New Jersey lawmakers can be stunningly tone-deaf when it comes to ethical missteps
New Jersey lawmakers can be stunningly tone-deaf when it comes to understanding how their actions appear to the public. Or maybe they just don’t care.
Consider, for instance, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, the Democratic state party chairman who always seems willing to dismiss this or that outrage in Trenton as “the way things get done.” According to PolitickerNJ, late last year, Wisniewski was one of three co-sponsors of a bill that would have exempted Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus from new caps on excessive charges for outpatient procedures related to auto insurers’ personal-injury protection policies. (Courier News)
Some sour notes as arts education tries to strike balance in schools
A new report on the state of arts education in New Jersey reflects the quandary of how to strike a balance between the recognized needs for music and the visual arts with the financial and testing realities that public schools face.
While the report paints a picture of how schools are coping with that balance, the news was not all rosy, with fewer students — and teachers – in art classes. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Residents are misguided if they think Paul Aronsohn is a layup for Mayor
The election is over and two new faces have emerged on the Village Council. What makes you all think they are going to bow down and kiss the feet of Paul Aronsohn?
Al Pucciarelli has been a valued member of both the zoning and planning boards for years. He’s had more than an admirable career as an attorney. He has sound judgment and pledged to the residents to be fair and impartial. He will hardly vote lock step with anyone.
Gwenn Hauck has lived here her entire life. She’s volunteered her time graciously and has never been involved in mudslinging.
I’ve been privy to the scores of emails by Ridgewood council wannabes who have indicated that “Paul will lead them” on the right path. Their only job moving forward is to make good on all the campaign promises they made as individuals. Not on what Paul Aronsohn wants or demands.
Postal Service loses $3.2 billion in Jan-March
By Emily Stephenson
WASHINGTON | Thu May 10, 2012 4:38pm EDT
(Reuters) – The Postal Service said its loss widened to $3.2 billion in the first three months of 2012 and repeated on Thursday its warning that it will likely default on payments to the federal government unless Congress passes legislation offering some relief.
The agency, which does not receive taxpayer funds and has been losing billions each year as Americans communicate online, said it lost $2.2 billion in the same period in 2011.
Postal officials are pressing Congress to pass legislation that would allow the agency to move forward with its five-year business plan, including ending Saturday mail delivery. In the meantime, they have sought ways to cut costs.
The announcement came a day after the cash-strapped mail service said it was walking back a plan to close thousands of money-losing post offices and would instead slash operating hours at 13,000 locations with low traffic.
THURSDAY MAY 10, 2012, 2:58 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Paul Aronsohn’s decision to align with two newcomers ruffled some feathers last week, but 66 percent of Ridgewood’s voters thought it was not necessarily a bad thing.
The incumbent easily won another four-year term on the governing body, carrying an election-high 2,479 votes. The electorate also gave nods to first-time candidates Albert Pucciarelli (2,078) and Gwenn Hauck (1,727), both of whom earned Aronsohn’s personal endorsement at a candidates’ forum earlier this month.
By the end of Election Day, Hauck had outgained Mayor Keith Killion by 16 votes for the third vacant council seat, but nine provisional ballots were not included in the total tally. Village Clerk Heather Mailander said the Bergen County Board of Elections has until Wednesday, May 16 to verify all the provisional ballots and absentee votes.
Attempted luring of two eight year old girls in Old Tappan
May 11, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
( Ridgewood NJ) In a letter dated May 10 2012 Superintendent of School Daniel Fishbien reported that the district had received notice of an attempted luring of two eight year old girls in front of their elementary school in Old Tappan .
The Tappan police are seeking for questioning a tan Caucasian male or possible a dark-skinned Hispanic male in his late 30’s early 40’s driving a dark colored or possible black sedan with Jersey license plates .
Dr. Fishbien went on to emphasize that at this time no similar incidents have been reported in Ridgewood . To steal a phase if you see something say something by calling the Ridgewood Police at 911 or (201)652-3900 and encourage your children to do the same .
Anyone who has had a serious illness or injury is familiar with the dizzying array of medical bills that seem impossible to decipher, replete with codes and charges that are supposed to explain financial liabilities, deductibles, in-network charges, out-of-network fees, and the like. How is a layman expected to figure out what’s really owed, what costs could have been avoided by using in-network care, and whether or not there have been overcharges.
A bill aimed at addressing this problem will be up for discussion today in the legislature. Called the Healthcare Disclosure and Transparency Act, it requires patients to be made aware of potential financial liabilities, before they decide to seek out-of-network care. (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)
Pushing patients from ER to primary care could save $400M in N.J.
More than $400 million could be saved in New Jersey each year by treating nonemergency primary-care ailments in a doctor’s office or medical center, instead of a hospital ER, according to a report released today by the New Jersey Hospital Association.
