Livingston Tribune

Ronald F. Murano, 76, of Parsippany, passed away on Saturday, March 16. Ron grew up in Bloomfield, and then lived in Livingston from 1977 -2022 and then resided in Parsippany. Ron loved to provide, tease, and care for his family. He was a devoted husband, father, PopPop, brother, uncle, cousin and friend.

Anirudh Srivastava, a member of Livingston’s Boy Scout Troop 12, recently became an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He was formally inducted as an Eagle Scout in an Eagle Court of Honor on March 9.

The journey to becoming an Eagle Scout is long, requiring commitment and dedication. A scout has to learn the scouting fundamentals, earn merit badges to exhibit the knowledge gathered, contribute to society through service projects, participate in hiking and camping activities, and complete an Eagle project that yields a positive outcome for the community. According to Boy Scouts of America, only about six percent of the scouts achieve this rank.

On Friday, March 29, the Town- existing and planned operations, ship of Livingston will officially programs and events, with only the rename its Senior, Youth & Leisure name changing. Services Department (SYLS) to “We think ‘Recreation and Se-Recreation and Senior Services, or nior Services’ more accurately and “Rec” for short. The newly renamed concisely reflects our role within Rec Department will continue all (Continued on Page A-10) (Continued from Page A-1) seeing little issue with a company changing its signage color each day. The Board also agreed that certain signs required variances to accommodate existing rules, though some members felt that the success of a business depended on more than just signs to promote it.

LIVINGSTON’S HISTORY: Above, the Livingston Fire Department set fire to an old barn in 1939, for a firefighting demonstration. See more historic photos and learn about old-time Livingston in this week’s “Celebrate Livingston’s History” pull-out section, section B of this newspaper.

BOYS’ BASEBALL TRYOUTS: The Livingston High School’s boys’ baseball team began tryouts for its 2024 season. Shown above, Matthew Lopa gets ready for the pitching machine to fire a fastball during tryouts. Below, assistant coach Corey Feigenbaum feeds the pitching machine during tryouts. Don Schwartz Photos

At its meeting on Tuesday, March 19, the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education approved a tentative budget for the 2024-2025 school year.

The budget totals appropriations between the general fund, special revenues, and debt services amassing a total of $ 154,450,072. This will set Livingston taxes to be raised a total of $125,399,923. An additional Board meeting was held the day prior, on Monday, March 18, to ensure the Board had all its questions answered ahead of the March 19 vote.

The Board also met with the finance committee on March 14 to discuss the district’s budget. Prior to the meeting, a number of adjustments had already been made. These included a $2.5 million cut to the budgeted fund balance, and eliminating $600,000 of recurring expenses. These recurring expenses will still appear in the proposed budget, but they will no longer be recurring. The finance committee also found and eliminated a number of non-recurring costs.

This week, the West Essex Tribune presents its bi-annual “Celebrate Livingston’s History” section. It is one of our most popular features, in part because it speaks to our township’s sense of community; no matter who we are, we live here, together, in Livingston, and we all share that common thread.

As always, our “Celebrate Livingston’s History” section contains interesting tidbits about the history of our town and its residents: stories of beloved, but now defunct institutions; tales of the founding families who gave their names to our streets and schools; and old photos and news articles that provide insight to what Livingston was like back “in the old days.”

Eleanor Klein Breslow, 99, died on March 11. She was born in Passaic and was married to Howard Breslow for over 65 years.

She is survived by her children Roy Breslow, (Debbie Streit), Lynn Levy (Jeffrey Levy), and Clifford Breslow (Elaine Breslow); six grandchildren; and ten great grandchildren.

Services were held at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Funeral Chapel in Livingston on Thursday, March 14. A private interment followed. Shiva was held at the Crown View Manor in West Orange on Thursday, March 14.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations may be made to the National Parkinson’s Foundation.

START OF BOYS’ TENNIS SEASON: Livingston High School’s boys’ tennis team held tryouts for its spring season. Above, Arjun Bansal sets to power a return, while at right, Jake Hershkin powers a serve during tryouts. Don Schwartz Photos

TEACHER OF THE YEAR CELEBRATION: The instructional aides and students in Mr. Justin Grossman’s fourth grade class at Hillside Elementary School surprised their teacher with a Teacher of the Year celebration. The students displayed their support for their beloved teacher by wearing masks of Grossman’s face and donning hats they designed.