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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ridgewood People in the News
Fondant featured on show
July 11, 2009 - 1:00 AM
By Sheryl Borden: Creative Living
http://www.pntonline.com/articles/featured-17908-fondant-money.html
Information on saving time and money when decorating and working with cake fondant will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at noon Tuesday and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Author and decorating expert Jack Warner will talk about the concept of a game plan in decorating and share tips from the pros in terms of saving time and money when buying home decor items. He lives in Ridgewood, N.J.
Nancy Siler, of Wilton Industries Inc., will demonstrate using versatile rolled fondant icing on cakes for showers, weddings, sweetheart gifts, pool parties and many other special occasions. She’s from Woodridge, Ill.
Information on automatic machine applique, creating faux art-and-crafts antiques and recording special memories will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday.
June Mellinger, Brother Sewing Machines director of education, will demonstrate automatic machine applique techniques. She’s from Bridgewater, N.J.
Since antiques from 1900-1929 are skyrocketing in value, Bruce Johnson says we can create our own faux art-and-crafts antiques, and he’ll show how to do this. Johnson represents Minwax in Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Author Sharon Niederman will explain why it’s so important to record special memories and events in our lives. In fact, she became an author after spending years recording the lives and stories of people she had met. She’s from Albuquerque.
Decorating Time Savers
Using the Internet as an interior design resource
The Internet provides an invaluable time- and money-saving resource for almost any interior design project.
A world of planning tools, ideas and expert how-to techniques are now at your disposal 24 hours a day, even if you live in the most remote location. And virtually every important home furnishings manufacturer and distributor now provides comprehensive product information on their Web sites, many of them with online buying options.
Add to that the Internet auction sites, letting you buy direct from individuals and antique dealers worldwide, and you have an unprecedented opportunity to truly shop the world, rather than just your neighborhood.
When to use the Internet
During the planning phase to stimulate ideas, and during the procurement phase to find the best sources.
Just about every house wares and home furnishings supplier now gives you their Web site address in their ads. And you can use search engines like Google, Yahoo, Hotbot, Infoseek, Lycos, etc. to find suppliers for just about everything that exists.
On these supplier sites, you’ll find comprehensive product information, usually far in excess of what even the most experienced retail sales person can tell you. And often you’ll find “close-out sale” merchandise not available at retail.
“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico, and is distributed by Westlink, Albuquerque.
http://www.pntonline.com/articles/featured-17908-fondant-money.html
Ridgewood People in the News
Antonino Esposito, World-Class Pizzaiuolo, to Share Pizza Techniques at A Mano, Ridgewood
By Post Friday, July 10 2009, 06:03 PM EDT
Antonino Esposito Intimate Meet and Eat Monday, July 20th, 6:00-7:30 p.m., Hosted by Ridgewood’s Authentic Neapolitan Trattoria
A Mano will be hosting world-class Sorrento-based pizza master Antonino Esposito for a close up look at pizza craftsmanship on Monday, July 20th, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. by reservation only. Widely heralded as a master of authentic Neapolitan pizza, Mr. Esposito will demonstrate his skills and share insights during this brief appearance at the Ridgewood trattoria.
A top 5 finalist in 2007’s International Pizza Challenge and grand champion of Sorrento’s Taste and Cooking International Championship, Mr. Esposito will share distinctive subtleties of dough making, dough stretching, and baking temperatures, as well as other unique elements that make his creations so widely celebrated. The demonstration will highlight the contrasts between Neapolitan and Italian American pizza, showcase A Mano’s distinctive imported ingredients, and provide attendees with samples of Mr. Esposito’s pizza and selected menu items from A Mano’s menu.
Who: Antonino Esposito, renowned pizzaiuolo and Italian Food Channel star
What: An intimate educational, complimentary cooking demonstration by esteemed pizzaiuolo and Italian Food Channel pizza maestro, Antonino Esposito, held at A Mano, Neapolitan trattoria, 24 Franklin Avenue in Ridgewood, NJ
When: Monday, July 20th, 2009
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Where: A Mano, www.amanopizza.com
24 Franklin Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: (201) 493-2000
Reservations Required: Space is limited to the first thirty people. RSVP to Heidi Raker, heidi@rakergoldstein.com of Raker Goldstein & Co., (201)784-1818.
tell them you read it on the Ridgewood blog
central business district Parking rates are doubled
Friday, July 10, 2009
BY MICHAEL SEDON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
For at least the next six months, village parking meter rates will increase while the enforcement hours will be shortened, and municipal lots will offer free parking on Saturdays. But village officials say the added revenue will support much more than parking spaces and enforcement.
Effective Aug. 1, the new parking rates are slated to rise to 50 cents an hour at all village meters. Enforcement times will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Village Council and the Chief Financial Officer Dorothy Stikna fielded questions at a public meeting on Wednesday that revealed the council's hopes that the increased revenue would cover the cost of numerous change orders and additional bond ordinances associated with the East Ridgewood Avenue Streetscape project. Stikna also discussed the maze of accounting that allocates different percentages of the parking revenues to various departments within Village Hall to offset some of the burden on taxpayers to support the Central Business District (CBD).
Tom Hillman, owner of Hillman Electric, which has been in business for 100 years in Ridgewood, voiced his concern with the parking rate increase as it relates to the stability of downtown businesses.
"The downtown is a little more fragile than I think you understand," Hillman said at Wednesday night's public meeting.
Resident Boyd Loving asked what the genesis was that brought about a meter rate increase. Deputy Mayor Keith Killion responded that the Chamber of Commerce approached the council months ago and asked for a four-hour decrease in meter enforcement.
"We looked at it and said in order to do that and maintain what we have, there would have to be a parking [rate] increase," Killion said.
Councilman Pat Mancuso added that many people who frequent CBD restaurants for an early breakfast or a late dinner would often be ticketed during their visits because of the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. enforcement hours.
"Most of the businesses downtown start at 10 a.m.," Mancuso said. "So it seemed logical, to me anyway, [to] start the meters at 10 a.m."
