DC Update: Fake Stimulus Jobs, New Bailout Fund, and Increased Health Care Spending

November 25, 2009

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, many of us begin to ponder the things for which we are thankful. This year has been a particularly tough one for the economy and for Congress:

Over 120 banks have failed this year, and continued bailouts have seen the government become a significant shareholder in multiple banks, as well as a majority of the American auto industry. The House of Representatives passed a failed stimulus package to the tune of $787 billion, along with Cap-and-Trade legislation which many say will kill jobs and a trillion dollar health care package. The Financial Services Committee is also considering a bill that will establish a permanent bailout fund to continue to bail out failing financial companies.
I was concerned about this in January (see my January 27th Garrett Gazette, “Incurring Massive Debt is Not a Stimulus Plan”), as I believe massive spending does little to stimulate economic growth. I even wrote a letter to President Obama on January 27, encouraging him to consider additional stimulus options. Unfortunately, Congress passed a “stimulus” that has done nothing to stimulate the economy, and we are currently facing an unemployment rate that is over 10%.

You may ask what this has to do with Thanksgiving. I am writing to let you know that what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving: I’m thankful that it’s not too late to fix our economy. It’s not too late to turn the unemployment trend around. It’s not too late to stop contributing to our country’s massive debt. We’re in a hole right now, so let’s stop digging.

As Congress explores options of yet another stimulus, I would encourage my colleagues to consider an option we haven’t tried yet: tax relief for small businesses that will enable them to create jobs for Americans.

In January, I introduced H.R. 470, The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act, an economic stimulus package designed to provide short-term stimulus, while encouraging long-term economic growth.

This legislation focuses on broad, growth-oriented, permanent incentives for economic activity across all sectors and industries, with immediate application and sustained, long-term implications. Provisions center around three main themes: support for families through tax relief, economic relief for American businesses and entrepreneurs, and protection for future generations from a crushing debt burden.

I’m sure that by now, you’ve seen the stories about the millions of stimulus dollars that went to create jobs in congressional districts that don’t exist (i.e. New Jersey’s 80th district – as a reminder, we only have 13 representatives. See the Wall Street Journal editorial, “The Phantom Jobs Stimulus: 'Who knows, man, who really knows'” for an in depth discussion of this issue). Rather than spend taxpayer dollars on programs the government might have great difficulty administrating effectively, The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act is a tax relief program which allows businesses and individuals to keep more of their own money. I have confidence that you know how to manage your money more effectively than the government does.

I will continue to work to protect your taxpayer dollars from government abuse: I have opposed ALL bailouts, as well as Congressional spending that grows our federal deficit. I will also continue to work with my colleagues to propose taxpayer-friendly alternatives. With your continued support, we can spread the message of fiscal responsibility throughout Washington, DC. It’s not too late to fix our economy, but we need to act now to change our course.

Sincerely,

Scott Garrett
Member of Congress

Village Council: Unfortunately, we have no one to blame but ourselves

I agree that Zusy is a disgrace. However, I think it is incorrect to say that the "VC hates commerce". Certainly Pfund has supported commerce in Ridgewood during his time on the VC. I think a more accurate statement would be to say that there are members of the VC, who don't understand commerce or how to facilitate it in Ridgewood.

Unfortunately, we have no one to blame but ourselves, when we elect representatives, with no business experience (management, creation or otherwise). I recall posts on this blog during the last election that proclaimed that Killion and Zusy were what we needed on the VC. I guess we have learned that "change" for the sake of change is not always a good idea. Killion is the Chamber of Commerce representative. Why isn't he taking a leadership role on this issue? Could it be he doesn't really know what to do and prefers to stay out of the line of fire, so he doesn't jeopardize his chances of becoming Mayor? Bingo!

Meanwhile the only "level head" with any experience on the VC seems to be Pfund, and he will soon be gone. Our current VC is a sinking ship, with a broken rudder that is going down fast.

Lance Armstrong @ BOOKENDS

Lance Armstrong

*** New Date - Monday, November 30th - 7:00pm
7 Time Tour de France Winner, Lance Armstrong will sign his new book: Comeback 2.0.



BOOKENDS
232 E. Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-445-0726

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

In her Letter to the Editor of the Ridgewood News, Councilwoman Zusy has cited the paper’s failure to report that at the end of the November 4th meeting I expressed embarrassment and apologized for what had happened. Although, my apology at the end of the Council meeting was not reported by the News, it was reported on the Ridgewood Patch blog and formalized on both the Ridgewood Blog.

To set the record straight, what I personally apologized for was that due to a misunderstanding between myself and the Chamber I had lost control of the agenda and that instead of a discussion of the single issue of parking what had evolved was a diatribe of Chamber camplaints against the Council. As I stated, this was not my intent or the tone that I wanted and that I was personally embarrassed for what had happened. My appearance before the Council was solely on behalf of the more than two thousand people who signed my petition and the more than thirty business owners that I had assembled to speak before the Council and I did not, nor do I represent the Chamber.

I am not finished with the parking issue. I fully intend to continue to press the Council to make what I consider to be the right decision and rescind the parking meter increase at the beginning of next year.

Finally, since Councilwoman Zusy has choosen to cite my actions, she should also report that I told her that she was wrong in raising the Conflict of Interest issue. Since if one existed, it was a matter for the Chamber and not the Village Council.

Eugene Rose

Please Read: The Real Story Behind Thanksgiving

this should be required reading for all school children and all government officials


The Great Thanksgiving Hoax
Mises Daily: Saturday, November 20, 1999 by Richard J. Maybury

http://mises.org/story/336

Each year at this time school children all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating.

It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving's real meaning.

The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.

The official story then has the Pilgrims living more or less happily ever after, each year repeating the first Thanksgiving. Other early colonies also have hard times at first, but they soon prosper and adopt the annual tradition of giving thanks for this prosperous new land called America.

The problem with this official story is that the harvest of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.

