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NJ TRANSIT OFFERS EXTRA SERVICE AND SAVINGS FOR HOLIDAY WEEK

Money-saving Family Super Saver fares in effect continuously from December 20 until January 6

December 17, 2013

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT is offering extra service for the upcoming holidays to give customers more travel options, whether going to the mall for last-minute shopping, leaving work early for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, or attending New Year’s Eve festivities.

In addition, NJ TRANSIT is giving customers more than two weeks of continuous savings through a special extension of the Family Super Saver Fare, which allows up to two children 11 and younger to travel free with each fare-paying adult.  Usually limited to weekends, the Family Super Saver Fare will be in effect for the entire holiday period, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, December 20 until 6 a.m. Monday, January 6, on all trains, buses and light rail lines.

NJ TRANSIT customer service representatives and volunteers will be deployed at major facilities throughout the holiday weekend to assist customers with their travels.

For complete schedule and fare information, customers may visit njtransit.com or call 973-275-5555.

On Tuesday, December 24, trains will operate on a weekday schedule on all lines with additional “early getaway” service from New York Penn Station, Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal starting at 1 p.m. on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley, Morris & Essex, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines.  Newark Light Rail, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and River Line will operate on a weekday schedule.  Buses will operate on a regular weekday schedule on most routes, with early getaway service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal starting around 1 p.m. to accommodate the heaviest travel.  Visit njtransit.com for details.

On Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, trains will operate on a weekend schedule/major holiday schedule on all rail lines.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.  Holiday bus schedules vary by route—customers are advised to visit njtransit.com for details.

On Thursday, December 26 and Friday, December 27, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Newark Light Rail, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and River Line will operate on a weekday schedule.  Buses will operate on a weekday schedule, with extra bus service to and from New York on selected routes, including early getaway service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Friday, December 27 starting around 1 p.m.

On Saturday, December 28, trains and buses will operate on a weekend schedule.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Saturday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.

On Sunday, December 29, trains and buses will operate on a weekend schedule.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.

In addition, on Sunday, December 29, service on the Meadowlands Rail Line will operate for the Giants/Redskins game at 1 p.m.

On Monday, December 30, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Buses and light rail lines will operate on a weekday schedule.

On New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, December 31, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Additional “early getaway” service from Hoboken Terminal will operate on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines in the afternoon.  In the evening, additional New York-bound trips will operate on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines. In addition, certain trips that normally depart just before or just after midnight will operate later to accommodate customers returning from New Year’s festivities.

Bus schedules vary by route.  Customers are advised to check their timetables or visit njtransit.com for schedule information.  Selected routes will operate on special holiday schedules, available on njtransit.com, to match service with ridership demand, including early getaway service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal between noon and 4 p.m. to accommodate the heaviest travel, with less frequent service during the peak periods and later in the evening due to lower ridership.  Early getaway service will also operate from the Jersey City Waterfront on the No. 64 and No. 68 bus routes.  In the evening, additional service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal will be offered on selected routes from approximately 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. to accommodate customers traveling to New York for the festivities.

Heroin’s poisonous path to North Jersey
Sunday December 22, 2013, 12:57 AM
BY  REBECCA D. O’BRIEN AND TOM MASHBERG
STAFF WRITERS
The Record

The case began on a quiet suburban street in North Bergen, in the attic of a vinyl-sided Cape Cod, where in October 2008 investigators discovered 6 kilos of pure, uncut heroin wrapped with white packing tape, concealed in a blue Reebok duffel bag. Scattered throughout the Cottage Avenue house — above the refrigerator, tucked inside a love seat, in the master bedroom closet — was more than $2.7 million in cash. The man renting the house was Mario Villaman-Puerta, a 32-year-old Mexican citizen who had been deported several years earlier after a cocaine distribution conviction in Illinois. He was arrested along with another man.

Five years later, that investigation, dubbed Operation Shut Down by the Drug Enforcement Administration, has reached from the suburbs of North Jersey to the poppy farms of Colombia, exposing a 5,000-mile international narcotics network that connects the Cottage Avenue stash house to a Colombian drug-trafficking organization that supplies Mexico’s powerful and violent Sinaloa cartel with cocaine and heroin for distribution in the United States.

