Monday, May 13, 2013
Want to share your thoughts on a local issue? Email jim.leggate@patch.com
Dear editor: I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Bill Thomson upon the occasion of him being named grand marshal of the Memorial Day Parade in Township of Washington. I had the great fortune to meet and work with Bill and his wife Lauren in 2010, when the Borough of Fair Lawn was facing police layoffs of three Iraq War veterans plus one additional officer, who was a second generation Fair Lawn police officer. Bill and Lauren attended our police rallies, spoke at our council meetings and supported all of our police officers every step of the way. They both believe and have publicly stated that public safety should always be a town's top priority. As a Persian Gulf War veteran, detective and pastor, I sincerely thank Bill …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Want to share your opinion on a local issue? Email Jim.Leggate@Patch.com
Do you own a corner lot in Westwood? Are you frustrated ever time you try to do something on your property you are told you need to get a variance to do that, while you neighbor next door to you only has to apply for a permit? Are you aware you pay more in taxes being a corner lot than your non-corner lot neighbor? Are you aware that every property has a 5-foot easement in front of their house, on a corner lot there is a 5-foot easement plus a 22-foot setback in your “back yard” that you are not allowed to do anything with unless you apply for a variance. Many put shrubbery to create a privacy screen, to put a fence up in your “front yard” — which is really is your back yard on a corner lot — you must request a variance. To install a …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Some Hillsdale residents are concerned about the plan because of the home's proximity to a local school.
An applicant has proposed to open a sober living home for as many as four men at a time on Magnolia Avenue in Hillsdale. The plan calls for the men, who would all be 30 or older and "professional" recovering addicts, to share the upper portion of a two-family home. The home's owner would live in the lower portion. Some residents have expressed concern about having the home located just a few properties away from George G. White Middle School. The applicant's attorney has said he believes a key point of the proposal lies with the definition of family in the borough ordinance. There have been two hearings so far, but the board has not touched much on that issue as members have focused most of their questions on the tenant selection process …
Sunday, April 7, 2013
County executive's former campaign manager offers free public relations help to Bergen Community College.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, April 7
The decision by Alan Marcus and The Marcus Group to withdraw their $90,000 contract with Bergen Community College was the appropriate course of action given the County Executive’s past practice of weeding out unnecessary and wasteful spending. However the decision by Mr. Marcus to offer “free” consultation services regarding upcoming labor negotiations is equally disturbing. When does a public agency or in this case a county school board take collective bargaining tips from a public relations executive? Doesn’t Bergen Community College have on retainer legal counsel to handle such matters? The withdrawal of this contract does not cause harm to the institution as suggested, but it saves taxpayers $90,000 on something that wasn’t needed or …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
An editor's personal journey through autism.
Editor's Note: In support of Autism Awareness month, I am reprinting this story from last year. This story is not mine to own. It could belong to you. It could belong to your sister, your friend, your neighbor, the waitress at Jersey Boys, the bank president, the school principal, the police officer directing traffic. In New Jersey, the story belongs to all of us. The findings of a federal study show that one in 49 children, and one in 29 boys, are diagnosed with autism in New Jersey. Nationally, one in 88 children are diagnosed annually. Autism is a disease that gives itself freely and without prejudice. There is no way to protect your child from it; no diet or vaccine that will prevent it. It is, as experts will tell you, pervasive. …
Friday, February 15, 2013
Want to submit a letter to the editor? Email Jim.Leggate@Patch.com.
- OPINION
-
Friday, February 15
My name is Frank Pizzella, and I have recently been re-appointed to serve on council in the Borough of Hillsdale and I am writing to formally introduce myself to the residents of Hillsdale. I am a first generation American whose parents immigrated to the USA in the early 1960s from Italy. I was born and raised in Belleville, New Jersey. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 from Rutgers University in Biology and Environmental Sciences, as well as in Political Science, and I obtained my law degree in 1999 from Seton Hall University School of Law. After a long search for a community in which to establish roots and raise a family, my wife and I moved to Hillsdale. I reside in Hillsdale with my wife Dina, who is a registered nurse, and my two …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Blue Laws 'handicap' local businesses, writes Teaneck councilman and former mayor
- OPINION
-
Monday, February 11
The following op-ed was submitted by Elie Y. Katz, a council member and former Teaneck mayor. Ah yes, the Blue Laws. When I was Mayor of Teaneck, at the request of many Teaneck residents, I briefly touched the third rail of this "taboo" subject by looking into a referendum question for Teaneck voters. It was not the harsh phone call from the Paramus Borough Attorney, nor the legal threats from mall operators outside Bergen County nor the concern from many husbands about their wives getting an extra day of shopping that made the Council withdraw the question. Rather, it was the fact that we were not legally permitted to offer a referendum question on a law which the state controls. It seems a little strange that in a country which …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
A column posted on 'The Daily Beast' touts officials like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the solution to the GOP's problems.
- OPINION
-
Wednesday, January 30
Does the Republican Party need more leaders like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? It does, according to an column posted on The DailyBeast.com Wednesday. Columnist John Avlon wrote in the article that Christie is the example other Republicans should be looking to amidst the GOP's "existential crisis." "The 2012 ass-kicking is forcing Republicans to confront their deepest demons—namely, that they cannot simply write off whole regions of the country and remain a viable national party," Avlon wrote. "They cannot afford to alienate the fastest-growing communities of color in the USA. They cannot win a war against modernity." Avlon noted that Christie has maintained largely favorable ratings from voters in a state that went to President Barack…
Monday, January 28, 2013
In a Letter to the Editor, Mitchell T. Horn responds to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera's recent comment that Modernize Bergen County's Blue Law repeal argument is "ridiculous." Readers can weigh-in by taking our poll.
- OPINION
-
Monday, January 28
Editor's note: This letter from Mitchell T. Horn on behalf of Modernize Bergen County is addressed to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera and the citizens of the borough: On behalf of the Campaign to Modernize Bergen County, lead by Mrs. Rosemary Shashoua, I would like to respond to the recent public comments calling our argument “ridiculous”. I would like to start by saying that this is an attempt to diffuse the situation and evolve the discussion from an emotional battle to a logical debate. We have the utmost respect for the residents of Paramus and their passionate desire to preserve the peace and quiet in their borough. We also think that the mayor of Paramus is doing an outstanding job and we would do the same thing if we were in …
Monday, January 21, 2013
A new organization aimed at repealing the laws has sparked debate among county residents.
"Modernize Bergen County," a group led by Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua, has the goal of repealing Bergen County's blue laws via a voter referendum. The idea stirred up a debate in an article's comments between residents who agreed that the laws should be repealed, and those who disagreed and wanted to keep the laws. Shashoua said she wanted to create more jobs and bring more money into the area that shoppers might otherwise spend in other counties or New York. Others, especially Paramus residents, said they wanted a day without all the traffic the malls attract. The blue laws have been challenged twice before: once in 1980 and again in 1993. The plans to repeal the laws were defeated 192,394 to 157,648 in 1980 and 185,821 to 105,040…
duru59
4:04 pm on Monday, May 13, 2013
What a coincidence! Mr Boone of Fair Lawns "congratulations" of the Thomsons (Mrs Thomson running for Twp of Washington council). If they were so concerned about laying off Fair Lawn police, why are the silent about Mrs Thomsons running mates, Durso and Goetz, pushing for county take over of Twp of Washingtons emergency response which would lay off Twp police and close police headquarters. Lets … more ›