Ravi Trial Begins, Ridgewood BOE Passes Prelim Budget This Week

Missed any of what happened this past week in Ridgewood and Glen Rock? Here's the fastest way to catch up.

Schools

The Ridgewood school district plans on . Taxes are expected to rise $195 for the average homeowner. The science program for K-8 will be new and there will be no projected impact on programs, administrators said. Outside of the nine aides, no staffing cuts are expected.

. Incumbent Bob Hutton is asking voters to give him a chance to finalize the teacher contracts that have dragged on since they expired in July of 2011. He'll take on Jim Morgan, a former CFO in media whose questioned a lot of board budgeting presentations, turf fields, communication with residents, and technology plans. Vince Loncto, who was appointed to Charlie Reilly's seat in fall of 2011, will take on lawyer Gina Damasco for a three-year term.

We conducted a bit of analysis on the impact the state's salary cap on superintendents might have locally. . Fishbein's expires in 2013, Verducci's in 2014. Many expect some of the state's top superintedents to flee to Connecticut and New York – and some already have – to avoid the cuts.

Sports schedules in Glen Rock have been changed in anticipation of the high school fields closing on April 1, reported The Glen Rock Gazzette.

The Gazzette also reported the school board passed the preliminary budget, which was virtually . It did provide an update on special education happenings on Monday.

Ridgewood is . There are indications it will not finish the work before April 1, as has been projected.

Police and Fire/Courts

The . Ravi is accused of spying on gay roommate Tyler Clementi, of Ridgewood, and targeting him because of his sexuality. Ravi faces up to 10 years in prison if he's convicted on bias intimidation and invasion of privacy charges.

Firefighters in Ridgewood initially had home on Monday. The fire was located and put out before it could spread. There was minor smoke damage, fire officials said.

The Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department ran from scene to scene in 2011, . 

on the corner of Prospect. St. and Locust Road on Friday. She suffered "minor injuries" according to the GRPD.

The Ridgewood Police Department . Like them here.

Government

The State Health Commissioner , against the wishes of Valley Hospital and Englewood Hospital. Governor Chris Christie , dismissing fears Valley and Englewood could see disastrous financial impacts. Englewood has filed a last-minute appeal and a Valley spokeswoman told northjersey.com the Ridgewood hospital also plans to.

The Ridgewood Village Council is considering . The software, however, is nearly $20,000 and is 'too rich' for the blood of Mayor Keith Killion. Councilmen Paul Aronsohn and Tom Riche support the move, though readers polled disagreed.

The Glen Rock Borough Council was apprehensive about remodeling its shade tree policy to force homeowners to get permits and levy fines against cutting down healthy trees, according to The Glen Rock Gazzette. The discussion is several months back. Both councils found there was too much public intrusion on private land.

Village Manager as a Commissioner. There's some question as to whether taking such a position constitutes 'outside employment,' which per his contract would require he notifies the council in advance and they approve it. The council was not notified, members said.

Glen Rock introducted its capital budget on Wednesday, reports

The Glen Rock Gazzette. A bond ordinances was introduced to cover $1.28M in capital. The council declined to fund nearly $180,000 in department requests, The Gazzette reported.

Business

Readers in Ridgewood and Glen Rock said in the two communities, . Excellent Ridgewood Italian restaurant followed, picking up 27 percent of the vote.

Baste Gourmet, specializing in chicken, . The owner says they'll be trying a new concept at the space on Garber Square, but did not elaborate.