Daffodil Festival – Art Show, Antique Cars, Plant Sale, Kids Crafts, Dog Parade- April 27th
Artists specializing in watercolors, acrylics, photography, oils, pen and ink and jewelry will exhibit their talents at a Fine Art Show and Sale set to be held in conjunction with the Daffodil Festival on Sunday, April 27th. This special event will be held at the Ridgewood Train Station and Plaza, between the hours of 12 noon and 3 pm. Artist will be displaying their works inside the plaza building as well as the area adjacent to facility, rain or shine.
Last fall, the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands and volunteer residents of the Village purchased 7,000 daffodil bulbs as an enhancement and beautification project for the entire Village to enjoy. In celebration of the hard work and anticipated beauty, a Daffodil Festival is being planned. In addition to the Fine Art Show and Sale, additional activities include a 12:30PM ribbon cutting ceremony rededicating the renovation of the Broad Street gardens, a classic antique car show, a spring plant sale, a 1:00PM “Daffy Dog Parade”, children’s arts and craft projects and a variety of refreshments.
The mission of the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands is to provide funding and support to restore and enhance the Village parklands in accordance with the Master Plan for development. Now, three years in existence, the Conservancy has fundraising and a few major projects accomplished. Please refer to the website www.cfrpl.org for further information or to become a member.
The Fine Art Show and Sale is co-sponsored by the Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department and the Conservancy. To obtain additional details or to join as an artist, please contact the Recreation Office at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, 201-670-5560. Several spaces are still available for interested artists.
The Ridgewood Guild is proud to be sponsoring its fourth annual Spring Film Festival! The two day event is slated for Wed. and Thurs. April 23 and 24, 2014 at the Bowtie Cinema (formerly Clearview Warner) in downtown Ridgewood, NJ. The Festival will include a red carpet ceremony, an awards presentation, and after party at Park West Tavern (30 Oak St.). All proceeds of the Festival will go to The Ridgewood Guild to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
Danny Aiello is our featured guest on Thursday, April 24th. Come enjoy highlights of his career, his music videos and join in the Q & A with him.
All proceeds of the Festival will go to The Ridgewood Guild to help “Create a Better Ridgewood.”
Call 201.493.9911 for more information or visit us at www.ridgewoodguild.com
Roger William Wiegand, 70, of Ridgewood, NJ passed away April 18, 2014. Son of Francis J. Sr. and Eleanor Cooper Wiegand, he was born August 19, 1943 in Paterson, NJ and was a lifelong resident of the Village of Ridgewood.
Graduate of Ridgewood High School, he received a BA in Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He taught business law and typing at Cresskill High School for 25 years before retiring in 1993.
Since his retirement he has been an active and outspoken member of the community he loved. He wanted nothing but the best for Ridgewood and its residents. Throughout his 70 years, he enriched the lives of many and was always willing to lend a hand to those in need. From his students to his neighbors, Roger was the voice of reason. He will be sorely missed.
He was predeceased by his parents, brother Francis J. Wiegand Jr. and sister Eleanor Daley. He is survived by nephew Frederick Michael Daley III and wife MaryAnn of Hewitt, NJ, nieces Kerry Anne Daley of Portsmouth, RI, Julia Ann Wiegand and Elizabeth Couchon of North Attleboro, MA, grandnephew Frederick Michael Daley IV and wife Meghan Marie of Staten Island, NY, and grandniece Amanda Marie Daley of Hewitt, NJ.
Funeral services will be private. A memorial gathering for friends will be held from 3-6 pm, Tuesday April 22, 2014 at 216 South Irving Street Ridgewood, NJ. Please bring your favorite Roger story to share.
Donations can be made in Roger’s name to the American Heart Association or Friends of the Ridgewood Library.
EASTER SUNDAY – APRIL 20 Mass Times: 8am 9:30am Church 9:30am Auditorium 11am Church 11am Auditorium 12:30pm Church 12:30pm Auditorium 3pm Spanish NO 6:30PM MASS ON EASTER SUNDAY
West Side Presbyterian Church
SUNDAY,APRIL 20, 2014 EASTER SUNDAY
Schedule highlights for Sunday, April 20 (Please note special schedule!):
8:45 AM *Festival Easter Worship with Holy Communion 11:15 AM *Festival Easter Worship with Holy Communion
Note there is NO Sunday School, Adult groups or Foundation on Easter Sunday. The link to the full Holy Week schedule appears above. There will still be Little Lambs Child Care for pre-school children in the West Side Nursery.
