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Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus Holiday Concerts in Ridgewood

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Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus Holiday Concerts in Ridgewood 

The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus will present its annual Holiday Gala concerts on Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, December 21, 2014 at 4:00 pm at the Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street, in downtown Ridgewood, NJ.

This year’s concerts will feature a diverse selection of carols and songs including “Carol of the Bells,” Johnny Marks’ “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” Tchesnokov’s “ Salvation Belongeth to Our God” in the original Russian, Faure’s “Cantique de Jean Racine” in French,  “Let the River Run” by Carly Simon, and many others. This year’s guest soloist is an exciting and charismatic new talent whose name may soon become a household word, baritone Peter Ogrodnik.

Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance and $25 at the door. Advance purchase may be made  online at the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus website www.ridgewoodorpheusclub.org  and at any of the following local businesses: Daily Treat Restaurant, Wine Seller and Town and Country Apothecary in Ridgewood; Lewis Drug in Westwood; Perry’s Florist and Rock Ridge Pharmacy in Glen Rock; Wine and Spirit World in Ho-Ho-Kus; and Benny’s Luncheonette in Fair Lawn. 

Seniors and students under 17 years of age may purchase tickets at the door for $18.

The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus has been a keystone of the cultural life of the tri-state region for 109 years. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest cultural institution in all of Bergen County. Now over 50 voices strong, it is directed by John Palatucci and accompanied by pianist Ron Levy.

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Ridgewood Art Institute Holiday Show Reception Today 1pm

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Ridgewood Art Institute Holiday Show Reception Today 1pm

We have completed the construction and have been decorating the galleries – Please come and join us for our Holiday show at the Ridgewood Art Institute. Special thanks to our President Bob Lampert and all the board members for making the construction project go as smoothly as possible – the barn looks spectacular. In conjunction with the Holiday show we are having a special fundraiser of Small Works donated by our membership – all proceeds from the fundraiser go directly to the barn – come see our new renovations.

Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Avenue
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450

 

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How to Rebuke a President

How to Rebuke a President

Censure-plus.

DEC 1, 2014, VOL. 20, NO. 12 • BY JAY COST


For responding to a president who defies his constitutional limits, Congress is said to possess four powers: to impeach, to defund, to investigate, and to withhold confirmation of nominees.

But there is a fifth recourse, which the new Republican Congress might consider in view of President Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal immigrants: the power to censure. In fact, censure could work in tandem with Congress’s other powers, helping the legislature make the moral case for responding to the president’s lawlessness.

Presidential censure is a rare occurrence. Most notably, in 1834, the Whig-controlled Senate censured President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, for moving federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States to local banks, derisively called his “pets” because most were operated by loyal Democrats.

Jackson’s legal justification was dubious at best. Under the law, only the secretary of the Treasury could initiate such a transfer, and then only if the funds were deemed insecure. But the Bank had been impeccably run since Nicholas Biddle became its president in 1822. An investigation had ascertained that the funds were perfectly safe, and the House had voted overwhelmingly to affirm that fact. Treasury Secretary William Duane, moreover, refused to remove the money or to step down so Jackson could install somebody who would. Jackson fired Duane, replacing him with Roger Taney without Senate confirmation. Taney’s cronies would go on to grossly mismanage funds in Jackson’s pet bank in Baltimore.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/how-rebuke-president_819709.html

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Automation Makes Us Dumb

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Automation Makes Us Dumb

Human intelligence is withering as computers do more, but there’s a solution.

By NICHOLAS CARR
Nov. 21, 2014 12:02 p.m. ET

Artificial intelligence has arrived. Today’s computers are discerning and sharp. They can sense the environment, untangle knotty problems, make subtle judgments and learn from experience. They don’t think the way we think—they’re still as mindless as toothpicks—but they can replicate many of our most prized intellectual talents. Dazzled by our brilliant new machines, we’ve been rushing to hand them all sorts of sophisticated jobs that we used to do ourselves.

But our growing reliance on computer automation may be exacting a high price. Worrisome evidence suggests that our own intelligence is withering as we become more dependent on the artificial variety. Rather than lifting us up, smart software seems to be dumbing us down.

