Readers debate downtown menorah display for Ridgewood
A creche would obviously be allowed given this decision. The Supreme Court has clearly said that you can display religious symbols on public property provided you allow all groups that want to display a symbol to do so.…
Personally, I would prefer none on public property but obviously if there are any then all have to be welcomed. And in this case there is a 50 foot spruce tree that no one wants to give up so I don’t see any other realistic course of action.…
If you watched the meeting DEPUTY MAYOR ALBERT PUCCIARELL AKA BIG AL THE DEVELOPERS FRIEND referred to these thing as “pagan symbols ” I guess his is the only true religion…
The Christmas Tree is just a part of the celebration of a tradition that we have here in America. It is a lot of fun, unfortunately the secular tradition uses the name of a Christian event. Santa is not a part of the story of birth of Jesus.…
The creche would be a religious celebration of Christmas. I am Catholic but I never like to see the two merged together.We should keep all the religious traditions of the season off public property. I enjoy the decorations at Mt Carmel. I do not want to see it placed next to the tree.…
We need a Festivus pole for the rest of us! (Any word from Tracey, the unofficial witch of Ridgewood on what wiccan symbol may be used for the Winter solstice?)…
How about a statue of Budda or Vishnu or what ever else there is? All this pc crap is nonsense….
Senator Paul meeting supporters in New Jersey — at Gran Centurions Clubhouse.
Rand Paul mocks Cory Booker
by ALEXANDER BURNS | 9/11/13 11:16 PM EDT
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took a dim view of Newark Mayor Cory Booker on the eve of a planned trip to New Jersey to stump against the Democratic Senate candidate.
Explaining his decision to campaign for Republican nominee Steve Lonegan on Friday, Paul jabbed at Booker as a politician with “an imaginary friend with imaginary problems” — an allusion to stories Booker has told about a Newark drug lord named “T-Bone,” whom he has said he befriended.
Booker has described “T-Bone” as an “archetype” of Newark, and according to the conservative National Review the Democrat has told at least one associate that “T-Bone” is a composite figure.
“If Cory will introduce me to T-Bone when I get there, I’d love to meet T-Bone. If T-Bone’s not real, maybe we need to get Mr. Booker to talk about real problems,” Paul told POLITICO in an interview.
The senator described Lonegan, who is far behind Booker in the polls for next month’s special election, as a solid conservative and “defender of the Fourth Amendment” who impressed Paul during a visit to Washington over the summer.
Booker spokesman Kevin Griffis responded to Paul’s comments with a broadside at Lonegan, saying that the former Bogota mayor would “raise taxes on the working and middle classes and privatize Social Security, and he even opposed Hurricane Sandy aid.
“As mayor and as a leader of the Tea Party in New Jersey, Mr. Lonegan has only proven that he cares about the plight of the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” Griffis said.
Ridgewood Council endorses downtown menorah display
Thursday September 12, 2013, 4:24 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Ridgewood governing body offered its unanimous support for the addition of a menorah to the downtown winter holiday decorations, a decision that garnered approval and applause from the many residents attending this week’s council meeting.
Additional discussion regarding location and other details, including the size and the total duration of the display, is still required, as is a formal council resolution acknowledging the agreement between the village and sponsoring committee. Mayor Paul Aronsohn said Wednesday that further action will be expedited to ensure the menorah is in place by the start of Hanukkah, which this year begins the eve of Thanksgiving.
Members of the Ridgewood Menorah Committee pitched the idea last month to include a menorah, one of the most notable symbols of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, though the idea has been circulated in the community for nearly two years. According to committee member Nicole Cohen, the group researched ways other municipalities introduced menorahs into their respective towns. Nearly 30 towns in Bergen County incorporate the religious nine-branched lamp stand with their holiday displays.
The committee’s proposal stated, in part, that a privately funded menorah should be placed on the northern side of Van Neste Park, where it would be visible from East Ridgewood Avenue. At the time, members suggested that a menorah would further demonstrate Ridgewood as an inclusive and diverse community.
On Wednesday, nearly two dozen residents turned out in support of the idea, including several religious leaders from various faiths and communities.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/223520701_Ridgewood_Council_endorses_downtown_menorah_display.html#sthash.cooYq1vB.dpuf
Nationally, less than 5% of the population donates blood.In NJ, less than 3% of the population donates.
Thanks to the commitment and generosity of its donors, Community Blood Services has been serving our community’s transfusion medicine needs for more than 60 years. We provide life-saving blood and blood products to hospitals in New Jersey and New York, bone marrow registration and donor services, and public and private umbilical cord blood collection and storage. Our New Jersey Cord Blood Bank is the only public cord blood bank for the State of New Jersey.
