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>Checks on ‘Joe’ more extensive than first acknowledged

>Checks on ‘Joe’ more extensive than first acknowledged
Tax, welfare info also sought on McCain ally
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:05 PM
By Randy Ludlow

https://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/29/joe30.html?sid=101

A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on “Joe the Plumber” were more extensive than it first acknowledged.

Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.

Harris called the multiple records checks “questionable” and said he awaits more answers. “It’s kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket,” he said.

If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper stories as buying a business, “it must take a lot of people a lot of time to run these checks,” he said. “Where do you draw the line?”

The checks were run after the news media reported that Wurzelbacher was considering buying a plumbing business with more than $250,000 in annual income, Jones-Kelley wrote.

“Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise, ODJFS, consistent with past departmental practice, checked confidential databases ,” she wrote.

“Not surprisingly, when a person behind in child support payments or receiving public assistance is receiving significant media attention which suggests that the person appears to have available financial resources, the Department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to take note and respond,” Jones-Kelley wrote.

The results of the searches were not publicly released and remain confidential, she wrote. Wurzelbacher has said he is not involved in a child-support case and has not purchased any business.

Jones-Kelley wrote that the checks were “well-meaning,” but misinterpreted amid the heated final weeks of a presidential election.

Wurzelbacher became a household name when Republican presidential hopeful John McCain frequently referred to “Joe the Plumber” during his Oct. 15 debate with Democrat nominee Barack Obama. The checks began the next day.

Wurzelbacher, who has endorsed and campaigned for McCain, had been caught on videotape challenging Obama about his tax proposals during a campaign visit to “Joe’s” neighborhood in the Toledo suburb of Holland.

Republicans have painted the checks on Wurzelbacher as a politically motivated bid by Democrats to dig up dirt and discredit the McCain ally. The Obama campaign has said it has no ties to the checks and supports investigations.

The administration of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has said the information was not improperly shared and that there were no political motives behind the checks.

The Dispatch has uncovered four uses of state computer systems to access personal information on Wurzelbacher, including the child-support check authorized by Jones-Kelley.

She said on Monday that her department frequently runs checks for any unpaid child support obligations “when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight.”

Republican legislators have challenged Jones-Kelley’s reason for checking on Wurzelbacher as “frightening” and flimsy.

Jones-Kelly also has denied any connections between the computer checks on Wurzelbacher and her support for Obama. She donated the maximum $2,500 this year to the Obama campaign.

Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether the child-support check on Wurzelbacher was legal.

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>Election Day School Closures

>THE RECORD
Monday October 27, 2008
BY JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

At least eight districts in Bergen County have made last-minute decisions to close their schools on Election Day in anticipation of a massive wave of voters.

County election officials have asked most districts to close, warning that a massive turnout for the presidential election could cause serious security and parking problems.

“You’d have hundreds and hundreds of people in the schools, potentially,” said Hackensack schools chief Edward Kliszus, who announced Oct. 15 that his schools would be closed. “On Election Day, the entire school ends up being open to adults that you don’t know. If it’s just a handful of people coming in, that’s one thing, but if you have hundreds.”

School officials in Bogota, Cliffside Park, Elmwood Park, Englewood, Hackensack, Palisades Park, Teaneck and Tenafly also will make Nov. 4 a day off for students and staff, joining dozens of other districts in the county that were already scheduled to be closed to teachers, students or both, election officials said.

Cliffside Park had scheduled a staff-only day but decided to close completely.

“The No. 1 issue is safety,” said John Czeterko, the superintendent of schools in Teaneck. “You get a lot of strangers in the building.”

A sampling of Passaic districts shows that Wayne and Pompton Lakes made decisions early in the school year to close on Election Day. Schools in West Milford, Ringwood, Wanaque, Butler, Pequannock, Lincoln Park and Kinnelon are expected to have classes.

Bergen districts that have decided to take the day off will use one of their allotted emergency days, usually employed for snow days.

Overall, 46 Bergen County districts will either be closed to students or have half days. About two dozen of those districts will ask teachers to stay for staff development, which could limit parking at some schools.

County Superintendent of Elections Patricia DiCostanzo said she and county Superintendent of Schools Aaron Graham hope to persuade as many districts as possible to shut down to avoid possible chaos inside the buildings. Half-days may not be enough of a solution, given the number of voters that could flood polling places early, she said.

“It’s the safest thing to do,” she said. “You can’t lock the doors. You can’t buzz them in. It’s going to be a free-for-all with people walking in.”

The county has seen a spike in registered voters to 544,000 from 483,000 since Election Day last year, an increase of more than 12 percent. The county processed 15,000 new registrations in the first two weeks of October alone.

Those numbers are testament to the level of excitement surrounding the contest between Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The presidential primary earlier this year — particularly on the Democratic side, which pitted Obama against New York Sen. Hillary Clinton — saw a record number of voters statewide.

The Election Day school closings come at an inconvenient time for some districts. The annual teachers’ convention has already ensured that public schools statewide will be shuttered on Thursday and Friday following the election.

“The week is very short,” said Eugene Westlake, the interim superintendent in Tenafly.

Nevertheless, he said, security concerns and the potential disruption to classes convinced him that closing the schools was the proper move.

The last-minute closings could mean some working parents will now have to find child care. In Teaneck, the district is offering limited babysitting service through a youth agency headquartered at the high school.

Not all districts have accepted the county’s recommendations. In Leonia, where two of the three public schools serve as polling places, the board determined that school could remain open.

“We felt we could manage the concerns and keep school going,” Superintendent Bernard Josefsberg said. The district is adding security to prevent any problems, he said.

