Critics say survey figures inflate threat of on campus rapes
DECEMBER 9, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 12:07 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The alarming government statistic that one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college has been cited by the Obama administration and in frequent news reports as it has become a rallying cry for changes on campus.
But critics claim the assault figure — taken from a survey that includes questions about acts that range from forced kissing and touching to rape — is inflated and unrepresentative, and is leading to panic and hasty decisions by college administrators who need to address a complex problem.
“It’s not a question of whether the university needs to address this,” said Samantha Harris, director of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advocates for students’ rights at colleges and universities. “It is allowing a moral |panic to prevail and preventing clear heads from crafting a |solution that is fair to every-|one involved.”
Experts say that getting accurate findings on rape and sexual assault is challenging and depends on how the crimes are defined and measured.
Despite that, other large studies have found similar rates of rape and assault among women. Advocates for women say that even if the statistic is inflated, the problem is real and that takes away nothing from its significance.
The one-in-five number, gleaned from a 2007 survey by the National Institute of Justice, a division of the Justice Department, was at the forefront of a report issued in January by a White House task force on sexual assault. The statistic was highlighted in news coverage of two reported rapes at Ramapo College and William Paterson University in Wayne in the past three weeks that resulted in the arrests of 10 students.
NJ TRANSIT ANNOUNCES SYSTEMWIDE CROSS-HONORING IN ADVANCE OF NOR’EASTER
Customers advised to check njtransit.com before traveling
December 8, 2014
NEWARK, NJ — As the season’s next Nor’easter storm moves toward the region, NJ TRANSIT operations, customer service and police personnel are taking steps to minimize delays and ensure service reliability and safety. All customers are strongly advised to check njtransit.com before traveling for up-to-the-minute service information before starting their trip.
Systemwide Cross-Honoring in Effect: To give customers additional travel options during expected winter weather conditions, NJ TRANSIT will offer full system wide cross-honoring for the entire service day Tuesday, December 9, enabling customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate travel mode—rail, bus or light rail. For example, customers who normally take the bus from Rutherford to the Port Authority Bus Terminal may use their bus pass or ticket on the train from Rutherford to New York Penn Station. Similarly, customers who normally take the bus between Atlantic City and Lindenwold may use the Atlantic City Rail Line instead at no additional charge.
NJ TRANSIT will closely monitor the crowds at New York Penn Station, Hoboken Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and make adjustments to service as necessary.
The Corporation is preparing to minimize disruptions and delays to the extent possible, particularly in light of the potential Nor’easter that may impact portions of the area starting tonight. Rail and light rail crews and equipment are on standby to quickly respond to downed trees, power outages or other issues that may arise. In addition, NJ TRANSIT will be positioning locomotives at strategic locations across the rail system to rapidly respond in the event of a disabled train.
Customers are advised of the following:
Systemwide: NJ TRANSIT plans to operate a regular weekday schedule on Tuesday, December 9. Depending on the impact of the storm, it may be necessary for NJ TRANSIT to modify service as conditions change.
Bus Service: While every effort will be made to continue operating bus service throughout the state, customers may experience delays or detours on their routes in the event of extreme winter weather conditions. Customers are advised to plan accordingly and anticipate disruptions to bus service.
Travel Advice:
For the latest travel information, visit njtransit.com or access our Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT prior to starting your trip. In the event of delays or service adjustments, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system, which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. (If you are not yet a My Transit subscriber, we encourage you to sign up at www.njtransit.com/mytransit) Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555 or from broadcast traffic reports.
Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.
Build additional travel time into your trip to a station, terminal or bus stop.
Stairs, flooring and platforms can be slippery, so please use caution when walking along wet surfaces or any outdoor surface exposed to the weather. Use extra care when boarding or exiting buses and trains.
Report slippery or unsafe conditions to bus operators, train crews or
NJ TRANSIT staff.
If you park, ensure your car is stocked with a snow brush and ice scraper so you can clear your car upon returning to the lot.
NJ TRANSIT is prepared to handle the impending winter weather:
Snow plows and salt spreaders are ready for service and snow-removal contracts are in place with outside vendors.
