Ridgewood NJ, NJ TRANSIT is delivering on its commitment to improving the customer experience across its rail, bus and light rail systems with the creation of the first Customer Advocate & Chief Customer Experience Officer in the agency’s 40-year history.
NJ TRANSIT has named transportation advocate and customer experience leader Stewart Mader to fill the role. The position is dedicated to monitoring and improving the customer experience statewide at every customer touchpoint.
“As NJ TRANSIT continues to rebuild itself as a world-class mass transit agency, restoring safety and reliability to the thousands of commuters who use its service daily, the voices of its riders must be heard,” said Governor Philip Murphy. “I applaud NJ TRANSIT’s leadership for prioritizing those voices, and putting customer service at the forefront of its operations by selecting Stewart Mader as the agency’s first Customer Advocate and Chief Customer Experience Officer, who will use his deep experience advocating for mass-transit in our region to monitor customer experience and feedback, and integrate the unique needs of commuters into the agency’s decision making process.”
Westwood NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a repeat child pornography offender was sentenced to state prison today for distributing videos and images of child pornography online using a file-sharing program. He was arrested in “Operation Safety Net,” a multi-agency child protection operation led by the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
James R. Agin, 71, of Westwood, N.J., a freelance photographer, was sentenced to six years in prison, including three years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Frances McGrogan in Bergen County. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, 2019 to second-degree distribution of child pornography (storing or maintaining child pornography using a file-sharing program). Agin must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life. He pleaded guilty in 2007 in Bergen County to a prior charge of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to probation.
Trenton NJ, The NJ Conservative GOP has called for Christie Todd Whitman to be asked to leave the Republican Party. “Whitman is out of control with her contemptible remarks regarding our successful President Donald Trump, calling him a dictator and saying he has no regard for the Constitution! Whitman has been a constant degrading critic of the President. Her most recent remarks go beyond the pale, and her ugly hateful assertions have NO place in the Republican Party. Whitman is a vile critic of President Trump, even more so than democrats Murphy, Sweeney, and Coughlin all put together. The NJ C-GOP is calling on New Jersey GOP State Chairman Doug Steinhardt to request a change of party for Whitman”. Danielczyk said.
Ridgewood NJ, Award winning concert pianist Lisa Yui, will be featured with the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven’s enduringly popular Emperor Concerto on Friday May 3 at 8:00 p.m., at the West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood. Described as “a musical phenomenon” (Pianiste magazine), Yamaha Artist Lisa Yui has performed as soloist with prominent orchestras such as the Tokyo Symphony, Polish National Radio, Toronto Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, the Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, and the Krakow State Philharmonic.
Ridgewood NJ, Come by Ridgewood Emergency Services at 8 am on Saturday April 27 to help the volunteers, along with Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation for a Spring cleanup of the grounds. Green thumbs most welcomed. Also, meet members and find out more about Volunteering at Ridgewood Emergency Services
While most of the Village residents were enjoying the holiday weekend at home with their friends and families, the volunteers of Ridgewood Emergency Services were busy responding to requests for medical assistance throughout the Village. According to Acting Chief Ryan Savaria, there were a total of 11 EMS calls and one request for Special Operations. “This is an average amount of requests “ stated Savaria. While not responding to calls, the volunteers perform routine checks of all equipment, supplies and making sure that they are ready for the next call. In 2018, RES resonded to over 1650 calls for medical assistance.
“We The People,” stand as a united front with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar against the unfair, extreme, and vicious attacks being leveled against her by the President of the United States and some of his supporters. Ilhan Omar is a Somali-American Muslim woman duly elected in 2018 to serve as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. Rep. Omar has championed the rights of immigrants, the poor and disenfranchised, as well as defended Palestine’s right to exist. Rep. Omar has been called Anti-Semitic and ridiculously and erroneously linked to terrorism. She has received numerous death threats since President Donald Trump posted an edited video that suggests Rep. Omar dismissed the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
HACKENSACK NJ,Following an invitation-only budget roundtable for elected Bergen County officials at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan Campus, Assemblymen Christopher P. DePhillips and Kevin J. Rooney slammed the Murphy administration’s runaway spending and tax increases.
