FRESNO, Calif. — While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect’s potential for violence the way a bank might run a credit report.
The program scoured billions of data points, including arrest reports, property records, commercial databases, deep Web searches and the man’s social- media postings. It calculated his threat level as the highest of three color-coded scores: a bright red warning.
The man had a firearm conviction and gang associations, so out of caution police called a negotiator. The suspect surrendered, and police said the intelligence helped them make the right call — it turned out he had a gun.
As a national debate has played out over mass surveillance by the National Security Agency, a new generation of technology such as the Beware software being used in Fresno has given local law enforcement officers unprecedented power to peer into the lives of citizens.
Police officials say such tools can provide critical information that can help uncover terrorists or thwart mass shootings, ensure the safety of officers and the public, find suspects, and crack open cases. They say that last year’s attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have only underscored the need for such measures.
In the wake of horrifying tales of sexual assault perpetrated by potentially up to 1,000 men on New Year’s Eve, German officials have made two stunning decisions.
The first, from Cologne, Germany — where the attacks took place — was Mayor Henriette Reker telling women to adopt a “code of conduct” to prevent further sexual assaults, which crossed the line into “victim blaming.”
The second, from the broader German government, was to crack down hard — not on those responsible for the assaults, but for those criticizing the Muslim immigrants who may have perpetrated them.
Let’s take a step back and remember how all of this started. On New Year’s Eve, women celebrating in Cologne were reportedly groped, sexually assaulted and/or robbed as they walked the streets.
More than 100 criminal complaints have been filed, 75 percent of which were reports of sexual assault. Two women reported being raped by the men, who were allegedly of North African and Arab appearance. Women in Hamburg and Stuttgart also reported similar attacks.
So far several dozen have been identified, most of whom were asylum seekers.
But due to Germany’s desperation to prove not only that it’s the most tolerant country in Europe but also that letting in hundreds of thousands of immigrants would have no disastrous consequences, the female victims of the attacks were initially ignored by the political class. Had the alleged perpetrators been white members of a fraternity, the international response would have been completely different, as the Atlantic’s David Frum noted.
Suddenly the presumption that accusers of sexual assault must be automatically believed has gone out the window, the latest victim of European “multiculturalism” and Western political correctness.
Gone, too, are the demands that women receive no crime-prevention tips, since that amounts to blaming the victim, instead insisting we “teach men not to rape.”
JANUARY 8, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Planned garage is too big
To the editor:
My wife and I attended a meeting last week at Mount Carmel Church concerning the proposed garage on Hudson St.
I have been in favor of a structure at the site but was dismayed to see the overall size of the structure. It is massive. If I, as a private individual proposed a structure that size for that lot, the council would laugh at me. People would be up in arms.
I think that if the council informs residents of the size of the structure, they will be up in arms. It will permanently change the downtown area.
I also don’t understand the rationale behind the proposed traffic flow. It, aside from being a problem for Mt. Carmel, seems to me to be a disaster in the making. It will require the traffic to flow from Broad Street with the majority of vehicles making a left onto Hudson. It will also funnel the exiting vehicles to nowhere land since at the end of Hudson they will have the choice of making a left toward Ridgewood Avenue or a right onto Prospect.
I assume a traffic light will have to be put at the Hudson-Prospect intersection since the traffic from the park area will be head on to the Hudson Street traffic. Not a pretty picture.
Mayor Aronsohn, at the meeting, kept pointing to the referendum as a seal of approval for the garage as proposed. In my view, and probably most of those who voted for it, he received an approval of a garage on the site, not something so big it will tower over the neighborhood.
If the garage has to be this big to be financially viable, then maybe the council needs to rethink its location. The site at Walnut Street would be more appropriate. It is a larger site, has access to Franklin Avenue, a road that could better handle the traffic, and because of the larger site, it could be built lower so the structure would not be so imposing.
In closing I would ask the council to reconsider the size and site of the structure. At the very least, delay going forward until a proper traffic study is undertaken as has been proposed.
The council represents all the residents of Ridgewood, not just the 3,000 who voted for a garage.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Art Institute 36th Annual Regional Juried Art Show. Open to all artists 18 years and older, in the New York Metropolitan area.
Two – Dimensional, traditional realism only. For complete prospectus visit www.ridgewoodartinstitute.org
The Ridgewood Art Institute is located at 12 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201)652-9615
Receiving: Saturday, January 9th 12-5 pm *HAND DELIVERY ONLY*
Reception: Sunday, January 31st, 2-4pm- An Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held at the Ridgewood Art Institute. Light refreshments will be served. Over $5,000 in awards and prizes, including a $1,000 grand prize, will be presented by the RAI President. Prize winners or representatives must be present at the awards ceremony.
Watercolor Landscape Demonstration Sunday, Feb.7 2PM by Joel Popadics
Show ends February 7.
A new poll from FoxNews finds voters souring on President Obama’s tenure in office, as his presidency enters its final year. President Obama entered office in 2009 with some of the highest approval ratings recorded in modern politics. He prepares to leave office with every poll finding his approval rating underwater.
This isn’t simply the weariness of voters with a President entering his eighth and final year, but a growing sense that he has failed on every major issue and leaves office with America weaker than when he arrived.
In this latest Fox poll, 61 percent of voters say they are unhappy with the direction of the country. Only 38 percent say they are largely satisfied. This is consistent with most other recent polls. A CNN/ORC poll last week found that 75 percent of Americans were “dissatisfied” with the governing of the country, with 69 percent at least “somewhat angry” about the situation.
Only 23 percent of Americans describe the economy as “good” or “excellent” in the Fox poll. More than three-out-of-four Americans, 76 percent, describe the economy as “fair” or “poor.” Just 27 percent say America is strong and confident today.
There isn’t simply an ennui that has settled over the body politic. Rather, the voters believe that Obama has failed on very specific issues. On “improving health care,” 53 percent of voters say Obama has “mostly failed.” Stimulating the economy? Fifty-one percent say Obama has failed.
A strong majority, 58 percent, say Obama has failed in “making the country safer.” Sixty percent say he has failed to “improve America’s image around the world.” Two-thirds of voters, 65 percent, say Obama has failed to “handle ISIS.” A similar number, 62 percent, say he has failed to “handle illegal immigration.”
Perhaps most disappointing, given the promise that swept him into office, 59 percent say Obama has failed to “improve race relations.” The same number also believe he has failed to run a “transparent administration.”
Presidents are often eclipsed in their final year in office, as the political world turns its attention to the campaign for the next President. The “best and the brightest” in any Administration have long departed for a calmer, or in many cases more lucrative, life after government. Even in Congress, the political debates and discussions turn to policies and budgets that stretch beyond a President’s tenure.
Traditionally, Presidents devote their time to foreign policy, striving to solidify their legacy as a global statesman. In this case, however, President Obama is constricted by a series of world events that raise more questions about his culpability, rather than leadership. Obama’s unconventional pivot to the divisive issue of gun control last week is indicative of his weak hand in global affairs.
Supply-side economist Arthur Laffer is predicting Republicans will win the White House in a landslide this year, regardless of the nominee.
“I would be surprised if the Republicans don’t take 45, 46, 47 states out of the 50,” Laffer told host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM-970 on Sunday.
“I mean, I think we’re going to landslide this election.”
Laffer, who served in various positions in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations, said he is bullish on the entire Republican primary field.
“When I look at these candidates, I don’t see one of them who wouldn’t do a great job as president,” he said.
“I think Donald Trump is phenomenal, I think Rand Paul has done a great job, I even like Jeb Bush — I think Jeb Bush is great, he did a wonderful job in Florida,” he added. “Chris Christie – phenomenal.”
He said Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton’s “day is over.”
Since the bulletin is prepared on Wednesday, before the Village Council meeting, I cannot share with you what happened. Below, please find the statement of the Parish that was emailed to Council members and read into the record.
