Young Men’s Leadership Organization – ages 12 to 21
A Membership Open House will take place for DeMolay Leaders of Bergen County, a young men’s leadership organization for boys age 12 to 21. DeMolay members learn life-skills, responsibility, and cooperation by working together to plan and carry out their customized program of community service, social and sports activities. Come join over 3 million young men in the greatest youth organization ever! Everyone welcome. Additional information can be found at www.njdemolay.org. Dates: Wednesday, September 18; Wednesday, October 2; and Wednesday, October 16 Time: 7:30 pm Location: Fidelity Lodge #113 F&AM 99 S. Maple Avenue Ridgewood contact Advisor Dory Gasorek at 908-432-0800
Consultant: Ridgewood neighborhood would be ‘severely affected’ by Valley Hospital expansion
Tuesday October 1, 2013, 6:49 AM
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD – Nearly 500 people flocked to a school auditorium Monday night to hear a professional planner explain how The Valley Hospital’s plan to expand will have a “major effect” on the neighborhood, and not in a good way.
CHRIS PEDOTA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Valley Hospital
Peter Steck, a community planning consultant hired by the Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, told the board that the amendment to the village master plan that Valley is seeking is an “improper balance” between the hospital’s and community’s needs. Valley needs the master plan alteration to expand on its 15-acre site, seated in the middle of a residential community and next to a middle school.
Members of Concerned Residents, which is opposing the plan, have paid $100,000 to fight the project. They have been attending eight months of hearings but this is the first one where an expert has presented their side of the battle.
Even in shutdown, Feds get overtime, comp time, ‘Sunday pay’
By PAUL BEDARD | SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 AT 2:19 PM
A federal government shutdown will temporarily cut off pay of thousands of Uncle Sam’s workers, but for those considered “excepted employees,” there could be a nice salary bump thanks to rules allowing overtime, compensatory time and other benefits provided to those the administration feels too important to furlough.
In advance of the potential shutdown, the Office of Personnel Management distributed a 30-page “Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs” that spells out who will get what, if anything, if President Obama and House Republicans can’t negotiate a break in the budget stalemate by Monday night, the end of the fiscal year.
Most workers won’t be considered excepted employees, but OPM emphasized that it’s not because their work isn’t valued. “Excepted employees include employees who are performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property or performing certain other types of excepted work,” said the guide.
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As a result, they won’t receive pay during the shutdown, though in the past Congress has approved backpay.
Halperin: Obama Okay with Shutdown Because Media Has His Back
Intentionally or not, Monday on Morning Joe, Time’s Mark Halperin revealed to the world how the American media’s pro-Obama bias will in part be to blame for any coming government shutdown. When asked if President Obama had an incentive to negotiate with the GOP, Halperin explained that, “The White House does not have much incentive. They think the trends are going to go in their direction at the end of the week, or early next week at the latest; because again, the press is largely sympathetic to their arguments on this.”
In short: The government is going to shut down because Obama knows the media has his back and therefore feels no pressure to enter into negotiations that might avert a shutdown. In fact, Obama is apparently okay letting the government shut down because he knows the media won’t make him pay a political price for it.
So what we have here is the media’s pro-Obama bias as a big factor in a potential shutdown.
As we have seen all year, when it comes to settled laws on issues such as gun control, voter ID, and immigration, the media are big believers in the kind of “civil bipartisan compromise” that results in changing those laws — as long as all that “civil bipartisan compromise” comes from the GOP.
But the media have completely abandoned their championing of “civil bipartisan compromise” with respect to this budget crisis, and as a result, Obama knows he has the media on his side and is therefore comfortable in his position not to negotiate. And Obama’s refusal to compromise is hurtling America towards a government shutdown.
Rising polls boost Lonegan campaign in Senate race against Booker
By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger
BOGOTA — Steve Lonegan was 35 points down to Newark Mayor Cory Booker a few weeks ago, but having a good time.
His campaign for the U.S. Senate seemed a desultory sort of affair, not far removed from the kind he ran when he would go house to house, knocking on doors seeking votes to become mayor of Bogota, the blue-collar Bergen County town he still called home, and where he once proposed banning Spanish-language billboards.
Surrounded by a small, young staff of true believers with a devotion toward their candidate bordering on religious zeal (many living at his house, which has become the de facto campaign headquarters), the die-hard conservative was raising money at gun ranges. He does a lot of gun ranges.
He went to Newark to shake hands and tweak Booker, his Democratic opponent in the upcoming Oct. 16 special election to fill the seat of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). He called for the decriminalization of pot. Banning abortions. Killing Obamacare. And he expressed admiration for tea party darling Ted Cruz, the outspoken senator from Texas reviled these days even by some members of his own party.