In his 'History of Plymouth Plantation,' the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with "corruption," and with "confusion and discontent." The crops were small because "much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable."

In the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622, "all had their hungry bellies filled," but only briefly. The prevailing condition during those years was not the abundance the official story claims, it was famine and death. The first "Thanksgiving" was not so much a celebration as it was the last meal of condemned men.

But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote, "and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." Thereafter, he wrote, "any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day." In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.

What happened?

After the poor harvest of 1622, writes Bradford, "they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop." They began to question their form of economic organization.

This had required that "all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed in the common stock of the colony, and that, "all such persons as are of this colony, are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the common stock." A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed.

This "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" was an early form of socialism, and it is why the Pilgrims were starving. Bradford writes that "young men that are most able and fit for labor and service" complained about being forced to "spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children." Also, "the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak." So the young and strong refused to work and the total amount of food produced was never adequate.

To rectify this situation, in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.

Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible results. At Jamestown, established in 1607, out of every shipload of settlers that arrived, less than half would survive their first twelve months in America. Most of the work was being done by only one-fifth of the men, the other four-fifths choosing to be parasites. In the winter of 1609-10, called "The Starving Time," the population fell from five-hundred to sixty.

Then the Jamestown colony was converted to a free market, and the results were every bit as dramatic as those at Plymouth. In 1614, Colony Secretary Ralph Hamor wrote that after the switch there was "plenty of food, which every man by his own industry may easily and doth procure." He said that when the socialist system had prevailed, "we reaped not so much corn from the labors of thirty men as three men have done for themselves now."

Before these free markets were established, the colonists had nothing for which to be thankful. They were in the same situation as Ethiopians are today, and for the same reasons. But after free markets were established, the resulting abundance was so dramatic that the annual Thanksgiving celebrations became common throughout the colonies, and in 1863, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them.

* * * * *
Mr. Maybury writes on investments.

This article originally appeared in The Free Market, November 1985.

http://mises.org/story/336

A parable about debt

November 20, 2009
A parable about debt
David Jeffers

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/a_parable_about_debt.html

Imagine your child going off to college and you give him or her a credit card with an unlimited credit limit. Each month the bill comes in and each month your little high-roller is spending as though he or she has no responsibility for paying the bill. As a matter of fact your child doesn't have to pay; you do.

Next week during Thanksgiving break you decide you need to set down your child and explain that this unlimited spending must be stopped because the debt is becoming so large that you will not be able to pay it off and all you have will be lost.

You pick the perfect moment, take your collegian into your office, and show your prodigal all the spending that has left you on the brink of bankruptcy. The apple of your eye looks at you, listening intently and finally says,

Dad, it is important though to recognize if we keep on adding to your debt, even in the midst of this economic recovery, that at some point, your creditors could lose confidence in your ability to pay back this debt.

Do you think to yourself, "My goodness this college stuff is really catching on with my child. Look at how much he has already learned about economics!"

No, you don't think that; you think, "I need to take a walk so I don't wring his scrawny, irresponsible neck!" (Figuratively speaking, that is)

Undoubtedly the frustration of a parent with a spendthrift child running up his credit card debt requires immediate action, such as taking away the credit card.

That was my feeling yesterday watching Barack Obama's interview with Major Garrett of FOXNews.

The most amazing part of that interview was that Obama said the following with a straight face:

I think it is important though to recognize that if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the US economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.

My question for Barack Obama is, "Who do you consider as ‘we'?"

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/a_parable_about_debt.html

The Ridgewood blog will sponsor Ridgewood's first Annual "Festivus" on December 23rd

The Ridgewood blog will sponsor Ridgewood's first Annual "Festivus" on December 23rd

Festivus was created as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas. Or perhaps it was created by cheap skates looking for a good excuse to duck present buying !

Festivus is traditionally celebrated on December 23rd.

Rituals

Festivus Pole
The tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminum pole. During Festivus, the Festivus Pole is displayed unadorned.

Festivus Dinner
A celebratory dinner is held on the evening of Festivus prior to the Feats of Strength and during the Airing of Grievances. The meal is to be some sort of meatloaf.

Airing of Grievances
The celebration of Festivus begins with Airing of Grievances, which takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. It consists of lashing out at others and the world about how one has been disappointed in the past year. Every household has its own traditions; in one house, the Airing of Grievances consisted of writing the grievances on the fridge in marker.

Feats of Strength
The Feats of Strength is the final tradition observed in the celebration of Festivus, celebrated immediately following the Festivus dinner. Traditionally, the head of the household selects one person at the Festivus celebration and challenges that person to a wrestling match. The person may decline if they have something else to do, such as pull a double shift at work

Festivus Miracles
Although it is not an official element of the holiday or its celebration, the phenomenon of the Festivus Miracle !

Readers ask the Ridgewood blog to Explore "Festivus"

Craig Hueneke said...
I propose we just put a Festivus Pole where they used to put the tree. God knows this Village can use a good Airing of Grievances! Then we all start the new year with everything off our chests!
Just putting it out there!

Craig

Interesting Choice of Headline: Turning waste into revenue

Turning waste into revenue
Friday, November 20, 2009
BY MICHAEL SEDON
The Ridgewood News
STAFF WRITER

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/70596002.html

The village’s Engineering Department has proposed a plan that will turn waste into revenue.

The new revenue stream would flow from area septic tanks into the village’s Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF), where, for a fee, companies that collect sludge from septic tanks can drop it off to be treated at the facility, according to Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser.

The village has drafted an ordinance that would amend the code involving sewers and sewage disposal to create the "Liquid Waste Acceptance Program."

Rutishauser said there is "adequate capacity" at the treatment plant to receive sludge from the village and neighboring towns. Currently, there are about 70 residences in Ridgewood that still use septic systems, and the septic service companies that empty those tanks take the sludge to treatment facilities in either Passaic County or near Newark. But with the WPCF’s available capacity to treat additional waste, the village can offer a local alternative to businesses that offer septic services, while realizing the revenue that is currently being paid to other facilities.

