Spectrum for Living will host : Northern New Jersey Walk on September 16th at Van Saun Park in Paramus
River Vale, NJ (September 2012) – On September 16, 2012, Spectrum for Living will be hosting the Northern New Jersey Walk at Van Saun Park in Paramus, NJ. Registration is at 9AM, with the Walk following at 10AM.
The event will consist of a 1.75 mile Walk, but attendees should bring their appetite because the Knights of Columbus will be serving a delicious BBQ lunch with dessert donated by Sonja Kramer, of Cupcake Cutie, located in Westwood.
More than just a baseball team, members from The Newark Bears will be in attendance as well as County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan to show their support of Spectrum for Living. Special guests also include 2Lips the Clown from Call-Us-Clowns, and face painter, Ivonne Ramirez. Many thanks to other supporters including the Knights of Columbus #2188, St. Thomas More Council, Driscoll Foods, Trader Joe’s of Westwood, Dollar Crazy, Panera Bread, Home Depot and Costco of Hackensack and other local area businesses.
For registration information, please visit www.spectrumforliving.org/walk. “The 2012 Northern New Jersey Walk is made possible through the generosity of our families, friends, sponsors, and contributors who make an effort to support one of New Jersey’s most vulnerable citizens—adults with developmental disabilities,” says Carmine Marchionda, President and CEO.
Currently, Spectrum for Living facilities and services touch the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities in over 100 New Jersey communities. Spectrum for Living is one of New Jersey’s most respected and recognized not-for-profit organizations assisting adults with developmental disabilities in Bergen, Passaic and Middlesex Counties. Spectrum provides a wide array of housing, medical, clinical, habilitative, social and educational services to more than 200 residential consumers and hundreds of community clients.
Mayor and Deputy Mayor look to improve the Building Department and its antiquated permitting process
August 7,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
According to the Mayors latest installment of the Mayor’s corner the Building Department and its antiquated permitting process has now become the focus the Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli .
While the Ridgewood blog has run articles on residents frustration over the permitting process for years ,the building department has managed to whether these complaints and remain unaffected sticking to its tried and true yellow legal pad filing system .
The Mayor reported this week that he and Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli I recently sat down with the village manager and Building Department staff to discuss ways in which we can address the most common complaints: unanswered phone calls, unanswered emails, delayed approvals and a perceived general lack of responsiveness. (https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/164847106_Ridgewood_Mayor_s_Corner__A_summer_update.html)
The pair even admitted that “Some of the complaints are valid. Some are not. But one thing is clear – the process needs to be improved as soon as possible.”
The Mayor seemed to get the cue that much of the application/permitting process needs to move online.and in in his own words ,specifically, we are working to provide residents and business owners a way in which to file and track their applications through the Village website. (https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/164847106_Ridgewood_Mayor_s_Corner__A_summer_update.html)
Accoring to sources in las Vegas In what is sure to be a boon for the Las Vegas Strip’s many beer pong-friendly locations, Olympic officials have announced beer pong will be an official event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Long considered to be a frontrunner to become a “demonstration summer sport,” beer pong has surprised critics and leap-frogged the lengthy approval process to become a recognized sport in record time.
NJ TRANSIT DESIGNATES SELECTED ‘BIKE-FRIENDLY’ TRAINS ON WEEKENDS
Newly revised Bike Aboard program expands travel options for bicyclists effective August 11, 2012
August 6, 2012
NEWARK, NJ — In response to customer requests regarding bike access at train stations, Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson and NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein today announced the designation of selected “bike-friendly” trains on weekends and other improvements in support of the transportation needs of the cycling community.
“After gathering valuable input from members of the cycling community, we worked to make some common-sense changes that help make NJ TRANSIT one of the most bicycle-friendly systems in the region,” said Commissioner Simpson. “By implementing designated bike trains on weekends on most of our rail lines, in addition to the regular weekend trains, we are providing capacity for up to 7,200 bicycles on Saturdays and Sundays combined.”