“We can’t have any meaningful discussion around this budget without addressing spending cuts and tax cuts,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen). “Moreover, Trenton should be required to live within a two percent spending cap, just like every municipality in our state.”
New Milford NJ, the New Milford Police Department is reporting a Scam Alert: The New Milford Police has been receiving numerous reports of residents being called by someone from the social security administration advising that their social security number has been used to rent a vehicle and that vehicle was used in a crime. The caller will then ask the victim to confirm their social security number or request that they send them money via pre-paid gift cards or other unconventional payments. This is a scam. Please be attentive to these types of calls and do not provide any personal information. The New Milford Police are always available to handle any questions or concerns.
The statistics are in and if you’re a millennial, you have every reason to worry. It’s a well-known fact that student loans are a burden to the current generation. This is despite the millennials owning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. On the other hand, it’s these loans that made it possible for them to acquire tertiary level education.
A recent release showed student loans are now just shy of $1.5 trillion ($1.48). To put this into perspective, it is 1.5 times the credit card debt owed by Americans.
With this in mind, it’s easy to see why millennials are unable to find that ever-elusive financial freedom. According to a study done by MagnifyMoney, a millennial with a student loan is worth a mere 25 percent of what a fellow millennial without a loan is worth.
With such disparity, it’s also clear where their income disappears to. Graduating may bring lots of joy, but the journey to the top of the hill is only beginning. Take a look at how fellow millennials struggle with student loans.
The Net Worth Divide
The rift in the net worth of people with student loans and those without continues to widen as the years go by. For example, in 1989, less than 35 households with student loans had only 13% less in net worth, compared to their counterparts without the burden.
Fast forward to 1998, and this figure is almost triple, with the rift widening to 36%, which means the household with a student loan averaged at $68,687 in net worth while those without averaged at $108,146.
Almost two decades later, the gap between the two households stands at a whopping 75%. Those with student loans average $29,087 while millennials without average $114,376. This means those without loans pocketed more than $85,000 than those shackled with loans.
While a college degree can command a lucrative salary, the income will only go toward clearing the debt thereby hindering you from achieving financial freedom.
A Dry Bank Account
Student loans are great since they finance your dreams. However, reality checks in after graduation. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a job, and the income will go toward offsetting the debt. This is the point where your dream of financial freedom dims.
According to studies, those with student loans use a huge chunk of their paycheck to pay off their loans, thus drying their bank accounts. These graduates have an average of $5,500 while those without holds almost double that amount, $10,180.
This creates a chain reaction where these millennials end up taking on more credit card debt as a result of reduced liquid cash. In fact, they form 55% of those with student debts, while those without makeup 32%. Furthermore, they also have huge balances, $2,888 compared to $1,476 for those without.
Reduced Retirement Savings
The chain reaction continues. Since the millennials have less money in their bank accounts, it’s only logical for them to cut down spending on various household items. Even doing so may not be enough to cover the monthly expenses.
This means no left-over to put away as savings for your retirement. The debt-free millennials have an average of $39,905 stashed away on retirement savings. This is $18,745 more than their counterparts with $5000 quick realistic loans, who have $21,160 saved.
However, you can change the narrative by starting to save for your sunset years as early as possible. Remember, these savings work like compound interest. Even a small contribution toward your IRA or 401(k) has the power to grow over time.
Homeownership
If saving for retirement is a struggle, then you can already imagine what kind of effort a millennial with a student loan will need in order to own a home.
The Joint Center for Housing from Harvard revealed that close to 21 million households used over 30% of their income to pay rent.
This is even as income remains stagnant, and rent costs continue to soar, making it difficult for one to realize the dream of owning a home. With student loans, the dream is even further away than expected thereby reducing the number of millennial graduates owning homes—34 percent compared to their counterparts at 36 percent.
