Ridgewood News editorial: We need more Charlottes and the Ridgewood blog Agrees
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014, 12:31 AM THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Soon after she received accolades from the Ridgewood Board of Education this week, Charlotte Samuels, the 16-year-old world-record swimmer, made an admission: She’s already thinking about conquering the Ocean’s Seven. For those unfamiliar with the feat, which has been accomplished by only six people, it consists of open-water swims through channels from each of the seven continents.
The announcement of Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation on Thursday brought a fiery reaction from Republican lawmakers who wished him “good riddance.”
GOP lawmakers quickly took to Twitter to voice their dislike for Holder, with whom they clashed frequently..
Bergen County Exec’s race: continuing Donovan v. Saudino rift still factor for Republicans before November election
HACKENSACK – In preparation for the Bergen County Executive race in 2014, the two long-standing pillars and rivals of the Bergen Republican Party, County Executive Kathleen Donovan and Bergen Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, publicly made peace in December 2013. Joining hands, Donovan and Yudin presented a united front, one they maintained following the emergence of Democratic Freeholder Jim Tedesco as Donovan’s challenger in the 2014 election. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)
Degnan: ‘We’ll do whatever the legislatures tell us to’ , yea I’ll believe it when I see it
NEW YORK, NY – Even here, standing on the sidewalk outside the entrance to 7 World Trade Center in this bustling metropolis, newly-minted Chairman John Degnan’s enthusiasm for reform at an embattled Port Authority comes across strong. (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
No Surprise Here Past League of Muncipalities Prez: ‘ I would support a rise in the gas tax’
Wretched, abysmal traffic and worn out roads pockmarked with potholes characterize New Jersey’s quality of life, lawmakers grimly confirmed this morning as the Assembly Transportation Committee kicked around the possibility of a hike in the gas tax to replenish the state Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), with several local voices signifying support. (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
Meet the Village Manager – Saturday, September 27th 9am to Noon
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Saturday, September 27th between the hours of 9am to 12 Noon. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.
Ho-Ho-Kus resident ignores borough’s demands to remove traffic strips from road
SEPTEMBER 24, 2014, 2:28 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014, 11:51 PM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
HO-HO-KUS — Donna Cioffi said she was ignoring a letter from borough officials directing her to remove traffic-counting cables she paid an engineering firm to install across the street outside her home on Powderhorn Road.
The borough’s letter, delivered by a police officer Monday, threatened to remove the cables on Tuesday, yet they remained on the street Wednesday. The cables were eventually removed Wednesday evening.
Cioffi said Wednesday morning that she wasn’t at all concerned the town would intervene.
“Can you imagine the PR if they did?” Cioffi asked. “They would look like fools.”
Cioffi paid the engineering firm $600 to conduct the traffic study — the results of which will be forwarded to the borough, she said.
Cioffi maintains that traffic volumes on her street — a popular County Road 502 commuter cut-through — surpass the 4,000-plus vehicles that recent county estimates suggest traverse Powderhorn Road daily.
Ptl Ward and Sgt John Chuck of the Ridgewood Police Department make daring arrest in Warner Theater September 25,2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On September 21, 2014 at 7:14 PM Ptl John Ward was flagged down at the end of the street fair on East Ridgewood Avenue. A juvenile male reported that a man had approached his friend attempting to get his phone and followed him into the movie theater.
Ptl Ward accompanied by Sgt John Chuck found a male party in the theater who had confronted the juvenile. Numerous witness confirmed the incident and the accused Darnell Dixon 30 of Paterson was arrested and charged with attempted robbery. The accused was remanded to the Bergen County Jail unable to post $75000.00 bail.
(information for the Ridgewood Police Blotter , All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.)
Former ‘Jersey Shore’ star ‘The Situation’ pleads not guilty to tax fraud
SEPTEMBER 24, 2014, 12:56 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014, 11:35 PM BY JEFF GREEN STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
Reality TV star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and his brother, Marc, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal income tax evasion charges involving $8.9 million they earned over three years.