"What we’re looking at is offering a competitive rate and the convenience," Rutishauser said.

Rutishauser estimated that the village could gain between $100,000 and $150,000 annually from the program. The estimate includes additional treatment and billing costs, so the figures are not 100 percent profit. But Rutishauser said he sees the program as a "financial benefit" for the village.

The facility would only accept "greywater" (non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing); domestic sourced septage (wastewater removed from residential septic tanks); other treatable wastewater; or viscous fats, oils and greases, according to the ordinance.

"Honey dippers," or services that clean out septic tanks, will suck the septage out with a pump and fill a tanker truck with the waste water. Honey dippers can discharge at the "head end" of the WPCF, and there would be no initial start-up costs, so the plant does not have to be reconfigured or expanded to begin this program.

"If down the road we have to make a few modifications, like construct a better receiving manhole, we will do that depending on how popular the program is," Rutishauser said. "I don’t have to construct anything at the plant right now."

The WPCF currently only accepts residential sewage and institutional sewage from The Valley Hospital. Commercial and industrial sewage will not be accepted, nor will any waste containing hydrocarbons that could originate from emptying out old oil tanks.

Ridgewood resident Boyd Loving expressed some concerns with the proposal, including the size of the trucks driving in and out of the treatment facility off of Prospect Street in Glen Rock, the frequency of trips generated, and the additional hours the facility will operate to accept the waste.

"I am concerned about the increased truck traffic in my own neighborhood," Loving said at the Village Council’s Nov. 9 meeting. "There is no limitation specified in the ordinance as it is written at all in terms of the number of trucks that can use the facility daily or the size of the trucks that can use the facility."

Loving also asked what route trucks would take into the WPCF because of weight limitations on a Grove Street bridge. He said he was concerned that trucks would be forced to only use Prospect Street or Saddle River Road to enter the facility.

Rutishauser said trucks delivering the waste to the WPCF would hold no more than 5,000 gallons, so residents would not see "gasoline tanker" sized tractor-trailers going in and out of the facility. He also said the truck traffic would only increase by about three trucks per day.

"We’re going to start very gradually to see how it all works," Rutishauser said. "It’s not like today we have nobody and tomorrow we suddenly have 20 trucks lined up. We’re not going to do that."

E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/70596002.html

Graydon Pool : bazaar this Sunday

Our Holiday Bazaar is this Sunday, November 29, from 10 am to 4 pm, at 250 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, in a lovely private home across from the Stable. Information: PreserveGraydon.org/bazaar and Patch.com

NEW! Our bazaar is honored to host the sale of paintings by Dorothy Warren for the first time since her death four years ago. Come see the work of a beloved Ridgewood artist.

Volunteers needed. Please step up!

Distribute bazaar flyers
Take a shift on Nov. 29 at the bazaar
Tell your friends about the bazaar
Shop at the bazaar

1. DISTRIBUTE FLYERS
Can you spare an hour or more before Thanksgiving, preferably immediately?

Contact Terri Isik, Flyer Distribution Coordinator, at 201-445-4130 or terisik@optonline.net to volunteer to post flyers. We want them not only in Ridgewood but also in neighboring towns, from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to libraries, supermarkets, dry cleaners, hair and nail salons, and laundromats as well as storefronts.

2. TAKE A SHIFT AT OUR HOLIDAY BAZAAR
Contact Jane Rymer, Bazaar Schedule Manager, as soon as possible at 201-444-0776 or janeleo@aol.com to sign up for one or more shifts at our Graydon Store table on Nov. 29. Dispense our business cards and fact sheets...sell our hot-off-the-press car magnets, yard signs, note cards/Christmas cards...talk to people about Graydon...accept donations. We’ll show you what to do.

3. TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE BAZAAR
Send your friends and acquaintances within reasonable driving distance of Ridgewood the following link. They’ll see our event listing on Patch.com, which includes photos, parking information, and a map:
http://ridgewood.patch.com/events/holiday-bazaar-for-the-preserve-graydon-coalition

4. SHOP AT THE BAZAAR
Take a big bite out of your holiday shopping with the beautiful crafts and art and the delicious treats we’ve gathered for you. Have aches, stiffness, pains? Try a mini-session at the bazaar with certified Feldenkrais practitioner Alan Seiden, who is also our webmaster.

See you on Sunday!

Swimmingly,
Marcia and Suzanne
Marcia Ringel and Suzanne Kelly, Co-Chairs
The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
“It’s clear—we love Graydon!”
info@PreserveGraydon.org
www.PreserveGraydon.org

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Mount Carmel School Reunion graduates of the classes of 1976-1980

Mount Carmel School Reunion

There will be a Mount Carmel School Reunion on Friday, November 27 at 7 pm in the school gym. All graduates of the classes of 1976-1980, their alumni siblings of any graduation year, and spouses/guests are cordially invited. Dinner catered by Carmine's of NYC, DJ included, BYOB. Cost is 45 dollars per person, payable at the door.

Village's "pooper scooper" law. It does not ban dogs from school grounds, regardless of what these signs indicate

Inaccurate Signage On BOE Properties

Village Ordinance #1689 is the Village's "pooper scooper" law. It does not ban dogs from school grounds, regardless of what these signs indicate.

"Added 9-26-1978 by Ord. No. 1689; amended 8-14-1984 by Ord. No. 1946; 12-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2964]

A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the proper disposal of pet solid waste in the Village of Ridgewood, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.

C.
Requirement for disposal. All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of their pet's solid waste deposited on any property; public or private, not owned or possessed by that person."

Therefore, you may walk your dog on school grounds without fear of being cited for violation of Ordinance #1689, so long as you immediately pick up after your dog if he/she defecates.

Fall Leaf Collection : Why is it so hard to do this every pickup?

Re: They rake the leaves off the curb when it's the last clean up of the season -- just watch. While so many of you all complain -- the guys I see every year really do an amazing and very conciencious job.

And you are good with that?

Why is it so hard to do this every pickup? (Answer - It is not)

So it is OK to have crap on all of the lawns in ridgewood for 6 weeks until the FINAL pickup is done.

You are just enabling shoddy workmanship and lack of pride.
Can you aid in setting the bar any lower?

Apparently this shoddy pick-up is acceptable in Ridgewood, but unacceptable in "lesser" towns like Midland Park, Hawthorne and Paramus.
What am I living in upside-down world?

who decided that the Christmas Tree should be renamed a generic "holiday tree".

For the question about the Christmas Tree - do we hang recycling from any other holiday symbols?

And who decided that the Christmas Tree should be renamed a generic "holiday tree". Why can't we embrace diversity? Why are you (the town & schools)watering down our traditions? Let's be inclusive and celebrate all the holidays.

We weren't hurting anyone. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Merry Christmas.

Ridgewood High School New Curriculum Changes focus on 21st Century Technologies

Course changes proposed at Ridgewood High School.
Friday, November 20, 2009
BY DOLORES ALFIERI
The Ridgewood News
STAFF WRITER

http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/70595732.html

Curriculum changes and additions for the 2010-2011 school year at Ridgewood High School (RHS) might occur in Web design, computer science, English and humanities, mathematics, music and physics.

The possible course changes were announced by RHS Principal Jack Lorenz and Assistant Principal for Guidance Jeff Nyhuis at the Nov. 16 Board of Education (BOE) meeting.

In the Web design and programming course, students would gain the skills to design a Web site.

"It’s another course to keep up with the changing technology," Nyhuis said.

The math and computer sciences curriculum would add Advanced Topics in Computer Science. Nyhuis explained that the class would focus on database design and developmental programming. Advanced Mathematics Applications would serve as a fourth-year course for seniors.

"We’ve kind of run out of courses for some of our kids after they’ve completed their graduation requirements," said Lorenz, adding that the advance math course would be an additional class for those students to take in such cases.

Journalism 1 and 2 would be eliminated from the English curriculum, and a new journalism class would be added to career and technical courses. The class would be led by an English teacher and an art teacher, with the focus not only on journalism writing, but also on the art, design and layout of newspapers or Web-based news portals.

"It’s an interesting course when you look at newspapers today," said BOE trustee Sheila Brogan. "They actually are struggling, and you’re beginning to see many more online newspapers."

Music Mentors, an independent study course, would be added to the music curriculum for sophomore, juniors and seniors. This course would pair student mentors in one-day-a-week meetings with other students to enrich their musical studies.

"It gives the students some motivation," Nyhuis said of the mentor course. "I think it’ll be a great addition to our curriculum to have these students help out."

A senior-level integrated course called Physics and Art will combines a scientific and artistic approach to physics, including the impact of optics on painting, mechanics, motion of light and "the physics of architecture," Lorenz explained.

"We have a number of students who really want to continue with physics, but don’t want to take the only option they have senior year, which is AP [advanced placement] physics, really one of the most difficult courses in physics," he said. "This is a very forward-thinking program."

BOE President Joseph Vallerini said the community has time until the next board meeting on Dec. 7 to offer input on these courses before any final decision is made.

E-mail: Alfieri@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/70595732.html

ObamaCare : Big Brother Rationing Healthcare

Health Care Rationing Now Hits Pap Smears?

Friday, November 20, 2009
Health Care Rationing Now Hits Pap Smears?

http://hummersandcigarettes.blogspot.com/2009/11/health-care-rationing-now-hits-pap.html

MSNBC is reporting a change on the frequency of pap smears for 20-year-olds (emphasis added):

20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps

New guidelines say it’s enough to spot slow-growing cervical cancer

The Associated Press
updated 6:23 a.m. CT, Fri., Nov . 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that's enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

The change by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes amid a completely separate debate over when regular mammograms to detect breast cancer should begin. The timing of the Pap guidelines is coincidence, said ACOG, which began reviewing its recommendations in late 2007 and published the update Friday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The guidelines also say:

- Routine Paps should start at age 21. Previously, ACOG had urged a first Pap either within three years of first sexual intercourse or at age 21. Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps once they've had three consecutive clear tests. Other national guidelines have long recommended the three-year interval; ACOG had previously backed a two- to three-year wait.

- Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps once they've had three consecutive clear tests. Other national guidelines have long recommended the three-year interval; ACOG had previously backed a two- to three-year wait.

- Women with HIV, other immune-weakening conditions or previous cervical abnormalities may need more frequent screening.

Paps can spot pre-cancerous changes in the cervix in time to prevent invasive cancer, and widespread use has halved cervical cancer rates in the U.S. in recent decades. About 11,270 new cases will be diagnosed this year, and about 4,070 women will die from it, according to American Cancer Society estimates. Half of women diagnosed with cervical cancer have never had a Pap, and another 10 percent haven't had one in five years.
...
As someone who personally had a "bad" pap smear in her early 20's and was fortunate enough to get treatment immediately, I worry about the adoption of this decision possibly leading to more incidences of cervical cancer that could have been prevented. Is this another example of health care rationing coming our way, should ObamaCare get shoved down our throats? Less quality health care for more money?
Posted by KMacGinn at 7:28 AM
Labels: health care, ObamaCare

http://hummersandcigarettes.blogspot.com/2009/11/health-care-rationing-now-hits-pap.html

Just What We Need : A New Reason for Business to leave NJ

A new reason for business to leave NJ
November 17, 2009 • 6:55 am
By Bob Ingle

http://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2009/11/17/a-new-reason-for-business-to-leave-nj/

Gov.-elect Chris Christie says after meeting with Treasury officials the state’s projected $8 billion budget deficit could be the low end of the range. He said it was too soon to say where the budget will be cut except that to repeat “everything is on the table.” Christie said finances are like they are not only because of the national economy but also due to eight years of Democrats in charge. He singled out former Gov. Jim McGreevey, saying his budget handling was “obscene”.

Christie also said the state’s rules and regulations governing business are driving companies out of New Jersey and that means a loss of jobs. Here’s an example of what he’s talking about: Assembly Democrat leader Bonnie Watson Coleman is proposing a six-bill package dealing with former prison inmates. One of the laws she wants would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against job applicants on the basis of a criminal record.

I have known people who served their time and went on to lead successful lives. I’ve also interviewed cons who were headed back to the Big House, unable or unwilling to change their ways. Employers should be able to decide for themselves who to hire without the State of New Jersey interfering.

Coleman has been an activist for prisoner rights. Her two sons were sentenced to prison for armed robbery. But her activism has done nothing to clean up the prison system that is a disgrace in New Jersey despite reports that prisoners run their illicit businesses from the inside with the help of cell phones. That is something the state could change were Watson Coleman really into prison reform, thinking more of what’s best for the state than her own personal agenda.

Christie needs to clean house in the Corrections Department. Bring in someone with national experience running prisons to head ours and let him put a competent staff in place. He needn’t bother asking Watson Coleman’s advice.

http://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2009/11/17/a-new-reason-for-business-to-leave-nj/

Ridgewood Holiday Celebration !

Pro Arte Chorale Holiday Celebration

Pro Arte Chorale is hosting a holiday celebration with performances of seasonal favorites, A carol sing-a-long and refreshments Sunday, December 6th from 4 to 5pm. at Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place, Ridgewood. Admission: $12 Adults; !5 Children under 17

Do you have Legos that you no longer need?
Donate Legos for Youth!

4-H is looking for Legos! We are planning a Lego building day for youth and are looking for Legos to be donated! Any and all Legos are needed and may be dropped off at: Bergen County 4-H Office, One Bergen County Plaza, 4th floor, Hackensack, NJ (phone # 201-336-6785) or Boys and Girls Club of Garfield, 490 Midland Avenue, Garfield, NJ (973-478-7662). To arrange pick-up of your donation, please contact Monique Bliss at 201-336-6785.

Bringing in the Holidays! Ridgewood Concert Band
Nationally and Internationally acclaimed Ridgewood Concert Band will perform with guests Joseph Alessi, NY Philhormonic, Prelude Performance - Mark Donellan and the Paramus High School Wind Ensemble - Program includes a Sing Along of Holiday Favorites, Friday, December 4th at 8pm at West Side Presybertian Church, 6 S. Monroe St. Ridgewood. Tickets at the door: Adults $20; Seniors $15; Students $7. Children under 13 Free. INFORMATION: 201/493-9030 or visit www.ridgewoodband.org

SANTA IN RIDGEWOOD
Sponsored by Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce

Santa’s Holiday Hours in Ridgewood FREE PARKING on Friday & Saturday before Christmas December 5th 9:00am Breakfast with Santa at Winberie’s call for reservations. 10:00am (until 2pm)Watch Santa on E. Ridgewood Ave., in a “Village of Ridgewood Fire Truck”, go directly to Columbia Bank - 40 S. Broad St. with music by In the Mix Entertainment 10:30am FREE Kid’s Movie at Clearview Warner Theatre 2:00pm-4:00pm Santa’s House 4:00pm-5:00pm Ride the Trolley with Santa December 12th 11:00ampm-4:00pm Santa’s House 4:00pm-5:00pm Ride the Trolley with Santa December 19th 11:00am-3:00pm Santa’s House December 24th 10:00am-2:00pm Santa’s House For more information call the Chamber of Commerce INFORMATION: 201-445-2600 www.experienceridgewood.com

Downtown for the Holidays Sponsored by Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce

Downtown for the Holidays Tree Lighting Celebration, Friday, December 4th No Parking on the street after 4pm…. Streets closed after 5:30pm…. Bus route will be Maple to Franklin to Chestnut across E. Ridgewood Ave. to Prospect and down Spring Ave or vies/versa. FREE PARKING…at all meters YM-YW Oak Street offering parking in there lot after 5:30pm Coldwell Banker – 44 Franklin Ave. – 5:00-8:00pm. Offering pictures with Santa *Ben & Jerry’s – 104 Franklin Ave. – 7:00-10:00pm. Bring your camera; take pictures with Santa, listen to a jazz trio and after the tree lighting have euphoric scoopers. - View Biltmore Tuxedo’s winter wonderland train Village. Kids love to watch. - Backyard Living shows the most beautiful Christmas trees decorated. - Stores will remain open till 9pm. 5:30-6:45pm – ON E. RIDGEWOOD AVENUE…New for 2009/Come early/stay late. -Chestnut St. to Walnut - enjoy seven different (7) musical acts performing holiday songs, along with two stage productions. -Stroll the E. Ridgewood Ave. while shopping and try some hot cider and sweet treats being served free to all by Care One helpers. - Visit old friends and meet new ones while enjoying Ridgewood. 6:50pm-9:00pm Enter Memorial Park at Van Neste Square – - The festivities will now turn toward the stage in the Park o right next to the Holiday tree. - To start the Tree Lighting count down… The Ridgewood Singers will be on stage with Holiday songs Color Guard with Flag Salute Arthur Murray Holiday Dance Porch Light Production From the Top Studio Art of Motion Official Greeting from President of Chamber of Commerce Tom Hillmann will light the Christmas tree Entertainers back on stage for audience participation with Holiday singing Music will continue on the stage and E. Ridgewood Avenue. *Visit the restaurants for dinner, dessert and spirit of the Holiday. For information Chamber website: www.experienceridgewood.com or Call 201-445-2600; visit new Chamber office 27 Chestnut Street, 1st Fl


