By BRETT NORMAN and JASON MILLMAN | 10/12/13 6:59 AM EDT
The glitch-plagued Obamacare rollout might be just the beginning: A series of potential technology problems could thwart the Obama administration’s goal of getting 7 million people enrolled in the new exchanges by the end of March.
Millions of people have already encountered error messages, delays, crashes and stuck accounts. Technology experts and Obamacare backers worry that each step ahead in the process — filling out applications, checking on subsidies and selecting a health insurance plan — creates a potential technology choke point. And that doesn’t even count any additional chaos when people try to use their new health insurance come January.
45 Pounds of Honey Harvested from The Valley Hospital’s Honeybee Hives in Paramus
The Valley Hospital hosted a demonstration of the honey harvesting process on Tuesday, September 24.
To see all the photographs from the event, please visit Valley’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/ValleyHospital.
The Valley Hospital has harvested the first batch of honey from the honey bee hives located on the roof of the hospital’s Luckow Pavilion in Paramus. About 45 pounds of golden honey were harvested from the hives. This first batch will be offered to employees and used by Valley Dining.
The honeybees arrived at Valley’s Luckow Pavilion on May 14. Valley was the first hospital in New Jersey to have rooftop hives installed as part of a growing trend in urban and suburban beekeeping. Other locations with rooftop hives include the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City and other hotels, supermarkets, and residences.
Beekeeping may sound like an odd endeavor for a hospital to become involved with but it is actually a natural extension of Valley’s other efforts to “go green” and support locally produced food. In 2010 Valley signed the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, which calls for hospitals to use more locally grown food, work with vendors to obtain products free of pesticides and hormones, purchase more organic foods, educate the community about nutritious and ‘’socially just” foods, minimize or reuse food waste, use ecologically protective food packaging and support humane agriculture systems. Initiatives to date conducted in support of the pledge include buying local produce from Catalpa Ridge farm in Sussex County, the hospital’s commitment to buying cage-free eggs, promoting “Meatless Monday” and a partnership with the community supported agriculture program offered by Hesperides Organica, a farm in Warwick, N.Y.
“We have always been big supporters of locally produced food and what could be more local that producing your own honey?” said Dawn Cascio, Director of Food and Nutrition Services for Valley Dining. “We also like the idea of supporting the declining honey bee population while enhancing our community’s gardens, foliage, and trees.”
In fact, Paramus’ newest residents will help pollinate a 2-mile radius around the Luckow Pavilion, increasing the yield of flowers, fruits and vegetables over an 8,700-acre area.
Concerned about their sting? Not to worry. “Honeybees are very docile and rarely sting except by accident or in defense of a beehive, because use of its stinger is lethal to a honeybee,” said Eric Hanan, Co-Founder of Bee Bold Apiaries, which supplied and will maintain the honeybee hives for Valley. “Honeybees are not aggressive and are not interested in us or our backyard barbecues or drinks.”
“The New Jersey Department of Agriculture promotes and encourages urban bee keeping,” Cascio said. “We want to do all we can to be as “green” as possible to the environment.”
Media Contact: The Department of Communications & Marketing, 201-291-6330
Bergen County Sheriiff’s Gold Star Program held in Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, Over 80 Seniors and special needs children participated in this cooperative program between the County Sheriff’s Department and Ridgewood
The Gold Star Program is a lifesaving initiative for seniors over the age of 65 and individuals with special needs regardless of their age. The Gold Star Program provides first responders with vital medical information in the event of an emergency or when an individual is not able to communicate due to various disabilities.
The participating individuals are issued a photo identification card that corresponds to a personal file maintained by Bergen County Sheriff’s Office 24-Hour Operations Unit. This file includes family and emergency contacts, current and prior medical conditions, and physician’s contact information. If the cardholder ever becomes incapacitated during an emergency, the BCSO’s Operations Unit can provide emergency contact information to first responders. The Gold Star Identification Card can also be used as an additional official means of picture identification.
