Columns/Opinions

At nearly every Livingston Township Council meeting for the past year, much time has been devoted to the passage of ordinances that establish inclusionary development zones in town. Almost uniformly, these ordinances seek to establish overlay districts that would permit housing to be built in the area. Inclusionary zoning requires a given share of new construction to be affordable housing. Public hearings for these ordinances tend to be drawn out, as they, understandably, attract residents who neighbor the proposed zone and would be directly affected by the changes.

National Newspaper Week begins this Sunday and running through Saturday, October 9. The annual observance of the service that newspapers and their employees provide to their communities has been in existence since 1940; what is printed within the pages of newspapers has certainly changed since then, but the importance of the medium has not. And here at the West Essex Tribune we are proud to be one of the only remaining independent newspapers in the state, bringing our community the stories that matter to them.

Newspapers look a lot different than they did eight decades ago (and longer for us, as we have been around for 92 years and counting!), but we’re still here, and proud of it. For over nine decades, the Tribune has been tailored to our town, emphasizing the things that affect us most directly and keeping track of what is going on in the township so that our readers don’t have to.

There is a new way for students to earn a varsity letter at Livingston High School. Now starting its second year, the United Way Varsity Letter in Community Service Club recently awarded letters to 30 students who had completed at least 80 hours of community service during the first year.

The hours of service include assisting United Way “ALICE” (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) families and at least one school activity. In all, those 30 students volunteered over 2,000 hours to improve the lives of children, the disabled, elderly, those suffering financially, and others.

We strongly support our student athletes, and eagerly cheer them on as they compete in their various sports, competitions, and events. Each one who earns a varsity letter for their chosen sport or team should be proud of the hard work they put in to achieve it.

Last week, a letter was sent out to Livingston residents, explaining that at least one township well is above the limit of a recently-regulated contaminant. While that letter provided useful information, it also encouraged residents to do their own research on whether or not to drink the water.

This contaminant, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), falls under a broader category of PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) and is a synthetic chemical found in everyday household products, as well as in things like firefighting foam.

PFAS is used to make products stain, grease, heat and water resistant, and its sturdy structure means it takes much longer to break down in comparison to organic chemicals. More specifically, PFOA are used for its emulsifier and surfactant properties, or as fluoropolymers (such as Teflon), firefighting foams, cleaners, cosmetics, greases and lubricants, paints, polishes, adhesives and photographic films.

Believe it or not, it is that time of year again. It may not seem so, but soon the leaves will start to change and the temperatures will drop. Heck, everything from coffee to hand soap is already starting to have the faint (strong?) smell of pumpkin spice. That’s right, we are talking about flu season.

While seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round, they are most common in the fall and winter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), everyone older than six months should get a flu vaccine every “flu season” to help prevent the contraction and spread of the virus.

Influenza can be a serious disease that may lead to hospitalization or even death. The CDC states that each flu season is unique and every infection affects people differently. Millions of people get the flu each year, leading to hundreds of thousands of hospital visits and tens of thousands of deaths from flu-related causes.

As a state, we will be dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida for quite some time. There will be cleanups, and rebuilds, but there will also be preparation for future floods.

Our first responders took more calls than they could record the evening of September 1, staging daring rescues and later dealing with dozens of cars that had been left abandoned throughout town.

During their efforts, Livingston’s Police, Fire, First Aid Squads, and Department of Public Works were assisted by East Hanover’s Swift Water Rescue team. With the waters surrounding that town on three sides, East Hanover is essentially an island; it makes sense for them to have a unit able to respond to water rescues. But, as we saw earlier this month, Livingston also has its share of flood zones, which grow larger each year as climate change makes “100 years storms” increasingly more common.

On the evening of Wednesday, September 1, while Livingston was getting battered with rainfall that the town has rarely seen, the Board of Education made a crucial and eagerly anticipated vote. The Board has weighed the pros and cons of expanding its members from five to either seven or nine at some meetings over the past year. There was a public discussion a few months ago, and members offered periodic updates on the research the Board members have done into the subject during some subsequent meetings.

Initially, a vote on whether or not to expand the Board was set to take place on June 21, but it was pushed to a special meeting on September 1, two days before the deadline that a question could be placed on the November election ballot. Board members said in June that the vote was delayed to give them and the community time to reflect on the decision and the information pertaining to it.

This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the fall of the World Trade Center, the crash of Flight 93, and the attack on the Pentagon. Much has changed in the two decades since that terrible day, but in Livingston, each and every year, we still take time to honor the seven Livingston residents we lost.

Luke A. Dudek. Jeffrey Brian Gardner. Donald Thomas Jones II. Ming-Hao Liu. Joseph P. McDonald. John M. Pocher. Kenneth Albert Zelman.

They became part of a nationwide tragedy that forever altered the face of America. Our country’s confidence in the security of its citizens and its institutions was shaken to its core. In the years that followed, towns across the nation held ceremonies to honor the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks, including our own service in Livingston, organized each year by Bunnie Ratner, chairperson of the 9/11 garden at the Oval and the annual Ceremony of Remembrance.

With schools opening next week, it is a good time to consider what more we can do to keep our children safe. Back-to-school season means increased automobile and pedestrian traffic. According to AAA, nearly one-fifth of all traffic fatalities are child pedestrians under the age of 15, and more school-aged pedestrians are killed between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m. – once school ends – than any other time of the day.

With these frightening statistics in mind, we implore drivers to slow down and remain alert behind the wheel. That means keeping speeds low in areas where children are most likely to be present, such as schools, playgrounds, and recreation areas. It also means driving distraction-free. Glancing away from the road for even just two seconds doubles the chance of being involved in a crash.

Summer is almost over already? Really? Well, it is if you go by the school calendar. Believe it or not, next Wednesday, September 1, is the first day of classes for Livingston Public School students. Yes, it is that time of year that harried parents cherish and children looking to squeeze every inch out of their summer vacation dreads: Back to school.

Yet, this year, we suspect, will feel better than most for students not ready to say farewell to summer. That is because, for the first time since the 2018-19 academic year, students have a chance at a fully in-person school year.