It has been a slow process. The first wave of automation rolled through U.S. industry after World War II, when manufacturers began installing electronically controlled equipment in their plants. The new machines made factories more efficient and companies more profitable. They were also heralded as emancipators. By relieving factory hands of routine chores, they would do more than boost productivity. They would elevate laborers, giving them more invigorating jobs and more valuable talents. The new technology would be ennobling.

Then, in the 1950s, a Harvard Business School professor named James Bright went into the field to study automation’s actual effects on a variety of industries, from heavy manufacturing to oil refining to bread baking. Factory conditions, he discovered, were anything but uplifting. More often than not, the new machines were leaving workers with drabber, less demanding jobs. An automated milling machine, for example, didn’t transform the metalworker into a more creative artisan; it turned him into a pusher of buttons.

https://online.wsj.com/articles/automation-makes-us-dumb-1416589342

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Four words that could deep-six Obamacare

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Four words that could deep-six Obamacare

Richard Wolf, USA TODAY6:42 p.m. EST November 22, 2014

WASHINGTON — The most serious challenge to President Obama’s health care law since it survived the Supreme Court by a single vote in 2012 isn’t a balky website, public opinion or the Republican takeover of Congress. It’s the Supreme Court — again.

In a case likely to be heard in March and decided in June, the justices will dissect the meaning of four words on page 95 of the 906-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — four words that could render health insurance premiums unaffordable for millions of Americans.

Here’s a look at the issues in King v. Burwell:

Question: Why the fuss over four words?

Answer: The law states that tax credits will be available through so-called exchanges, or online marketplaces, “established by the State.” When it was being crafted, it was assumed that all 50 states would create their own exchanges. After it passed in March 2010, it became clear that many states would rely on the federal government to operate them, as the law allows.

In 2012, the Internal Revenue Service made the subsidies available in all states. The law’s challengers claim they cannot be offered in exchanges operated by the federal government. Thirty-six states fit into that category. Without subsidies, insurance costs would skyrocket.

Q: What’s more important — the plain meaning of those words, or the context?

A: That depends on whom you ask. The challengers say the plain meaning is clear: Subsidies can be offered only in state exchanges. If that’s what Congress wrote, they say, the Supreme Court cannot change it, and the IRS cannot extend tax credits to federal exchange customers.

The administration and other proponents say the words must be read in the context of a law clearly intended to make health insurance more widely available and affordable. Even the suspect words appear in a subtitle of the law that reads, “Affordable Coverage Choices for All Americans.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/22/supreme-court-obama-health-care/19271273/

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Ridgewood Open Houses for November 23,2014

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$649,000 – 243 Libby Ave, Ridgewood NJ

$437,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1443135
480 Upper Blvd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 1 Full Bath, Ranch
Henry Cannon, Broker Associate
Terrie O’Connor Realtors/Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$499,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1437935
347 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 1 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Karen Boyle, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$649,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1438104
243 Libby Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath, Col
Mary Kelly Coakley, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
24
 
$695,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1443529
363 Vesta Ct, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Feraidoun Ketabchi, Sales Associate
Terrie O’Connor Realtors/SdlRv
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$699,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1442651
656 Terhune Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath, Ranch
Dawn Braithwaite, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$749,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1429328
154 Claremont Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 1 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Gina Fierro, Sales Associate
Weichert Realtors Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$899,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1442807
442 Wastena Ter, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Till Horkenbach, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$899,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1443045
275 Hillcrest Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Frances Ekblom, Sales Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$949,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1434988
285 Richards Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath, Col
Barbara Masarky, Broker Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 11/23
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$1,225,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1442898
269 Lotte Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Barbara Nudelman, Broker Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/23
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.SyywpI7B.jGQPDdnf.dpuf

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30,000 missing emails from IRS’ Lerner recovered

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30,000 missing emails from IRS’ Lerner recovered

By Susan Ferrechio | November 22, 2014 | 6:39 am

Up to 30,000 missing emails sent by former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner have been recovered by the IRS inspector general, five months after they were deemed lost forever.