NJ TRANSIT is well-stocked with 16,000 bags of snow-melting supplies, and hundreds of shovels and snow blowers.
NJ TRANSIT has performed maintenance and testing on its two rail-mounted jet snow blowers in the event they are needed to help clear train tracks of snow and ice, particularly in rail yards.
More than 750 rail switches, switch heaters and overhead wires were inspected as part of NJ TRANSIT’s preventative maintenance program.
Onboard heating systems, thermostats, weather stripping and electronic components have been inspected on NJ TRANSIT railcars, light rail cars and locomotives.
Bus maintenance personnel have inspected and performed necessary maintenance on a fleet of nearly 2,200 buses – from the heating and airbrake systems, to the engine fluids, tires, windshield wipers and doors.
Pew: 75% ‘better informed’ because of Internet news sites, don’t feel ‘overloaded’
By Paul Bedard | December 8, 2014 | 12:19 pm
The Internet is revolutionizing news consumption, with more than seven in 10 telling Pew Research Center that they are better informed than they were five years ago because of the news websites they visit daily.
In Pew’s latest survey of Internet use, 75 percent said they are “better informed” about national news, and a near equal 74 percent on international news.
Just as importantly, 72 percent said that having so much information at their fingertips was a good thing and didn’t make them feel overloaded.
The survey bolsters a previous Pew report that found many Americans shifting from print and TV to Internet based news outlets. The new survey shows that Americans are benefiting from the shift.
Overall, a whopping 87 percent said that the Internet and cell phones “have improved their ability to learn new things, including 53 percent who say it has improved this ‘a lot,’ ” said Pew.
“Americans like lots of information choices and don’t feel particularly oppressed by the growing flows of material into their lives,” said Lee Rainie, director of Pew’s Internet, Science and Technology Research. “Even through all the tech change in the past generation, people said they are coping fine and relish new options they have to get and share the information that matters to them.”
A question of homework: tenafly parents protest the load, joining nationwide trend
DECEMBER 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
TENAFLY — Pressured by parents, school district officials are considering lowering the stress of homework with such measures as homework-free nights and vacations, and giving students more information about the demands they will face in choosing courses.
The district also will organize workshops for parents on reducing children’s stress.
The measures are being taken after a group of high school parents confronted the school board, arguing that homework is wreaking havoc on their children’s lives.
Tenafly is just the latest of many districts nationwide trying new approaches amid the high-stakes competition for college that has fueled an intense schedule of testing and nightly homework in local districts.
The parents’ group, Rational Homework Review, says the heavy workload prevents their children from maintaining a healthy lifestyle and getting adequate sleep. They also argue that some assignments lack educational value.
Other school districts statewide, including Ridgewood and Glen Rock, have reexamined homework policies or changed them in recent years to help balance students’ lives. Nationally, an anti-homework backlash has been spurred in part by studies on sleep deprivation among teens, a plethora of books about the homework craze and a documentary called “Race to Nowhere” about students in a pressured educational environment.
Ridgewood considers restoring sculpture by Paterson artist
DECEMBER 7, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2014, 10:31 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – A sculpture that was crafted by the hands of renowned Paterson artist Gaetano Federici in 1927 could soon be back on display in the village – after being left forgotten for some 40 years.
Ridgewood officials are looking into how much it would cost to have some restoration done to the cast stone piece before having it displayed permanently and prominently outside Village Hall.
No official action was taken on the sculpture at the council’s meeting last week. But Councilwoman Susan Knudsen argued that the Federici piece was worth saving.
“It belongs to the people of Ridgewood,” Knudsen said. “It is priceless and deserves to be brought back and preserved.”
The statue depicts an earlier version of New Jersey’s state seal, with two female figures – Liberty and Ceres – and three plows, representing agriculture’s importance to the state.
As with the state seal, the head of a horse – New Jersey’s official animal – tops the sculpture.
Feeling Better at the Pump? Since 2008, America’s Oil Supply Has Grown by 50 Percent.
