To the Editor:The following happened to me and my husband this Christmas and I'd like my sincerest thanks to reach this person.My husband is currently deployed in Afghanistan.  Since he wasn't going to be here for Christmas, he wanted to be able to purchase a gift for me with a call from Afghanistan so I would have something to open.  I know how difficult calls are from there, but I told him, anyway, about a bag I'd see in Lord Ivy in downtown Summit.  I told him not to worry about it, but he was adamant that he'd like to call.  I forgot about with the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  When I …

Next meeting November 27th Summit Middle School Room 118 at 7.30pm --- The Summit Taxpayers Association (STA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to advocate for fiscally responsible government.  Organized in 1943 exclusively to represent Summit Taxpayers, the STA mission is to reduce property tax increases in Summit to zero over three years, by 2014, through dialogue, non-partisan analysis regarding our City, School and County budgets. I paraphrase Jack Swigert, Lunar module commander on Apollo 13, to say “Summit, we’ve had a problem here”.   Commander Swigert was referring to an …

To:  Donald M. Lynch, President JCP&LFrom:  Mark Giangiulio, General Manager, The Grand Summit HotelRE:  Alliance Power Group, LLCI am writing to inform you of a very positive experience with one of your subcontractors, Alliance Power, LLC.  This company went our of our way to restore power to our hotel after the devastating storm.  Having experienced numerous outages from various storms throughout the country (Andrew, Diana, Hugo) I am quite familiar with process.   In this instance, our power was affected by two downed poles, transformers and lines.  Alliance coordinated the repairs with …

As an unopposed candidate for re-election to Council, my goals are to continue to represent the people of Summit with leadership, teamwork and integrity. I thank our Summit taxpayers for supporting my efforts over the past three years. In order to develop reliable future governance from our highly qualified base of young professionals, I encourage volunteers to run for election to Council and serve on our numerous Boards and Committees, regardless of party affiliation. As 2010 & 2011 Council President Pro-Tem, I served as Finance and Personnel Chair, led efforts to reduce property tax …

To Chris Cotter:   I ask that you share the following letter with the Mayor and Council.  Yesterday morning, as I was leaving Walkwell Shoes via the back entrance, I saw a frail and elderly friend trying to make her way to Liss Pharmacy via the alleyway.  She was stopped by the newly constructed barrier of curbstone created to protect the dirt for future plantings (I guess?), then a two foot wide section of dirt, and yet a second barrier of curbstone created as a further protection for plantings and as a barrier to the alleyway and the shops that line it. Interestingly, city workers were …

To the Editor:We live in close proximity to Wilson Park. Almost every Friday and/or Saturday night (and by night I mean between midnight and 3AM), some of our local teens find it to be the ideal spot for beer drinking, fireworks, and loud noise. (Which of course begs the question: "Who is buying the beer for them?") One needs only to stroll through the park the following morning to find it littered with dozens of empty beer cans and bottles. And when the carousing ends in the wee small hours, these now half-drunk children think nothing of screaming and shouting as they wend their ways home. A…

The Summit Taxpayers Association is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to advocate for fiscally responsible government.  Our mission is to reduce property tax increases to zero within three years, by 2014, through dialog and non-partisan analysis regarding our City, School and County budgets. Welcome home taxpayers!  Many Summit residents are returning from vacation after one of the hottest summers on record.  Back to school shoppers may have noticed one of the hottest foot apparel items, "Labron James Tennis Shoes" obscenely priced at $325.  Scuffles occurred in retail outlets as …

There is a reason Governor Christie is not touting the "NJ Comeback" in his speech tonight.  Governor Christie's policies have failed to bring jobs back to NJ after the recession, and conditions for the middle class continue to worsen.  Under his leadership, New Jersey was one of only six states last year with an economy that did not grow.  Our unemployment rate is 9.8% - the fourth highest in the nation, and the highest rate for the state since 1977.   As a small business owner, I know it is impossible to grow and create new jobs when the middle class is hurting- the strength of small …

To the Editor, The United States is on the brink of a fire crisis. New lightweight construction methods and materials are making it harder and more dangerous for firefighters to safely extinguish blazes and for occupants to escape safely. It’s estimated that most homes built within the past 20 years contain these dangerous lightweight materials, which are designed to carry a greater load with less material by using prefabricated components. While these lightweight construction materials are touted as being more cost-effective and environmentally friendly, they also allow fires to spread much …

Food banks usually expect to see a decline in donations over the summer, when many households are on vacation. Under normal circumstances they also expect to restock their shelves when donations swing back up again in the fall. However, this year promises to be anything but normal. Despite signs of recovery in the national economy, local food banks in Union Countyare continuing to feel the impact of other far-reaching trends. Now more than ever they need our help. One new factor is the historic drought that has withered crops across the nation. It is likely to have an upward impact on food …

