Obamacare Call Center Will Not Offer Healthcare Benefits to Employees
By Eliana Johnson
July 26, 2013 6:27 PM
In order to ensure Americans understand how to access the benefits available to them when many provisions of the Affordable Care Act go online October 1, the Obama administration announced last month that it is setting up a call center that will be accessible to Americans 24 hours a day.
One branch of that call center will be located in California’s Contra Costa County, where, reportedly, 7,000 people applied for the 204 jobs. According to the Contra Costa Times, however, “about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits — a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.” The county supervisor, Karen Mitchoff, called the hiring process “a comedy of errors” and said she “never dreamed [the jobs] would be part-time.”
Crackdown on toll cheats heats up
(Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger)
By Star-Ledger Staff
on July 24, 2013 at 9:54 PM, updated July 25, 2013 at 3:00 AM
A pilot program to suspend vehicle registrations of toll violators has been made permanent, the Asbury Park Press is reporting.
The program, which targeted motorists who owe more than $1,000 in tolls from driving on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike, has been in effect since April of last year.
Vehicle registrations for 300 violators have been suspended since then and drivers have paid or agreed to pay $650,000 in tolls and fines, the newspaper reported.
Return of Graydon accessibility device makes no sense
Friday, July 26, 2013
The Ridgewood News
Return of Graydon accessibility device makes no sense
To the editor:
After beating the drum of accessibility for years, Mayor Paul Aronsohn made no objection to Parks & Recreation Department Director Tim Cronin’s decision to spurn the Mobi-Chair.
Graydon’s sole enhancement to accessibility for the disabled was returned to the manufacturer on July 17 after a month long free trial (“Village returns Mobi-Chair after trial at Graydon Pool”; The Ridgewood News; July 19, page A5). Did the chair threaten the 90-foot concrete ramp desired by the mayor?
The Mobi-Chair, used enthusiastically at beaches and other swimming areas worldwide by disabled persons of all ages, drew few users during its trial here. This was seen as proof of failure. Might one reason for the low response be that Parks & Rec never publicized the chair’s presence with a sign, press release, announcement or photo on the village website, or email alert to Graydon badge holders? Might another reason be that Access for All Committee members were discouraged from trying the chair by the mayor, their purported advocate?
Mr. Cronin’s arguments against the Mobi-Chair could be remedied. Not for children? “Our” chair, once returned, was shipped to a camp for disabled children in Massachusetts. No access into the water? Easily effected with a small ramp of sand — natural, available, noninvasive, impermanent, permeable to water. Too simple, no cost, no builder’s contract, no monument to greatness.
Introducing accessibility demands creative rethinking and adjustment; that’s why it’s called “accommodation.” This doesn’t mean a vast concrete expanse over the sand and into the deep end of Graydon would make sense. Even if the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved — it allowed the synthetic turf, after all — the ramp would remain a poor idea.
The Mobi-Chair’s final dip at Graydon was a live demonstration by Mr. Cronin for a couple from Englewood Cliffs. They later purchased a Mobi-Chair from the company to use at the Shore. The husband, who receives therapy at the Kessler Institute, was delighted and said he would sing the chair’s praises there. Still no good?
At least two older people said after the Mobi-Chair’s disappearance that they had hoped to use it soon. But let’s say the near-silence of would-be users truly indicates lack of interest by Ridgewood’s disabled community in swimming at Graydon. Why then build a large, high-priced, less-useful structure that would pose a safety hazard, block the spillway, detract from swimmers’ pleasure, redefine a natural site, involve endless maintenance problems, be far too long for the unsteady of foot, further pave a severe flood area, and sit there 24/7/52 — no return possible?
Village government and staff have behaved shamefully and hypocritically in failing to embrace a high-quality, modestly priced device — at a discount, with a free aluminum sign — that would temporarily have satisfied Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines while representing an important first step toward accessibility at our municipal bathing beach.