Ed Feulner / @EdFeulner / December 07, 2014
If you’re like most Americans, you haven’t been questioning the welcome drop in gasoline prices. You just fill ‘er up and feel grateful that you’re spending less.
Why has this remarkable drop come about? And what can we do to help keep prices lower?
Some of it, unfortunately, is beyond our control. Worldwide demand for oil is down now. That always causes the cost of gasoline to drop.
But the other side of the equation — the part that is under our control — has gone largely unheralded in many media accounts: the boom in U.S. energy production. Simply put, we’re producing much more energy domestically these days, and that is, predictably enough, pushing prices downward.
Since 2008, we’ve increased our domestic supply of oil by 50 percent. Thanks to technological breakthroughs such as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling, we’re able to find and extract far more oil than we possibly could have years ago.
Oil production in states such as North Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma has doubled in the last six years. The United States is now the world’s No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas. Signs that read “No to fracking” might as well read, “Yes to higher prices,” and “no” to the more than 100,000 jobs created in the oil and gas extraction industry over the last few years.
It all comes down to supply and demand. It’s pretty simple. We can’t do much about worldwide demand, but we can do a lot about supply.
Here’s what not to do: subsidize “green” energy such as wind and solar (or any form of energy, for that matter). If green forms of energy show promise, believe me, the market will put resources behind them. The fact that wind and solar producers are so wholly dependent on government handouts (i.e., taxpayer money) is telling.
Yet the push to prop them up continues. Consider the $440 billion tax package lawmakers recently hammered out. It contains a provision that would have revived the wind tax credit that expired last year. Yet the wind industry already gets $56 in federal tax credits per energy unit produced.
Infographic by Kelsey Harris/The Daily Signal
What should we do? Stop impeding markets. Here are four steps policymakers should take, courtesy of Heritage Foundation energy expert Nicolas Loris:
First, lift the ban on crude oil exports. A recent IHS study found that removing the ban would lower gasoline prices by 8 cents per gallon, saving drivers $265 billion over 15 years and adding nearly 1 million jobs by 2018.
Second, lift the drilling bans and approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline. We need more exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. We should also be conducting more lease sales off Alaska’s coasts. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is another abundant source of oil, with an estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil resting beneath a few thousand acres.
Third, repeal the ethanol mandate. This rule forces refineries to blend increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline each year, reaching 36 billion gallons in 2022. It’s already driven up fuel and food prices, according to multiple federal-agency and government-backed studies.
Fourth, prohibit greenhouse gas regulations. The Department of the Interior has already suspended oil and gas leases because of their alleged impact on climate change. Coming greenhouse gas regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency will increase the cost of energy production — and producers will pass those costs on to consumers. Yet the regulations will have no meaningful impact on the climate, the EPA has acknowledged.
Notice the one thing these steps have in common? It’s government getting out of the way. The secret to extending the streak of lower energy prices, it turns out, is no secret at all: Let markets work.
“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, stunned virtually everyone in the United States military.
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, is observed annually on December 7, is to remember and honor all those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
On August 23, 1994,United States Congress, designated December 7 of each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is also referred to as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day or Pearl Harbor Day. It is a tradition to fly the Flag of the United States at half-staff until sunset in honor of dead patriots.
On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 America’s naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by aircraft and submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy, killing 2,403 American military personnel and civilians and injuring 1,178 others. The attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships and damaged four more. It also damaged or sank three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged.
DECEMBER 7, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2014, 12:10 AM
BY JOHN REITMEYER AND MELISSA HAYES
STATE HO– USE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
New calculations show that the pension fund covering retirement benefits for most of New Jersey’s public employees is projected to go broke in a decade, not the 30 years officials had estimated just months ago.
The fund that covers retirements for judges and court workers has less than 10 years.
And the largest of New Jersey’s pension funds, the one for teachers, will run out of money in 13 years.
The actual values of the pension funds have not changed, and the investments are still growing at rates much better than managers had predicted. What did change was the formula used to account for how much money will be needed to cover benefits for future retirees. When the impact of that change was made public in a Wall Street analysis last month, the differences were stark.
