NJEA looks to limit School choice takes tough stance on new charters
The relationship between the New Jersey Education Association and charter schools has been a checkered one.
In the early 1990s, the powerful teachers union fought against the state’s charter school law before ultimately signing on. Since then, it has openly said it supports charters — and has organized unions in a dozen of them — while raising protests about some aspects of the alternative schools.
Now, the union is again mixing it up, as the Christie administration is about to announce the latest round of final charters for schools opening this fall, including possibly New Jersey’s first all-online schools. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Homeland Security warns of hackers targeting popular Niagara software
By Robert O’Harrow Jr., Published: July 13
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday warned that a popular system used by organizations around the world to manage millions of machines and devices over the Internet is vulnerable to attack from hackers.
The software system known as the Niagara Framework enables corporate, military, health-care and other users to remotely control or monitor medical devices, elevators, video cameras, security systems and a wide array of other sensitive operations.
In an alert issued Friday, cybersecurity officials said that Niagara users should immediately prohibit guest users, bolster passwords, cut off direct access to the Internet and take other steps to prevent hackers from exploiting configuration and software flaws.
“Disable the ‘guest’ and ‘demo’ user accounts if enabled,” says the alert, issued by the department’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. The alert advised other steps:
●Lock out accounts that receive excessive invalid login attempts.
Energy efficiency program means no more dim bulbs in Jersey schools
The Christie administration is setting aside $6 million to help public and private schools in New Jersey reduce their energy bills by replacing antiquated lighting.
The initiative, financed out of the state’s clean energy program, will be available to participants on a first-come, first-served basis. It will cover the entire cost of the upgrades, including materials, labor, permitting, and proper disposal of the lights, known as T-12 fixtures. Incentives range from approximately $100 to $500 per fixture, depending on the type, and are offered in association with complete fixture replacement (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
Village Council drops “bag it” policy
July 13, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The new Village Council drooped the ball and reneged on its promise to improve leave clean up in the Village . At the Wednesday night council meeting the new council opted to scrap the proposed changes put forth just a month ago by Ridgewood’s Director of Operations Frank Moritz and Streets Department supervisor John Spano . The two had presented a plan to require homeowners to bag their leaves and small garden debris for village pickup or landscaper removal.
Over the last several years the Ridgewood leaf removal policy, has been a point of contention with critics citing everything from safety concerns to cost and timeliness of pick-ups. The new policy would have replaced the current procedure, of leaves piled up at curbside for scheduled pickup with the requirement that residents bag their debris.
The Moritz plan of bagging leaves for pickup was presented as a way to improve the overall safety for both pedestrians and village workers ,while cutting down on the needed man power for timely removal thus saving the Village some money .But at Wednesday’s work session, council members backed down and echoed concerns about the potential burden to residents if the changes were mandated and people were forced to “bag it’.
Huge Moving Garage Sale!!!July13&14 (Ridgewood, NJ)
Date: 2012-07-11, 11:55AM EDT
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
Friday&Saturday, July 13&14, 2012
9AM – 1PM only (no early birds)
HUGE MOVING SALE!
On 537 Van Buren Street,
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
We’ll be selling items such as:
NEW CHILDREN CLOTHS (from previous closed store)$2~$4 each.
BIG NEW TENTS.
1 YEAR OLD Dehumidifiers.
Furniture,table, bed, night stand, dresser, mirror, outdoor furniture, folding chairs.
Toys, bike, holiday decoration, picture with nice frame,
Cloths racks, Store fixtures,
Frames,
HP printer,
Lighting,
Tools, Lawnmower, and more….
Come Early, Come All! After 1PM Saturday, these items will be GONE!
Looking to post your Garage or Yard Sales free to all Ridgewood Residents send details to [email protected]
Moving Sale In Ridgewood (438 Overbrook Road Ridgewood, NJ 07450)
Moving sale this Sat and Sun from 10-3 on both days. Please go to www.HassleFreeEstateSales.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the Ridgewood link to see all the items available for sale.