Return of Graydon accessibility device makes no sense
To the editor:
After beating the drum of accessibility for years, Mayor Paul Aronsohn made no objection to Parks & Recreation Department Director Tim Cronin’s decision to spurn the Mobi-Chair.
Graydon’s sole enhancement to accessibility for the disabled was returned to the manufacturer on July 17 after a month long free trial (“Village returns Mobi-Chair after trial at Graydon Pool”; The Ridgewood News; July 19, page A5). Did the chair threaten the 90-foot concrete ramp desired by the mayor?
The Mobi-Chair, used enthusiastically at beaches and other swimming areas worldwide by disabled persons of all ages, drew few users during its trial here. This was seen as proof of failure. Might one reason for the low response be that Parks & Rec never publicized the chair’s presence with a sign, press release, announcement or photo on the village website, or email alert to Graydon badge holders? Might another reason be that Access for All Committee members were discouraged from trying the chair by the mayor, their purported advocate?
Mr. Cronin’s arguments against the Mobi-Chair could be remedied. Not for children? “Our” chair, once returned, was shipped to a camp for disabled children in Massachusetts. No access into the water? Easily effected with a small ramp of sand — natural, available, noninvasive, impermanent, permeable to water. Too simple, no cost, no builder’s contract, no monument to greatness.
Introducing accessibility demands creative rethinking and adjustment; that’s why it’s called “accommodation.” This doesn’t mean a vast concrete expanse over the sand and into the deep end of Graydon would make sense. Even if the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved — it allowed the synthetic turf, after all — the ramp would remain a poor idea.
The Mobi-Chair’s final dip at Graydon was a live demonstration by Mr. Cronin for a couple from Englewood Cliffs. They later purchased a Mobi-Chair from the company to use at the Shore. The husband, who receives therapy at the Kessler Institute, was delighted and said he would sing the chair’s praises there. Still no good?
At least two older people said after the Mobi-Chair’s disappearance that they had hoped to use it soon. But let’s say the near-silence of would-be users truly indicates lack of interest by Ridgewood’s disabled community in swimming at Graydon. Why then build a large, high-priced, less-useful structure that would pose a safety hazard, block the spillway, detract from swimmers’ pleasure, redefine a natural site, involve endless maintenance problems, be far too long for the unsteady of foot, further pave a severe flood area, and sit there 24/7/52 — no return possible?
Village government and staff have behaved shamefully and hypocritically in failing to embrace a high-quality, modestly priced device — at a discount, with a free aluminum sign — that would temporarily have satisfied Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines while representing an important first step toward accessibility at our municipal bathing beach.
Marcia Ringel
Co-chair
The Preserve Graydon Coalition
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/217053721_Letter__Return_of_Graydon_accessibility_device_makes_no_sense.html?page=all#sthash.VxhTW3yB.dpuf
‘Real Housewives of N.J.’ cast members set for September court date in Ridgewood fracas
Wednesday July 24, 2013, 6:13 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — Three cast members from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are scheduled to appear before a judge in September to face assault and terroristic threat charges.
Court officials confirmed Wednesday that the criminal cases against “Housewives” star Jacqueline Laurita of Franklin Lakes; her husband, Christopher; and Joe Gorga of Montville would proceed in Ridgewood’s Municipal Court on Sept. 5, starting at 4:30 p.m.
The charges — stemming from a fracas at the grand opening of a salon in Ridgewood — had been referred in April to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for grand jury consideration. But two weeks ago, the matter was returned to Ridgewood for resolution.
Also due in court Sept. 5 is John Karagiorgis of Paramus, who is charged with assault and making terroristic threats as well as three counts of harassment.
Sex, money and lies: ‘Culture of Corruption’ boomerangs on Democrats as scandals blossom nationwide
By Valerie Richardson The Washington Times
The Democratic Party is battling scandals from New York to San Diego and from city hall to Capitol Hill, as the party finds itself on the defensive over embarrassing lapses ranging from sexual misconduct to multiple scandals ensnaring the Obama administration.