“Following Commissioner Simpson’s call for a quick resolution to customer concerns about bicycle access, we took a fresh look at our Bike Aboard program to identify further adjustments that would enable us to significantly expand access for our bicycle-riding customers,” said Executive Director Weinstein. “The expanded capacity on weekends will make cycling to train stations a viable option for more customers, allowing them to complete the ‘last mile’ between the train station and their destinations.”
Effective Saturday, August 11, all weekend trains on the Raritan Valley Line and Atlantic City Rail Line and on rail service to and from Hoboken Terminal will become “bike-friendly” trains, providing capacity for up to 12 bicycles per train. The current policy allows for bicycle access only on open rail cars, meaning if four cars of a six-car train are open to customers, that train can accommodate only eight bicycles. Under the newly revised Bike Aboard program, train crew members will be able to open unused rail cars on designated bike trains as needed to provide additional capacity for cyclists.
As part of the expanded Bike Aboard program, NJ TRANSIT will be offering 418 designated bike trains on weekends on the Raritan Valley, Main/Bergen County, Pascack Valley, Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton and Atlantic City Rail lines. An additional 273 non-designated bike trains on weekends can accommodate up to two bicycles per car on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Midtown Direct lines.
Starting in October, NJ TRANSIT rail timetables will be reprinted to clearly indicate designated bike trains with a special bicycle icon near the train number.
To ensure the agency stays in touch with the needs of the cycling community, NJ TRANSIT has named employee Rob Angello, Project Manager of Capital Programs and a cycling enthusiast—as the agency’s new “Bicycle Advocate” to give further voice to the concerns of cyclists during internal policy discussions. Questions and comments about NJ TRANSIT’s Bike Aboard program received via the “Contact Us” form on njtransit.com will be forwarded to the Bicycle Advocate for review.
In addition, NJ TRANSIT has implemented a streamlined internal process for resolving issues about bike access in real time when customers contact the Transit Information Center at 973-275-5555 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily, when the agency provides live operator assistance.
NJ TRANSIT’s Bike Aboard program does not require preregistration or permits, and there is no additional charge for bringing bicycles onboard trains.
Below are the highlights of NJ TRANSIT’s expanded bicycle policy:
Collapsible bicycles are permitted on all NJ TRANSIT trains at all times.
Standard-frame bicycles are permitted on many NJ TRANSIT trains as described below.
On weekdays: Bicycles are permitted on all weekday trains on all lines except inbound trains that end in Hoboken, Newark or New York between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and outbound trains that originate in Hoboken, Newark or New York between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. These trains are indicated by a Q in public timetables. Trains on which bicycles are permitted may accommodate up to 2 bicycles on each single-level rail car and up to 8 bicycles on each multilevel rail car subject to crowding or the accessibility needs of other customers.
On weekends: Bicycles are permitted on all weekend Raritan Valley, Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, Port Jervis, and Atlantic City Line trains. These trains will be designated bike trains and will accommodate up to 12 bicycles per train. Larger groups may be accommodated with advance reservations by calling our Group Sales Department at 973-491-7220. Bicycles are also permitted on all Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and Morristown Line trains with the exception of trains ending in New York between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. and trains originating in New York between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Trains on which bicycles are permitted may accommodate up to 2 bicycles on each single-level rail car and up to 8 bicycles on each multilevel rail car subject to crowding or the accessibility needs of other customers.
On holidays and business days before holidays: Bicycles are not permitted on trains (with the exception of the Atlantic City Line) on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving, Sunday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Bicycles are not permitted on the day before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but are permitted on the holidays themselves.
Other times: Bicycles are not permitted on substitute bus service during rail service outages.
*The revised policy will be available on njtransit.com starting August 10.
Huntington Learning Centers, Inc. presents the 35th Anniversary Sweepstakes.
Enter-to-win and iPad or $500 scholarship!
A great opportunity for your readers as they get ready for the new school year.
Parents have been choosing Huntington for more than 35 years because we offer programs tailored to their child’s needs with proven results. As a parent, one of the biggest concerns is the child’s education and making sure he/she is receiving the best academic support. Huntington prides itself on being “Your Tutoring Solution” for students in all grades and subjects.
