News

Livingston resident and Boy Scout Troop 12 member Advaith Pillai is hosting a food drive with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey until October 26. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey helps supply food to soup kitchens and pantries, and it also directly gives assistance to the less fortunate people in New Jersey.

The drive is accepting canned fish and meats, shelf stable milk, boxed meals, canned and packaged meals, peanut butter, canned vegetables and fruits, diapers, feminine hygiene products, and other dry and nonperishable items.

Glass, cellophane, bottled water, soda, and baby food will not be accepted for collection.

Items and cash donations can be dropped off at 8 Midway Drive before October 26.

A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY: A crowd of roughly 2,200 people attended an event at Temple B'nai Jeshurun on South OrangeAvenue Sunday night, October 8, following an attack on Israel two nights prior. The gathering was a show of solidarity with Israel, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. The event was attended by political leaders and approximately 30 rabbis and 20 cantors from synagogues in Essex, Morris, Union, Sussex, and part of Middlesex counties, all of whom are part of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. Jerry Siskind and Temple B’nai Abraham Photos

The Livingston Public Schools Board of Education and the Township Council “continue to meet and share information as part of their collective commitment to ensuring that Livingston Public Schools will continue to attract individuals and families who are eager to make Livingston their home,” according to a recent joint statement between the two governing bodies.

The Liaison Committee, which includes superintendent of schools Matthew Block, township manager Barry Lewis, Board of Education members Pam Chirls and Seth Cohen, and Township Council members Ed Meinhardt and Rosy Bagolie, last met on September 2 8. The committee has been meeting periodically since January to maintain open lines of communication between the bodies, according to the statement.

As “Harlan Coben’s Shelter,” which was released this past August on Amazon Prime Video, wraps up its first season run, the prolific author andNew Jersey Hall of Famer talked to the Tribune about the series, which was partially filmed in Livingston. Coben had been unable to promote the show as it was airing due to the Writers Guild of America strike, which occurred during the length of the season. The season one finale came out in late September and all eight episodes of the series are now available to stream.

Based on Coben’s 2011 young adult novel of the same name, “Shelter” is set in the fictional town of Kasselton, New Jersey. Livingston High School is Coben’s alma mater, and the author has set many of his books in Livingston. Filming took place, in part, right here in town, where LHS substituted for Kasselton High School. The pilot was shot in 2021, with filming for the rest of the series taking place in 2022.

The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating a series of vehicle burglaries, as well as attempted burglaries to vehicles andhomes that occurred last week in town.

Six of these incidents occurred in a single day, on Friday, October 6.

At 9:06 a.m., Livingston officers responded to a South Livingston Avenue home on a report of an attempted burglary. Officers arrived and were met by the homeowner, who said that in the overnight hours, several suspects attempted to enter a 2022 Porsche Macan that was parked in the driveway, but were unsuccessful since the vehicle was locked. The suspects then tried the front door of the residence, found that it was locked, and fled the scene.

Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced the names of over 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 14 Livingston High School students earned this honor including Dennis Chen, Brandon Dong, Jonathan Hong, Alan Hu, Samuel Jiang, Katherine Li, Rebecca Liu, Sheryl Liu, Advaith Pillai, William Wang, Anlin Wei, Daisy Yao, Nathan Zhang, and Tiger Zhang.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

BECOMES EAGLE SCOUT: Shown here, Mayor Michael Vieira congratulates Michael Ileya from Livingston Boy Scout Troop 12 for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Ileya is the troop’s 208th Eagle Scout. The ceremony was held on Saturday, September 23.