You don’t need a break from all the recent ice and snow.. you just need a break.
Imagine peaceful white snow blankets with glittering lights of local households brightening the long winter night. Imagine a quaint city, quiet and almost deserted by day while animated and bustling from late night till the early morning. Imagine peaceful landscapes, adventurous cave exploration, and endless wildlife.
For all of this and more, visit ICELAND!
Contact The Travel Center / American Express and learn more about all that Iceland has to offer… The Travel Center/American Express “Ridgewood’s ONLY Travel Agency” 50 E. Ridgewood Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 447-3311 [email protected] Or visit our NEW website: www.TheTravelCenterAE.com
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>Antonio Starita, World-Famous Pizza Master, to Share Neapolitan Pizza Techniques at A Mano in Ridgewood, NJ
Ridgewood NJ – Ridgewood New Jersey’s authentic Neapolitan trattoria A Mano, will proudly host celebrated Italian Pizza chef, Antonio Starita, for a viewing of the craftsmanship of pizza. Taking place on Saturday, March 5th, 2011 at 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM by reservation only, maestro Starita will teach the art of Neapolitan pizza, including dough making and stretching, traditional recipes and expert techniques. The cost of the demonstration is $ 10 per person, which will be credited towards lunch or dinner immediately following the events, should guests choose to enjoy a meal at A Mano.
Mr. Starita will visit A Mano for one day only, as he travels back to Italy after competing in the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. During his appearance at A Mano, Pizzaiuolo Starita will highlight the secrets of perfecting classic Neapolitan pizza and specialty pizza “Vesuvio”, a delicious stu!ed pizza, filled with fresh ricotta, homemade mozzarella, and Neapolitan salami on the inside, topped with mozzarella, Italian ham, mushrooms tomato sauce and basil on the outside.
A fourth generation owner of one of the oldest pizzerias in Naples, PIZZERIA STARITA a Materdei, established in 1901, Mr. Starita is an icon in the Neapolitan Pizza Industry. During his illustrious career, master Starita has travelled the world spreading the word of pizza Napoletana, and enjoyed many accolades, including having his pizzeria featured in Sophia Loren’s film “Oro di Napoli”, and being the lead delegate called on by the Vatican to present “pizza” to Pope John Paul II. Mr. Starita is a passionate advocate of the Neapolitan Pizza Industry, who serves as Vice President of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli (APN), the Italian governing body that teaches the art of Neapolitan pizza making, and certifies adherence to authentic procedures.
A Mano is located at 24 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, 201,phone . 493.200 .
As officials in Gov. Chris Christie’s administration prepare New Jersey’s next state budget, school superintendents and school board members are bracing for another difficult budget year. (Symons, Daily Record)
>Replace government incompetence with real charity
If you think government is a competent solver of social problems, think again. The Star Ledger reported (“N.J. tax to help low-income people pay cable TV bills was instead used to plug budget hole,” Feb. 6) that a fund established in 2006 by the Corzine administration to help low income and disabled New Jerseyans pay their cable bills has never been used as it was intended. (Sabrin, PolitickerNJ)
>Americans recall Reagan legacy on his 100th birthday
Ronald Reagan – 40th President
At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism.”
On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films.
From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.
As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.
Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter.
On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.
Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.
A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.
In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve “peace through strength.” During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.
By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.
Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.
>Have you noticed all the traffic lights in the area that are getting cameras attached? (I first noticed Paramus Road @ Grove/Midland). I’m thinking revenue generation vs. safety. I agree with the article’s opponents that a longer yellow and/or countdown timers (like at S Maple & Prospect) are the way to go for safety is the goal.
Study puts spotlight on red-light cameras
The national debate over red-light cameras is heating up again as a new analysis from a traffic safety group argues that the controversial devices saved 159 lives in 14 cities during a five-year period.
>GW Planning Board Meeting: Valley employees and Ridgewood police officers identified those who could enter
Ridgewood NJ- I was there. Residents were sitting in the auditorium long before the meeting ever started. A BOE employee told the residents they had to leave because he was instructed to empty and lock the GW auditorium.
