Columns/Opinions

Next month, the Livingston Trails and Greenways committee will host two Passaic River cleanups on Saturday, April 1, and Saturday, April 22. The first of the year was held on March 18, and there are several more planned throughout the spring. These cleanups, which the committee holds periodically on weekends in spring through fall, offer residents a fun opportunity to get to know a slice of Livingston about which many people are unaware. It is also a necessary task to keep the waters pristine for animals and humans alike.

The Passaic River is home to muskrats, deer, multiple species of birds, and fish. Humans also live in homes off the banks of the river and use it recreationally (and are responsible for the plastic bottle, wrappers, and other pollution of the water). As a result of this use, the river periodically needs a cleaning.

The committee has several canoes and kayaks available to reserve, and people are also welcome to bring their own.

March 24, 1983: The Tribune reported on its front page 40 years ago this week that the Township Council gave final approval to a municipal salary ordinance granting general increases of 7½ percent.

The Council also gave final approval to an ordinance creating the new position of public defender to represent indigent defendants in Livingston Municipal Court.

Two Livingston residents were arrested that week during unrelated drug raids in which Livingston police assisted Essex and Union County investigators.

An unemployed Livingston resident with a history of criminal offenses, including burglary, injured five people the previous Thursday when he drove a pick-up truck through a group of marchers and bystanders in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Livingston Police Chief Albert Fachet reminded local residents that the use of studded snow tires was not allowed on NewJersey roadways after April 1.

At last week’s Township Council meeting, on Monday, March 13, the Council and the public were shown a report from an ad hoc Livingston Cannabis Subcommittee focused on potentially permitting certain classes of cannabis business in town. The subcommittee has been researching the matter for over a year, and presented its findings and recommendations during the meeting.

Flip through the pages of the last few editions of the Tribune, particularly the March 2 issue that was delivered to everyone in town, and you will see countless examples of residents taking up a cause. Volunteerism can take many forms, several of which have been on display this past month in Livingston.

Our township committees are full of hardworking volunteers who give their time to make this community better. The Vision 20/20 Pool Committee comes to mind, as some of its members recently spoke at a Township Council meeting and are currently working to develop recommendations on how to improve the town’s pools. They are still looking for volunteers to join, for anyone interested in shaping the future of our pools.

The Livingston High School Theater gave us the old “razzle dazzle” last week with its brilliant production of Chicago, Teen Edition.

The production captured the time and story with the highest talents and skills of music, dance, costumes, makeup and set, to name a few. From solos and duets to small and full ensembles, the cast and crew were flawless in execution and timing. It was delightful to see the pit band on a level atop the stage, and we were intrigued by the café-style table seating in front of the auditorium.

The leads, including Brooke Lelia as Velma, Jayden Declet as Roxie, and Jonah Ruderman as Billy Flynn, were phenomenal, as was the entire cast and ensemble members. We were also impressed that the production team and pit orchestra were composed primarily of students.

Last weekend, we were thrilled to have four sold out live performances of “The Aristocats Kids,” a one-act show based on the Disney film, presented by the Children’s Theatre of Livingston (CTL). We were, as always, impressed with the amount and spirit of teamwork CTL achieved throughout the show, both on stage and behind it.

CTL was founded over 15 years ago to bring opportunities to the youth in town to experience all levels of theater in a workshop setting, and is supported by the Township Council, Board of Education, Arts Council of Livingston, and Healthy Community Healthy Youth (HCHY). It is a wonderful example of what makes this community so special and interconnected, and we are excited each year to see it in action.

During the Monday, March 6, meeting of the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education, the preliminary budget for the 2023-24 academic year was presented and discussed. In all, it is expected to total more than $144 million, an estimated annual increase of $129 on the average home in Livingston. The main cost drivers, according to the district, were increases of over two percent to staff salary and health benefits, as well as general cost increases to supplies and technology.

Despite these increases, the tax impact is rising at a lower rate than previous years. According to the school district’s business administrator (who resigned from the district to pursue other opportunities at Monday’s meeting), that improvement was due to an increase in renewables, which allow the tax impact to be spread “amongst a larger pot of money.”

While the West Essex Tribune’s regular readership will not notice any changes to this week’s issue (other than a larger page count), some are picking up our paper for the first time. This week’s edition is what we in the Trib office call a “TMC,” which stands for Total Market Coverage. It is the first of four newspapers this year that we will send to every residence in Livingston, whether or not you subscribe. So for those who are new, allow us to tell you why this paper is worth reading as you wait for that bagel to finish toasting.

Mitch Singer of Springfield, Virginia, a former resident of Livingston and a

subscriber, wrote to the newspaper this week about a feature in the recent “Celebrate Livingston’s History” section.

“I loved the ‘Salute to the Greatest Generation’ article in last week’s issue,” Singer wrote. “My dad and his older brother were World War II veterans, so the piece immediately resonated with me. In particular, the story of S/Sgt. John F. Seiter.

“I brought this story to a longtime friend, Walter Hill of Arlington, Virginia, whom I worked with for 17 years at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington. Like Mr. Seiter, Walter’s father, the late Fred M. Hill, of Macon, Georgia, also served in the 94th Infantry Division. Mr. Hill was in the 302nd Infantry Regiment (Company I), while, as noted in the article, Mr. Seiter was in the 2nd Battalion, headquarters company in the 301st Infantry Regiment.

Beginning with the February 13 Township Council meeting, a new recording setup was installed in Town Hall, designed to improve livestreaming capabilities. There are now fixed cameras mounted throughout the room, and improved microphones are expected to arrive for installation in the coming weeks. An employee, situated in the back of the room, operates the cameras. The employee essentially serves as the “director” for the video that is streamed to the public and available to view on the Livingston Township, NJ, Facebook page.