Pinned topic Mar. 31 2008 Exclusive By VIN News Lakewood, NJ - The following is an update to last week's blockbuster news, in which VIN reported on a purportedly non-Jewish individual who had been living with his wife and children as a Torah-observant, Orthodox Jew in Lakewood's Jewish community for several years. VIN News has now learned that the man in question, currently being held by the...

Lakewood, NJ - A judge approved the expedited transfer of about half a nearly $6 million affordable housing deal between Toms River and Lakewood, leaving the remaining $2.6 million to go through a more thorough application process.The $3.2 million will go toward a 72-unit complex in Lakewood currently under construction. The decision by state Superior Court Judge Vincent J. Grasso was made to...

New York, NY - The Council today voted to approve Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan.Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan will charge drivers every time they enter Manhattan south of 60th street. Cars would be charged $8 and trucks $21 on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.State lawmakers in Albany must also approve the plan in order for the city to get $354 million in federal...

New York, NY - Woody Allen asked a federal court today to strip a clothing company of at least $10 million for using his image on billboards and on the Internet.The lawsuit said Allen, 72, was not contacted by the company and did not consent to the use of his image dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a long beard and black hat and Yiddish text meaning "the holy rebbe." The words...

Ridgeville, NY - A 350-room indoor destination resort with a 60,000 square foot water park and family entertainment sphere was announced today by Bridgeville USA LLC, will be coming on 18 acres off Rt. 17 exit 107 in Bridgeville. The resort will also include a spa featuring anti-age treatments and advanced DNA testing, a high definition 4-D theater, expanded resort amenities, acidities, shopping...

New York, NY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is hopping mad that the city began installing pedestrian islands on his district's streets without prior notice. "This is not the first time that [the DOT] proceeded to make major changes to important thoroughfares in my district without any consultation, and I had thought this would no longer be the case," Silver said in a letter to...

New York - Decreased funding and increased regulations are strangling the Head Start education program for low-income families, program officials say.The Bush administration has cut funding for this fiscal year by $10 million nationwide. The cut comes on the heels of little or no increase in funding since 2002. Head Start is supported almost entirely by federal money.The squeeze crimps already...

Israel - Police investigating suspicions that a predator is wandering about in Bnei Brak said Sunday that they believe there are more cases of indecent assault in that city than in any other locale in Israel. "The number of offenses in the Bnei Brak area is higher than any other city by tens of percentage points, and it is clear to us that we do not know about many cases that are not even...

Kuwait - According to Al Arabiya TV, Kuwait has unveiled a plan to build a 1,001-meter (3,284 foot) tower. Its height is a reference to the classic work of Arabic literature, One Thousand and One Nights. Three blades that will be built near the top of the tower will carry a mosque, a church and a synagogue to signify the unity of the three monotheistic religions...

New York - Ask any parent to name the greatest health risk they fear for their children, and most likely the answer will be “cancer.” But in reality, a much more dangerous health risk faces our children today, one, in fact, for which we—as parents and as a community—are largely responsible: obesity.1 Obesity kills more Americans each year than AIDS, cancer and all home accidents...

Bern, Switzerlan - The World Jewish Congress criticized Switzerland for participating in a gas deal with Iran that it condemned as a propaganda triumph for Tehran's hard-liners.Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey traveled to Iran to sign the deal. Photos of the ceremony with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked a furor in Switzerland. "It became clear immediately that the visit by the...

Flatbush, NY - Lawyers have announced today the filing of another ten million dollar lawsuit against yeshiva Torah Temimah (based in the flatbush area of brooklyn) in connection with the alleged abuse of a minor child by rabbi yidi kolko. According to the complaint: the victim, identified as john doe no. 6, was enrolled as a student in torah temimah, where rabbi kolko was a rabbi and teacher...

Ellenville, NY - The chief of the Ellenville Fire Department was hospitalized and issued a traffic ticket after striking another vehicle en route to an emergency call, injuring two people who also had to be hospitalized. Ellenville Chief of Police Phil Mattracion said that Fire Chief Steven Krom was traveling northbound on U.S. Route 209 while responding to a call. Krom, who had his emergency...

New York - The scandal-scarred State Police is suspected of harboring a renegade unit that for years has secretly compiled personal information on top New York officials - possibly including Gov. Paterson. the Dirty Tricks Scandal is far broader than the now well-known use of the State Police against Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. "There is a climate of fear out there involving the State...

Oslo, Norway - The trial three men facing charges related to a shooting at an Oslo synagogue and plotting attacks on the capital's U.S. or Israeli embassies in 2006, opened today. Afan Bhatti, 30, and a second man were indicted on suspicion of either firing 13 shots at the main synagogue during the night of Sept. 17, 2006, or being an accomplice. No one was injured in the attack. Bhatti and...