“Everyone in Leonia knows that parking, even on a normal school day is tight, and that’s not going to change on Election Day. You hope that people will recognize that and plan accordingly.”

Some districts that will remain open on Election Day are trying to accommodate voters. In Glen Rock, for example, teachers will be asked to park elsewhere to free space in school lots.

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>The Math Planning Team Meeting; Highs and Lows…

>My wife and I have two small kids on the verge of entering the K-5 program in Ridgewood, and I am a Travell Tiger and Bejamin Franklin grad from 23 years ago, so we went to the Math Planning Team’s meeting tonight to see what was going on.

It started with the attendees breaking down into small groups of 5 – 8 people, facilitated by a member of the District Administration. We worked to answer the following four questions:

1. What is your passion when it comes to mathematics?

2. Reflecting on your own education in mathematics, what would you want that is different or the same for all children today in their mathematics education?

3. What do you think all students should know and be able to do in mathematics when they graduate?

4. What do you want to see in an elementary mathematics textbook or program?

After an interesting hour or so of discussing these questions, the large pages with our responses were grouped according to question and hung on the walls for a gallery walk/review that all could participate in and the meeting was ended.

I was quite pleased with the direction that things seemed to be headed, until I had a moment to speak with Regina Botsford, our Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Ridgewood.

I asked her why, if Benjamin Franklin Middle School had been ranked in the top 1% of all middle schools in NJ from 2000 – 2006, did the BOE change the middle school curriculum to “Connected Math?”

Her quick reply through a smile was, “Because they can be even better!”

So I asked her, “But if what we were doing was proven to work so well, why switch to a program that is still being developed?” I don’t even remember what her non-answer was to my question, but I do remember asking her “What was the program that was in place before ‘Connected Math’?”

This answer of Regina’s I remember: “There were various programs, various books.”
“Really?” I asked. “In just two schools (BF & GW) there were many programs and books? Do you mean there was one program at BF and another at GW? Or do you mean there were multiple books and programs within BF?”

To my last question in that list Regina seemed tense when she replied, “There may have been.”

That was an unclear answer so I asked for clarification, “You mean there were or there weren’t?”

This is where I was really shocked. Regina told me clearly, “I don’t have the answer to that and I am not going to research it.”

Whoah. “Ok,” I asked, “then can you help me understand what the core principle of ‘Connected Math’ is?” Here she said, “You can look it up on the website.”

I thanked her for talking with me and then left with my wife.

Here’s the thing: Regina Botsford is an intelligent, educated woman with strong credentials and experience. You can see her profile for youself on the Ridgwood web site. How could she NOT know what the prior middle school math program was before she went ahead and changed it? To change something as important as a successful math program without understanding what it is, seems like a terribly reckless decision, and Regina doesn’t strike me as a the reckless or irresponsible sort.

Further, if it is not true that she has no idea what the prior program consisted of (and I MUST assume that she had to know about the successful pre-existing program), then why would she put up such an offensive wall between herself and an interested and well educated young father who could have become an ally rather than an opponent?

I can only assume that she may have doubts or a lack of confidence about the “Connected Math” program that she shepherded in, otherwise why would she be so defensive right off the bat? If she had a very high level of confidence she might have said something like, “it’s a wonderful program with proven results. Why don’t you come by my office sometime during the week and I can show you in detail why we selected it over other competing programs?”

Instead I was directed to the internet which is FULL of web sites of parents and communities who are very angry that their kids are being taught the “Connected Math” program. I don’t think this is what Regina expected me to find when I followed her advice to look online. Just type “Connected Math” into Google. You can see what sites come up for yourself.

My question is still out there: Why on earth did we dump a successful math program in the Middle Schools for this? I want a serious answer, not passive aggressive retorts or sarcastic commentary from other aggravated moms and adads. A real explanation. I would accept this explanation here on the blog if it can’t be given in person.

Anyway, I am glad my wife and I still have time to see what happens here so we can track our kids into private school if we have to in order to secure a legitimate and competitive math education for them. It’s a shame that a Travell and Benjamin Franklin alumnus like myself wouldn’t want his own kids to go to the same school he went to. That really bums me out.

1-800-FLOWERS.COMshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=100462

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>As the economic crisis deepens, it turns out that the $700 billion bailout is far different from what was sold to Congress

>Dear Friends,

I voted against the bailout bill both times because I am opposed to hastily spending $700 billion in taxpayer dollars without robust oversight and the exploration of alternatives. Yes, I believe that Wall Street needs help. Yes, our economy is struggling and needs to be fixed, but a hasty bailout was a mistake. As the economic crisis deepens, it turns out that the $700 billion bailout is far different from what Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and the Bush Administration .

Congress was told that this money was going to be used for a “troubled asset relief program” to purchase toxic assets from bank balance sheets. We were told that buying these assets was the only option to help the economy; no other alternative would work. Shortly thereafter, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the money would be used for equity injections into various institutions. This past Friday, the Treasury Department announced it is considering taking equity stakes in insurance companies. The Wall Street Journal designated this move as “a sign of how the government’s $700 billion program has become a potential piggybank for a range of troubled industries.”

The government is now experiencing an influx of requests from companies all over the country: insurance firms, automakers, state governments and transit agencies all want a handout. There are some reports of companies using money from the bailout, your tax dollars, to provide employee bonuses and pay corporate dividends.

In the same article, the Wall Street Journal continued, “While Treasury intended for the program to apply broadly, the growing requests could rapidly deplete the $700 billion, an amount that initially stunned many as being quite large.”
This is alarming. The federal government is handing out easy money, yet we have not worked to fix the systemic causes of our economic crisis. American taxpayers should be alarmed and outraged at the irresponsible use of their money.