President Obama on Wednesday denounced what he called “phony scandals” and “an endless parade of distractions” blocking progress on the economy and other issues, but critics say the controversies underscore the missed opportunities for the president and his party to live up to pledges to clean up politics and break traditional patterns of money, influence and privilege in government.
The scandals have spanned the spectrum from a Democratic mayor in San Diego accused of being unable to keep his hands off his female aides to charges that the administration put the Internal Revenue Service on the trail of its political enemies.
One of Congress‘ most famous Democratic names, the scion of Jesse Jackson in Mr. Obama’s home city of Chicago, was just sent to prison for converting campaign funds to personal use. In Detroit, the ex-mayor and the wife of longtime House Judiciary Committee member John Conyers Jr. have fallen to corruption scandals, while the son of former Democratic Party Chairman Ron Brown admitted last month to bribery charges as a city councilman in the nation’s capital.
Longtime political analyst John Pitney Jr. said the Democrats’ woes can be viewed as examples of history repeating itself and how the enticements of Washington’s political culture can trip up the party in power.
Records of Christine O’Donnell tax snooping disappear
By Seth McLaughlin
The Washington Times
Delaware state officials have told Congress that they likely destroyed the computer records that would show when and how often they accessed Christine O’Donnell’s personal tax records and acknowledged that a newspaper article was used as the sole justification for snooping into the former GOP Senate candidate’s tax history.
The revelations to Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office came Tuesday as the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, the government’s chief watchdog for the Internal Revenue Service, formally reopened its investigation into the matter by re-interviewing Ms. O’Donnell.
Al Qaeda growing, but less focused on US, study finds
The number of Al Qaeda affiliates has expanded, as have their geographic scope, but the terror network has become more diffuse and decentralized, the RAND study found.
By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer / July 22, 2013
Washington
Al Qaeda not only remains a threat to the United States, but its capabilities and scope are expanding, a new analysis from a respected think tank has concluded.
“There has been a net expansion in the number and geographic scope of Al Qaeda affiliates and allies over the past decade, indicating that Al Qaeda and its brand are far from defeated,” argues Seth Jones, an analyst at the RAND Corporation and the study’s author.
Why, after a decade of wars – the longest in America’s history – is the terrorist organization that the US military set out to defeat still active and growing? And does it really have an impact on the everyday safety of most Americans?
There are a few reasons for the growth of the terrorist group, Mr. Jones argues. “One is the Arab uprisings, which have weakened regimes across North Africa and the Middle East, creating an opportunity for Al Qaeda affiliates and allies to secure a foothold.”
This expansion – coupled with the weakness of central Al Qaeda in Pakistan – “has created a more diffuse and decentralized movement,” Jones added in little-noted testimony last week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the topic of “Re-examining the Al Qaeda Threat to the United States.”
NSA Says It Can’t Search Its Own Emails
by Justin Elliott
ProPublica, July 23, 2013, 12:39 p.m
The NSA is a “supercomputing powerhouse” with machines so powerful their speed is measured in thousands of trillions of operations per second. The agency turns its giant machine brains to the task of sifting through unimaginably large troves of data its surveillance programs capture.
But ask the NSA, as part of a freedom of information request, to do a seemingly simple search of its own employees’ email? The agency says it doesn’t have the technology.
“There’s no central method to search an email at this time with the way our records are set up, unfortunately,” NSA Freedom of Information Act officer Cindy Blacker told me last week.
The system is “a little antiquated and archaic,” she added.
I filed a request last week for emails between NSA employees and employees of the National Geographic Channel over a specific time period. The TV station had aired a friendly documentary on the NSA and I want to better understand the agency’s public-relations efforts.
A few days after filing the request, Blacker called, asking me to narrow my request since the FOIA office can search emails only “person by person,” rather than in bulk. The NSA has more than 30,000 employees.
Rewrite of No Child Left Behind Passes House
Lindsey Burke
July 19, 2013 at 3:27 pm
The House has just passed the Student Success Act (SSA), a proposal sponsored by Representatives John Kline (R–MN) and Todd Rokita (R–IN) to rewrite the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The proposal aims to fix some of NCLB’s most egregious policy flaws.
