SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION TODAY

Came across one candidate for the school board today, Bill Gaudelli, who was pressing the flesh outside Tuscan. Vote 2-9 p.m.

TEACHERS UNION IN FULL FORCE

They were out again with the I Am SOMEA T-shirts today at Tuscan School, where bulletin boards remain empty, and likely elsewhere. 


Oddly, several teachers declined to be photographed. So much for unity.

DE LUCA DANCE

The highlight for me of the great visit Monday night by Kenyan tribal leaders at the Maplewood Library was Mayor Vic De Luca dancing with the chief.


Photo courtesy of PATCH.

POETS NIGHT OUT

Our resident poet laureate Tina Kelley, she late of the NY Times and also a Covenant House author, was seen doting on her two favorite pastimes - poetry and knitting.


She sat at the open mic at the main library Monday night that she operates as folks offered their prose, while also working on her latest knit-one, pearl-two.


More form PATCH here.

DOG CRACKDOWN

Scanner reports health department at Memorial Park to crackdown on owners letting dogs run without leashes, a no-no

OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT'S $100,000 CLUB

Interesting finding at The Star-Ledger site, we have 35 people in the school district making more than $100,000 per year.


Is that high or low? Perhaps, perhaps not


See them HERE

OUR TAX INCREASE

A great new Star-Ledger option allows you to check your taxes and other government info.


The property tax option finds our taxes went up an average of $524.58 last year to an average annual payment of $13,023.00, with 57% going to schools, worth noting.


See it all HERE.

TEACHERS GOING TOO FAR, AGAIN

The teacher's union bulletin board fiasco gets worse. Now word comes that some students started a petition asking that the green bulletin boards protesting contract talks be put back up again with their work.


Of course, when they put the petition up, it was mysteriously pulled down.


Screw the kids again!

MY COFFEE WITH NAVLEN

Met up with Township Committee candidate Lee Navlen this afternoon. Among his comments was the fact that the Democratic Central Committee, which did not endorse him, asked mostly about whether his past Fox News employment would hurt his chances, or his comments on MOL.


How about his stance on issues? Wonder if they asked about that. Ask him yourself.

TEACHERS GOING TOO FAR

It is bad enough that the South Orange Maplewood Education Association (SOMEA) is stonewalling contract talks for almost the past two years, and refusing to give more than their 1.5% payment for benefits.


Now they are taking it out on children.


They have been wearing those "I Am SOMEA" shirts to school often, and now refusing to decorate bulletin boards.


A look at Tuscan School today, and apparently other schools, finds the bulletin boards are empty and covered only with green paper, the color of the union's efforts.

This is unfair and short-sighted and takes it out on the kids they are supposed to help.


A source at the school district said the teachers are being misled by SOMEA, which is doing little to seek a real deal and give its portion of the hit we all are taking these days.

BUS DRIVER ASSUALTED

Scanner shows police looking for a Hispanic male wearing red who allegedly assaulted a NJ Transit bus driver at Springfield Ave. and Park.


Last seen running down Prospect near Hilton Ave....."Assault occurred on the bus, bus is a crime scene."


Ambulance to the scene.