Casting Calls for Porch Light Theatre & Perfomance Studio
Mon, October 14, 2013
Time: 7:30 PM
555 Broad Street Glen Rock NJ 07452, 555 Broad Street Glen Rock NJ 07452
The Last 5 Years
Oct 14, 2013 , 7:30-9:30PM
Ripley Grier Studios, 520 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Porch Light Productions (Glen Rock, NJ) is casting all roles for The Last Five Years. NYC auditions are held by appointment on Monday, October 14th from 7:30pm-9:30pm @ Ripley Grier Studios (520 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018). NJ open call auditions and callbacks are Wednesday, October 16th from 7:30pm-9:30pm at Porch Light Theatre, 555 Broad Street in Glen Rock, NJ (approx 45 min. from Manhattan by bus or train). Rehearsals are Mondays @ 7:30pm beginning October 28th. Performances run January 10-18 (Fri/Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 2pm).
Songs – GUYS – “Moving Too Fast,” bars 39-64 | GIRLS – “A Summer In Ohio,” bars 60-95
Sides – Cathy | Jamie
Email headshot/resume to [email protected] to schedule an audition appt. Non-Equity.
Sketch Comedy Troupe
Oct 30, 2013 , 7:30PM
Porch Light Theatre, 555 Broad Street, Glen Rock NJ
Porch Light Productions is seeking members for a new sketch comedy group. The group will tour the Tri-State area performing in venues such as the PIT, UCB and will submit for comedy festivals. We will produce in-house shows as well as film sketches for submission to comedy networks and websites. Rehearses evenings (approx. dates/times TBD) in Glen Rock, NJ. Seeking those with improv, sketch, and/or comedy performance experience. No preparation necessary. This will be a group audition where we will use a variety of improv and sketch exercises.
RENT
Nov 05, 2013 , 7:30-9:30PM
Porch Light Theatre, 555 Broad Street, Glen Rock NJ
Casting late high school/college age actors for student production of RENT. Auditions will be held at Porch Light Theatre on Tuesday, November 5 @ 7:30PM. Callbacks Wednesday, November 6 @ 7:30PM. Rehearsals Tuesdays from 7:30-9:30PM beginning November 12. Performances March 7-9. Headshots and resumes encouraged, but not required. Email [email protected] to schedule an audition.
Tavis Smiley: ‘Black People Will Have Lost Ground in Every Single Economic Indicator’ Under Obama
PBS’s Tavis Smiley made a comment Thursday that every African-American as well as liberal media member should sit up and take notice.
Appearing on Fox News’s Hannity, Smiley said, “The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Million Vet March on the Memorials
October 10,2013
by Ron DuBois
There will be many Veteran Marches this Sunday, October 13th. Groups wanted to form a Million Veterans March on Washington, which may have been done if it was for the end of October or beginning of November. I don’t know why they didn’t wait, or even who, specifically, planned this. But for impact, the main March will be in Washington, and people who can’t get there on such short notice will meet at local Memorials in their home States. In NJ, it’s 9 AM at the Viet-Nam Memorial on Garden State Parkway. I think it’s exit 115 or 117, but you can’t miss it. It’s clearly marked with a brown sign, and can be reached via either the local or express lanes, so don’t worry which you get off at. Other information is within notice that I am forwarding.
