>Ridgewood News editorial: Teachers should attend charity basketball game
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Education Association’s decision to pull teachers from a charity basketball game was a disappointing turn in contract negotiations with the school district.
>Ridgewood Patch and Glen Rock Patch Merge
The staff of the Ridgewood blog
Wednesday ,December 14, 2011
(Ridgewood , NJ) Last week AOL’s “hyper local” online news network Patch consolidated 4 of its New Jersey local websites. The Patch in Ridgewood has now merged with Glen Rock and the Franklin Lakes Patch has been merged with Wycoff . Sources claim it was a business decision done to better serve both readers and advertisers.
However Ad Age reports that Patch spokesperson Janine Iamunno said the decision was “editorially driven,” coming from editors who felt there was too much news overlap in the towns. Previously the Patch also reduced freelance budgets to make the sites more profitable.
AOL the parent company is under pressure from the recent merger with Huffington Post and is still struggling with how hyper local the Patch’s news coverage and and advertising should be.
>Ridgewood News editorial: Hitting the restart button
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Ridgewood News
The scene at Tuesday night’s Village Council meeting to formalize the governing body’s opposition to The Valley Hospital’s “Renewal” plan was far from the raucous display at last year’s Planning Board meeting, when an amendment to the Master Plan was approved.
Vincent Loncto is sworn in as Ridgewood schools trustee
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011
BY EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – A former chief financial officer for major corporations was sworn in Monday night as the school district’s newest trustee.
Vincent Loncto took his seat as a trustee at Monday’s school board meeting at the district’s Education Center on Cottage Place.
The certified public accountant was one of six candidates interviewed for the trustee post after Charles Reilly resigned earlier this year.
“The school budget is in the process of being developed, so I’m coming in at the right time,” said Loncto, who retired earlier this year from a 40-year career in financial management.
“It has to be done collaboratively,” he said. “What we are talking about here is enhancing the quality of the school system under budgetary constraints. It is detail-intensive work.”
Letter: Former fire chief James Bombace corrects ‘misleading’ statement
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Former chief: Manager should be in charge
To the editor:
At the last council meeting, Deputy Mayor Tom Riche stated: “When the Emergency Operations Center is activated … all command and control immediately goes to the Emergency Operations Center and the director of Emergency Management. So the village manager theoretically at that point is no longer in charge.”
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
>Ridgewood school board interviews six candidates for open seat
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Board of Education (BOE) interviewed six candidates this week for the seat left vacant by trustee Charles Reilly’s departure last month.
Six candidates applied and were each questioned by board members on Monday night regarding their professional backgrounds, reasons for applying for the position, and goals as a potential BOE trustee. The decision on Reilly’s replacement will be announced at a public meeting on Nov. 7.
Among the candidates – James Morgan, Gwen Sullivan, B. Vincent Loncto, Janice Willet, Rei Shinozuka and Eric Gross – several themes were consistent across the six interviews. All expressed a desire to contribute to the reputation of the Ridgewood school district, which was a primary reason behind moving to the village for many of the candidates.
Issues of communication, whether relating to complex technical matters such as yearly budgets or simple instances of parent feedback, were also paramount in candidates’ responses.
>Interviews will be held on Monday, October 24, 2011 for Vacant Board Seat
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR VACANT BOARD MEMBER POSITION
As of Friday, October 21, 2011, 4:00 p.m., the district has received applications for the vacant Board Member position from the following people:
Eric Gross
B. Vincent Loncto
James Morgan
Rei Shinozuka
Gwen Sullivan
Janice Willett
Interviews will be held starting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 24, 2011, at the Regular Public Meeting, in the Board Room on the third floor of the Education Center.
>Citizens Park was acquired by the village through fund-raising efforts in the late 1960s
photo and editorial contribution courtesy of Boyd Loving
PJ, I know this thread is old, and perhaps I’ve missed smtg. I am pretty sure that Citizen’s Park was purchased with a bond issue from the VOR and a Bergen County grant. I do not believe that dime one was donated from any “long time residents” or even any “new arrivals” as 8:35am talks about. Just like Habernickel, we’re all paying for these purchases in one way or anohter (through our taxes). So, would be helpful to clarify, rather that to spread misinformation
There was some discussion at last week’s Village Council meeting about this. See below.
He noted that other major fund-raising initiatives have been devoted to Ridgewood’s parks in the past. Citizens Park was acquired by the village through fund-raising efforts in the late 1960s, an effort led by current Open Space Committee citizen member Frank Schott.
History of a Village : Exhibit ‘tells the story’ of Civil War era in Ridgewood
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Two American flags hang in opposite corners of the Schoolhouse Museum, something that may not seem overly strange considering the prevalence of the national symbol in classrooms, municipal buildings and flagpoles throughout Ridgewood. But a closer look reveals that one of these flags has 34 stars; the other, 35. And spread out underneath them is a wealth of materials not likely to appear anywhere else in the village.