In accordance with the Codes of the Village of Ridgewood, the Boroughs of Glen Rock and Midland Park, and the Township of Wyckoff, and at the recommendation of the Director of Ridgewood Water, Frank J. Moritz, I am declaring Stage II water restrictions in Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff, New Jersey.
Residents, businesses, governmental agencies, and all other water users must adhere to Stage II restrictions.
No irrigation is allowed on Mondays at any time. Irrigation using a handheld hose is allowed at any time except Mondays. Stage II limits irrigation to alternate days based on the street addresses of properties. Irrigation of properties with odd-numbered addresses shall be permitted on odd-numbered days, while irrigation of properties with even-numbered addresses shall be permitted on even-numbered days.
Restricting overuse of water is part of the conservation plan Ridgewood Water is required to implement by state and federal regulations. Adherence to alternate day irrigation requirements helps reduce the peaks in demand that reduce storage reserves. Water in storage is vital for maintaining pressure in the system and for fighting fires. Low storage tank reserves are the principle reason for the imposition of more stringent restrictions.
Landscape professionals agree that it is easy to maintain lawns, trees, and other plantings with alternate day irrigation and most automatic irrigation systems can be programmed to be compliant. Ridgewood Water thanks its customers for their cooperation.
NO IRRIGATION IS ALLOWED ON MONDAY AT ANY TIME ALTERNATE DAYS WATERING IN EFFECT
Violators will be subject to a fine and court appearance
Rush Limbaugh : Has America Already Slipped Away?
July 09, 2012
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I read a couple of pieces yesterday that really touched a nerve with me. One of them was by Michael Goodwin in the New York Post. Let me set it up by describing something personal. And I’ve mentioned this many times during the course of this program. When I was in my twenties and thirties, and I saw people in their sixties and seventies, I vowed that there were certain things those people did that I would never do. For instance, I vowed I would never become, in the eyes of anybody else, an old fogy. I would never be someone who looked at the younger generations as the beginning of the end of our culture. My parents did. My parents, the Beatles and all of that, was just the end of the world as far as they were concerned. It was the long hair. It was the rebel characteristics, all of that.
This is true for every generation. Every older generation looks at the younger generation and thinks, “My God, they’re gonna blow it, country’s finished, we’re all done.” I vowed that would never happen to me. I vowed I would keep an open mind and try to remember always the way I looked at the world when I was in my twenties and thirties. Well, there are things that have happened here that befuddle even me. You and I — and I’m gonna take the liberty here of speaking for you, ’cause I think this is pretty accurate when discussing most of you.
You and I look at what’s happening to the country, and we are a multitude of things. We are appalled, we’re angry, and we’re really scared. Despite every effort not to be an old fuddy-duddy, an old fogy — despite every effort to avoid falling into that trap as I’ve gotten older, as I have matured and aged — I haven’t been able to avoid it. It’s not that the younger generations are to blame. It’s not that they’re at fault. That’s not my point. We’re losing the country right in front of our eyes.
It is astounding, the transformational changes leading to the destruction. It actually has me depressed at times. Now, you and I see this the same way to one degree or to a bunch of varying degrees. But then you realize that other people don’t! They’re living it, and they don’t. In what I would consider a sane, normal world, anybody from any party who had presided over this kind of not just economic destruction, but national transformation, wouldn’t be considered a serious candidate for reelection. Not at any time in this nation’s history.
Anybody who had been in charge during these three years would be looking at a 30% approval number or reelect number, in what I would consider to be a sane world. For the past two years, every Thursday we talk about the unemployment number in this country on this program. And on Thursday of every month, we look at it in great detail because we get the number for the previous month before it’s revised downward. And it seems to me that like it’s almost like a slow-drip water torture.
This is obviously cultural rot and decay taking place. There is economic decay taking place. But it is so gradual that it’s not accompanied by any shock value. And since there’s no shock value attached to it, there’s no high degree of outrage. There’s more like resignation. People are just resigned to it. We got 8.2% unemployment? “New normal! It’s not something about which you need to get excited about and make a big change; it’s just the way it is.” Not for you. Not for you and me, don’t misunderstand.