With over 300 centers nationwide, we offer a wide range of flexible solutions from academic tutoring, subject tutoring, and exam preparation for state and standardized entrance exams, such as high school entrance exams. We have helped thousands of students get the scores they want on the SAT/PSAT and ACT!
This year, we are celebrating our 35th year anniversary, and to commemorate, we have recently launched our “35th Year Anniversary Sweepstakes” where one (1) grand prize winner will win an Apple iPad and two (2) runner-up winners will win $500 Huntington scholarships to be used toward a tutoring program of their choice at a local center!
For the official contest details and rules, visit Huntington’s Facebook page here: 35th Year Anniversary Sweepstakes!
What happened? I leave for vacation and the place goes to hell?? Lol
So, Al gets another letter in TRN? Saw it today. Maybe next week we will have Mary Walker’s response to Al’s response to Mary’s response to Al’s letter.
I may have to quit buying TRN again. My dogs have already been paper trained.
W.T.F.
Partisan politics and Fourth of July festivities
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Ridgewood News
Partisan politics and Fourth of July festivities
To the Editor:
In answer to the responses I’ve seen on the Tea Party and the Fourth of July parade, let me say that it’s not my place to judge the ideas of the Tea Party or to question the patriotism of its members. But it does not represent everyone, and, despite its rhetoric, it does not have the market cornered on patriotism.
Across this state and this country, this self-described grassroots movement is very active in the political process, including campaigns and elections, and in some places it is embedded in the inner workings of the Republican Party. Anyone who doubts that the Tea Party is a political action movement with a specific political agenda need only look at its literature or go online to one of its websites and read its manifesto. It’s all there in plain sight.
As for the parade, most Ridgewood residents I’ve heard from prefer a non-partisan, patriotic celebration of the Fourth that highlights community service.
A few residents I’ve talked with think it should be open to political movements such as the Tea Party. But I believe that demeans the parade and reduces it to a demonstration platform for any political movement or party.
Ridgewood’s parade has been special because it consisted of those residents and people from neighboring towns who make our community and our country better through their service and sacrifice, and they do so without regard to anyone’s politics or views on taxes or immigration, or how publicly we choose to wear our appreciation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The Tea Party is unlike any other participant in this event, and I believe that many of us don’t want it or any other partisan political group in our parade.
Free Seminar on Weight Loss Surgery Scheduled for August 28
Board Certified Bariatric Surgeon, Vadim Gritsus, M.D., will offer a free educational seminar on weight-loss surgery on Tuesday, August 28, at 7 p.m. at the Dorothy B. Kraft Center, 15 Essex Road, Paramus.
Registration is requested. Please call 201-265-0080 for more information or visit www.stopobesitynj.com.
Dr. Gritsus was the first surgeon to introduce laparoscopic gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band procedures at the Valley Hospital.
His philosophy in the treatment of obesity is to provide the least traumatic approach to surgical procedures. “Earlier, traditional high-risk techniques precluded patients with multiple medical problems to have weight loss surgery,” says Dr. Gritsus. “Current advances in minimally invasive surgery have made this lifesaving operation available to virtually anyone.”
“Obesity is a multifactorial medical problem that requires a comprehensive approach of many specialists,” says Dr. Gritsus. “To achieve the best possible result in the treatment of this debilitating condition, patients have to rely on carefully developed and individualized support.” The goal of Dr. Gritsus’ practice is to provide surgical weight loss solutions to patients with a wide range of co-morbidities along with nutritional support and counseling, behavioral modification strategies and exercise.
Could state-run ‘achievement school district’ be last resort for failing schools?
The Christie administration is weighing the idea of creating a separate state-run “achievement school district” that would be comprised of New Jersey’s very lowest-performing schools, complete with vast new powers in controlling personnel and programs.
The proposal was part of a $7.6 million grant application to the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation made last February, a proposal that never moved to full fruition after the foundation approved a smaller amount, officials now say.
