By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

ROME, Italy (Sept. 8, 2010) -- Hello from the Eternal City. It's now approaching midnight, so in deference to my closing eyelids, I'll make this dispatch a little more succinct (but just a little, because there is so much to write).

On Wednesdays during most weeks of the year, Catholics are able to attend an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The frenzy to attain tickets (which are free), to pass through security, to secure a seat and to sneak a decent view of the pontiff could be laughable if it weren't for the fact that many of these pilgrims have waited their entire life to just steal a glimpse of the successor of St. Peter.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

ROME, Italy (Sept. 7, 2010) -- Hello faithful readers. John Soltes here in Rome, dispatching from "The Church Up Close" seminar sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. The first day of the seminar (yesterday, Sept. 6) was focused on introductions among the participants, introductions to the Roman Catholic Church itself and introductions to what we have in store for the coming days. It was a chock-full day of lectures, interesting question-and-answer sessions and plenty of good times over good food.

Today's activities were inspiring and engaging, focusing mostly on the history of the Vatican and also one of its more controversial departments, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

CARLSTADT (Sept. 2, 2010) — While justice may very well be blind, merchant Ronald Radomski views local police as “blind to the injustice” he has suffered in trying to solve what would seem like a clear-cut $4,000 bad check case.

Radomski, owner of Cutting Techniques, Inc. on Industrial Road in Carlstadt, said the case allegedly involves a New York City man, who, he complained, keeps snubbing his request to pay up without even trying to hide.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

(Sept. 2, 2010) — A tropical storm warning has been issued for all of the coastal regions of New Jersey, in anticipation of the glancing blow from Hurricane Earl. Currently, the Category 3 storm has sustained winds of 145 mph and is headed toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

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RUTHERFORD (Sept. 2, 2010) — The Rutherford Labor Day organizing committee has announced the line-up for entertainment that will be at the event. At the Hutzel Memorial Band Shell in Lincoln Park, String Theory will perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; followed by The Rum Runners (Jazz Trio) with Ashley Pettet singing from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; and the Kootz Band from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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RUTHERFORD (Sept. 1, 2010, 9:55 a.m.) — The Borough of Rutherford’s revised 2010 collection schedule will be in next week’s The Leader.  Please be advised all borough offices are closed every Friday through Dec. 31.

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By Jennifer Vazquez / Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON (Aug. 31, 2010, 4:25 p.m.) — The Borough of North Arlington is in its initial stages of commencing phase III of an expansive Ridge Road streetscape project. The development has come on the heels of the borough council approving a $670,000 bond, during the Aug. 19 borough council meeting, which includes a down payment for the continuation of the project.

According to the bond ordinance, the money will be used to continue revamping Ridge Road from Garden Terrace to Hendel Avenue.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

TRENTON (Aug. 27, 2010, 1:25 p.m.) — Governor Chris Christie has fired Bret Schundler, the commissioner of the state Department of Education, according to an official press release sent today, Aug. 27. The firing came after New Jersey missed out on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding in the "Race to the Top" educational initiative, a competitive grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Aug. 26, 2010, 11:10 a.m.) — When Lyndhurst resident Sam Corkin received his third quarter tax bill and saw the amount — $385.66 more than the last bill — he was frustrated.

To protest, the retired grandfather wrote a check to pay the amount of last quarter’s bill, then filled a black bucket with change equal to the increase and headed to town hall to pay his taxes, Wednesday, Aug. 18.

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Aug. 26, 2010, 9:15 a.m.) — John Blevis, who was placed on a paid leave of absence from Lyndhurst High School in January 2007, will return to the classroom this school year. But, that classroom will be in a different building.

An administrative law judge has recommended that the school district not proceed with its tenure charges against Blevis, who has 20 years of experience. So, a settlement has been proposed that would allow Blevis to continue to teach.

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RUTHERFORD (Aug. 25, 2010, 3:20 p.m.) — The storied history of The Leader Newspaper, South Bergen’s premier weekly publication, has seen a full suite of improvements and enhancements throughout its more than 100 years of publishing. For several years, it has lived up to its motto of being “The Pulse of the Meadowlands” for the local area.

Now, the newspaper, which serves eight communities in southern Bergen County, is ready to take a bold step into the 21st century media marketplace — and it has a few new friends to help it along the way.

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RUTHERFORD (Aug. 24, 2010, 2:50 p.m.) — The Rutherford Downtown Partnership will host a special event at the 35th-annual Labor Day Street Fair on Sept. 6. The partnership has been working these past few weeks in cooperation with Aetna Health Insurance to find the way to accommodate Aetna’s Healthy Food Fight (Healthy Recipe Regional Cook-off) at the Labor Day event.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (Aug. 23, 2010, 5:20 p.m.) — It has been bandied about as a transportation concept since at least 2003. On Sept. 7, that concept becomes policy.

That is when New Jersey Transit buses 163 and 164 in East Rutherford and Carlstadt will travel along new routes, going to and leaving the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

HACKENSACK (Aug. 19, 2010, 10:55 a.m.) — If it were up to most of the public officials in the South Bergen area, housing would be taken off the suggestion list for the future of the Meadowlands Sports Complex. But, realistically, is “a mini-city with 5 million square feet of housing” an option for the tract of land in the eastern portion of East Rutherford?

Jon F. Hanson, who heads Gov. Chris Christie’s advisory commission on gaming, sports and entertainment throughout the state, recently spoke of the financial advantages of adding a housing component in the Meadowlands, according to news reports. His comments, and the conceptual plans to privatize some of the public assets at the complex, such as the racetrack and IZOD Center, prompted Bergen County Freeholder Bernadette McPherson to draft a resolution calling for the abandonment of “any plan for housing in the Meadowlands.”

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 19, 2010, 8:50 a.m.) — Rutherford’s civilian police director, John Thompson, and the borough’s governing body agreed Tuesday, Aug. 10 to a new set of contract terms for the next three years. The council voted 4 to 2 in favor of the contract, with Councilwoman Kimberly Birdsall and Councilman John Parnofiello, both Democrats, dissenting.

The contract is Thompson’s first as director of the police department. Until now, the terms of his employment have been governed by ordinance only.

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Aug. 18, 2010, 4:35 p.m.) — Details will be hammered out in the weeks to come, but the Lyndhurst Board of Education supports the creation of a uniform policy for the public school district.

The 6-2 vote came after hours of public comment from parents and students; approximately 100 people attended the meeting. James Cunniff abstained from voting.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 18, 2010, 3:45 p.m.) — The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced Tuesday, Aug. 17 that work on the replacement of the Route 3 bridge over the Passaic River has started. The current moveable bridge will be replaced with a fixed span, which will connect Clifton with Rutherford and Lyndhurst.

The NJDOT estimates that 142,000 vehicles use the bridge every single day, making it one of the most heavily traveled spans in the state.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 18, 2010, 10:40 a.m.) — A 22-year-old Wallington resident has been arrested for DWI in connection with a horrific accident on Route 17 that took place Sunday, Aug. 15 at approximately 9:30 a.m., according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

The Rutherford Police Department responded to the scene of the motor vehicle collision, which occurred right near the Route 3 East ramp on Route 17 South. A red Jeep Cherokee had left the roadway and flipped over. The vehicle, according to police, had come to rest on its roof.

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Aug. 17, 2010, 11:45 a.m.) — The body of a 49-year-old North Arlington female was found at the Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst on the Passaic River bank Sunday, Aug. 15. The woman had been reported missing earlier in the day by a man who identified himself as her boyfriend and told police that he had last spoken to the woman at the park on Saturday, according to police. The cause of death is unknown. An autopsy will be performed. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Homicide Squad was at the scene to investigate.