Only when the vestibule was filled to capacity with Valley employees were the doors to the auditorium unlocked. The doors that were opened were suspect since the only doors open were the doors by the valley people.
Before the meeting started the doors were locked but there were plenty of empty seats. Valley empoyees stood on the front steps of GW with rw police officers and identified those who could come in. As a resident saving seats for friends who were locked out, i was being threatened to open my saved seats for those valley people who were let in after the GW doors were locked.
This was a disgrace and anyone who tries to say otherwise is ignorant to the facts! no exaggeration.
>Family Brings Civil Rights Claim Against Ridgewood BOE for Sexual Orientation Based Bullying
January 26, 2011
The Case The complaint, which was filed Jan. 5, claims that 16-year old Matthew Zimmer – represented by his father, David – faced several months of bullying and improper treatment from peers and staff at Ridgewood High School (RHS) due to his sexual orientation.
Included in the Division of Civil Rights’ documentation of the case, Zimmer claimed examples of bullying occurred, including but not limited to:
A health teacher asking during class time if he was “out of the closet” in addition to several other discriminatory comments. The teacher is also alleged to have said to the class that being gay was “caused by having abnormal genes.”
Several students putting sticky notes on his backpack with words like “fat fag” and, at least one student sending a pornographic Facebook message.
Graffiti spelling the words “gay must die” being discovered in the school’s cafeteria. Zimmer said he and his friends saw the graffiti while they were sitting at their lunch table. Zimmer claimed his health deteriorated in early 2010. He gained more than 50 pounds, he said, and by March he withdrew from all courses on the RHS campus except for chorus, based on medical advice. He continued to work toward completing ninth grade by enrolling in classes online, participating in tutoring and home-schooling.
An internal investigation of Matthew’s claims was conducted by two employees of the Ridgewood school district from April through June of 2010, and found that no staff member had committed wrongdoing. The local investigation by the Equal Educational Opportunity (EEO) Officer in conjunction with the Director of Human Resources / Affirmative Action Officer for the district. According to a report by NorthJersey.com.
The two conducted interviews with 28 individuals, including 21 members of the RHS staff or administration, the district’s physician, and Matthew and his parents. Their findings were submitted to the district on July 13. The family then missed a deadline for an appeal, filing it with the County Superintendent instead of locally.
The New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in L.W. v. Toms River Regional School District, 189 N.J. 381 (2007) provides a stringent legal standard that is applied in determining if a school district is to be held liable for student-on-student harassment based on sexual or affectional orientation. The Supreme Court held that under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) school districts are liable for such harassment when the school district knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take actions reasonably calculated to end the mistreatment and offensive conduct.
The Division on Civil Rights investigates every complaint it receives, but only after preliminary investigation is conducted and probable cause can be established, does a second phase of litigation begin. A Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means the State has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion that New Jersey’s LAD has been violated. The next step is “conciliation” where the division, the family and the board of education try to work out a settlement. If that doesn’t work, the case goes to trial before an administrative law judge.
The LAD provides that each Respondent found to have committed a violation is subject to a penalty of up to $10,000. The LAD also provides for other remedies, including compensatory damages and injunctive relief, such as changes in the employer’s policies and management/staff training.
>Slopes behind ropes: fear of lawsuits closing great New Jersey sledding hills – Will Citizens Park be next?
Slopes behind ropes: fear of lawsuits closing great New Jersey sledding hills Published: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 9:00 AM By Brian Donohue/The Star-Ledger
It’s one of the simple, most wonderful pleasures of life: zooming down a snow-covered hill just fast enough for a touch of fear to quicken your pulse. Maybe it’s a solo run. Maybe you’re clinging to a loved one as you tear down the hill tandem. Surely, sledding is one of those things that makes it worth toughing it out and living in New Jersey when sunnier climes often beckon.
Unfortunately, it’s getting tougher and tougher to find a place to do it. For the past two years on Ledger Live, we’ve taken viewers suggestions and hit the road in search of New Jersey’s best sledding hills. But more and more, we found, the hills that have thrilled generations of sledders are now closed.
