Reader says if you buy on a quiet, tree-lined street, it is reasonable to expect that telephone poles will not double in height
I really feel sorry for the residents. If you buy a house near a hospital, you can expect ambulance sirens nearby. If you buy near train tracks, you can expect to have noise and vibrations. But if you buy on a quiet, tree-lined street, it is reasonable to expect that telephone poles will not double in height and exceed the height of the trees.
However, the PSEG people last night made a lot of sense too. Their description of how that route came to be seemed reasonable. Their explanation of why we need more power also seemed to make sense.
It is not an easy dilemma to resolve. Seems that PSEG is within their rights to move forward, having already been delayed for a month. I think any kind of lawsuit from Ridgewood will be at great expense and with no yield…….except it could make the Mayor look good.
Pucciarelli was great last night. His comments were clearly researched, thoughtful, and sensible. Aronsohn was more or less grandstanding and getting applause, but not offering anything to the conversation.
The people from the neighborhood were awesome, it really is great to see how people can come together as they have. Their presentations were great. Sadly, I do not think they will get their way.
IRS manual detailed DEA’s use of hidden intel evidence
By John Shiffman and David Ingram
WASHINGTON | Wed Aug 7, 2013 11:29pm BST
(Reuters) – Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years.
The practice of recreating the investigative trail, highly criticized by former prosecutors and defence lawyers after Reuters reported it this week, is now under review by the Justice Department. Two high-profile Republicans have also raised questions about the procedure.
A 350-word entry in the Internal Revenue Manual instructed agents of the U.S. tax agency to omit any reference to tips supplied by the DEA’s Special Operations Division, especially from affidavits, court proceedings or investigative files. The entry was published and posted online in 2005 and 2006, and was removed in early 2007. The IRS is among two dozen arms of the government working with the Special Operations Division, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Geeky Tuesday: Egg Drop Challenge Tuesday, August 13 @ 4:00 pm
Grades 6 – 12 Can you create a container that will allow a raw egg to survive a 1-story fall?
Reader’s Choice Book Group Rome by Robert Hughes Friday, August 16 at 1:00 pm
Led by Ginny Hyman
Women & Finance All welcome. Monday, August 19 @ 7pm
Kathleen Entwistle educates and enlightens women on their financial picture, goals and strategies.Kathleen Entwistle, Wealth Advisor, UBS Financial Services
The Ridgewood Public Library is dedicated to providing information, education, culture and inspiration. We encourage our community to pursue life long learning and the enjoyment of books, programs and resources in a variety of formats. We strive to offer the best possible library materials, staff, technology and facility, with ready and equal access to residents of all ages.
125 N. Maple Ave.
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Today 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Grabberts Ouster to cost Village Taxpayers $46,250
August 7,2013
Ridgewood NJ, It was confirmed at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Village Council meeting – Aronsohn, Hauck, and Pucciarelli will vote to oust Village Manager Ken Gabbert by resolution during next week’s public meeting. Riche and Walsh are expected to vote no on the resolution.
Ousting Gabbert will cost Ridgewood’s taxpayers at least $46,250 in termination compensation payment, as per State statue (minimum 3 months pay for involuntary separation). The 3 Amigos may agree to pay him more, just to avoid a lawsuit.
So Aronsohn balked at giving Gabbert a 12% raise, but thinks nothing of shelling out over $45K in termination compensation (maybe more) just because he doesn’t like the guy’s political party affiliation?
Aronsohn should be the one being fired, not Gabbert.
The privilege of voting allows us a say in who will represent and lead us. To be sure our voices carry their proper weight, only those of us who meet the Constitutional qualification of citizenship can vote. To ensure this, our Founders wrote, in the Constitution, that only American citizens, either born or naturalized, could vote. For people who are not citizens or are, in other ways, ineligible to vote, it would cancel out votes by legal citizens and disenfranchise them.
