Passaic New Jersey Mayor Samuel Rivera will plead guilty on Friday tomorrow ( 05/09/2008 ) to taking bribes last year.
The mayor will be resigning from his office tomorrow. He will plead guilty for a plea deal. As more will come we will update you.
You heard this story first from P.C.J.N
Above is a picture of a car that was smashed from falling ice. Please be considerate for your fellow freinds. Please take the extra fiew minutes to clear snow or ice off your car. Please use caution when driving leave extra time.
It was unseasonably warm last week, but it didn’t keep me from encountering people who sympathized — just barely — with this column’s call to ban the kind of road hazard that we call the Snow and Ice That Fall Twice.
That’s the kind of white junk that leaves the other guy’s car or truck, hits your windshield and makes your whole life flash in front of you. You know the kind:
* The Route 17 kind that killed Ridgewood’s Michael Eastman nearly 12 years ago.
* The Route 287 kind that caused Hawthorne’s Bob and Mary Mahon to chase after the car whose icy load smashed their windshield last year.
* The Route 80 kind that ran Kinnelon’s Tara Varner and her 2-year-old off the road last month.
Shouldn’t New Jersey fine drivers whose vehicles carry snow? Currently, statute 39:4-77.1 makes it illegal only when it causes damage or injury.
Cathy Eastman understands this because the vehicle whose icy load crushed her husband’s skull was long gone by the time police arrived. Tara, Bob, Mary and most of the 2,000 readers who sent me petitions early this year also get it.
But not some folks I’ve encountered. “There are thousands of SUVs, many driven by women,” said Pequannock’s E.L. Quigley. “They can’t clean ice off the tops of their vehicles.”
Ray R. also sympathizes, but:
“Do you have suggestions for clearing … snow from an SUV that’s been out overnight WITHOUT damaging the hood, roof rack or moon roof?” asked the Fair Lawn man. “Pushing snow off is easy, but after past storms, thick solid ice and packed snow didn’t budge after the car’s heater was on for 20 minutes.”
* Run a garden hose over the car with the heater running, but do this for short periods to avoid cracking the windshield.
* Put old cardboard, canvas or a rug over the vehicle before it snows, and yank it off after the storm.
* Run the engine for an hour, long enough to free frozen snow, or at least to help clear it.
Some consider all this unnecessary. One woman, 72, said: “If I can clean my SUV, so can anybody.” Cathy Eastman, who’s 5 feet 1, says she does it. NorthJersey.com And Passaic News.
cident. Hatzolah E.M.S. requested Paramedics as well as Fire Department for one aided in the back seat that was trapped in one of the cars. Hatzolah E.M.S transported four patients with paramedics aboard and Passaic E.M.S. transported one patient. All of the 5 patients were transported to Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson. One of the drivers of one of the cars was under 18. Passaic Police and Passaic County Sherrif also on scene. One resident who heard the crash said he heard the accident and he was amazed by the 15 Hatzolah Volunteer’s that responded so quickly. He said, “It’s truly amazing to have such a reliable organization”.Tonight at 500 Broadway their was a report of fire at a Delta Gas station on the corner of Broadway and Brook. The call came over as a gas fire coming out of the ground from the gas lines. It turns out yes their was a fire on top of the snow multiple Police And Fire Trucks pulled up. The Chief who was first on scene after Police,went over to the fire and realize it was a Fire on top of the snow .The Fire Dept Quickly hosed it out and the fire was put out. After a small investigation they found out that the Gas attendant took Gasoline and poured it on the snow to melt the snow. Which is extremely dangerous. Well now the Gas Station has to deal with the arson Squad as well as several other agencies and fines.
Passaic New Jersey A serious fire a 3rd alarm fire at 150 Passaic street in the downtown section of Passaic . Passaic P.D.Passaic County Sheriff.Passaic E.M.S. Paterson E.M.S. Hatzolah Passaic E.M.S. Passaic,Clifton,Paterson.Wallington.Carlstadt,Little Falls Fire Dept all on scene several people were taken out of the building and transported for smoke inhalation to Saint Mary’s .Fire started at about 6:30 fire burnt for around 3 hours un
till the Fire fighters were able to knock it down. Passaic Police Arson Squad is on the scene doing there investigation.There are about 50 people homeless some were being brought to the Howard Johnson on route 3 for the night.