The new projections are not the most conservative, but experts say they are more realistic than those New Jersey had been making before it switched to the new accounting method. But they remain only estimates, and a number of factors could change the depletion dates, including how much money is deposited in the system in the future and whether investments can beat the anticipated |returns.
Oddly, both the Christie administration and the unions fighting in court to force the governor to restore billions in payments to those funds have embraced the new figures.
A clear symptom of a state in decline; ravaged by high taxes and fiscal policies which erode both opportunity and the quality of life for its residents. https://s.nj.com/IoOo8Fk
N.J. young adults more likely to live with parents, less likely to marry than rest of U.S.
By Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey’s young adults are better educated than they were 30 years ago, but are earning less and are far more likely to live with their parents than the previous generation, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The new figures, released as part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, take a look at the young adult population across the country from a period of 2009 to 2013. They paint a fascinating picture of the state’s rapidly evolving 18 to 34 year-old demographic, one that will likely dictate the future of the Garden State but is still suffering the lingering effects of the Great Recession.
Nearly 30 percent of New Jersey’s 18 to 34 year-olds now hold a Bachelor’s degree, the new data show, compared to 19 percent in 1980 and 22 percent across the rest of the country.
Stuck on Stupid Trenton Lawmakers look to Raise NJ Gas Tax
Potential N.J. gas tax increase comes up against Christie’s 2016 prospects
TRENTON — As the Republican governor of a blue state who has presidential aspirations, Chris Christie has spent much of the past five years carefully considering whether what plays in New Jersey will also play in more conservative states like South Carolina.
That balancing act is about to get a lot tougher as calls to raise the state’s gas tax grow louder.
New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund — which pays for major transportation projects — is almost broke. And Democrats who control the Legislature say that after years of fiscal maneuvers and borrowing for road projects, more revenue is needed.
The question becomes how Christie — who is widely expected to seek the nomination for the White House in a Republican Party that loathes raising taxes — signs such a measure into law without mortally damaging his presidential campaign before it even begins.
November Jobs Report Gives Insight into Why Most Americans Think the Economy Is Lousy
James Sherk / @JamesBSherk / December 05, 2014
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November employment report showed solid economic growth, but also provides clues about why many Americans report unhappiness with the economy.
The headline figures contained mostly good news. The household survey reported the unemployment rate remaining flat (5.8 percent) at the lowest rate since July 2008. Labor force participation also remained flat at 62.8 percent as did the employment to population ratio—remaining 59.2 percent, the highest since mid-2009 but well below pre-recession levels.
The average duration of unemployment has remained stubbornly high, rising to 33 weeks in November.
The payroll survey reported employers created 321,000 net new jobs in November—the most in any month since April 2011. The professional and business services (+86,000), retail trade (+50,000), healthcare (+29,000) and food services and drinking places (+27,000) showed the greatest gains. The payroll survey also found the average work hours increasing a tenth of an hour to 34.6 a week—the highest level since early 2008. In more good news, revisions to the September and October surveys showed that employers created 44,000 more jobs those months than previously believed.
Nonetheless, polls suggest that most Americans consider the economy in poor shape. The exit polls from the midterm elections found that 70 percent of voters see America’s economic condition as either “not so good” or “poor.”
Over the past year, average wages have grown by 2.1 percent—only slightly above the rate of inflation.
The November jobs report gives some insight into why. The average duration of unemployment has remained stubbornly high, rising to 33 weeks in November. The median unemployed worker has been looking for work for almost three months—almost twice as long as before the recession hit. Unemployment has become more painful for workers; those who lose their jobs have much greater difficulty finding new ones.
Additionally, average hourly wage growth has slowed to a crawl during the recovery. In November, average wages rose just 9 cents an hour. Over the past year, average wages have grown by 2.1 percent—only slightly above the rate of inflation. Thus, the real buying power of American workers has hardly improved.
This also shows why claims that this represents the strongest economic growth since the tech bubble are misleading. Yes, the economy has added jobs a good pace – welcome news after the deep recession and anemic recovery. But wages grew far faster and the unemployed found jobs far more quickly in the mid-2000s. This does not feel like a booming economy because it is not.