Ten days ago, the head of that Colombian organization, Jorge Milton Cifuentes-Villa — considered one of world’s most powerful drug kingpins — was extradited to the United States to face charges stemming from Operation Shut Down, a DEA official confirmed.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Heroins_poisonous_path_to_North_Jersey.html#sthash.Db8dZTJd.dpuf

from RHS website

Coach Chuck Johnson grateful for support

Friday, December 20, 2013
The Ridgewood News

Football coach grateful for support
Coach Chuck Johnson
Ridgewood High School footbal

To the editor:

I want to thank the students (especially the illustrious class of 2014 — our seniors — you know I love you guys), our administration, our parents, our Ridgewood football alumni, and our entire village for the incredible support, encouragement and enthusiasm given to our 2013 Maroons Football Team throughout our magical season.

I personally was the recipient of so many voicemails, e-mails (the furthest away from Sydney, Australia) and personal contacts. It was amazing to hear about a pre-game tailgate from our Scholarship Committee President Jacque Peay that encompassed “over 1,000 people.” To see, hear and feel the energy Saturday night at MetLife Stadium was inspiring to our players and coaches.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/236675591_Letter__Football_coach_grateful_for_support.html#sthash.WPWVjYNN.dpuf

Ten Broken Obamacare Promises
By Alyene Senge

Since the passage of Obamacare in 2010, many of the President’s famous promises have been routinely broken. As he so ironically threatened in 2009, “If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out.”[1] To that end, here are 10 promises of Obamacare that have already proved to be broken.

Promise #1: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.”[2]

Reality: Millions of Americans have lost and will lose their coverage due to Obamacare.

Obamacare has significantly disrupted the market for those who buy coverage on their own by imposing new coverage and benefit mandates, causing a reported 4.7 million health insurance cancelations of an existing policy in 32 states.[3]

For those with employer-sponsored insurance in the group market, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that 7 million fewer people will have employment-based insurance by 2018.[4]

Moreover, the Administration itself has admitted that employers would not keep their existing health plans. Federal regulations written in 2010 estimated that 51 percent of small and large employers would lose their “grandfathered status” by 2013—meaning a majority of employers would not keep their existing health plans.[5]

Promise #2: “[T]hat means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.”[6]

Reality: Many Americans might not be able to keep their current doctor without paying extra.

Many plans offered on Obamacare’s exchanges have very limited provider networks, decreasing the chances consumers will be able to keep their current doctor without paying more money.[7] Furthermore, many Americans who purchase coverage on their own have had their existing health plans changed or canceled due to Obamacare, resulting in some people being unable to keep their current doctors without paying additional money to do so.

Due to the significant payment reductions included in Obamacare, seniors with Medicare Advantage plans may be forced to find new doctors. The largest provider of these plans, UnitedHealth, has recently reduced its provider networks in several states.[8]

Promise #3: “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.”[9]

Reality: Premiums for people purchasing coverage in the individual market have significantly increased in a majority of states.

A Heritage analysis shows that, on average, consumers in 42 states will see their premiums in the exchanges increase, many by over 100 percent.[10]

For people with employer-sponsored coverage, costs also continue to increase. For families, premiums from 2009 to 2013 have increased by an average of $2,976.[11]

Promise #4: “[F]or the 85 and 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing’s already happened. And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was before. Full stop. That’s it. They don’t have to worry about anything else.”[12]

Reality: Obamacare imposes certain new benefit mandates on those with employer-sponsored coverage—a majority of Americans.

These mandates increase the cost of coverage. In fact, federal regulations written in 2010 assumed “that the increases in insurance benefits will be directly passed on to the consumer in the form of higher premiums. These assumptions bias the estimates of premium changes upward.”[13]

But higher premiums not only cost people more money; they have other impacts on coverage as well. For instance, as a response to the direct cost increases associated with Obamacare, UPS dropped coverage for spouses of employees if they are offered coverage through their own employers.[14]

Promise #5: “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”[15]

Reality: Obamacare contains 18 separate tax hikes, fees, and penalties, many of which heavily impact the middle class.