But according to chamber President Doug Seiferling, when the chamber made its request for reduced enforcement times at the meters and agreed to increased rates, a parking garage was still proposed to be built at the North Walnut Street Redevelopment District. (Seiferling is distribution manager for North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Ridgewood News.)
Also adding to the parking utility's approximately $100,000 deficit last year and this year's continued deficit was the increase in payments to police, fire and public employees' retirement systems and the debt service on the $3 million bond the village issued for the parking garage project that was voted down earlier this year.
The village allocated a total of $106,358 to retirement systems in 2008 from the parking utility, and this year it will allocate $129,870 into the retirement system in addition to the $127,500 debt service for the parking garage, according to figures from the CFO's office.
"The revenue from the utility is being allocated out to, it seems like the number Ms. Stikna gave, 20 different departments in the community," Loving said. "People came up and talked about the expenses of the utility; there really are no expenses in the utility. There are no employees in the utility. The revenues are being used to cover the expenses of the community on a prorated basis."
Stikna said there are actually 25 individual budgets that use some of the parking utility revenue to supplement their budgets. She said 15 budgets are labor-related, which covers salaries and wages, while the remaining 10 items are related to electricity, Social Security and other non-labor expenses.
Through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Loving obtained total budget figures for the last three years for the parking utility. The utility brought in a total of $991,432 in 2008, but $100,671 of taxpayer money was used to offset the utility's debt. This money was represented as revenue in the figures Loving provided The Ridgewood News, but village officials said the additional revenue from the parking-rate increase will be used to pay back Ridgewood taxpayers.
"Why don't we take a look at the expense side, since all the expenses are being charged to these departments, and reduce the expenses without having to raise the parking-meter fees?" asked resident Roger Wiegand.
Stikna projected the 2010 parking utility revenue to be $1.135 million, and she said the rates have not been raised in eight years. Killion added that while expenses have gone up, the rates have not. He explained that the increase will realize additional revenue for the village for the first few years, but as the costs of things like asphalt, health insurance, salaries and other expenses charged through the utility rise, eventually the revenue and expenses will even out.
"It's become a user fee," Killion added. "Why should the taxpayer support the downtown business area?"
Wiegand countered Killion's remarks by pointing out that a "viable downtown" affects surrounding property values, and he pressed the council to look at reducing expenses while the country is in a recession.
"No one wants to do this," Mayor David Pfund said. "Paving lots down there, having an extra police officer and paving roads, that this money can be recouped to try to benefit the taxpayers so they don't bear the full burden."
Councilman Paul Aronsohn agreed with the mayor that improving the downtown would benefit taxpayers, but reiterated his stance that the rate increase is excessive.
E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
BY MICHAEL SEDON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
For at least the next six months, village parking meter rates will increase while the enforcement hours will be shortened, and municipal lots will offer free parking on Saturdays. But village officials say the added revenue will support much more than parking spaces and enforcement.
Effective Aug. 1, the new parking rates are slated to rise to 50 cents an hour at all village meters. Enforcement times will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Village Council and the Chief Financial Officer Dorothy Stikna fielded questions at a public meeting on Wednesday that revealed the council's hopes that the increased revenue would cover the cost of numerous change orders and additional bond ordinances associated with the East Ridgewood Avenue Streetscape project. Stikna also discussed the maze of accounting that allocates different percentages of the parking revenues to various departments within Village Hall to offset some of the burden on taxpayers to support the Central Business District (CBD).
Tom Hillman, owner of Hillman Electric, which has been in business for 100 years in Ridgewood, voiced his concern with the parking rate increase as it relates to the stability of downtown businesses.
"The downtown is a little more fragile than I think you understand," Hillman said at Wednesday night's public meeting.
Resident Boyd Loving asked what the genesis was that brought about a meter rate increase. Deputy Mayor Keith Killion responded that the Chamber of Commerce approached the council months ago and asked for a four-hour decrease in meter enforcement.
"We looked at it and said in order to do that and maintain what we have, there would have to be a parking [rate] increase," Killion said.
Councilman Pat Mancuso added that many people who frequent CBD restaurants for an early breakfast or a late dinner would often be ticketed during their visits because of the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. enforcement hours.
"Most of the businesses downtown start at 10 a.m.," Mancuso said. "So it seemed logical, to me anyway, [to] start the meters at 10 a.m."
But according to chamber President Doug Seiferling, when the chamber made its request for reduced enforcement times at the meters and agreed to increased rates, a parking garage was still proposed to be built at the North Walnut Street Redevelopment District. (Seiferling is distribution manager for North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Ridgewood News.)
Also adding to the parking utility's approximately $100,000 deficit last year and this year's continued deficit was the increase in payments to police, fire and public employees' retirement systems and the debt service on the $3 million bond the village issued for the parking garage project that was voted down earlier this year.
The village allocated a total of $106,358 to retirement systems in 2008 from the parking utility, and this year it will allocate $129,870 into the retirement system in addition to the $127,500 debt service for the parking garage, according to figures from the CFO's office.
"The revenue from the utility is being allocated out to, it seems like the number Ms. Stikna gave, 20 different departments in the community," Loving said. "People came up and talked about the expenses of the utility; there really are no expenses in the utility. There are no employees in the utility. The revenues are being used to cover the expenses of the community on a prorated basis."
Stikna said there are actually 25 individual budgets that use some of the parking utility revenue to supplement their budgets. She said 15 budgets are labor-related, which covers salaries and wages, while the remaining 10 items are related to electricity, Social Security and other non-labor expenses.
Through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Loving obtained total budget figures for the last three years for the parking utility. The utility brought in a total of $991,432 in 2008, but $100,671 of taxpayer money was used to offset the utility's debt. This money was represented as revenue in the figures Loving provided The Ridgewood News, but village officials said the additional revenue from the parking-rate increase will be used to pay back Ridgewood taxpayers.
"Why don't we take a look at the expense side, since all the expenses are being charged to these departments, and reduce the expenses without having to raise the parking-meter fees?" asked resident Roger Wiegand.