FREE PARKING IN RIDGEWOOD
All Friday's and Saturday's in December
the Village Council has agreed to provide FREE PARKING* in Ridgewood for ALL Friday's and Saturday's in December! Come Shop and Dine in Ridgewood this Holiday Season! * Does NOT include the Park and Ride Lot on Rt. 17)

CBO: By 2019, Taxpayers Will Pay $194 Billion A Year for Obamacare, But 24 Million People Will Remain Uninsured

Thursday, November 19, 2009
By Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=57454

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., with Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, left, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., leaves a news conference on Capitol Hill after unveiling the Senate’s health care overhaul bill on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. (CNSNews.com) - Under the health care bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday, by 2019 taxpayers will be paying $194 billion per year to subsidize other people’s health insurance coverage, but there still will be 24 million uninsured people in America, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Reid’s proposal mandates that all individuals legally resident in the United States purchase health insurance and offers subsidies to people making up to 400 percent of the poverty level ($88,200 for a family of four) to purchase insurance as long as they buy a federally regulated and approved plan sold in a federally regulated insurance exchange.

According to an analysis published Wednesday by the CBO and JCT, this subsidy will cost taxpayers $196 billion per year by 2019 but will still leave 24 million people uninsured in America, about 8 million of whom will be illegal aliens. The estimate assumes that there would otherwise be about 55 million uninsured people in the United States.

"The gross cost of the coverage expansions, consisting of exchange subsidies, the net costs of expanded eligibility for Medicaid, and tax credits for employers: Those provisions have an estimated cost of $196 billion in 2019, and that cost is growing at about 8 percent per year toward the end of the 10-year budget window. As a rough approximation, CBO assumes continued growth at about that rate during the following decade," says the joint CBO and JCT analysis.

“By 2019, CBO and JCT estimate, the number of nonelderly people who are uninsured would be reduced by about 31 million, leaving about 24 million nonelderly residents uninsured (about one-third of whom would be unauthorized immigrants),” says the CBO and JCT analysis.

Table 3 in the report indicates that when the health-insurance mandate and subsidy program becomes fully operational in 2014 there will be 35 million uninsured in the United States and this number will drop to 23 million by 2018 before rising back to 24 million in 2019. The report does not indicate how many uninsured people will remain after 2019, or whether the upward trend between 2018 and 2019 will continue.

Table 3 also shows that the cost to taxpayers of paying the insurance subsidies in the bill as well as the cost for increased eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) instituted under the bill will dramatically escalate over the next decade.

In 2010, the year of the next congressional election, the gross cost of the subsidies is expected to be $0. In 2012, the year of the next presidential election, the gross cost of the subsidies in the bill is expected to be only $4 billion. But in 2014, the costs are expected to dramatically escalate to $48 billion for the year. From that point on, the costs increase every year, jumping to $147 billion by 2016 and then to $194 billion by 2019.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=57454

Hackers Claim Collusion in "Climate Change " data

Climate sceptics claim leaked emails are evidence of collusion among scientists Hundreds of emails and documents exchanged between world's leading climate scientists stolen by hackers and leaked online.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/20/climate-sceptics-hackers-leaked-emails

Hundreds of private emails and documents allegedly exchanged between some of the world's leading climate scientists during the past 13 years have been stolen by hackers and leaked online, it emerged today.

The computer files were apparently accessed earlier this week from servers at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, a world-renowned centre focused on the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change.

Climate change sceptics who have studied the emails allege they provide "smoking gun" evidence that some of the climatologists colluded in manipulating data to support the widely held view that climate change is real, and is being largely caused by the actions of mankind.

The veracity of the emails has not been confirmed and the scientists involved have declined to comment on the story, which broke on a blog called The Air Vent.

The files, which in total amount to 160MbB of data, were first uploaded on to a Russian server, before being widely mirrored across the internet. The emails were accompanied by the anonymous statement: "We feel that climate science is, in the current situation, too important to be kept under wraps. We hereby release a random selection of correspondence, code and documents. Hopefully it will give some insight into the science and the people behind it."

A spokesperson for the University of East Anglia said: "We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites. Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm that all this material is genuine. This information has been obtained and published without our permission and we took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation. We are undertaking a thorough internal investigation and have involved the police in this inquiry."

In one email, dated November 1999, one scientist wrote: "I've just completed Mike's Nature [the science journal] trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie, from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline."

This sentence, in particular, has been leapt upon by sceptics as evidence of manipulating data, but the credibility of the email has not been verified. The scientists who allegedly sent it declined to comment on the email.

"It does look incriminating on the surface, but there are lots of single sentences that taken out of context can appear incriminating," said Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. "You can't tell what they are talking about. Scientists say 'trick' not just to mean deception. They mean it as a clever way of doing something - a short cut can be a trick."

In another alleged email, one of the scientists apparently refers to the death of a prominent climate change sceptic by saying "in an odd way this is cheering news".

Ward said that if the emails are correct, they "might highlight behaviour that those individuals might not like to have made public." But he added, "Let's separate out [the climate scientists] reacting badly to the personal attacks [from sceptics] to the idea that their work has been carried out in an inappropriate way."

The revelations did not alter the huge body of evidence from a variety of scientific fields that supports the conclusion that modern climate change is caused largely by human activity, Ward said. The emails refer largely to work on so-called paleoclimate data - reconstructing past climate scenarios using data such as ice cores and tree rings. "Climate change is based on several lines of evidence, not just paleoclimate data," he said. "At the heart of this is basic physics."

Ward pointed out that the individuals named in the alleged emails had numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. "It would be very surprising if after all this time, suddenly they were found out doing something as wrong as that."

Professor Michael Mann, director of Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Centre and a regular contributor to the popular climate science blog Real Climate, features in many of the email exchanges. He said: "I'm not going to comment on the content of illegally obtained emails. However, I will say this: both their theft and, I believe, any reproduction of the emails that were obtained on public websites, etc, constitutes serious criminal activity. I'm hoping the perpetrators and their facilitators will be tracked down and prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows."