Starting on Sunday, Oct. 2, the Schoolhouse Museum will be home to “The Civil War Years: At Home and on the Battlefield,” a new exhibit created by the Ridgewood Historical Society, the local group that operates and maintains the museum on East Glen Avenue.
Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the exhibit “tells the story of the Civil War through an extraordinary collection of artifacts and ephemera,” said Sheila Brogan, president of the Ridgewood Historical Society.
Ridgewood News Jumps on the Bandwagon on Gabbert Pay Raise
Ridgewood News Editorial: Raising some questions
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011 THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS Members of the Village Council, with the exception of Paul Aronsohn, voted to increase Village Manager Ken Gabbert’s salary last week – a 12 percent increase over just 14 months. Gabbert now earns $185,000, one of the highest salaries for a municipal manager in Bergen County.
>Ridgewood’s firefighters agreed to major mid-contract concessions
Editorial: Kudos on concessions
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
What an unfamiliar revelation it was when the details of contract concessions between the Ridgewood Fire Department and the Village of Ridgewood were announced last week.
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Transit (NJT) is wrapping up the last of its major renovations at the Ridgewood train station and putting the finishing touches on the project in anticipation of its expected fall completion date.
The extensive $41 million construction project, which began in early 2009, was undertaken with the intent of making the station accessible to disabled passengers and more convenient for all commuters. Since then, the station has seen a raised platform replace the previously existing one on the station’s west side, the installation of 350-foot canopies over the tracks, new stairs, parking improvements and renovations to the station’s restrooms and ticket booth.
Gmax testing is a standard measure of the safety of athletic fields. It involves measuring the shock absorbing properties of a playing surface and comparing the results to an industry standard set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Harder surfaces will increase the amount of impact absorbed by the body, which results in a higher Gmax rating. Scores over 200 are considered dangerous and increase the risk of life threatening head injuries. Preferred Gmax scores should be in the 120-150 range.
Things to Know About Gmax:
-The cumulative nature of the effects of head injury make it important to monitor the impact-related
-characteristics of sports surfaces.
-The higher the Gmax value, the lower the shock-absorbing properties of the surface.
-Gmax measurements are a fundamental tool of athletic field safety testing.
-Gmax is also useful in assessing the playability of a field; an athlete’s ability to cut and turn on the surface, the -rotational resistance and consistent footing it provides, and the support it gives without sacrificing speed and -quickness.
A new facilities and fields hotline has been established for non-emergency concerns regarding the school district’s buildings and grounds. To report a concern, please call 201-670-2700, ext. 10548 or e-mail rpsfacilities@ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
>Golden Toilet: “I guess you don’t get much for $400,000.00 anymore.”
Reader : “I was at the field with the $400,000 toilets and decided to go in and see, they looked ok, but the soap was empty the electric was off so the toilets didn’t flush and we couldn’t dry our hands. I guess you don’t get much for $400,000.00 anymore. It was 1:00 pm. There is no money to keep the town up and it is a shame. Maybe the mayor, manager and council would like to put the large paycheck to work and do some cleaning up around town.” ( photo by Artchick.biz)
As reported in the Ridgewood News by Michael Sedon and Kipp Clark , attorney Stuart J. Lieberman, of Princeton-based Lieberman & Blecher, who represents the Preserve Graydon Group contends that a Nov. 16 letter written by Village Clerk Heather Mailander failed to answer the group’s concerns about why the village is taking all the information gathered by the RPP “at face value without reviewing them,” as well as questions why municipal employees have been made available to help the group. With these questions yet unanswered, Lieberman contends the RFP should never have been issued.
Liberman went on , “In short, the basis for my client’s concern is that the municipality has clearly and extensively relied on the work product of the RPP in creating the draft RFP, apparently taking its conclusions at face value and without reviewing them thoroughly or perhaps at all,” Lieberman wrote. “For reasons more fully explained in my letter dated to you Nov. 30, 2009, we believe the draft RFP violates state law.”
Once again Village Government business seems to be driven by the price of a particular project and not the value of the improvements the project will bring to the quality of life in the Village .
Again this blog was proven correct in its objections to the original $13 million dollar proposal because as Ms. Mailander clearly points out in her statements that the Village Council only seems interested in hearing what it wants to hear.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what an amazing town Ridgewood used to be ,in the olds days had you pulled a stunt like this you would have been quietly asked to leave town in no uncertain terms and your house would have been put on the market the next day. It really was a beautiful place to live and no one would have ever put up with this type of behavior or even known someone would have even tried to get away with it . It just wont happen in Ridgewood.
Oh well …