On behalf of the Archdiocese of Newark and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, I would like to thank Mayor Aronsohn, Councilwoman Knudsen and the architectural/engineering teams working with the Village of Ridgewood for their willingness to engage in these open discussions and for their participation in the two meetings held at the parish last week. I have attached a memorandum from Daniel Disario, P.E., PTOE, of Langan Engineering, the firm that the parish has retained to review the traffic study submitted by Maser Consulting. The memorandum has identified several areas of concern that we would like to see addressed prior to the project moving forward.
While we are encouraged by the fact that the Village is willing to consider reducing the size of the proposed structure, we still believe that the construction of a parking deck for 200 additional cars will significantly impact day to day operations for the Church community and accordingly we would like to see the project proceed with due caution. Though we are thankful that the Village commissioned a traffic study, we feel that the report was limited in scope and a more thorough analysis is necessary.
The study was performed on Wednesday, October 7th for two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. As a result, the report does not take in to account added volume due to; daily drop off and pickup for Windsor Academy School, drop off and pick up for religious education classes, weddings, baptisms, confirmations, funerals and other parish events – including the significant attendance for weekend masses. With Mount Carmel being the closest neighbor to the parking structure, we would have preferred more interaction with Maser’s engineers so they could take these factors into account.
We are also uncomfortable with potential ripple effects and future implications of issues yet to be determined, including the possibility of the reversal of traffic flow and the elimination of street parking on Hudson and Passaic Streets, both of which border Church property. Certain aspects of the design, including the introduction of crisscrossing left hand turns at the entrance/exit of the lot, a problem which will be exacerbated by the inherent increase of both foot and vehicle traffic at mass times, should be more closely reviewed and fleshed out.
Furthermore, the proposed “cantilevered” overhang is a major aesthetic concern and also could present a series of logistical issues. We agree that solutions need to be found for the parking problem in Ridgewood and it is the intention of the parish to cooperate with the Village to address this longstanding issue. We also recognize the viability of the Hudson Street lot as a potential site, however, we believe the matter needs the type of comprehensive study and analysis that was recommended in the “Summary and Conclusions” portion of the original study completed by Maser Consulting on October 15, 2015 (page 22).
To this end, the parish is willing to retain an engineer at its own expense to examine the ramifications of the proposal in more detail. In conclusion, we formally request that bond approval be placed on hold until both engineering firms are given the appropriate time to study the matter in the required detail and subsequently confer for the purpose of providing a mutually beneficial solution for both the Village and parish communities.
Updated at 3:45: Revised to include response to Gov. Abbott’s speech and add reference to the Convention of States.
Updated at 1:54: Revised to include comments from Gov. Abbott’s speech.
Gov. Greg Abbott, aiming to spark a national conversation about states’ rights, said Friday that he wants Texas to lead the call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution and wrest power from a federal government “run amok.”
“If we are going to fight for, protect and hand on to the next generation, the freedom that [President] Reagan spoke of … then we have to take the lead to restore the rule of law in America,” Abbott said during a speech at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Policy Orientation that drew raucous applause from the conservative audience. He said he will ask lawmakers to pass a bill authorizing Texas to join other states calling for a Convention of States.
Along with the speech, Abbott released a nearly 70-page plan – part American civics lesson, part anti-Obama diatribe – detailing nine proposed constitutional amendments that he said would unravel the federal government’s decades-long power grab and restore authority over economic regulation and other matters to the states.
“The irony for our generation is that the threat to our Republic doesn’t come just from foreign enemies, it comes, in part, from our very own leaders,” Abbott said in a speech that took aim at President Obama, Congress and the judicial branch.
Ridgewood Nj, Residents continue to voice concerns about Gwen Hauck’s serious conflict of interest with Valley Hospital . Many were entirely shocked with last nights discovery the Gwen was representing Ridgewood tax payers in negotiations over the Valley law suit. Its seems common sense would dictate be it legal or not that a life long donor to Valley Hospital as well as her significant involvement with Valley hospital operations since she was a candy striper would make her participation null and void .
At last nights meeting Anne Loving raised concerns about Gwenn Hauck serving on the mediation team in the Valley suit against the village , ” Under any scenario, she should have recused herself. She has stated often that she is in complete support of the entire expansion project. How can she be objective and serve the village properly?”
Gwen was challenged as to whether she was on the current donor list for Valley of not ,readers questioned , What I’d like to know though is why Ms. Hauck would have failed to contact The Valley to advise them of the error if she’s known about it for some time.Hold the phone.who’s lying Valley or Gwenn. How can Valley falsify donor lists?
Councilwomen Hauck vehemently denied that she and her husband had made any donations to Valley since she has been on the council , while Valley had her on the donor list .” The only reason I can think of that The Valley would want to falsify a donor list – to make it seem that everyone important was giving and that we should too.” , speculated a reader.
Playing word games if fine but it does seem like Councilwomen Hauck clearly has a conflict of interest when it comes to Valley Hospital .
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial interest, or otherwise, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation of the individual or organization.The presence of a conflict of interest is independent of the occurrence of impropriety. Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs. A widely used definition is: “A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”[1] Primary interest refers to the principal goals of the profession or activity, such as the protection of clients, the health of patients, the integrity of research, and the duties of public office. Secondary interest includes not only financial gain but also such motives as the desire for professional advancement and the wish to do favours for family and friends, but conflict of interest rules usually focus on financial relationships because they are relatively more objective, fungible, and quantifiable. The secondary interests are not treated as wrong in themselves, but become objectionable when they are believed to have greater weight than the primary interests. The conflict in a conflict of interest exists whether or not a particular individual is actually influenced by the secondary interest. It exists if the circumstances are reasonably believed (on the basis of past experience and objective evidence) to create a risk that decisions may be unduly influenced by secondary interests. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest )
JANUARY 8, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Residents listen to public comments on a proposed parking garage during Wednesday’s council meeting.
Wednesday’s marathon Village Council meeting ended with the governing body voting 3-2 on a $12.3 million bond ordinance to build a parking garage on Hudson Street.
Because the ordinance requires a supermajority vote (four out of five council members), it was defeated.
Following that vote, a second ordinance was introduced that would enter Ridgewood into an agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) for a garage. The ordinance, introduced with a 4-1 vote on Wednesday, would require three votes for final approval.
Council vote
Prior to the meeting, which went until almost 3 a.m. Thursday, Mayor Paul Aronsohn sent out a statement explaining that while he is still in favor of the largest garage option (option A), he was willing to compromise.
He lent his support on Wednesday to the smallest option (option C) in the hopes of approving the bond ordinance.
“The idea of building a garage is an idea that has been discussed and debated for decades,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting. “While I still think that building a larger garage is the way to go, in the spirit of compromise … maybe at the end of the night, we can come to an agreement.”
Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, who had both been strong proponents of option A, also agreed to support option C if it meant moving forward in the process.
“We clearly need to think about this opportunity very carefully,” Hauck said. “I would like to work together in the spirit of cooperation to see this parking deck built.”
Though he noted that he is still in favor of plan A, Pucciarelli said that he understands that there is “objection on the part of plan A,” causing him to reconsider.
“It is clearly time to get going on this garage,” he said, adding that “studies in this town have become a mantra for not making tough decisions,”
While he had initially been in favor of bonding the ordinance for plan C, Councilman Michael Sedon expressed reservations with the idea due to new information about the proposed plan.
He opined that the public did not really have a true view of what the garage would look like before voting in the non-binding referendum in November that started the entire process. Sedon also said that he thinks the process was not made very clear to the public before they voted, which caused him some consternation.
Sedon said that instead of voting to bond option C, he is in favor of looking at less expensive alternatives for adding parking.
“We could do this, and it wouldn’t cost nearly $12 million,” he said. “If it’s decided that it doesn’t work, it’s easily reversed. I can’t support this bond at this time, and I’m voting no.”
“Simply stated, I am not convinced that we need a large, potentially expensive garage in our downtown area, and I am not convinced that we need additional commercial space. In fact, the more I learn about the situation, the more I believe that a garage now would be a big mistake.”
Dec 19, 2008 • 10:11 pm
Paul Aronsohn
Too few parking spaces. Too many parking tickets. And too many excuses about why nothing meaningful has been done about either situation.
Parking problems in the Village are nothing new. We all know that. In fact, if you listen to some of the old timers,such problems reportedly predated the advent of the automobile! But regardless, the fact remains — we have some serious parking issues that demand some serious answers … now.
A PARKING GARAGE?
In this context, much of the discussion over the past year has been about the possibility of constructing a large garage on the corner of Franklin and North Walnut – a garage that would be a few stories tall and include commercial space. And much of the focus has been on three proposals submitted by three companies – all
different but all seemingly trying to address the perceived needs of the Village.
I, however, remain skeptical. Simply stated, I am not convinced that we need a large, potentially expensive garage in our downtown area, and I am not convinced that we need additional commercial space. In fact, the more I learn about the situation, the more I believe that a garage now would be a big mistake.
Granted, downtown Ridgewood is often congested and finding a parking space in front of your favorite restaurant or store can be near impossible at times. But there are always – repeat, always – empty parking spaces in the central business district. You just have to walk a block or two to find them. And if you are unwilling or unable to walk a couple of blocks, then a garage – situated on the edge of the business district – would not likely help you.
And as for commercial space, our focus should be on trying to fill the many vacancies that already exist throughout the downtown area. The possibility of adding stores – even a “big box” store – may be attractive to some, but now does not seem to be the time to take such a gamble. In addition to our own vacancies, one only has to drive down Route 17 and in neighboring towns to see that the recession is taking a very real toll on our local economy.
A PARKING COMMITTEE?
Alongside conversations about a possible garage, the Village Council recently established a committee to“undertake a comprehensive review of the parking and pedestrian issues in the Central Business District and train station….” A good idea in theory – one that I initially supported, but one that may be undermined by some of those involved in the process. Specifically, I have been told – in no uncertain terms – that the committee should not address the garage proposal and should not even seek to increase the number of parking spaces in the downtown area.
This, to me, is a real shame and a real mistake. In my mind, it defies logic and good, common sense to establish a parking committee – give it a broad, three month mandate – but not let it deal with one of the biggest perceived parking issues: scarcity of spaces. Sure, there are other issues that can and will be addressed, but how – in good conscience – can we call this a “parking committee” when it is not allowed to deal with the Village’s central parking issue?
Needless to say, I hope the new committee will see fit to revisit the garage proposal and take a broad, meaningful look at the parking situation. Comprised of some really bright, thoughtful members of our community I am hopeful that the Committee will do the right thing.
QUICK, SMART FIXES?
Nonetheless, some of the answers to our parking problem seem obvious as well as easy and cheap to achieve.Here are a few ideas, some of which are already under consideration:
Stop the meterfeeding on East Ridgewood Avenue – a regular practice of some of those who work in the central business district. The police should crack down on this practice. People who work in the downtown area should park in the many longterm spaces that have been designated for their use – spaces that are on the margins of the downtown area.
Reduce the period of time that meters are enforced in the central business district. Currently, the meters run from 9am to 8pm. That should be changed to 10am to 6pm. This would be good for our restaurant owners as well as our restaurant goers. And the lost revenue for the Village could be made up with a system of tiered parking rates.
Implement a more efficient system for commuter parking – one that provides additional spaces as well as an easier way of paying for them. Our commuters should not have to carry a pocket full of quarters, hunt for parking spaces, or worry about getting home from work on time. Consideration should be given to using the parking lot on the east side of the train station for commuters and to using new individualizedmeter technology, as suggested by the Village Manager.
Repaint the parking spaces – and the boxes between them – in the downtown area. According to a friend of mine, who happens to be a traffic engineer, we could add 30 to 50 spaces in the downtown area by just repainting some lines and adding some meters. And while I don’t know this to be true, it certainly seems well worth exploring.
Increase the number of parking spaces for people with disabilities. With the help of the Village Manager’s office, this process has already begun. The idea is to make our downtown more accessible to people with mobility issues.
Enhance the signage for parking lots. Letting people know – through better signage, the Village website, etc. –about the location and availability of parking lots would certainly increase their utilization.