Emmanuel Baptist
Sunday, April 20, 2014 Easter Sunday Sunday School for All Ages9:15 AM Youth Choir Rehearsal9:15 AM Adult Choir Rehearsal9:45 AM Worship followed by fellowship hour10:30 AM
Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church
Sunday morning worship – 10:30 am
Christ Church
Easter Day (April 20) @ 8 am, 9:15 am, and 10 am
Joyful and Christ-centered worship celebrates Jesus’ resurrection.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Easter Sunday, April 20th 7:30 am – Sunrise Communion Worship 9:00 am – Praise Communion Worship 11:00 am – Festival Communion Worship
please feel free to add info in the comment boxes for your house of worship
Village of Ridgewood NOTICE : Friday, April 18 – Village Hall & Stable Closed – No Sanitation or Recycling Collection
On Friday, April 18th in observance of Good Friday, Village Hall and The Stable offices will be closed. Additionally there will no garbage or recycling collection on that date.
The Recycling Center, 205 E. Glen Ave., will be open Saturday, April 19 from 8AM to 3PM.
Security holes in power grid have federal officials scrambling
In Congress, the vulnerability of the power grid has emerged as among the most pressing domestic security concerns.
By Evan Halper
April 7, 2014, 3:00 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Adam Crain assumed that tapping into the computer networks used by power companies to keep electricity zipping through transmission lines would be nearly impossible in these days of heightened vigilance over cybersecurity.
When he discovered how wrong he was, his work sent Homeland Security Department officials into a scramble.
Crain, the owner of a small tech firm in Raleigh, N.C., along with a research partner, found penetrating transmission systems used by dozens of utilities to be startlingly easy. After they shared their discovery with beleaguered utility security officials, the Homeland Security Department began sending alerts to power grid operators, advising them to upgrade their software.
The alerts haven’t stopped because Crain keeps finding new security holes he can exploit.
“There are a lot of people going through various stages of denial” about how easily terrorists could disrupt the power grid, he said. “If I could write a tool that does this, you can be sure a nation state or someone with more resources could.”
Those sorts of warnings, along with vivid demonstrations of the grid’s vulnerability, such as an incident a year ago in which unknown assailants fired on a power station near San Jose, nearly knocking out electricity to Silicon Valley, have grabbed official attention. In Congress, the vulnerability of the power grid has emerged as among the most pressing domestic security concerns.
After reading comments from Village personal made on this blog the last several weeks it would seem a closer look at “shared services ” is an idea whose time has come .
The New Jersey Shared Services Association (NJSSA) is a non-profit association that proactively promotes increased efficiency in the delivery of services, while reducing the costs of local government. NJSSA members focus in the areas of advocacy, policy development, and education; while offering non-partisan advisory services to all local public entities and selected non-profit associations.
In 2007, Middlesex County Freeholder H. James Polos, recognized statewide as long time advocate for shared services, brought together the county shared services coordinators in New Jersey with the purpose of establishing a statewide professional association. The vision was to create an opportunity for improved communication among the coordinators, sharing of information, professional development and advocacy for shared services.
Established in 2008, the New Jersey Shared Services Association (NJSSA) is a non-profit 501(c)3 association that proactively promotes increased efficiency in the delivery of services, while reducing the costs of local government. NJSSA members focus in the areas of advocacy, policy development, and education; while offering non-partisan advisory services to all local public entities and selected non-profit associations.
The overall goal of the NJSSA is to establish substantial and long-term shared service agreements throughout NJ counties and municipalities to help reduce the cost of local government to the taxpayers and improve the availability and efficiency of government services.
NJSSA consists of representatives from across NJ counties with 17 out of 21 counties participating in the NJ Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services Share Grant Program, which funds a 3-year start-up position for a county Office of Shared Services.
The NJSSA members work to identify areas where county and local government can work collaboratively to combine resources for more efficient service delivery while at the same time helping to lower capital and operating costs for participating government entities, resulting in relief to local taxpayers.