Not for you and me, but for a seemingly large part of the country. And of course this election is gonna tell us how large a part. This is the great unknown. This is the great unknown question. Just how many people in this country think this is the United States of America? This is all it can be. This is it, and this is normal. And how many of them vote. When you look at 8.2% unemployment — when you look at more people going on disability than getting jobs — folks, we are in uncharted territory.
We now have eight million people on disability.
We have 48% of the people in this country not paying income tax, and yet all of them… And this is important in trying to assess all this. All of these people are eating. They’re not going hungry. And they all have their cell phones. And they all are able to afford to use their cell phones. And they all have their plasma TVs, and they’re all able to sign up for cable and use them. Despite all of the economic malaise. Now, the reason for this is that we’re $16 trillion in debt. We’ve got an administration which is happily paying for this result.
There is no longer a stigma to being unemployed or a stigma to being on welfare. And so, just as we used to look at the younger generation (we who are seasoned and mature), and be a little worried about what they’re gonna amount to because they seemed to be such degenerates and reprobates, now instead of looking at it that way, this whole generational thing has become one view of the country versus another view of the country. Whereas I promised myself I would never look — as a seasoned, mature individual — at younger people as worthless degenerate perverts.
Like my parents looked at my generation and every other generation has. Now, instead of doing that, I’m sitting here looking at an unknown percentage of the country and asking myself how many of them know what it is to be an American. How many of them know what that means anymore? Or how many of them have a different definition of it entirely? And I worry because the architect of all this transformation, the architect of all this destruction, has a legitimate chance as winning reelection!
In a real, sane world this guy’s party woulda thrown him out and they woulda put Hillary or somebody else in there.
Washington looks to sell out American People again with Global Arms Trade Treaty
NJ Tea Party Coalition
On July 27th, Barack Hussein Obama will attend a UN conference, where he will sign the global Arms Trade Treaty (ODA/57-2012/ATT)
The stated objective of this Treaty is to stop the proliferation of small arms (not assault weapons, etc.) throughout the world. It will, however, have the capacity to legislate gun control in the United States and therefore to overturn our Second Amendment. The Canadians have tried to include language that protected the rights to bear firearms for recreational purposes. That language is not present. Today Canada and Israel are among the few countries advocating for lawful public ownership and recreational use of firearms. The U.S. is not one of them.
History of the Arms Trade Treaty
The negotiations for this Treaty began in 2006, when the U.S., under President George Bush, voted against the resolution. The Obama administration (including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) reversed that vote.
The nations working on this Treaty say they want to promote transparency (where have I heard that word used before?) and accountability in the arms trade, and prevent international transfers of arms that contribute to serious human rights violations (like Fast and Furious?) armed conflict, U.N. sanctions violations , organized crime and terrorist acts. I can’t help but wonder if this includes TEA Party members. Have they not been labeled as thugs and terrorists by Nancy Pelosi and Janet Napolitano, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and others?
Effect on the US
How will it affect us? The U.N. will have the authority to tell member nations to adopt policies to facilitate regulations and flow across borders within their own control, including but not limited to registration and bans of arms and guns.
Just as a reminder – our Second Amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The Cooperative Nursery School of the Ridgewood United Methodist Church has open enrollment for its 2012-2013 school year.
The Cooperative Nursery School of the Ridgewood United Methodist Church has open enrollment for its 2012-2013 school year. We have spaces available in various classes, ranging from Mommy and Me starting at 18 months, up to our Kindergarten Enrichment program. Please visit us on the web at www.ridgewoodcoop.org. A registration form may be down loaded from our home page. You can also call the school for more information at 201-447-6232.
The Labor Department said the U.S. economy created just 80,000 jobs in June, less than the 90,000 economists had been forecasting. And private-sector job growth was just 84,000, down sharply from 105,000 in May. Not doing fine.
The unemployment rate stayed at a lofty 8.2%.
