Reader says , If the fix is in, why doesn’t Valley pay Price’s hourly rate? Why are the taxpayers of Ridgewood paying her when her client is Valley?
If the fix is in, why doesn’t Valley pay Price’s hourly rate? Why are the taxpayers of Ridgewood paying her when her client is Valley?
The tail is wagging the dog: Price is supposed to advise the PB who represent THE PEOPLE of RIDGEWOOD. Price gets tangled up in legalese, the Mayor sips his Starbucks, Nalbanthian admonishes and threatens the people in the audience, and the remainder of the PB sits in silence. Price and Drill make the public proceedings so tangled, most cannot follow. I guess that’s the point: the fix is in!
Same old story: the PB should be trying to decide IF the expansion should happen, not figuring out how to make it happen.I am completely disgusted with the way the residents are being treated. We’re the ones who live here. We pay taxes. The PB should be working on our behalf, not sucking up to Valley.
Gail Price should provide sufficient advice to the PB to allow it to stand on its own two feet and not be pushed around by any large entity corporation that can afford to pay a lawyer to shout people down. If she can’t do that job she should quit or be fired.
Steve Lonegan: Leader not tweeter
Monday October 7, 2013, 8:21 AM
By ALFRED P. DOBLIN
RECORD EDITORIAL COLUMNIST
HE’S A LEADER, not a tweeter. You got to love Steve Lonegan. That was his message during a U.S. Senate debate with Cory Booker taped in Trenton on Friday. The Republican and the Democrat faced off during a 60-minute debate that aired Sunday on ABC. I was a panelist.
Booker is the undisputed king of Facebook, but Lonegan is emperor of In-Your-Face. I say that with some admiration. Agree or disagree with his policies, Lonegan has done what Barbara Buono, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has failed to accomplish: Run an effective campaign.
Despite a misstep over Booker’s pedicures, Lonegan has been doing what he does best. He is an everyman, angry, agitated and never silent. He is more than the natural progression of Howard Beale, the run-amok anchorman from the film “Network”; he is Howard Beale and Howard Roark, the Ayn Rand protagonist. Lonegan believes every man (and I assume every woman) should be able to pull himself or herself up by their bootstraps. Reduce government. Get rid of unnecessary federal departments, like education, and go out and get a job.
Booker is an unabashed social liberal, with a few exceptions. The contrast in style could not have been greater watching the two men face off Friday. They are both completely comfortable in their own skins. Booker is criticized for being more of a brand than a public official, but if Booker is a brand, Lonegan is brand X. They both understand that contemporary politics is fueled by personalities first and politics second.
Dr. Ben Carson is latest on list of conservatives targeted by IRS
By John Solomon and Ben Wolfgang
The Washington Times
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Tea party groups, Franklin Graham, Christine O’Donnell, a pro-marriage group. And now Dr. Ben Carson.
The list of conservatives targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for audits, tax-exempt reviews or tax privacy breaches keeps growing, raising fresh questions in Washington about whether a scandal the Obama administration has blamed on bureaucratic incompetence and coincidence may in fact involve something more nefarious.
The latest revelation came Thursday from Dr. Carson, the renowned neurosurgeon who told The Washington Times that he was targeted for an audit just months after he gave a speech in front of President Obama that challenged America’s leadership. The agency requested to review his real estate holdings and then conducted a full audit.
In the end, the IRS found no wrongdoing, Dr. Carson said, but it raised his suspicions about being singled out for his speech.
YWCA School Vacation Program – October 14 Children K to 6 Grade
YWCA’s October Vacation Day Program Includes Trip to Lentini Farm The YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on October 14, 2013. Kids will enjoy a trip to Lentini’s Farm in Newton, NJ. Day’s events will include a corn maze, hay maze, hay ride, apple cider, pumpkins, tire crawl and petting zoo, supervised by YWCA’s trained child care staff. Event is open to families already enrolled in YWCA Before & After School Programs as well as to those who are not.
The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $55 per child per day for families that are currently participating in YWCA Before or After School programs, and $75 for non-participating families. Advance registration is required. To register call 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms. YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. An after kindergarten program is available in Oradell. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.
Apparently just before the Park Service toner ran out, they were able to print these notices and erect a barricade. Note that their caring was unabated – rather than just protecting tourists from the dangers of the unsupervised memorial itself, they created a safety zone far enough so that we could barely see Lincoln’s statue. – Mike P
Where’s sense of crisis in a 17% government shutdown?
By BYRON YORK | OCTOBER 5, 2013 AT 1:01 PM
Everyone knows the phrase “government shutdown” doesn’t mean the entire U.S. government is shut down. So in a partial government shutdown, like the one underway at the moment, how much of the government is actually shut down, and how much is not?