He made people mad; made them laugh — both favorite pastimes.
Then he woke up one morning last week to find that he was only 12 points behind.
And although many people think a margin of 12 percentage points is not accurate, nor a turning point, officials in this maverick campaign are suddenly in high gear, calling the race far from over.
By Sandhya Somashekhar, Lena H. Sun and Sarah Kliff, Published: September 27 | Updated: Saturday, September 28, 12:07 AM
Buying health insurance will be as easy as purchasing a plane ticket or shopping on Amazon, the president has promised.
Maybe, but perhaps not on Tuesday — the day that millions of Americans are supposed to be able to start buying coverage under the sweeping law referred to as Obamacare.
Widespread reports of computer problems and logistical glitches are casting a pall over what many supporters envisioned would be a triumphant day for the embattled program. State and federal health officials have said in recent days that some key functions of the online insurance sites called “marketplaces” will not be ready right away. Some of the consumer guides meant to help people sign up for coverage are not yet certified to do so.
Some people who had planned events in conjunction with the opening of the marketplaces have called them off.
“We just kind of laughed and said, ‘Well, I guess we’ll have to reschedule,’ ” said Jason T. Andrews, an insurance broker in California. He had planned on Tuesday to get on the state’s online marketplace and enroll a couple of people who were excited about the health-care law and wanted to be among the first to sign up for coverage.
But he hasn’t been certified by the state to do the work. He hasn’t been able to see the exact rates his clients would have to pay on the marketplace. And he’s not confident that California’s site will be up and running, and fully functioning, come Tuesday. California officials insist the marketplace will be ready, and that the brokers will be certified in early October.
Obama administration officials have warned there might be rough spots in the early days. They also have said those problems aren’t likely to prevent people from signing up for coverage that starts Jan. 1, when many of the law’s benefits and consumer protections kick in.
COME ALIVE OUTSIDE – Bike, Hike and Discover Family Event – September 28
“COME ALIVE OUTSIDE” – Bike, Hike and Discover A Village of Ridgewood Community Adventure
Saturday, September 28th, 3 p.m. (raindate 9/29)
Sponsored by Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction, Ridgewood Parks and Recreation, Ridgewood Police Department, Ridgewood Wildscape Association and Ridgewood Cycle Shop, all Village families are invited to set out for this community afternoon adventure. Gather together, have bikes inspected, learn about bicycle safety, and then ride to discover and explore some of our local wildscape park areas. A live animal program and nature scavenger hunt are included as part of the festivities. No fee, but pre-registration is required, ending Sept 27th.
Saturday, Sept 28th (raindate 9/29)
Schedule of Events
Bike Route #1
Ben Franklin School, Twinney Pond, South Pleasant Park
Bike Route #2
Willard School,
Habernickel Park,
Citizen’s Park
3:00 p.m. Bike and meet at either Ben Franklin Middle School (335 N. Van Dien Ave) or Willard Elementary School (601 Morningside Rd).
• Bicycle Inspection
• Review of Bike Safety Rules – youth helmets required, adults encouraged
• Overview of Come Alive Outside and Program Details
3:30 p.m. Bike to either Twinney Pond Park or Habernickel Park following rules of the road and good bike safety.
3:45 p.m. Hike through parks to explore and discover nature. Light refreshments will be available.
4:15 p.m. Presentation – “NJ Native Wildlife” Certified naturalists will introduce animals native to northern NJ and explain their habitat behaviors.
4:45 p.m. Bike to either South Pleasant Park or Citizen’s Park and explore some, then work together to solve the clues and find items for the nature scavenger hunt.
We hope you will join us! Register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person/by mail: The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, weekdays, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Locate the registration flyer on the Recreation homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation. Call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 if more information is needed.
2nd Annual CAREing Hearts Walk for CAH
Benefits CARES Foundation
CARES Foundation, a national organization supporting those affected by the genetic disorder Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), will hold its 2nd Annual CAREing Hearts Walk for CAH on September 28, 2013, in Ridgewood, NJ. Patients, health professionals, families and friends will gather at Wild Duck Pond Park for the 3 mile walk. The Walk will also include a Kids Fun Run and other activities for children. Registration starts at 9am and the Walk kicks-off at 10am. There will be music and raffle prizes too, including the chance to win an Ipad Mini. To register or for more information , visit our website at www.caresfoundation.org. click the following link: https://caresfoundation.kintera.org/NJWalk2013. Those who prefer not to walk can support the event by making donations and spreading awareness. More details are available on our website. This year’s sponsors include Capital One Bank, AFN USA, Almeida & Hudak Contractors, DaSilva Family, Gofman Family, LB Industries, and Raffuel Surety.