I am a cosponsor and a strong supporter of the alternative bill introduced in the House of Representatives, the Free Market Protection Act. This Act contains many efforts to fundamentally address the systemic issues affecting the financial markets and although the bailout bill has already passed the House, the Free Markey Protection Act has some components that are still worthy of discussion. It has an insurance component that places risk-based premiums on outstanding mortgage-backed securities (MBS). There also is a reform component that includes limits to the federal backing of high risk loans and temporarily suspends “mark to market” accounting. I have spoken to many experts who feel that these alternatives could stimulate the market just as effectively as the $700 billion bailout proposal. I don’t believe this is the only solution to the problem, but it shows that there are other alternatives to be explored. It’s not too late to work to incorporate bipartisan proposals that will pass quickly and reassure the markets that we do have a plan to fix this crisis.

Sincerely,
Scott GarrettMember of Congress

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>Obama, Dems Seek to End 401(k) Plans

>Obama, Dems Seek to End 401(k) Plans
By Mark Impomeni
Oct 24th 2008 9:00AM

https://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/10/24/obama-dems-seek-to-end-401-k-plans/

Sen. Barack Obama’s Democratic allies in Congress are looking into a radical new plan that would fundamentally change the way Americans save for retirement. House Democrats recently heard testimony on the idea and, under a potential Obama administration, would likely move to put it in place. Democrats want to seize the money that workers currently invest in their 401(k) plans and replace the popular retirement savings accounts with a one-size-fits-all government sponsored retirement account. Under the scheme, Americans would be forced to transfer all of their hard earned retirement savings from their 401(k) to the government.

The government would contribute $600 a year to fund each account and would pay a rate of return of around three percent in interest. The government would also mandate that each worker contribute 5% of their yearly salary to the accounts. Under current law, workers with 401(k) plans contribute to their retirement accounts and earn interest tax free. The Democrats’ plan would end those tax breaks, amounting to as much as a 15% tax hike on each American worker.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) said recently that Democrats had better ideas for the $80 billion that Americans contribute to their 401(k) plans each year. “We have to start thinking about whether or not we want to continue to invest that $80 billion for a policy that’s not doing what we say it should.” Sen. Obama would likely sign on to the plan as president.

Obama, McDermott, and Congressional Democrats miss the point that under current law, Americans have control over their retirement savings, where and how it is invested, and when and how much they contribute. The idea to nationalize retirement savings is another example of Democrats’ socialist proclivities. They want control of Americans’ retirement to reside in Washington DC, not on Main St., all in the name of “retirement security.”

https://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/10/24/obama-dems-seek-to-end-401-k-plans/

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>Reader asks ,"Who has gained most from the Wall Street catastrophe? "

>Different thread, sort of:

George Soros, Hungarian-born financier said by Forbes to be one of the hundred richest people in the world, was the mastermind of Black Wednesday in Great Britain in 1992, which basically negated the worth of the pound sterling as a viable currency for Britain. The result was Britain’s inevitable decision to join the Continent by introducing the Euro as the pan-national currency. A concentration of financial power to attack national institutions is a scary thing.

Soros is a secretive, but nonetheless hugely influential, financial supporter of well-known Democratic causes in the United States, and is, in fact a major financial supporter of Candidate Obama’s campaign. How much? It can’t be tracked because of the interlocking corporations that Soros controls and the places from where he issues his money.

Soros makes his money betting against the moves of the market, otherwise known as hedge trading. He controls a lot of the market. He can make the market go up or down, depending on how he feels on a particular day.

I ask this: Is it possible that one of Obama’s most financially influential supporters caused, either directly or indirectly, the financial disaster in the United States?

Who has gained most from the Wall Street catastrophe?

An October surprise? Worked for the Republicans against Carter. Soros and Obama share the same One World view. Maybe Soros figured out a way to use our own system of capitalism to destroy the nation that perfected it.

I’d be interested to read how others feel.

Editors Note:

Largest recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Campaign Contributions, 1989-2008

Dodd, Christopher CT D $165,400
Obama, Barack IL D $126,349
Kerry, John MA D $111,000

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>N.J. council blocks Corzine plan to charge small towns for State Police

>https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/nj_council_blocks_corzine_plan.html

by Tom Hester and Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger

Wednesday October 22, 2008, 7:17 PM

A powerful state council today shot down the Corzine administration’s plan to make 89 rural towns pay part of the cost of State Police protection.

The ruling by the Council on Local Mandates spares the towns — including three dozen in Hunterdon, Sussex, and Warren counties — from paying $12.6 million, and ends a contentious battle between the state and mayors. The total cost for State Police protection for the towns is about $87 million.

Patricia A. Meyer, the executive administrator of the Council on Local Mandates, said its members determined the provisions were “null, void and unenforceable” because they constituted an unfunded local mandate.

More than a dozen of the towns, including tiny Rocky Hill in Somerset County, brought the matter to the council, contending they should not be forced to pay for services they have received for free since the State Police was established in 1921. Nearly 323,000 people live in the 89 towns, about 4 percent of New Jersey’s population.

“Governor Corzine’s proposal was a slap in the face to residents of these rural communities who already see a disproportionate amount of their tax dollars used to fund services for residents in urban areas of the state,” said Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Warren). “We warned the governor that his plan was unconstitutional, but he chose to ignore those warnings.”

The state, for example, wanted Union Township in Hunterdon to pay $224,887; Victory Gardens in Morris County $37,216; Rocky Hill $29,227; Wantage in Sussex County $448,074, and Harmony in Warren County $216,270.