Years ago, when people registered to vote, they showed their birth certificates, citizenship papers, or other documentation, and were then given a voter registration card. This was an important document, because it not only identified your Party affiliation, and proved you were eligible to vote, it prevented you from voting in another Party’s primary to illegally affect its choice of candidate. We also have the FEC (Federal Election Commission) to insure the proper election rules are followed, according to the States’ dictates, as enumerated in Article I Section 4, of the US Constitution, and also make sure the States keep their voter roles free of ineligible voters, and delete the names of voters who have lost their voting priviledge, e.g.- become felons, or died.
Since we usually vote where we live, the “poll watchers” know most of the voters, and only need ask those they are not sure of for their Registration cards. This keeps those who would commit fraud from voting multiple times, or if they are ineligible. Some time ago, for reasons unknown to me it seems they stopped using Voter Registration cards.
Today, there have been so many allegations of voter fraud, that the citizens want the ability returned, to insure voters who come to the polls are entitled to vote. This should be a simple task. More than 90% of all citizens ave driver’s licenses or equivalent DMV-issued ID cards. Passports also serve as valid ID. Any citizen needing an ID can obtain one free at their State Motor Vehicle Agency.
So why do some people, or politically-motivated goups, protest a voter ID requirement, claiming it would disenfranchise “poor people”? I see no valid reason. For decades, voters had to show an ID to vote. Nobody had a problem with this; if you were ineligible you simply didn’t vote. For this reason, I contend that using voter ID in the past caused no problems, and no eligible voters, poor or otherwise, were disenfranchised, voter IDs should be brought back. The reason is that the voting demographics have changed, and the current system, where proof of citizenship is not required to register to vote, or to actually cast a vote, leaves the process open to unimaginable degrees of fraud. It means almost anyone, with no documentation at all, can wind up voting in both Local and National elections. With numbers of known ineligible residents, unimaginably larger than at any point in our history, the possibiity of sufficiently changing the outcome of our elections to reflect the desires of those voting illegally, could easily cause the actual legal American citizens to be disenfranchised, not – as some groups argue, the “poor” people, that the anti-voter ID groups represent, who are mostly here illegally, and ineligible to vote.
A major concern of not knowing if voters are eligible is not just the number of illegals who are registered to vote, and do, but the threat of an “amnesty” for millions of people here illegally. These people would eventually become citizens and legally vote. Historically these illegals have been supported by the Democrats, who see them as a Democratic voting bloc. No matter how hard you try to ignore this bloc’s make-up, or political leanings, it holds the very existence of the United States of America in its grasp. There is little doubt that almost every illegal, courted by the Democrats, who use financial incentives such as free health care, free education, food and housing assistance, and protection from the Immigration Department deporting them, will vote Democratic upon being awarded citizenship.
Like it or not, this aspect of having a voter ID law must be included in any discussion, because the sheer number of illegals would guarantee that the Republicans could never again get enough votes to control the House, the Senate, or the White House, leaving a one-party Government that would be, in reality, a Dictatorship.
For our Government, and our entire way of life as created by our founders, to be overthrown and replaced, because one political party may succeed in granting a group, consisting of millions of Illegal lawbreakers the gift of American citizenship, solely to perpetuate their own power in office, simply cannot be ignored or allowed.
Our own Founders, people like Alexis de Tocqeville, and others, warned of this possibility. It is a weakness inherent in our system of Government, and can only be prevented by a moral and religious citizenry, as noted by James Madison. I believe our morality and our religious roots have been severely damaged, over a number of decades, and the ability to restore them is uncertain.
So I truly believe the issue of whether or not to pass voter ID laws is not a simple issue. It is of the most extreme importance because, seemingly innocuous, the very existence of a future America may be decided by it. You see, the voter ID laws are necessary to hold honest elections. Illegal votes could seat enough pro-amnesty politicians, to push into law total amnesty for those who are here illegally to begin with. Thus would our Federal Republic be toppled by a group of outsiders who broke our laws to come here illegally, to be put in such a position by self-serving traitors. This almost doesn’t seem possible, but it is.
Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce presents:Annual Fall Car Show!!
FREE to the public.
We welcome you to Ridgewood! Live music by Take 4 will keep the evening lively! There will be trophies for many categories and food from local favorites. So come park your car and enjoy an excellent evening in Ridgewood.
The Car show will be held in and around Memorial Park at Van Neste Square and along East Ridgewood Avenue. Non Pre-registered cars will begin registration at 5:00pm. Enter at 133 E. Ridgewood Avenue & Walnut Street. Parking will be on a first come, first served basis. Spaces are limited. Registration fees are not refundable.
Pre-Registration fee by August 16th is $17.00
August 19th – September 6th fee is $20.00
Sponsorships: to display more than one car and have signage for your company.
$500.00 – The Chamber will designate and reserve location of your cars. All cars must be set up by 5:00pm.
$250.00 – Table ONLY which the Chamber will designate and reserve location for table.
Colo. town poised to declare open season on drones, issue drone-hunting licenses
Deer Trail, Colo., is poised to fire a warning shot at the domestic drone industry.
The small town of fewer than 600 people will become the first in the nation to encourage its residents to shoot down the unmanned vehicles if a drone-hunting ordinance passes at Tuesday night’s town council meeting.
In preparation for Tuesday night’s vote, at least 157 people already have signed up for a “drone hunting license,” which costs $25, according to Denver television station CBS-4.
If the ordinance passes, as local officials expect, residents of Deer Trail with a license legally could shoot drones out of the sky. The town plans to offer cash rewards — dubbed “trophies” by local drone opponents — for each downed craft.
“Right now we don’t have drones flying in our skies. We want to keep it that way. … If you don’t want your drone to go down, don’t fly in town. That’s our motto,” Phillip Steel, a Deer Trail resident who drafted the ordinance, told CBS
Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/6/colo-town-poised-declare-open-season-drones/#ixzz2bEAN04fR
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
Global terror alert inconsistent with U.S. portrayal of weakened al Qaida
By Hannah Allam and Lesley Clark | McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s sweeping response to an alleged al Qaida plot – closing diplomatic posts in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia – suggests a terrorist organization that’s capable of striking virtually anywhere, not the one U.S. officials have depicted as a group that’s near defeat.
Counterterrorism analysts said Monday that the U.S. government’s global response to a threat emanating from Yemen, home to al Qaida’s most active affiliate, was at odds with how dismissive President Barack Obama was in a speech in May, when he said that “not every collection of thugs that labels themselves as al Qaida will pose a credible threat to the United States.
State Department to keep some embassies closed, as lawmakers say terror threat ‘specific’ and ‘serious’
The State Department has announced that it will keep several embassies in the Middle East and Africa closed throughout the week “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of terror threats that shut them down.
Posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali and Port Louis have been instructed to close for normal operations from Monday through Saturday, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The State Department also said some of those embassies were already going to be closed in accordance with local customs marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Those authorized to reopen Monday are in Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil.
The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation announce that memberships are on sale for the summer season and all are invited to join the Graydon Pool facility as season members for the 2013 summer season. Come enjoy fun in the sun so close to home!
Pool features include a shaded playground, water play fountains, shade kites, Adirondack chairs, picnic area, sheltered pavilion, charcoal grills, and The Water’s Edge Café. Additional amenities include a lending library of reading books, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong tables, shuffleboard, four-squares and hop-scotch. Special programs include “Storytime Under a Tree” for the little ones on Thursday and swim instruction for children and adults, as well as an adaptive swim class. The Graydon Swim Team welcomes youth members, ages 8 to 14.
Resident fees are $110 per adult, $100 per child (ages 2 through 15) and $20 for seniors (62 and older). Non-resident adults will be charged $175 and children, ages 2 through 15, will be charged $155 for the13 week season.
Badges are on sale and can be purchased from the comfort of home on Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (Visa and MasterCard are accepted). In person registration assistance is available at the Graydon Pool Badge Office, 259 North Maple Avenue. Badges may be purchased daily throughout the operating season, June 1st through Septemer 2nd.
