In response to Mr. Voigt’s recent letters to The Ridgewood News, all posted on his personal Facebook page as well.
Anonymous Responds to Former Councilman Jeff Voigt’s recent letters to The Ridgewood News
Tag: The Ridgewood News
Former Ridgewood Mayor and Former Village Manager Remain Guilty as Charged
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood News has thus far refused to correct its misleading December 4, 2020 front page article which claimed that former Ridgewood mayor Paul Aronsohn and former Ridgewood Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld were “cleared” of all ethics code violations by an administrative law judge. Both had been found guilty in late 2017 of using taxpayer funds to further their own personal agendas with respect to a referendum vote on a proposed municipal parking garage.
Continue reading Former Ridgewood Mayor and Former Village Manager Remain Guilty as Charged
UPDATE : Fake News, Cover-ups, Intimidation, and Crummy Newspapers – No, we are not talking about the Nation, we’re talking about our little hamlet of Ridgewood
By the staff of The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, Late last summer a reporter employed by The Record newspaper, submitted an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to the Village Clerk’s office that asked for some information from all five elected Council members. Four of the five complied in a timely fashion, as required BY LAW. Councilman Jeffrey Voigt, however, delayed his response. When he finally did respond, he included a fictitious narrative that was not what the reporter had requested. Actually, even if his narrative had been factual, this would not have been in compliance with OPRA, as you are not supposed to CREATE DOCUMENTS when supplying information via the OPRA process. The fact that Councilman Voigt’s response was full of untruths just compounded the violation.
Reader says The Ridgewood News to publish if the person in question was a political ADVERSARY
And the photograph of Aronsohn. Looks like he’s giving someone the side-eye. Or perhaps he’s experiencing digestive distress. In any event, it’s not flattering. Sort of what you’d expect The Ridgewood News to publish if the person in question was a political ADVERSARY, not a fellow swamp-dweller like Aronsohn. Remarkable!
Gannett to vacate Oak Street, Ridgewood offices
September 22,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The staff of The Ridgewood Blog has just learned that Gannett will be officially vacating their offices on Oak Street, in Ridgewood at the end of December 2017. Those offices had previously served as home base for The Ridgewood News, 201 Magazine, The Glen Rock Gazette, and a number of other weekly newspapers owned by Gannett.
Most, if not all, employees of the aforementioned publications moved out of Oak Steet months ago, but the lease for the office space will terminate in December and will not be renewed. It is expected that all operations for The Ridgewood News and the weeklies will now be centered in Woodland Park, NJ. The future of 201 Magazine is rumored to be uncertain.
the Ridgewood News and The Record have a long history of fact-checking letters to the editor
You are incorrect on so many levels. First of all, the Ridgewood News and The Record have a long history of fact-checking letters to the editor and making the author correct the letter or it does not get printed. A person does not have the right to say whatever the hell they feel like when writing a letter to the editor, unless it is purely opinion. To state that Roberta Sonenfeld was “capriciously fired” by the mayor was an out-and-out lie. To state that the council is enacting scams is not an opinion, it is an indictment. A scam is an intentional fraudulent act that usually involves getting money from someone. For Ms. Semler to state that the council is involved in scams requires some kind of factual back-up (of course there is none). An opinion would be something along the lines of “I think that what they are doing is wrong” or “I think they are all out of their minds” but not to state that they are doing things that are factually untrue. The Ridgewood News was completely irresponsible in letting this letter get through and their pitiful attempts to correct or alter have fallen way short.
“Semler” Letter Editor of the Ridgewood News Requires Even More Corrections
February 27,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, The now infamous letter to the editor from Kira Semler required 2 corrections.The Semler letter to the editor of the Ridgewood news caused a furor on social media at the time. Initially, the letter suggested among other things that the former “breath of fresh air ” Village manager was fired when in fact she resigned.The misinformation in the letter was later edited out by the Ridgewood News but not before the damage was done.