Proceeds from the event will benefit CARES’ programs including patient and medical education, research, centers of excellence, EMS protocols for adrenal insufficiency and other programs to benefit the CAH community. CARES Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization is the only US organization that raises awareness, funds research and provides support for families affected by Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), a life threatening adrenal disorder. CAH is a family of genetic disorders affecting the adrenal glands. In the severe form, it can lead to shock, cardiac arrest and death in newborns and emergency situations. The non-classical, milder form of CAH affects 1 in 27 to 1 in 1000 in the general population and can seriously affect quality of life, cause growth and pubertal problems in children, infertility in adults, and other long-term symptoms such as anxiety and depression. For more information on CAH, please visit: www.caresfoundation.org. CARES Foundation 2414 Morris Avenue, Suite 110 Union, NJ 0783 Telephone: 908-364-0272 or toll-free 866-227-3737 Fax: 908-686-2019 https://www.caresfoundation.org
How Tax Reform Can Boost Investment and Economic Growth
International Comparisons Show U.S. Falling Behind
Washington, D.C., September 23, 2013—In a new study by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, Chief Economist William McBride, Ph.D. explains how U.S. tax policy is stifling economic growth and domestic investment, and details five tax reform measures that will strengthen the country’s economic outlook in the competitive global market.
The United States’ low investment and slow economic growth stands in sharp contrast to the high investment and rapid economic growth of China and India, and even the more moderate progress of countries like South Korea, Slovakia, and Estonia.
“Since the 1960s, the higher investment rate of many of our trading partners has shown a strong correlation with economic growth,” said McBride. “This means that in the long run, a growing economy is largely determined by investment. Furthermore, it indicates that if the U.S. increased investment by about 50 percent, growth would likely double.”
“While the rest of the world has been competing for capital, the U.S. remains trapped in a debate over how best to boost consumption,” added McBride. “Perhaps officials are unaware that the U.S. has one of the highest rates of consumption in the world and one of the lowest rates of investment and economic growth.”
In fact, Americans consume about 72 percent of GDP—higher than any developed country except Greece. Meanwhile, Americans invest about 15 percent of GDP—lower than any developed country except the UK. If the U.S. is to achieve even the average economic growth rate among developed countries, it will require boosting investment significantly above current levels.
Tax reform can address these problems. First, corporate investment can be increased by reducing the statutory corporate tax rate, currently the highest in the developed world. Second, improved capital allowances would boost both corporate and non-corporate investment. Third, most business income is taxed under the individual code, so reducing the top marginal tax rate on individual income would also boost business investment. Fourth, reducing relatively high shareholder taxes would reduce the double taxation of corporate investment. Finally, moving to a territorial tax system like that of our major trading partners would allow U.S. multinational corporations to invest more at home and abroad.
Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 395 “How Tax Reform Can Address America’s Diminishing Investment and Economic Growth,” by William McBride is available online. To schedule an interview, please contact Tax Foundation Communications Associate Richard Borean at 202-464-5120 or [email protected].
The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan research organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state, and local levels since 1937.
NJ ordered to strengthen affordable-housing rules
Thursday, September 26, 2013 Last updated: Thursday September 26, 2013, 7:40 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER AND KAREN SUDOL
STAFF WRITERS
The Record
New Jersey is not doing enough to foster affordable housing in every community, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in a major decision that gives the Christie administration five months to draft new housing rules.
The 3-2 ruling is a victory for advocates of affordable housing, who have long argued the state’s latest affordable-housing rules made it too easy for towns, including many in North Jersey, to exclude low- and moderate-income residents through zoning policies.
Though the rules at issue before the court had their roots in the administration of former Gov. Jon Corzine, Governor Christie, a Republican, has been an outspoken critic of the state’s affordable-housing policies which were drafted before he took office, in response to a series of court decisions referred to generally as the Mount Laurel doctrine after the town outside Philadelphia where zoning rules were initially challenged decades ago. The governor has called those policies heavy-handed.
Global warming believers are feeling the heat
By James Delingpole Environment
James Delingpole is a writer, journalist and broadcaster who is right about everything. He is the author of numerous fantastically entertaining books, including his most recent work Watermelons: How the Environmentalists are Killing the Planet, Destroying the Economy and Stealing Your Children’s Future, also available in the US, and in Australia as Killing the Earth to Save It. His website is www.jamesdelingpole.com.
On Friday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change delivers its latest verdict on the state of man-made global warming. Though the details are a secret, one thing is clear: the version of events you will see and hear in much of the media, especially from partis pris organisations like the BBC, will be the opposite of what the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report actually says.
Already we have had a taste of the nonsense to come: a pre-announcement to the effect that “climate scientists” are now “95 per cent certain” that humans are to blame for climate change; an evidence-free declaration by the economist who wrote the discredited Stern Report that the computer models cited by the IPCC “substantially underestimate” the scale of the problem; a statement by the panel’s chairman, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, that “the scientific evidence of… climate change has strengthened year after year”.