I would like to personally thank Chief Justice John Roberts for handing Mitt Romney the Presidency, possibly the Senate majority to the Republicans and helping every Tea Party across America as they ignite their membership for the election this November. The Supreme Court today gave America the single finger salute, but I can’t help feeling like Justice Roberts is chuckling just a little bit behind his robe. There is certainly nothing humorous about this court approved expansion and intrusion of government into our lives (and an enormous tax increase) on a bill unprecedented in American …

Dear Editor,On September 27, 2011 my mother, Wendy Brody Keil lost her battle with Pancreatic Cancer.  Wendy was a 59 year old, athletic, healthy woman when she was diagnosed in December.  Nine months later she was gone.It is unacceptable in this day and age that there is a cancer for which the relative five-year survival rate is still in the single digits at just 6 percent. It is particularly unacceptable when you consider that the overall 5-year relative survival for all cancers is now 67 percent and the overall cancer incidence and death rates are declining, while the incidence and death …

May 2012 This letter is to whomever it may concern and it should be noteworthy for us all.  Edgar Vant, Jr. and his lovely bride Adelaide are leaving town this month ... and I will miss them both.  I've only known Ed for less than two years when I called him upon reading of his retirement as President of the Summit Taxpayers Association.  It seemed a shame to me the STA organization, serving the interests of Summit Taxpayers since 1941, would close upon has departure.     I  met a modest and remarkable man, gifted not only with intellect honed at Harvard where he earned his MBA but in the …

As elected officials in New Jersey complicate the topic of anti-bullying by battling over legislation and who has to pay for it, we should remind ourselves that sometimes there are solutions to problems that can be found much more easily than others. As director of Harbor Hills Day Camp, one of New Jersey’s leading summer day camps for children and teens, I have seen my fair share of bullying incidents. While we have a talented and competent staff of counselors who are trained to handle the issue as it happens, correcting the behavior ultimately comes down to how a child’s parents react to …

In the good ol’ days, things were better, larger, different. How often do we hear the good ol’ days remembered as though they were always much better than today? 2011 was an interesting year for Summit.  We had some good times and some disappointments.  However, no matter how bad things were for others, by surviving another year, we made it. Before 2011 is boxed up and archived, we would like to take a moment and single out four important lessons our little foundation learned this year:   Someday, today will be considered the good ol’ days; For all its imperfections, Summit is our Camelot; …

Dear Editor, One step Congress can take to at least slow our escalating debt burden would be the pass HR 3778 – The Budget Before Borrowing Act. In August, some Republicans entered a deal with democrats and the President to raise the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion in three installments. Now we hear some of those same Republicans crying out that the United States be “restored to fiscal responsibility so that future generations might succeed as generations have succeeded generation in and generation out” (Leonard Lance 1/18/2012 ). Nice words but they fail to admit to their constituents that by …

It is well known that New Jersey's highest-in-the-nation property taxes cause severe hardships for many families.  What is less well known is the root cause of those high property taxes.  Simply put, in the matter of school funding, the state supreme court has usurped the authority which our constitution gives solely to the legislature.  But now there is hope!  Senator Mike Doherty has introduced The Fair School Funding Plan, which would provide tax relief for many New Jersey citizens.  You can learn more about this at http://fairschoolfunding.com/.  For Summit this would mean $28,533,871 …

Dear Editor, Happy New Year to each and every resident of Berkeley Heights, New Providence and Summit, New Jersey from the Tri-Town Taxpayers Association! The purpose of the Tri-Town Taxpayers Association is to advocate for fiscally responsible government and we celebrate important progress achieved during 2011 on behalf of taxpayers in our towns. We have been working hard to get the 2011 tax increase over 2010 down to the 2-percent cap that Gov. Christie has legislated, without any exceptions. These achievements include: In Berkeley Heights the taxes for the year 2011 were 8.0 percent over …

Dear Editor, We are trying to save the old chemical fire truck in Summit, NJ.  We are doing a penny drive at Washington School in Ms. Madden’s class.  It is important because Chemical Engine No. 1 has seen a lot of Summit history.  It is from 1927.  We need to help because if nobody helps the fire truck it won’t be here anymore. The penny drive will be held from January 9th to January 20th. Please send all donations to Washington School attention 2M.  In order to save the fire truck the town needs to raise $75,000. This would cover the costs of a garage at the Carter House plus money to …

Dear Editor,On behalf of Summit Downtown, Inc. (SDI) we would like to thank everyone who has helped us “Celebrate the Season” in downtown Summit this December.Many thanks to the Summit YMCA for allowing Santa to land on the roof and greet all of the children in their building, the Summit Fire Department for providing the hook and ladder truck to assist Santa in descending from the roof, Thomas Murray III, (aka St. Nick), Tony Melchionna,  SDI Trustee in charge of the event and his staff from Salon 44, Mark Wadmond for taking the children’s photos with Santa, Summit Police Department, Summit …