The Ridgewood New has now for a second time corrected the letter, the “clarification ” came this past week just as the social media firestorm was dying down. The Ridgewood reaffirmed critics of its editorial policy that the former Village manager did in fact resign on September 6th and she was relieved of her duties on the very same day.
As previously reported the staff of the Ridgewood blog had noticed the letter but felt it was what we call a “put up job” where a local special interest, usually a supporter of the former mayor and his schemes puts up a relative or friend to promote garagezilla and to attack the current council.
N.J. newspapers to lose $20 million if bill passes
Nicholas Pugliese and Bob Jordan, Staff Writers8:21 a.m. EST December 14, 2016
A fast-tracked bill that would allow governments to forgo publishing budgets, bids for services and other public records in newspapers and instead post them exclusively online triggered debate Tuesday among legislators, who were split on its potential impact on New Jersey’s media landscape.
Supporters framed it as a cost-saving measure for taxpayers in an age when digital news consumption is increasingly the norm. It was denounced by opponents as an assault on the state’s newspapers that would result in less investigative reporting, staffing cuts in newsrooms and reduced governmental transparency.
The Ridgewood News declined to publish this letter to the editor
Editor, The Ridgewood News:
Re: “Planning Board lawsuit dismissed,” The Ridgewood News, October 28, Page A-2.
Former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn’s contention that both his and former Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli’s acceptance of gratis tickets to a political fundraiser, and subsequent attendance at the event, was entirely appropriate based on who else was in attendance, is simply preposterous.
Of those attendees referenced by Mr. Aronsohn (“all five Council members at that time,” “the Village Manager, County Executive, and multiple Freeholders”) only he and Mr. Pucciarelli were full voting members of the Planning Board at that time. As such, only he and Mr. Pucciarelli were in positions to cast votes on a then pending amendment to the Village’s Master Plan that could have favorably impacted the local real estate developer who provided the gratis tickets. Neither Mr. Aronsohn nor Mr. Pucciarelli should have set foot in that event venue for any reason whatsoever.
And with respect to Mr. Aronsohn’s claim that Village Attorney Matt Rogers previously advised that “it was both fine and appropriate that we attended as a courtesy to the visiting governor,” you and your reporter should have treated this statement as nothing more than hearsay unless Mr. Aronsohn was willing and able to produce a piece of correspondence or official transcript verifying its authenticity.
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood NJ
The Ridgewood News Will only be Printing and Candidate Endorsement Letters the Next 2 Issues
April 16,2016
the staff of the Rmidgewood bog
Ridgewood Nj, the Ridgewood blog has learned that The Ridgewood News will NOT print any endorsement letters to the editor on the Friday before the election (May 6th). Apparently, the editor wants to be able to put a correction in on May 6th, if any information in endorsement letters are challenged.
So there are only 2 weeks left for endorsement letters (April 22 & April 29). I have no idea if they will be fair in their # of letters per candidate, but based on my experience with this new editor, I doubt there will be anything fair about it. I suggest getting letters in this weekend for next weeks paper.
As for the Ridgewood blog , we will be excepting letters of endorsement all the way till the May 10. Please proofread and spell check.
They will be posted unedited . Email PJ Blogger at onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com .
Follow Up Re: The Ridgewood News Letter to the Editor
file photo of PJ Blogger reading the Ridgewood News
Follow Up Re: The Ridgewood News Letter to the Editor
James J. Foytlin
The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Dear Mr. Foytlin:
I am writing as a follow up to North Jersey Media Group’s (NJMG) June 28, 2013 letter posted on The Ridgewood Blog in response to several comments left by blog readers concerning a letter submitted by a resident for publication in the Letters to the Editor section of The Ridgewood News. It is kindly requested that you post this letter on the blog as well.