An indictment announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman accused the Sorrentino brothers of filing false business and personal tax returns in 2010, 2011 and 2012. They failed to report some of their income, and they reported some personal expenses, like luxury cars, expensive clothing and personal grooming bills, as business expenses, prosecutors said. Mike Sorrentino filed no personal income tax return in 2011, according to the charges.
The brothers had not been “living in reality,” Jonathan D. Larsen, an IRS official in Newark, said in a statement. They “created the illusion that they earned less income by filing false and fraudulent tax returns,” he said.
The Sorrentinos turned themselves in to IRS agents Wednesday. After a brief court appearance in Newark, they were released on $250,000 unsecured bonds
Are You Out There, Stimulus? It’s Me, The Taxpayer. Nick Gillespie|Mar. 28, 2013 8:39 am
Columnist Ron Hart asks a question that’s answered by the cover story of the current issue of Reason (and perfectly summarized by the cover image of same): Where did all that sweet stimulus money go?
Of the money spent in swing state Wisconsin, 80 percent went to public sector unions – those with already locked-in jobs. In fact, right-to-work states got $266 less per person in stimulus money than heavily unionized states. Where Democrats had a vast majority of representatives, their states got $460 per person more.
More pointedly, Hart writes,
Remember when Obama got his trillion-odd dollars of “stimulus money” which he and the Democrats breathlessly said we needed for “shovel ready” jobs to re-build roads and infrastructure? Please e-mail me if anything of the sort got built in your town. Nothing got built in the cities where I spend time….
Peter Suderman’s article in the May issue – which you’d be reading right now if you subscribed for just $14.63 under our special Sequestration Offer – lays out exactly where stimulus spending went and why it didn’t work as advertised.
Yes, tens of millions of dollars literally went to install new toilets in parks Alaska, New Mexico, Washington state, and elsewhere. If only we could have flushed our way to recovery.
More important, Suderman writes (and this can’t be underscored enough), “The economy’s performance continues to be far worse than the White House’s worst-case projections for what might happen if there had been no stimulus at all.”
N.J. pays highest cost per mile for some of the country’s worst state roads, study finds
By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on September 18, 2014 at 7:00 AM, updated September 18, 2014 at 6:05 PM
New Jersey spends by far the most money per mile on its state roads, even though they rank near the bottom in terms of their overall condition, according to a study released Wednesday.
The study by the California-based Reason Foundation concluded that New Jersey spends $2 million per mile to maintain and operate its state roads.
In terms of the cost-effectiveness of the state’s highway system, that is, the overall condtion of its roads as measured against the cost of maintaining and operating them, New Jersey ranked 48th in the nation, behind Hawaii and Alaska, according to the Reason’s 21st Annual Highway Report.
Reader says I’m relatively certain that it’s not within the Mayor’s power to advocate for amending the Master Plan at this point
I’m relatively certain that it’s not within the Mayor’s power to advocate for amending the Master Plan at this point. Nor is it within the power of his 2 running mates Mrs. Hauck and Mr. Pucciarelli – both of whom seem to have already made up their minds on the subject.
How about these 2 developers apply for variances just like anyone else that wants to build anything in this town. You want to be a little lenient with them, fine. Just keep it within the scope of the existing Master Plan. There’s your compromise.
Don’t allow 3 people who think they know better than the rest of us make such permanent changes to our town.
A little history lesson. We owe this master plan craziness to former Mayor Pfund and his desire to help out Valley bypass everyone in its over-expansion plan. Had he not pushed the change that allowed the hospital and developers to push for amendments, we would not be in this morass. I believe that if the master plan had not been changed to allow these cases, then Valley would have instead asked for exemptions on a building-by-building basis. They would have had something built by now. Smaller, yes. But one new building is better than nothing and looking like a fool in the process. Greed is getting the best of all of them.
And for this fine effort, Pfund was appointed our municipal judge for life.