It takes all types of donors and the combined efforts of many every day to support our lifesaving mission. Whatever you have to share can help save lives.
It’s easy to organize a lifesaving bone marrow drive with your organization, school, business or place of worship. Call 800-336-3363 or email The HLA Registry for more information. Following are upcoming drives our area.
Readers look for leadership from the President on Foreign Policy
Well… just being a leader (even a bad leader) would be a step in the right direction.
What we have is a president who is easily manipulated and reactive with no real foreign policy goals or objectives.
A policy, a plan, a vision or even the exhibition of any leadership skills would give us a starting point for discussion and the taking of a position for or against that policy.
You can continue to incorrectly interpret my comments as “pro war”, but you would be wrong. You would also be wrong to interpret my comments as “anti war” or even as “neutral”.
It is impossible to take a position on the president’s policy since it changes daily and will likely change again.
For instance, take the speech last night – its initial objective was to convince the public (and congress) to quickly vote on an approval to strike Syria, but it changed to a speech to tell Congress to delay any vote. This entire turnaround in position was due to an off the cuff comment made by the Secretary of State (which opposed an earlier position taken by the president) and an opportunistic position taken by Putin to keep his man in power.
This is an administration with a “driftwood” foreign policy — aka no foreign policy at all or at best a chaotic, unintelligible foreign policy.
How a casual remark put Syria attack on hold
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Last updated: Thursday September 12, 2013, 12:32 AM
BY CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/international/How_an_idea_put_a_Syrian_strike_on_hold.html#sthash.Tg6WW1uC.dpuf
U.S. can’t prove Bashar Assad approved chemical attacks in Syria By Guy Taylor-The Washington Time
Control of deadly weapons in question
U.S. intelligence has yet to uncover evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad directly ordered the chemical attacks last month on civilians in a suburb of Damascus, though the consensus inside U.S. agencies and Congress is that members of Mr. Assad’s inner circle likely gave the command, officials tell The Washington Times.
The gap in the intelligence has raised debate in some corners of the wider intelligence community about whether Mr. Assad has full control of his war-weary Army and their arsenal of chemical missiles, which most likely would be treasured by terrorist groups known to be operating in Syria, said officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence matters.
“If there was a rogue general that did it on his own accord, that would be a bigger problem for Assad, because that would imply that he does not have control of his own weapons,” said one senior congressional source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments on Syria.
Apart from concerns about weapons falling into the hands of such Sunni extremist and al Qaeda-linked groups as the al-Nusra Front, there are also concerns about serious hurdles now likely to lie ahead for the international community trying to assemble a special team to work with Mr. Assad on securing his chemical arsenal.
Some foreign policy insiders, meanwhile, said the lack of specific intelligence about who ordered the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack is the main reason why top Obama administration officials — including the president himself — have in recent days carefully assigned blame to “Assad’s regime” rather than the Syrian leader personally.
Ridgewood’s policy on school cheating tweaked
Tuesday September 10, 2013, 10:36 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood High School (RHS) has revised its student Academic Integrity Policy (AIP) this year, adding mention of specific penalties and details about what constitutes cheating.
The revision reflects the district’s interest in preparing students for college and also combating the sometimes unintentional cheating by students who, while increasingly using technology, are becoming more accustomed to sharing information online.
According to RHS Principal Tom Gorman, the policy used to be much shorter, but the district wants to be more explanatory.
He noted that students have been asked by email to take a quick online tutorial about the new policy and also about the district’s Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying policy. Students should complete the tutorial by the start of the school year, he said.
“We really worked on the policy,” Gorman said at a recent Board of Education (BOE) meeting. “It really spells it out.”
In a letter emailed to parents and students this month, AIP violations “include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, and unapproved collaboration,” Gorman said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/223129941_Ridgewood_s_policy_on_school_cheating_tweaked.html#sthash.CWyeCFFQ.dpuf
Mystery deepens over $10 World Trade Center deal
Monday, September 9, 2013 Last updated: Monday September 9, 2013, 10:15 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The Port Authority said Monday that it had no record of its governing board approving a 1986 deal that handed over ownership of the World Trade Center name for $10. And the agency’s top executive at the time said he didn’t recall it ever coming across his desk.
That added to the mystery surrounding how the Port Authority came to sell the vaunted name of its Manhattan landmark to a group run by a retiring agency executive who made millions in the years that followed.
The Christie administration, which jointly steers the agency with New York’s governor, slammed the deal on Monday, in response to a story in The Record a day earlier.