The Council on Local Mandates, which is independent of all three branches of state government, was created to carry out a 1995 constitutional amendment that declared the state could not set mandates on local governments without paying for them. Its eight members are appointed by the governor, legislative leaders and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

Leland Moore, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the matter may not be over, even though the Council on Local Mandates has powers to issue decisions that cannot be second-guessed by state courts.

“We strongly disagree with the council’s decision and are considering all options to reverse its potential impact,” Moore said. He would not say what those options may be.

Earlier in the day, Corzine said he may have to find cuts elsewhere to cover the $12 million. He has already said about $400 million may be sliced from the current budget because of the bad economy.

“We can always go and take municipal aid in some other place if we can’t do it in this place,” Corzine said. “This is all speculative … Is it going to come out of higher ed? Is it going to come out of school aid? We have limited choices.”

Rural mayors were outraged when Corzine proposed his plan, saying it would force higher property taxes.Over the summer, Knowlton Township mayor Frank Van Horn vowed he would go to jail before his Warren County municipality paid $123,060 for for State Police coverage.

William Dressel, executive director for the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, said the decision “is not just a win for the 89 municipalities, but for all local governments because this would have set a dangerous precedent in foisting upon the local property taxpayer costs for providing services the state has traditionally paid for.”

However, Hope Township Mayor Timothy McDonough said he does not believe the state will stop trying to get towns to pay.

“I think this issue is going to keep coming up,” said McDonough, who next month becomes president of the state League of Municipalities. “It started with Whitman, then McGreevey and now Corzine.”

McDonough said paying $86,000 for State Police coverage in Hope would have meant a $100 per household tax increase in his sparsely populated community off Route 80 in Warren County.
He said the township couldn’t afford to start its own police force or join one with a neighboring municipality. As it is, the township has just three full-time employees — a clerk and two road crew members.

McDonough said he is pushing for a plan by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) to pay for rural State Police coverage through a $9 surcharge on traffic tickets.

Staff writer Dunstan McNichol contributed to this report.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/nj_council_blocks_corzine_plan.html

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>Keep Your Child Home From School On Election Day?

>The Fly has learned that the recent daytime intrusions into two separate Ridgewood public schools have prompted a grass roots movement to keep children out of school on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th. It is expected that an informal e-mail and flyer campaign promoting the movement will begin shortly.

The movement’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, told The Fly that “There will be many strangers in my child’s school because it’s a polling place and I just don’t think that school administration can give parents any assurance that these people won’t get anywhere near my child.”

At this time, the official Ridgewood BOE website makes no reference to the most recent daytime school intrusion, in which a male/female burglary team made their way inside of the Ridge School on West Ridgewood Avenue and rifled through the personal belongings of several staff members. One intruder was apprehended on the scene by uniformed Ridgewood police officers; the other managed to escape.

Will you be sending your child to school on November 4th or not?

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>Ted Nutting on the math mess

>From kitchentablemath.blogspot.com

https://www.kitchentablemath.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 13, 2008

Ted Nutting on the math mess

I’m a high-school math teacher in Seattle. When I hear Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington, say that this state is “at the bottom in the production of scientists and engineers,” and warn that our graduates “will be washing the cars for the people who come here for the best jobs,” I know what the problem is. It’s math. We are failing to educate our children in mathematics. I know how that came about, and what we can do about it.

The problem is national in scope, but in Washington state our difficulties can be traced principally to Terry Bergeson, superintendent of public instruction for the past 12 years. She oversaw the writing of our state’s weak, vague math standards, basing them on a “reform” idea to promote “discovery” learning. This has turned teachers into “facilitators” who “guide” children in learning activities. It has promoted “differentiated instruction,” placing students of wildly differing abilities together where some students cannot do the required work, often to the detriment of those who can.

She has moved away from rigorous testing. The “reform” math she champions encourages such things as journals, portfolios and group projects that tend to form large parts of classroom grading systems, while test results are relegated to a lesser role. The math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), aligned to her faulty standards, tests math skills at a low level. Even so, about half our 10th-graders fail it.

She has wasted millions of dollars on “professional development” to encourage teachers to put “reform” theories into practice. These theories are supposed to make it possible for all students to learn math. But few students know significant mathematics, and most know very little. About half of our students entering college now have to take remedial math. Many of our students who do succeed use private tutors, and the racial achievement gaps have widened. “Reform’s” emphasis on equity and fairness has been revealed to be empty talk.

My experience tells me that we can fix this, and quickly. I am the Advanced Placement calculus teacher at Ballard High School. I don’t teach Bergeson-style. I tell my students what they need to know, they do problems to understand how it works, and they demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through testing. Up until this year, we’ve insisted that our students who take AP calculus actually be able to do the work.

We at Ballard have by far the best AP calculus program in Seattle Public Schools, based on AP test scores. I have no special magnetism or charisma; I’m not a cult figure for teenagers. I have high standards and I require the students to work. If they don’t work, they know they will probably flunk. But they do work, and I am proud of them. I also have the benefit of having an older textbook that doesn’t fit the “reform math” model, and most of my students have had an excellent pre-calculus teacher the year before.

In most of our other math classes (and I doubt that Ballard is unique in this), we’ve tended to follow a “reform” model. We’ve passed students on from class to class; there is no meaningful threshold they must cross to enter a more-difficult class. Since we find that many students in our classes cannot do the work, we dumb down the courses. We say we are admitting unprepared students into our classes in order to “challenge” them.

But students should be challenged in the classes that they are qualified to take, not sent on to classes where they cannot do the work. Unfortunately, things are changing, even in our school’s AP calculus classes: We’re starting to admit unqualified students, and our program will soon begin to deteriorate.

