CDC: Walk This Way! Taking Steps for Pedestrian Safety
December 18,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, According to the CDC and as many readers have noted over the years on the Ridgewood blog it is important to take steps to be safe when walking on roadways. This includes exercising caution at intersections and crosswalks and increasing your visibility at night by wearing retro-reflective clothing and carrying flashlights.
Walking is good for your health, and it’s good for the environment too. But before you head out on foot for a stroll, power walk, or errand, there are important safety tips to remember.
What’s the problem?
Pedestrians—people who travel by foot, wheelchair, stroller, or similar means—are among the most vulnerable users of the road.
In the next 24 hours, on average, 430 people will be treated in an emergency department for traffic-related pedestrian injuries.1 In the next 2 hours, on average, one pedestrian will die from injuries in a traffic crash.2
A total of 4, 735 pedestrians were killed in traffic deaths in 2013,2 and more than 156,000 were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries. With numbers like these, it’s critical to understand the risks and learn how to stay safe.
Who’s at risk?
Pedestrians of all ages are at risk of injury or death from traffic crashes, but some people are at higher risk.
Male pedestrians are more likely to die or be injured in a motor vehicle crash than females.2
Teen and young adult (ages 15-29 years) pedestrians are more likely to be treated in emergency departments for crash-related injuries compared to any other age group.1
The rate of pedestrian death generally increases with age.2
In 2013, 34% of all pedestrians killed in traffic crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of greater than or equal to 0.08 grams per deciliter.2
As pedestrians, children are at even greater risk of injury or death from traffic crashes due to their small size, inability to judge distances and speeds, and lack of experience with traffic rules.
One in five traffic deaths among children ages 14 and under are pedestrian deaths.2
Take Steps for Safety
Whenever you’re walking, keep these tips in mind:
Whenever possible, cross the street at a designated crosswalk or intersection.
Increase your visibility at night by carrying a flashlight and wearing retro-reflective clothing.
It’s safest to walk on a sidewalk, but if one is not available, walk on the shoulder and face traffic.
Avoid distractions such as electronic devices that take your attention off the road.
Katrina Trinko / @KatrinaTrinko / December 15, 2016
Facebook doesn’t think you know what’s “fake news” and what’s not.
In an announcement Thursday, the social media giant said it was going to crack down on fake news through a variety of ways, including letting users report what they deem to be fake news.
>>> The 4 Steps Facebook Is Taking to Crack Down on ‘Fake News’
But one item on Facebook’s list of methods to crack down was particularly concerning:
We’ve started a program to work with third-party fact-checking organizations that are signatories of Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Code of Principles. We’ll use the reports from our community, along with other signals, to send stories to these organizations. If the fact-checking organizations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why.
When you look at the signatories on the Poynter list, you’ll find seven from the United States: ABC News, The Washington Post, Snopes, Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Climate Feedback, and Politifact.
Aha.
Talk about the devil being in the details. These are hardly unbiased fact-checkers—conservatives have raised alarms about several of them. Let’s go through some examples:
1). Snopes. You may have heard that the terrorist who murdered 49 people and injured dozens more at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was a Democrat. That’s for a reason: Omar Mateen was registered as a Democrat. Yet Snopes took issue with that characterization, saying it was “undetermined” because Mateen’s “U.S. political affiliation (if any) at the time of the shooting is unknown.”
Snopes’ Kim LaCapria continued:
However, being a member of any particular political party involves expressing an ongoing allegiance to that party and its principles: one could be pegged as a Democrat (or a Republican, or a member of any other party) if he ran for office as a member of that party, exclusively campaigned or raised money for that party and its candidates, or consistently voted for that party’s candidates. But there’s no evidence that Mateen materially supported any particular political party, nor do we know how he voted (or whether he ever voted at all).
All we know is that 10 years ago he registered as a Democrat, and voter registration is an imperfect indicator that governs nothing more than which party’s primary a citizen is eligible to vote in …
What?
It’s hard to make sense of this, but it basically boils down to: No one can be labeled a member of any party unless they consistently have run for office, donated money, or voted for that party’s candidates (something that could never be proved, incidentally, since we have secret ballots).