Stikna projected the 2010 parking utility revenue to be $1.135 million, and she said the rates have not been raised in eight years. Killion added that while expenses have gone up, the rates have not. He explained that the increase will realize additional revenue for the village for the first few years, but as the costs of things like asphalt, health insurance, salaries and other expenses charged through the utility rise, eventually the revenue and expenses will even out.
"It's become a user fee," Killion added. "Why should the taxpayer support the downtown business area?"
Wiegand countered Killion's remarks by pointing out that a "viable downtown" affects surrounding property values, and he pressed the council to look at reducing expenses while the country is in a recession.
"No one wants to do this," Mayor David Pfund said. "Paving lots down there, having an extra police officer and paving roads, that this money can be recouped to try to benefit the taxpayers so they don't bear the full burden."
Councilman Paul Aronsohn agreed with the mayor that improving the downtown would benefit taxpayers, but reiterated his stance that the rate increase is excessive.
E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
Friday, July 10, 2009
Reader finds Valley Hospital social functions in poor taste
As a caring person, I am sick of being assailed almost every week in the Ridgewood News with full page images of the rich and powerful in this town congratulating themselves for giving money to Valley Hospital at yet another social function.
The country is in the worst recession in 70 years. People are losing their jobs, houses are being foreclosed, families are breaking up under the economic stress and Ridgewood is looking at a net tax deficit that will amount to millions of dollars.
In contrast, Valley Hospital is at the most profitable it has been in its history and pays not taxes or PILOT to Ridgewood. Despite the hard times for the rest of us, the parties continue and rich donors continue to give the hospital money - and rub our noses in their conspicuous consumption in the color pages of the local paper.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Movie Review: The Cartel
http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2009/07/cartel.html
How far does a billion dollars go in New Jersey? Evidently, not very far. The NJ Schools Construction Corporation “lost” upwards of that amount, and how did they respond? Naturally, they demanded billions more from taxpayers. Yet, the SCC is only emblematic of far greater corruption. Bob Bowdon exposes pervasive graft and outright collusion between the New Jersey educational bureaucracy and the NJEA, the state teachers’ union, in his devastating documentary The Cartel (trailer here), which screens during the upcoming Jersey Shore Film Festival.
Even though New Jersey is the number one state in America for school funding, the current governor has proposed further increases. Yet as Bowdon documents, precious little of that money will actually reach students, or even teachers in the classroom. After all, New Jersey is not called the Soprano State for nothing. Still, the corruption in the New Jersey school system is absolutely staggering. In addition to the scandal of the disappearing SCC funds, a KMPG audit of the so-called Abbott districts (economically depressed school districts which receive massive amounts of state aid) revealed twenty-nine percent of expenditures were suspiciously excessive or insufficiently documented.
As scandalous as such potentially criminal financial shenanigans are, the abuse of power at the local level is arguably worse. Bowdon’s interview subjects have plenty of horror stories, like the principal who was unable to fire teachers for watching porn while on duty, because they were politically connected (perversely, he would be the one let go). For fun, Bowdon counts the number of luxury cars in the Jersey City Board of Ed parking lot. (Rather than spoil it, let’s just say the sequence takes a full thirty seconds, which is a considerable amount of screen time.)
There is no question beleaguered NJ taxpayers are taking it in the wallet and shins, but Bowdon always makes it clear the biggest victims of such institutionalized dysfunction are the students themselves. The bottom-line is far too many public school students cannot read at grade-level or perform basic arithmetic, leaving them ill-equipped for the future job market. His touchstone image for the film comes from the annual lottery for a prized place in one of Jersey’s few charter schools. For those kids and their parents, getting out of their “zip-code” school is considered their only chance for a future. Those who win a spot are truly overjoyed, while those who do not literally cry tears of sorrow.
Bowdon is a legitimate journalist, who worked as an on-air correspondent and producer for recognizable Tri-State outlets like WB11. While he conducts several on-camera interviews with union and school board bureaucrats, he is always fair, resisting the temptation of cheap gotcha tactics. In truth, he hardly needs such theatrics, given the strength of the scrupulously reasoned case he presents. Unfortunately, some viewers might dismiss his arguments on behalf of school vouchers as too “ideological,” even though he presents his case with unassailable logic. Yet, in doing so, he offers solutions instead of merely bemoaning the horrendous state of New Jersey schools.
Bowdon repeatedly makes the point that the distressing trends detailed in the film apply nationwide. While that is no doubt correct, the abuses are particularly egregious in the Soprano State. One would anticipate disturbing anecdotes in a documentary about the public school system, but The Cartel surpasses all expectations. It is an important documentary and a valuable alarm bell that both parents and taxpayers need to heed. After winning the Audience Award at this year’s Hoboken International Film Festival, The Cartel screens again at the JSFF on July 8th, July 14th, and July 15th.
http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2009/07/cartel.html
How far does a billion dollars go in New Jersey? Evidently, not very far. The NJ Schools Construction Corporation “lost” upwards of that amount, and how did they respond? Naturally, they demanded billions more from taxpayers. Yet, the SCC is only emblematic of far greater corruption. Bob Bowdon exposes pervasive graft and outright collusion between the New Jersey educational bureaucracy and the NJEA, the state teachers’ union, in his devastating documentary The Cartel (trailer here), which screens during the upcoming Jersey Shore Film Festival.
Even though New Jersey is the number one state in America for school funding, the current governor has proposed further increases. Yet as Bowdon documents, precious little of that money will actually reach students, or even teachers in the classroom. After all, New Jersey is not called the Soprano State for nothing. Still, the corruption in the New Jersey school system is absolutely staggering. In addition to the scandal of the disappearing SCC funds, a KMPG audit of the so-called Abbott districts (economically depressed school districts which receive massive amounts of state aid) revealed twenty-nine percent of expenditures were suspiciously excessive or insufficiently documented.