All of this is mainly to protest the closing of the Memorials in Washington, especially when the WWII vets were there, while the National Mall (also officially closed) was opened only for use by thousands of illegal aliens to hold a rally. So the Obama Administration gave special privileges to illegal aliens, who broke our laws, making them criminals, – and they behaved so badly that 150 had to be arrested. Note that over a five year period, millions of Tea Party members rallied in Washington, and there has never been any trouble and not a single arrest. Meanwhile, a long-planned visit by World War II veterans, most in their 80s and 90s, and many wheelchair-bound,were refused entry to pay their respects at the WWII and other Memorials. The outrage was magnified because those areas were outdoor public spaces, requiring no personnel, or cost, for the visit by the vets. Yet, the Administration actually ran up bills, to be paid by We The Taxpayers, by having the entire Memorial areas fenced off to keep the vets and the public away. Further, there are other areas in Washington, that are privately run, like Mount Vernon, and are separate from the other Memorials. You guessed it. The Obama Administration, although having no say over the running of these places, ordered them to also be closed and fenced off. It took strong reminders that they were private, before the Government took the fences down. (This same scenario has been played out in state parks, all over the country.) These closures are not by accident, and they have not been ordered to save any money; all of this was done to try and make the current shut-down of only 17% of the Government as annoying and frustrating as possible, to punish the people for not rallying harder in support of Obamacare – that the people don’t want anyway.
Join fellow veterans at the war memorials in Washington DC on Sunday October 13th at 9 AM or local marches in your area at 9AM EST/8AM CST/7AM MST/6AM PST. These memorials belong to the American veterans and people! For more information on rallying points, visit https://1mvetmarch.wordpress.com/rally/ .
FLAGS CONTINUE TO FLY AT HALF-STAFF TILL OCTOBER 17
As per Executive Order from Governor Chris Christie, all flags will be flown at half-staff from Thursday, October 10, 2013, through Thursday, October 17, 2013, in recognition and mourning of a brave and loyal American hero, United States Army Staff Master Sergeant Nicholas Oresko, who was born in Bayonne in 1917 and was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. Master Sergeant Oresko joined the United States Army in March 1942. In 1945 he singlehandedly defeated two German bunkers in France, sustaining serious injuries but refusing to be evacuated until his mission was successfully accomplished. On October 30, 1945, President Harry Truman formally awarded him the Medal of Honor, the highest award bestowed upon members of the Armed Forces of the United States, in recognition of his heroic actions. Master Sergeant Oresko passed away on October 4, 2013, at the age of 96.
OUCH: Just 51,000 people completed Obamacare applications during the website’s first week, out of tens of millions of Americans in 36 states
Obamacare’s main signup engine attracted just 6,200 new customers on its launch day and 51,000 after the first week At the same rate, the 6-month open enrollment period would sign up just 2 million Americans, including 14 states and D.C., which have their own insurance exchanges The Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare needs at least 7 million customers to stay afloat financially Numerous Obama administration officials have denied seeing any enrollment figures at all MailOnline’s sources are two Health and Human Services workers who have access to the data as it’s crunched Texas congressman says anemic national enrollment numbers are ‘roughly the population of a small town in my district’
By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor
PUBLISHED: 14:29 EST, 10 October 2013 | UPDATED: 15:44 EST, 10 October 2013
Just 51,000 people completed Obamacare applications during the first week the Healthcare.gov website was online, according to two sources inside the Department of Health and Human Services who gave MailOnline an exclusive look at the earliest enrollment numbers.
The career civil servants, who process data inside the agency, confirmed independently that just 6,200 Americans applied for health insurance through the problem-plagued website on October 1, the day it first opened to the public.
Neither HHS nor the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would comment on the record about the numbers. Enroll America, the president’s organization of health care ‘navigators’ who are charged with helping Americans sign up, didn’t reply to a request for information about its level of success so far.
The White House also did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Ridgewood moves ahead with study of a shared garage
Friday, October 11, 2013
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
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RIDGEWOOD — The council this week approved spending $2,600 on a study to determine whether it is possible to build a municipal garage in Glen Rock.
A location for the garage has been identified on Prospect Street in Glen Rock, where the Ridgewood Water Co. treatment plant is currently located.
Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said this week that the study will also provide an analysis of how trucks would turn around on the property.
The $2,600 the village is spending represents half of the $5,800 cost for the study. Pucciarelli said at the council’s meeting Wednesday night that Glen Rock would cover the other half.
The garage would benefit both the borough and the village, with both towns funding its operation.