As a research note from RDQ economics put it: “The good news is that employment growth is not slowing further but there is no sign of it picking up either. At this pace, job creation is not fast enough to lower the unemployment rate with the labor force growing at close to 150,000 per month on average.”
Shorter: Stagnation Nation
This continues to be the longest streak — 41 months — of unemployment of 8% or higher since the Great Depression. And recall that back in 2009, Team Obama predicted that if Congress passed its $800 billion stimulus plan, the unemployment rate would be around 5.6% today.
Just 75,000 jobs were created, on average, per month in the second quarter vs. 226,000 in the first quarter. And for the year, monthly job creation has averaged just 150,000 vs. 153,000 last year. Both numbers are extremely weak.
But those top-line numbers actually overstate the health of the labor market.
– If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.8% today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 10.9%. Even if you take into account that the LFP should be declining as America ages, the unemployment rate would be 10.5%.
– The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes “all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons,” is 14.9%, up a bit from May.
– The average duration of unemployment ticked up to 39.9 weeks.
– It will take 219,000 net new jobs a month for unemployment rate to be below 8% on Election Day if current participation rate holds steady.
– Job growth during the three-year Obama recovery has averaged just 75,000 a month for a total of 2.7 million. During the first three years of the Reagan Recovery, job growth averaged 273,000 a month for a total of 9.8 million. If you adjust for the larger U.S. population today, the Reagan Recovery averaged 360,000 jobs a month for a three-year total of 13 million jobs.
– The U.S. work force remains shrunken with just 58.6% employed.
But just ask the White House their opinion of today’s report and you’ll get a completely different reply:
The economy has now added private sector jobs for 28 straight months, for a total of 4.4 million payroll jobs during that period,” Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in a statement. “Employment is growing but it is not growing fast enough given the jobs deficit caused by the deep recession.”
Reader Says the Village of Ridgewood is more than just and upscale suburb of New York City
Ridgewood isn’t made up of only those people who work in NYC and just happen to live in Ridgewood. If that were the case, everything that makes The Village an upscale location to live in wouldn’t exist.
The Village of Ridgewood today is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all the people who have lived, worked, worshipped and volunteered in the Village to provide the lifestyle enjoyed by the residents.
Some of these residents still have ties going back to the original settlers. Others have ties going back just a few generations. Their bond with the Village of Ridgewood has nothing to do with NYC.
Are you like me, in that you lament the lack of good old fashioned manners now-a-days?
Gone is the reliance on Gentlemanly conduct in society and in business. It is now a pleasant
surprise seeing a young man offer his seat to someone who probably needs it more, whereas it
used to be a basic social expectation.
Now, I don’t want to sound like a stereo-typical retiree starting off the conversation with, “It was
different when I was young….”, but it was! Just for the record, I am 42.
The benchmark for conduct seems to be being set lower and lower each generation and I wonder
if this is due to schools, parents and other institutions holding much less sway over the youth
of today than they did 20, 40, 60 years ago. Bad manners, which used to be stigmatized and
strongly dealt with, now are often ignored, and as a result, tacitly accepted. What messages are
we sending to those who are demonstrating those bad behaviors – particularly when there are no
real repercussions and they get their own way….
For quite some time I have observed, with dismay, the eroding of upright behavior, or what I
think of as Gentlemanly conduct. I constantly see people pushing past each other to get through
the door first, ignoring those in need, and generally going about their day to day existences with
blinkers on.
The final straw for me was listening to my wife, who stands up all day in her retail job, tell me
how able-bodied men on the afternoon train hustle for position so they can get a seat. They will
then typically open their broadsheet newspaper and promptly ignore everyone else, even the
elderly and also pregnant women. This caused me reflect on whether it was worth trying to do a
little something about it.