“You can be sure that would never happen under this administration,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said. “I’d venture to say that if something like that was done today, it would probably draw the attention of the United States Attorney’s Office.”
The World Trade Centers Association, meanwhile, defended its stewardship of the name it inherited a quarter-century ago, and said the deal was far from a “secret” pact, as described by the Port Authority’s deputy executive, Bill Baroni, a Christie appointee. Baroni, who was appointed in 2010, said he had never dealt with the group and called for a “review” of its activities.
The WTCA said it had struck an agreement with the bi-state agency as recently as 2006 that allowed the Port Authority to use the name on the buildings now under construction to replace the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan. The two organizations recently began a new round of negotiations over the Port Authority’s plans to sell merchandise that carries the World Trade Center brand name.
Ridgewood residents address utility board with concerns over tall poles
Monday September 9, 2013, 11:46 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
More than 30 Ridgewood residents attended a hearing of the state Board of Public Utilities on Monday night to complain about the recent installation by the Public Service Electric & Gas Co. of taller utility poles in the village.
The hearing, which was held in the Bergen County Administration Building in Hackesnack, came two months after residents first complained about the 65-foot wooden poles, which soar above the treetops along Spring Avenue and Hope Street.
PSE&G officials say the new poles are necessary to connect high-voltage lines from a Fair Lawn substation with one in Paramus. They can handle wires transmitting up to 69,000 volts of electricity, PSE&G officials claim.
The BPU, which regulates all utilities in the state, scheduled Monday’s hearing last month in response to a petition signed by Ridgewood officials. Residents and members of the Village Council members say they are concerned that the new poles will pose a health hazard and that they will diminish property values in Ridgewood.
Some residents said they were concerned about the health effects of a chemical preservative coating the new poles. Alyssa Steinberger, said the poles give off a strong odor and that a number of residents, including children, have had bloody noses and exhibited bronchitis-like symptoms since the poles were put in place.
COMMON CORE PRESS CONFERENCE AT NEW JERSEY STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION : KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STEVE LONEGAN
100 RIVER VIEW PLAZA – ROUTE 29, TRENTON, NJ
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 @ 1 PM
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STEVE LONEGAN WITH KIM BARRON (Bergen County); BARBARA AND BILL EAMES (Morris County); JAN LENOX (Concerned Citizens of Southern New Jersey) ROSEANN SALANITRI (Sussex County); NEWARK PARENTS; CAROLEE ADAMS; MORE.
This press conference precedes the last 2013 “Open Topic” session of the New Jersey State Board of Education that begins at 2 p. m. Registration for Personal Testimony at the session has passed. However, everyone is welcome to attend in addition to the Press Conference. If anyone else would like to speak at the Press Conference, please advise me no later than monday: [email protected]
Yogi Bear and the National Park Services denies 2 million bikers to ride in DC in honor of those who died on 9/11
NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE SAYS IT DENIED 2MILLION BIKERS TO DC PERMIT BECA– USE OF TRAFFIC DISRUPTION, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT From dcist.com
The conservative blogosphere has been buzzing today with news that the D.C. has denied a permit to 2 Million Bikers D.C., a group that’s planning a motorcycle rally on September 11 in response to the Million Muslim March planned for the same day.
The National Park Services confirms that it has denied the permit for the ride-only, non-stop event after looking at it in terms of disruption and resource management.
NPS spokeswoman Carol Johnson said the group’s permit application was examined like all others, using the Code of Federal Regulations. Johnson said the group had asked to ride through what’s called Memorial Core, near the Memorial Bridge, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 2,000 motorcyclists. NPS decided that the large ride would require closures of important roadways, block access to Rock Creek and George Washington Parkways and would cause a severe disruption to traffic. A police escort would also be needed.
“It’s just a case of what they asked for in the permit applications,” Johnson said.
Belinda Bee, an organizer of the event, said she participated in a conference call with Sheila Gotha-Samuels, a permit assistant at the NPS, who said the permit was denied.
“She said it’s a weekday and the residents of D.C. would not like y’all very well,” Bee said, adding that they applied for the permit so they could “get in and out of D.C. as fast as possible.”
Bee said the group will still ride without a permit, which she said they didn’t need in the first place.
Johnson, however, said that Gotha-Samuels did not speak to the group about the application, which was denied by Robbin Owen, Chief of Park Programs.
“[Gotha-Samuels] did receive a call today from someone saying they were calling her because they had talked to her before, but they had not,” Johnson said. “She told them she didn’t know what they were talking about, explained that Robbin Owen handled the application and offered to forward the call to Robbin’s voicemail since she is off today.”
Bee said she has proof of the conference call and has provided it to The Blaze.
