MOVIE NIGHT AT GRAYDON POOL – Saturday, June 2

Village residents and pool patrons are invited for a fun night out as Graydon Pool beach is transformed into an outdoor theatre for a showing of the popular movie “A Bug’s Life” on Saturday, June 2nd, at 8pm. Admission is free to Graydon patrons; all others $10 per family or $5 per person.

A misfit ant, looking for “warriors” to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

The  ,  will be open throughout the evening offering ice cream, candies, sodas, and more.

Residents are reminded to bring blankets or lawn chairs; flashlights are a must.

For further information, please contact the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Ave., 201-670-5560, Monday – Friday, between office hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or visit our website at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon.

One more Reason to avoid the Jersey shore this summer Point Pleasant Beach bars ordered to close at midnight
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 6:58 AM

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Bars in Point Pleasant Beach now find themselves in a worse position than they had feared: They will have to close at midnight starting in July under an ordinance approved by the borough council Tuesday night.

But a separate measure that would permit the bars to continue to stay open until 2 a.m. if they pay an extra fee aimed at funding additional police patrols was postponed until June 12.

So as it stands now, the bars have to shut down at midnight effective July 1, yet they have no mechanism to buy themselves more time to stay open.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/point_pleasant_beach_bars_to_c.html

Traffic Sting CBD file photo

Race Track Road the speeding has become a serious problem

On Race Track Road, posted speed is 25 but going east to Rt 17, very often traffic goes over 45 mph and some people go even faster. It’s harder to speed going the other way (coming off 17) because the off ramp has a sharp curve which forces westbound traffic to slow down.

The road is higher up where it joins Franklin Tpk but then dips down lower for next several blocks going east until it again rises up just before Route 17. (it’s lower from Nagle to beyond Banta) That makes it very difficult for anyone going fast to see anything or anyone in the street until they are nearly on top of the hazard.

And there are often hazards- too many people put junk in the streets and also there is a lot of pedestrian use -espec during rush hour times. Often people park on the street too- which on the Ridgewood side is mostly illegal but still happens all the time. Even mail carriers park on the street and then walk to houses (both Rwd and HHK sides). So do most service vans, UPS/Fedex, landscaper trailers etc.

There are also many homes with young kids on both sides, and many ride bikes, scooters etc along here. People walk to/from the Park and Ride, also many use several bus stops along the road.

The speeding has become a serious problem – especially traffic heading east because of the poor sight lines etc noted above.

Enforcement is pretty rare by the Village. HHK does more but still not a lot. When there is any, they generally ticket only those going over 40mph– and they often write a LOT of tickets when they do that.

The road itself is also in poor shape, making all the problems worse.
And since the walks and curbs on the Rwd side are mostly in very poor shape, people cross the street quite often -and again traffic heading east can’t see them from any distance if that happens in the “dip” section.

There’s always been heavy traffic on the street– it is one of the few that allow heavy trucks. But past several years the speeding problem has become much worse – partic vehicles heading east .

It’s a prime candidate for some kind of traffic “calming” as well as for more enforcement. Yet – at least from the Village– that doesn’t happen- despite many having brought this up to the Village for ages (me included). And I’ve never heard of any “advisory committee” etc. doing anything about this problem either – despite the heavy use the street gets. Sadly, it will likely take a bad accident to get anything changed there, I guess.

Private sector adds jobs as more in N.J. actively seek work

In a near reversal from March, private-sector employment in New Jersey increased by 6,300 jobs in April, while the public sector shed 3,700 jobs, mostly at the local government level, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

“In just one month, we came within 1,000 jobs of completely reversing the March decline in private-sector employment,” said Charles Steindel, chief economist for the New Jersey Department of Treasury, in a statement.  (Eder, NJBIZ)

https://www.njbiz.com/article/20120517/NJBIZ01/120519851/Private-sector-adds-jobs-as-more-in-NJ-actively-seek-work

Christie says no tax hikes despite revenue shortfall

A 12-year-old girl told Governor Christie that she didn’t think people were talking about important issues at Wednesday’s town-hall style event held across the street from her school.

The governor agreed, and went onto criticize politicians in Washington and Trenton. Christie did not, however, say much about one of the biggest issues he faces while trying to sell a tax cut: A tax picture that doesn’t match the bold economic predictions that support his budget.  (Hayes, The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/051612_Christie_says_no_tax_raises_despite_revenue_shortfall.html

State Senate moves to prevent abuse by ‘fake farmers’

Legislators took a step closer Thursday to making it harder for people to call themselves farmers for the sake of tax breaks.

The Senate’s Environment and Energy Committee unanimously passed a bill that doubles the revenue a land owner must make from a farmed product in order to get a 98 percent property tax break.

The annual income level, if the bill passes the full Legislature, would increase from $500 to $1,000.  (Patberg, The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/151995405_State_Senate_moves_to_prevent_abuse_by__fake_farmers_.html

Bill to decriminalize small amount of marijuana gets N.J. Assembly committee hearing

Getting caught with a small amount of marijuana would be akin to getting a traffic ticket under a bill that is up for consideration by an Assembly panel on Monday.

The measure before the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which has bipartisan sponsorship, would replace criminal penalties with fines for those caught with less than 15 grams of marijuana — or enough for more than 30 joints.