As scandalous as such potentially criminal financial shenanigans are, the abuse of power at the local level is arguably worse. Bowdon’s interview subjects have plenty of horror stories, like the principal who was unable to fire teachers for watching porn while on duty, because they were politically connected (perversely, he would be the one let go). For fun, Bowdon counts the number of luxury cars in the Jersey City Board of Ed parking lot. (Rather than spoil it, let’s just say the sequence takes a full thirty seconds, which is a considerable amount of screen time.)
There is no question beleaguered NJ taxpayers are taking it in the wallet and shins, but Bowdon always makes it clear the biggest victims of such institutionalized dysfunction are the students themselves. The bottom-line is far too many public school students cannot read at grade-level or perform basic arithmetic, leaving them ill-equipped for the future job market. His touchstone image for the film comes from the annual lottery for a prized place in one of Jersey’s few charter schools. For those kids and their parents, getting out of their “zip-code” school is considered their only chance for a future. Those who win a spot are truly overjoyed, while those who do not literally cry tears of sorrow.
Bowdon is a legitimate journalist, who worked as an on-air correspondent and producer for recognizable Tri-State outlets like WB11. While he conducts several on-camera interviews with union and school board bureaucrats, he is always fair, resisting the temptation of cheap gotcha tactics. In truth, he hardly needs such theatrics, given the strength of the scrupulously reasoned case he presents. Unfortunately, some viewers might dismiss his arguments on behalf of school vouchers as too “ideological,” even though he presents his case with unassailable logic. Yet, in doing so, he offers solutions instead of merely bemoaning the horrendous state of New Jersey schools.
Bowdon repeatedly makes the point that the distressing trends detailed in the film apply nationwide. While that is no doubt correct, the abuses are particularly egregious in the Soprano State. One would anticipate disturbing anecdotes in a documentary about the public school system, but The Cartel surpasses all expectations. It is an important documentary and a valuable alarm bell that both parents and taxpayers need to heed. After winning the Audience Award at this year’s Hoboken International Film Festival, The Cartel screens again at the JSFF on July 8th, July 14th, and July 15th.
http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2009/07/cartel.html
J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2009/07/cartel.html
NJ Transit adopts budget with no fare increases
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20090708_ap_njtransitadoptsbudgetwithnofareincreases.html
NEWARK, N.J. - For the second year in a row, NJ Transit says it won't increase fares.
The agency's board of directors Wednesday approved a $1.8 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year that also avoids major service cuts.
Executive Director Richard Sarles says NJ Transit has been able to absorb a reduction in aid from the state through planned furloughs, wage freezes and labor contract savings.
NJ Transit also approved a $1.4 billion capital program for the year that dedicates nearly $200 million to the construction of a second rail tunnel into New York City.
Other projects include replacing aging trains and buses and making improvements at Metropark, Newark Penn Station and Ridgewood, Somerville and South Amboy stations.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20090708_ap_njtransitadoptsbudgetwithnofareincreases.html
NEWARK, N.J. - For the second year in a row, NJ Transit says it won't increase fares.
The agency's board of directors Wednesday approved a $1.8 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year that also avoids major service cuts.
Executive Director Richard Sarles says NJ Transit has been able to absorb a reduction in aid from the state through planned furloughs, wage freezes and labor contract savings.
NJ Transit also approved a $1.4 billion capital program for the year that dedicates nearly $200 million to the construction of a second rail tunnel into New York City.
Other projects include replacing aging trains and buses and making improvements at Metropark, Newark Penn Station and Ridgewood, Somerville and South Amboy stations.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20090708_ap_njtransitadoptsbudgetwithnofareincreases.html
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Cupcakes by Carousel Opens in Ridgewood, N.J.
http://lizjohnson.lohudblogs.com/2009/07/08/cupcakes-by-carousel-opens-in-ridgewood-nj/
The new cupcake shop by Carousel Cakes of Nanuet opened on July 1 at 192 East Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, N.J. 201-389-3090. Hours: Open every day at 10AM, late nights Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
Taking a chance on a new business in a recession takes a lot of confidence. But Carousel Cakes is sure that their new venture, Cupcakes by Carousel, will be a big success.
After selling 7” and 10” cakes wholesale for almost 30 years the owners of Carousel Cakes Nancy and David Finkelstein and Nancy’s brother Howy Lefkowitz never thought they’d become a retail enterprise. The family decided that it’s time to branch out from the family bakery business, founded by their father in 1965, and open a sister company, a cupcake shop in Ridgewood, New Jersey to sell mini-versions of their 7” and 10” cake creations.
Coming Soon to Ridgewood, NJ. Our new Cupcakes by Carousel store!
“Cupcakes are hot!” says Nancy Finkelstein, co-owner and director of sales and marketing for Carousel Cakes “There are no retailers in Bergen County that just sell cupcakes, and many of our cupcakes customers will be converted into cake customers. Cupcakes will provide customers an entrée into our cake business. Buying a cupcake is an easy and inexpensive way to sample a Carousel Cake, once they’ve tried our cupcakes they’re sure to come back to purchase one of our 7” or 10” cakes for those special occasions, weddings, birthdays and holidays. Cupcakes by Carousel is a natural extension of our wholesale cake business.”
Carousel Cakes has a long history of making fine desserts; they sell their cakes to more than 300 restaurants in the tri-state area. Local restaurants and gourmet grocers include Zeytinia Fine Food Marketplace in Oakland and Englewood, Aldo & Gianni Ristorante in Montvale, Valentino’s of Park Ridge, the Clinton Inn Hotel in Tenafly. Manhattan customers include Zabar’s, the private Friars Club, EJ’s Luncheonette and the American Museum of Natural History.
There will be a cupcake version of Carousel’s red velvet cake, one of Oprah’s “O” List favorites
Cupcakes by Carousel now offering a full range of cupcakes. We have mousse-filled cupcakes, mini-cupcakes sold by the dozen and jumbo cupcakes for two. Also traditional frosted cupcakes and those piled high with crumbled cookies or candy. We have cupcake versions of Carousel’s different lines of white, mousse and chocolate cakes and the red velvet cake that made it onto Oprah Winfrey’s “O” list of her favorite things in her magazine’s February 2007 issue. The company became famous after the Oprah Winfrey magazine placement, receiving 1,500 orders that month for its new red velvet cake, a mild chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.
