Columns/Opinions

Earlier this month, during its February 7 meeting, the Livingston Public Schools (LPS) Board of Education was presented with research from students and parents on equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in the schools. Lisa Steiger, the district’s assistant superintendent for equity, noted that district officials are working to build equity and inclusion through four main components: community and culture; curriculum; professional development; and student engagement. Steiger added that concerns raised by Livingston High School’s Black Student Union – that some students did not feel like they had a voice in the school – had shaped some of the changes that were presented to the Board.

It is officially the Year of the Rabbit, and after a few years of muted public celebrations due to the pandemic, we were thrilled to see people out in full force celebrating. Over the past decade or so, Lunar New Year has become ingrained in our community. From township events, to programs at the public library, to children sharing fun information about holiday traditions in school, we have continued to expand our calendar to include this unique cultural celebration. During the last weekend in January, Livingston’s annual Chinese Cultural Day celebration was held at Livingston High School, and a Year of the Rabbit celebration was held at Heritage Middle School. The events featured family-friendly activities, Chinese fare, and a spectacular, colorful performance of dance, song and more.

Last week, Livingston Township employees participated in National Wear Red Day. The annual event at Town Hall, done on the first Friday in February (American Heart Month), was part of the Go Red for Women initiative, a nationwide campaign that encourages women to make at least one change that will lower the risk of heart disease. While some risk factors for heart disease cannot be controlled, there are several changes you can make to help lower your risk, such as getting the recommended amount of physical activity each week; choosing to eat more nutritious foods (easier said than done on the weekend of the Super Bowl!); and quitting smoking.

Early Sunday morning, a person in a ski mask threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, in what was ultimately a failed arson attempt. We are relieved that there was no physical harm to people or property. Yet, there is undoubtedly untold emotional damage as a result of the crime.

As the synagogue’s rabbi, Marc Katz, said, while everything worked as it should in regard to security, that cannot protect the Jewish community from growing despondent about the hate some feel for them.

Don Ben-Shimon, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, noted that the incident occurred “amidst a climate of intimidation and intolerance, and a rising tide of anti-Jewish hate crimes and hate speech against Jews.”

This past Monday’s Township Council meeting came with a few scheduling changes. The closed executive session, where Council members hold private discussions for reasons such as attorney-client privilege, was held at 6:30 p.m., prior to the start of the regular meeting. It has typically been held at the end of the meeting, but Mayor Michael Vieira requested the change so that the Council would be able to offer the public some information about what had occurred that same night, rather than weeks later.

During last week’s conference meeting, the Township Council decided to make Haines the sole operating pool for 2023. Northland Pool will be closed this summer, and potentially longer, depending on what the Council chooses to do with it moving forward.

The issue with opening Northland in 2023 is that it would need $70,000 in electrical work to do so. This would take roughly 14 weeks to complete, and there is no guarantee that, at the end of it, the repairs would solve the issue. If it does solve the problem, it would still take an additional $50,000 or so of upkeep to get the pool to a point where it can open to the public. Since the work would involve requests for proposals and formal approvals, it would also take several Council meetings for such repairs to even begin. Even if the Council decided that Northland would open this year, it may not happen until deep into the summer.

A Day On

Many years ago, when the Board of Education first announced plans to close schools in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, one of our readers, Patricia Idrobo, came up with the idea of creating “A Day On, Not A Day Off.” She organized many community groups and mobilized a cadre of kids to go to the high school cafeteria to perform a variety of community services and it was a great success. The cafeteria was filled with tables at which people were working on behalf of others. It was a joy to see and helped to demonstrate to our children the lessons Dr. King taught. At the end of the program, there was also a brief educational component which helped to teach Dr. King’s ideals.

For the first time in three years, residents, elected officials, friends, and family members gathered in person for the reorganizational meeting of Livingston’s Township Council. We were heartened to see a standing room only crowd of hundreds fill the Senior/Community Center for the event, during which the township’s government and committees were established for the year.

It cannot be overstated how wonderful it is to see that so many residents have volunteered to help make this town exceptional. The dozens of committees included the Arts Council, the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, various parade and event planning groups, and so much more. It’s that willingness to contribute to this community that makes Livingston so special, and that was evident this past Monday.

Dear Editor: This is the week to look back and pick the best of 2022. So here is one of mine: The Livingston Police Department.

“Week after week throughout the year, we read in the Tribune about unlocked cars with key fobs left inside the cars that are stolen from the driveways of Livingston residents. This is often followed by the headline “Cars Recovered.” I think we should be proud of our police officers who do this endless and quite often unnecessary work.

The department has reached out via the Tribune to remind residents about the need to be vigilant about locking their cars, and hopefully in 2023 we might see a reduction in auto thefts if people took more responsibility for their very often expensive cars. Doreen Mollenhauer Oakwood Avenue

December 30, 1982: In front page news in the Tribune 40 years ago this week, John Grady of 22 West Drive was to be sworn in as Livingston’s mayor for 1983 at ceremonies to be held on New Year’s Day.

The first baby of 1983 born to Livingston parents was to be welcomed by the West Essex Tribune and its advertisers with an assortment of gifts in the newspaper’s traditional First Baby Contest.

The Township Council announced it would hold a public hearing to receive suggestions from the public on how to spend nearly $150,000 in federal revenue sharing money.

The Board of Education was to hold a special meeting to vote on a formal resolution to close Burnet Hill School and Harrison School at the end of the 1983-84 academic year. The proposal, which came after a three-year study on declining enrollment in the school system, was being vigorously opposed by residents of the Harrison School district.