>Medicare Open Enrollment Deadline Approaching

As a reminder, we are quickly approaching the December 7, 2011 deadline for Medicare beneficiaries to review Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug coverage benefit plans to choose the option that best fits their personal needs.  Eligible beneficiaries will be able to change to or from a Medicare Advantage program, enroll in a prescription drug plan, or change their existing prescription drug plan.

I also wanted to provide you with some valuable resources that can help answer questions for you as you choose your plans.  To speak with a Medicare representative, simply call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or visit their website here.  To contact the New Jersey State Health Insurance Assistance Program, please dial 1-800-792-8820 or visit their website here.  If you have a question regarding prescription drug plans, the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program can be reached at 1-800-792-9745 or visit their website here.  As always, if you have any further questions regarding plan options or the Open Enrollment period, please don’t hesitate to contact one of my offices as well.

If you have any questions or would like to share your opinions, please call my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-4465. Please be assured that I will continue working with my congressional colleagues to address the issues that are impacting you and your family.

Sincerely,

Scott Garrett

>Many N.J. school board members have not complied with law requiring background checks

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>Grow New Jersey advanced by Assembly committee

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Donald Trump Fights Back: ‘Ron Paul Is A Joke’ And George Will Is ‘Third-Rate’
by Colby Hall | 8:10 am, December 5th, 2011

Donald Trump appeared today on his regularly scheduled Monday morning Fox and Friends segment and fought back against critics who have vocally railed against plans for the self-proclaimed billionaire and reality show television host to moderate a GOP debate sponsored by Newsmax, a conservative media outlet. A combative Trump specifically called out conservative columnist George Will, and continued his habit of insulting the presidential aspirations of Ron Paul, calling his campaign a joke.

There was almost an immediate backlash when news broke last Friday of Trump’s plans to moderate a debate. I wrote that no serious candidate should participate in a debate hosted by Trump, which would make a mockery out of an institution already low in credibility. Those thoughts were echoed by Will, who said on ABC News’ This Week that this was an opportunity “to do something presidential, stand up and say, ‘we’re not going to be hijacked and participate in this.”

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/donald-trump-fights-back-ron-paul-is-a-joke-and-george-will-is-third-rate/

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Cuts at U.S. Postal Service mean stamped letters won’t arrive the next day
Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011, 10:09 AM  
By The Associated Press

Washington — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.

The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.

The changes would provide short-term relief, but ultimately could prove counterproductive, pushing more of America’s business onto the Internet. They could slow everything from check payments to Netflix’s DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/cuts_at_us_postal_service_mean.html

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Gasoline: The new big U.S. export
By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoney December 5, 2011: 11:41 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The United States is awash in gasoline. So much so, in fact, that the country is exporting a record amount of it.
The country exported 430,000 more barrels of gasoline a day than it imported in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That is about twice the amount at the start of the year, and experts and industry insiders say the trend is here to stay.

The United States began exporting gas in late 2008. For decades prior, starting in 1960, the country used all the gas it produced here plus had to import gas from places Europe.

https://money.cnn.com/2011/12/05/news/economy/gasoline_export/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

>Charter school thrives on data

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2011  
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Walk through the doors of Bergen Arts & Science Charter School in Garfield and you’ll see a computer kiosk that lets parents see all their kids’ test mistakes so they can practice more at home.

The database also gives information on the day’s quizzes, homework and any demerits for misbehavior. For live updates, parents can tap into a “student database app” on their cellphones.

At a time when many parents and teachers worry that schools have gone overboard in testing children and lament the time spent on test preparation, families here embrace the school’s intensely data-driven approach. Indeed, its children spend almost a week in December and again in March taking practice rounds of NJ ASK, the state’s annual four-day testing spree for Grades 3 through 8, and then they take the real thing in May.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/135010653_Charter_school_thrives_on_data.html

>Credit guidelines for mortgages get tougher: Higher FHA limit extended 2 more years

GUIDELINES GET TOUGHER

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, with help from Congress, recently took steps that affect people buying homes in high-priced real estate markets such as New Jersey.

First, Congress approved an extension of the loan limit on Federal Housing Administration loans in high-priced markets at $729,900. The regular limit in most areas is $417,000, but in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Congress temporarily approved the higher limit for some high-priced areas. That limit was set to expire in November 2011. Instead, the higher limits have been extended for two more years.

In addition, the FHFA has set the size of loans for 2012 that will conform to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines in higher-priced markets at $625,000.

https://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20111205/NJNEWS/312050015/Credit-guidelines-for-mortgages-get-tougher-Higher-FHA-limit-extended-2-more-years

>BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETS TONIGHT, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5

The Ridgewood Board of Education meets tonight, Monday, December 5, 2011. The Board meets on floor 3 of the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, starting at 7:30 p.m. To view the agenda, click here. Watch the live meeting on Optimum channel 77, FiOS channel 33 or via the “Link in Live” tab on the district website.

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>Fall Leaf Clean-up Help
By Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide

Autumn leaves start out beautiful, but eventually they become just a mess on the lawn. Fall clean-up of leaves is not a chore most gardeners look forward to. Some gardeners wonder if it is even necessary to rake leaves. Won’t the leaves just compost naturally on the lawn?

Yes they will. If you only have a few leaves, you may be better off letting them blow off into the bushes, turning into mulch and fertilizer. Or your might want to run the lawn mower over them and let them feed the lawn. But if you have substantial leaves, so many that you can’t see the lawn underneath, the leaves will smother and kill the grass long before they turn into fertilizer.

If that is the case, one way or another, you are gong to have to collect the leaves from your lawn and there really aren’t that many options.

Leaf Raking Options

Attach a Bagging System to your Lawn Mower. This is especially nice with lawn tractors. If you have a large property, mature trees or a bad back, a leaf bagger will make your life much easier. As with most mechanical leaf cleanup, the leaves will need to be dry or you will clog the mower and the bagger.
Use a Hand Held Leaf Blower/Vacuum These are very popular in suburbia and I’ve never figured out why. They are loud, heavy and the user always seems to wind up fixated on blowing that last renegade leaf, keeping at it long after I could have walked over, bent down and picked it up. In their favor, blower/vacs do a nice job of shredding dry leaves and they make quick work of clearing driveways and sidewalks. However don’t waste your time trying to use one on wet leaves.

https://gardening.about.com/od/toppicktools/a/LeafTools.htm

>N.J. lawmaker demands probe of Port Authority’s toll-hike discrepancy