By sampling the mini-versions of Carousel Cakes’ 7” and 10” cakes, there’s no doubt that the cupcake customers will come back again for cakes.
Grand Opening Cupcakes by Carousel Ridgewood, NJ
Tell them you saw it on the Ridgewood Blog
http://lizjohnson.lohudblogs.com/2009/07/08/cupcakes-by-carousel-opens-in-ridgewood-nj/
The Inconvenient Truth : Global Warming is a Hoax
"In April, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a document challenging man-made global warming. In the Czech Republic, where President Vaclav Klaus remains a leading skeptic, today only 11% of the population believes humans play a role. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tap Claude Allegre to lead the country's new ministry of industry and innovation. Twenty years ago Mr. Allegre was among the first to trill about man-made global warming, but the geochemist has since recanted. New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program.
The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers. Joanne Simpson, the world's first woman to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, expressed relief upon her retirement last year that she was finally free to speak "frankly" of her nonbelief. Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history." Norway's Ivar Giaever, Nobel Prize winner for physics, decries it as the "new religion." A group of 54 noted physicists, led by Princeton's Will Happer, is demanding the American Physical Society revise its position that the science is settled. (Both Nature and Science magazines have refused to run the physicists' open letter.)
The collapse of the "consensus" has been driven by reality. The inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of C02. "
Source Wall Street Jounal
The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers. Joanne Simpson, the world's first woman to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, expressed relief upon her retirement last year that she was finally free to speak "frankly" of her nonbelief. Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history." Norway's Ivar Giaever, Nobel Prize winner for physics, decries it as the "new religion." A group of 54 noted physicists, led by Princeton's Will Happer, is demanding the American Physical Society revise its position that the science is settled. (Both Nature and Science magazines have refused to run the physicists' open letter.)
The collapse of the "consensus" has been driven by reality. The inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of C02. "
Source Wall Street Jounal
Reader thinks Al Gore should take the short bus
Al Gore is an idiot and they should take that nobel prize away.
Two reasons why...
1. He believes that the threat posed by the internal combustion engine is not only the gravest peril mankind faces, but that defeating it is a moral imperative equal to stopping the Holocaust. Comparing the THEORY of climate change to the Holocaust is insulting to all the Jews who died in the camps.
2. He cast the deciding vote for mandating ethanol additives in gasoline, causing the increase in food prices world wide and staving millions.
"With a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Al Gore, the Senate upheld today an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring that ethanol and other renewable fuels get a share of the gasoline additives market.
The Senate voted 51-50 to table an amendment that would have denied financing to the agency to carry out a rule guaranteeing renewable fuels a 15 percent share of the lucrative fuel oxygenate market in 1995. That share rises to 30 percent in following years."
source New York Times
Bloods street gang targets N.J. banks in high-tech $654K check scam
by Susan K. Livio/The Star-Ledger
Tuesday July 07, 2009, 8:04 PM
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/bloods_street_gang_targets_nj.html
TRENTON -- Using laptop computers and digital cameras, the Bloods street gang took its violent operation high-tech, faking nearly 200 payroll checks and attempting to cheat banks out of $654,000 over a two-year period, said Attorney General Anne Milgram, who today announced the involvement of 33 people in the conspiracy.
Milgram said her agents uncovered a scheme that struck eight banks in 13 counties across the state between June 2005 and March 2007, netting $341,000 in proceeds. The arrests were made after a three-year investigation dubbed "Operation Bloodbank."
Some banks caught on to the deception and did not pay the remaining $313,000 the defendants sought, she said. According to investigators, the managers of the operation recruited people who worked at legitimate companies to turn over a copy of their payroll checks. The managers used them to forge copies and issue bad checks. If caught, the employees were told to claim they had been victims of identity theft, Milgram said.
"This investigation reveals the Bloods on new turf, defrauding banks of hundreds of thousands of dollars using counterfeit checks,'' Milgram said. "We've taken the battle to a new front. If gangs are going into white collar crime, we will go there too and shut it down.''
The operation recruited accomplices such as college students and others whom they knew to have money troubles to cash the phony checks at banks from which the check appeared to have been drawn, investigators said. The cash would be split between the person cashing the check and the recruiter.
The affected institutions are branches of Bank of America, PNC Bank, Valley National Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Commerce Bank, Wachovia Bank, Bank of New York and Sovereign Bank, according to the attorney general's press release.
A spokesman for PNC Bank declined to comment last night, citing company policy that prohibits discussion of an ongoing criminal case.
Eight gang members led the scheme, recruiting people to cash fraudulent payroll checks valued between $400 and $9,000 from approximately 40 to 50 employers, Milgram said. Those employers include Cranford Township; the N.J. Democratic State Committee; the New Jersey Turnpike Authority; the Blood Center of New Jersey, East Orange; Valley Hospital Health System, Ridgewood; and the Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury dealership, Ridgewood, according to an indictment.
Under indictments handed up June 30 and unsealed today, six members of the Nine Trey Gangsters associated with the Bloods gang were named as the scheme managers and face charges of racketeering and theft by deception. They are Ernst Francois, 36, and Albens Victor, 27, both of Irvington; Kenneth Tione Roberts, 34, Woody Armand, 33, both of East Orange; Roosevelt Thelusma, 24, and Jeffery Dieurilus, 25, both of Newark.
Six so-called recruiters in the scheme also were indicted on charges of racketeering and theft by deception in connection with cashing counterfeit checks and allowing their bank accounts and ATM cards to be used.
The latest indictment, issued today, named 19 other accomplices who allegedly also allowed their ATM cards to be used or cashed the phony checks.