Too far out there? According to Roseanne Scotti, state director for the Drug Policy Alliance. it’s the furthest a bill to decriminalize marijuana has ever gotten in the New Jersey Legislature.  (Friedman, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/bill_to_decriminalize_marijuan.html

Three towns sue Ridgewood over consecutive water rate hikes

THURSDAY MAY 17, 2012, 12:16 PM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
WYCKOFF SUBURBAN NEWS

Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff are seeking a refund of more than $3 million in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Village of Ridgewood after an investigation into its water utility’s finances showed a 26 percent rate hike imposed on its customers was unjustified, said the attorney representing the municipalities.

Attorney Joseph Fiorenzo held a press conference at Wyckoff Town Hall on Wednesday, May 16, to reveal the findings of an eight-month investigation which he said showed that the deficit the utility reported to justify a 21 percent increase in 2010 and another 5 percent hike in 2011 was a “complete and utter sham.”

“[The deficit] doesn’t exist and never existed,” Fiorenzo said. “Over a period of years the Village [of Ridgewood] was dumping expenses into the budget of the water utility.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/151892895_Three_towns_sue_Ridgewood_over_consecutive_water_rate_hikes.html

Legislation aims to stop teachers who bully kids
Cherry Hill case spurs state lawmakers to act

TRENTON — Secret school recordings posted on YouTube by a Cherry Hill father of an adult being caught calling the man’s 10-year-old autistic son “a bastard” may have helped spur an effort to speed the disciplinary process for teachers and other school employees who bully students.

State Sen. Diane Allen, a Burlington County Republican, introduced a bill Thursday to expand anti-bullying laws to cover incidents where teachers are the aggressors.

https://www.app.com/article/20120518/NJNEWS1002/305180028/Legislation-aims-stop-teachers-who-bully-kids?nclick_check=1

Ridgewood plans to set speed limits at 25 mph

FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2012
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

An ordinance up for council vote on June 13 will change the speed limit of one of Ridgewood’s main streets and approve a uniform 25 miles per hour maximum for all roadways under village jurisdiction.

The Citizens Safety Advisory Committee recommended changes to Monroe Street’s current speed limits, which in some areas is as high as 35 mph, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said at a recent council meeting.

“[Monroe Street] is the last of our main arteries that has speed above 25 miles per hour. The committee recommends that all streets be the same,” Gabbert said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/151992385_Speed_limits_to_be_set_at_25_mph.html

The Politicization of Gay Marriage
May 17,2012
By Ian Linker

President Obama recently announced in an interview on ABC that he personally supports gay marriage. It’s really no surprise, is it? Obama’s actions as President have left no doubt about his views on the subject. Since he has been President, the Department of Justice has stopped enforcing the Clinton-era-Defense-of-Marriage law and Obama has ended the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Then why the sudden urge to publicly announce his “personal” views? Well, the Vice President’s recent statement announcing his comfort with gay marriage before the President’s announcement may have forced the President’s hand from a timing perspective. But – as 67% of Americans in a new CBS poll agree -this was a deeply political calculation in an election year, albeit one Obama probably would have liked to make closer to the election – thank you, Mr. Biden. Some pundits in the mainstream media are calling Obama’s announcement risky. They say it could potentially energize his base, which given Obama’s recent fundraising may have happened, and youths, but alienate more conservative Democrats in swing states such as North Carolina, which the day before the President’s announcement voted to ban gay marriage, and were so crucial to the President’s victory in 2008.

But there is something else that motivated Obama. By talking social policy, the President forced his Republican opponent, Governor Mitt Romney, and Republicans running in races around the country to do the same. (Indeed, Governor Romney felt compelled following the President’s announcement to remind the American people that he is unequivocally against gay marriage and, taking the issue one step further, is against civil unions that give the same benefits as marriage.)

President Obama has a good reason for shifting the focus to social issues. Polls show Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy and believe Governor Romney would do a better job handling the economy. Why? There’s no great mystery there. The federal government has incurred more debt in the first three and a quarter years of the Obama administration than the first 232 years of our nation’s history combined. The economy is growing at a barely mediocre 2.2% annualized rate. Unemployment remains higher at 8.1% than Obama said it ever would be if Congress passed his nearly $800 billion so-called stimulus initiative and millions more have simply left the job market. Gas prices are too high, though they have dropped in recent weeks. Social Security and Medicare are in worse trouble than previously realized. And, “it is George Bush’s fault” is simply not resonating with voters like it did when Obama ran in 2008.

Governor Romney is ahead of the President in some polls and has run a so-far successful general election campaign critical of the President’s economic stewardship. Romney is making this a close race because he has so far managed to keep to the issue most important to the American people, especially independent voters – the economy. If Obama knocks Romney off message and the media, complicit in the plot, pepper the Governor with questions about gay marriage, and other social issues, Romney loses focus and Obama increases his re-election odds.

Romney and other Republicans must resist the urge, however, to debate social issues. As important as they are, social issues will not win this election. “It’s the economy stupid” is as true today as it was when Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign effectively used those words so many years ago. Republicans must constantly emphasize to the American people that they have a proven plan to cut and control spending, balance the budget, and grow the economy and create jobs through tax and regulatory reform. They also must emphasize to the American people that they have a plan to save the entitlement programs for future generations and that they have the courage to push their plans regardless of the political costs. This is the message Republicans must send if they want to keep the President on the defensive throughout the campaign and retake the White House this November.

Obama’s political decision to announce he is for gay marriage must not distract us. There is far too much at stake.

Ian Linker is an attorney and a former Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey.