Budget passes with 4-1 vote, though Krakoviak votes against it due to recent upheaval with Eben
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council approved the proposed 2017 Downtown West Orange Alliance budget totaling $207,000 at its Jan. 3 meeting. Council President Joe Krakoviak cast the sole vote against the budget, which actually has the same net operating total as last year. But while the net operating budget may be […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is still a long way from being restored after a fire tore through the nearly 200-year-old historical structure on New Year’s Day 2016, but one year later progress is being made. West Orange construction official Tom Tracey said the building’s walls have been shored and its windows […]
Town’s Scouts open arms to boy booted from his pack
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A Maplewood Cub Scout pack has offered to take in an 8-year-old transgender boy who made international headlines after being asked to leave his Secaucus pack due to his gender identity. Cub Scout Pack 20 leader Kyle Hackler said he sent an invitation to Joe Maldonado and his family through the journalist […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Sandra Mordecai and Irv Schwarzbaum were unanimously elected president and vice president, respectively, of the West Orange Board of Education during the board’s Jan. 5 reorganization meeting. This is Schwarzbaum’s first leadership position on the board since joining last year, and the new vice president said he is looking forward to […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — At the Jan. 3 West Orange Township Council meeting, outgoing President Victor Cirilo passed the gavel to new President Joe Krakoviak. Additionally, Michelle Casalino, Jerry Guarino and Krakoviak were sworn in to continue their work on the council. Photos by Sean Quinn
DWOA board hopeful for downtown’s future ... without Eben
WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange Planning Board member Jerry Eben resigned from his position as a trustee of the Downtown West Orange Alliance during the nonprofit’s Dec. 21 meeting following some tense exchanges and a near vote to remove him from the board. Eben announced his resignation just as DWOA Chairman John McElroy called […]
BOE passes strategic direction and action plan in final 2016 meeting, remains open to feedback
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The process to implement the South Orange-Maplewood School District’s strategic plan is under way following the Board of Education’s 8-1 vote — with board member Johanna Wright voting nay — to pass a resolution approving the plan’s strategic direction and action plan during its Dec. 19 meeting. Residents are […]
After six years on Township Council, Joe Krakoviak gets his chance as president following vote
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Councilman Joe Krakoviak was unanimously elected council president during the Township Council’s Dec. 20 meeting. This marks the first time Krakoviak has been appointed to the position since joining the council in 2010. During the previous few years, he had nominated himself for the job but either lost the vote or […]
Oheb Shalom visits roots of assisting immigrants
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — As a 10-year-old, Michael Drob did not understand the reasons his family was twice denied refugee status by the U.S. government when attempting to emigrate from Latvia in 1988. He knew only one thing as he waited in limbo with his parents and sister for 10 months in Italy — other […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The values of many properties in South Orange and Maplewood have increased following the recent reassessment, which was ordered by the Essex County Board of Taxation after it determined the communities’ assessed values fell below market values. Ernest Del Guercio and Jason Cohen of Appraisal Systems Inc., which handled […]