Which is a ridiculous standard. Look, I’m someone who is registered Republican to vote in the primaries, and who has plenty of quibbles with the GOP, and yet I would agree if I were identified as a Republican by a news site, it would be true—because I am registered as a Republican.
2). Politifact. Back in June, Donald Trump said, “Crime is rising.” Politifact blasted this claim as “pants on fire.” Then the American Enterprise Institute’s Sean Kennedy looked into the facts, noted Politifact had looked at statistics ending in 2014, and wrote: “The FBI’s preliminary 2015 figures actually do show crime rising in most categories across the country between 2014 and 2015.” Politifact responded … that it stood by its rating.
3). The Washington Post. Here’s a fun one: in 2015, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that “we, right now, have more words in the IRS code than there are in the Bible.” The Post looked at the claim and wrote, “The literally translated King James Version of the Bible contains just over 800,000 words. There are as many as 3.7 million individual words in the IRS tax code.” So Cruz deserves a true rating, right? Wrong—at least according to The Post, which went on to say: “This is a nonsense fact, something that is technically correct but ultimately meaningless.”
So perhaps in the new Facebook era, the Orlando terrorist being a Democrat, Trump discussing the rise in crime, and Cruz saying the IRS code has more words than the Bible would all be buried as “fake news” … despite being true.
Other U.S. organizations listed in the Poynter directory Facebook says it will rely on are Climate Feedback (which I’m not familiar with, but at a cursory glance does not appear to be challenging the liberal groupthink on climate change), and ABC News (home to George Stephanopoulos, who worked for the Clinton White House, and oh, didn’t disclose he had donated to the Clinton Foundation).
There is undoubtedly “fake news” online—and consumers should work to be responsible about sharing information, fact-checking themselves claims that seem spurious.
And Facebook, of course, is a private company that legally can do what it wants regarding its content.
But while Facebook legally can crack down on “fake news,” it’s unfortunate it has chosen to do so, particularly by relying on liberal organizations’ fact-checks as the arbiters.
It’s clear that the system Facebook has announced is much more likely to result in crackdowns on conservative outlets than liberal outlets—which is bad news for all of us conservatives on Facebook.
Ridgewood NJ, Ernest began his new role at the Ridgewood Y on December 5 and is succeeding Rick Claydon, who served as CEO for 22 years and will retire at the end of this month.
Ernest Lamour previously served as Chief Executive Officer at the Stamford YMCA in Connecticut, and has more than 15 years of leadership experience in development, community partnerships, strategic operations and programming.
“We are privileged to welcome Ernest Lamour to the YMCA,” said Michael Davis, President of the Board of Directors of the Ridgewood YMCA. “Ernest is an energetic, thoughtful leader with an unparalleled commitment to community and economic development. His accomplishments include completely revitalizing and growing the membership and program base of the Stamford YMCA to its current level of success. We know that Ernest will provide the leadership to guide the Y as it continues its mission of ensuring that all community members have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization that has such a meaningful impact on the lives of so many” said Ernest. “The Ridgewood YMCA has consistently provided innovative ways to address critical social needs in New Jersey and I look forward to continuing that vital work”.
Ernest received his Bachelor of Science in Leisure Studies and holds a master’s degree in Sports Management from West Virginia University.
Please join us in welcoming Ernest to the Ridgewood Y!
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his nomination of U.S. Congressman Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Congressman Mulvaney brings a wealth of experience on economic, budgetary, and fiscal issues to his new role. Rep. Mulvaney has long been a strong voice in Congress for reining in out-of-control spending, fighting government waste and enacting tax policies that will allow working Americans to thrive. Rep. Mulvaney believes getting America’s fiscal house in order is a key component of President-elect Trump’s America First plan to create millions of jobs and grow the economy.
“We are going to do great things for the American people with Mick Mulvaney leading the Office of Management and Budget,” said President-elect Trump. “Right now we are nearly $20 trillion in debt, but Mick is a very high-energy leader with deep convictions for how to responsibly manage our nation’s finances and save our country from drowning in red ink. With Mick at the head of OMB, my administration is going to make smart choices about America’s budget, bring new accountability to our federal government, and renew the American taxpayer’s trust in how their money is spent.”
“It is a great honor to be appointed Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” said Congressman Mulvaney. “The Trump administration will restore budgetary and fiscal sanity back in Washington after eight years of an out-of-control, tax and spend financial agenda, and will work with Congress to create policies that will be friendly to American workers and businesses. Each day, families across our nation make disciplined choices about how to spend their hard earned money, and the federal government should exercise the same discretion that hardworking Americans do every day.”
A lifelong resident of the Carolinas, Rep. Mulvaney attended Georgetown University where he graduated as an Honor Scholar – the highest award given to students of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service – in International Economics, Commerce and Finance. After college, Rep. Mulvaney attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship. He then completed his formal education at Harvard Business School’s OPM program in 2006.
Rep. Mulvaney has broad business experience across many fields. After practicing law, following graduating law school, the entrepreneurial spirit captured him and he started his own law firm. Later, he ran his family’s real estate business and then went on to start a small homebuilding company, and owned and operated his own restaurant.
Rep. Mulvaney has used his educational, professional, and business background to bring a focus on jobs, business and the economy to his work in Congress. He currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee as well as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In Congress, Rep. Mulvaney co-authored Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, which curbed and capped needless federal spending, and provided for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. Additionally, Rep. Mulvaney’s Congressional office has returned hundreds of thousands of dollars from its office budget to the U.S. Treasury over the past few years.
Rep. Mulvaney and his wife Pam were married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets.
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday announced the nomination of Mr. David Friedman to serve as the United States Ambassador to Israel.
Mr. Friedman, a renowned attorney who has been counselor to some of the world’s top businessmen and companies, was one of the President-elect’s principal advisors on the US-Israel relationship during the campaign.
When Israel proclaimed itself an independent republic in 1948, the United States was the first country to extend formal recognition of the new government. From that moment forward, the two nations have enjoyed a special relationship based on mutual respect and a dedication to freedom and democracy.
With Mr. Friedman’s nomination, President-elect Trump expressed his commitment to further enhancing the US-Israel relationship and ensuring there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries.
“The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when I’m President,” said President-elect Trump. “As the United States’ Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad.”
Mr. Friedman, whose bar mitzvah was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 45 years ago, is a fluent speaker of Hebrew and a lifelong student of Israel’s history. On Thursday, he expressed his resolve to be a rock-solid partner with the Israeli leadership as our two countries seek to advance our mutual interests and keep our people safe.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its Ambassador to Israel,” said Mr. Friedman. “I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.”
Mr. Friedman is a founding partner of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, a national law firm with approximately 350 attorneys. For the past 35 years, he has specialized in litigation and bankruptcy law, playing a leading role in restructuring many of the nation’s most complex financial and business operations. Mr. Friedman has been widely recognized for his outstanding contributions to the legal profession, and has been named one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States.
Mr. Friedman has been a generous philanthropist to Jewish causes, including United Hatzalah of Israel, a nationwide volunteer service of first responders providing aid to all injured Israelis, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity, and Aleh Negev, one of the world’s most advanced facilities for the care of severely disabled children.
Under his leadership and at the President-elect’s direction, the US-Israel relationship will be a model of cooperation and respect.
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett may get his revenge despite the conservative’s recent election loss.It’s being reported that Rep. Scott Garrett has met with the Trump Transition Team and he may get a job at the Federal Housing Finance Agency or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) .
Scott Garrett, a veteran House Republican who lost his re-election bid last month, met with Trump transition officials in New York Thursday morning, as a sign he is under consideration for a top position in the Trump administration.
While New Jersey voters turned their backs to Garrett and instead elected Democrat Josh Gottheimer, a former Microsoft Corp. executive who tied his fortunes to Hillary Clinton trading a veteran policy wonk for a substanceless out of power Clintonista with no political clout.
The new Trump Administration has prioritized many of Scott Garretts main issues including the repeal of Dodd-Frank, repeal of Obamacare and removing the too big to fail provisions from virtually all Federal agencies.
Garrett showed up at Trump Tower in Manhattan at about 10 a.m., according to the press. Garret declined to say whom he was meeting with but told reporters it was neither President-elect Donald Trump nor Mike Pence, with whom Mr. Garrett is said to be close too.
Garrett a longtime critic of federal housing policy is reported interested in a role at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the government mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to people familiar with the matter.
The National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund spent $1.3 million supporting Gottheimer, including $146,000 for online ads, $529,000 for mailings and $590,000 for TV ads .Garrett crossed the Realtors group by pushing a bill in 2013 that would have scaled back the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed companies that buy mortgages from lenders.
JOHN REITMEYER, ILYA MARRITZ, AND SUSAN BERFIELD | DECEMBER 13, 2016
American Dream’s developers argue that they’re not just building a mall, they’re creating a global destination
This is the second installment of Mall Madness, a five-part series on the American Dream retail and entertainment complex under construction in the Meadowlands. The series was produced through a reporting collaboration between WNYC, NJ Spotlight, and Bloomberg Businessweek. The first story and the third story, and fourth story are also available online.
As the retail industry undergoes a massive transformation thanks to new technology and online shopping, is there any mall out there that can be considered “Internet-proof?” Maybe not, but that’s exactly what Triple Five, the developer of the American Dream megamall in the Meadowlands, is betting on.
American Dream, the garish, multicolored complex that sits alongside the New Jersey Turnpike in East Rutherford, is designed to be not just a mall, but a giant entertainment destination, featuring an amusement park, full-size ice-skating rink, indoor ski slope, waterpark, towering observation wheel, and, oh yes, some stores, too.
Ridgewood NJ, Working closely with Environmental Defense Fund and Google Earth Outreach, Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, is reducing methane leaks from its natural gas distribution system much faster than before, thanks to new technology developed by EDF, Google and Colorado State University. The technology is helping the utility prioritize which aging pipes are replaced first during its three-year, $905 million gas infrastructure replacement program.
The key breakthrough is measuring the volume of gas escaping, and not just the number of leaks. Using data gathered by a specially-equipped Google Street View mapping car, PSE&G was able to reduce methane emissions from targeted areas by 83 percent, and do it more quickly than otherwise possible. PSE&G achieved this emission reduction by replacing 35 percent fewer miles of pipe than if the utility had not used the data gathered by EDF and Google. The typical cost of replacing a mile of gas line on PSE&G’s system is about $1.5 million to $2.0 million.
Leaks like those targeted by the project don’t usually pose an immediate safety threat. But leaking natural gas – which is mostly methane – has a powerful effect on the climate. That’s because methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe. These leaks are a persistent challenge for utilities, particularly in the Northeast, where natural gas infrastructure is older.
“Reducing methane emissions is one of the quickest ways we have to protect the climate. PSE&G deserves a lot of credit for making this a priority. It takes courage to invite an environmental group to come sniffing around for leaks on their system,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “By tackling these leaks faster, PSE&G will achieve a lot more environmental benefit for their infrastructure dollars. That’s good for their customers, and good for New Jersey.”
EDF and partners began publicly testing their new way to measure natural gas leaks in 2014. Intrigued by the methodology, PSE&G asked to collaborate with EDF to measure leaks in portions of their natural gas distribution system slated for replacement. By 2018, PSE&G plans to replace up to 510 miles of aging cast-iron and unprotected steel gas lines, under a program approved a year ago by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
“Under our $905 million program, we are accelerating the modernization of our gas system, replacing 170 miles of pipe each year versus an average of 54 miles in the past,” said Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G. “Reducing methane is a serious challenge for utilities, but also a big opportunity. Using the data from EDF, we are able to keep safety paramount, while achieving more environmental value, at less cost and more quickly than before, which benefits both our customers and the climate.”
Maps of the project areas and more data on the results are online here.
PSE&G gave EDF information on the location and type of gas lines in target areas. A Google Street View car spent six months gathering millions of readings over hundreds of miles of roadway in some of the most densely populated areas in New Jersey, including parts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties. The team used algorithms refined over several years to assess the vast data stream. PSE&G replaced sections with the highest company rankings first, and used EDF’s ranking to prioritize the rest, locking in methane reductions quickly while keeping safety the top consideration.
The mapping cars found an average of about one leak for every mile of gas line within grid areas where leak flow rate was quantified. The maps represent a snapshot in time and may not reflect current leaks. A number of the leaks identified through this collaborative project have already been repaired or eliminated through the replacement of cast iron pipes, including all leaks deemed hazardous by PSE&G’s existing leak grading system.
“We are excited that new technology powered by Google can play an important role here, to advance the measurement, analysis, and communication of environmental information,” said Karin Tuxen-Bettman, program manager for Google Earth Outreach. “Making this information more accessible can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
A two-minute video on the EDF/Google Earth Outreach mapping project is here.
Utilities in New York and California are already publishing dynamic maps of their natural gas leaks. Sharing geographically-attributed leak data can help regulators and ratepayers track utilities’ leak management performance, and ensure cost-efficient emission reductions. For its part, PSE&G is leading the way in using leak data to make better management decisions, demonstrating that new and improved data can maximize the benefits of pipeline replacement programs.
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to name former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Gov. Perry was the chief executive of one of the country’s largest states and one of the largest economies in the world. He is also one of the most successful governors in modern history, having led Texas through a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity by developing the state’s energy resources and infrastructure, and making low-cost energy available to companies and families.
“As the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry created created a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as Secretary of Energy,” said President-elect Trump. “My administration is going to make sure we take advantage of our huge natural resource deposits to make America energy independent and create vast new wealth for our nation, and Rick Perry is going to do an amazing job as the leader of that process.”
“It is a tremendous honor to be selected to serve as Secretary of Energy by President-elect Trump. I am deeply humbled by his trust in me,” said Gov. Perry. “As the former governor of the nation’s largest energy producing state, I know American energy is critical to our economy and our security. I look forward to engaging in a conversation about the development, stewardship and regulation of our energy resources, safeguarding our nuclear arsenal, and promoting an American energy policy that creates jobs and puts America first.”
With his executive experience, Gov. Perry will carryout President-elect Trump’s vision to make America energy independent, create millions of new jobs, and protect clean air and water.
Gov. Perry has devoted his entire adult life in service to America and to creating prosperity and opportunity for families. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, a former farmer, and the longest serving governor in Texas history, having led the world’s 12th largest economy from 2000 to 2015.
Perry grew up the son of tenant farmers in the tiny West Texas community of Paint Creek. The younger of Ray and Amelia Perry’s two children, he was active in scouting and earned distinction as an Eagle Scout. He was one of the first in his family to go to college, earning a degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M University, where he was also a member of the Corps of Cadets and a Yell Leader.
Between 1972 and 1977, Perry served in the U.S. Air Force flying C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in Europe and the Middle East. He is a lifetime member of both the NRA and American Legion Post #75. Prior to being elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998, he served two terms as Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
As the 47th governor of the Lone Star State, Perry championed conservative principles that helped Texas become America’s economic engine by cutting taxes, controlling spending, making regulations fair, smart and predictable, and stopping lawsuit abuse. Under Gov. Perry’s leadership, Texas became a national leader for job creation, innovation and population growth.
Perry married his childhood sweetheart, Anita, in 1982. They have two children and two beautiful granddaughters.
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his selection of Stephen Miller to serve as Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President for Policy. Miller has served as a key advisor to several members of Congress, including U.S. Senator from Alabama Jeff Sessions, and served in senior leadership roles on both the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee.
Miller has been serving as the President-elect’s top advisor on policy since January 2016. As national policy director, he oversaw the entire policy operation, led the policy development and formulation efforts, and directed strategic policy decisions on a day-to-day basis. Miller also served throughout as the campaign’s chief speechwriter, and is currently the policy director for the President-elect’s Transition Team. As Senior Advisor to the President for Policy, Miller will also be responsible for directing White House policy staff, managing speechwriting functions, and working to ensure the enactment of the President’s policy agenda.
“Stephen played a central and wide-ranging role in our primary and general election campaign,” said President-Elect Trump. “He is deeply committed to the America First agenda, and understands the policies and actions necessary to put that agenda into effect. He is a strong advocate for protecting American workers, and will fulfill a crucial role in my Administration as my senior advisor on matters of policy.”
“Stephen Miller is the best person President-elect Donald Trump could have chosen to be his senior advisor for policy,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions. “He has understood the Trump Movement from the beginning and has a unique understanding of the very real and honest concerns of the American people. Stephen’s insight comes from more than his keen political skills and his extraordinary communications and writing talents. These abilities are really founded on an amazingly comprehensive understanding of the key policy issues we face. He thinks broadly and is a master of detail. He will be an invaluable advisor to President-elect Trump as he faces a wide array of decisions in the months ahead. Stephen can and will, with integrity and loyalty to Mr. Trump and to America, distill vast sums of information in order to provide clear choices and honest advice. In the seven years he served with me, I was constantly amazed at his ability to quickly to absorb and master information. His talents will be so important in the days to come. I am very proud of Stephen for proving himself so well throughout this campaign and very happy that President-elect Trump will continue to have his loyal and proven friend at his side.”
“I am deeply honored for the opportunity to serve the President-elect, and to focus efforts to develop critical policies that serve the national interest. A Trump administration will focus unremittingly on the safety, security and economic well being of working Americans,” said Miller.
Miller played a major role in many high-stakes issues during his time in Congress, including numerous budget debates, multiple Supreme Court and lower court confirmations, and the formulation of a pro-worker agenda on trade and migration policy.
As national policy director to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Miller organized policy efforts on across numerous fronts including defense and security policy, energy reform and veterans care.
photo SEC Chair Mary Jo White
December 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) issued the following statement concerning SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s refusal to stop “midnight regulations” in the waning days of the Obama Administration:
“The press is characterizing Chair White’s decision to try to rush through a mountain of midnight regulations as ‘defying Republicans,’ but in reality she’s defying the will of the American people and good government. Such midnight rulemaking is neither conducive to sound policy nor consistent with the principles of democratic accountability. The American people chose a new direction for our country, and the incoming Trump Administration and Congress should have the opportunity to review pending regulations and fully assess their costs and benefits. As the clock runs down on the Obama Administration, Chair White and all other regulators who may be tempted to hastily impose another pile of complicated regulations on our economy should know that Congress will scrutinize their actions and – if appropriate – overturn them.”
Mary Jo White has already announced plans to step down as chair of the powerful Securities and Exchange Commission before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.White’s term at the helm of the SEC hadn’t been scheduled to expire until June 2019.
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society is holding auditions for two youth choruses, treble and SATB, for students in grades 6-12. Auditions will be held Monday, January 9 from 4-6 pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Treble voices are accepted from grades 6-12 and SATB voices from grades 9-12. Audition requirements, including a memorized solo, and registration details are available on the New Jersey Choral Society website at www.njcs.org under “About”. Interested students, parents and educators can contact Festival Youth Chorus Director, Noelle Dachis, at [email protected] for more information.
This is a unique and exciting opportunity for young choral singers to perform with the New Jersey Choral Society and Maestro Eric Dale Knapp, and a rare experience to include on college applications, especially for students heading into a music study. Students selected for the chorus are expected to attend weekly rehearsals, held at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Monday evenings, and all performances. The Festival Youth Chorus will be singing in the NJCS Masterworks performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in June 2017. As well, participating students may have the opportunity to sing in a Festival in Lake Como, Italy, with other youth choral ensembles in July 2017.
Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, and France.
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate Mr. Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to serve as Secretary of the United States Department of State.
Among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world, Mr. Tillerson has spent his career protecting the jobs of his employees, who number more than 70,000. Guiding operations around the world that include more than 200 offices, Mr. Tillerson knows how to manage a global organization and successfully navigate the complex architecture of world affairs and diverse foreign leaders. As Secretary of State, he will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America’s vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America’s security and standing in the world. The American people will once again have a world-class leader working on their behalf, enhancing the prospects for peace and prosperity among nations.