In case you’re not a regular reader of Twitchy or The Blaze, the Million Muslim March is being organized by American Muslim Political Action Committee, a fringe group led by a 9/11 truther. The 2 Million Bikers to D.C. Ride was then planned with the following goals:
1. WE, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, WILL STAND BY OUR CONSTITUTION (AS WRITTEN, NOT AS INTERPRETED BY THE THIS OR ANY PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION), WE WILL STAND BY OUR BILL OF RIGHTS (AS WRITTEN) AND WE STAND FOR AMERICA! 2. THIS EVENT IS TO OUR HONOR AND RESPECT THOSE WHO WERE KILLED ON 9/11 AND THEIR FAMILIES! IT IS ALSO IN REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE IN ALL OUR ARMED FORCES WHO FOUGHT THOSE WHO PRECIPITATED THIS ATTACK! 3. WE STAND AGAINST ANY “FUNDAMENTAL TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA” BY THIS ADMINISTRATION OR ANY PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION! 4. WE WILL NOT STAND DOWN WE WILL STAND UP IF NEED BE FOR OUR LIBERTIES. ** THIS IS A PEACEFUL “RIDE”. WE ARE NOT PROMOTING NOR DO WE CONDONE VIOLENCE OF ANY KIND! WE ARE RIDING TO SHOW OUR LOVE OF AMERICA AND THE SHINING EXAMPLE OF FREEDOM THIS COUNTRY PROVIDES TO THE WORLD!**
Politico: Cory Booker, liberal celebrity?
By MANU RAJU | 9/8/13 7:06 AM EDT
NEWARK, N.J. — Ambitious and Ivy League-educated, he’s a young African-American Democrat calling for a new era of post-partisanship in Washington.
Sound familiar?
But Cory Booker — who would be just the fourth popularly elected black senator if he wins — says he “would never want to be the next Barack Obama.”
“No,” Booker said flatly when asked if he could see himself in the White House someday. “I can see myself in a house painted white one day and get out of the house I’m in right now.”
The 44-year-old Newark mayor doesn’t want to follow in Obama’s footsteps — at least that’s what he claims. But as he appears poised to become the next New Jersey senator in the Oct. 16 special election, the two-term mayor may end up voting well to the left of the president — and become the biggest Democratic celebrity in town.
In a wide-ranging interview here, Booker said he’s opposed to trimming benefits on entitlement programs, even as the president has considered doing so as part of deficit talks. He said the bad actors from the 2008 financial crisis should “absolutely” go to jail, even as the administration has yet to put shackles on top Wall Street executives. Booker “absolutely” supports medical marijuana, even as the president is reluctant about legalizing it.
And Booker added that he’s deeply skeptical about military engagement in Syria, even as Obama calls for strikes against the Bashar Assad regime.
(Also on POLITICO: Booker: ‘My sexuality is not an issue’)
“My default position is against military engagement,” Booker said, though he cautioned he had not been privy to classified intelligence on Syria. “When it comes to my values, I’m a person who believes that America should do everything it can to promote, maintain and ensure peace.”
During his time in Newark, Booker has sparked liberal ire over his friendship with GOP Gov. Chris Christie, rankled some local Democrats and infuriated the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg and his inner circle. But despite that, Booker could very well be exactly what Democrats in Washington want: a liberal celebrity. Democratic leaders are eager for Booker to hit the fundraising circuit, stump for their candidates and energize their party in a way that virtually no other Senate Democrat can effectively pull off.
In some ways, Booker may end up being the Democrats’ version of Marco Rubio: an attractive, eloquent and press-savvy pol whose core beliefs are firmly in line with his base — but who may break from his party from time to time.
While Booker’s style has irked some Democrats, he has only sparingly broken with the left , like on school vouchers and education reform. Asked to identify the issues in which he splits from his party in Washington, Booker couldn’t do it. “In some ways, you’re going to have to tell me that. I know where I’m passionate, and I don’t first ask, ‘Does my party agree with this or not?’”
West Bergen Tea Party Presents Bergen County Administrator Edward Trawinski
“Bumping Rights” Civil Service Reform
Join us 7 pm, Tuesday, September 10 , At the Larkin House , 380 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff (1/4 mile North of Stop & Shop on the right)
Prior to accepting his current position as Bergen County Administrator in January of 2011, Ed Trawinski was a partner with the law firm Schenck, Price, Smith & King, LLP, a preeminent regional law firm located in Florham Park which celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2012. He is a past member of the firm’s management committee. His practice centered on all types of real estate, land use and corporate transactions, financing, construction, environmental matters and leasing. He served as a Bergen County Condemnation Commissioner. Mr. Trawinski, a licensed, instrument-rated pilot, also practiced in the area of aviation regulatory law.