When the Guardian asked Prof Phil Jones at UEA, who features in the correspondence, to verify whether the emails were genuine, he refused to comment.

The alleged emails illustrate the persistent pressure some climatologists have been under from sceptics in recent years. There have been repeated calls, including Freedom of Information requests, for the Climate Research Unit to make public a confidential dataset of land and sea temperature recordings that is "value added" by the unit before being used by the Met Office. The emails show the frustration some climatologists have had at having to operate under such intense, often politically motivated, scrutiny.

Prof Bob Watson, the chief scientific advisor at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said, "Evidence for climate change is irrefutable. The world's leading scientists overwhelmingly agree what we're experiencing is not down to natural variation."

"With this overwhelming scientific body of evidence failing to take action to tackle climate change would be the wrong thing to do – the impacts here in Britain and across the world will worsen and the economic consequences will be catastrophic."

A spokesman for Greenpeace said: "If you looked through any organisation's emails from the last 10 years you'd find something that would raise a few eyebrows. Contrary to what the sceptics claim, the Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, Nasa and the world's leading atmospheric scientists are not the agents of a clandestine global movement against the truth. This stuff might drive some web traffic, but so does David Icke."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/20/climate-sceptics-hackers-leaked-emails

$48 million dollar Referendum :The issue of the referendum has nothing to do with salaries or benefits for the teachers

The issue of the referendum has nothing to do with salaries or benefits for the teachers. Don't try to confuse the issue. While you may have a point about salaries at some positions, the concern over teachers compensation has less to do with their outright salries than it does to do with the long-term obligations of their benefits package, which is far better than most private sector packages and consideably more expensive. On an hourly basis, our teachers are among the most highly compenated residents in Ridgewood (total compensation and benefits).

Tenure should be eliminated...period. It inspires mediocrity, on average. Guaranteed employment is non-existent in today's workplace, except among union workers. It is no mystery why we had to bail out the US auto industry. The NJEA is no different from the UAW and we are in the same place as the auto industry...only no one wants to admit that public education in the US has failed and is in need of serious restructuring. In NJ this has to start with ending the NJEA's ability to hold school districts hostage to their unrealistic expectations and demands. If our local teachers refuse to appreciate that, then we have no option but to let them go and bring in teachers, who are willing to be rewarded for their performance, rather than how long they are able to hang around.

In the meantime, we need to support the referendum to ensure that we have the infrastructure to attract the best teacher and provide our children with the best possible education. This is NOT the area to be skimping. Our future, literally, depends upon it.

Travell School : a drop-off/cut-off lane on Fairfield Ave

Residents around the Travell School received a letter from the Ridgewood Department Of Works signed by the Director Of Public Works, Christopher Rutishauser.(Slightly condensed version)

The village has be approached by the Board Of Education to consider construction of a drop-off/cut-off lane on Fairfield Ave. just north of Downs St. alongside the Travell School.

The drop-off would be approx. 100 linear feet long, starting 25 feet north of the crosswalk from Downs to the school. While the design has not been finalized, the lane would be 9 feet wide w/ entry and exit tapers. Once the design is finalized, a copy of the plan will be posted on the Village's website.

The intent is to provide better vehicle management while parents are dropping off or picking up their children.

It will be similar to the one at Somerville on S. Pleasant.

I wonder the costs and who is paying for it?
I know the state has been granting Federal Funds for the improvement of children walking to school.

I wonder if this is covered? That's one thing missing from the letter.

Fairfield is not nearly as wide a S. Pleasant, and with teachers and parents parked on Fairfield south of Downs on both sides, it's already a hazard, which is a problem that has never been addressed.

Can anyone from Somerville add any positives or negatives concerning their drop-off/pick-up lane? More traffic or less?

Somerville has a speed bump at the cross walk. Is that helpful?

G.P.

Will Valley Hospital Also Cleanup its Board of Trustees?

Hackensack University Medical Center's board recently adopted policies designed to clean up conflicts of interest amongst its Board members. The new policies are designed to prevent contractors and businesspeople that could potentially do business with the hospital from sitting on the HUMC Board.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/Hospital_tightens_its_ethics_rules.html

A reader asks, “Will Valley Hospital’s Board of Trustees do the same?” Especially when it is realized that the current President of the Valley Hospital Board of Trustees is also the President of Becton, Dickinson & Company; a medical supplies and devices company that could stand to benefit substantially if the “Renewal” goes ahead.

Healthcare Rationing Begins : Mammograms

Mammography outcry points to trouble for healthcare reform
Some Republicans say the new recommendations are an example of 'rationing' that would take place under Obama's plan to save money by basing treatment on experts' advice.
By Noam N. Levey

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-health-evidence18-2009nov18,0,3113676.story

November 18, 2009

Reporting from Washington

A core tenet of the healthcare overhaul President Obama is pushing through Congress is that medical care can be improved -- and costs contained -- if the country relies more on experts to determine which procedures and treatments work best.

But Monday's mammography report by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force delivered a swift and stark reminder that few ideas are more explosive in healthcare.

The expert panel -- which recommended that women in their 40s should no longer get annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer -- sparked an outcry from those who say that the federal government is more interested in saving money than in improving women's health, even though the panel did not consider costs in its analysis.

Some Republicans jumped on the report as the kind of government intervention in medical decisions that Obama's healthcare plan would bring.

"This is really the first step toward that business of rationing care based on cost," said Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a physician.

The uproar also provided a likely preview of future battles. A potentially revolutionary improvement in the medical system would almost certainly bring controversy, confusion and uncertainty along with it.

Proposed changes to standard medical procedures, even when supported by scientific evidence, almost always challenge someone's expertise and someone's bottom line. And even the most careful scientific evaluations cannot always provide definitive answers on what works best for all patients.

"Unfortunately, there is no magic way to make these decisions," said Dr. Sean Tunis, a former chief medical officer for Medicare and Medicaid in the George W. Bush administration who works on ways to evaluate medical technology.