“Rex Tillerson’s career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest and most respected companies,” said President-elect Donald J. Trump. “His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States. Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none. I can think of no one more prepared, and no one more dedicated, to serve as Secretary of State at this critical time in our history.”
“I am honored by President-elect Trump’s nomination and share his vision for restoring the credibility of the United States’ foreign relations and advancing our country’s national security,” said Mr. Tillerson. “We must focus on strengthening our alliances, pursuing shared national interests and enhancing the strength, security and sovereignty of the United States.”
Rex Tillerson is a native Texan who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He began his career at Exxon Company, U.S.A. in 1975 as a production engineer.
After years of hard work and dedication to his company, Rex then became general manager of Exxon Company, U.S.A.’s central production division, responsible for oil and gas production operations throughout a large portion of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.
In 1992, Mr. Tillerson was named production advisor to Exxon Corporation. Three years later he was named president of Exxon Yemen Inc. and Esso Exploration and Production Khorat Inc., and in January 1998, he was promoted to vice president of Exxon Ventures (CIS) Inc. and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited. In those roles, he was responsible for Exxon’s holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea as well as the Sakhalin I consortium operations offshore Sakhalin Island, Russia.
In December 1999, he became executive vice president of Exxon Mobil Development Company. Mr. Tillerson was then named senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation in August 2001, and was elected president of the corporation and member of the board of directors on March 1, 2004. Nearly two years after he was elected, Mr. Tillerson was named as chairman and CEO of the board on January 1, 2006.
Mr. Tillerson is not only a stalwart in his professional life, but also in the community. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is the vice chairman of the Ford’s Theatre Society and a recipient of the Lincoln Medal; immediate past national president of the Boy Scouts of America, a Distinguished Eagle Scout, and a former director of the United Negro College Fund. He was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and in 2013, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to appoint Gary D. Cohn as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council. A renowned business leader, Mr. Cohn will help to both design and coordinate the President-elect’s America First economic agenda and make sure increasing wages for American workers will be a top priority. He will also work closely with the President-elect’s economic team at the Treasury and Commerce Departments.
“As my top economic advisor, Gary Cohn is going to put his talents as a highly successful businessman to work for the American people,” said President-elect Donald J. Trump. “He will help craft economic policies that will grow wages for our workers, stop the exodus of jobs overseas and create many great new opportunities for Americans who have been struggling. He fully understands the economy and will use all of his vast knowledge and experience to make sure the American people start winning again.”
“Being chosen to serve in the President-elect’s administration is a great honor,” said Gary Cohn. “I share President-elect Trump’s vision of making sure every American worker has a secure place in a thriving economy, and we will be completely committed to building a nation of strength, growth and prosperity.”
In addition to his incredible business history, Mr. Cohn has an inspiring personal story. Growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he was diagnosed at age seven with dyslexia, which made it difficult for him to read and spell. After receiving his bachelor’s degree at American University in Washington, D.C., Mr. Cohn worked for U.S. Steel and at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Since 1990, Mr. Cohn has worked at Goldman Sachs. His legendary toughness and tenacity, which helped him rise over a quarter century at Goldman Sachs to ultimately become the company’s president, will now be put to work on behalf of the American people.
The overseers of the U.S. intelligence community have not embraced a CIA assessment that Russian cyber attacks were aimed at helping Republican President-elect Donald Trump win the 2016 election, three American officials said on Monday.
While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) does not dispute the CIA’s analysis of Russian hacking operations, it has not endorsed their assessment because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Moscow intended to boost Trump over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, said the officials, who declined to be named.
The position of the ODNI, which oversees the 17 agency-strong U.S. intelligence community, could give Trump fresh ammunition to dispute the CIA assessment, which he rejected as “ridiculous” in weekend remarks, and press his assertion that no evidence implicates Russia in the cyber attacks.
Trump’s rejection of the CIA’s judgment marks the latest in a string of disputes over Russia’s international conduct that have erupted between the president-elect and the intelligence community he will soon command.