One way to measure that is in how much money the government spends. In a conversation Thursday, a Republican member of Congress mentioned that the military pay act, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama at the beginning of the shutdown, is actually a huge percentage of the government’s discretionary spending in any given year. And that is still flowing. So if you took that money, and added it to all the entitlement spending that is unaffected by a shutdown, plus all the areas of spending that are exempted from a shutdown, and added it all together, how much of the federal government’s total spending is still underway even though the government is technically shut down?
Road to Mount Rushmore. The National Parks Service placed the cones there to prevent viewers from stopping on the side of the road to view the monument
I asked a Republican source on the Senate Budget Committee for an estimate. This was the answer: “Based on estimates drawn from CBO and OMB data, 83 percent of government operations will continue. This figure assumes that the government pays amounts due on appropriations obligated before the shutdown ($512 billion), spends $225 billion on exempted military and civilian personnel, pays entitlement benefits for those found eligible before the shutdown (about $2 trillion), and pays interest costs when due ($237 billion). This is about 83 percent of projected 2014 spending of $3.6 trillion.”
Americans are justifiably angry over the political game being played by the Obama administration to barricade the World War II Memorial in Washington. And they should be. Under federal law, there is no justifiable reason for closing the memorial.
On Tuesday, the National Park Service put up barricades around the open-air memorial that is normally accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even when Park Service personnel are not there. Police threatened to arrest visiting veterans, who came to Washington as part of Honor Flight, a non-profit that gives veterans free transportation so they can see war memorials.
It is one of the most blatant and shameful political stunts being carried out by the White House, which appears intent on keeping the government shut down to protect Obamacare.
How do we know this is purely political theater? Because under applicable federal law — and the interpretation of that law by both the Justice Department and the Office of Management and Budget — all “law enforcement” operations of the federal government are exempted from being shut down during any funding lapse.
The only possible reason for preventing access to the World War II Memorial would be a concern about security. But because the National Park Police are operating even during the government “slimdown” — that is why they were at the memorial when the veterans were threatened with arrest — this is not a valid concern.
Under intense pressure, the Obama administration began to relent Wednesday, agreeing to “an accommodation for the Honor Flights.” That isn’t good enough. The memorials should be fully open for everyone and anyone.
The White House had an opportunity to prevent this confrontation. Representative Steven Palazzo (R-MS), who helped arrange Tuesday’s Honor Flight visit, says both the White House and the Interior Department rejected his request to allow the veterans to visit the memorial. Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Park Service, which claimed it was told by the White House to shut down the memorial.
With the help of Representatives Palazzo, Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Steve King (R-IA), and Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and with the same gung-ho spirit that characterized their courageous actions during World War II, the veterans defied the Park Service and pushed through the barriers, just like they did on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
In an action that defies logic and any appreciation for the deep sacrifices of these veterans, more Park Service employees were dispatched by the Obama administration on Wednesday morning to re-erect the barriers — “two more security officials than the State Department had in Benghazi a year ago on the night of the terrorist attack that killed four, including the U.S. ambassador,” according to the Washington Examiner.
There are no legal or budget reasons whatsoever for the memorial to be barricaded, shut down, and fenced off — other than President Obama’s desire to engage in political theatrics intended to annoy as many members of the public as possible and blame conservatives who are trying to stop the President’s unfair, unaffordable, and unworkable health-care law.
Obama’s decision to prolong the shutdown continues to go against the will of the American people, who are facing higher health care costs, the loss of health insurance, fewer hours at work, and difficulty finding a job. It’s no wonder just 17 percent of Americans believe Obamacare will be a good thing for themselves or their families, according to a new CNN/ORC International survey.
It’s time for the President to face reality. He should be ashamed for engaging in political stunts and trying to deny access to the veterans who paid for the World War II Memorial with their service and sacrifices — and whose comrades-in-arms paid for the memorial with their lives.
HHS-Run Website Hacked; Now Selling NFL Jerseys, Ugg Boots, Armani Fragrances
1:23 PM, Oct 4, 2013 • By JERYL BIER
A portion of the website of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was apparently hacked as long as two months ago. SAMHSA is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS also runs the new Obamacare insurance marketplace, Healthcare.gov.
Dozens of pages hawking retail merchandise have been uploaded to the SAMHSA site, ranging from NFL jerseys to Ugg shoes to Armani fragrances. Screen captures of the various pages are shown here:
Need health care coverage? Just dial 1-800-F**KYO to reach Obamacare’s national hotline
Need health insurance? The Obama administration has you covered. Simply dial 1-800-FUCKYO to reach the next available health-care provider.
Far from being a mistype, that’s the official number that Health and Human Services wants Americans to dial when seeking health care. Obamacare’s national call center really did list its number as 1-800-318-2596, helpfully spelling out President Barack Obama’s tendency to blatantly flip the bird in plain view.