The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) informed congressional staffers from several committees on Friday that the emails were found among hundreds of “disaster recovery tapes” that were used to back up the IRS email system.

“They just said it took them several weeks and some forensic effort to get these emails off these tapes,” a congressional aide told the Washington Examiner.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/30k-missing-irs-emails-recovered/article/2556522

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Zuckerman: Exec Amnesty ‘Fundamental Disruption’ In Way Gov’t Works

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Zuckerman: Exec Amnesty ‘Fundamental Disruption’ In Way Gov’t Works

US News and World Report Chairman and Editor-in-Chief and publisher of The New York Daily News, Mort Zuckerman, argued that President Obama’s executive action on immigration was “very negative” and “a fundamental disruption in the way our government was supposed to work” on Friday’s “McLaughlin Group.”

“I think the residue of this [the president’s executive action on immigration] is very negative for this country. I really do. I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to address a lot of issues in this country as a result of the breakdown in whatever constructive relationship would have exist[ed] between the president and the Congress. “that is not what the president ought to be doing.”

Zuckerman later added, “I think it is a fundamental disruption in the way our government was supposed to work.”

https://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/11/22/Zuckerman-Exec-Amnesty-Fundamental-Disruption-In-Way-Govt-Works

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Downtown Ridgewood for the Holidays

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file photo Boyd Loving

Downtown Ridgewood for the Holidays
Sat, December 06, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood NJ

Santa is in Ridgewood-bring your list!

8:00am-10am Breakfast with Santa-The Office Beer Bar & Grill
10:00am Santa arrives at Columbia Bank* in his Fire Truck
10:30am FREE Movie at Bowtie Warner Theatre “Nightmare Before Christmas”

2:00-4:00pm Visit Santa at his house – Memorial Park @ Van Neste Square
Kilwins serving Hot Chocolate

For more details, please call us at 201-445-2600 or email [email protected] www.experienceridgewood.com

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Once devastated, wild turkey populations make big comeback

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Once devastated, wild turkey populations make big comeback

By Douglas Main

In the early 1900s, wild turkeys seemed to be on the road toward extinction, as unregulated hunting and widespread logging had wiped them out over much of their range. In the last few decades, however, the birds have made an incredible recovery, reaching levels near those of their precolonial days.

The birds are now found in virtually all parts of their former territory, and some new places where they hadn’t been previously, said wildlife biologist Thomas Hughes of the National Wild Turkey Federation, an organization that has reintroduced the animals into the wild. They can be found in 49 U.S. states, with the only exception being Alaska, Hughes said. In total, about 7 million wild turkeys live in the United States; prior to 1500, an estimated 10 million turkeys existed, he added.

In some places, the growth of wild turkey populations has been so dramatic it has caused minor problems, said Kelsey Sullivan, a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Bangor. In Maine, for example, the birds have been known to damage strawberry and blueberry crops. They have also been found rummaging in the fodder of dairy cattle, which they can contaminate with their droppings, Sullivan said. [Gobble, Gobble: 8 Terrific Turkey Facts]

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/once-devastated-wild-turkey-populations-make-big-comeback-f2D11650347

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Valley Hospital buys more land in Paramus

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Valley Hospital buys more land in Paramus

November 22, 2014    Last updated: Saturday, November 22, 2014, 1:21 AM
By LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
The Record

The Valley Hospital has purchased 11 1/2 acres in Paramus across the street from its same-day surgery and outpatient cancer center on Winters Avenue, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Valley Hospital

The site, not far from Route 17 and the Fashion Center mall, has been the data-processing and software-development facility for the global package distributor, UPS.

The hospital has no immediate plans to use the property, said Megan Fraser, a spokeswoman. It will lease the land and buildings back to BT Property, from whom it was purchased, for three years.

Fraser declined to give the sales price.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/valley-hospital-buys-more-land-in-paramus-1.1139536

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To Delete or Not to Delete: That’s the Uber Question

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To Delete or Not to Delete: That’s the Uber Question

Call it Uber Angst.

