crisis, literally, in the public’s hands.
And yet, if they’re not available, a life could be lost
Catalytic converter thefts on the rise
Posted: Jun 11, 2013 11:40 AM EST Updated: Jun 11, 2013 11:40 AM EST
By LUKE FUNK, Senior Web Producer –
Police in one New Jersey city are warning about a rise in catalytic converter thefts in vehicles at train stations, schools and other areas.
In the past week, there were two daylight thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles, one which was parked at the Linden train station and one which was parked at a private company on the 1900 block of Lower Road.
Linden police say this was in addition to 16 converters, taken from trucks parked at the Linden U-Haul, 1440 E. Edgar Rd. and two, which were taken from vehicles in the parking lots of McManus Middle School and Linden High School.
The thieves are targeting larger vehicles, especially SUVs like the Jeep Cherokee. Police say that’s because the converters are larger and contain more platinum, which is currently valued on the open market at approximately $1,500 per ounce. They are also easier to crawl under to get to the converters.
The crooks are using small battery-powered saws and can cut the converter off in a matter of minutes.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
823 PM EDT TUE JUN 11 2013
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN
CONNECTICUT…NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK.
.DAY ONE…TONIGHT.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
THE LIKELIHOOD IS INCREASING FOR AN UNUSUALLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE REGION THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY. THIS WILL
BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR A WIDESPREAD 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN…WITH
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.
THE LOCATION OF HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME. BUT DUE
TO SATURATED GROUNDS FROM RECENT HEAVY RAINS…IF THE HIGHER END
OF THE RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE REALIZED…WIDESPREAD URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT RISES ON OUR MAIN STEM RIVERS COULD BE EXPECTED. THE AREAS AT HIGHEST RISK FOR FLOODING WOULD BE ACROSS NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY…THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY…AND URBAN CENTERS.
Letter: Planning Board meetings on Valley are on a ‘slippery slope’
Friday June 7, 2013, 11:25 AM
The Ridgewood News
Planning Board meetings on Valley are on a ‘slippery slope’
To the editor:
I am a 26-year Ridgewood resident and a regular attendee at Planning Board meetings addressing Valley Hospital’s persistent and increasingly aggressive expansion plans. I have lost track of the many concessions that have been made to Valley Hospital over the past 26 years.
This current proposal is the most grandiose of all. If Valley’s plans are approved, the hospital’s above-ground facilities will more than double in size to almost one million square feet. Phase One construction alone will last for six years. Ridgewood will gain a skyline with the tallest structure climbing 94 feet into the sky with parts of that building only 40 feet from the property line of Ben Franklin Middle School. Children currently in elementary school will face potential construction-related noise, traffic and air quality issues as they attend Ben Franklin. Children not yet born will face the same issues as they attend Travell School.
I started this letter while attending Planning Board meetings exploring traffic, construction, environmental and other issues. I wonder why we are getting into so many details without addressing the basic question of whether this project makes sense for the village – and yes the question is whether it makes sense for the village, not whether it makes sense for Valley Hospital.
I ask if it is relevant at this point in the proceedings if truckloads rumbling through the village’s streets can be reduced to 8,000? Is it relevant if Bergen County will widen Linwood and Van Dien avenues to address traffic worries? Is it relevant if a proposed traffic crossing island is truly safe for our children? Is it relevant if excavation and related water table disruption present undue risk to residential homes and to Ben Franklin? If the construction project is approved, these details will undoubtedly be vetted as specific building site plans are filed.
I am dismayed by the slippery slope of Planning Board meetings that are debating these details. These discussions imply, in my opinion, that the goal is to try to determine a tolerable scope for the project.
Letter: Valley expansion will negatively impact village life
Friday June 7, 2013, 11:19 AM
The Ridgewood News
Valley expansion will negatively impact village life
To the editor:
For the last several weeks, Valley Hospital’s hired experts have been presenting their sales pitches before the Planning Board. Unfortunately, little has changed since the Village Council unanimously voted down Valley’s expansion plans in 2011.
Indeed, the hospital still aims to build a regional medical center of unprecedented size, nearly doubling its current bulk, in a neighborhood of three schools, single-family homes and playing fields. Buildings will tower 94 feet above us, dump trucks will make thousands of trips, and 300,000 gallons of groundwater per day will be pumped, likely into the flood-prone Ho-Ho-Kus Brook, near Graydon. This project will take many years to complete. Yes, it is dejà-vu all over again.