The number of New Jersey house sales dropped 13.4 percent during the third quarter of 2007 from the same period in 2006, continuing a slide from the hyperactive sales pace of 2004 and 2005, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
Home prices, however, have not followed. In the census area that includes Bergen and Passaic counties, prices were up 3.6 percent from the same period last year, to a median of $550,900 for an existing single-family home, the NAR said.
That may reflect high demand in New York City, which is in the same statistical area. The New Jersey Multiple Listing Service says that North Jersey prices have risen just about 1 percent over the last year, to a median of $520,000 in Bergen County and $389,000 in Passaic County. northjersey.com
HAMILTON, N.J. (AP) — A 13-year-old was killed Wednesday when she was run over by a school bus after engaging in what authorities called horseplay with friends.
The girl, identified as Bryelle Dean, had just stepped off her bus from Crockett Middle School in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, at about 1 p.m. when she was crushed under the bus’ rear wheels.
Bus driver Jean Louis, 48, stopped the bus after he felt something and the students who had just gotten off screamed at him to stop.
NEWARK – Investigators from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs have found toys which were recalled for potential lead contamination on sale in nine stores in New Jersey following statewide inspections conducted within the past week, Attorney General Anne Milgram and Acting Consumer Affairs Director Larry DeMarzo announced today.
Division investigators, working in conjunction with staff from consumer affairs offices in Camden, Cumberland, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Passaic and Union counties, checked whether recalled toys were available for purchase at 160 stores across New Jersey. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has sole authority to order the recall of toys.Consumers who believe a store is selling a voluntarily recalled toy without having public notice posted can call the Division of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-242-5846 (toll-free within New Jersey) or at 973-504-6200
Starting Wednesday, New Jersey State Police troopers will begin their days with shift briefings that include personal stories from representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to inspire the troopers in their effort to combat drunken driving.
“Many of these Troopers have experienced the horror of DWI as part of their duties, but when the scene is cleared and the reports are written, the tragedy of the incident is truly just beginning for someone somewhere,” said Maj. Matthew Walker, Commander of Troop D on the New Jersey Turnpike. “These family members volunteering with MADD are the faces that our troopers never get to see — the victims that suffer the rest of their lives from a senseless loss.”
Targeted seatbelt enforcement is another very important job that troopers will perform on the state’s highways throughout the whole holiday season. According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) 31,415 passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes across the nation in 2005, and more than half of them were not wearing seat belts.
During the 2005 and 2006 Thanksgiving holidays, there were an unbelievable 16 fatal crashes each year resulting in 41 total deaths. Previous years averaged less than half that amount. About 50 percent of those deaths resulted from accidents involving alcohol.
Throughout the state, extra troopers will strictly enforce hazardous violations, including the failure of vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts. Sober driving and regular seat belt use are two of the most effective ways to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. Research has shown that when lap/shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury is reduced by 50 percent.
FAR HILLS, N.J. (AP) — Police are looking for at least two men who made off with $2.5 million worth of jewelry, gold coins and other valuable items from a Somerset County house.
Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest says the burglary happened late Sunday morning.
Two hooded burglars pried open a garage door that leads to an attached garage. They removed the items from a safe in a locked bedroom.
A video surveillance system captured the robbery, and the getaway car: a mid-1990’s maroon Chevrolet Astro van. Prosecutors say the car came up the driveway soon after one of the homeowners left with a “member of the household staff.”
The van stayed on the property for about 15 minutes. NorthJersey.com
Teen drivers routinely ignore restrictions imposed on provisional licenses, tougher enforcement of existing laws would save many lives, members of the Governor’s Teen Driver Study Commission were told tonight.
About 200 people attended the commission’s hearing at Colts Neck High School in Monmouth County, the first of three to be held this fall.
Commission chairwoman Pam Fischer said the state was not seeking to raise the age at which it licenses teenaged drivers. “There’s been a lot of rumor out there that the commission is going to raise the age to 18,” she said. “It’s not on the table.”
Rather, the commission is studying ways to improve the state’s safety record, she said. That could mean changing current methods of driver education, mandating stricter enforcement of the existing graduated driver’s license program, or requiring new drivers to put stickers or placards on their cars.
Nearly seven years ago, New Jersey joined dozens of other states in adopting a “graduated driver’s license” law. The law grants driving privileges to teens in phases.
At 16, a teen with a permit can drive only if accompanied by an adult. At 17, a teen with a provisional license can drive without an adult but cannot drive late at night or with more than one passenger. Not until 18 can a teen get full driving privileges under the GDL.