It’s not just Ballard’s AP calculus program that is successful, and it’s not just the top students. North Beach Elementary in Seattle [was this Niki Hayes’ school? will find out] switched its math curriculum to Saxon Math in 2001. This excellent series teaches real math and does not follow Bergeson’s fuzzy, reform-oriented ideology. North Beach did this with reluctant agreement from Seattle Public Schools because the PTA paid for the books and because the superintendent supported site-based decision-making. North Beach’s passing rate on the WASL rose from 68 percent in 2000 to 94 percent in 2004 — and yet, every year parents worry that real math will be scrapped. Recently, the school has had to seek waivers to avoid having to teach the district’s “reform” math.

Legislators have begun to understand the problem. At the Legislature’s direction in 2007, the state Board of Education reviewed our state’s math standards, finding they were failing. The Legislature set up a system to fix the problems, but that system gave Bergeson the opportunity to sabotage the process. She stacked the committees selected to rewrite the standards with like-minded ideologues. The results were so bad the Legislature refused to accept the rewritten standards, sending them to the Board of Education to fix.

Bergeson then stacked the committees set up to select curricula for state approval. That process is not complete, but the first results are discour-aging. The Legislature had required that the new mathematics standards be based on (among other things) the standards of Singapore, consistently a leader on international tests, but Bergeson’s initial submission of texts ranked Singapore Math, that country’s official curriculum (and a superior one), dead last out of 12.

Most school-district administrations have gone along with Bergeson and share responsibility for this mess. Even as an uproar arose nationally against the programs Bergeson promotes, Seattle started using two of them in elementary and middle schools.

None of this is necessary. Students can learn math. My students learn it. If our education leaders would follow the lead of our Legislature, stop ignoring obvious successes and support what actually works, we would see major improvements in just a few years.
Ted Nutting is the Advanced Placement calculus teacher at Ballard High School in Seattle.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

https://www.kitchentablemath.blogspot.com/

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>Garrett’s fundraising outpaces Shulman’s 2-1 in 5th District

>Posted by packerma October 15, 2008 18:43PM

As the election approaches, Rep. Scott Garrett has a 2-1 fundraising lead over Dennis Shulman, his Democratic challenger for the 5th District seat, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/garretts_fundraising_outpaces.html

Garrett, 49, a Sussex County Republican, has $571,000 in cash on hand, while Shulman, a Bergen County Democrat, has $279,000, according to their Federal Election Commission reports for July 15 to Oct. 15.

However, the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has promised to bolster the 58-year-old Shulman’s coffers, after labeling the race Tuesday as one of its “Red to Blue” campaigns, in which Democratic challengers are to receive more funding and assistance to try to defeat GOP incumbents on Nov. 4.

“We think this means Dennis is well-positioned for October, especially as the national party has made the race a priority and Dennis’ grassroots support continues to expand exponentially,” Shulman’s campaign manager, Jeff Hauser, said Wednesday.

Garrett’s campaign notes he has outpaced his own fundraising, as compared with the 2006 election.

“We have exceeded the fundraising activity from previous elections by almost $300,000, and our cash on hand is twice that of our opponent,” Garrett campaign manager Amanda Gasperino said Wednesday. “These numbers are proof that voters in the 5th District want a congressman who will fight to protect New Jersey taxpayers and their family budgets.”

The campaign finance reports show the following figures:

Garrett had $649,000 at the start of the quarter; raised another $281,000; spent $359,000; and has $571,000 cash-on-hand. About $179,000 of Garrett’s contributions came from individual donations while $98,000 came from political action committees, or PACs, including the New Jersey Right to Life PAC, American Conservative Union, and several banking, insurance and finance groups.

Shulman had $258,000 at the start of the quarter; raised another $328,000; spent $307,000; and has $279,000 cash on hand. Some $205,000 of Shulman’s contributions came from individual donations while $69,000 came from PACs, including the NARAL Pro-Choice PAC, the American Federation of Teachers and several labor unions.

Shulman also loaned his campaign $53,000 in the third quarter. He loaned his campaign $35,000 in the second quarter and also has provided $14,000 in in-kind expenses.

Garrett has not loaned any of his own money to his campaign.

Of Shulman’s loans to his campaign, Gasperino said: “It’s clear that he has been unable to raise the amount of money he needs to fund his negative media buy .¤.¤. he’s forced to dip into his own pocket because 5th District voters refuse to fund his incessantly negative and baseless attack ads.”

Hauser said Shulman “has engaged a vast grassroots support that will work in the field and friend-to-friend to bring the vote out, whereas Garrett has gone financial services PAC-to-PAC to build a top-heavy campaign, out-of-touch with the district.”

Shulman has run ads blasting Garrett as “corrupt” for receiving a farmland tax assessment on nearly 10 acres of land used by his brother for a Christmas tree farm — but not listing the farmland as an asset on federal disclosure forms.

Garrett is an attorney from Wantage who is known as New Jersey’s most conservative congressman. He has said he is not required to disclose the farmland because he does not earn any income from it.

Shulman, of Demarest, is a psychologist and a rabbi. He has been blind since childhood. If elected, Shulman would become the first rabbi in Congress.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/garretts_fundraising_outpaces.html

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>Corzine wants to invest in N.J. banks, aid troubled homeowners

>Posted by cjrothma October 16, 2008 05:11AM

Gov. Jon Corzine today will propose a broad stimulus package designed to protect the state against the global financial crisis.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/governor_looks_to_aid_banks_an.html

With the state’s economic footing and his own political fortunes on the line, the Democratic governor is scheduled to address both houses of the state Legislature at noon at the Statehouse in Trenton. He is expected to speak for about 20 minutes in the Assembly chambers, which will be filled with economists, lobbyists and others eager to hear the former Goldman Sachs CEO’s plans.