My overall point is this: We have some significant parking challenges in the Village – all of which could and should be addressed in a smart, timely, and costeffective manner. And with New Jersey Transit getting ready to begin a 3year project at the train station, it is incumbent upon us to move swiftly to offset what will be a temporary loss of commuter parking spaces.
I would therefore suggest that we (1) halt the garage proposal, (2) light a fire under the parking committee, and (3)work together – as a community — to address one of the most pressing quality of life issues in our Village.
The bad news is that it has taken us so long to get to this point. The good news, however, is that we are here now,and we have five Council Members genuinely committed to addressing this issue in a serious way.
Borders: The savage behavior of “migrant” revelers on New Year’s Eve in Germany should remind Europe that borders matter. But decades of political correctness and moral relativism have brainwashed a generation.
The mostly Muslim migrants from North Africa and the Mideast who have swarmed Europe over the past year have strained welfare resources and frayed social ties in nations such as Greece, Hungary, Italy, Germany and France.
The challenge faced by Europe in integrating the masses of newcomers was underscored in Cologne, Germany, last weekend. There, more than 1,000 newly arrived men committed some 90 serious crimes, including assault, rape and robbery, near the city’s train station and right next to its landmark cathedral.
The outrageous criminality has finally set off angry debate across the EU over leaders’ failure to protect citizens from those who come from nations that do not share Western values, morals and codes of behavior.
Liberal notions of seamlessly integrating hordes of immigrants into an advanced, post-industrial society have been shown to be naive and dangerous.
The Eurocrats and leftists who govern the European Union are starting to panic. “We’re willing to do more than anyone else,” said Swedish Migration Minister Morgan Johansson. “But even we have our limits.”
A lot of countries, it seems, are reaching their limits. Hungary has erected border fences to keep migrants out. Sweden and Denmark are fortifying their borders, setting up checkpoints to catch troublemakers. The New York Times cites growing “fears that terrorists are seeking to enter Europe masquerading as refugees.”
Ridgewood NJ, January – December 2016 Ridgewood Parking Permits – RPP Click Here for information and details. RPPs will be sold each business day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For both new and renewal RPPs, please bring a driver’s license, showing your Ridgewood address, and the registration(s) for the car(s) you wish to register. In addition, annual Ridgewood Resident Parking Stickers are available for free, which allow residents to park at the train station and will also be given as part of the RPP package. In order to obtain a Ridgewood Resident Parking Sticker (both new and renewal), please bring a driver’s license, showing your Ridgewood address, and the registration(s) for the car(s) you wish to register.
Passage nears in N.J. Legislature on hospitals-towns tax deal
JANUARY 6, 2016, 7:47 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016, 6:49 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Last-minute negotiations on Wednesday set the stage for passage of a bill requiring New Jersey’s non-profit hospitals to contribute financially to their |host towns, a measure crafted after a landmark state Tax Court decision raised doubts about their century-old property tax exemptions.
The measure would put up to $25 million into the coffers of municipalities where hospitals are located statewide, including an estimated $2.7 million to towns in Bergen and Passaic counties.
The state’s largest hospital association, in a historic shift, agreed to the “community service assessments” — with exemptions for hospitals in serious financial trouble — required by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s proposed law. However, the measure is opposed by the League of Municipalities, whose members generally think towns deserve more from the hospitals.
Today, the Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on an amended version of Sweeney’s bill, and both houses of the Legislature are expected to vote on it Monday, Senate staff said. The measure, sponsored by Sweeney and state Sens. Robert Singer, a Republican of Monmouth and Ocean counties, and Joseph Vitale, a Middlesex County Democrat, has bipartisan support.
“The goal isn’t to put them out of business, or [see] how much can we get out of them,” Sweeney said of the state’s 60 non-profit hospitals. “But we wanted to acknowledge and come up with a fair process. You don’t want a free-for-all where everyone is going to court, everyone’s suing.”
The New Jersey Hospital Association’s endorsement came after a precedent-setting decision by state Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco in June opened the door to new tax bills — and lawsuits — for non-profit hospitals statewide. Bianco found that the non-profit Morristown Medical Center was not entitled to its property-tax exemption because its operations were hardly different from those of a for-profit business. The two sides in that dispute settled, with the medical center agreeing to pay $15.5 million over 10 years.