Details are available at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon or you may call the Recreation Office at 201-670-55
New era for Allendale water system
Friday, August 2, 2013
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER
The Record
ALLENDALE — The months-long process of changing over Allendale’s water system management from public to private concluded Thursday with a contract signing at Borough Hall.
Representatives from United Water and the borough gathered at 10 a.m. to ink the five-year, $590,000-per-year deal that will have the utility company handle day-to-day operations for the borough-owned utility.
Allendale will continue to set water rates, but United Water will handle testing, regulation compliance, billing and most of the maintenance as of Thursday, Mayor Vince Barra said.
“The borough is going to be able to avail itself of one of largest and best-run water companies in the country,” Barra said. “They have a tremendous amount of expertise and resources that we don’t have, having had only three employees [in the water department].”
Keeping the borough current with growing state and federal regulations became too onerous for the small municipality, leading officials to send the management of the system out to bid.
It received three bids: United Water’s $590,000 bid, a Ridgewood Water bid for $970,000 and a bid from Newark Water for $1,018,190.
The United bid will save the borough about $193,000 per year, Barra said, money that can go toward capital improvements and stabilizing water rates.
Valley Hospital expansion plan raises many questions
Friday, August 2, 2013
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — It’s a murky task: Keep details such as truck traffic and air monitoring in mind, but don’t make a decision based solely on those factors when determining if The Valley Hospital’s request to nearly double in size should be approved.
That is the charge Planning Board members face when they are expected to vote this fall on a proposed amendment to the village master plan that would allow the larger hospital on the 15-acre site. They need to decide if the inherent benefit of an expanded hospital outweighs the hardship for neighbors and the effect of six years of construction on children going to school next door.
Residents opposed to the plan continue to attend hearings on the project, peppering experts with questions, hoping to illustrate how the construction and complex will affect their quality of life.
“We’re not really sure what Planning Board members can take into consideration when they make their decision,” said Marla Sherman. “We’re not sure how much weight members will give expert testimony versus public input. But I want to be at the meetings so the Planning Board doesn’t take everything Valley is saying at face value.”
Residents said they are fearful the village is on the cusp of having its small-town character permanently altered.
“I really think the Planning Board has to be very careful — Ridgewood could be a whole other town in another 10 years,” said Lorraine Reynolds. “It could go from a nice little town to a city like Hackensack with medical buildings surrounding the hospital instead of single-family homes.”
BID NOTICE – Installation of PUblic Safety Fiber Optic Cable System in Ridgewood and Glen Rock
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Sealed bid proposals will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Level Three (3) conference room at the Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, 07450 on Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at 10:00 A.M., prevailing time, and then publicly opened and read aloud for the following:
“Installation of Public Safety Fiber Optic Cable System for the Village of Ridgewood and the Borough of Glen Rock”
The work of the Contract shall consist of the installation of approximately 138,000 linear feet of fiber optic cable on utility poles throughout the Village of Ridgewood and the Borough of Glen Rock. All fiber optic cable and installation materials will be provided to the successful bidder for installation in accordance with the contract documents.
Specifications and bid forms may be obtained by mail from the office of the Division of Engineering, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 for a non-refundable fee of $25.00 per set of bid documents. Documents may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, Monday through Friday. Prospective bidders requesting bid documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No specifications and/or proposal forms shall be given out after 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 30, 2013.
The contractual obligation of the Village of Ridgewood under this Contract for these items is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for this Contract can be made.
Prices quoted must be net and exclusive of all Federal, State and Local Sales and Excise Taxes. Bids may be submitted in person or by mail, addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any bid sent to it prior to the Bid opening.
