Op-Ed Praises Plan to Use Kinnelon Open Space Funds for Turf Field

Editorialist says new plan for construct turf field at Kinnelon High School could be a winner.

Letters to the Editor

Resident Urges Makeover for Butler's Main Street

Have an opinion on any subject? Send a Letter to the Editor to triboro@patch.com.

My neighbors have put their beautiful house on one acre with an antique barn on the market for $349,000. They were told that if their home were located in any place other that Butler, they could get around $200,000 more for it. They said Butler isn't recovering from the economic downturn as fast as other towns; there are lots of short sales coming on the market. I'm sure the condition of Main Street has a lot to do with this. Butler was just voted the most walkable community. We have great schools, we are close to everything on Route 23. So why does this town look so downtrodden? Butler could be a quaint setting if Main Street were spruced up: Plant trees on the sidewalks. Have hanging baskets off the light posts. Little things like that …

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mimi

2:12 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013

That would be a great step forward. And what I said about the Mill was a suggestion so I don't understand the "Check your facts" comment. I'm just putting forward what would be a beautification project for the town. Flowers hanging from the lights, trees planted along the streets, etc.   more ›

Fiscal Cliff on Brink Thanks to Divided Government

U.S. needs a genuine third party to deal with this and other issues.

Looking back from this point, the last year seems to have been filled with misery and grief: the Newtown mass shooting that killed 20 children, Superstorm Sandy and the devastation she brought, the Aurora theater shooting. Locally, there have teen suicides that touched several communities. Longtime businesses have shut their doors or announced their closings. Many in red Northwest Jersey probably viewed the re-election of President Barack Obama as bad news, as well. So perhaps it is appropriate that the nation spends the last hours of 2012 teetering on the edge of the so-called "fiscal cliff." Part of what led us to the cliff was well-intentioned: A bill designed to reduce the federal deficit. The other main problem was beneficial to …

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Dan Grant

4:34 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Hookerman, Edward is just in his own little bubble and the fact that the Constitution was written and ratified to "Form a More Perfect Union" is a concept he can't grasp.   more ›

Gun Control Needs to be a Priority After CT Shooting

Is murder of 26 people, most of them children, enough to make Washington take notice?

Bullet-proof glass in every window. Armed guards monitoring X-ray machines at the sole entrance. Snipers on the rooftop keeping watch over the playground. Is this the future of elementary schools in New Jersey and the nation? It’s hard to imagine everything school officials would have to do to make children completely safe, after the horrific slaughter Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. There is one thing that this nation must do: Congress must pass and the president must sign laws putting much greater controls on guns, preferably to include an Australia-style firearms buy back. Information about the senseless murder of 20 first-graders and six staff members at the school is still incomplete, with new details seeming …

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Electronic Ballots a Quick Fix, But Do They Count?

NJ needs to adopt rules to ensure everyone can vote more easily if another disaster hits.

All the ballots have finally been counted in New Jersey. Once they are certified by the state canvassers on Friday, New Jersey can finally close the book on this difficult election. Or can it? The constitutional litigation clinic of Rutgers Newark Law School is poking into the votes, asking for information about the processing of special balloting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno ordered to help those displaced by Superstorm Sandy. Remember, thousands were homeless, either literally because their houses were destroyed or left uninhabitable, or by choice because they had left cold, dark buildings to stay with family or friends or at a hotel. Even some polling places were without power and so had to be moved. Guadagno ordered the …

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Sandy Lessons Should Steer Rebuilding Effort

Politicians have to make tough—perhaps expensive—decisions and need to start taking action.

It’s been three weeks since Superstorm Sandy blew through New Jersey, and past time to begin figuring out how to minimize losses the next time. Some solutions involve building; some, doing the opposite. Just as the attacks of Sept. 11 brought talk of rebuilding, there have been vows to restore the shore back to Oct. 28, 2012, as if nothing had happened. That would be a huge and costly mistake. It is not politically correct to say that at least some of what was destroyed should not be rebuilt. But it’s the truth. Barrier islands are aptly named. They are supposed to serve as barriers for the shoreline. When a major storm like Sandy or Irene hits, they will take the brunt of it and provide some measure of protection for the mainland. They …

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Councilmen-elect Thank Bloomingdale Voters

Candidates also thank Councilwoman Jo-Ann Pituch and runningmate Michele Siek for volunteering for community service.

The following was submitted by Councilmen-elect Mike Sondermeyer and Rich Dellaripa as a Letter to the Editor. If you have a letter you would like to submit, please send it to ariana.cohn-sheehan@patch.com Dear Editor: We would like to begin by thanking Bloomingdale’s voters for the overwhelming support they gave us on Nov. 6 when they elected us to serve on the borough council. It was a long campaign, and we were extremely fortunate to have the support of our families, friends, and those who helped out in so many ways. Thank you all for the time, effort, and financial support—we could not have done it without you. It means a great deal to us to know that so many of our town’s residents share our vision for the future and are excited by …

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Frelinghuysen Letter Thanks 11th District Voters

Republican congressman applauds constituent's efforts that helped get him re-elected.

I am writing to thank the voters of the 11th Congressional District for supporting my re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.  I am pleased now to represent many new constituents in Essex, Passaic and Sussex Counties in January.  My heart goes out to those who are in need and to so many who were able to vote Tuesday and keep their community and America strong, despite incredible obstacles.  Our focus in Congress continues to be jobs and the economy, getting people back to work, government “out of their way,” lowering taxes, and creating a climate where small businesses can survive and flourish. That effort needs to be bipartisan.  I am grateful to the voters of the new 11th Congressional District who have allowed me to continue …

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Gene Osso

4:12 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012

In other words, you voted to make the United States of America be like France, Spain and Greece. Working out really well so far.   more ›

In Sandy's Wake, Take Election Day By Storm

Be sure to cast your vote as an unprecedented NJ election unfolds following historic storm.

There is an election on Tuesday. Who cares? Everyone should care. It's the big presidential balloting, comes around only once every four years. There's one U.S. Senate and all House seats up. Two statewide ballot questions. Three state Assembly seats, including one in District 26 that covers Parsippany and other parts of Morris County. County freeholders. mayors and council members. And, for the first time in a November, school board members—the majority of districts throughout the state pushed their school elections to November to eliminate the public vote on the budget. All of this is central to our democracy. And everyone should get out and vote. But it's the last thing on the minds of many people, and who can blame them. They're still …

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