Additionally, two men authorities identified as members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods pleaded guilty to second-degree racketeering charges last year, while investigators continued to build a case against the 31 others. Milgram said some of the gang members have been arrested and are in jail, and others are fugitives.
The State Police Street Gang North Unit, which monitors New Jersey's northern counties, led the investigation along with the Division of Criminal Justice's Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
The case grew out of an indictment on murder, racketeering, money laundering and drug trafficking charges against 46 members of the Nine Trey Gangsters in 2007, authorities said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/bloods_street_gang_targets_nj.html
Tuesday July 07, 2009, 8:04 PM
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/bloods_street_gang_targets_nj.html
TRENTON -- Using laptop computers and digital cameras, the Bloods street gang took its violent operation high-tech, faking nearly 200 payroll checks and attempting to cheat banks out of $654,000 over a two-year period, said Attorney General Anne Milgram, who today announced the involvement of 33 people in the conspiracy.
Milgram said her agents uncovered a scheme that struck eight banks in 13 counties across the state between June 2005 and March 2007, netting $341,000 in proceeds. The arrests were made after a three-year investigation dubbed "Operation Bloodbank."
Some banks caught on to the deception and did not pay the remaining $313,000 the defendants sought, she said. According to investigators, the managers of the operation recruited people who worked at legitimate companies to turn over a copy of their payroll checks. The managers used them to forge copies and issue bad checks. If caught, the employees were told to claim they had been victims of identity theft, Milgram said.
"This investigation reveals the Bloods on new turf, defrauding banks of hundreds of thousands of dollars using counterfeit checks,'' Milgram said. "We've taken the battle to a new front. If gangs are going into white collar crime, we will go there too and shut it down.''
The operation recruited accomplices such as college students and others whom they knew to have money troubles to cash the phony checks at banks from which the check appeared to have been drawn, investigators said. The cash would be split between the person cashing the check and the recruiter.
The affected institutions are branches of Bank of America, PNC Bank, Valley National Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Commerce Bank, Wachovia Bank, Bank of New York and Sovereign Bank, according to the attorney general's press release.
A spokesman for PNC Bank declined to comment last night, citing company policy that prohibits discussion of an ongoing criminal case.
Eight gang members led the scheme, recruiting people to cash fraudulent payroll checks valued between $400 and $9,000 from approximately 40 to 50 employers, Milgram said. Those employers include Cranford Township; the N.J. Democratic State Committee; the New Jersey Turnpike Authority; the Blood Center of New Jersey, East Orange; Valley Hospital Health System, Ridgewood; and the Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury dealership, Ridgewood, according to an indictment.
Under indictments handed up June 30 and unsealed today, six members of the Nine Trey Gangsters associated with the Bloods gang were named as the scheme managers and face charges of racketeering and theft by deception. They are Ernst Francois, 36, and Albens Victor, 27, both of Irvington; Kenneth Tione Roberts, 34, Woody Armand, 33, both of East Orange; Roosevelt Thelusma, 24, and Jeffery Dieurilus, 25, both of Newark.
Six so-called recruiters in the scheme also were indicted on charges of racketeering and theft by deception in connection with cashing counterfeit checks and allowing their bank accounts and ATM cards to be used.
The latest indictment, issued today, named 19 other accomplices who allegedly also allowed their ATM cards to be used or cashed the phony checks.
Additionally, two men authorities identified as members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods pleaded guilty to second-degree racketeering charges last year, while investigators continued to build a case against the 31 others. Milgram said some of the gang members have been arrested and are in jail, and others are fugitives.
The State Police Street Gang North Unit, which monitors New Jersey's northern counties, led the investigation along with the Division of Criminal Justice's Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
The case grew out of an indictment on murder, racketeering, money laundering and drug trafficking charges against 46 members of the Nine Trey Gangsters in 2007, authorities said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/bloods_street_gang_targets_nj.html
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Global Warming Update : Coldest June since 1958 ?
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
455 PM EDT WED JUL 1 2009
...UNUSUALLY WET AND COOL JUNE FOR CENTRAL PARK...
FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE...HERE ARE THE TOP TEN COOLEST AND WETTEST
JUNES ON RECORD SINCE 1869 FOR CENTRAL PARK NY:
COOLEST WETTEST
AVG. TEMP. YEAR INCHES PRECIP. YEAR
64.2 1903 10.27 2003
65.2 1881 10.06 2009
65.7 1916 9.78 1903
66.8 1926/1902 9.30 1972
67.2 1958 8.79 1989
67.3 1927 8.55 2006
67.4 1928 7.76 1887
67.5 2009/1897 7.58 1975
67.7 1878 7.13 1938
67.8 1924 7.05 1871
DUE TO THE UNUSUALLY COOL AND WET CONDITIONS IN JUNE...HERE ARE SOME
INTERESTING FACTS TO NOTE:
THIS JUNE IS TIED FOR THE 8TH COOLEST ON RECORD. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE WAS 67.5...3.7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...WHICH ALSO
OCCURRED IN 1897.
THIS WAS THE COOLEST JUNE SINCE 1958...WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
WAS 67.2 DEGREES.
BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OCCURRED ON 23 OUT OF 30 DAYS THIS
JUNE...OR 75 PERCENT OF THE MONTH.
CENTRAL PARK HAS NOT HIT 90 DEGREES IN THE MONTH OF JUNE THIS YEAR.
THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 1996.
CENTRAL PARK HAS NOT HIT 85 DEGREES IN THE MONTH OF JUNE THIS YEAR.
THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 1916. THIS HAS ONLY OCCURRED
2 OTHER TIMES...1903 AND 1886.
THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 90 OR GREATER THIS YEAR WAS IN
APRIL. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 90 IN APRIL...BUT NOT IN
JUNE WAS BACK IN 1990.
THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 OR GREATER THIS YEAR WAS IN
MAY. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 IN MAY...BUT NOT IN JUNE
WAS BACK IN 1903. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 IN
APRIL...BUT NOT IN JUNE WAS ALSO BACK IN 1903.
THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE REACHED IN CENTRAL PARK IN THE MONTH OF JUNE
WAS 50 DEGREES. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 2003.
THE LOW TEMPERATURE DIPPED BELOW 60 DEGREES 11 TIMES IN THE MONTH OF
JUNE. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS IN 2003 WHEN IT OCCURRED 17
TIMES.
IT WAS THE SECOND WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD WITH 10.06 INCHES OF RAIN.
THE WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD IS 2003 WITH 10.27 INCHES.
THERE WERE 19 DAYS THIS JUNE WHERE THERE WAS AT LEAST 0.01 INCHES OF
RAINFALL. THIS HAS NEVER OCCURRED IN CENTRAL PARK.
AT LEAST A TRACE OF RAINFALL WAS REPORTED ON 23 OUT OF 30 DAYS THIS
JUNE.
http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=PNS&issuedby=OKX
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
455 PM EDT WED JUL 1 2009
...UNUSUALLY WET AND COOL JUNE FOR CENTRAL PARK...
FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE...HERE ARE THE TOP TEN COOLEST AND WETTEST
JUNES ON RECORD SINCE 1869 FOR CENTRAL PARK NY:
COOLEST WETTEST
AVG. TEMP. YEAR INCHES PRECIP. YEAR
64.2 1903 10.27 2003
65.2 1881 10.06 2009
65.7 1916 9.78 1903
66.8 1926/1902 9.30 1972
67.2 1958 8.79 1989
67.3 1927 8.55 2006
67.4 1928 7.76 1887
67.5 2009/1897 7.58 1975
67.7 1878 7.13 1938
67.8 1924 7.05 1871
DUE TO THE UNUSUALLY COOL AND WET CONDITIONS IN JUNE...HERE ARE SOME
INTERESTING FACTS TO NOTE:
THIS JUNE IS TIED FOR THE 8TH COOLEST ON RECORD. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE WAS 67.5...3.7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...WHICH ALSO
OCCURRED IN 1897.
THIS WAS THE COOLEST JUNE SINCE 1958...WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
WAS 67.2 DEGREES.
BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OCCURRED ON 23 OUT OF 30 DAYS THIS
JUNE...OR 75 PERCENT OF THE MONTH.
CENTRAL PARK HAS NOT HIT 90 DEGREES IN THE MONTH OF JUNE THIS YEAR.
THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 1996.
CENTRAL PARK HAS NOT HIT 85 DEGREES IN THE MONTH OF JUNE THIS YEAR.
THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 1916. THIS HAS ONLY OCCURRED
2 OTHER TIMES...1903 AND 1886.
THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 90 OR GREATER THIS YEAR WAS IN
APRIL. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 90 IN APRIL...BUT NOT IN
JUNE WAS BACK IN 1990.
THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 OR GREATER THIS YEAR WAS IN
MAY. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 IN MAY...BUT NOT IN JUNE
WAS BACK IN 1903. THE LAST TIME THAT CENTRAL PARK HIT 85 IN
APRIL...BUT NOT IN JUNE WAS ALSO BACK IN 1903.
THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE REACHED IN CENTRAL PARK IN THE MONTH OF JUNE
WAS 50 DEGREES. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS BACK IN 2003.
THE LOW TEMPERATURE DIPPED BELOW 60 DEGREES 11 TIMES IN THE MONTH OF
JUNE. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS IN 2003 WHEN IT OCCURRED 17
TIMES.
IT WAS THE SECOND WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD WITH 10.06 INCHES OF RAIN.
THE WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD IS 2003 WITH 10.27 INCHES.
THERE WERE 19 DAYS THIS JUNE WHERE THERE WAS AT LEAST 0.01 INCHES OF
RAINFALL. THIS HAS NEVER OCCURRED IN CENTRAL PARK.
AT LEAST A TRACE OF RAINFALL WAS REPORTED ON 23 OUT OF 30 DAYS THIS
JUNE.
http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=PNS&issuedby=OKX
Reader asks," Where's Audrey? "
Remember all the mailings we received carrying a large picture of Audrey Meyers?
Well it seems that now that The Public are getting their chance to speak, Mrs Meyers is nowhere to be seen. At the June 8th meeting the hospital attorney apologized, saying that Mrs Meyers was on holidays in Italy but she would appear at the next meeting. She was back in the USA on June 17th in time for the last public hearing and yet she was a no-show.
Audrey! You started this whole thing, why won’t you show-up to hear what the public thinks? Don’t you at least owe it to the remaining Renewal supporters and to the Planning Board?
Will Audrey show-up at the July 15th H-Zone Public Hearing at BF Middle School?
The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood NJ
In 2005, The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood (also referred to as, “The Women Gardeners” or “the Club”) celebrated its 80th year of operation. The organization owes its name to the fact that a “Garden Club of Ridgewood” was organized in 1914, but its membership was restricted to men. Resentment at this exclusion motivated a group of dedicated women to form “The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood” under the leadership of Mrs. C.W. Stockton in 1925. The club had twenty members and was a charter member of The Garden Club of New Jersey when it was organized. No record of the men’s club remains.
During the Depression years of 1932-33, The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood was unable to pay dues to the state organization and instead became part of the Garden Department of the Women’s Club of Ridgewood. That relationship continued until 1945, when membership in The Garden Club of New Jersey was reinstated.
Some of the longest continuing members of The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood remember serving as joint Hospitality Chairmen. Since the club met in member’s homes, part of the position included hauling borrowed chairs from Van Emburgh’s Funeral Home to the home of the meeting hostess and back.
The Club has a long tradition of community service. For many years members would travel to the Veteran’s Hospital in East Orange, where they would decorate the day rooms and chapel and make tray arrangements.
That tradition continues on the local level today. The Women Gardeners designed and maintain the plantings at the Ridgewood Public Library and provides weekly flower arrangements for the library lobby. The Club designed the garden for the Share house for elderly residents on Prospect Street and supported the garden at the Children’s Services and Family Counseling building.