As an exercise in bravura spin, these claims are up there with Churchill’s attempts to reinvent the British Expeditionary Force’s humiliating retreat from Dunkirk as a victory. In truth, though, the new report offers scant consolation to those many alarmists whose careers depend on talking up the threat. It says not that they are winning the war to persuade the world of the case for catastrophic anthropogenic climate change – but that the battle is all but lost.
At the heart of the problem lie the computer models which, for 25 years, have formed the basis for the IPCC’s scaremongering: they predicted runaway global warming, when the real rise in temperatures has been much more modest. So modest, indeed, that it has fallen outside the lowest parameters of the IPCC’s prediction range. The computer models, in short, are bunk.
A Perfect Storm in New Jersey’s Senate Race?
By Peter Roff
When New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg died earlier this year, there were few people who believed the Republicans had a chance of picking up the seat. Pundits, conservatives and liberals alike believed Newark Mayor Cory Booker would simply walk into the Senate as Lautenberg’s successor. They didn’t count on former Bogota, N.J. Mayor Steve Lonegan who, according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll, is making it a real race.
Lonegan has been stumping up and down the Garden State making the case for his candidacy while Booker, who has apparently bought into all the pre-election hype, has spent a significant portion of his time campaigning out of state in places like California.
The Quinnipiac poll confirms what several private polls have already shown: it’s a 12 point race. Lonegan is down 41 percent to 53 percent among the 948 likely voters surveyed, meaning it’s still not quite a horse race; but the former businessman and long-time political activist has cut Booker’s lead in half with virtually no money and with almost no outside support.
Why is Lonegan as close as he is? Some people suggest it’s a by-product of the national environment. Voters are looking for an opportunity to register their disapproval with President Barack Obama’s leadership, as reflected in his falling approval numbers, and with his signature health care law, which on paper is scheduled to go into effect shortly but which has been beset by delays that have forced the administration to issue waivers and shift deadlines forward.
Maple Field turf in Ridgewood will get extensive cleanup
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2013, 9:58 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The weathered turf at Maple Park Field will receive a much-needed facelift, and officials are confident the pending work will not interfere with any upcoming sports schedules.
The Ridgewood Council will formally vote Oct. 9 on a capital budget resolution appropriating a total of $41,580 to pay for the complete restoration and extensive cleaning of the artificial turf, which over the past eight to nine years has been reduced to a hard and potentially hazardous playing surface. The village will be reimbursed half the total cost through a Bergen County Open Space matching grant.
Council members initially questioned the project’s high price tag, as previous maintenance at Maple Park did not approach the total of the proposed work. According to Tim Cronin, head of Ridgewood’s Parks and Recreation Department, this restoration project is a different task.
Reader: This will be Ridgewood’s future, more people, declining services, higher taxes. Who’s in?
Developers only need to dazzle a handful of our planning board / council members to take over our community. Our Village is trying to build its way our of a declining budget. Development charges collected from developers and taxes collected from new residents will not even come close to offsetting the costs of new services that such development requires! This is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
It is important that new development disclose its true cost to the community. We need a study that includes traffic impact, financial impact, environmental impact, population and housing impact, schools impact, public facility impact and utility impact and a cost – benefit analysis. In addition, these studies, or analyses, should include a compilation of the cumulative impact of proposed projects along with other recently completed, current and proposed major projects.
Increased population and development create greater demands on a municipality to provide service to existing residents and and new infrastructure to accommodate growth. Towns and Cities throughout New Jersey are experiencing deterioration of their financial health as a direct result and are becoming increasingly unable to provide current levels of service. This will be Ridgewood’s future, more people, declining services, higher taxes. Who’s in?
Obamacare Will Increase Health Spending By $7,450 For A Typical Family of Four
Chris Conover, Contributor
It was one of candidate Obama’s most vivid and concrete campaign promises. Forget about high minded (some might say high sounding) but gauzy promises of hope and change. This candidate solemnly pledged on June 5, 2008: “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year….. We’ll do it by the end of my first term as President of the United States.” Unfortunately, the experts working for Medicare’s actuary have (yet again[1]) reported that in its first 10 years, Obamacare will boost health spending by “roughly $621 billion” above the amounts Americans would have spent without this misguided law.
What this means for a typical family of four
$621 billion is a pretty eye-glazing number. Most readers will find it easier to think about how this number translates to a typical American family—the very family candidate Obama promised would see $2,500 in annual savings as far as the eye could see. So I have taken the latest year-by-year projections, divided by the projected U.S. population to determine the added amount per person and multiplied the result by 4.