The bill would preserve the New Jersey Constitution’s century-old property tax exemption for non-profit hospitals, a protection sought by the hospital industry. But it assesses a daily fee of $2.50 per hospital bed, payable to the host municipality, to be used for police and fire protection or to lower property taxes. Five percent of the assessment would be paid by the municipality to the county government.
Two amendments were negotiated Wednesday, and the measure was scheduled for votes in the Legislature’s final voting sessions. One amendment added an inflation clause, increasing the assessment by 2 percent annually. The other changed an exemption for hospitals in danger of bankruptcy or close to violating their bond covenants by allowing the finances of a hospital system, rather than an individual hospital, to be considered when exemptions are decided.
Where’s America Moving? Oregon Named Top Moving Destination of 2015United Van Lines’ Annual National Movers Study Shows Americans Continue to Move West and South
January 7,2015
the staff of the Rmidgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , For the third consecutive year, Oregon holds on to the No. 1 spot as “Top Moving Destination,” as Americans continue to pack up and head West and South. Those are the results of United Van Lines’ 39th Annual National Movers Study, which tracks customers’ state-to-state migration patterns over the past year.
Oregon is the most popular moving destination of 2015 with 69 percent of moves to and from the state being inbound. The state has continued to climb the ranks, increasing inbound migration by 10 percent over the past six years. New to the 2015 top inbound list is another Pacific West state, Washington, which came in at No. 10 with 56 percent inbound moves.
The Southern states also saw a high number of people moving in with 53 percent of total moves being inbound. In a separate survey of its customers, United Van Lines found the top reasons for moving South included company transfer/new job, retirement and proximity to family.
The Northeast continues to experience a moving deficit with New Jersey (67 percent outbound) and New York (65 percent) making the list of top outbound states for the fourth consecutive year. Two other states in the region — Connecticut (63 percent) andMassachusetts (57 percent) — also joined the top outbound list this year. The exception to this trend is Vermont (62 percent inbound), which moved up two spots on the list of top inbound states to No. 3.
“For nearly 40 years, we’ve been tracking which states people are moving to and from, and we’ve also recently started surveying our customers to understand why they are making these moves across state lines,” said Melissa Sullivan, director of marketing communications at United Van Lines. “Because of United Van Lines’ position as the nation’s largest household goods mover, our data is reflective of national migration trends.”
“This year’s data reflects longer-term trends of people moving to the Pacific West, where cities such as Portland and Seattle are seeing the combination of a boom in the technology and creative marketing industry, as well as a growing ‘want’ for outdoor activity and green space,” said Michael Stoll, economist, professor and chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The aging Boomer population is driving relocation from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South, as more and more people retire to warmer regions.”
United has tracked migration patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2015, the study is based on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. United classifies states as “high inbound” if 55 percent or more of the moves are going into a state, “high outbound” if 55 percent or more moves were coming out of a state or “balanced” if the difference between inbound and outbound is negligible.
Moving In
The top inbound states of 2015 were:
Oregon
South Carolina
Vermont
Idaho
North Carolina
Florida
Nevada
District of Columbia
Texas
Washington
The Western U.S. is represented on the high-inbound list by Oregon (69 percent), Nevada (57 percent) and Washington (56 percent). Of moves to Oregon, a new job or company transfer (53 percent) and wanting to be closer to family (20 percent) led the reasons for most inbound moves. Nevada remained on the high inbound list for the fifth consecutive year.
Moving Out
The top outbound states for 2015 were:
New Jersey
New York
Illinois
Connecticut
Ohio
Kansas
Massachusetts
West Virginia
Mississippi
Maryland
In addition to the Northeast, Illinois (63 percent) held steady at the No. 3 spot, ranking in the top five for the last seven years.
New additions to the 2014 top outbound list include Connecticut (63 percent), Massachusetts (57 percent) and Mississippi (56 percent).
Balanced
Several states gained approximately the same number of residents as those that left. This list of “balanced” states includes Alabama,North Dakota, Delaware and Louisiana.