Importantly, the proposal would eliminate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. While AYP sounds like a worthwhile goal, this federal mandate resulted in states watering-down proficiency standards in order to make students appear to reach the mandated target. The SSA would eliminate AYP and allows states to design their own accountability systems, placing this function back at the state and local level, where it belongs.
The SSA would also eliminate the burdensome—and ineffective—Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) mandate. The HQT required teachers of core subjects to be state certified and have a bachelor’s degree. The SSA returns something that should clearly be local school policy to the purview of principals and state leaders. Moreover, literature on teacher certification shows that there is no difference in a teacher’s impact on student achievement if he or she is traditionally certified, alternatively certified, or uncertified. The HQT mandate was a paperwork burden that the SSA would wisely eliminate.
The SSA would also remove maintenance-of-effort regulations that require states to spend money in order to secure federal funding. And it includes strong language clearly delineating that standards and assessments are not to be dictated by the U.S. Secretary of Education—important at a time when the Obama Administration has been pushing states to adopt Common Core national standards and tests. An amendment by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R–MO) further strengthened that provision, providing a “sense of Congress” that “states and local educational agencies should maintain the rights and responsibilities of determining educational curriculum, programs of instruction, and assessments for elementary and secondary education.”
In previous posts, we noted that the SSA in its original form suffered from two major policy limitations: that while it wisely eliminated the burdensome HQT provision, it replaced it with prescriptive language about how local school districts were to evaluate teachers. It also missed an opportunity to allow states to make Title I funding—funding for low-income school districts—portable, following a child to any public, charter, or private school of choice.
Those policy limitations were addressed in part by two amendments to the bill.
Representatives Steve Scalise (R–LA) and Rob Bishop (R–UT) offered an amendment, which was included in the final version of the bill that passed the House today, to remove the prescriptive teacher evaluation language. This amendment was important not because conservatives dislike accountability for teachers; on the contrary, conservatives have long championed tying teacher evaluations to student performance on assessments and linking personnel decisions and compensation to those evaluations. But as originally drafted, the SSA would have mandated such evaluation systems for states and school districts, wresting personnel decisions out of the hands of principals, who would have had to follow Washington prescriptions for how they evaluated their teacher workforce.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R–VA) introduced an amendment, which was included in the bill that passed the House, that would allow states to make their Title I dollars portable to any public or charter school of choice. Full Title I portability—i.e., allowing funds to follow a child to a private school as well—is better policy, but this is an improvement on existing statute.
Which could be the analysis of the policy in the entire SSA. It makes important improvements to NCLB that could significantly reduce red tape for schools. Ultimately, however, conservatives should push to dramatically limit federal intervention in education—not by “fixing” NCLB but by allowing states to completely opt out and spend dollars on their most pressing education needs. The A-PLUS proposal would allow such flexibility, and it remains the bright line in the sand for conservative policymakers interested in restoring state and local control of education.
Ex-Bergen County Democratic Party leader Joseph Ferrier
Bergen County Democratic Party leader Joseph Ferriero – See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/Money_power_and_3_bad_loans_for_top_Bergen_County_Democrats.html#sthash.jBgzV9TD.dpuf
Bergen County Democratic Party leader Joseph Ferriero – See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/Money_power_and_3_bad_loans_for_top_Bergen_County_Democrats.html#sthash.jBgzV9TD.dpuf
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black : Bergen Democrats, Donovan spar over unpaid adviser’s role
Monday July 22, 2013, 10:13 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and the four Democratic freeholders traded barbs Monday over the extent to which she allowed her former campaign manager to play a role as an unpaid adviser, a relationship a Donovan spokeswoman described as “severed.”
The four Democrats were responding to an article in the Sunday issue of The Record in which Donovan distanced herself from Alan C. Marcus, a public relations executive who also served as her transition chairman after she was elected county executive in November 2010.