Between 2001 and 2006, more than 400 New Jersey teenagers were killed in motor vehicle accidents, according to Fischer, who is also director of the state’s Highway Traffic Safety Division.
Israel – Observing Shabbat but have to call your grandmother? Have to have a cup of coffee when you come back from weekend services? The halachic institute for science and technology has just the thing for you.
A group of engineers at the halachic institute, which specializes in Halacha-friendly technological developments, has come up with several new technological breakthroughs designed to ease the religious public’s life, while keeping with all Shabbat-related mitzvahs.
The gadgets include, among others, a Shabbat air-conditioner, a Shabbat phone and a kosher, Shabbat espresso machine.
Many of the institute’s developments are already in production, both in Israel and abroad, and several have been introduced to the public at a special show arranged by the Manufacturers Association of Israel.
One of the show’s biggest hits was the Shabbat pen, which uses self-dissolving ink that disappears 24 hours after writing. “We’re not talking about life and death situations here, when one’s need to desecrate Shabbat to save a life goes without saying,” added Zioni, “but for all those little grey areas we all encounter in our day-to-day lives. [ynet]
Brooklyn, NY – Sam Habib and Cindy Gluck opened their first Dunkin’ Donuts in 2005. Mr. Habib, 47, is a Muslim immigrant from Egypt, and Ms. Gluck, 34, is a Orthodox Jew from Borough Park, Brooklyn. Both had sunk their entire savings into buying the franchise, on a busy stretch of Church Avenue at East 17th Street in Flatbush.
It was a terrifying gamble. The two had known each other only a few months when Mr. Habib, asked Ms. Gluck, a real estate broker he had met while looking for a location, to join him in business. He knew she was an Orthodox Jew but said he didn’t care.
Cindy Gluck (her real name is Hindy) grew up in Hasidic Williamsburg. At 20, she was married off to a man of her parents’ choosing; four children later, she went into real estate to try to make some money.
“I had never met a Muslim before,” Ms. Gluck said. Mr. Habib chimed in with a laugh: “All her friends told her that she should be careful that her crazy terrorist Arab partner doesn’t put bombs in her packages.”
Under their ground rules, Ms. Gluck takes off Saturdays to celebrate the Sabbath, and Mr. Habib worships at the mosque every Friday. The doughnuts come from a kosher bakery in Borough Park. On Jewish holidays, Mr. Habib technically owns the entire business because Ms. Gluck is not allowed to earn money on those days.
And there is one edict they both obey. “Neither of us is allowed to enjoy the profits of the pork,” Ms. Gluck said. Any money the business makes on the sale of bacon, sausage or ham, is split and given away, hers to her synagogue and to Israel, his to the workers as bonuses.
The pair’s hard work has paid off; last year they opened a second franchise, on Flatbush and Sixth Avenues in Park Slope.
Because of a contract dispute, Mr. Habib and Ms. Gluck are in the process of selling the stores back to Dunkin’ Donuts. And when their doughnut days are done, they plan to continue working together.
“She’s Jewish and I’m Muslim,” Mr. Habib said. “That doesn’t stop us from creating a business.” [NY Times] Vosizneias.com
Basking Ridge, NJ – The largest Hanukkah dreidel in the world stands 18-feet tall in front of the Chabad Jewish Center in Basking Ridge, generating stares and smiles from passers-by.
The dreidel has become a local landmark during the holiday season, rising over the busy intersection of Valley Road and King George Road.
“Hanukkah celebrates the victory of a rag-tag band of Jewish freedom fighters in a struggle against their Syrian-Greek oppressors more than 2,000 ago”, explained Rabbi Mendy Herson, director of Chabad of Greater Somerset County. “The Hellenists tried to outlaw Jewish spirituality, to take the soul out of Judaism. Tradition tells us that Jewish children would study the Torah in hiding. When anti-Jewish forces would find them, they would take out little tops – dreidels in Yiddish – and pretend they were just playing a children’s game. Hence the worldwide practice of playing with dreidels on Hannukah.” [courieronline]Vosizneias.com
AP Gas prices near record highs at a time of year when they typically decline will not deter drivers from hitting the road this Thanksgiving, AAA said Thursday.
“This is the first time that we have seen gas prices tipping over $3 a gallon in November,” Robert L. Darbelnet, president and chief executive of AAA, said in a statement. “But Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for family gatherings, and higher gas will not discourage Americans from reconnecting with their loved ones.”
