Sunday, April 14, 2013
Resident urges anti-shelter killing legislation and expresses about new rules over recording ordinance.
Mayor McCarthy, Members of the Town Council and Ted Ehrenburg, Thank you all for working to bring positive resolution to the animal shelter management controversy. As mentioned previously, I am an unbiased town resident who cares about our town, the animals and our reputation, and I come with over 10 years of professional animal welfare experience on a national and local level. I have no personal interest in which group runs the shelter, and I was not involved with the animal shelter as a volunteer. I apologize that I have been unable to attend council meetings recently, but I wanted to reach out again to offer my unending support to help with the animal sheltering plans for our town and the towns we serve. I would like to recommend for …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Parent bemoans School Board actions.
The Board of Education tells us they are going to lay off anywhere from 80 to 100 teachers because of budget shortfalls from past budgets. The BOE has $10-million more now than they had two years ago! After public outrage, they have an emergency meeting. They found some money and now they don’t have to lay off as many teachers. Only a week later and the BOE has saved the teachers. The BOE, our heros??? How did they even introduce a $96 million budget and forget they needed teachers? The BOE has solutions to their budget problems. First, they move the BOE election from April to November. This amounts to a money grab. By moving the election to November, the public no longer has the right to vote on the BOE budget, and the BOE will increase…
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A parent bemoans the prospect of a schools austerity budget and hopes that the future brings a community rallying together.
Getting your life in order is like Winter; it's a time consuming thing, and you don't get out much. So, after a long hiatus from sticking my nose into public business, I celebrated Spring by attending the March 19 Board of Education meeting. Now I confess to being a bit dibble-brained when it comes to district budgetary matters; whether I'm being hoodwinked and railroaded or whether folks are telling it to me straight. Frankly, I've always been satisfied with letting the vocal armchair-math-whizzes of the community duke it out at these meetings. I'm more of a 'broad strokes' kinda guy, myself. PowerPoint slides give me a splitting headache. But the other day I was sitting in the cramped cement-block office of Mr. Dave Tiene, my son's …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Former School board member accuses Superintendent Bing of spreading incorrect information.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, March 19
The following letter was submitted to Patch by former Bloomfield School Board member Susan Wolf. ------------------------- The following letter was submitted to Patch by former Bloomfield School Board member Susan Wolf. ------------------------- The Budget letter that Superintendent Bing posted on the Website is false and inaccurate. The School Budget Meeting on March 12 was an attempt to mislead and confuse the public regarding the current budget. There has been a complete lack of transparency and accountability. Mr. Bing has accused the prior board of reducing necessary facility projects. This is simply not true. The leaky roof that plagued the high school for many years prior to 2008 was replaced. The fence around the high school was …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
A thrift shop expert declares NJ a shopping and saving mecca
When I found $20 on the sidewalk, I thought of Jenny DeMaio. The best-dressed girl in my high school, Jenny has moved to the area, and I ran into her recently. Even after nearly 25 years, I remembered and mentioned her sense of style. “And I did it on a dime,” she said, laughing. I was skeptical. “No, really,” she said. “I remain the queen of thrift store shopping. Give me an afternoon and twenty bucks and I’ll prove it to you.” With the newfound $20 in my hand, I called Jenny and we made a date. Over the course of the afternoon, she shared thrift-shopping tips. New Jersey is “thrift store Mecca,” says Jenny, as we set out for a thrift store. Not Manhattan, I wondered. “No,” explains Jenny. “In New Jersey, thrift stores are often large…
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Hilltop Conservancy Treasurer Theresa Trapp pens Letter to the Editor regarding county deer hunt.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, February 14
Essex County’s 2013 deer hunt has come to a close, once again removing many of this over-abundant species from our reservations (Hilltop – 61, South Mountain – 43). Contrary to naysayers, deer have not become extinct because of the program, and there are small signs that our nature preserves are beginning to recover from decades of browse damage. Contraceptives are sometimes proposed as an alternative to hunting. However, we need to acknowledge that non-lethal methods to control deer populations would involve significant investment of taxpayer dollars, particularly immuno-contraception (e.g., GonaCon). Each GonaCon inoculation costs more than $1,000 per dose (including locating, immobilizing, inoculating and collaring). In addition, each…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
A column posted on 'The Daily Beast' touts officials like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the solution to the GOP's problems.
- OPINION
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Wednesday, January 30
Does the Republican Party need more leaders like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? It does, according to an column posted on The DailyBeast.com Wednesday. Columnist John Avlon wrote in the article that Christie is the example other Republicans should be looking to amidst the GOP's "existential crisis." "The 2012 ass-kicking is forcing Republicans to confront their deepest demons—namely, that they cannot simply write off whole regions of the country and remain a viable national party," Avlon wrote. "They cannot afford to alienate the fastest-growing communities of color in the USA. They cannot win a war against modernity." Avlon noted that Christie has maintained largely favorable ratings from voters in a state that went to President Barack …
Friday, January 4, 2013
This mom around town is planning back to school lunches and has some tips to share.
In the spirit of the new year and resolutions galore, we're looking at interesting, healthy lunch box options. Add yours below: Peanut butter and jelly gets boring. Nutella has been a great backup especially paired with some strawberries, but that gets old too. Regardless, both options will be in my pantry for busy mornings but I need some more interesting solutions. Do you have any good lunch box ideas? I asked around and some other moms shared their tips with me. Elise S., mom of two, told me how she brightens up peanut butter and jelly or tuna sandwiches with a little trick. “I sometimes cut them into different shapes with cookie cutters or use a little gadget that cuts the sandwich into a circle with no crusts.” Kids love the “no crust…
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Family of 16-year-old Christina Lembo, killed in Broughton Ave. car crash, thanks community for support
- OPINION
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
To the editor: Facing the loss of a loved one is truly a time where one's faith can be tested. Each day continues to be a struggle for our family to accept the tragic loss of our beautiful Christina. While we believe she is in a much better place, it continues to be difficult for us to let go. Although we are struggling with this deep sadness, we find comfort in knowing how fortunate we and Christina have been to know all of you. We also would like to acknowledge the people whom we have never had the pleasure of meeting, who so graciously supported us in so many ways during our time of need. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your generous support, kind gestures, beautiful sentiments and expressions of love …
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Republican congressman applauds constituent's efforts that helped get him re-elected.
- OPINION
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
I am writing to thank the voters of the 11th Congressional District for supporting my re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. I am pleased now to represent many new constituents in Essex, Passaic and Sussex Counties in January. My heart goes out to those who are in need and to so many who were able to vote Tuesday and keep their community and America strong, despite incredible obstacles. Our focus in Congress continues to be jobs and the economy, getting people back to work, government “out of their way,” lowering taxes, and creating a climate where small businesses can survive and flourish. That effort needs to be bipartisan. I am grateful to the voters of the new 11th Congressional District who have allowed me to continue …
Karen Banda
11:34 am on Friday, April 19, 2013
Why would the Patch editor remove the first comment AFTER everyone replied to it? Now all you have is a string of meaningless comments that have nothing to do with the wonderful letter written by Ms. Cruz. The first comment by "Danise" was off base and a personal attack at Ms. Cruz having nothing to do with her letter. Others responded to that first comment. Who monitors this site? There doesn't … more ›