LEVELING UP SPECIAL MEETING

PATCH offers a great round up of the issue from Monday night:

Monday night, district staff aimed to disarm such criticism. Roth went into a detailed explanation of his previous presentations on the data collected by the district. Following that, he answered “frequently asked questions” that the district administration and Board of Education has been asked. The FAQ was put into an 18-page handout, distributed prior to the meeting.

STUPID LEAF SYSTEM CONTINUES

As I see the DPW trucks attempting to scrape up the leaf piles that have been sitting wet and messy for days, a reminder to note how idiotic this system is.


Remnants of the wet mess remain even after they come by, and the driving hazards continue.

THEFT, ROBBERY, BURGLARY MARK POLICE WEEK

Just issued.....

November 29, 2011: Theft. On 11/29/11, a Mountain Avenue resident reported that his wallet was stolen from the Maplewood Library on Baker Street at approximately 3:30pm. The wallet is described as a red tri-fold wallet with two black intertwined dragons and containing approximately $36.00 in cash.

November 29, 2011: Commercial Burglary. On 11/29/11, a Springfield Avenue hair salon owner reported that between 11/26/11 (8:00 pm) and 11/29/11 (6:30 am) unknown suspect(s) entered the store and removed a Sony flat screen TV, a Hewlett Packard laptop computer and $220.00 in cash. There were no signs of forced entry observed.

November 30, 2011: Robbery. On 11/30/11, a Menzel Avenue resident reported that he was robbed at approximately 6:29 am that date. The victim reported that while he exited the side door of his residence, he noticed a male walk past him in his driveway going towards the back of his home. When he stated, “excuse me” to the male, the man turned and punched him in the face and head several times until he fell to the ground. The victim further reported that the suspect then took his wallet and fled towards Menzel Ave. The victim was transported to Overlook Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The suspect in this incident is described as: Black male, 17-20 years old, approximately 5’11” tall with a slender build. He was wearing a dark vest, dark wool knit hat, and sweat pants.

December 2, 2011: Attempted Burglary. On 12/2/11, a Boyden Avenue resident reported that an unknown male attempted to gain entry to her home through a rear basement window. Upon seeing the suspect, the homeowner shouted, and the suspect fled. The suspect is described as a black male, 25-30 years old, approximately 5’10” in height with a medium build. He was wearing a black trench coat and a black wool hat.

December 3, 2011: Theft. On 12/3/11, a Holmdel resident reported that unknown suspect(s) removed an Apple iPad from his vehicle which was parked in an Indiana Street driveway. The vehicle was not damaged. The incident reportedly occurred between 9:00 pm and midnight. 

LEVENTHAL CONFIRMS DE LUCA MAYORALTY CONTINUES

Vice Mayor Kathy Leventhal all but confirmed a report in the News Record that speculated that Mayor Vic DeLuca would be elected to his fourth straight term as mayor.


After the News-Record reported that De Luca was likely to get another year at the helm, Maplewoodian contacted all five TC members. Only Leventhal and Jerry Ryan responded.


Ryan declined comment, But Leventhal stated:


"I’m looking forward to my work next year as Deputy Mayor" 


De Luca was recently re-elected to another term on the TC. The governing body chooses the mayor each year from among its members.

NEWS-RECORD REPORTS DE LUCA TO BE MAYOR AGAIN

The News-Record claimed today that Mayor Vic De Luca will hold the top post again for another year in 2012, citing comments from Democratic Party chair Ian Grodman.


See the story HERE.


The story quotes Grodman as saying "That's what it looks like."


Just a few weeks ago, De Luca and TC member Marlon Brownlee remained uncommitted in comments to Maplewoodian, while former Mayor Jerry Ryan told us he would be interested in the post.


But with Brownlee and incoming TC member India Larrier likely in De Luca's corner, his chances for another term are better than excellent.

LEAF COLLECTION SCHEDULE UPDATE

Township issued this reminder today for the already screwed up leaf collection system:

A Message from Eric Burbank, DPW Director

  First I would to thank you for the patience you have shown during the past month with the delay in leaf collection due to the storm clean up.

I am pleased to announce that we are now able to follow the original leaf collection schedule as advertised.  Please remember that based on weather and or equipment failures your dates may be off by a day or two at most.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

The week of 11/28/11    Sections:         7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

The week of 12/05/11    Sections:         1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

The week of 12/12/11    Sections:         7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

We fully expect to complete the schedule on time.  Once we have cleaned the leaves from your street during your last collection week you will no longer be able to put leaves at the curb.

Now if they could just come up with a system that does not require us to push leaves into the street, creating driving hazards and allowing many to blow away.

FORMER BANK SITE OWES MONEY

Owners of the former Bank of America site at Springfield and Prospect appear to owe about $490 to PSE&G.


A notice on the door there indicates the overdue amount.

TUSCAN ST CLOSED NEAR SPFLD.

....Scanner reports Tuscan Street closed between Springfield Ave. and Tuscan Road for PSE&G repair vehicles, but no other details....