Cory Booker’s Welfare Plan Will Bankrupt America
July 10,2013
“Cory Booker’s plan to increase welfare benefits and government handouts is even more extreme than any of the left-wing ideas the Obama administration has proposed…”
Ridgewood NJ, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan denounced Cory Booker’s plan to increase government welfare programs. “Cory Booker’s plan to increase welfare benefits and government handouts is even more extreme than any of the left-wing ideas the Obama administration has proposed,” Mayor Lonegan said. “It’s proof that not only will Cory Booker be a rubber stamp for President Obama in the U.S. Senate, he will go even further – increasing the deficit further, destroying more jobs, and making even more Americans dependent on the federal government.”
“It is these kinds of welfare programs that ruined great cities like Newark, and now Cory Booker wants to force these same failed ideas on the rest of the nation. As a U.S. senator, I will work to undo these policies and fight for less government, more personal responsibility, and greater individual liberty.”
Docs: Justice Department facilitated anti-Zimmerman protests
A division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was deployed to Sanford, Florida in 2012 to provide assistance for anti-George Zimmerman protests, including a rally headlined by activist Al Sharpton, according to newly released documents.
The Community Relations Service (CRS), a unit of DOJ, reported expenses related to its deployment in Sanford to help manage protests between March and April 2012, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch.
CRS spent $674.14 between March 25-27 related to having been “deployed to Sanford, FL, to work marches, demonstrations, and rallies related to the shooting and death of an African-American teen by a neighborhood watch captain.” CRS spent another $1,142.84 for the same purpose between March 25-28.
The Christie administration has conditionally approved New Jersey’s first graduate education program not affiliated with an in-state college or university, stirring up the state’s teacher education establishment in the process. NJ Spotlight
Reader suggests , Ridgewood’s time-honored source of relief for summer heat is a cool dip at Graydon.
Reader suggests , Ridgewood’s time-honored source of relief for summer heat is a cool dip at Graydon. The bike rack is in the parking lot.
The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation announce that memberships are on sale for the upcoming 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 201-670-5560 with any questions or if special accommodations are needed.
Protecting Educational Freedom This Independence Day: Cracks in the Common Core
Lindsey Burke
July 4, 2013 at 10:57 am
Just in time for Independence Day, the foundations of the Common Core initiative are showing some cracks.
Common Core is an effort to establish national standards and tests to define what every child in public school will learn. It has been heavily incentivized by the Obama Administration and is an unprecedented federal overreach into local school policy. But recent moves in several states across the country could mean that curriculum freedom remains alive and well.
On Monday, Oklahoma superintendent of education Janet Barresi announced that the Sooner State would be pulling out of the Common Core testing consortia. Barresi told the Tulsa World that because of myriad technical problems with the assessments and higher anticipated costs, “If we move ahead with this, we are going to be asking the state to drink a milkshake using a cocktail straw.”
Oklahoma’s withdrawal follows Alabama, which also withdrew from the common assessments earlier this year. Both states still plan to follow the Common Core standards but will be assessing how students perform on those standards with tests they have chosen.
Some states have gone a step further to ensure educational freedom. Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) has paused implementation of Common Core for the next year, allowing the state to assess the cost to taxpayers and affording the Indiana Department of Education and a legislative study committee the opportunity to determine whether Common Core standards are superior to Indiana’s existing standards.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett (R) has likewise hit the pause button on Common Core standards implementation, allowing time for the standards to be approved by the legislative education committees and the state’s Regulatory Review Commission. And in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed a budget prohibiting any new state funds from being expended on Common Core implementation.
Other states might reconsider their Common Core involvement. Early adopters such as New York and Kentucky are now experiencing implementation problems. In North Carolina, the state board of education has decided to review the standards over the next few months. Lieutenant Governor and state board of education member Dan Forest worries that “in the rush to roll out Common Core, I am not convinced the proper due diligence has been conducted to properly budget for this monumental expenditure for our state.”
Utah, Colorado, South Carolina, and Kansas have had heated debates about the merits of Common Core and the certain loss of educational autonomy associated with the effort. At a minimum, they would be wise to follow the lead of Indiana and “pause” implementation to determine the costs and quality. Better still, they should pull out completely from the Common Core national standards and work to strengthen and improve their own state standards.