Report: Obama brings chilling effect on journalism
By BRETT ZONGKER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s aggressive prosecution of leaks and efforts to control information are having a chilling effect on journalists and government whistle-blowers, according to a report released Thursday on U.S. press freedoms under the Obama administration.
The Committee to Protect Journalists conducted its first examination of U.S. press freedoms amid the Obama administration’s unprecedented number of prosecutions of government sources and seizures of journalists’ records. Usually the group focuses on advocating for press freedoms abroad.
Leonard Downie Jr., a former executive editor of The Washington Post, wrote the 30-page analysis entitled “The Obama Administration and the Press.” The report notes President Barack Obama came into office pledging an open, transparent government after criticizing the Bush administration’s secrecy, “but he has fallen short of his promise.”
“In the Obama administration’s Washington, government officials are increasingly afraid to talk to the press,” wrote Downie, now a journalism professor at Arizona State University. “The administration’s war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive I’ve seen since the Nixon administration, when I was one of the editors involved in The Washington Post’s investigation of Watergate.”
Many tried to warn officials of Obamacare website jam
By Juliet Eilperin, Amy Goldstein and Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post
Major insurers, state health-care officials and Democratic allies repeatedly warned the Obama administration in recent months that the new federal health-insurance exchange had significant problems, according to people familiar with the conversations. Despite those warnings and intense criticism from Republicans, the White House proceeded with an Oct. 1 launch.
A week after the federal website opened, technical problems continued to plague the system, and on Tuesday people were locked out until 10 a.m., although some applicants were able to sign up as the day went on. Officials said that they were working 24 hours a day to improve the system and that they were confident it would soon be able to meet the demand. They added that there was ample time to correct the site to allow consumers to get insured by Jan. 1.
“This is a question of volume and demand exceeding anything that people anticipated,” said White House strategist David Simas, who is helping to oversee the law’s implementation. “I am confident people are working through these issues. . . . It is steady improvement.”
Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who played a key role in passing the health-care law and has worked on its implementation, said he told White House officials early this summer he had been hearing from insurers that the online system had flaws.
“Nothing I told them ever surprised them,” Andrews said in an interview. “The White House has acknowledged all along something this massive was going to have implementation problems.”
Two allies of the administration, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the controversy surrounding the rollout, said they approached White House officials this year to raise concerns that the federal exchange was not ready to launch. In both cases, Obama officials assured them there was no cause for alarm.
Stewart to Sebelius on health care law “Am I a stupid man?”
Posted by
CNN’s Leslie Bentz
(CNN) – “The Daily Show” took a more serious turn Monday night when host Jon Stewart introduced his guest for the evening, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Sebelius, who has been on a media blitz in recent weeks as the health care exchanges for the Affordable Care Act opened for business on October 1st, has appeared on multiple networks to promote the new law and to attempt to temper criticism of its rollout.
As the secretary sat down to begin the segment, Stewart opened a laptop on his desk. “I’m going to attempt to download every movie ever made, and you’re going to try to sign up for Obamacare, and we’ll see which happens first.”
Sebelius admitted the website rollout “started a little rockier than we’d like,” but said the administration had been working to make improvements. “It’s better today than it was yesterday, and it will keep getting better.”
The sign-up websites were offline for part of the weekend as efforts were made to fix multiple glitches that caused delays for many who attempted to use the program in the first few days.
When asked how many individuals had signed up for insurance so far, Sebelius admitted, “I can’t tell you, because I don’t know … we will be giving monthly reports.” She added that hundreds of thousands of accounts had been created, which indicated to the administration that those consumers “are going to go shopping” for insurance as the next step.
Ridgewood’s capital budget process scrutinized
Tuesday October 8, 2013, 10:32 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
In light of the pending approval of a general capital ordinance, Ridgewood’s recently formed Financial Advisory Committee hopes to change how capital funds are appropriated and spent in future years.
The Village Council this month will consider adoption of three ordinances to designate funds that will pay for capital improvements in the village as well as upgrades required by the water department and parking utility. The total general capital budget, which will fund various departmental purchases and projects, is north of $3.4 million.