But it will nonetheless be at least part of a broader study of last-resort options for schools that is being conducted by an outside national organization, officials said. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Five lessons from the pilot program changing the way teachers, principals are graded
A year into the New Jersey’s pilot program for developing a new teacher and principal evaluation system, Christie administration officials yesterday gave an update of the program and the prospects for the year ahead.
The aim is to have a new evaluation system in place for every district across the state in 2013-14. But state officials conceded there were many lessons learned from the first year of the pilot, involving 11 districts, and some big issues ahead for the next year in which as many as 20 more districts will test out the system.
In a presentation to the state Board of Education yesterday, Peter Shulman, assistant education commissioner, spoke of those lessons of the past and the changes for the future, each in sets of five. In addition, Shulman presented the first version of new administrative regulations that would ultimately codify the new system. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Governor Christie Joins PSE&G in Turning Brownfield Green Utility begins work on solar farm and proposes $883 million expansion of solar programs
July 31, 2012
(July 31, 2012 – Hackensack, NJ) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lent a hand today as Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) and union workers broke ground on a renewable energy project that will transform a dormant Hackensack, NJ brownfield into a solar farm.
While kicking off work at the job site, PSEG chairman, president and CEO Ralph Izzo also announced that the utility will request New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approval to invest up to $883 million to expand the utility’s Solar 4 All and solar loan programs to develop an additional 233 megawatts (MWs) of solar capacity. This expansion will create approximately 300 direct jobs per year over the next five years. PSE&G is a subsidiary of PSEG.
“New Jersey is a national leader in the solar industry,” said Governor Chris Christie. “Solar investment projects like the Hackensack Solar Farm are an integral part of our state’s renewable energy portfolio, increasing New Jersey’s solar capacity, creating jobs and securing the protection of our precious environmental resources. This Administration pledges to continue moving forward with our commitment to develop renewable sources of energy and with corporate partners like PSEG, New Jersey will continue to lead the way.”
“Every time we reclaim a landfill or brownfield site with solar panels, it’s a win for the people of New Jersey,” Izzo said. “Governor Christie deserves recognition for his forceful support of developing green energy projects on these sites, which benefit the state’s economy and environment, as well as the communities where these properties are located. This is the fifth PSE&G project that uses renewable energy to breathe new life into a brownfield or landfill. We are ready to do more of these projects and transform sites like this all over the state to generate more jobs along with clean renewable energy.”
The 1.06-MW PSE&G Hackensack Solar Farm is part of the utility’s Solar 4 All program that is helping New Jersey meet its renewable energy goals in a cost effective manner while creating jobs and helping the state’s green energy sector mature. When the current Solar 4 All program is complete early next year, PSE&G will have created about 175 direct jobs each year for the last three years and spent $300 million with more than a dozen companies that are either headquartered or have a presence in New Jersey while developing 80MWs of solar capacity.
Reclaiming brownfields and landfills has been a centerpiece of PSE&G’s innovative Solar 4 All program. In addition to the Hackensack project, similar installations are in service in Trenton, Edison, Linden and Kearny. When the PSE&G Hackensack Solar Farm begins operation later this year, the utility will have reclaimed more than 40 acres or about 30 football fields of vacant brownfield and landfill space, populating those sites with more than 40,000 solar panels that will produce more than 10 MWs of solar power.
PSE&G’s new solar proposal will call for investing up to $690 million to develop another 136 MWs through its Solar 4 All program to build more grid-connected solar projects on landfills, brownfields and other underutilized properties (90MW), on warehouse roofs (20MW) and on large parking lots (25MW). There is also a 1MW pilot program for solar projects that test and demonstrate emerging solar technologies such as solar energy storage. The company also is seeking to help develop another 97MW through the third installment of its Solar Loan program. This investment, that will help finance solar systems on homes and businesses in PSE&G’s electric service territory, could total up to $193 million, depending on the price of solar renewable energy credits.
“These proposals build on the success of our current programs,” Izzo said. “We are poised to make these New Jersey investments that will create 300 construction jobs per year, provide significant business opportunities for our suppliers and advance the state’s Energy Master Plan objectives.”
