latest news from Livingston

At the start of the Livingston Township Council conference meeting on Monday, April 8, Billy Fine of the Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, and veteran Ava Reinfeld, presented a proposal for the Council to approve a new holiday in town, Women’s Veterans Day.

The goal of the day, Fine said, would be to recognize the significant contribution of women in the military, educate the public about their sacrifices and contributions, and share information on how women have been overlooked for veterans’ health care and benefits (there are no mammogram machines in VA hospitals, for example).

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The Livingston Lancer softball team just finished its pre-season, wrapping up eight scrimmages, and won its first game of the season, announced head coach Jason Daily.

The Lancers opened up with a 12-1, five inning victory in an SEC conference game against visiting West Orange. Sophomore Jess Bullion was stellar in the circle on opening day, allowing only one hit while striking out all 15 batters she faced. Briana Melucci homered and Chloe Saperstein and Kelly Lyons had two hits apiece. Julie Moresco, Deja Robinson, Nathalia DiIanni and Sarah Smith each had one hit.

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When Jeff Friedman’s friend, Denise Shannon, asked, “Are you still collecting toiletries and cosmetics?  If so, I'd like to send out an email requesting donations on your behalf,” he was thrilled.
Shannon is program coordinator at The Film Institute at Montclair State University, College of the Arts, where  Friedman had taught as a broadcasting adjunct professor for many years, and also  served as director of its television center. Montclair State is his alma mater, as well, and Friedman found it especially gratifying to work with friends and colleagues there.
“As this effort represents a major expansion for the Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) Trish Duffy Toiletries & Cosmetics Challenge,” Friedman said, “I was thrilled.  Denise quietly commenced collecting for our major spring initiative.”

The Sabres defeated the Panthers, 9-5, to win the Stanley Cup Championship in the Sports University Street Hockey League (SUSHL) Junior Division.

The second and third grade team, coached by Scott Saperstein and Steve Shapiro, includes Livingston residents Jake Bonardi, Spencer Cowen, Griffin Loventhal, Cole Shapiro, Max Pfeffer, Asher Cox and Danny Wheeler.

The Sabres went undefeated during the regular season and play-offs. In the final, the Panthers took an early 3-1 lead, with great play from Aiden Krasnow and Isaac Scherzer, but the Sabres fought back to take the lead and eventually pull away.

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Vincent F. Simonetti died in his Livingston home on Sunday, March 31, at the age of 94.

Visitation was held yesterday, Wednesday, at the Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home of Livingston. A funeral Mass will be offered today, Thursday, April 4, at 10 a.m. at St. Philomena’s Roman Catholic Church in Livingston. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover.

Mr. Simonetti was born on April 29, 1924, in Orange. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He was a member of the American Legion as well as Livingston VFW Post 2856.

A certified public accountant, Mr. Simonetti worked as comptroller for Trans World Oil, from which he retired in 1986. In addition, he was a member of the New Jersey Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

At last week’s Township Council meeting, nine-yearold Mahi Khanna stood up and spoke about a matter that was of clear importance to her: straws. Specifically, she requested that the Council ban plastic straws at restaurants and eateries in Livingston. In their place could be straws made of paper, metal, or none at all.

Mahi did her homework before addressing the Council. According to a study done earlier this year, she said, as many as eight billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches, contributing to the eight million tons of plastic that flow into the ocean annually. Of all the plastic products we use every day, including an estimated 500 million straws in the United States alone, less than nine percent of it ends up recycled.

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There may still be a bit of a chill in the air, but spring has arrived, as evidenced by Livingston’s baseball and softball fields finally being put to good use.

Two weekends ago, members of the Livingston Police Department joined the Livingston Lancers high school baseball team for the third annual Blue/Green Shield game. The mixedteam softball game pairs players with officers to create a lasting bond between the two groups of individuals. Throughout the season, each player will display his officer’s badge number on his helmet, while the officers will have pins on their uniforms with their players’ numbers. The pairs aim to keep in touch, and police officers are expected to be a presence at games all season long.

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Livingston firefighters extinguished a brush fire on East Hobart Gap Road on Sunday, March 30.

At about 3:45 p.m., the Livingston Police Department received a report of an active brush fire, and alerted the Fire Department.

Firefighters determined that electrical power to the area had to be shut down before attempts could be made to extinguish the flames. Public Service Electric and Gas responded and shut down power in the area until the fire was doused. Traffic signals in the area were out while the power was off.

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Heritage Middle School will present The Lion King this weekend, with performances on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m. Students are shown here during recent dress rehearsals. Above, Leah Waessa portrays Rafi ki and Aishanee Acharyya plays Nala. In the background are ensemble members Sia Bansal, Prisha Bhargava, Miriam Grodin, and Isabelle Ruppe.

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At the Monday, April 1, Board of Education meeting, there was a public hearing on the 2019-20 budget and Boardmembersdiscussedsomepolicy changes, among other topics.

Budget information was first presented at the March 11 Board meeting. According to Monday’s agenda, the 2019-20 budget proposes $125,819,978 in total expenditures, including $115,883,285 in the general fund, $1,791,343 in special revenues, and $8,145,350 in debt service.

Subtracting $10,092,324 in anticipated revenues brings the total to be raised through taxes to $115,727,654. $108,543,274 of that figure will be for the general fund, while the remaining $7,184,380 is for debt services.

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