Thursday, November 29, 2012
The finding did not amount to a public danger, Ridgewood Water officials contend.
Lab samples taken over the summer revealed lead was in the Ridgewood Water supply, utility officials told the village council Wednesday. According to Dave Scheibner, the utility's business director, regular tests required by the New Jersey DEP found "an exceedance" in June. The discovery prompted a battery of public notices, including mailings to residents, healthcare and childcare facilities, as well as website posts. "It's not a danger to the public," Scheibner said. "Essentially the lead that is detected is picked up in household plumbing, it’s not in the source water. The very simple method of dealing with it is if the water has been inactive for a while, run the faucet for half a minute and everything is gone." Ridgewood Water …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Generators for the pumping stations are down and the utility is borrowing water from Mahwah, forcing it to ask residents to be judicious.
Update at 10:22 a.m. Wednesday: Ridgewood Water received some restoration of power and now is up on generators, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said Wednesday morning. Residents are still urged to continue conserving water as best they can for the health of the system. Ridgewood Water is facing a power problem and is asking residents to conserve water to avoid large systemtic woes, utility director Frank Moritz announced Tuesday morning. "There are no generators going at the pumping stations." Moritz told Patch. But if residents don't heed conservation warnings, that could change, and quickly. Outages were widespread at Ridgewood Water's facilities, affecting the wells of the utility, which serves Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park. …
Friday, September 7, 2012
Two-month ban on lawn watering on Mondays, alternate days ended Friday.
With the dog days of summer now behind us, Ridgewood Village Manager Ken Gabbert announced Friday that water restrictions have effectively been lifted. The Stage II restrictions were enacted July 10 following weeks of drought, dropping water tanks to dangerously low levels, Ridgewood Water officials said. The restrictions prohibited lawn irrigation on Mondays and limited homeowners to watering only on odd or even days, based on the property number. "The purpose of this initiative was to reasonably limit water usage on a daily basis so as to avoid the high peak usage surges encountered in previous years when irrigation bans were put into effect," Gabbert said in a news release Friday. The restrictions have been effective in conserving water…
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Move to conserve water after a week of no rain effectively halts irrigation on Mondays.
Correction: use of hoses is allowed all days except for Monday, and sprinklers can be used on odd or even days, depending on one's property number; Monday is still an irrigation-free day. Citing a need to maintain water levels to fight fires and retain water pressure, Ridgewood Water implemented Stage II restrictions Tuesday for customers in Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park. The restrictions bar ratepayers from irrigation on Mondays. Odd numbered properties can water their lawns on odd days, while even numbered properties can irrigate on even days. Hand-held hoses can be used Tuesday-Sunday. The restrictions, part of Ridgewood Water's conservation plan, apply to businesses and residents alike, according to a press release …
Monday, May 21, 2012
Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park filed a $3.3 million class action lawsuit claiming Ridgewood funneled water utility revenue into its own municipal operating budget to avoid making hard cuts
Officials in Ridgewood say their neighbors are taking their class action lawsuit to the media because their case is weak. The class action suit filed by Wyckoff, Glen Rock and Midland Park in Bergen County's Superior Court seeks $3.3 million in refunds, charging that Ridgewood has "been engaged in sham accounting to artificially inflate the costs of the Water Utility and decrease the expenses of the village." On Wednesday, officials from Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff held a press conference where attorney Joseph Fiorenzo again called for the combined 26 percent rate hikes in 2010 and 2011 to be rescinded and $3.3 million refunded to ratepayers. "Generally, such tactics are used to inflame the situation due to lack of confidence in …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Six months since a study recommended sweeping changes to Bergen County Police Department, none have come.
Note: This story was published on Dec. 4, 2011 Six months after a study called for sweeping changes to the Bergen County Police Department, none of the study's central recommendations have been implemented as the fight over the future of the agency continues, a fight that has seemingly chilled the relationship of two county leaders who were allies this time last year. Bergen County officials are currently waiting for a second report on the county police that’s supposed to be completed early next year, this one by a committee created by County Executive Kathleen Donovan. Critics - most notably Sheriff Michael Saudino, who swept into office with Donovan last November - argue the panel is composed primarily of political appointees rather …
Friday, January 20, 2012
Officials throughout Bergen say they're ready for what looks to be 5 inches of snow Friday night into Saturday
It's beginning to look a lot like winter – finally. Although a freak storm blew through the area in October and caused millions of dollars worth of damage, the past two months have looked little like a winter wonderland. That should all be changing this weekend, as forecasters are projecting as much as seven inches of snow between Friday night and Saturday. A winter storm watch was issued by the National Weather Service Friday, warning of potentially dangerous weather conditions and "significant snowfall." The storm watch is expected to be in effect through Saturday afternoon. Officials throughout Bergen County say they're ready for whatever flaky foes are coming their way. "Nothing is a surprise to our guys. We're ready when it happens…
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Kerween Georges, 27 of Queens, is accused of using stolen credit cards and fake IDs to nab over $5,000 of gift cards at CVS' in Wyckoff, Midland Park and Glen Rock
A man believed to have used stolen credit cards to purchase gift cards at area CVS pharmacies was arrested Wednesday by Glen Rock Police. Kerween Georges, 27 (whom police say goes by the moniker "DJ K-Dawg") of Queens, NY, was charged with counts of theft, forgery, receiving stolen property, wrongful impersonation, among others. A joint investigation conducted by Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park detectives revealed Georges used stolen credit card numbers and a fake Pennsylvania identification to purchase AMEX and Visa gift cards at CVS pharmacies in the three towns, totaling over $5,000, police said. A suspect fitting the description of Georges fled in a Honda Civic with a female occupant after hitting the three CVS' in the neighboring…
Monday, January 2, 2012
Ex Giant Harry Carson may oppose the conservative Congressman in the redrawn 5th District as a Democrat, the AP reports
The Associated Press reported Monday that former New York Giant linebacker Harry Carson is considering challenging incumbent Congressman Scott Garrett (R-5th) in 2012. The report comes a week after a Republican-favoring map was selected and instead of battling Garrett, Democrat Rep. Steve Rothman elected to move out the district to face a fellow Democrat, leaving Garrett without an opponent. Carson, who played for the Giants from 1976-1988, is a resident of Franklin Lakes and may square off against Garrett as a Democrat, the AP reported. "There's no definitive decision. It's a thought," Carson, 58, told the AP in a phone interview. Carson, who owns a sports promotion company, has reportedly been considering a run with input from the …
Monday, December 12, 2011
Counties were left off the presidential disaster declaration due to clerical error, according to Bergen officials
The federal government announced Monday it would be amending its presidential disaster declaration to enable Bergen and Passaic counties to qualify for relief money incurred by the October snowstorm. The two counties, along with Middlesex County, were initially left off the list after President Barack Obama issued his presidential disaster declaration in late November. "I am extremely pleased that FEMA responded favorably to our request to add Bergen and Passaic Counties to the emergency disaster declaration regarding the October 29, 2011 snow storm," said Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9), who sent a letter to FEMA administrator Craig Fugate asking for another look at the figures submitted. Rothman and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8) argued the …
John A. Unglert
10:22 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Once again RW is reactive. Of course they will now want another rate increase for "lead abatement" or some such. YET they cannot add pumps, storage capacity ( and NOT meaning 150 foot towers ), responsible people who do not stand around drinking coffee, water meters that might work, and payments that go to Washington DC. I do wonder WHY my check goes to DC and not to Ridegwood ?? No one has ever … more ›