USDA partnering with Mexico to boost food stamp participation
The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.
USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America.
“USDA and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance,” the USDA explains in a brief paragraph on their “Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance” web page. “Mexico will help disseminate this information through its embassy and network of approximately 50 consular offices.”
The partnership — which was signed by former USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista in 2004 — sees to it that the Mexican Embassy and Mexican consulates in America provide USDA nutrition assistance program information to Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals working in America and migrant communities in America. The information is specifically focused on eligibility criteria and access.
Another VP Sale! Fri 7/20 10-4 Sat 7/21 11-3 and Sun 1-3 (39 Weiss Rd Upper Saddle River NJ)
Where? 39 Weiss Rd., Upper Saddle River, NJ
When? Dates & Times: Fri 7/20 10-4 Sat 7/21 11-3 and Last Gasp Sunday 7/22 1-3 !! Wow!!!!
Phone Number: 551-804-7152
Directions: E Saddle River Rd., straight over Lake St., past “Old Stone Church” and R onto Weiss Rd., and follow signs!!
What? Items for Sale: Loaded to the EYEBALLS!!
Everything from Murano Birds to new Furniture, Beanie Babies and Dolls (inc a tubful since we had nowhere else to put them), Women’s Clothing (mostly L+XL, a lot is like NEW), Dried and SILK FLOWERS in just about every possible pot urn and porcelain container known to mankind, enough Prints and Water Colors to Choke a HORSE, Sheets, Brand New Bedding, Brand New Plates and Kitchenware, Gorgeous Chachkies of all sizes, CHRISTMAS ornaments and animated figures, QVC!!!, Asian NON-antiquities, FLAMINGOS and PALM TREES, and other Wonderful DECORATIVE items (Thousands of things all under one roof, Oh MY!)… maybe the biggest one I’ve done, so be there, and bring your biggest cars (and children and spouses for hauling!)
PS: Lots of designer bags inc Gucci and other yummy names… as well as fancy Scarves, Amazing Faux Furs and Coats (think Winter!!), and other top end expensive stuff, many with tags still… see you there!!!!
Oh yeah, and a 2005 Ford Focus with LOW MILES Gorgeous Wow!!!
Any questions, please call me at 551 804 7152!!
See annstagsales.com for pictures of this sale as well as Anneliese’s sale in Ridgewood
Ridgewood council introduces proposed traffic changes
Thursday July 19, 2012, 2:55 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Proposed changes to regulations on certain streets will likely improve pedestrian safety and enhance the flow of traffic near Ridgewood schools, but some of the requests made by the Board of Education will require an amendment to the Village Code.
Ridgewood’s governing body on Wednesday introduced an ordinance that, if passed, will officially put those specific changes in the books. Council members are encouraging residents to comment on the ordinance prior to its adoption during the public hearing scheduled for Aug. 8.
N.J. comptroller urges towns, school boards to look into costly pension errors
Mayors and school board officials are being told to take a new look at employee pensions after New Jersey’s comptroller found poor oversight allows pension padding costing millions in taxpayer dollars.
The New Jersey League of Municipalities and the New Jersey School Boards Association sent out instructions in response to the report released this week by Comptroller Matthew Boxer, which showed how some local governments have permitted attorneys and other outside professionals to collect pension credits even after laws were passed to end their eligibility for retirement benefits. (Reitmeyer, The Record)
So is Senator Bob Menendez for or against Middle Class Tax Cuts in New Jersey
First Menendez flips, and then Menendez flops
In response to Senator Bob Menendez’s inconsistent statements regarding the pending job-killing tax hike, Kyrillos Campaign manager Chapin Fay said:
“Consistency matters and Bob Menendez is anything but. First he says we should extend tax cuts for those making up to $1 million. Then he says it should be only up to those making $350,000. Most recently, the number was $250,000. What will it be tomorrow?
“Since we can’t rely on his word, we have to look at what he’s done. Sadly, his actions don’t match his rhetoric. In fact, when Bob Menendez could have voted to lower taxes on middle class families, he didn’t. During his Senate tenure, he has voted in favor of higher taxes more than 70 times. It’s just more of the same with Bob Menendez — he says one thing and then votes the other way.
“We need jobs. Not political theater and election year pandering. We need someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and do the right thing, not just talk about it.”