The Founders placed the important job of educating America’s children with states, localities, and, most critically, parents. The Constitution does not contain the word education, even though its architects believed in its supreme importance. “I look to the diffusion of light and education as the resource to be relied on for ameliorating the condition, promoting the virtue, and advancing the happiness of man,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. The Founders would have likely seen the prospect of a national curriculum as a monumental government overreach.
As we celebrate our Independence this week, it’s a good time to recommit to restoring the educational freedom our Founders envisioned.
Family Day – GREAT RIDGEWOOD DUCK DERBY – THIS SUNDAY – JULY 14
THE GREAT RIDGEWOOD DUCK DERBY
Join us for a special family day on Sunday, July 14th (raindate 7/21) as we join the “Come Alive Outside” national initiative. Co-sponsors include Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction and Whole Foods.
The fun will begin at 3:30 and last all afternoon at Graydon Pool and surrounding parklands. The day will offer a barbeque, musical entertainment, beach games, a sand sculpture contest and Duck-or-ation station, all culminating with a rubber duck race in the HoHoKus Brook.
The cost is $5 per person which includes a barbeque ticket and one rubber duck.
Register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (Village Parks and Recreation) or download the registration form on the Graydon Pool homepage at www.ridgweoodnj.net/graydon.
Please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with any questions or if special accommodations are needed
RFP – Long Term Ground Lease Development on Blk 3703 Lot 12 E Ridgewood Av
Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Level 4 Courtroom, at the Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, on Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. prevailing time, then publicly opened and read aloud for:
“Request for Proposals
For the
Long Term Ground Lease for Development
On
Village Owned Property Block 3703, Lot 12 East Ridgewood Avenue
Village of Ridgewood Bergen County, New Jersey”
The Village of Ridgewood is seeking proposals from qualified firms for an as-of-right project to develop Lot 12, Block 3703 into a first class, two story facility conforming to current zoning code, sympathetic to adjacent local conditions.
The RFP package may be obtained from the Engineering Division Offices, Level 3, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, (201) 670-5500, extension No. 238. Proposal packages may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, Monday through Friday. The proposal may also be downloaded from the Village’s website, however prospective respondents are responsible to register with the Village in the event any addendum are issued. Prospective respondents requesting proposal documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No proposal forms shall be given out after 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 30, 2013.
All prices quoted in the proposal must be net and exclusive of all Federal, State and Local Sales and Excise Taxes. Proposals may be submitted in person or by mail prior to the proposal opening, addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any proposal sent to it prior to the date and time stated for receipt of proposals.
Each proposal must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the respondent thereon and endorsed, “Request for Proposals for the Long Term Ground Lease for Development on Village Owned Property Block 3703, Lot 12 East Ridgewood Avenue Village of Ridgewood Bergen County, New Jersey”.
All respondents shall present satisfactory evidence of being authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. All respondents shall also provide a copy of their New Jersey Business Registration Certificate with their proposal. Additional requirements for submittal are presented in the RFP. All respondents shall adhere to the requirements presented in the “Request for Proposals”. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any informality or to accept a proposal, which in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village.
” 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 Request for Proposals.
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FOR BERGEN COUNTY THROUGH 8 PM
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING. THE HEAT ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
* LOCATIONS…EASTERN PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.
* HAZARDS…EXCESSIVE HEAT.
* HEAT INDEX VALUES…UP TO 105 DUE TO TEMPERATURES IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 90S…AND DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 70S.
* TIMING…TODAY…WITH THE HOTTEST CONDITIONS OCCURRING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.
* IMPACTS…SENSITIVE POPULATIONS WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS 105 DEGREES OR GREATER. TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE…RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK
PLENTY OF WATER.
TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE
OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY…CALL 9 1 1.
Event Description:
Excessive Heat Warning
Instructions:
TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE…RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) said that the next stages of the IRS scandal will likely focus on the tax agency’s alleged abuse of power in areas like politically motivated audits and leaking of personal information.
“I think what we’re going to find out and I think that the deeper part is not so much the Tea Party and the ‘Patriot’ and those people who were targeted, but the information that has been leaked,” Kelly, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which is conducting one of the congressional investigations into the matter, said in a phone interview.
“The information that the IRS has on file on people goes pretty deep into personal lives. It is being leaked out and given to people for very specific political reasons. I think this is something that should be the most chilling thing for Americans to understand.