Altogether, Obamacare’s taxes and penalties will accumulate over $770 billion in new revenue over a 10-year period.[16] Among the taxes that will hit the middle class are the individual mandate tax, the medical device tax, and new penalties and limits on health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.[17]

Promise #6: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future.”[18]

Reality: Obamacare’s new spending is unsustainable.

Obamacare was passed into law relying on a wide variety of unrealistic budget projections. A more realistic assessment reveals that it will be a multi-trillion-dollar budget buster. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated the cost of Obamacare over the long term if certain cost-containment measures were overridden. Under that alternative scenario, which assumes that “historical trends and policy preferences continue,” the GAO found that Obamacare would increase the primary deficit by 0.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).[19]

Senator Jeff Sessions (R–AL) and the Senate Budget Committee staff, who commissioned the GAO report, translated the 75-year percentage estimate into today’s dollar amount, which would be $6.2 trillion over the next 75 years.[20]

Promise #7: “[W]hatever ideas exist in terms of bending the cost curve and starting to reduce costs for families, businesses, and government, those elements are in this bill.”[21]

Reality: Health spending is still rising and is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.8 percent from 2012 to 2022.[22]

While growth in health spending has been slower recently compared to the past, that is largely due to the sluggish economic recovery. Indeed, Obamacare’s new entitlements will help drive greater health spending in 2014 and beyond.[23]

Promise #8: “I will protect Medicare.”[24]

Reality: Obamacare cuts Medicare spending.

Obamacare makes unprecedented and unrealistic payment reductions to Medicare providers and Medicare Advantage plans in order to finance the new spending in the law. The cuts amount to over $700 billion from 2013 to 2022.[25] If Congress allows these draconian reductions to take place, it will significantly impact seniors’ ability to access care.[26]

Promise #9: “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American.”[27]

Reality: Millions of Americans will remain uninsured.

Despite spending nearly $1.8 trillion in new spending from 2014 to 2023, the law falls far short of universal coverage. Indeed, Obamacare is projected by the CBO to leave 31 million uninsured after a decade of full implementation.[28]

Promise #10: “So this law means more choice, more competition, lower costs for millions of Americans.”[29]

Reality: Obamacare has not increased insurer competition or consumer choice.

In the vast majority of states, the number of insurers competing in the state’s exchange is actually less than the number of carriers that previously sold individual market policies in the state.[30] And at the local level, for 35 percent of the nation’s counties, exchange enrollees will have a choice of plans from only two insurers—a duopoly. In 17 percent of counties, consumers will have no choice—a monopoly—as only one carrier is offering coverage in the exchange.[31]

—Alyene Senger is a Research Associate in the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

file photo Boyd Loving

Ridgewood Police Remind You Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

If your attending Holiday celebrations this week think twice before getting behind the wheel if you have been drinking.

In New Jersey, a person is guilty of drunk driving if he or she operates a motor vehicle with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or greater. Although the law refers to a 0.08 percent BAC, you can be convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor even when your BAC is below 0.08 percent. Consuming even small amounts of alcohol dulls the senses, decreases reaction time, and hampers judgment, vision and alertness. If you consume any amount of alcohol and your driving is negatively impacted, you can be convicted of drunk driving.

The Ridgewood Police Department offers the following advice to ensure a safe holiday travel season for those who choose to drink alcohol:

Take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home.

Spend the night rather than get behind the wheel.

Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 to report a drunk or aggressive driver.

Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.

If you’re intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive or escort you to your doorstep.

High security risk found after HealthCare.gov launch

A top HealthCare.gov security officer told Congress there have been two, serious high-risk findings since the website’s launch, including one on Monday of this week, CBS News has learned.

Teresa Fryer, the chief information security officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), revealed the findings when she was interviewed Tuesday behind closed doors by House Oversight Committee officials. The security risks were not previously disclosed to members of Congress or the public. Obama administration officials have firmly insisted there’s no reason for any concern regarding the website’s security.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded to questions about the security findings in a statement that said, “in one case, what was initially flagged as a high finding was proven to be false. In the other case, we identified a piece of software code that needed to be fixed and that fix is now in place. Since that time, the feature has been fully mitigated and verified by an independent security assessment, per standard practice.”

Play Video

Uninsured have mixed feelings about Obamacare

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Obamacare website still causing headaches

According to federal standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the potential impact of a high finding is “the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability could be expected to have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals.”