The Women Gardeners of Ridgewood also provides tray favors for Meals on Wheels during the holiday season and makes centerpieces for the fundraising activities of various local charities. The Club has participated in the showhouse at Skylands Manor, considered an exhibition opportunity for area garden clubs.
The Club is proud of its most recent addition, a Junior Program, “Green Kids” which was started September 2007. Designed for children Grades 3 through 6, this program meets monthly to explore and discover nature, science, gardening, art, birding, weather, recycling, environment and our senses.
As part of its public education efforts, The Women Gardeners present semi-annual Garden Education Day featuring major speakers, workshops and/or boutiques.
The activities of the club are supported by a semi-annual garden tour called “SECRET GARDENS OF RIDGEWOOD.” Begun as part of Ridgewood’s bicentennial celebration in 1994, Secret Gardens of Ridgewood has become one of New Jersey’s premier garden tours, with visitors coming from all over the metropolitan region. More than 800 visitors toured the gardens in 2008.
http://njclubs.esiteasp.com/womengardenersofridgewood/home.nxg
the Village : Man about Town
NOTICE: Public Hearing on H - Zone - Scheduled for July 15th
The Planning Board will hold a H-Zone Hearing on July 15 at 7:30PM in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium, N. Van Dein Ave., Ridgewood.
NOTICE: July 22 & August 26 - Village Council Meetings Canceled
The Village Council has canceled their work sessions scheduled for July 22 and August 26, 2009.
Monday, July 06, 2009
"The Pool folks are not building a community"
A large group of pool people have organized s boycot graydon. I have friends who joined the paramus pool because that is where all their other friends went for the summer. The Pool folks are not building a community, they are selfish people who are trying to destroy what is left so they can get what they want.
I agree that it is easy to plan to spend other people's money. Pool your money and build a cement pond at the Cronk's.
Oh sure - lets see the 8,000 members park on the first nice day.
ALL Ridgewood residents were invited via blast e-mails, Community Pass e-mails and the Ridgewood News to attend discussions about Graydon
Melinda Cronk said...
Just a clarification, because there is definitely misinformation circulating. In 2007 and again this year, ALL Ridgewood residents were invited via blast e-mails, Community Pass e-mails and the Ridgewood News to attend discussions about Graydon. A survey instrument was used for quantitative data and focus groups of approximately 12 residents per group were used for qualitative data. We also conducted the same survey onsite with patrons of Graydon. The results can be read in the final report.
The ONLINE survey that people are confusing with us was done by the Village Council and it was not meant to solicit opinions (since that had already been done by our committee), rather it was a petition of interest to determine now that a concept was in place, would people still be interested in joining.
I would really encourage everyone to read the final report. Though we formed a seperate organization (Ridgewood Pool Project) for fundraising purposes, we are a committee under Village Parks & Recreation and have not proposed anything that they do not fully support (you can also read a letter from Nancy Bigos on our Web site).
As a lifelong resident of the area I empathize with wanting to keep Graydon the way it is, but standing where I have amid this project for nearly three years, I now realize that the only way to preserve Graydon is to adapt it for the changing needs of the community. The icon of Graydon is not just about the appearance, its about having the community together. We're trying to find a solution that will preserve the unique, natural appearance while bringing the residents back.
All opinions/input have always been and continue to be welcome. Feel free to contact me anytime at cronkfamily@optonline.net.
Reader say,"RPP clearly wanted a survey that only allowed favorable responses"
35 years ago, I took my first swimming lessons at Graydon; I spent all of high school and college working there as a lifeguard, and I have been there many times over the years while visiting family and friends that still lives in Ridgewood.
Not only have I never heard of anyone becoming violently ill, I am appalled that people would refer to Graydon as a cesspool. In addition to the water being tested by an outside lab weekly, we checked the water's chlorination and pH levels daily when I worked there. Many nights after closing, additional chlorine and copper sulfate was added to the water to help combat algae bloom during the especially hot/rainy times. I can't tell you how many mornings we spent out on those rafts scrubbing them down to make sure they were clean.
None of my family or friends who live in Ridgewood were ever contacted by anyone on the Pool Project Committee for their opinions, they all found the online "survey" misleading and ill-written because it did not allow for debate about the project (none of them are in favor of it, but there was no way for them to voice their concerns or opinions because the RPP clearly wanted a survey that only allowed favorable responses - which allows them to skew the results in their favor).
It makes me sad to think that people are so hellbent on ruining Graydon. If people would just sit down in a room and speak to each other like reasonable, rational adults, perhaps there could be some sort of compromise instead of the RPP's "all or nothing" mentality. I would be willing to bet that few to none of the project's most outspoken proponents have even been to Graydon.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Looks like some of you enjoyed the festivities ...
Rachel and Bray @ the Ridgewood NJ, 4th of July parade and Bray showing his LOVE for dancing!
Village Council agreed to move forward with writing a Request for Proposal for architectural services for a renovated Graydon facility.
The Ridgewood Pool Project has updated its Web site to include a copy of the final report provided to Village Council on July 1. Also posted is a copy of the latest design concept created by Nicole Walla.
http://ridgewoodpoolproject.googlepages.com/
Village Council to Issue RFP for Architectural Services
July 1, 2009 -- The Village Council agreed tonight to move forward with writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for architectural services for a renovated Graydon facility. The goal in preparing this document is to solicit estimates from firms that can provide more accurate design plans and updated construction costs based on a new design concept. We expect this next phase to take several weeks, and following that we hope to help the Village develop a financial plan for how a new facility can be realized without impact to taxpayers.
http://ridgewoodpoolproject.googlepages.com/
Village Council to Issue RFP for Architectural Services
July 1, 2009 -- The Village Council agreed tonight to move forward with writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for architectural services for a renovated Graydon facility. The goal in preparing this document is to solicit estimates from firms that can provide more accurate design plans and updated construction costs based on a new design concept. We expect this next phase to take several weeks, and following that we hope to help the Village develop a financial plan for how a new facility can be realized without impact to taxpayers.
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