“This is a branch of government and it is under the executive branch that can be used for a lot of different intimidation elements. Think of what these people have, think of what they have on everybody. If they leak that out to the right person at the right time in the right movement that’s looking to do something, they can completely destroy individuals.”
Kelly believes the revelation the IRS targeting of various conservative organizations was just the beginning of a larger scandal that will continue unraveling. Kelly sees this burgeoning scandal cutting to the core of the IRS as a whole, and likely tying in more prominent Obama administration officials.
Bloomberg/BizWeek Acknowledges ‘Obama Call for Muslim Brotherhood Role’ in Egypt
By Tom Blumer | July 07, 2013 | 01:04
Nicole Gaouette and John Walcott at Bloomberg BusinessWeek have revealed that the Obama administration has specifically stated that it wants the Muslim Brotherhood to have a role in any new Egyptian government. Meanwhile, other news outlets, particularly the Associated Press, have avoided disclosing that specific detail.
There are two “little” problems with the administration’s disclosed position. The first is that now-deposed Mohammed Morsi’s final speech on Tuesday was seen as a promise that there would be civil war if he were ousted. The second is that Morsi supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups have promised to carry out a campaign of terror until Morsi is reinstalled, and are keeping that promise. Those two factors should objectively disqualify the Brotherhood’s involvement. Excerpts from the Bloomberg pair’s report follow the jump (bolds are mine):
Obama Skips Past Congress Again With Health Mandate Delay
By Steven T. Dennis and Matt Fuller
Roll Call Staff
July 5, 2013, 2:29 p.m.
A constitutional law professor at George Washington University said that Obama “has been far more aggressive in circumventing Congress and far more successful in creating an imperial presidency” than Bush.
President Barack Obama’s latest legal end run around Congress — delaying enforcement of the employer health mandate — has sparked more questions about whether he’s abusing his executive discretion under the Constitution.
The move announced late Tuesday was the latest in a string of decisions where the president, facing a divided Congress unable to get much done beyond keeping the government running, has taken matters into his own hands.
Where a previous president might have asked for a legislative fix if a mandate was proving too onerous for business, the Obama administration put out a couple of blog posts saying that, in listening to the business community, it decided not to enforce a key part of the 3-year-old health law for another year.
The administration notes that parts of laws are delayed in implementation all the time — including various pieces of the tax code.
– See more at: https://cdn.rollcall.com/news/obama_bypasses_congress_again_with_health_mandate_delay-226124-1.html?popular=true&cdn_load=true&zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1#sthash.fvVIVoN5.dpuf
Bergen leads N.J. surge in auto sales
Saturday July 6, 2013, 11:41 PM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY AND ADAM OFFITZER
STAFF WRITERS
The Record
With Bergen County leading the way, new-vehicle registrations in New Jersey are soaring to heights not seen since the start of the recession, and both car-industry insiders and economic experts say it’s a clear sign of a big improvement in the overall economy.
Spurred by a pent-up desire to replace their aging cars and continued low interest rates, customers are flocking to new-car lots, boosting the hopes of dealers that they have finally put behind them the bad times that sent the industry into a recession-fueled downward spiral of bankruptcies, dealership closings and limp sales.
By the numbers
After slumping during the recession, auto sales by North Jersey dealers showing signs of reviving.
Sources: R L Polk & Co., Dave Sheingold/staff analysis
New Jersey registered about 198,000 new cars and trucks in the first five months of this year, a pace that, if it continued through December, would total about 475,000 in 2013 — just short of the 498,000 registrations in pre-recession 2006.
Sales in Bergen are up 14.6 percent in the first two months of 2013 over the same period in 2012, the biggest increase in the state.
Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. Reduce, eliminate or reschedule strenuous activities. High-risk individuals should stay in cool places. Get plenty of rest to allow your natural “cooling system” to work. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Many heat emergencies are experienced by people exercising or working during the hottest part of the day.
Avoid too much sunshine. Sunburn slows the skin’s ability to cool itself. The sun will also heat the inner core of your body, resulting in dehydration. Use a sunscreen lotion with a high sun protection factor (SPF) rating.
Postpone outdoor games and activities. Extreme heat can threaten the health of athletes, staff, and spectators of outdoor games and activities.
Avoid extreme temperature changes. A cool shower immediately after coming in from hot temperatures can result in hypothermia, particularly for elderly and very young people.