The problem, Tunis and others experts say, is that leaving the decisions to the marketplace -- as the U.S. healthcare system has done for decades -- has not produced very good results, even for patients.

Doctors in one hospital may favor one surgical procedure or drug regimen, while those in another favor something else. Individual insurance companies decide to cover some procedures and not others, often varying their policies from patient to patient.

Even state lawmakers have gotten in on the act, passing hundreds of laws requiring that insurance companies provide particular benefits such as prostate cancer screening or, in one case, varicose vein treatment. According to the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, an industry group, there are more than 2,000 insurance mandates nationwide.

The variations and the resulting differences in the way that patients are cared for is one of the main reasons that the American healthcare system is so inefficient, many experts think.

The United States spends a greater share of its gross domestic product on healthcare than any other industrialized country, yet ranks near the bottom in many outcome measures such as unnecessary deaths and infant mortality.

A 2003 study by the Rand Corp. found that adults receive the recommended care for many illnesses only a little more than half of the time. The results were even worse for children.

Obama and his congressional allies have pledged to correct these shortcomings in their health overhaul, in large part by expanding the healthcare system's reliance on independent government institutions to recommend standards of treatment and develop basic levels of medical coverage.

Those institutions will probably look a lot like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that evaluated the efficacy of breast cancer screening.

In fact, the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare bill -- the likely foundation of the legislation the Senate is expected to begin debating soon -- relies on the task force's recommendations to outline what preventive benefits Americans should have access to in new insurance exchanges. (The House bill would create a new task force to do the same.)

The existing task force, created 25 years ago, is made up of 16 public health specialists, including academic deans and department heads at major medical centers, including Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

They are charged with reviewing studies and other data on preventive services, such as medical imaging and cancer screening, and evaluating their benefits and potential dangers. They then grade the service based on the strength of the evidence.

"This is the kind of analysis we should be doing," said Dr. David Shih, senior director of medical affairs at the American College of Preventive Medicine.

But the panel helped fuel an uprising among radiologists and the medical imaging industry by concluding last year that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the use of computed tomography, or CT, machines to screen for colon cancer. That decision helped convince Medicare not to cover the procedure as an alternative to colonoscopy.

The panel's warning that routine mammograms for women under 50 heightened the risk of false positives and resulting complications from invasive biopsies was no different.

Radiologists and oncologists accused the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force of acting unethically and risking women's lives. And representatives of the imaging industry and some patient groups said that the Obama administration was pursuing a "federal plot against medical imaging."

The task force did not consider cost in its recommendation. Nor would the task force guidelines automatically lead to limits on coverage.

From a clinical standpoint, the task force members evaluated a classic medical trade-off: whether the risks of screening many healthy people are outweighed by the benefits to a few whose illnesses will be detected early enough to be treated.

But there is a cautionary tale in the uproar for those pushing a healthcare overhaul, said Dr. Mark B. McClellan, a champion of evidence-based medicine who headed the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the Bush administration

"One of the important things in health reform will be to distinguish between guidelines and coverage decisions," he said. "Those are not the same thing."

noam.levey@latimes.com

Kim Geiger in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-health-evidence18-2009nov18,0,3113676.story

$48 million dollar Referendum : The teachers have enjoyed an unjustified cost of living increase during that time.

Agree about the fields. Maybe a solution for the fields is to finance over 10 years, instead of 25, even if it means a slightly higher rate.

Unfortunately the capital needs fund is tougher. The NJEA has to be reigned in so that our annual operating expenses don't hit the 4% cap every year before we can ask voters to set aside a few $million every year for such a fund. Of course, that assumes voters would allow such a fund...that is a whole different question. The chronic complainers say we should have one. But, I guarantee if you ask them to approve a budget that sets aside money for future (unspecified) use, the same people with criticize the BOE for wanting a "slush fund".

The NJEA has secured automatic annual increases for teachers, despite virtually no inflation in the economy for years. In fact, the last 2 years have seen DEFLATION. The teachers have enjoyed an unjustified cost of living increase during that time. Maybe we should have a "clawback" policy, like we are demanding on Wall Street.

How about getting the NJEA to agree to an immediate freeze on ALL salaries and benefits for the first 2 years of thenext contract period? Then, after that, permanently agree to a rolling 5-year average CPI calculation over the preceding 5 years to determine each year's allowable increase. This would make the cost of living increases fairer and more reasonable to taxpayers

I am no expert. But, my guess is that, in the first 2 years, we could take $7-8mm out of our annual budget. Beyond that the budgets would be approximately $2-3mm less per year, on average. If we wanted to, we could elect to keep that money in the budget and set it aside for a capital fund.

Noise. It's driving me crazy. Really.

Dear Mayor,
This is just a short letter about something that has bothered me ever since I have moved out of NYC and into Ridgewood. Why are leaf blowers, the companies, the personal ones ( I know about all the rules), allowed to destroy any peace I may achieve by living here, when there is NO Organization regarding this bothersome noise matter. I have to say, it really does bother me. I pay, (I'm divorced, 26k) in taxes all year, and the only thing that I would ask for would be some PEACE AND QUIET. I know it sounds silly, but, I mean it. These awful lawn companies need someone to organize their chaos----big trucks parked wherever they want, noise and dust, and i go outside to play with my five year old, but, HOLD ON, another leaf blowing co is across the street......It seems so simple, and, I honestly wonder if anyone else is bothered by their brashness regarding uncontrolled parking and their NOISE. I am quite literate Sp! :) and have read all the rules, but, oh, low and behold, if I want to spend some time outside on a Sunday, there go all of my Neighbors with their awful selfish noisy leaf blowers. Please Help Me, I need peace in the period of unsteadiness, Ezra Sesto Ferguson, tax payer and Non complainer and member of the Village of Ridgewood for 15 years.

Please respond to this letter, for it is important to me, Ezra.


Ezra Ferguson

www.ezrasesto.com