Traffic and safety are major concerns. While there are many dangerous intersections in Ridgewood, only one is traversed by hundreds of children every single day, and that is the intersection of Linwood and N. Van Dien, precisely where Valley hopes to build a multi-level parking garage. Hospital officials would like us to believe that trucks and heavy machinery will have no effect on our children or the neighborhood, as plans to add a lane to Linwood Avenue, with a bus turnout, have been discussed. And just in case your child doesn’t quite make it across the street, a traffic “refuge” island will be built to accommodate her.
Few of us are comforted by the image of a child stuck in the middle of Linwood Avenue as trucks and impatient drivers whiz by. Anyone who believes that traffic lights will always be obeyed doesn’t understand the culture of children. Our crossing guards are reliable, but their hours are limited (they are not present during sports activities), and they work alone.
2013 Village of Ridgewood Budget Newsletter – June 12 Public Budget Hearing
2013 Budget Newsletter Click Here https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2013BudgetNewsletter.pdf
The Village 2013 tax levy of $33,040,375 is $36,725 less than Village 2012 tax levy of $33,077,101. The average residential property assessed at $686,994 in 2013 will experience a municipal tax bill of $3,966. This municipal tax for the average taxpayer represents NO increase over the 2012 year.
The introduced 2013 Budget totals $45,343,651. This is a budget decrease of $677,509 from amended 2012 budget (a 1.4% decrease).
The exact tax rate and average tax paid will be determined by the Bergen County Tax Board after the Village Council adopts the Budget. The 2013 Budget Public Hearing will be held at 8PM June 12, 2013.
Click Here for Budget document.https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2013Budget.pdf
Readers express skepticism over the proposed senior housing structure
The proposed structure would be 6 stories tall.
According to the developer’s representative, 44 parking spaces would be required to support the facility (86 rooms, the number of full time and/or part time employees was not revealed). Net gain in parking could be 60 or could be less depending upon the number of employees at the facility.
A 6 story building would cast quite a shadow in that neighborhood, and also set somewhat of a precedent for those wishing to enlarge or build new structures in the CBD.
Generation Opportunity releases Millennial Jobs Report
Washington, DC – (6/7/13) – Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for May 2013. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:
The effective unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds, which adjusts for labor participation rate by including those who have given up looking for work, is 16.1 percent (NSA).
The declining labor force participation rate has created an additional 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs.
The unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds is 11.6 percent (NSA). The unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans is 21 percent (NSA); the unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics is 11.7 percent (NSA); and the unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women is 10.6 percent (NSA).
Evan Feinberg, President of Generation Opportunity and one of the first Millennials to run for Congress, issued the following statement:
“With today’s depressing unemployment numbers and an economy that has been down for years, it would be nice for people my age to think that someone is watching out for us. Knowing that someone in Washington had our back would be comforting – and might give us some hope. Sadly, in recent days we’ve only seen more of the same from this Administration. We’ve witnessed President Obama state that more government involvement is the solution to unemployment, student loans, health care, etc. What has it gotten us? The highest sustained levels of youth unemployment since World War II, sky-high tuition and student debt, and rising insurance premiums. Government solutions aren’t solutions at all. Once again, Washington doesn’t get it.”
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving 30th Annual Special Olympics Torch Run Makes Its Way Through Ridgewood
June 7,2013
Boyd A. Loving
11:03 AM
Ridgewoood NJ , Despite poor weather conditions, the 30th Annual Special Olympics Torch Run made its way through Ridgewood on Friday morning. Stops along the route included the Willard and Ridge Elementary Schools. Participating law enforcement officers, noticeably damp but still smiling, were loudly cheered and given “high fives” by school children, teacher, and administrative staff at both locations.
Senior housing plan pitched in Ridgewood
Thursday June 6, 2013, 2:04 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
A developer’s proposal presented at Wednesday’s Ridgewood Council meeting could bring an assisted living community to the Central Business District as well as a public parking facility that will add at least 100 new spaces to the downtown.
Partners at Kensington Senior Development, based in White Plains, N.Y., outlined a preliminary draft of their plan to redevelop the municipal parking lot area at the Franklin Avenue and North Walnut Street intersection. At that spot, the development team hopes to build three floors to accommodate 88 assisted living units and approximately 3,000 square feet of street-level retail space.
The third component of the idea is one of the biggest eye catchers: Kensington has offered to fully fund the construction of a two-level, 180-space parking garage adjacent to the assisted living building. According to Harley Cook, one of the firm’s founders, the cost to build the garage amounts to $4.5 million.