In the study, funded by a $4.8 million grant from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the NJHA, the state Department of Human Services and the New Jersey Primary Care Association examined the use of emergency departments in Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center from September 2008 to April 2011. (Eder, NJBIZ)
Governor Christie has vetoed a bill that would have created health care exchanges in New Jersey under Obamcare
May 10.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
(RIDGEWOOD -NJ) Governor Christie has vetoed a bill that would have created health care exchanges in New Jersey under Obamcare .The veto makes Chris Christie the first governor in the nation to veto such a bill, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Christie told reporters ,“I am concerned that a hastily created exchange in New Jersey will impose unnecessary obligations upon the state’s taxpayers,” Christie said in a statement. “The very constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is cloaked in uncertainty, as both the individual mandate to procure health insurance as well as the jurisdictional mandate to establish an exchange may not survive scrutiny by the Supreme Court.”
The national health care law or Obamacare is currently the subject of a Supreme Court review; a decision from the nation’s high court on the constitutionality of Obamacare is expected at some time in the next few months.
New Jersey’s Legislature passed a bill that would establish health care exchanges that would help implement ACA’s questionable individual and employer mandates. A medical exchange is has been billed as a marketplace for people to purchase health insurance plans.
But critics like Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon over at the Daily Caller ; Obamacare gives federal bureaucrats a chokehold on New Jersey’s health insurance markets no matter who runs the exchange, because it requires state-run exchanges to do everything a federal exchange would do. Obamacare has already stripped New Jersey of its sovereignty. The only question is, should New Jersey also pay for the privilege?
The bill before Christie would also subject the state to a second unnecessary tax: Obamacare’s employer mandate. If employers fail to offer a government-defined package of health benefits, Obamacare whacks them with a tax of up to $3,000 per employee. When you tax hiring, you get fewer jobs.
Due to an odd quirk in Obamacare, however, that tax is only enforceable if a state creates an exchange itself. It disappears in states that don’t create exchanges.
Five Car Motor Vehicle Crash Slows Route 17 South In Ridgewood
Boyd A. Loving
5:10 PM
(RIDGEWOOD-NJ) A five (5) vehicle crash on Route 17 southbound between Paramus Road and Linwood Avenue caused major slowdowns beginning just before 4 PM on Thursday.
Several non-life threatening injuries were reported; 2 persons were transported to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood by members of the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
An ambulance responding to the scene was itself involved in a minor accident in which a Gateway Road resident’s vehicle was damaged.
photos by Boyd Loving
Three vehicles were towed from the scene by City Wide Towing Service of Fair Lawn.
Responding were Ridgewood PD, Ridgewood FD, and Ridgewood EMS
This just in.. Village Holiday party will be better than ever!!!
The Village Holiday party for town employees will be bigger and better this year than ever before. This event, which in previous years was completely subsidized by personal donations from Mayor Killion and Deputy Mayor Riche, will now be sponsored by the Democratic Party. After a successful Democratic sweep by Aronsohn, his party cronies, who were major contributors during his campaign, will become major sponsors to Village events. Rumor has it that there will be pony rides, magicians and even a special guest appearance by George Clooney and Sean Penn. Oh boy!!! A grand time will be had by all.
Obamacare : Tax credit won’t get small businesses to offer health insurance
While more than 95,000 small employers in New Jersey are eligible to receive a tax credit from the Affordable Care Act to offset the cost of their workers’ health insurance, according to a report, an employment expert said the credit will not increase small businesses’ participation in providing insurance.
Small businesses with fewer than 25 full-time workers and average wages of less than $50,000 must cover at least 50 percent of each employee’s health insurance premiums to qualify for the tax credit — which covers up to 35 percent of costs of the insurance they provide to their workers, increasing to 50 percent in 2014. (Eder, NJBIZ)
State education officials have announced 26 qualified charter school apply
State education officials have announced 26 qualified charter school applicants for 2012, including five candidates in Camden.
The state this year has sought applications from charter school operators from around the country in an attempt to encourage “successful and replicable” models.
Two of the Camden schools also would serve students from the Pennsauken district, according to a list released by the state Department of Education. (Staff, Gannett)
Sweeney swings ‘big stick’ to push towns to share services or lose state aid
To Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), nothing underscores the need for the state to take a tough approach to shared services to cut property taxes more than what happened in his home county when Wenonah looked into consolidating police services with neighboring Mantua.
“Wenonah has the highest property taxes in Gloucester County, and residents would have saved $400 a year in property taxes,” Sweeney noted at a recent New Jersey Conference of Mayors seminar in Atlantic City. Furthermore, the police chief and sergeant in Wenonah’s seven-member police department were about to retire, so merging with Mantua’s 29-member force should have been easy. (Magyar, NJ Spotlight)
Former N.J. Gov. McGreevey hails Obama’s support of gay marriage, calling it ‘a moral turning point’
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey whose secret affair with a male aide led to the downfall of his administration, said President Obama’s position marked a turning point in American history.
“The President’s decision today represents a moral turning point that civil liberties and the basic dignity of all persons ought to be respected,” McGreevey told The Star-Ledger just moments after Obama publicly re-staked his position in support of gay marriage. (Giambusso, The Star-Ledger)
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