Gov. Christie pointed Monday to last week’s layoffs of hundreds of city workers in Camden as an illustration of the need for widespread pension and benefits reform for public employees. (Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
>HomeMade Pizza Kicks Off the New Year with First New Jersey Location in Ridgewood
Ridgewood Residents Find a New Way To Do Pizza and a Fresh Way to Think About Dinner
HomeMade Pizza Company opens its first location in New Jersey – in the bustling suburb of Ridgewood. With HomeMade Pizza’s unique bake-at-home pizza concept and dedication to fresh, all natural ingredients that customers can feel good about eating, it has redefined pizza and promises a new way to think about dinner. It’s expanding in New Jersey with a new store on Ridgewood Avenue this week.
HomeMade invites Ridgewood area residents to join in the three-day neighborhood welcoming celebration that includes meeting the founders, dough tossing demos and free samples of its all-natural pizza, salads and bake-at-home cookies.
Store openings at HomeMade Pizza means turn-away crowds with nearly 2,000 residents expected to be served during the opening. From 4-7 p.m.,on Feb. 8-10, 2011. Located at 134 East Ridgewood Ave.Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
A free society cannot survive unless the people understand what is going on. Loren Spivack, The Free Market Warrior, has committed himself to helping an entire generation of Americans understand how economics works. The information is given in straightforward accessible format, with the goal of preparing a new “army” of regular Americans ready and equipped to fight for freedom, in that area where freedom is most crucial: our economic lives.
Join us for the Free Market Warrior Seminar on February 22 & February 23 from 7PM-10PM at the Knights of Columbus , 79 Pascack Road , Washington Township, NJ 07676
Village History : 1828 The Naming of Godwinville ie… Ridgewood
The Naming of Godwinville (In 1828) (Ridgewood, NJ) Reprinted from Short Sketches on Passaic County History, 1935
by Edward Graf
The ceremony of naming this village, in Bergen County about four miles north of Paterson, was performed in the following manner. On the morning of January first, 1828, the persons particularly interested in the cotton industries, established at that time in the neighborhood, proceeded from Paterson with a number of friends to that place where they met a number of its inhabitants assembled on the same occasion, who had prepared a splendid Liberty pole. This pole was borne to the corner of the road, near the store of David Lydacker by the unanimous assistance of the company present. After being decorated by an elegant Gilded Liberty Cap, presented by General Abraham Godwin, at the signal given by a discharge from a six-pounder, it was raised amidst the cheers of the surrounding multitude. The flag of the United States, also presented as above, was then hoisted to the top of the pole under a discharge of canon and cheering of the assembled citizens. After this they formed and marched to the new cotton factory of Messrs, Munn and Whitehead, where an excellent collation was provided by the proprietors of the respective cotton establishments in the vicinity, of which the whole party partook, and fared most sumptuously.
Abraham Van Rypen, one of the oldest inhabitants then addressed his neighbors in the following words:
Friends and fellow citizens – as one of the oldest residents of this neighborhood, I take the liberty on this occasion of welcoming among us the gentlemen who have availed themselves of our water powers and established manufacturies, destined, I trust and at no very far distant day, to make them rich and happy – give employment to the industrious and clothe and feed the needy. Already do we see and feel the good effects of their genius and enterprise. Out property has risen in value, our recently vacant houses have become tenanted, and many new ones erected and erecting, giving to what was, as it were yesterday a wilderness, the appearance of a thriving village. Permit me therefore to give it a name whereby it may be perpetuated and handed down to posterity.
In commemoration of one of the few that now remain of that worthy band, who breasted the storm of war in defense of our liberties and independence, and which enable us at this day to sit down under our own vine and fig tree, and to enjoy uninterruptedly such happy festivity as we have on the present occasion the pleasure of partaking and to testify our respect for the Revolutionary Patriot whose company we now have the pleasure to enjoy; I propose to you for this place the name of Godwinville.