After allowing for the lack of letters attached to 1 on a traditional American telephone keypad, the number spells out a clear message. For every duped voter, every young invincible weighing the cost of a penalty versus a newly tripled yearly deductible, every ailing old granny in a wheelchair (whom, remember, Paul Ryan wants to push off a cliff) who needs adequate and affordable health care, Obama’s message is
1-800-3(F) 8(U) 2(C) 5(K) 9(Y) 6(O).
That’s 1-800-FUCKYO. Sadly, the Obama administration failed to swap the useless 1 for a more functional 8 to complete the heartfelt message, perhaps in consolation to former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s tragically shortened middle finger.
Ridgewood Police : Unique parking privileges of persons with a disability will expire every three (3) years.
Effective August 1, 2013, New Jersey State law has been amended to require that the unique parking privileges of persons with a disability will expire every three (3) years. This requirement will help reduce fraud.
Upon expiration of the privileges, a person must re-submit an application and all supporting documentation to the Motor Vehicle Commission. This includes a new medical certification from a qualified medical practitioner that the qualifying disability continues to exist.
Also effective August 1, 2013, the types of licensed medical practitioners who may authorize these certifications has been expanded to include all of the following:
The practitioner must be licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey or a bordering state. Certifications from physicians stationed at a United States military or naval installation located in this state and licensed to practice in any state are also acceptable.
For more information on Wheelchair symbol plates and persons with a disability placards visit the Ridgewood Police Department Website.
Parent Presentation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Staying Safe in Cyberspace: K-12 Internet Safety
October 3,2013
Ridgewood Police Department
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit will be presenting an in-depth presentation on Internet Safety, hosted by the Ridgewood Public Schools on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium. The presentation, entitled “Staying Safe in Cyberspace – Internet Safety for Parents,” is a comprehensive examination of today’s Internet and the dangers that lurk inside chat rooms, instant messages, e-mail and blogs.
This presentation is an integral function of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit. Through education and outreach to the community, the Computer Crimes Unit hopes to raise parents’ awareness of online predators and the dangerous content that is only a mouse-click away from their child’s grasp.
Through their dynamic, intriguing and eye-opening presentation, complete with vivid graphics and streaming video clips, the Computer Crimes Detectives hope to educate parents about the seedier side of the Internet. The goals of this presentation are to discuss the basic functions of the Internet, to highlight current Internet trends and to illustrate the associated risks facing children of all ages. After what will be a shocking display of the dangers associated with online communication, they will turn to preventative measures and effective solutions to protect children, many of whom know more about computers than the average parent.
“The explosion of the Internet has proven to be most influential with the youngest of generations, namely our children,” said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. He continued, “Protecting them on the World Wide Web, a truly unregulated atmosphere, is a tremendous task that needs to begin at home, where children are indeed most vulnerable.”
With the advent of the Internet-ready home computer as a principal component of today’s household, the World Wide Web and all of its users are essentially invited into the privacy of every home in Bergen County. Parents seldom realize the depth and breadth of a limitless connection to the rest of the globe via a seemingly harmless Internet connection in their own living room. Yet, it is exactly that link which needs proper supervision to preserve the safety of children online.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit, including the complementary Bergen County Computer Crimes Task Force, consists of Investigators from around the County and has the vast responsibility of deterring and detecting Internet crime. Many of their cases involve predators who target children through the Internet. To that end, Detectives who combat Internet crime have recognized that their approach must also include a strong education initiative involving parents and children who surf the Web. This proactive mechanism is in place in order to prevent children in Bergen County from stumbling into areas of the Internet where they can fall prey to an online predator.
Prosecutor John Molinelli and Chief Steven Cucciniello urge all parents and guardians to attend this Internet safety presentation. It is their hope that by having skilled, well-versed computer crimes Investigators, coupled with parents armed with a working knowledge of the Internet and its pitfalls, the children of this County are well-protected while exploring the World Wide Web.
For additional information about this event, please contact the office of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum of the Ridgewood Public Schools at 201-670-2700, ext. 10532 or [email protected]. For information about Internet Safety related issues, please contact Lt. Jason Love at [email protected] or Educational Outreach Coordinator D/Sergeant John DeVoe at [email protected].
Ridgewood Police Department assisted with the Come Alive Outside bike hike and discover event.
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday 9/28/13 The Ridgewood Police assisted with the Come Alive Outside bike hike and discover event. The day started with bicycle safety inspections, a safety talk and safety demonstrations. The groups then proceeded to various parks throughout the Village where wildscape and animal demonstrations were held as well a scavenger hunt. We would like to thank all the volunteers and residents who came out to make this event a success.