This is a new quandary faced by customers reliant on Uber’s on-demand taxi app but unsettled about supporting a company whose attitudes toward privacy and women have been making headlines.

Margit Detweiler, founder of the website TueNight.com, is among those wondering what to do.

Last week, she was late for a conference and needed a ride, quickly. “I was faced with a moral dilemma,” she said.

The desire for punctuality won out, and she ordered a car from her Uber app. When she arrived at the conference, a friend sheepishly confessed to her that she, too, had used Uber to get there on time. “We thought we should tweet, ‘We have ‘Uber Shame,’ ” Ms. Detweiler said.

Her conflicted feelings reflect an intensifying refrain coming recently from devotees. They are re-examining their relationship with the company after reading about last week’s comments made by Emil Michael, Uber’s senior vice president for business at Uber, who suggested that the company hire researchers to spy on journalists critical of Uber’s policies and executives.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/fashion/uber-delete-emil-michael-scandal.html?_r=0

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RIDGEWOOD YMCA CHRISTMAS TREE LOT OPENS NOVEMBER 28

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RIDGEWOOD YMCA CHRISTMAS TREE LOT OPENS NOVEMBER 28

Proceeds from tree sales benefit the Ridgewood YMCA Good Works Programs. 

Looking for the perfect tree this year? The Ridgewood YMCA’s annual Christmas Tree lot will open at 6pm on November 28 with a selection of Balsam and Fraser trees in sizes to fit any home. 

All proceeds from tree sales benefit the Ridgewood YMCA Good Works Programs. 

Through its Good Works Programs, the Ridgewood Y addresses community needs and strives to serve everyone, regardless of ability to pay. 

“Buying a tree from the Y is a great way to make a difference in the community and get a wonderful tree at the same time”, says Gary Imhoff, Marketing and Membership Director at the Y. 

The Christmas tree lot also sells wreaths, roping, and other holiday items. 

Opening hours for the tree lot are Fridays from 6pm to 9pm, Saturdays from 9am to 9pm and Sundays from 10am to 5pm. The lot will remain open until December 21st. 

The Ridgewood Y Christmas Tree lot is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood, NJ. 

The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the U.S., 2,687 Ys engage 21 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Anchored in more than 10,000 communities, the Y has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change. 

www.ridgewoodymca.org and www.campbernieymca.org

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Reader says It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase

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Reader says It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase

The property owners are already entitled to develop their property, but within the current zoning regulations. At this moment, a residential development may have up to 12 units per acre. The Master Plan Amendment is proposing 40+ units per acre (actual # depends on which development they are talking about). Quite a jump, huh? It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase. I don’t believe most people are against some downtown housing, but the proposal on the table is for 200+ apartments and could be (according to Blaise) expanded to 300-500 units.

The problem right now is that the PB has been stringing these developers along for 2 years now and no one has the guts to just say no and rethink the whole issue from the viewpoint of “What do WE want Ridgewood to be in the future?” If we want it to be multigenerational, then how do we want to accomplish that? What can we do to assure that the intrinsic character of Ridgewood will remain? These are the conversations that need to take place. Instead, we are reacting to a proposed Master Plan change requested by DEVELOPERS. These developers are trying to maximize their return. That’s understandable, but it is up to our PB and our Village Planner to guide this conversation and protect OUR RETURN (the interests of the tax payers) and the character of our Village.

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Reader says the first requirement for a town planner is to care about the town

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Reader says the first requirement for a town planner is to care about the town 

The first requirement for a town planner is to care about the town and what it is and why residents don’t want high density development.

Blais has no affection for Ridgewood. He sings Ridgewood like a robot, comparing him to Bruce Spingsteen singing Rise Up.

If I were making plans for anything I CARED about I would not say the proposed huge change would benefit on one side of my mouth and on the other say the devil is in the details and there will be some (unknown) impact. I wouldn’t recommend unless I was damn sure for something so truly lovely, and charming as Ridgewood. Why turn Ridgewood into a high density town, Blais and company?

Blaise doesn’t care about this town.