Stay indoors as much as possible. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor, out of the sunshine. Even in the warmest weather, staying indoors, out of sunshine, is safer than long periods of exposure to the sun.
Keep heat outside and cool air inside. Close any registers that may allow heat inside. Install temporary reflectors, such as aluminum foil covered cardboard, in windows and skylights to reflect heat back outside.
Conserve electricity not needed to keep you cool. During periods of extreme heat, people tend to use a lot more power for air conditioning. Conserve electricity not used to keep you cool so power can remain available and reduce the chance of a community wide outage.
Vacuum air conditioner filters weekly during periods of high use. Air conditioner filters can become clogged or filled with dirt, making them less efficient. Keeping them clean will allow your air conditioner to provide more cool air.
If your home does not have air conditioning, go to a public building with air conditioning each day for several hours. Air conditioned locations are the safest places during extreme heat because electric fans do not cool the air. Fans do help sweat evaporate, which gives a cooling effect.
Dress appropriately:
Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing that will cover as much skin as possible. Lightweight, light-colored clothing reflects heat and sunlight and helps maintain normal body temperature. Cover as much skin as possible to avoid sunburn and over-warming effects of sunlight on your body.
Protect face and head by wearing a wide-brimmed hat. A hat will keep direct sunlight off your head and face. Sunlight can burn and warm the inner core of your body.
Drink plenty of fluids even if you do not feel thirsty. Injury and death can occur from dehydration, which can happen quickly and unnoticed. Symptoms of dehydration are often confused with other causes. Persons who have epilepsy or heart, kidney, or liver disease; who are on fluid-restrictive diets; or who have a problem with fluid retention should consult a doctor before increasing liquid intake.
Take frequent breaks if you must work outdoors. Frequent breaks, especially in a cool area or to drink fluids, can help people tolerate heat better.
Use a buddy system when working in extreme heat. Partners can keep an eye on each other and can assist each other when needed. Sometimes exposure to heat can cloud judgment. Chances are if you work alone, you may not notice this.
Drink plenty of water regularly and often. Your body needs water to keep cool. Water is the safest liquid to drink during heat emergencies.
Avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them. They can make you feel good briefly, but make the heat’s effects on your body worse. This is especially true about beer, which actually dehydrates the body.
Eat small meals and eat more often. Large, heavy meals are more difficult to digest and cause your body to increase internal heat to aid digestion, worsening overall conditions. Avoid foods that are high in protein, such as meats and nuts, which increase metabolic heat.
Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician. Salt causes the body to retain fluids, resulting in swelling. Salt affects areas of your body that help you sweat, which would keep you cool. Persons on salt-restrictive diets should check with a physician before increasing salt intake.
NEVER leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles. Temperatures inside a closed vehicle can reach over 140 degrees F within minutes. Exposure to such high temperatures can kill in minutes.
New drug approved to treat cancer after Hackensack physician leads study
Saturday, July 6, 2013 Last updated: Saturday July 6, 2013, 11:50 AM
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A new drug has been approved to battle mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive cancer often fatal because of its resistance to treatment, after a study led by a Hackensack University Medical Center physician showed it can stop the progression of the disease in about a quarter of the patients.
Revlimid, a drug taken orally, was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration last month after a study led by Dr. Andre Goy involving 134 patients showed 26 percent of patients responded to the medication. Nine patients showed a complete remission by the end of the clinical trial, according to the FDA.
Before the study, all of the patients had been treated with chemotherapy and their disease had either never regressed or had returned, Goy said.
“Patients were heavily pretreated and were a poor risk,” Goy said. “That’s why this is so important. Many of these patients had few other options.”
No conflict found by Bergen County ethics board on Donovan appointee
Friday July 5, 2013, 5:07 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The Bergen County Board of Ethics has ruled that there is no conflict for two individuals who work for a hospital or a mental health organization from serving on the Bergen County Improvement Authority, which oversees the Bergen Regional Medical Center.
The issue came up earlier this year when Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan attempted to appoint Laura E. Cima, a Lodi councilwoman and deputy mayor, to the volunteer five-member authority board.
But the resolution for her appointment was temporarily withdrawn after several freeholders questioned if Cima’s role as vice president for clinical operations at Hackensack University Medical Center posed a conflict.