Pictured in the top photo with one the first Willard Bike Safety skills participants are Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, Recreation Director Nancy Bigos Ridgewood Police Itern & Volunteer In Police Service (VIPS) THomas Scott along with Chief John Ward.
A true community policing partnership of local government, Police,EMS, Parks and Receation, community groups and local businesses like Jacobsen Landscaping and Ridgewood Cycle helped to make this a successful event
Officer Darin Rick Thomas, VIPS member Thomas Scott Officer Joseph Youngberg Ridgewood EMS members Ridgewood Cycle members John Landino and Sean Groenwald with Councilwoman Hauck and Chief Ward
Officer McKeon demonstrating the rules of the road
EXCLUSIVE: Less than 1% of visitors are signing up for Obamacare on state health exchange websites
California’s program registered an estimated 0.58 per cent of website visitors in its first day
A Connecticut congressman boasted that his state took 167 applications for Obamacare services on day one, a rate of 0.59 per cent
Obama administration won’t say how many Americans signed up on the central website that covered insurance exchanges for 36 states
Kentucky’s 5.3 per cent application rate seems to be the nation’s highest
Other states wouldn’t provide statistics, or tracked only the creation of new online accounts, not numbers of completed applications
By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor
As President Obama’s signature health insurance overhaul effort began to enroll new participants on Monday, some states running their own insurance exchanges saw huge levels of website traffic but paltry interest in signing up.
California, the ultimate blue state whose federal lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in support of Obamacare, turned less than 1 per cent of its Web visits into ‘Covered California’ participants on Tuesday.
‘We had over 5.7 million hits to our website as of 3 p.m. yesterday,’ Covered California spokeswoman Kelsey Caldwell told MailOnline Wednsday.
‘7,700 consumers began their application process yesterday. … 4,143 applications are pending,’ she added. ‘We received 23,269 calls yesterday to our service center.’
Caldwell couldn’t say how many of the 5.7 million website hits were from unique Californians. But assuming 712,500 online visitors saw eight different Web pages each, the sign-up rate was 0.58 per cent.
Reader says ONE SINGLE REASON why this expansion is good for Ridgewood
Anyone that has followed this process knows that neither Valley nor its parade of paid experts has presented ONE SINGLE REASON why this expansion is good for Ridgewood. It has been years of PR spin, smoke and mirrors without any substance. Valley is the worst kind of institution to have in our or any town. They care nothing for us and they bring nothing to us. They pay no property taxes on their main campus. Less than 10% of their employees and patients live in town. The unfathomably obnoxious behavior of Mr. Drill sums up what Valley thinks of Ridgewood.
Give me a reason. ANY reason why this is a good idea. Not one word from Valley or its condescending supporters on this front.
There is something so absolutely wrong with this process – the fact that we’re still discussing it is absurd. The Planning Board, particularly Mr. Nalbantian and Ms. Price, is in such obvious cooperation with Valley and their cartoon-like Mr. Drill. Couldn’t they try at least a little to cover their bias?
And you folks that are against the apartments? Are you paying attention? You guys are about to be sold out next so you might want to come to the next Valley meeting to see what’s in store for you. There are exactly the same number of good reasons to build up the CBD but the developers will get the same cozy reception from our public officials. Just watch.
Garage feasibility study planned for Ridgewood and Glen Rock
Tuesday October 1, 2013, 11:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood will pay $2,625, or half the cost, of two studies needed to determine the feasibility of converting unused land adjacent to the municipality’s water treatment plant into a new fleet services facility shared between the village and the Borough of Glen Rock.
A resolution agreeing to fund the work – a site feasibility study and a truck turning analysis – will be considered for adoption on Oct. 9 and is contingent upon similar action by the Glen Rock Council. Village officials said the Glen Rock governing body would discuss the proposal prior to Ridgewood’s upcoming meeting.
Earlier this year, Ridgewood formed a five-member ad-hoc committee with the mission of exploring options to either restore or move the fleet services operation.
The group identified the village’s water treatment plant, situated in Glen Rock, as a potential relocation site.
Senate Dems reject formal talks with House to end shutdown
By Ramsey Cox – 10/01/13 10:01 AM ET
Senate Democrats on Tuesday rejected negotiating with the House on government funding, leaving no clear path for ending the federal shutdown that began overnight.
The Senate voted 54-46 to table a House request for a conference committee on a continuing resolution (CR), marking the third time that Democrats have voted down legislation from the lower chamber since Monday.
“The government is closed,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. “All over America federal employees are getting furloughs this morning … because of the irrationality that is going on in the other side of the Capitol.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Democrats had been rooting for a shutdown all along.
“Democratic leaders in Congress finally have their prize — a government shutdown that no one seems to want but them,” McConnell said. “With just hours left to go Democrats voted again and again to reject reasonable legislation. … They don’t even want to talk about it.”
