Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Ridgewood Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 17th opportunity in nine years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the Police Department at 131 North Maple Ave]. (Sites cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
NICOSIA CYPRUS , U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-.N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took time out of his busy schedule to issue the following statement in reaction to an announcement by the Trump Administration that the United States will implement Title III of the LIBERTAD Act. In Section 302 of the law, Congress provided U.S. citizens with verified claims for confiscated properties by the Cuban regime with the ability to pursue litigation in U.S. courts against companies that are conducting business in, on or with these confiscated properties.
“By fully implementing Title III of the LIBERTAD Act, the United States is rightly providing U.S. citizens with the means to hold the Cuban regime accountable through the U.S. justice system.
“For decades, Cuba’s authoritarian government has profited extensively off of the private property that it stole from its citizens. It has utilized these stolen properties to conduct business with foreign investors, while Cuban and Cuban-American families have had no legal recourse against this theft. In turn, the Cuban regime has used these ill-gotten profits to entrench itself in power, oppress the Cuban people, and bankroll campaigns of anti-democratic intervention across the hemisphere.
“Given that Cuba’s recalcitrant regime has never responded to diplomatic outreach, it is necessary to increase pressure on its economic interests. Today, American citizens are finally being provided the long overdue authority to seek legal recourse and economic compensation against the trafficking and misuse of their properties.”
Ridgewood NJ, Congressman Josh Gottheimer has been invited to a public town hall on April 22 by a coalition of 13 grassroots groups who are his constituents in NJ Congressional District 5. While the Representative’s attendance is not expected, residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions, and share their concerns with their representative and each other. Everything will be shared with the Congressman following the event.
NEWARK NJ, Ronald L. Rice, State Senator of New Jersey’s 28th District, centered in one of the state’s urban areas most vulnerable to the impact of recreational marijuana legalization, today issued the following statement on the ill-conceived strategy of tie-barring three pieces of marijuana legislation:
I once again seek to be the voice of reason in this nonsensical legislative wrangling of pivotal marijuana legislation. I do so because we are at the crossroads of a decision that will change the face of New Jersey forever. We are not talking about Colorado or another state with a vast expanse of open land. Our state has the densest population per square mile in the nation. It sits between two major metropolitan centers, is streaked with high speed turnpikes and parkways and carpeted with urban areas and their suburbs where families could be devastated by irresponsible recreational marijuana laws.
Discusses Poll Showing Public’s Dissatisfaction with Handling of Public Finances
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Continuing to advocate for the fiscal and economic reforms needed to avert future financial crises, Senate President Steve Sweeney spoke at the New Jersey Business and Industry Associations policy forum today where he emphasized the economic value of bringing fiscal reforms to public finances.
Senator Sweeney addressed NJBIA’s Government Affairs Policy Committee about the “Path to Progress” report issued by the 25-member study group that provides a working blueprint to achieve the operational and structural reforms needed to restore financial stability and affordable government.
Trenton NJ, State Police Office of Target Hardening to Deploy Troopers to Transportation and Religious Centers
Beginning this week, troopers from the Office of Target Hardening will conduct security operations as well as public awareness contacts at transportation locations and religious facilities throughout the state in preparation of religious holiday gatherings. So, what does this mean?
Ridgewood NJ, Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus, celebrating 110 years of music-making, has been honored by the Village of Ridgewood with a proclamation naming April 2019 as Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus Month.
Village Mayor Ramon M. Hache, Sr. and Deputy Mayor Susan Knudsen read and presented the proclamation on Sunday, April 7, during the chorus’ spring concert. The concert’s theme was “Music of the Immigrant Experience.” Orpheus President Vernon Reed and Music Director John J. Palatucci accepted the award on behalf of the club.
Madison NJ, this has been reported by the Police in Madison New Jersey . They are warning about a phone scam that has recently targeted some local residents.
According to Police, residents should be an the alert for the “One Ring Phone Scam” where automated phone numbers intentionally ringing one time, repeatedly, and frequently at random intervals.
PRINCETON NJ, The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute has issued its annual New Jersey “Healthy Town” designation to eight communities participating in the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC), a program of the Quality Institute, in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Another seven towns were designated as 2018 Healthy Towns to Watch and three were designated as 2018 Healthy Town in the Making.
Trenton NJ, Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39), the ranking Republican on the State Senate Judiciary Committee, sent the following letter to Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin highlighting concerns regarding social justice and pending legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Dear Sirs,
As a follow up to Senator Rice’s letter on April 3, 2019, please allow me to associate myself with his remarks, but I would like to add a few thoughts. Social justice is frequently cited in support of legalizing recreational marijuana in Washington and California. Legalization has, if anything, led to a greater proportion of minority incarcerations.
Washington Dc, the law of untended consequences leads to Gregory Craig, who was White House counsel under President Barack Obama, was indicted Thursday on charges of lying and hiding information related to his work for Ukraine. Craig, a 74-year-old lawyer based in Washington, D.C., was charged by the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, unit. Craig faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts.The charges stem from the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election led by special counsel Robert Mueller, which came to a formal end last month.
Ridgewood NJ, Ars Musica Chorale concludes its 53 rd season with A Total Embrace: Bernstein at 100, a spectacular celebration of the music of Leonard Bernstein in his centennial year. The performance will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at West Side Presbyterian Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Ars Musica will present a wide-ranging selection of the composer’s most popular works for chorus and orchestra, accompanied by the award-winning Adelphi Orchestra, together with our Encore Young Artist soloists and the New Jersey State Children’s Chorus. Our featured soloist will be Lauren Worsham, soprano and 2014 Tony Award Nominee.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood native Robert Najlis a UMass Dartmouth Masters of Fine Arts candidate in painting has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship. Najlis, who is graduating in May 2019, is among 2,000 people from across the globe who receive grants each year in all fields of study to conduct international research.
For his scholarship research, Najlis will travel to the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China to study painting and calligraphy. He will focus on the art of the Song dynasty and that era’s historical integration of the three perfections of painting, poetry, and calligraphy.
NEWARK NJ, One of the largest health care fraud schemes investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and prosecuted by the Department of Justice resulted in charges against 24 defendants – seven of whom were charged in the District of New Jersey – including the CEOs, COOs and others associated with five telemedicine companies, the owners of dozens of durable medical equipment (DME) companies and three licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $1.2 billion in loss, as well as the execution of over 80 search warrants in 17 federal districts. In addition, the Center for Medicare Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI) announced today that it took adverse administrative action against 130 DME companies that had submitted over $1.7 billion in claims and were paid over $900 million.