In October 2010 I created the Today’s Gentleman group. When I created this initially on
Linkedin I was quite amazed at the interest this niche group received, gaining 100 members
(from 10 countries) in the first two weeks, and hitting 250 members within two months. I knew
I must have hit a nerve of some sort to gain such strong interest in a group which seemed a little
whimsy when I first created it. As I write this article the group has over 550 members in over 30
countries and has a presence on Linkedin, Facebook, and in its own right on the web – Today’s
Gentleman
I chose the name Today’s Gentleman as most are familiar with the concept of a “Gentleman”
and we have certain expectations about their behavior. I also feel that it is important for men to
redefine themselves in modern society as there are not the predefined molds there used to be in
the age of the Gentleman of old. It is an attempt to redefine the Gentleman for contemporary
society, Today’s Gentleman.
My concern also extends to the lack of quality Gentlemanly exemplars we currently see
in society now. It is unfortunately the exception rather than the rule now-a-days to find a
Gentleman in the crowds of high profile figures in society which include Sporting stars, Political
figures, Showbiz / Media personalities, and Reality TV stars. We don’t seem to charge our public
figures with “Gentlemanly” conduct as much as we used to. It seems enough now for them to
simply stay out of jail and rehab for us to accept them as a positive role-model… I think we can
expect so much more!
I believe that the more Gentlemanly conduct we see in society the better that community
functions and the more engaged the individuals within that community feel. It is amazing the
difference it makes to someone when you practice random acts of kindness: helping someone
who has a flat tire; letting someone go ahead of you in the register line when they have only a
few grocery items; helping someone to the car with their purchases. These acts repeated and
reciprocated can change people’s day, they can change a community.
In an attempt to gain more public awareness for these issues and encourage these behaviors
Today’s Gentleman has declared the 22nd of February as International Be a Gentleman Day. The
third of these will occur in 2013 and hopefully build in popularity in following years. You can
register your support for the day through the event on Facebook.
American Red Cross Concentrated Lifeguard Training Course
Wed, July 11, 2012 – Fri, July 20, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM
YWCA Bergen County, 112 Oak Street
Cost: $370 per person
The YWCA Bergen County is offering an American Red Cross Concentrated Lifeguard Training course beginning July 11th, 2012. Participants must be age 15 or older and take and pass a swim test on Saturday, July 7th at 1:30pm. A $10 test fee is due at registration.
This five-day concentrated course prepares students with the CPR, First Aid and lifeguard techniques necessary for employment as a professional lifeguard. Classes will be held July 11th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 20th from 9am to 5pm at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood. The course fee is $370. Call the YWCA Aquatics Department at (201) 444-5600, x3270 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details.
The YWCA Bergen County is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We are the area’s largest provider of child care services, a recognized leader in health and fitness programs, and operator of the county’s only Rape Crisis Center. Celebrating nearly a century of commitment to our community, today we improve the lives of thousands of women, girls and their families.
A geothermal energy company with a $98.5 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration for an alternative energy project in Nevada — which received hearty endorsements from Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — faces financial problems, and the company’s auditors have questioned whether it can stay in business.
Much like Solyndra LLC, a California solar-panel manufacturer with a $535 million federal loan guarantee that went bankrupt, Nevada Geothermal Power (NGP) has incurred $98 million in net losses over the past several years, has substantial debts and does not generate enough cash from its current operations after debt-service costs, an internal audit said.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/4/lights-go-dim-on-another-energy-project/
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL WIBIT 50 METER SPLASH CHALLENGE
WIBIT CHALLENGE might be the next Olympic Sport
Will you field a team?
Ridgewood NJ , On Wednesday, July 25th, Ridgewood Parks and Recreation will host a tournament relay race with the Wibit (rain date is 7/26). All patrons who have passed the Deep Water Test are eligible to participate.
All must have a Graydon membership or purchase a daily pass.
Join as an indiviual ($6 fee) or as part of a 5-man team ($25 to July 20, then $30). Register early for a free t-shirt (limited supply). Prizes include a $100 gift card to the first place team with their team picture on display for the season, and $50 gift cards per team will be awarded for 2nd and 3rd place.
Don’t miss the fun! Refreshments will be served for participants and their families. The registration form and details can be located at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon.