Tim Larsen/Governor’s Gov. Jon Corzine
Corzine has said his agenda will “bridge troubled waters” in the short term and “lay a foundation” for growth when the downturn ends.

Earlier this week, Republican lawmakers proposed slicing the state sales tax in half during the holiday shopping season, saying it would help consumers and merchants beset by fears of a long economic downturn. The plan would cut the 7 percent state sales tax to 3.5 percent from Thanksgiving through Jan. 4. It also would halve the sales tax in Urban Enterprise Zones, which already charge a discounted 3.5 percent, to 1.75 percent.

Corzine plans to propose investing $250 million from the state pension fund in community banks to spur lending to small businesses, and directing $45 million in state funding to homeowners facing foreclosure, officials said Wednesday.

The infusion of pension funds would boost banks’ liquidity, helping local businesses to obtain the credit they need to operate, according to administration and legislative sources familiar with the governor’s proposal.

The state Economic Development Authority would play a matchmaking role between borrowers and banks, and the deposits from the pension fund would be insured, said the officials, who requested anonymity because they were speaking in advance of the governor’s address.

Help also would be offered to about 1,500 New Jerseyans in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure, through two initiatives that would spend $45 million from the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to stabilize neighborhoods, according to Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee.

The pension investment and foreclosure assistance programs represent a piece of the Democratic governor’s total economic-stimulus package. Overall, the plan is expected to contain more than 20 separate items ranging from emergency food and heating assistance to new tax breaks for businesses that create jobs.

Other components of Corzine’s plan include infrastructure projects such as roads and schools, a green jobs program encompassing wind and solar power and biofuels, and legislation to improve the state’s business climate.

The total cost to the state — not including the investment of pension funds — is expected to be about $150 million, to be paid for out of existing state revenues, the officials said.

Recognizing the moment’s political implications for Corzine, who faces re-election in 2009, Republican lawmakers have spent the week attacking his economic record and unveiling plans of their own, including a five-week sales tax “holiday.” Top GOP senators also urged Corzine to suspend real estate sales taxes and New Jersey’s new paid-family-leave requirements to help the state become more competitive with its neighbors.

“This state and its economy have been broken for a long time,” said Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who reiterated support for the GOP proposal to cut the 7 percent state sales tax in half for the holiday shopping season. Corzine does not support that plan.

Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said a proposal to allow businesses to carry net operating losses for 20 years instead of seven is among Corzine’s efforts to bring New Jersey in line with other states.

Making that change, and possibly others, to corporate tax policies “would send a strong message that New Jersey officials understand that job creation and job retention is the surest way out of this current economic downturn, and that we need to improve our business climate,” said Art Maurice, first vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

James Hughes, dean of Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Policy and Planning, said Corzine can affect the overall economic downturn in three primary areas — increasing state construction spending, assisting households caught up in mortgage foreclosure or joblessness and easing taxes and regulations on business.

But he cautioned that even the most comprehensive list of New Jersey cures will not reverse a steep global economic decline.

“The tides here are very, very strong. And there’s no way at the state level you are going to be able to confront them directly,” Hughes said. “At the most you can deflect them a little.”

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/governor_looks_to_aid_banks_an.html

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>Cablevision plans to deploy WiFi in the commercial and high consumer traffic areas across its entire tri-state service area

>BETHPAGE, N.Y., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced that it has successfully deployed Optimum WiFi wireless Internet access in commercial and high-traffic locations across its Long Island, Connecticut and Westchester/Dutchess service areas as a free enhancement for its Optimum Online high-speed Internet customers. Optimum WiFi has also been activated on the commuter rail platforms and station parking lots across Long Island, and at many Metro North stations as well.

Already the largest and most advanced consumer WiFi network in the nation, based on geographic coverage, Cablevision has more than doubled the size of its activated Optimum WiFi service area just since its initial deployment update early last month. Over the next two years, Cablevision plans to deploy WiFi in the commercial and high consumer traffic areas across its entire tri-state service area.

“We are pleased to announce that Optimum WiFi is now available to customers across Cablevision’s Long Island, Connecticut and Westchester/Dutchess service areas, as our market-wide deployment continues,” said Kevin Curran, Cablevision’s senior vice president of wireless product development. “Free and broadly available WiFi access is already becoming a popular enhancement for our Optimum Online customers, and a significant differentiator over our competitors. With an estimated 300 million WiFi-enabled consumer electronics devices shipped last year – a figure that is expected to grow to 1 billion by 2012 – we believe the interest and value associated with Optimum WiFi is only beginning.”

Current Optimum Online customers using laptop computers and portable WiFi-enabled devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry can access Optimum WiFi through a simple sign-on screen. Once a customer logs into the service by entering their Optimum User ID and password, the network delivers fast symmetrical speeds of up to 1.5 megabits-per-second.

Cablevision currently provides Optimum Online high-speed Internet service to more than 2.4 million customers, more than 51 percent of the homes passed by Cablevision’s fiber optic network, the highest penetration of any Internet service in the nation. Optimum Online customers are already familiar with the benefits of wireless access, with more than half using wireless routers in the home.

Optimum WiFi uses the same standard used in wireless home networks, 802.11, and any device that is certified by the WiFi Alliance as adhering to the 802.11 standards and has a browser will be able to access the Optimum WiFi network. Cablevision has launched a consumer Web site, located at www.optimumwifi.com, to provide customers with additional information on Optimum WiFi, including tutorials and detailed coverage maps, which will be updated as the deployment continues.

Previously activated Optimum WiFi community zones – which are still providing service as the market-wide deployment increases – include Denville, Ridgewood and Tenafly in New Jersey, and Parkchester in the Bronx.

About Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) is one of the nation’s leading media and entertainment companies. Its cable television operations serve more than 3 million households in the New York metropolitan area. The company’s advanced telecommunications offerings include its iO TV(R) digital television, Optimum Online(R) high-speed Internet, Optimum Voice(R) digital voice-over-cable, and its Optimum Lightpath integrated business communications services. Cablevision operates several successful programming businesses, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv, through Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, and serves the New York area as publisher of Newsday and other niche publications through Newsday LLC. In addition to these businesses, Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden and its sports teams, the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty. The company also operates New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, and the Chicago Theatre, and owns and operates Clearview Cinemas. SOURCE Cablevision Systems Corp.

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>REPRINT :"Math program is ‘inherently flawed’"

>From the Ridgewood News

Friday, February 8, 2008

Reader Viewpoint

“Math program is ‘inherently flawed'”

BY LAWRENCE MASKIN

There seems to be a callous disregard for parental input regarding our district’s current math programs. Balanced approach is what we’re hearing time and time again. Our Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Ms. Regina Botsford, stated last April that the math program at Travell was balanced. Then, this summer, Ms. Botsford stated that they had reset the balance. Currently, Ms. Botsford states that we have to find the balance. Why would the administration and BOE whole-sale adopt a program that needed a balance adjustment not just once, but three times! Yet, they still search for that balance.

To me, the program was inherently flawed from the start as evidenced by this need for constant reshuffling. They are taking an experimental program with no track record that is highly criticized and sprinkling in the tried and true traditional math with a proven past high record of success. As a former biologist, I can tell you this is analogous to a dilution. In this case a huge dilution of the very math that put Ridgewood on the map as an educational powerhouse of the past.

They keep repeating, “we need math for the 21st century.” What the heck does that mean? Have standard equations honed through the centuries changed somehow with the times? Doesn’t 2 plus 2 still equal 4? Supporters of diluted math say that parents simply don’t understand it because it looks different from what they had learned in the past.

They tell us to “have blind faith in the program.” Surely they must be joking. The program expects children to solve problems in multiple ways with little emphasis on obtaining the correct answer. Therefore, it is the journey, not the destination. Let me repeat that — GETTING THE CORRECT ANSWER IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MATH. Oh really? Since when? In this diluted math program’s methodology, the most important thing is explaining your thought process. Tell that to your pharmacist when he’s measuring your medication. Perhaps your accountant can “guesstimate” your taxes. Let’s hope he errs on your side.

They keep saying this math has “real world” problems. There have always been “real world” problems to solve in math. In fact, from the very beginning of elementary school education we have all had problems such as theses: There are 3 oranges in one basket and 2 oranges in another basket. What are the total number of oranges in both baskets?

They keep saying, “Deep understanding” of math. I see a convoluted methodology severely lacking content. They call practice, “Drill and Kill.” Are you kidding me? How does one become proficient at any endeavor without practice?

This math uses what’s called a “spiral approach.” This means you briefly visit a topic, move on to other topics, move on to get more topics and ultimately return to the first topic. The preliminary findings of President Bush’s current panel on math education recommend moving away from this approach. Yet this is the methodology our Board of Education is continuing to embrace.

According to the state test, NJASK, our students are doing very well. Sounds great, right? Well the fact is our state standards received poor marks from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In addition an independent non-profit educational institute gave our state standards a “D” grade. Additionally our children are only required to pass 50% of the questions on the state test in order to be rated proficient. I thought 50% was failing. So, rather than soar well beyond those paltry standards, we just simply meet them.

Did you know there are 3 different math programs in our 6 elementary schools?

Did you know there are no math textbooks in the diluted math programs?

Did you know our kids are expected to discover answers on their own in groups, rather than teacher directed instruction? When students ask a question regarding a math problem, the teacher’s first response should be, well, what do you think”?

Did you know for the past 7 years Benjamin Franklin Middle School ranked in the top 1-2% in math (out of more than 1300 middle schools in New Jersey) utilizing traditional math. So what did the Board recently decide to do– replace it with this diluted math.

Did you know this math program is considerably more expensive to us taxpayers than traditional math?

Did you know this math has been highly criticized by the top 200 mathematicians in the United States?

Did you know this controversy continues in states around the country?

Did you know our Board used our tax dollars – more than $90000.00 to hire an expert to help us figure out this problem? Her conclusions were essentially that we need to partner with a local university to help us through this matter.

Did you know our teachers have to be totally “retrained” to teach math and that the training needs to be ongoing and long term? The list goes on and on…

Ultimately this long term erosion of our kids’ math education will affect their ability to compete in the global job market. You simply have to look at those nearby out of town districts that are continuing to educate their students with solid, time proven programs. There are also available programs that emulate the best international math curricula in the world. They are readily available and offer solid content and provide world class results. Why these are not even considered is baffling and frustrating. Because our school district’s reputation and our academic successes from years past are continuing to fall by the wayside our property values too will drop as a result. Ridgewood cannot afford to ride on its reputation. As the phrase goes, you can pay me now or pay me later. It appears here in Ridgewood we are doing both.

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NJT board to vote, this week, on high platforms for Ridgewood station

>the+bear+014
Posted by trainsarefun on Sun Oct 12 18:02:58 2008, in response to Re: NJT board to vote, this week, on high platforms for Ridgewood station, posted by RonInBayside on Sun Oct 12 17:25:18 2008.

“Staff also seeks authorization to amend the existing professional services with Stantec (formerly Vollmer Associates) of Newark, New Jersey, for Construction Support services related to the construction contract in the amount of $1,000,000, plus five percent for contingencies, for a total contract authorization of $3,045,000, subject to the availability of funds.”

The math in that sentence doesn’t add up.