According to Chief Finance Officer Stephen Sanzari, the capital budget “is necessary to make the appropriations and designation for the funding source of the capital projects.” The approval of the capital budget does not equate to the council’s authorization of the actual purchase or expenditure.
Capital expenditures are often described as long-term investments that require notable sums of money and labor, such as road work and repair. In comparison, the operating budget provides an outline of a municipality’s cash flow for its day-to-day operations, such as paying employee salaries.
WASHINGTON — It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either.
In math, reading and problem-solving using technology – all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength – American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.
Adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test. Beyond basic reading and math, respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement due to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags.
Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings reinforced just how large the gap is between the nation’s high- and low-skilled workers and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents haven’t.
“HUMAN TRAFFICKING : A GLOBAL AS WELL AS LOCAL CRISIS”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 7PM
RIDGEWOOD COMMUNITY CENTER, VILLAGE HALL, 131 NORTH MAPLE AVE.
Suburban communities like Ridgewood are not immune to the problems of human slavery and trafficking, which have reached crisis proportions all over the world.
Kate Keisel, Director of the NJ Polaris Project, founded 10 years ago, the only national grassroots organization which provides networking in order to identify and stop this problem will be our speaker. She will explain the problems as well as the role of communities.
In the 10 years since it was founded, Polaris has trained police and other law enforcement agencies and educated community leaders. In 2005 it became the only organization devoted solely to combating all forms of human trafficking in New Jersey. That same year, Congress passed laws to create programs to aid trafficking victims, to give transitional housing and support, to work to strengthen state laws. Polaris initiated a 24 hour hotline. As of 2011,over 450,000 calls have resulted in rescuing at least 5,500 victims, and identifying trafficking networks. Last year, Polaris lobbied to help pass 18 new state laws to strengthen protections for victims. You may remember that it was Polaris who was responsible for removing online
(esp. Craigslist) and print want ads which were used to advertise victims forced into the commercial sex industry. The Department of Defense has established its own network to alert civilian and military members.
It is sad to say one of the increased sites for trafficking of young men and women in the U.S. is the Super Bowl. Because New Jersey is hosting the Super Bowl in 2014, it is imperative that as many people as possible are aware of this problem.
We are proud that New Jersey is listed in Polaris’ annual ratings as a top state in fighting trafficking, with excellent law enforcement cooperation, but as much information as possible should be disseminated.
We are inviting all neighboring community leaders, law enforcement officials and, of course, all residents to hear this presentation.
Apparently, Booker’s Hollywood millions aren’t enough to overcome his failed record in Newark, Trenk DiPasquale payoffs, his support for Obamacare, and his proposed $1.4 trillion in new taxes. – Steve Lonegan
Anxious Allies Aiding Booker in Senate Bid
By MICHAEL BARBARO
Published: October 6, 2013 201 Comments
Cory A. Booker is an undisputed star of a new generation of African-American leaders, electrifying liberal audiences with his oratory and charming the social media set with his digital savvy.
But the Senate campaign Mr. Booker, a Democrat, is running in New Jersey — at times sputtering, unfocused and entangled in seemingly frivolous skirmishes over Twitter messages involving a stripper — has unnerved his supporters, who thought that a robust and unblemished victory over his Republican opponent, Steve Lonegan, would catapult him onto the national stage.
As his allies move to shore up what was supposed to be a painless path to Congress, the biggest and wealthiest of them, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, will start spending more than $1 million on Monday to broadcast television commercials on Mr. Booker’s behalf, a vast sum to pour into a single candidacy.
With the special Senate election next week, the late campaign push is trying to exploit unhappiness over the government shutdown to promote Mr. Booker, Newark’s mayor, as a problem solver who eschews the kind of hard-line partisanship crippling the Capitol. “He is a solutions guy rather than an ideologue,” Mr. Bloomberg said in an interview.