Each bid must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the bidder thereon and endorsed, ” Installation of Public Safety Fiber Optic Cable System for the Village of Ridgewood and the Borough of Glen Rock” and must be accompanied by a certified check, cashier’s check, or Bid Bond (Schedule B), drawn to the order of the Village of Ridgewood for ten (10%) percent of the amount bid or $20,000.00 whichever is less; a Consent of Surety (Schedule A); a Corporation or Partnership Statement (Schedule C); a Non-Collusion Affidavit (Schedule D); and a Statement of Responsibility (Schedule E). Any award or partial awards may be made at a later or subsequent time or meeting of the Village Council. All required schedules, that is Schedule A, B, C, D, E, and F, shall be submitted on the forms attached to the bid documents. No other forms will be accepted.
The successful bidder shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, as determined by the New Jersey Department of Labor. All contractors, their subcontractors, and material suppliers shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Public Works Contractor Registration Act, pursuant to Public Law 1999 Chapter 238 and the Contractor Business Registration Program, pursuant to Public Law 2004 Chapter 57. Evidence of satisfactory registrations shall be submitted at the time of the bid. All bids submitted shall contain a copy of the bidder’s New Jersey Business Registration Certificate and a copy of the Certificate of Employee Information Report.
The successful bidder shall furnish and deliver to the Village of Ridgewood a performance and payment bond (Schedule F) in the amount of 100 percent of the accepted bid amount as security for the faithful performance of the Contract. Additionally, the successful bidder shall furnish policies or Certificates of Insurance required by the Contract. In default thereof, said checks and/or bid bond and the amount represented thereby shall be forfeited to the Village of Ridgewood as liquidated damages, not as a penalty.
Proposals submitted by Bidders and/or Bidder’s Insurance Company(is) not chartered in the State of New Jersey, must be accompanied by proper certificate(s) from the Secretary of State, indicating that such Bidders, Bidder’s Insurance Company(is), and/or Surety Company(is)’s is (are) authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informalities or to accept a bid which, in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village. No bids may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the date and time set for the opening of bids.
“BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27). A complete statement as to these requirements is included in the specifications.
Police in Bergen County cheer the rollout of stun guns
Thursday August 1, 2013, 12:04 AM
BY REBECCA BAKER
STAFF WRITER
The Record
After years of frustration, Tasers are in the hands of the first police officers in Bergen County, a move applauded by both law enforcement and civil rights groups as long overdue and a potential lifesaver.
New Jersey has been behind the rest of the world in adopting stun guns as a law enforcement tool. It was the last state in the country to authorize the devices in 2006, and problems with early restrictions, high costs and unanswered questions about liability and training kept them from being issued to police officers in Bergen and Passaic counties.
The problems were largely resolved when the state Attorney General’s Office clarified some of its stun-gun training requirements this year, Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins said at a media event Wednesday announcing the Taser rollout. Two dozen county police officers are authorized to carry Tasers, joining thousands of law enforcement agencies that have used stun guns for decades.
“We were just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place,” Higgins said.
National Security Agency papers released, but concern is growing
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday July 31, 2013, 10:47 PM
BY ELLEN NAKASHIMA
THE WASHINGTON POST
The Record
WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials on Wednesday faced deepening political skepticism over a far-reaching counterterrorism program that collects millions of Americans’ phone records, even as they released newly declassified documents in an attempt to spotlight privacy safeguards.
The previously secret material — a court order and reports to Congress — was released by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing opened Wednesday morning in which lawmakers sharply questioned the efficacy of the collection of bulk phone records. A senior National Security Agency official conceded that the surveillance effort was the primary tool in thwarting only one plot — not the dozens that officials previously suggested.
In recent weeks, political support for such broad collection has sagged, and the House last week narrowly defeated a bipartisan bid to end the program, at least in its current form. On Wednesday, senior Democratic senators voiced equally strong doubts.
“This bulk-collection program has massive privacy implications,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont. “The phone records of all of us in this room — all of us in this room — reside in an NSA database. I’ve said repeatedly, just because we have the ability to collect huge amounts of data does not mean that we should be doing so. … If this program is not effective, it has to end. So far, I’m not convinced by what I’ve seen.”