Well, it’s an NJT computation, so we all know what that means. 🙂

Construction project managers are usually paid a percentage of the contract value. Is it possible they really meant some percent of $23 million. 10% of 23 million is $2.3 million, plus another five percent contingency, would be $1.15 million extra. But that doesn’t add up either.

More seriously, though, notice that it’s an amendment to an existing contract. Here is an example of another agenda item doing something similar, in terms of accounting, which is also on for this week’s board meeting:

0810-74

ACCESS TO THE REGION’S CORE: ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANT SERVICES: THE PARTNERSHIP – CONTRACT AMENDMENT

In August 2006, NJ TRANSIT initiated preliminary engineering for the Access to the Region’s Core project, also known as THE Tunnel Project. A continuation of these services through Extended Preliminary Engineering is required up to receipt of the Record of Decision (ROD) to ensure the project starts construction in 2009. The ROD is currently anticipated this fall and permission to enter into Final Design by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will be issued shortly thereafter.

Staff seeks authorization to fund Extended Preliminary Engineering through 2008 and Final Design for 2009 and 2010 by extending contract (No. 06-046) with THE Partnership, a joint venture between Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., STV Inc., and DMJM Harris, Inc. of Newark, NJ, for Engineering / Architectural consultant services for the Access to the Region’s Core/THE Tunnel Project at a cost not to exceed $124,000,000, plus five percent for contingency, for a total contract authorization of $214,493,869, subject to the availability of funds. The consultant services for Final Design will be initiated after a Record of Decision and approval to enter Final Design has been obtained from the FTA.

show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=91602

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>"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

>older columbus

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS discovered America in 1492. At least that is what all elementary school children were always taught: “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Of course, Columbus never did “discover” North America, and the regions he did explore were already inhabited. He only discovered them from the viewpoint of the Europeans. Yet his first voyage did prove one thing for sure, that the earth was not only round, but that it was bigger than he had thought, Eratosthenes notwithstanding.

One of the first known celebrations marking the discovery of the “New World” by Christopher Columbus was in 1792, when a ceremony organized by the Colombian Order was held in New York City honoring Christopher Columbus and the 300th anniversary of his landing in the Bahamas. Then, on October 12, 1866 the Italian population of New York organized the first celebration of the discovery of America. Three years later, in 1869 Italians in San Francisco celebrated October 12 calling it C-Day.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage, in 1892, President Benjamin Harrison made a commemorative proclamation. But it was Colorado, in 1905, that became the first state to observe a Columbus Day. Since 1920 the day has been celebrated annually, and in 1937 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. That’s where it remained until 1971 when Congress declared it a federal public holiday on the second Monday in October.

Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1505)

Columbus, the son of a wool merchant and weaver, was born in Genoa, Italy and went to sea at the age of 14. Following a shipwreck off the coast of Portugal in 1470, he swam ashore and settled in that country.

Between 1477 and 1482 Columbus made merchant voyages as far away as Iceland and Guinea. But in 1484, his “Enterprise of the Indies” idea fell on deaf ears when he presented it to King John of Portugal. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Spain, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella became more interested in his adventuresome ideas.

To the New World

On August 2, 1492, Columbus set sail in search of the East Indies. The voyage was financed by Ferdinand and Isabella by making the city of Palos pay back a debt to the crown by providing two of the ships, and by getting Italian financial backing for part of the expenses. The crown had to put up very little money from the treasury.

Columbus and 90 crewmen boarded the three ships that were to make the first voyage to the New World, the Niña, Pinta, and the flagship, Santa Maria. On October 12, 1492, Columbus first saw the islands of the new world, landing in the Bahamas. Later in the month, he would sail to Cuba, and to Hispaniola (now Haiti). He thought he had reached the East Indies, the islands off Southeast Asia.

Contrary to popular belief, most educated individuals in the 15th century, and especially sailors, already knew that the earth was round. What was not realized by Columbus, however, was just how big a globe it was. Columbus seriously underestimated the size of the planet.

Seaworthy Cuisine

The menu for Spanish seamen consisted of water, vinegar, wine, olive oil, molasses, cheese, honey, raisins, rice, garlic, almonds, sea biscuits, dry legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, beans, salted and barreled sardines, anchovies, dry salt cod and pickled or salted meats (beef and pork), salted flour.

Food, mostly boiled, was served in a large communal wooden bowl. It consisted of poorly cooked meat with bones in it, the sailors attacking it with fervor, picking it with their fingers as they had no forks or spoons. The larger pieces of meat were cut with the knife each sailor carried. Fish was eaten most often. On calm days, the crew would fish and then cook their catch.

Return to Spain and Additional Voyages

On Christmas Day, 1492, the Santa Maria sank off Hispaniola. Columbus departed for Spain on January 16, 1493 on the Niña, arriving there on March 4.

Columbus made three additional voyages to the New World. The second voyage set sail in September, 1493, with 17 ships. During his expeditions, he helped to colonize Hispaniola, and discovered the South American mainland. He did not, however, see mainland North America during any of his voyages.

He returned to Spain for the last time on November 7, 1504. He died at Valladolid, Spain on May 20, 1506, at the age of 55.

Controversy

Much controversy exists over Columbus’ expeditions and whether or not one can “discover” an already-inhabited land. The natives of the Bahamas and other islands on his journey were peaceful and friendly. Yet many of them were later enslaved by the Spanish. Also, it is known that the Vikings explored the North American coast 500 years before Columbus.

Nevertheless, Columbus’ expedition was unique and important in that it resulted in the first intertwining of Europe with the Americas, resulting in the first permanent European colonies in the New World.

https://wilstar.com/holidays/columbus.htm