PSE&G’s solar loan program has made $177 million of financing available through mid-July 2012 that have helped homeowners and businesses develop 735 installations totaling 55 MWs of solar capacity. Through its Solar 4 All program, PSE&G will have 80MW of solar capacity in service by early 2013 through 24 centralized solar installations as well as the largest pole-attached solar panel initiative in the world.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the 775 MW of solar energy currently installed in New Jersey ranks the state second in the country for installed solar capacity. In the first quarter of 2012, New Jersey had 174 MW of solar energy installed – more than in any other state in the nation. This marks the first time that any state has ranked higher than California in quarterly solar installations.
ObamaCare is set to expand the number of insured Americans, but an apparent shortage of doctors could make it difficult to treat them all
POSTED ON JULY 31, 2012, AT 7:54 AM
By the year 2025, the U.S. could have a shortfall of 100,000 doctors. Photo: ThinkStock/Ingram Publishing SEE ALL 103 PHOTOS
The primary objective of President Obama’s overhaul of the health-care system is to extend coverage to the tens of millions of Americans currently without insurance. “But coverage will not necessarily translate into care,” because there may not be enough doctors to treat everyone, say Annie Lowrey and Robert Pear at The New York Times. The U.S. is already facing a severe shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas of the country, and the problem is only expected to get worse as more Americans gain insurance. Here, a guide to America’s dearth of doctors:
Why aren’t there enough doctors?
The pool of new doctors hasn’t kept pace with several factors boosting the number of people seeking care: Population growth, the ObamaCare expansion, and an aging Baby Boomer generation that requires additional medical attention. Enrollment in Medicare, the government-run insurance program for the elderly, is expected to swell to 73.2 million in 2025, up from 50.7 million in 2012. Furthermore, the U.S. is facing an acute shortage of primary-care physicians, leaving many patients without access to general practitioners, pediatricians, family doctors, and other providers of basic medical care
Scathing GOP report on ‘Fast and Furious’ blames five ATF officials
By Jordy Yager – 07/30/12 10:50 PM ET
Republican investigators pinned the failures of “Operation Fast and Furious” on five officials in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a scathing joint congressional draft report issued Monday evening.
The 211-page draft report, obtained by The Hill, called on the Obama administration and the Senate to bolster the leadership of the ATF — which has been without a permanent director for six years — in order to move beyond the failed gun-tracking operation that led House Republicans to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress last month.
Changes announced for N.J.’s government-documents agency
The Christie administration announced changes Monday to the operations of an agency that handles requests for government documents, six weeks after The Inquirer detailed the agency’s lack of transparency.
The Government Records Council (GRC) adjudicates appeals when local and state government officials deny requests for public information. Although it is supposed to be the state’s final arbiter on what is public information – from political information to police reports – it has acted in a manner far less public than other governmental bodies.
In 2010, Gov. Christie’s office rejected a request from The Inquirer about the governor’s e-mails and travel records. The newspaper appealed to the GRC, and the case was heard in spring 2012. As documented in a first-person article last month, an Inquirer reporter wasn’t given advance notice about the hearing. (Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Twitter caves shuts down critic of NBC Olympic Coverage
Guy Adams (Mashable)Guy Adams works as a writer for The Independent, a national newspaper in Great Britain. He lives in Los Angeles. Throughout the Olympics, he’s taken to Twitter and ripped NBC repeatedly for its coverage of the Games in America.
Namely, he’s criticized the network’s reliance on using tape delays, a frustration shared by millions of viewers.
Only in a marriage of old media and social media, Guy Adams no longer has a Twitter account. It was suspended Tuesday and both NBC and Twitter ought to be humiliated by its thin-skinned, heavy-handed and essentially pointless behavior.
Police State : DHS gears up for civil unrest prior to presidential elections
Published: 28 July, 2012, 12:49
The Department of Homeland Security has ordered masses of riot gear equipment to prepare for potential significant domestic riots at the Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration.
The DHS submitted a rushed solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities site on Wednesday, which is a portal for Federal government procurement requisitions over $25,000. The request gave the potential suppliers only one day to submit their proposals and a 15-day delivery requirement to Alexandria, Virginia.