Donovan, a Republican, said last week that Marcus would no longer serve as an adviser because of his involvement in two recent controversies, which the article detailed through emails and other public documents obtained through requests made under the Open Public Records Act.
One controversy centered on a brief attempt by Bergen Community College officials in April to award Marcus’ firm a $7,500-a-month public relations contract. Marcus turned down the contract and did some work for free after it came under fire from the Democratic freeholders shortly after. Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed documents in the case.
The other involves allegations by a Paramus insurance broker who claims an extramarital affair his wife had with Marcus in 2011 drove the administration’s decision to switch insurance brokers in January.
“I am troubled by what seems to be a violation of the public’s trust by Ms. Donovan and Mr. Marcus,” Freeholder Chairman David Ganz said in a prepared statement. “Alan Marcus was empowered by the County Executive to have an active role within her administration and I’m afraid these allegations may only be the tip of the iceberg.”
Marcus declined to comment on the Democrats’ charges. He has maintained that he has no interest in influencing county contracts and he has denied having anything to do with the insurance contract.
Donovan, however, countered that the Democrats are playing politics and forgetting their own history of scandals that occurred during their previous eight-year rule.
Reader says New NJ Senate Bills gives PSEG diplomatic immunity
Point clearly not lost on this crowd. You wanna talk about a for-profit corporation “taking advantage”? Look at what “they” (no doubt PSE&G and their com-padre utilities have cooking up in Trenton right now.
Following excerpted from pending (NJ) Senate bill no. 2429:
“Any public utility… that clears, moves, cuts, or destroys any trees, shrubs, or plants for the purpose of erecting, installing, moving, removing, altering, protecting, or maintaining any structures or fixtures, necessary for the supply of electric lights, heat, or power, communication or cable television services upon any lands in which it has acquired an easement or right-of-way or upon a public right-of-way, shall not be required to receive the permission of a commission to undertake such work or be subject to any penalty imposed by a shade tree commission.”
North Jersey towns applying lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy
Sunday July 21, 2013, 11:40 PM
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich remembers how difficult it was providing timely information to a frustrated and anxious public plunged into darkness, with no gas and limited or no Internet access, after Superstorm Sandy barreled into the state.
After daily conference calls with utilities and the governor’s office, Sokolich’s staff distributed hundreds of fliers with updates on power restoration, tree removal and street reopenings.
“It was incredibly time-consuming, but it was the only way to reach the public,” said Sokolich, whose borough sustained about $1 million in public damage from the storm.
Sokolich has learned his lesson and is determined not to be caught off-guard again. For example, Fort Lee is launching an emergency radio broadcast system to deliver local alerts.
With two major tropical storms slamming North Jersey in the last two years, municipalities are rethinking how they plan for and respond to natural disasters. In addition to Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and Sandy last year, the region has been subjected to a March 2010 nor’easter and an October 2011 snowstorm, both of which felled thousands of tree limbs and disrupted electrical power to hundreds of thousands. Municipalities now know they have to prepare for more frequent and disruptive weather events, not just occasional tropical storms and annual winter snowstorms.
Detroit and the Bankruptcy of Liberalism
Rich Tucker
July 22, 2013 at 7:00 am
Detroit is a showcase for the liberal agenda — and now it is bankrupt. More than 50 years of control by big-government liberals and union bosses have left a once-great American city crippled and deteriorating.
Last week Detroit became the largest city in American history to declare bankruptcy. Few were surprised, as the city’s been struggling for years.
The unemployment rate in Detroit is 16 percent, more than twice the national average. The city’s government-run schools have failed, with just 7 percent of eighth graders proficient in reading. It takes police about an hour to respond to calls, and the city has more than $18 billion in unfunded liabilities. The city’s population has dropped by a quarter in just the last decade, as hundreds of thousands have voted with their feet and left.
