Fire In Underground Electrical Vault Cripples Traffic In Downtown Ridgewood
June 7,20120
by Boyd A. Loving
7:59 PM
Ridgewood NJ , Shortly after 6:00 PM on Thursday evening, the Ridgewood Fire Department received several 911 telephone calls reporting heaving smoke emanating from sidewalk grates near 194 East Ridgewood Avenue. Responding fire personnel, directed by Ridgewood FD Captain Paul Monton, determined the fire was coming from an underground electrical vault owned by Public Service Electric and Gas.
Businesses located near the fire source were evacuated and Public Service personnel were called to make the area safe for firefighters to extinguish the blaze. East Ridgewood Avenue was closed to all vehicular traffic between Maple Avenue and Walnut Street for several hours. Ridgewood FD personnel were assisted by members of the HoHoKus Fire Department. Also responding were Ridgewood PD, Ridgewood EMS, and Ridgewood Emergency Services personnel.
the fly has learned Village Workers fear more cuts and job loses
Keep hoping. I guess you didn’t listen to their campaign speeches. 0% raises and do more with less. Wake up and start looking for a new job.
Comments like the following are all over this blog.
THEY BETTER take care of the town with the services. No worker should not be laid off in this budget. this town has way too much work to be done.the last lay off we had should of never been it hurt the village so bad so many people don’t even know.
People this is the village.the new mayor and council need to know we are the leaders. we need to get that back.I hope this bunch talk to the workers this time so they get the right info.not some bull shit story.
Fix Health Care Policy – A weekly Update from the Health Care Initiative at The Heritage Foundation
Obamacare’s Five Most Damaging Effects on Seniors
In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision, it is important to remember that the constitutionality of the individual mandate isn’t the only problem with the law. Here’s a list of Obamacare’s five most destructive impacts on America’s seniors.
Less choice. Obamacare puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of meeting a budget target in Medicare with its newly created Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). IPAB may be statutorily prohibited from directly rationing care, but that doesn’t mean it can’t ration indirectly by reducing provider payments for certain medical procedures, which can compromise physician autonomy in the delivery of care.
Fewer options. Obamacare delivers a strong blow to Medicare Advantage (MA), which allows seniors to receive Medicare benefits from a private health plan of their choosing. Obamacare cuts the program by $145 billion, which, according to the Medicare Actuary, will decrease enrollment by 50 percent by 2017.
Higher taxes. In 2013, two new Obamacare taxes go into effect that will likely impact seniors: the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices and the 3.8 percent tax on unearned of investment income. Not only do seniors rely heavily on medical devices, but, as Heritage expert Bob Moffit points out, “older people have larger investments than younger people, and thus high income older persons will be more heavily impacted by the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax imposed on unearned or investment income (effective 2013).”
Fewer doctors. As Moffit explains, “With the retirement of 77 million baby boomers beginning in 2011, the Medicare program will have to absorb an unprecedented demand for medical services.” Obamacare exacerbates the issue for seniors by leaving the physician payment reduction schedule on the books and introducing more cuts to provider payments, which will make it even more difficult for Medicare doctors and other providers to serve the growing Medicare population.
Less access to care. Obamacare’s irresponsible cuts to provider payments will cause 15 percent of Medicare Part A providers to become unprofitable within the next 10 years, according to the Medicare Actuary. As Medicare providers begin to operate at a loss, they will be unable to stay afloat, leaving seniors with less access to care.
N.J. sues creepy mobile app developer for allegedly collecting personal information of children without consent
State authorities today filed suit in federal court against a mobile app developer whose educational games allegedly collect personal information about children without their consent.
The suit was the first of its kind resulting from a new and ongoing initiative aimed at Internet privacy violations and acts of cyber fraud, the state Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
“Mobile devices can capture and transmit a wealth of personal information about users, including their identities and even their geographic location,” Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement. “When we find that companies are using this ability to transmit information about children without their parents’ knowledge or consent, we will take immediate action.” (Baxter, The Star-Ledger)
The State Board of Education move forward on online charters
The State Board of Education yesterday got an earful on the Christie administration’s push for charter schools and other so-called innovations, both pro and con, some quite public and some a bit quieter.
The public part was further deliberation and a crowded public hearing on the administration’s controversial regulations proposed for charter schools, including some new powers for the commissioner and new language that will codify online charter schools.
Forty people signed up to speak, a far bigger crowd than usual and voicing a host of concerns about the new rules, from the philosophical to the logistic. Nevertheless, while the state board members listened intently, few of them seemed all that intent to slow down the changes. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
After primary win, Kyrillos makes overture to business
Fresh off Tuesday’s primary victory, state Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. (R-Middletown) said he would be visiting businesses across the state as he plans to make job creation a focus of his challenge to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez(D-Hoboken).
Kyrillos, who received 77 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, said he would use comments from business people in formulating a “jobs plan,” to be released after the tour. He said he plans to visit businesses of all sizes, as well as publicly and privately held firms.
“I want to really listen — not read the press releases and absorb the rhetoric that come from my opponent and others in Washington, D.C.,” Kyrillos said. (Kitchenman, NJBIZ)
NJ accused of illegally dropping out of bogus RGGI Greenhouse Gas Initiative
The Christie administration is accused of illegally pulling New Jersey out of a regional initiative aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.
The lawsuit, filed in the appellate division of Superior Court in Trenton, argues the state Department of Environmental Protection made procedural errors when it pulled New Jersey out of the10-state program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
The decision to withdraw the state from the program has become a major bone of contention between environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers on one side and the Republican administration on the other. Last month, the Legislature passed a bill to keep New Jersey in the program, but Gov. Chris Christie has yet to act on it. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
The Village of Ridgewood is pleased to present the introduced 2012 Municipal Budget. A Public Hearing has been scheduled to solicit comment on the 2012 budget on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 7PM in the Village Hall Court Room, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood.