Mr. Trawinski joined the Kean Administration in 1988 as Assistant State Commerce Commissioner. While in Trenton, he directed programs designed to promote job growth and economic development and supervised the overall administration of the Department of Commerce and its offices of Economic Research, Division of Development for Small, Women and Minority Owned Business and Legislative Liaison. Mr. Trawinski served as the lead negotiator for New Jersey’s team for entities moving into the NJ waterfront development areas and chaired or served on numerous commissions, boards and authorities to help promote the economic development of New Jersey small business and enterprise zones. He served as special counsel to the Peapack Gladstone Land Use Board, counsel to the Boonton and Hasbrouck Heights Planning Boards, special counsel to the Teaneck Planning Board and counsel to the NJ Managed District Association and the Passaic River Coalition. He served as an Assistant Counsel to the NJ Planning Officials. Mr. Trawinski has also published and lectured extensively on corporate and land use topics.
Committed to community and political activities, Mr. Trawinski has served as a Fair Lawn Council member and Mayor, and currently serves as Deputy Mayor. He is a Trustee of St. Anne’s Church and is a member of the parish finance council. He is also a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award from the New Jersey Department of Commerce Division for the Development of Women, Minority Owned, and Small Businesses. He is a founding member and past Chairman of the Morris County Economic Development Corporation, where he served on the Board of Directors. He currently serves as a member of Bergen County Economic Development Commission and on various boards and authorities as the County Executive’s Designee.
Mr. Trawinski is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey and before the United States Tax Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Bergen and New Jersey State Bar Associations.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in history from Fordham University, Mr. Trawinski received his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in 1974 and a Masters of Law in Taxation from NYU Graduate Law School in 1979. A lifelong resident of Bergen County, Mr. Trawinski is the father of three children and proud grandparent of four grandchildren. He and his wife Diane reside in Fair Lawn.
More Information: 201 891-5918 ,[email protected] , https://www.westbergenteaparty.com/
Reader says Ridgewood Schools embrace differences and want nothing to do with traditional families who identify as Americans.
Diversity as long as every student learns in the “lecture and yawn” classes. There is no imagination and no attempt to engage the students.
They embrace other cultures. We have Asian Festival but do not even think about Christmas. RPS want nothing to do with the traditions of families who identify as Americans.
My family celebrates the birth of Christ and the secular arrival of Santa on December 25.
We sing religious and non religious Christmas songs. We buy presents for families in the area who need gifts for themselves and their children.
To avoid the dreaded Christmas celebrations several years ago Somerville school had a 4th of july party on the last day of school before Christmas break. I think that the Fourth of July celebration in December ended quickly because it confused everyone. It was just another “holiday” to prepare for in an already busy holiday season.
BPU Hearing on Ridgewood PSE&G Pole Project – Tonight Monday, September 9th
The Board of Public Utilities (BPU), the State regulatory agency, will hold a hearing on PSE&G’s regional transmission upgrade project. The project includes installing 90 65 feet tall utility poles with 69-Kv lines in Ridgewood. The hearing will take place at 6PM in the Freeholder’ Public Meeting Room at the Bergen County Administration Building in Hackensack.
In the Matter of the Letter Petition of the Village of Ridgewood Concerning Installation of Electric Utility Poles and Appurtenant Facilities by PSE&G in the Village of Ridgewood
– BPU Docket No EO13080751
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“Board”) hereby gives notice of
an evidentiary hearing,regarding the above noted matter,on September 9, 2013, at
6:00 P.M. to be held at:
Bergen County Administration Building Freeholders’ Public Meeting Room # 540 1 Bergen County Plaza Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
On August 15,2013,the Village of Ridgewood (“Village”) submitted a letter petition to the Board requesting a hearing concerning (1) the installation of electric utility poles in the Village;(2) the continuation of a moratorium of any work to be performed by PSE&G during the course of the review/hearing process; and (3) expedited hearing process and review of the petition.PSE&G responded to that petition on August 16, 2013.
In light of the emergent nature of this request, Commissioner Joseph Fiordaliso
has been designated to act as the hearing officer at the above noticed hearing. A court reporter will be transcribing these hearings ,and all remarks will be made part of the final record in this matter.
Written comments may also be submitted to the Board by September 6, 2013 referencing the official docket number of this case
to the address shown above
.
Any questions regarding the upcoming evidentiary hearings should be directed to
BPU Legal Specialist Bethany Rocque -Romaine,Esq.at (609) 292-1496
