Car backed into Newark Bay
After being rescued from a car he accidently drove to Newark Bay on July 14, the driver was rushed to Bayonne Medical Center complaining of chest pains.
The Bayonne Fire Department responded to the 16th Street Park board ramp and found that a friend of the driver had already rescued the man from the submerged 2192 BMW wagon at about 7:30 p.m.
EMTs treated the victim on the scene then took him to BMC, said Fire Chief Greg Rogers.
“The driver of the vehicle was reportedly backing down the ramp to retrieve a 22-foot 4-Winns Sundowner Boat, when the vehicle became submerged,” Rogers said. “The owner of the vehicle and boat was also at the scene.
The vehicle and boat trailer were submerged in about four feet of water, requiring specially trained firefighters to don water rescue suits in order to secure the vehicle with strapping for the tow truck. The vehicle was then successfully pulled from the water.
While it was reported that there were no noticeable fluid leaks from the vehicle, the NJDEP and Hudson Regional were notified as a matter of routine.
Korean War Veterans hold Annual Daisy Drive
The Annual Daisy Drive will have Korean veterans collecting at Stop & Shop and Wal-Mart. Several times each year, the hospitalized veterans from Lyons Hospital and Menlo Park Veterans’ Home come to Bayonne, where they are treated to a dinner with all the trimmings and provided with cash cards which they can use to purchase items they need.
“We generally have music for them to enjoy their dinner,” said Barry Dugan, a member of the Bayonne Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League. “We’ve been collecting usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Stop & Shop and at Wal-Mart. A lot depends on our members volunteering.”
City to engage pilot program for feral cats
Shying away from a performance of the classic Broadway production of “Cats,” the Bayonne City Council is poised to launch a pilot program that will seek to control the feral cat population. After several years of contemplating their options, the city council will use a $16,500 grant from PetSmart Charities to test a trap, neuter and release program in a limited portion of the city.
Joe Waks, director of municipal services, said the city would engage the aid of the Hudson County Animal League, which would work closely with the city’s animal control office to test the program in section in the southwest section of the city.
“It is clear the only way to control the population is to spay and neuter them,” Waks said.
The City Council is expected to vote on the measure its July 18 meeting, and the program, if approved, will kick off in September.
The pilot program will run for one full year, Waks said.
“We want to see if we can regulate the feral cat population in the area,” he said. “This is the method that has been recommended by the State Department of Health and Human Services.”
This latest effort comes after several attempts to set up a citywide program failed. In July 2011, the city proposed an animal control pilot program that would have fined people for feeding feral cats, limiting caregivers. The city approved of and established other restrictions that brought out the ire of animal rights’ groups throughout the area.
After discussions with a number of local and regional animal rights groups, the City Council decided to cancel that proposed pilot program and acknowledge the ordinance as originally proposed as having the potential to hinder individuals in the community who are currently working to control feral cat populations. The city then proposed to work with recognized animal advocacy groups to help manage these populations. This latest pilot program appears to be a continuation of that policy.
Website established for cancer prevention effort
The Madeline Fiadini LoRe Foundation for Cancer Prevention (MFL Foundation) has launched a new and easy to navigate web site that will serve to inform the public of the availability of and financial support for cancer screenings.
The website, www.mflfoundation.com, explains the mission of the foundation, which is making cancer prevention programs, tests, and screenings available to individuals who may otherwise be denied due to economic and employment issues. “These individuals are uninsured and above the poverty level with no access to costly tests and/or screenings,” commented LoRe. “It is the foundation’s goal to make these tests available to those individuals”
The foundation, located in Hudson County, has entered into partnerships with Bayonne, Jersey City, and Hoboken University Medical Centers to provide financial assistance to individuals in need of screenings including mammography, colonoscopy, and PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen). In addition to providing financial support for these screenings, the foundation recently partnered with a dentist and Paramount Oral Surgery to provide free oral screenings during April 2012, Oral Cancer Awareness Month.
The website details the simple requirements for financial assistance, including proof that the individual to be tested is not covered by insurance or a government medical program and the testing is supported by a doctor’s prescription. Financial support is also available for uncovered doctor and anesthesiologist fees for colonoscopy screenings for charity care patients.
The process begins with a downloadable screening application available on the website in both English and Spanish.
Madeline Fiadini LoRe, founder of the foundation, was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 32. She learned she had breast cancer 10 years ago. The fight to beat that diagnosis only strengthened her resolve to bring the best possible care to Bayonne area residents.
Losing her brother to liver cancer a decade ago spurred her resolve to begin an aggressive fund-raising effort that resulted in the establishment of the John C. Fiadini Center for Out Patient Oncology opened at Bayonne Hospital. Subsequently, the hospital dedicated its new Madeline Fiadini LoRe Women’s Center in her honor. The Center offers preventative screenings for a number of types of cancer.
The foundation works closely with the medical community in Hudson County, specifically the Jersey City Medical Center, Bayonne Medical Center, and Hoboken University Medical Center. All individuals who can access these facilities are potentially eligible for Foundation support.
Assembly panel to consider casino gambling Meadowlands
Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Chairman Ruben J. Ramos Jr. on Thursday announced his committee will hold a July 19 hearing to discuss the prospect of bringing casino gaming to the Meadowlands.
The Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee will meet on July 19 at noon in the Hambletonian Room at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford. The committee will hear testimony from invited speakers on the prospect of gaming at the Meadowlands.
“We need to at least discuss the potential for casino-style gaming in North Jersey and its potential to create jobs and economic growth and position New Jersey’s gaming industry to better compete against other states,” said Ramos (D-Hudson). “Ignoring the fact the out-of-state competition exists is foolhardy. Expanding gaming options to the Meadowlands could strengthen New Jersey against that competition that has already lured customers away. Any option to bring additional revenue and create jobs deserves careful consideration, and this is where the discussion starts.”
“The reality is that Atlantic City is losing many of its North Jersey customers to newly-opened casinos in Pennsylvania and New York,” said Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), a member of the panel and longtime advocate of expanding gaming to North Jersey. “We ignore that fact at own peril. Pennsylvania recently surpassed New Jersey to become the second-largest casino market in the country behind Las Vegas. Bringing gaming to the Meadowlands can help us reclaim the market and bring back much-needed revenue to New Jersey. Starting this discussion is common sense.”
No bills will be considered at the hearing, but Caputo is sponsoring legislation (ACR-53) asking voters whether to amend the state Constitution to allow the establishment and operation of casinos in Bergen County.
HCCD named new executive director of Center for Business & Industry
Ana Chapman recently assumed responsibility for the Hudson County Community College Center for Business & Industry (CBI). She succeeds Nicholas Micucci, who retired last month.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Chapman to the College and to CBI as Executive Director. She brings more than 15 years experience in program and project management as well as training, staff development and adult education with her to this position, all of which will be very beneficial to our business community and to the College,” said HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert.
Currently working on her Ph.D. in the use of creativity in staff and organizational development, Chapman holds a Master of Arts degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from New School University.
Prior to coming to HCCC, Chapman was Project Director at City University of New York School of Professional Studies. In that capacity, she developed and implemented learning programs and agency-wide policies and procedures for the New York City Human Resources Administration Office of Child Support Enforcement, where she and her staff worked on-site.
Chapman has also worked as a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist for Booz Allen Hamilton – ACF-Region II Head Start and Early Head Start Technical Assistance Network, as Program Coordinator for the Consortium for Worker Education’s Bronx/Yonkers Child Care Facilitated Enrollment Project, and Program Director for Alianza Domincana’s World Trade Center Community Relief Station (a program for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks) and Satellite Child Care Program (a welfare-to-work initiative). She was also Deputy Director of External Operations and Staff Development & Training Coordinator for the New York City Department of Health’s Family Day Care Registration Office and was an adjunct professor at Nyack College.
HCCC Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Eric Friedman said that Chapman has already been out in the community meeting with business leaders and becoming acquainted with their needs.
“Ana is planning a ‘Lunch and Learn’ series for this fall. She is designing the sessions so that members of the business community can get to know one another and learn about innovations in workplace and workforce development,” Dr. Friedman stated, adding that more information about the series will be available soon.
Additionally, Ana and her team are planning for a Job Fair for current CBI program participants enrolled in REA (Re-employment Act Orientation). Participants are Hudson County residents who are currently unemployed. More than 20 employers are expected to attend the fair at the Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center on Oct. 17.
Sires opposes repeal of Health Care Reform Act
Last week, Rep. Albio Sires voted against H.R. 6079, the Patients’ Rights Repeal Act, to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was enacted into law two years ago. The bill would repeal important benefits of the ACA, which was recently upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court.
“The Affordable Care Act is comprehensively reforming our health care system to ensure that every American has access to quality and affordable health care. Repealing this groundbreaking law would have devastating impacts on the 13th District,” stated Congressman Sires. “Since enactment, the law has already benefited seniors, young adults, and small businesses, including 132,831 Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey that received a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs.”
In March 2010, Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act to reform our nation’s health care system. Since enactment, millions of Americans are already benefitting from this law. In particular, insurers are no longer permitted to discriminate against those who are sick, including up to 17 million children nationwide; small businesses are receiving billions of dollars in tax credits to provide health care coverage for their employees; and seniors are saving money on prescription drugs and receiving free preventative care through Medicare. In New Jersey, 985,987 Medicare beneficiaries would lose this important free benefit.
In addition to abolishing these critical new benefits, H.R. 6079 would also eliminate the requirement that insurance companies spend 80 percent of premium dollars on benefits as opposed to administrative costs and executive compensation. 44,998 New Jersey residents with private insurance would lose $7,670,066 in rebates that are anticipated to be issued this summer as a result of this provision. Furthermore, by repealing the Affordable Care Act, 73,000 young adults in New Jersey would see their insurance provided under health care reform revoked.
“This marks the second time that the majority has attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act this Congress. The Supreme Court has upheld this law and now we must move forward and concentrate on legislation that supports jobs,” expressed Congressman Sires. “Our nation cannot afford to focus on efforts to revert back to a system where insurance companies’ needs were placed before people.”
This repeal would eliminate: prohibition on pre-existing conditions, prohibition on gender-based premiums, coverage for children under the age of 26, closure of Medicare Donut Hole, no lifetime or annual limits and preventive health services.