Services Currently Being Shared
• Information Technology (IT)
• Centralized Police Dispatch, 911 Emergency Communications
• Consolidation of Public Work Facilities & Departments
• Animal Control / Animal Shelters
• Mosquito Control & Gypsy Moth Spraying
• County Records Management /Retention for Municipalities
• Transportation Resources for the Disadvantaged and Elderly
• Countywide Fleet Maintenance & Purchasing
• Regional Vehicle Wash Facilities
• Parks and Recreation Facilities / Staff and Maintenance
• Police Protection Mergers
• Countywide Tax Assessments and Revaluations
• Countywide Storm & Wastewater Management
• County Health Department / Regionalized Health Services
• County Library System
• County Sponsored Municipal Job Fairs
• Shared School District Superintendents and Personnel
• Customized Training Programs
• County Recycling Programs
• County Landfill
• Police and Fire Training Academies
• Regional Planning and Economic Development
• GIS ( Geographical Information Systems)
• Coop Purchasing Programs
• Weights and Measures
Ridgewood officials discuss potential shared service with Bergen County
APRIL 14, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014, 4:24 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
Village officials have learned that the county is slated to open a new vehicle maintenance facility just three miles outside of Ridgewood, putting a new twist on the municipality’s ongoing efforts to improve and potentially relocate its fleet repair operations.
Based on recent conversations with Bergen County administrators, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said construction on the county garage is already underway and is scheduled for completion later this year. Sonenfeld, who took over as the full-time manager less than two weeks ago, informed Ridgewood Council members this week that the project has gone relatively under the radar, as little information was available until she and other village officials broached the topic with the county.
“This has not really been publicized, but the county is building a state-of-the-art facility that they think will be operational in November,” said Sonenfeld. “The great news is that it’s not far away. It’s right down Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus.”
Specifically, Bergen’s new Department of Public Works Maintenance Complex will be located just south of Ridgewood Avenue along Jerome Avenue, a mostly residential street. On Wednesday, the village manager was unable to specify the total number of vehicle repair bays that the county intends to build, but she indicated that the overall goal is to offer services to municipalities.
Reader says Technology is evolving at such a rate that we will eventually no longer have libraries
Technology is evolving at such a rate that we will eventually no longer have libraries in the physical books and brick and mortar sense that we know of them today. This probably sounds unthinkable, and I hear the arguments that libraries do a lot more than loan books, but it will simply come down to a continual lessening of library usage and economics. The only reason they will remain operational as long as they will is due to political resistance and a misguided hankering for community spirit.
Ridgewood NJ, Amelia Ortiz had some extra pep in her step as she boarded her train Wednesday morning. It might have been the coffee.
Flo’s Depot at the Ridgewood train station officially opened for business Tuesday morning, exactly one week after its originally scheduled unveiling. No one, including Ortiz, seemed to mind the seven-day delay – after all, they have been waiting for almost five years for a coffee stand to re-open at the spot.
When New Jersey Transit began a multi-million dollar renovation project and forced the last coffee stand to permanently close its doors in 2009, morning rail riders were compelled to seek their caffeine jolts and breakfasts-on-the-go from other sources. For those residents opting against a travel mug of java from home, the extra stop at a nearby shop or bakery posed a minor inconvenience.
Reader says time to change residency requirement for new hires
That residency requirement for new hires limits who we can hire, but if it was changed to residency after one year of appointment we’d get a much broader range of qualified applicants going for these golden jobs with their multi-million dollar lifetime benefits. And let the Village fire people for incompetence. Now apparently the only way to get rid of a Village employee is to catch them stealing quarters. According to some former Village employees on this blog, the Engineering department where that thief was employed has cost taxpayers millions of dollars in DEP and other fines, lost quarters, and flooded fields and Village Hall that need to be repaired every time we get a super storm. Where is the accountability to taxpayers there ?
Daffodil Festival – Fine Art Show and Sale – April 27th
Artists specializing in watercolors, acrylics, photography, oils, pen and ink and jewelry will exhibit their talents at a Fine Art Show and Sale set to be held in conjunction with the Daffodil Festival on Sunday, April 27th. This special event will be held at the Ridgewood Train Station and Plaza, between the hours of 12 noon and 3 pm. Artist will be displaying their works inside the plaza building as well as the area adjacent to facility, rain or shine.
