Columns/Opinions

After a relatively pleasant couple of months (compared to the year-plus that preceded it), the COVID-19 pandemic is once again at the forefront. The delta variant is making life more difficult and dangerous for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. While unvaccinated individuals face significantly greater risk of hospitalization and death from the virus, breakthrough cases among vaccinated individuals are becoming increasingly common, reportedly accounting for at least half of Livingston’s cases in recent weeks. Statewide, breakthroughs accounted for nearly one in every five recorded cases during the last week of July.

Less than a week before the filing deadline, Livingston had no official candidates for the two Board of Education seats up for grabs this November. So, we were relieved to find out that not only will we have enough people to fill those available roles, but that we will have a contested election after all.

Incumbent Pamela Chirls, Jenissa Arnette, and James Calderón have all filed to run for a position on the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education. All three candidates have run before, with Chirls winning multiple past elections for the position.

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Last week, a chlorine pump broke at Northland Pool, forcing it to close. Township manager Barry Lewis noted that the malfunction underscores the need to make a long-term decision on the future of Livingston’s two pools: Northland, as well as Haines Memorial Pool. Both pools are in need of general repairs, but it does not make sense to make costly fixes before the Township Council decides if the town will move forward with both pools, or only one. And if they decide to keep just one, they will need to pick which of the two makes the cut.

It seems likely that the Council will indeed decide to downsize from two pools to one. Mayor Shawn Klein has suggested as much at meetings earlier this year.

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Over the past few months, we have seen more and more people traversing our township on bicycles. It makes sense; the weather is nicer, and most COVID restrictions have lifted, particularly outdoors. Last week, Livingston Police Chief Gary Marshuetz noted that he has seen increased cycling himself throughout town.

Chief Marshuetz also, however, cautioned cyclists to follow the state law requiring anyone under the age of 17 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. In fact, Livingston’s own ordinance requires helmet use up to age 18.

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In a recent Politico feature on local news, writer Jack Shafer said, “When local reporting goes south, researchers tell us, political polarization, civic corruption, lower voter turnout, reduced civic engagement and even authoritarianism follow.”

His article highlighted not only the importance of local news, but also the fact that much of “local news” is not very local at all. A 2018 Duke University study of 16,000 local news outlets found that only 17 percent of the news articles they shared were truly local, focusing on the publication’s municipality.

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These are tough months for the food insecure, and our local food pantry, Livingston Neighbors Helping Neighbors’ CHOW, needs our help restocking its shelves.

Livingston is always a generous town, and at the beginning of COVID the community rallied behind our great organizations to support them. That effort should certainly be applauded. But for something like a food pantry (or blood banks, which are also in need of donors), donations are a constant need. People will always need to eat, regardless of COVID or a major holiday, another time these organizations tend to be flush with contributions.

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Last week, longtime Livingston Public Schools Board of Education member Ronnie Konner announced that she will not seek reelection after her term expires at the end of the year. We sincerely thank her for her decades of service to our school district and its students. She has compiled a long list of accomplishments through the years, and will leave big shoes to fill.

But we trust that there are many qualified people in town who can fill those shoes. So, we are asking them to consider running for a seat on the Board of Education this fall.

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Last week, a concerned resident brought a piece of an old, rusted gas pipe into the Tribune office. The man said that pipe, which was full of holes, had been pulled from the ground outside of his home after he reported smelling an odor of gas on his street. The pipe, he said, was “repaired” by PSE&G officials by inserting a rubber cylinder inside the existing rusted pipe. It was a solution that offered a temporary fix without addressing the additional piping issues of his neighbors, nor a long-term solution to the overarching problem.

This type of infrastructure issue has become all too common. It is definitely not a problem unique to Livingston; we are dealing with this on a county, state, and national level, as well. But it is certainly affecting this town.

Late in June, more than 500 people gathered at the Oval on a hot and humid weekday evening to celebrate International Yoga Day. The event, which was hosted by Sanskriti of New Jersey and designed to promote the health benefits of yoga, featured nearly two dozen instructors offering free classes of varying difficulty levels and styles. By all accounts, it was a smashing success and may be the start of a new annual event in town.

That is far from all that was occurring on that typical summer evening, however. Just surrounding the Oval alone, dozens of residents were walking around the main field, while others played games on the lawn within it. People sat on the benches that line the Oval, reading or chatting.

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The Joyce family of Livingston – Walter and Dorothy Joyce and their daughters, Marilyn Joyce Lehren, Mary Ellen Joyce Stewart, and Jeanne Joyce Silberman – this week wrote to the Tribune to applaud the Livingston High School softball team, which won the state championship.

“Thank you to the Livingston High School girls’ softball team for making the entire town believe again,” they wrote. “We loved watching this magical team perform at such a top level. The team’s grace on and off the field is modeling for all young female athletes.

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