Saturday, March 30, 2013
Here are the top headlines from around Bergen County, brought to you by the Patch editors who know those towns best.
Authorities are on the hunt for a burglar who was caught on video busting through the front door and stealing undisclosed amount of cash from the Fardale Deli & Mini Mart in Mahwah. A man walking through a Mahwah neighborhood Wednesday afternoon was arrested on drug possession charges less than 24 hours after an alleged cocaine dealer was arrested about a block away, police said. A Glen Rock man with a history of theft convictions was arrested Saturday for allegedly scamming a woman out of $11,000 in Essex County. When it comes to handling a school emergency situation, preparedness is key, according to local law enforcement and school officials who tackled the pressing issue of school safety in front of an audience of about 200 parents …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Catch up on the news from this week.
On paper, Graydon Pool makes money. But when "indirect" costs are factored in, it doesn't even break even. The council is considering whether savings $15,000 by not keeping "extended hours" is worth it. Extensive construction-related road delays on Route 208 could frustrate commuters in Glen Rock and Fair Lawn. The project ramps up in April and should continue through fall. In a 3-1 vote, the council elected to pay about $5,000 in legal fees to Ridgewood Fire Captain John Albano after a Civil Service Commission found he had improperly been passed over for a promotion by Village Manager Ken Gabbert. Fifth-grade kids in Ridgewood received a "disturbing" chainmail-style text message, prompting Somerville Elementary School Principal Lorna …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Other top stories include a Glen Rock man with mob ties making bail, and a surprising discovery sheriffs made while conducting a cavity search.
Joseph Nizza, 26, is accused of attempting to send videos and images of prepubscent girls engaging in sex to undercover detectives. Ridgewood police are demanding students delete nude photos of two freshman girls who sent images to male students using social media application SnapChat. Despite ties to organized crime, Paul Mancuso, 46, made bail after prosecutors charged him with swindling investors out of millions in phony real estate schemes. Not increasing taxes would come at a great cost – public safety departments would lose several positions and not backfill vacant spots, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said. Mayor Paul Aronsohn says the cuts to cops and firemen are not an option. Accused of stealing a man's wallet in Fair Lawn, Justin …
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Other top stories include child sex charges for a Glen Rock man and the unexpected death of a beloved Ridgewood teacher.
Bergen County prosecutors allege Richard Lester sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl over the course of a year at his Glen Rock home. Hedge fund manager George Sepero pleaded guilty to mastermining a ponzi scheme that bilked $3.5M out of investors and, in a seprate crime, making off with an elderly widow's life savings. Ridgewood's elected officials agreed to create a financial oversight board while stressing that major structural changes are needed to keep taxes at bay. Though roughly 25 percent smaller than the previous "Renewal" plan, Valley Hospital's latest expansion goals appear largely the same to the last defeated proposal. The reason silly string is illegal in Ridgewood stems from a very bad 4th of July parade in 1997. The annual …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Other top stories include more news on Valley Hospital's latest expansion proposal, and the Ridgewood school district placing greater emphasis on language arts.
Jacques Pluss claims Ridgewood police and the NJ State Police physically abused him and his wife when they raided his apartment following alleged threats he made against a leader of the Anti-Defamation League. Still mum on specifics of its latest expansion plan, Valley officials told Patch they've taken to heart criticisms that doomed its last "Renewal" proposal. Meetings at the planning board are scheduled for March. The council will be hearing individual department budgets on Monday and Tuesday as it considers the potentially layoff-laden 2013 budget. Internet dance craze "The Harlem Shake" made its way to Ridgewood when the high school wrestling team did its rendition of the 30-second shake for YouTube. Steaks, meatloaf, shrimp-and-…
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Other stories include Ridgewood being designated one of America's safest cities and a school budget with no expected tax increase.
The lawsuit Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR) filed against the Ridgewood Planning Board and Valley Hospital was settled on Thursday. Valley is expected to return with a new expansion plan in March. Owners of 'dangerous dogs' will have to pay $700 per year in licensing costs. An educational animal ownership committee is expected to be formed as a result of the publicity generated from the ordinance. Mayor Paul Aronsohn was not surprised Ridgewood was listed as one of America's ten safest cities. "Ridgewood is a community in the truest sense of the word, and we have a first-rate police force," he said. Jane Shinozuka says the council clearly had no intention of making her a full-time member, prompting her to leave the board as an …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Other stories include a new center at Rutgers named for Tyler Clementi, Donovan calling for Gabbert's resignation, and an acting superintendent is appointed in Glen Rock.
About a foot of snow fell on Ridgewood and Glen Rock, but the power stayed on and streets were in pretty good shape on Saturday. Developers say students aren't likely to populate the four proposed housing developments in downtown Ridgewood. Superintendent Daniel Fishbein is considerably more skeptical. County Executive Kathleen Donovan called for Gabbert to step aside from his position as a utility commissioner for collecting a stipend she claims he said he would not accept. Two government heads called for Ken Gabbert's resignation this week, though the administrator seems likely to stick around at both jobs. The village council, in a cryptic one-sentence statement, said they'll be "evaluating" Gabbert over the next few months. Dr. …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Other top stories include Gabbert receiving a stipend as a utility commissioner, a ban on smoking in parks and a woman allegedly bringing drug paraphernalia to her court appearance.
An elderly man was struck by a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old while crossing Lincoln Avenue on Saturday morning. Even with a tax increase, layoffs are projected in 2013. Should the council choose to "zero" the budget, further cuts of $500,000 and up would be needed. A village resident and president of a canine federation told the council the impetus for increasing the licensing fee for 'dangerous' dogs is based on false premises and will not lessen the town's liability. The county executive's administration is furious the man they appointed to set an example of "good governance" by not receiving a stipend as a part-time utility commissioner in fact has been receiving pay checks. Gabbert says he's legally entitled to the $5,000 a year …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Other top stories include a big fee to license "dangerous dogs" in Ridgewood and a homeowner's take on an alleged racially-charged confrontation with a sanitation worker
A 62-year-old Ridgewood resident is accused of calling a doctor's office and saying she'd "get a gun and shoot her." She was charged with making terroristic threats. With a "dangerous dog" potentially coming to the village, the council introduced an ordinance that will require homeowners to pay big bucks to license. The fee will go toward the increased workload the town incurs in monitoring the animal, officials said. The homeowner accused of cursing and using derogatory language against a village sanitation worker claims it was the worker who cursed at him when he inquired as to why his garbage had not been picked up. A near ten-month search has finally narrowed the pool down to one – pending a contract agreement and approval from the …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Here are the top headlines from around Bergen County, brought to you by the Patch editors who know those towns best.
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Saturday, January 26
A former teacher at a Paramus Yeshiva who worked with youth in Teaneck has pleaded guilty to child pornography and exploitation charges, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. The ex-Yeshivat Noam teacher, 27-year-old Evan Zauder, used the Internet to entice a 14 to 15-year old in New Jersey to engage in sexual activity two times between April and November of 2011, prosecutors said. Between December 2010 and May 2011, he also amassed a collection of hundreds of videos and pictures showing child pornography stored on four devices seized during an FBI search of his Manhattan apartment in May. An ex-employee of former Los Angeles Dodgers player and current coach, Garett Teel, was arrested Tuesday on charges thatthe 22-year-old Hawthorne man …
Brian
11:57 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
The combination of Neo-Nazi, abuse and homework policy in one headline is fantastic. It is worded correctly, but I just wish there had been a typo. more ›