It hasn’t always been this way, of course. For decades, the city of Detroit was a manufacturing powerhouse. The assembly line was perfected there, and brought with it the idea of a middle-class lifestyle based on manufacturing. Tanks and planes made in Detroit helped make the U.S. the arsenal of democracy. And after World War II the city boomed, producing cars that helped make the American dream achievable for millions. Motown Records produced music that defined a generation, with artists who remain household names such as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and the Jackson 5.
Senate Candidate Steve Lonegan Takes the Fight to Newark, Calls Booker Out on Vouchers
“Cory Booker has failed the children, the parents, and the taxpayers of Newark in never providing school choice and never solving the deep problems confronting Newark.”
Irvington Resident Asks Booker to Tell the Truth on Vouchers :“My children don’t have the luxury of waiting another 10 years for our politicians to get their act together.”
NEWARK, NJ – In a press conference in Newark today, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan kicked off his “Exposing Cory Booker” tour by calling on Cory Booker to explain why he never implemented school vouchers for children trapped in Newark’s failing public schools.
In the past, Cory Booker has claimed to support school vouchers, but during his seven years as mayor of Newark, Booker never implemented vouchers. And last week, when called out by Mayor Lonegan, Booker’s campaign said, Booker’s “first priority is strengthening public education,” but “in areas where schools are currently failing our children, however, he believes that parents should have options.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 07/13/13)
“Seven years ago, I was excited when Cory Booker ran for mayor and pledged to make a real difference in Newark’s failing education system,” Mayor Lonegan said. “I was excited because there was finally a Democrat promising to institute real school vouchers in one of America’s poorest cities. But now it’s seven years later, and absolutely nothing has happened.
“Cory Booker has failed the children, the parents, and the taxpayers of Newark in never providing school choice and never solving the deep problems confronting Newark. When a child drops out of school, their chances of turning toward crime goes up; their chances of being trapped in a life of poverty goes up; their chances of being dependent on the government welfare system goes up. All because Cory Booker refused to live up to his promises.
“Last year, Newark passed a milestone when its school budget flew past the $1 BILLION mark, funded by suburban taxpayers across the state. And despite one of the highest per-pupil costs in the nation – at nearly $24,000 – we continue to see massive drop out rates. The graduation rate in Newark is an astonishingly low 29 percent.
“But this isn’t just about statistics – this is about people. This is about children who have been failed by Cory Booker’s education system. Cory Booker can put out all the tweets in the world – it doesn’t change the fact that he has failed a generation of students.
“I call on Cory Booker to say once and for all whether he will support school vouchers in the U.S. Senate or whether he will allow President Obama to deny children the hope of a better future. New Jersey children and parents deserve an answer. Minnie Cuebas, who spoke about how she can’t afford to send her three daughters to private school, deserves an answer. New Jersey voters deserve an answer now.”
Move over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database
by James S. Robbins | Posted by: jamesrobbins1 on July 20, 2013 2:37 pm
Would you trust thousands of low-level Federal bureaucrats and contractors with one-touch access to your private financial and medical information? Under Obamacare you won’t have any choice.
As the Obamacare train-wreck begins to gather steam, there is increasing concern in Congress over something called the Federal Data Services Hub. The Data Hub is a comprehensive database of personal information being established by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement the federally facilitated health insurance exchanges. The purpose of the Data Hub, according to a June 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, is to provide “electronic, near real-time access to federal data” and “access to state and third party data sources needed to verify consumer-eligibility information.” In these days of secret domestic surveillance by the intelligence community, rogue IRS officials and state tax agencies using private information for political purposes, and police electronically logging every license plate that passes by, the idea of the centralized Data Hub is making lawmakers and citizens nervous.
They certainly should be; the potential for abuse is enormous. The massive, centralized database will include comprehensive personal information such as income and financial data, family size, citizenship and immigration status, incarceration status, social security numbers, and private health information. It will compile dossiers based on information obtained from the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration, state Medicaid databases, and for some reason the Peace Corps. The Data Hub will provide web-based, one-stop shopping for prying into people’s personal affairs.