All told, November’s employment report brought welcome news about labor market improvements—but the economy still remains far from a satisfying recovery.
Enter Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital’s Holiday Pet Photo Contest!
Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital
Enter Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital’s Holiday Pet Photo Contest!
3 HOLIDAY PET PHOTO PRIZES!! 3 WINNERS!!
Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital is hosting a Holiday Pet Photo Contest! Please “LIKE” our Facebook Page to enter, and submit your photos for the contest either by a Facebook message, or by emailing them to us at: [email protected]. Please make sure that you identify your pet’s first & last name when submitting the photo, and leave your contact information. You may only submit 1 picture of each pet; however, you may enter as many pets as you wish! You may also submit a group photo of your pets for consideration as well as individual pictures.
Once we have your photo, we will upload it to the Holiday Pet Photo Contest album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/…. Click on that link to find your pet’s photo, and feel free to share, comment and like it, because the photo with the most “likes” on our Facebook page wins!! This contest has already started, so hurry! And it will end on December 24th at 11am EST. Winners will be revealed by December 26th. ***Before entering the contest, please read the full rules, regulations and instructions in our “Notes” section here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/ridgewood-veterinary-hospital/ridgewood-veterinary-hospitals-holiday-pet-photo-contest/824984030886736***
1ST PRIZE
$300 Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital Gift Certificate
2ND PRIZE
$150 Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital Gift Certificate
3RD PRIZE
$75 Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital Gift Certificate
***Remember, the photo with most “likes” on our page wins so please email us your photo entry today and share the Holiday Pet Photo Fun! Thank you!
YWCA Bergen County Now Offers Ski Lessons for Kids
YWCA Bergen County now offers ski lessons for children ages 4 years and older at Campgaw Mountain located at 200 Campgaw Road, Mahwah, NJ. Beginner & intermediate ski lessons will be held on Mondays or Wednesdays from January 5 through January 26,, 2014.
For ages 4 – 6 years, beginners and intermediate lessons are offered from 4:15 – 5:45 pm on Mondays and Wednesday. Program only fee of $88 is available for current season pass holders. For non-season pass holders, the Program and Daily Pass fee is $150 and Program, Daily Pass, and Rental Fee is $234. Daily Pass and Pass and Rental options allow participant to stay after lesson to ski closing.
For ages 7 years and older, all level lessons are offered from 4:15 – 5:45 pm on Mondays and Wednesday. Program only fee of $126 is available for current season pass holders. For non-season pass holders, the Program and Daily Pass fee is $177 and Program, Daily Pass, and Rental Fee is $234. Daily Pass and Pass and Rental options allow participant to stay after lesson to ski closing.
Beginner and intermediate levels are determined by description of program from Campgaw Mountain. Campgaw Mountain will have a rental fitting date, allowing renters to try on equipment prior to the start of class. Helmets are included in the rentals and are mandatory by NJ Law. Helmets must be Snow Sport Helmets. Bicycle helmets are not acceptable.
YWCA $50 Basic Membership is required. All registration forms and waivers must be submitted by December 15th. For more information or forms, please visit www.ywcabergencounty.org/LckpH or call the Membership Department at 201-444-5600 ext. 400.
Workers from Downes Tree Service place Ridgewood’s Christmas tree at the intersection of East Ridgewood Avenue and South Broad Street.
Ridgewood Christmas tree honors fallen Waldwick police officer
DECEMBER 4, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014, 2:09 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood’s Christmas tree will be lit this Friday at 8 p.m., as tradition dictates.
Adding to the tradition this year is a particularly special, and seasonally appropriate, gesture.
The tree was taken from the Midland Park home of the uncle and aunt of Waldwick Police Officer Christopher Goodell, who was 32 years old and engaged to be married when he lost his life this past summer in a tragic car accident while he was on the job.
The tree is meant to honor the beloved police officer, ringing in the true meaning of the season.
In the same spirit, the Goodell family has been invited by the village to help light the tree on Friday night.