Details are not being made public for security reasons but Fryer testified that one vulnerability in the system was discovered during testing last week related to an incident reported in November. She says that as a result, the government has shut down functionality in the vulnerable part of the system. Fryer said the other high-risk finding was discovered Monday.

In another security bombshell, Fryer told congressional interviewers that she explicitly recommended denial of the website’s Authority to Operate (ATO), but was overruled by her superiors. The website was rolled out amid warnings Fryer said she gave both verbally and in a briefing that disclosed “high risks” and possible exposure to “attacks”.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-security-risks-found-after-healthcaregov-launch/

Top 1 Percent Paid 35 Percent of All Income Taxes in 2011

Summary of Latest Federal Income Tax Data
December 18, 2013
By Kyle Pomerleau

Introduction

The Internal Revenue Service has released new data on individual income taxes, reporting on calendar year 2011.[1] The IRS data continues to reflect the fact that half of all taxpayers pay nearly all income taxes. However, the improving economy resulted in a spreading of the tax burden as the number of filers increased along with incomes and taxes paid for all income groups except the top 0.1 percent. The higher incomes pushed taxpayers into higher brackets, resulting in an increase in average income tax rates for all income groups except the top 0.1 percent, whose effective rate remained about the same as in 2010. The income shares of the top 1 and 2 percentiles fell in 2011, as did their shares of taxes paid.

The Top 50 Percent of All Taxpayers Paid 97 Percent of All Income Taxes; the Top 5 Percent Paid 57 Percent of All Income Taxes; and the Top 1 Percent Paid 35 Percent of All Income Taxes in 2011

Table 1 breaks down the latest IRS data on number of returns, adjusted gross income, income taxes paid, and average tax rate by income group. In 2011, the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers (those with Adjusted Gross Incomes (AGI) below $34,823) accounted for 11.55 percent of total AGI. This group of taxpayers paid approximately $30 billion in taxes, or 2.89 percent of all income taxes in 2011. In contrast, the top 50 percent of taxpayers (those with AGIs above $34,823) accounted for 88.5 percent of total AGI. The top 50 percent of taxpayers paid $1.01 trillion in income taxes, or 97.1 percent of all income taxes in 2011.

In 2011, the top 10 percent of taxpayers (with AGIs above $120,000) accounted for 45.4 percent of all AGI and 68.3 percent of all income taxes paid. Taxpayers in the top 5 percent accounted for 33.9 percent of all AGI and 56.5 percent of all income taxes paid. The top 1 percent of all taxpayers accounted for 18.7 percent of all AGI and 35.1 percent of all income taxes paid.

Economy Improved, Pushing Incomes and Taxes Paid for all Income Groups Higher, Except for Those in the Top 0.1 Percent

The improving economy added about 1.6 million new filers, from 135 million in 2010 to 136.6 million in 2011. This alone tended to spread the tax burden, as many of these new filers also paid taxes. As well, incomes and taxes paid increased for all income groups except those in the top 0.1 percent (taxpayers making $1,717,675 or more). (See Tables 3 and 4.) Income increased only slightly for the top 1 percent and remains below the levels seen in 2005 through 2008. Likewise, taxes paid for the top 1 percent remains significantly lower than the peak year of 2007. As a result, the income and tax shares for the top percentiles, including the top 1 and 2 percent, fell in 2011.

Average Tax Rate Increased for All Groups and Remained Essentially Flat for the Top 0.1 Percent

Higher AGIs pushed taxpayers into higher tax brackets, resulting in higher average income tax rates for most income groups (Table 8). The average tax rate for the bottom 50 percent of taxpayer increased from 2.37 percent in 2010 to 3.13 percent in 2011, but still remains lower than the average of 3.4 percent since 2001. This increase in tax rate is likely due to the expiration of the Making Work Pay tax credit. The top 50 percent’s average income tax rate increased from 13.05 percent to 13.76 percent.

The average tax rate for taxpayers in the top 1 percent also increased from 23.4 percent to 23.5 percent—the highest average tax rate of any income group. However, the average tax rate for the top 0.1 percent remained essentially flat, changing from 22.84 in 2010 to 22.82 percent in 2011.