It is my understanding that some were disappointed with NJMG’s June 28, 2013 letter because it was not as forthcoming with details as those interested in this matter would have liked. However, as you likely know, New Jersey has a very strong shield law that is designed to safeguard the newsgathering process and allow our reporters to do their job to the fullest ability. Information obtained by reporters in the course of their professional activities, including discussions with their sources, is privileged. NJMG must be cautious with the information it discloses so as not to unintentionally waive this most important safeguard.
NJMG recognizes that some will likely decry this explanation as a way to simply dodge the underlying issues. However, such complaints are shortsighted. The shield law is designed to protect the free flow of information to the press. If the information obtained and the sources consulted in connection with news articles and editorials, such as letters to the editor, are subject to disclosure at the demand of the public, then the willingness to provide information to reporters will quickly evaporate and have a detrimental effect on the amount and quality of information available to the public at large.
However, in light of the fact that Mayor Aronsohn has already identified himself as having contacted The Ridgewood News and without waiving the right to any otherwise privileged information, NJMG would like to state the following:
· The Ridgewood News was never asked by the Mayor or anyone else in person or by any other means to withdraw, hold, pull or not to publish the resident’s letter;
· As he himself stated, Mayor Aronsohn contacted The Ridgewood News after a June council meeting to confirm what had already been discussed openly during that public meeting covered by our reporter; to wit, that there was a discrepancy between the letter writer’s statement regarding the village attorney’s advice and what the village attorney’s actual advice was with respect to handling matters in open or closed session.
The Ridgewood News was obligated to hold the resident’s letter until the facts could be confirmed. While The Ridgewood News does not fact check every letter to the editor, the newspaper would have been remiss by publishing information that it actually knew was not entirely accurate. Indeed, our courts have held news media liable for publishing letters to the editor that contain inaccurate statements.
As a further point of clarification, the resident was never advised that the letter would be printed in The Ridgewood News in the days immediately following the submission. Rather, newspaper staff contacted the resident for the purpose of confirming the authorship of the submission. The decision to print any news or opinion letters in The Ridgewood News rests in the sole discretion of NJMG and is further subject to space limitations in the newspaper.
In accordance with the privilege afforded The Ridgewood News under the shield law to safeguard its newsgathering activities and editorial process, NJMG is unable to make its editorial staff available for further inquiry, including personal meetings, to discuss this matter.
Finally, to the extent that any individual or entity has impliedly suggested or explicitly stated that The Ridgewood News succumbed to any pressure from the Mayor or any other public or private figure with respect to publication of the resident’s letter, NJMG unequivocally denies the accusation and the actual facts support that position.
We appreciate the community’s interest in our reporting and for bringing these concerns to The Ridgewood News’ attention.
Sincerely,
ROBERT D. THOMPSON
—————————————————–
Robert D. Thompson, Esq.
Corporate Attorney
North Jersey Media Group Inc.
1 Garret Mountain Plaza
P.O. Box 471
Woodland Park, NJ 07424
T: (973) 569-7685
F: (973) 569-7268
Even the Bergen Record noticed its been 14 years
Even the Bergen Record noticed its been 14 years
Ridgewood NJ , In the Record’s recent editorial Failure to disconnect even the far left leaning Bergen Record had to admit ,”were the Village Council and the municipal administration? No one knew for at least 14 years that a council or Planning Board member had improper contracts with the town?
And as a readers so eloquently said ,”So let me get this straight, Mayor Aronsohn who voted for letting Riche do the work is now saying it was illegal. Then why did he vote YES! He was the one who gave approval NOT Riche. It’s like a cop tells me I can buy some pot and then arrests me for smoking it!
The Record: Failure to disconnect
Friday, June 7, 2013
The Record
A COUNCIL member should not do business with the municipal government he represents. That principle is not hard to grasp.
But for some inexplicable reason, it was not followed in Ridgewood, where Councilman Thomas Riche has had a long-standing business relationship with the village through his telecommunications firm, Extel Communications.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/210523931_The_Record__Failure_to_disconnect.html?scpromo=1