Last fall, the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands and volunteer residents of the Village purchased 7,000 daffodil bulbs as an enhancement and beautification project for the entire Village to enjoy. In celebration of the hard work and anticipated beauty, a Daffodil Festival is being planned. In addition to the Fine Art Show and Sale, additional activities include a 12:30PM ribbon cutting ceremony rededicating the renovation of the Broad Street gardens, a classic antique car show, a spring plant sale, a 1:00PM “Daffy Dog Parade”, children’s arts and craft projects and a variety of refreshments.
The mission of the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands is to provide funding and support to restore and enhance the Village parklands in accordance with the Master Plan for development. Now, three years in existence, the Conservancy has fundraising and a few major projects accomplished. Please refer to the website www.cfrpl.org for further information or to become a member.
The Fine Art Show and Sale is co-sponsored by the Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department and the Conservancy. To obtain additional details or to join as an artist, please contact the Recreation Office at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, 201-670-5560. Several spaces are still available for interested artists.
Ridgewood NJ, April 9, 2014 – The Ridgewood blog was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger .[1] Mr. Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .[2] [3]
After many years living in New York City[4] Mr Foytlin returned to Ridgewood after a divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 . Once he settled in he noticed a lack of sufficient news coverage of local events . One day a friend from Brazil[5] showed him her home town on the internet and to Mr. Foytlin’s great surprise when he tried to reciprocate he was utterly dismayed at the absolute lake coverage of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capitol of world and there was not a single picture of Ridgewood to be found . How could this be? Ridgewood is a picturesque upper middle class village of around 25,000 located in Bergen county in northern New Jersey[7] . Founded by Dutch settlers before it became an English colony[8] . The town or village as its called is steeped in rich history and tradition .Known for a large amount of Victorian era housing , a quality school system and a family friendly atmosphere.
Though busy getting reacquainted with his home town the fact that the Village of Ridgewood was so under represented on the internet continued to disturb Mr. Foytlin. Mr. Foytlin had been writing news letters for his job in financial services since the mid 1990’s . The popular flip, off beat investment strategy news letters had become email blasts with the advent of readily accessible internet.[9] By 2004 the email blasts were converted into blog format for the One Small Voice blog (https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ ). [10]
Around that time the Village of Ridgewood had finally completed it’s much anticipated and long delayed renovation of the Village hall which has been flooded out due to Hurricane Floyd.[11] The renovation was marred by huge cost over runs and lengthy delays. In 2005 it opened with great fan fare , was once again flooded with the very first rain . Mr. Foytlin was more shocked by the abject lack of responsibility taken by elected officials than the fact that the $9 million dollar renovation had to some extent been a failure . That was the breaking point and Mr. Foytlin had had enough so he decided to give , citizen journalism a go and created the Ridgewood blog in March of 2006. [12]
The birth of PJ Blogger .By this time Blogging its seems had become quite the rage and mainstream news anchors such as Dan Rather had questioned the validity of information from non professionals sitting around in their Pajama’s blogging.[13] Mr. Foytlin not a fan of Dan Rather or any of the mainstream media decided to blog under the name PJ Blogger as a play on words and to plant himself firmly in the camp of the new digital media.
Innovations by the Ridgewood blog to citizen journalism.
“The Fly” is a column on the Ridgewood blog the originates from the expression ,”I’d like to be a fly on the wall “ . The idea is that every citizen has both a unique perspective and experience and these two factors can be used to gather news and opinions about local issues. Originally only of handful of people in town participated but with time the Ridgewood blog can now count on 30–50 semi regular contributors. These post are both anonymous and signed and are largely opinion as well a breaking news.[14]
The Ridgewood blog brings a free market lassie fare point of view to local issues . Mr. Foytlin aka PJ Blogger has stated that for local issues there are only two kinds of people ;the ones who say spend what every you want because I will not be around to pay the bill and the second group which are more focused on the ,”be careful this is my money your spending” . The Ridgewood blog is dedicated to the interplay of there two groups.[15]
[1][12] the Ridgewood blog website https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/
[2] Birth Certificate born in Valley Hospital , Ridgewood 04/09/1962
[3] Ridgewood High School Class 1980
[4] 444 East 86th street ,530 East 72nd
[5] Monica Rocha
[6] Mapquest
[7] United States 2000 Census, the village population was 24,936.
[8] https://www.americantowns.com/nj/ridgewood/organization/vi…
[9] Fahnestock & Co. now Oppenheimer & Co.
[10] https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
[11] https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/localhistory/lh_vh_pease.htm
[13] https://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005611
[14] [15] James J Foytlin