Click Here for the state-submitted budget document. https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/finance/2012MDSVOR.pdf
This document is also available at the Ridgewood Public Library. A summary of the budget will be printed in the June 8, 2012 Ridgewood News.
Report card gives Valley Hospital A patient safety rating
By Ken Tarbous
More than three-quarters of the state’s 73 hospitals issued patient safety grades today received a B or higher, with only two hospitals falling below C, according to a nonprofit health care safety advocate.
Of the grades issued, 23 hospitals received an A; 33 received a B; 15 received C; and 2 that would have received a grade lower than “C” were given a “score pending” designation.
The grade scale, developed by The Leapfrog Group, an employer group focusing on health care quality and affordability, and safety experts from around the country, were based on preventable hospital conditions such as infections, medication mistakes and other adverse conditions, according to the group.
Among New Jersey’s hospitals receiving an A was Hackensack University Medical Center.
“We have worked hard to build a culture of innovation and creativity while providing the highest level of clinical care possible, and being recognized for our patient safety and quality is a rewarding reflection of our work,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and CEO, in an e-mailed statement.
The Valley Hospital, of Ridgewood, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, in New Brunswick, among others, also received As.
Markets have reacted dramatically to the Bank of Japan’s recent efforts to stimulate the economy with loans to high-growth sectors; an expansion of its asset-purchase program; and a new 1 percent inflation target to combat chronic deflation.
Japanese stocks, especially of major exporters, soared and the yen tanked, starting in early February. Yet the spurring effects of monetary easing on Japanese stocks and the depressing influence on the yen didn’t last long. Since mid-March, the currency has resumed its role as a haven from euro-area turmoil. The “risk off” trade is back in favor. Still, I continue to believe that fundamental changes are occurring in Japan that will weaken the yen considerably in future years. ….
Despite aggressive monetary policy since the early 1990s, Japan has suffered bouts of deflation. The two decades of economic stagnation were compounded by the huge earthquake and devastating tsunami last year. The economic disruptions and loss of nuclear-power generation remain considerable. Rebuilding will create jobs and economic activity, but it will simply take things back to where they were, and at tremendous cost to the government, insurers and those who lost property, income and jobs, to say nothing of the thousands of lost lives.
Greece Warns of Going Broke as Tax Proceeds Dry Up
Published: Wednesday, 6 Jun 2012 | 5:52 AM ET
By: Niki Kitsantonis contributed reporting from Athens and Paul Geitner from Brussels
The New York Times
As European leaders grapple with how to preserve their monetary union, Greece is rapidly running out of money.
Nikos Lekkas, a government official, said banks had hindered his efforts to collect back taxes.
Government coffers could be empty as soon as July, shortly after this month’s pivotal elections. In the worst case, Athens might have to temporarily stop paying for salaries and pensions, along with imports of fuel, food and pharmaceuticals.
Officials, scrambling for solutions, have considered dipping into funds that are supposed to be for Greece’s troubled banks. Some are even suggesting doling out i.o.u.’s.
New Jersey economy came in 47th in nation for 2011
Governor Christie’s vision of a “New Jersey Comeback” — the huge economic rebound he says will make a 10 percent income tax cut affordable — was challenged Tuesday by a double dose of bad news.
The federal government released data indicating the state’s economy shrank by 0.5 percent in 2011, even as 43 states saw their economies grow last year, with the state ranked 47th in economic performance.
Also on Tuesday, a non-partisan state legislative budget analyst told New Jersey lawmakers in an email that a gap between earlier budget projections and actual tax collections may now be as wide as $1.4 billion through the end of June 2013, a development the governor’s office later downplayed. (Reitmeyer and Lynn, The Record)
Crucial vote set on solar sector subsidies could cost consumers at least $300 million annually
With a crucial vote on a new bill to prop up the solar industry in New Jersey possible as early tomorrow, a trade group yesterday warned it could cost consumers at least $300 million annually, and possibly as much as $400 million.
The Retail Energy Supply Association, an organization whose members provide electricity to residents and businesses who shop around for cheaper prices than what their incumbent utilities offer, is seeking amendments to a bill (A-2966) scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on Thursday. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
Developers, regulators unite on rules to speed minicipal review of building plans
A new rule proposed by the state would require local code officials to review a developer’s building plans and respond with recommendations within 20 business days.
The new regulation by the Department of Community Affairs would streamline the local approval process and add predictability to commercial developments, a panel of experts said today at an event hosted by the New Jersey chapter of commercial real estate development association NAIOP. The provision would be especially helpful to tenant fit-out projects, they said. (Burd, NJBIZ)
Gov. Chris Christie has flexed his muscle in his appointments to the State Board of Education
What they are doing: It’s a busy agenda for the State Board this month, from broad policy discussions around the achievement gap and early literacy to key personnel decisions and public hearings on new regulations for charter schools and inter-district school choice. The board will also consider two resolutions to accept money from outside private foundations.
The board’s power: The state board has seen its power and influence wane over the past two decades, its meeting becoming anti-climactic as it largely went along with the administration at the time. Of late, it has been finding its voice, as evidenced by it taking up big policy issues on its own, as well as handling the usual code and regulations. But at the same time, Gov. Chris Christie has flexed his muscle in his appointments to the board, with now six of the 13 members appointed by the governor. On the agenda today will be nominations to the next board officers, potentially a test for current president, Arcelio Aponte. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
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