The problem as i understand the ordinance that exists is that we will be dealing with this over and over again even if we approve one or all of these proposals. That is the great fear…that if any of these projects is approved it will open the floodgates for other projects…all using what i will call the brother/sister argument (you let her/him do it so why can’t i?). And given that this has became such a legalized process, no one can assure that won’t sue to try to push through their proposals. I agree that something needs to be done but not with potentially open-ended litigation risk.
Complaints spur parking restrictions in Midland Park
SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014, 12:31 AM BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN CORRESPONDENT MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS
MIDLAND PARK — The Borough Council will hold a public hearing tonight, Sept. 25, on an ordinance that would restrict parking on Maltbie Avenue and Busteed Drive.
The ordinance, which was introduced Sept. 11 in response to residents’ complaints about parking by parents dropping off and picking up their children from Ridge Elementary School in Ridgewood, would prohibit parking between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.
The restrictions on Maltbie would apply to both sides of the road north of Franklin Avenue to Busteed Drive. Restricted parking on Busteed would be from the eastern and western curbs of Maltbie.
Maltbie begins at Godwin Avenue and continues north, crossing Franklin Avenue, which becomes West Ridgewood Avenue, before ending at Busteed. Ridge Elementary School is at 325 W. Ridgewood Ave.
“I am happy the council has taken action to resolve the issue and make it safer for residents and school children,” said Lorraine DeLuca of Franklin Avenue.
A resident for 30 years, DeLuca said she has seen an increase in traffic in the last five years.
“It has been unbearable to get in or out of my driveway,” said DeLuca. “I avoid West Ridgewood Avenue from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. It is dangerous. “
Residents of Maltbie, many of whom live north of Franklin Avenue, attended the March 27 council meeting to share their experiences and frustrations with blocked driveways, illegal parking near stop signs and unsafe road conditions that had been occurring on a regular basis.
Resident Arthur “Skip” Marchetti brought the matter to the attention of Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan during a monthly “Coffee With the Mayor.”
“Maltbie Avenue is a danger zone,” Marchetti.
“I am concerned about our children and Ridgewood students,” Joan Skudera said. “Someone is going to get hurt.”
“There are no sidewalks and people have to walk in the road,” said James Canellas. “Children are running up and down the road.”
Resident Mark Schaefer said his biggest concern was parking too close to intersections.
“They are parking at the stop sign on all four corners,” Schaefer said. “This is a safety issue.”
Police Chief Michael Marra said signs would be installed to advise motorists of the parking restrictions and violators would be fined up to $100.
How to restore an iPhone after the botched iOS 8.0.1 update
A bug in Apple’s release of iOS 8.0.1 has broken iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices. Here’s how you can fix them.
by Dan Graziano
and Zack Whittaker
September 24, 2014 11:41 AM PDT
Apple issued an update on Wednesday to fix various bugs in its iOS operating system. The iOS 8.0.1 update, however, appeared to do more harm than good for some users. Numerous iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners complained that they were no longer able to make calls, send texts, or use Touch ID after updating their devices.
Apple has since pulled the iOS 8.0.1 update from its servers. If you have already updated your device, here’s how you can downgrade it back to iOS 8.
By downloading the final build of iOS 8 as it was released as an IPSW file, you can restore your iPhone to the latest stable version. To begin downloading the IPSW file, head over to this site and select your device from the drop down menu. This is an official copy from Apple (check the URL to be sure) that we are being pointed to from a third-party site. We used this method to restore our own iPhone and can confirm it works. The download may take a few minutes depending on your Internet connection.
Once the file has been downloaded, connect your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to your computer and open iTunes. Select under the backup options “this computer,” then hit “Back Up Now.” This takes a full snapshot of your contacts, email, apps, and settings, and stores it on your computer.
Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports
By Paul Farhi September 23 at 7:06 PM
White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media’s eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities. They are written by reporters for other reporters, who incorporate them into news articles about President Obama almost every day.
Sometimes, however, the White House plays an unseen role in shaping the story.
Journalists who cover the White House say Obama’s press aides have demanded — and received — changes in press-pool reports before the reports have been disseminated to other journalists. They say the White House has used its unusual role as the distributor of the reports as leverage to steer coverage in a more favorable direction.