While travelers will be paying more at the pump, hotels, airfares and car rental prices are mostly declining this year, according to AAA. Holiday hotel rates are down 3 percent for AAA-Rated Three Diamond hotels and up a modest 1 percent at Two Diamond hotels. The average decrease in rental car prices is 12 percent, and airline tickets are down about 7 percent.
Harold Dinzes may be the oldest college kid in New Jersey and is surely one of the most gung-ho.
At 91, Dinzes is a history major at Montclair State University at a time when the percentage of college students age 65 and older has plummeted in New Jersey.
Four days a week, the Passaic man is on campus wearing jeans and a backpack like any other student, drawn by the lure of academics and a conviction that he has discovered a place where he finally belongs. He has even asked the administration if he can be buried at the school.
As he makes his way across campus, Dinzes is greeted by professors, secretaries and classmates who wave and holler, “Hi Harold!” At the academic advising office, the counselors welcome him with hugs and pecks on the cheek. At the library, mature librarians and young interns whisper with him about gems in the stacks. At the student cafe, pals from class plop down beside him to discuss assignments.
“These kids,” he says, referring to everyone on campus under 80, “make me feel like a million bucks.”
There are, of course, other reminders of his age. On his first day at school, he scoped out every bathroom on campus because the water pill he takes for his heart requires a quick response.
“I was so naive when I started here,” he says. “I asked a kid sitting next to me if I had to raise my hand when I had to go to the bathroom. No, the kid said, you can just go. I thought, Wow, it wasn’t like that when I went to high school.”
Sister was favored
Even before Dinzes graduated from Passaic High in the 1930s, he dreamed of going to college but his family needed him to work. His parents could afford to send only one child to school and Dinzes’ sister was the brainier one. Their mother hocked all her jewelry to pay the tab.
In 1942, Dinzes was drafted, spending four years with the Army in the South Pacific. He yearned for books but the only book at the base – besides Army manuals, and he even read those – was a worn copy of Plato. He read it until it came apart in the jungle humidity.
When the war ended, Dinzes signed up as a reservist. But in 1950, with tensions rising in Korea, he was tapped again. His wife was four months’ pregnant with their first child. Dinzes served until 1953.
After his return, Dinzes worked with his father in a plumbing supply shop, which Dinzes eventually took over. His sons worked with him until he closed shop at age 84, trounced by the Home Depot down the street.
Unsure of what to do next, he applied for a job at the Barnes & Noble in Clifton. Five times he was turned down, but he pestered them until they relented. When he’s not in class, he still works there.
At 88, he applied to Montclair State, where his granddaughter is in graduate school. His 83-year-old wife, Doreen, says he checked the mail every day to see if he had been accepted. When the letter finally arrived, he framed it.
He has taken 21 classes — mostly in history, anthropology, archeology and political science — about half the amount needed for graduation.
His wife says sometimes it’s wearing to live with a college boy.
“I have to be quiet in the morning when he’s sleeping or studying, and we don’t have any social life because he always says, ‘I have to go home and study,’ ” she says. “I thought when he retired he’d finally be around more, but he’s always busy with school. I had to take up canasta and mah-jongg to find something to do.”
Last Monday at the lecture hall for his general humanities course, Dinzes headed straight to the front row, the better to hear the professor. He put his cane and veterans hat on the table and laid out his textbook, his binder, his hearing aids, his pencils and highlighter and his three sets of eyeglasses — one for watching the teacher, one for checking his notes and one if the light gets too bright. He swiveled around and offered Life Savers to the two cute coeds sitting behind him, both of whom politely accepted.
Class that day was about how art in the late Roman Empire reflected divisions in society. Though Professor Senta German was animated, some students chatted and some dozed. Not Dinzes. He took notes, chuckled at her jokes and was the only student out of nearly 100 to answer when she asked a question.
When class ended, he repacked his things, making sure to refill his coat pockets with Life Savers so he didn’t have to fumble when he wanted to hand them out.
Most days, he gets to school hours early so he can nab the parking spot he wants. Then he heads to the library to read 20th century military history and figure out where he fits in. Or he pops in to see the academic advisers to bring them bagels and cream cheese and ask after their children. In turn, they tease him about how he’s in line, after Brad Pitt, as a potential boyfriend.
Back home, his wife says he talks incessantly about the professors he loves, the books he’s reading, the knowledge he’s absorbing.
Does she look forward to the day he graduates?
“Are you kidding? He says he’s going to be in college until 2099, and I won’t be here then.”
E-mail: padawer@northjersey.com
Passaic - Bergen Jewish News 