The above was received with unabounded applause and General Godwin being present made the following brief reply:
Fellow citizens, with sentiments of unfeigned gratitude, I rise to tender to you my sincere acknowledgement for the flattering compliments you have paid me, and the honor conferred in selecting my name, in preference to any other, wherewith to perpetuate your village. My sincere wish is, that it may be a rising prosperous and happy one and that its general characteristic may be that of industry and honesty, and genuine republican principles and by pursuing strictly the last three qualifications, I have no doubt of your obtaining the former ones; and that it may be the case with each and all of you, permit me to reiterate my ardent solicitude.
This reply was also received with marked approbation. The company then again formed procession and returned to the Pole and after appending to the same in handsomely painted letters the newly acquired name of the village, it being about sunset, the flag was lowered until another discharge of cannon and the company retired to their respective places of abode, apparently well pleased with the proceedings of the day.
This week I voted to repeal the so-called “Affordable Care Act.” The repeal easily passed the House of Representatives, but it faces opposition in the Senate and veto threat from the White House. Nevertheless, our action this week was an important first step in fulfilling a top Republican priority for the 112th Congress.
Public outcry against this law has been rampant, and I remain convinced it is fundamentally flawed legislation that will stifle economic growth and job creation and weaken the health care for Americans. Additionally, the legislation’s individual mandate is unconstitutional and in direct violation of the vision the founding fathers had for our country.
JOBS
When this legislation was passed, then-Speaker Pelosi promised it would create four million jobs – 400,000 immediately. Obviously, it hasn’t. Instead of encouraging America’s leading job creators, the government takeover of health care hits small businesses with more mandates, new taxes, administrative burdens and higher health care costs.
Specifically, the law disincentivizes growth for companies by creating costly penalties for failing to meet regulations. Employers will be forced to decide between hiring more employees and facing strict mandates or cutting hours and salaries of current employees to make up the costs.
Businesses are the engine of our economy, and they need room to grow and create jobs. They don’t need the roadblock this legislation represents.
COST
During last year’s health care debate, I asked numerous health care professionals in New Jersey what issue they most wanted addressed in health care reform. Medical liability was consistently at or near the top of every list. Yet, the current law does nothing to address this problem. While patients should be compensated for gross negligence by physicians, little doubt exists that our current tort system is broken.
Indeed, rising costs are a primary obstacle preventing many Americans from accessing health insurance. Yet, the Affordable Care Act does nothing to reduce costs; if anything, it drives costs even higher. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that this law will continue to increase health insurance premiums in the individual market by 10-13%. This is unacceptable.
Government regulations and intervention are not the solution. History has shown that efficiency is hardly a hallmark of government operations. The best that government can – and should – do is safeguard an environment of freedom in which businesses and individuals can work, grow, and maximize their opportunity for success.
CONSTITUTIONALITY
Much has been said about the individual mandate in the health care law, and with good reason. Never before has the government forced people to purchase a product as a condition of citizenship. Such an act moves far beyond regulating economic activity to regulating inactivity. If we allow Congress to get away with this, then there is virtually no limit to the control Washington can exert over our lives.
On the opening day of the 112th Congress, I introduced H.R. 21, the Reclaiming Individual Liberty Act, which would repeal the individual mandate in the health care law. This mandate is far removed from what our nation’s founders envisioned when they wrote the Constitution, and it’s far beyond the authority Congress rightfully has.
While I support a full “repeal and replace” of the health care law, should that effort fail, repealing the individual mandate is critical to undoing the damage caused by the Affordable Care Act.
LOOKING FORWARD
Beyond repealing the Democrats’ job-destroying health care bill, we need to replace it with real reforms that do not stifle job creation and economic prosperity.
The House has passed a resolution instructing four major committees each to develop legislation proposing replacements to the Affordable Care Act. The legislation must be designed to use market-driven solutions to decrease the number of uninsured Americans. Primarily, the proposals must:
• foster economic growth and private-sector job creation, • lower health care premiums through increased competition, and • provide individuals with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage while preserving the doctor-patient relationship.
Health care affects every American, but the current law is not the solution. Absent a vibrant exchange of ideas and perspective from experts, this job-destroying monstrosity was rammed through Congress and thrust upon the public. It is our duty in this new Congress to repeal this law and replace it with a practical solution that will promote job growth and make health care more affordable for all Americans. Sincerely,