Even if they managed to buy a home, their value is much lower, and a massive mortgage is staring right back at them. Those without loans have home values standing at 5% more than those with them. In figures, this $165,000 versus $157,000.
Since it’s difficult to raise the down payment required to pay for a home, these homeowners end up taking on more debt to finance their dream. According to the research done by MagnifyMoney, this translated to an average mortgage of $104,000 compared to $98,000 for those without debts.
The Solution
Taking on loans at a young age may not be the best strategy. However, the best way to tackle this problem is by finding ways to clear the debt as soon as possible. Here are some:
Make extra payments. Take a deeper look at your budget and cut down on expenses. The excess money can go towards making extra payments. This will save you the money you’d have paid in interest.
Ask for a raise at work. Sometimes, the solution to your woes lie in a salary increase. If this doesn’t work, you can change jobs altogether. You can also consider starting a side job to supplement your main income.
Apply for the loan forgiveness program, This is a viable option, especially if you work in the public sector, for example as a teacher.
You can also look for private and state-based programs, which can help you repay the debt. Some employees also offer student loan matching programs, which can help you clear your loan.
Student loan refinancing is also a worthy option. With this method, you have the chance to repay the loan at a reduced interest rate. However, this will only work if you have good credit and income. This will, in the long run, save you the money you’d have paid in interest. Moreover, you’ll be able to clear the loan faster.
While student loans may help you get a college education, the aftermath may be more difficult to handle when the government starts demanding what you owe them. Nevertheless, it’s not the end of the road because there are methods you can use to achieve financial freedom, as highlighted in this article.
In order to call out the states where gambling addiction is most prevalent, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from presence of illegal gambling operations to lottery sales per capita to share of adults with gambling disorders.
Gambling Addiction in New Jersey (1=Most Addicted, 25=Avg.):
“I am contemplating retirement in a few years. I am not rich, but I saved a few bucks and have no mortgage . I actually like it here and lived in NJ all my life. For those of us who do not have children in public schools (and never did) the biggest expense is the schools portion of the real estate tax. If you want to keep us here to subsidize your kids, you better figure out a way to limit our tax increase. If we leave, you can be certain our home will be purchased by a young family with children requiring an education In the old days, many long time Ridgewood families stayed here for generations (and thanks to them it’s a nice town – before the vinyl siding and and lawn sign crowd moved here from NYC) There has always been a “turnover ” of residents but taxes will chase us out faster, and your taxes will go up exponentially . Residents with no kids in school get NOTHING in return while SUBSIDIZING those who do. “
Newark NJ, An NJ Transit Police officer took this photo after patrolling Branch Brook Park Station during the week. One of the great things about being New Jersey Transit Police Officers is that our area of patrol spans the entire state. No matter where we go, there’s always something interesting to see.
Here’s a little known fact: New Jersey has more cherry trees than Washington D.C. Every spring, residents and visitors alike can see the largest cherry blossom collection in the United States.
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
4 generations here and I do not agree with your subjective essay about Ridgewood schools declining compared to other public schools. Your observation about no child left behind being a negative is valid for all public schools not just Ridgewood. Private schools will likely continue to benefit from this advantage but truth is they always have. Rank History for Ridgewood High School, does not show decline. This graph shows how well Ridgewood High School is performing relative to other high schools in New Jersey. https://www.schooldigger.com/go/NJ/schools/1383000764/school.aspx?t=tbRankings
“First, learn to spell. Perhaps some prayer would help. Second, one only need to look at how the present joke of a presidential administration got into power to see that “christians” are fundamentally anti-atheist. They are willing to over look perhaps the most un-christian person characteristics solely to advance their agenda. An agenda which goes against the tide of history. I look forward to the day that religion is but a story we tell our children of a far more ignorant age.” . There you go again. More angry, hateful rhetoric. You are just making my point. This type of mean spirited, pious, snarky attack reinforces my point that most people, regardless of their belief in God would rather spend time with those who believe in God, since they are generally more pleasant.