Click here to see Bob Menendez talk more and do less for the middle class…
Background:
Senator Menendez advocates raises the limit for tax extensions to $1,000,000.00 “Well I’d like to raise the amount. I disagree with the President on just $250,000…but I think those above a million dollars need to be able to meet their fair share…” (Senator Menendez,
Interview with NJ Today, July 9, 2012)
Senator Menendez now advocates raising the limit to $350,000. “I would probably like to see it more around $350,000.” (Senator Menendez,
Interview with CNN, July 11, 2012)When Bob Menendez could have voted to lower taxes on middle class families, he didn’t.
Menendez voted against an amendment that would reduce the marginal income tax rate for two years from 15 percent to 10 percent and 10 percent to 5 percent. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #48, 2/5/09, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against an amendment that would reduce the 10 percent and 15 percent tax rates to 5 and 10 percent in 2009. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #49, 2/5/09, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against an across-the-board tax rebate available for the 2009 tax years eligible to individuals who filed tax returns in 2007 with AGIs below $250,000. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #58, 2/7/09, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against allowing for an extension of certain tax cuts scheduled to expire in 2010, including the tuition deduction and student loan interest deduction. (S. Con. Res. 21, CQ Vote #83, 3/21/07, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against an amendment that would make permanent a number of tax reductions scheduled to expire in 2011, including the $1,000 per-child tax credit. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #38, 2/4/09, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against an amendment that would assume an extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. (S. Con. Res. 13, CQ Vote #129, 4/2/09, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against permanent repeal of the estate tax. (H.R. 4213, CQ Vote #213, 7/21/10, Menendez Voted Nay)
Menendez voted against a bill that would make permanent the 2001- and 2003-enacted tax cuts only on income up to $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples filing joint returns. (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #258: Motion rejected by a vote of 53-36: D 52-4; R 0-31; I 1-1, 12/4/10, Menendez Voted Yea)
Menendez voted against a bill that would permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #274, 12/15/10, Menendez Voted Nay)
Law toughens penalties for fatal distracted driving
Drivers who kill someone while using a handheld cellphone can now be charged with vehicular homicide under a measure Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno signed into law Wednesday.
The law allows prosecutors to charge distracted drivers with vehicular homicide if they kill someone with an automobile.
The legislation is called the “Kulesh, Kubert and Bolis Law” in recognition of the victims of three distracted-driving crashes in New Jersey.
“If you wouldn’t drink and drive, ladies and gentlemen, you shouldn’t text and drive,” said Guadagno, who is the acting governor while Governor Christie is out of the state campaigning for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. (Linhorst, The Record)
Education Reform: Teacher ratings to remain hidden
If you think the new education reform bill means you’ll get to see what grade your child’s teacher receives on his or her evaluation, think again.
The grades, part of a teacher tenure reform bill that sits on Gov. Chris Christie’s desk, would be kept secret.
The proposal for yearly evaluations for teachers and principals sailed through both houses of the Legislature last month. But the 18-page bill contains a barely noticed, one-sentence passage shielding the grades: “Information related to the evaluation of a particular employee shall be maintained by the school district, shall be confidential, and shall not be accessible to the public.” (Jordan and Boyd, Asbury Park Press)
Tax cuts’ expiration would have outsized negative impact on N.J., economist says
While high-income earners represent less than 6 percent of New Jersey taxpayers, they account for nearly 57 percent of all federal personal income taxes paid from the state, compared to less than 50 percent nationally, according to a study by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
That means if President Barack Obama allows the George Bush-era tax cuts to expire for those earning more than $200,000 a year, high earners in the state will see their tax burden increase disproportionately compared to the rest of the country, taking more consumer buying power out of the state and hurting New Jersey’s economy, a tax expert said. (Eder, NJBIZ)
file photo Boyd Loving Kids have a great time at Graydon Pool
How Summer Is Making U.S. Kids Dumber and Fatter
By Peter Orszag Jul 17, 2012 6:30 PM ET
It’s July, and for many of us, that brings back fond childhood memories of family vacations, summer camp or long, happy days spent playing with friends. But this quaint notion of summers as a kids’ paradise is dangerously misleading, evidence from social research suggests.
After spending the summer away from the classroom, children return to school one month or more, on average, behind where they were when the previous year ended. Kids also tend to put on weight in the summer two to three times faster than they do during the school year.