For all taxpayers, the average tax rate increased from 11.81 percent to 12.54 percent.

https://taxfoundation.org/article/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-data

Chris Christie slams Supreme Court as ‘out of control’ over affordable housing ruling

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today sounded off against one his favorite targets, calling the state Supreme Court “outrageous” and “out of control” for ordering his administration to come up with a new plan for affordable housing in the state’s cities and suburbs.

“Our folks are consulting with outside consultants to work on the drafting of new rules,” Christie said at a Statehouse news conference.

“What I’ll tell you is I think it’s outrageous. I think the whole thing is outrageous. I think the fact that a court thinks that it’s within their purview to order an executive branch operation to actually go through a rule-making procedure is outrageous. And it’s why the Supreme Court is so out of control.”

In September, the high court gave the state five months to write regulations to increase the minimum number of affordable-housing units towns must build for their poorest residents. The Republican governor and a group of mayors wanted more flexibility.  (Portnoy/Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/chris_christie_slams_supreme_court_as_out_of_control_over_affordable_housing_ruling.html#incart_river

New Jersey among states to receive share of $280M in early learning grants

New Jersey won $44 million Thursday in a federal grant competition aimed at lifting the quality of child care programs and their staffs.

One of six states to share $280 million in the latest round of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top contest, New Jersey plans to create training academies for center employees and develop a Consumer Reports-style rating system to help parents shop around online.

Several enthusiastic advocates predicted the grant would spur better child care in a state that has lacked consistent standards for curriculum, staff credentials and supplies among various types of providers, including centers and family settings.

“If a center gets a low rating it will be embarrassed into improving,” said Veronica Ray, president of the New Jersey Head Start Association. “No center wants to be low man on the totem pole when it affects enrollment.”

The Early Learning Challenge grant is part of the Obama administration’s push to invest in babies, toddlers and preschoolers so they start kindergarten ready to learn. The president has called for a $75 billion, 10-year investment in federal-state partnerships to provide preschool for all poor and moderate-income 4-year-olds, but critics have called the idea far too expensive and unrealistic. (Brody/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/New_Jersey_among_states_to_receive_280M_in_early_learning_grants_.html#sthash.YqEbZqfc.dpuf

Christie takes on “Pajama Boy”  encouraging volunteerism

Christie hits back at Obama’s health care ad by encouraging volunteerism
Wednesday December 18, 2013, 6:28 PM
BY  MELISSA HAYES
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record

From the Political State blog on NorthJersey.com

Governor Christie has joined the growing number of people criticizing the Obama administration’s new ad aimed at enrolling people in health care plans.

Christie, a Republican, visited Eva’s Kitchen in Paterson Wednesday to feed the homeless and working poor as part of his administration’s annual “Season of Service” effort.

Afterward he tweeted, “In New Jersey, we are spending the cold days of December volunteering. #GetOutOfYourPJs #SeasonofService,” with a link to a picture of himself in a blue apron and plastic gloves serving burgers at the soup kitchen.

“Get out of your pajamas, put on and apron and get volunteering,” read the text alongside the image

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/Christie_hits_back_at_Obamas_health_care_ad_by_encouraging_volunteerism.html#sthash.mljOiYjD.dpuf

Moody’s lower N.J. debt outlook to negative, citing slow recovery

TRENTON — Wall Street analysts at Moody’s Investors Service today lowered their outlook on New Jersey’s debt from stable to negative, saying the state remains hamstrung by rising costs and “a sluggish economic recovery” despite Gov. Chris Christie’s efforts.

The analysis by Moody’s warns that public workers’ retirement benefits and other costs are climbing rapidly, and that revenue is not growing fast enough to bridge the gap.

Although Moody’s gives Christie credit for taking a “proactive approach” to control pension and health benefit liabilities, the overall assessment was dire for the Republican governor at a time when his advisers are pushing for a 10 percent tax cut.

“The state will face challenges in improving its very weak liquidity position, due to the state’s sluggish economic recovery, which has hindered revenue performance,” Moody’s analysts wrote in a note to investors today. (Rizzo/Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/moodys_lowers_nj_debt_outlook_to_negative_citing_slow_recovery.html#incart_river