To put it unkindly, the average child becomes dumber and fatter during the vacation. And although there’s no need to declare war on summer, there’s plenty we could do to combat the seasonal learning loss and weight gain.
Rising Corn Prices and Your Grocery Bill
By Jack Hough
Corn prices are nearing the record highs of last summer as the U.S. Midwest suffers its worst drought since 1956. Shoppers should expect higher grocery bills, because corn is used in three-quarters of supermarket products.
But don’t panic. Overall cost hikes are likely to be modest.
“A 50% increase in the price of corn tends to raise total shopping bills by about 1%,” says Ricky Volpe, a research economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn’s price has jumped 45% this summer. Of course, even a modest increase to shopping bills is unwelcome news for households on tight budgets
Washington state to become first to offer voter registration on Facebook
Posted byCNN’s Justin Lear and Katelyn Petroka
(CNN) – Washington will become the first state to offer voter registration via Facebook with a new application to be launched as soon as next week, according to a state election official.
Once online, the app will be accessible on the secretary of state’s Facebook page, said Shane Hamlin, co-director of elections for the state.
Washington, which has approximately 3.7 million registered voters, conducts elections entirely by mail and enacted online registration in 2008. Since online registration started, Hamlin said close to 500,000 voter registrations or address changes have been processed.
Facebook, Washington state and Microsoft have teamed up to create an app that allows users to register on the social media site through the state’s new “MyVote” app. The effort came about last fall when Microsoft approached Washington state after Facebook contacted the software giant with the idea.
Post Office Might Miss Retirees’ Payment
By JENNIFER LEVITZ
While lawmakers continue to fight over how to fix the ailing U.S. Postal Service, the agency’s money problems are only growing worse.
The Postal Service repeated on Wednesday that without congressional action, it will default—a first in its long history, a spokesman said—on a legally required annual $5.5 billion payment, due Aug. 1, into a health-benefits fund for future retirees. Action in Congress isn’t likely, as the House prepares to leave for its August recess.
The agency said a default on the payment, for 2011, wouldn’t directly affect service or its ability to pay employees and suppliers. But “these ongoing liquidity issues unnecessarily undermine confidence in the viability of the Postal Service among our customers,” said spokesman David Partenheimer.
The agency says it will default on its 2012 retiree health payment as well—also roughly $5.5 billion, due Sept. 30—if there is no legislative action by then.
France’s proposed tax hikes spark ‘exodus’ of wealthy
Looming tax hikes by France’s new socialist government have triggered an exodus of the Gallic super-rich to ‘wealth-friendly’ nations like Britain and Switzerland.
The latest estate agency figures have shown large numbers of France’s most well-heeled families selling up and moving to neighbouring countries.
Many are fleeing a proposed new higher tax rate of 75 per cent on all earnings over one million euros. (£780,000)
The previous top tax bracket of 41 per cent on earnings over 72,000 euros is also set to increase to 45 per cent.
Sotheby’s Realty, the estate agent arm of the British auction house, said its French offices sold more than 100 properties over 1.7 million euros between April and June this year – a marked increase on the same period in 2011.
Alexander Kraft, head of Sotheby’s Realty, France, said: “The result of the presidential election has had a real impact on our sales.
The ‘other’ online charters get ready for new school year in NJ
They are the online charter schools that haven’t gotten much attention in New Jersey, the ones that will blend online tools with in-person teaching.
That lack of attention is likely to change soon, however.
Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf on Monday cleared the way for two of the so-called hybrid or blended charter schools to open out of Newark next month, offering students a full-day experience in the classroom, along with a heavy dose of online learning.
It’s a big distinction from the all-online programs that generated so much debate in the past month, where students would be taking classes out of their homes. The state on Monday postponed the opening of two such virtual schools for at least a year. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
New Jersey now has a uniform standard for evaluating charter schools
When New Jersey approved nine new charter schools on Monday, it also announced a new accountability system aimed at setting uniform standards to evaluate the success of charters over time.
The annual “Performance Framework” will examine academic achievement, financial performance, and governance in the state’s 86 charter schools. Schools will do a self-review, evaluated by the state.
Previously, the state simply relied on each school’s initial application plan to hold the schools accountable, said Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. (Vargas, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
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