Hurricane Sandy

Letter to the Editor: Appreciate Work of Summit's Leaders During and After Sandy

The majority of our frustration lies with JCP&L's antiquated distribution system, outdated technology and lack of available crews, equipment and supplies.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many lessons have been learned.   First, we know that the city's Code Red Alert System is an invaluable tool for communicating with residents and businesses.  The warnings issued prior to the storm accurately predicted the storm's severity and the eventual problems that were experienced.  After the storm, updates were sent via text message, e-mail and voice message notifying people on the status of integral city services, school closings and power outages.   Second, city workers led by our Mayor and city administration did an excellent job in planning for school closings, cleaning storm drains, securing essential city buildings and supplies and setting up a shelter and warming station. No one …

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Hurricane Sandy

Letter to the Editor: Is Municipal Ownership the Way to Go For Summit Power?

Madison, with its municipal power company, is said to have recovered more quickly after Sandy. Should Summit take notes?

Madison has done much better in this power outage than Summit. The only explanation I have heard is that their utility is owned by the municipality. This doesn't make sense to me. Branches fall on wires and knock out power irrespective of who owns the utility. Is it the case that the little borough of Madison was better prepared than mighty First Energy? If so, how come our city government doesn't do the same thing? Carl Sangree, Summit

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: JCP&L Partner Helps Hotel After Storm

Alliance Power helps the Grand Summit get back on its feet after Sandy.

To:  Donald M. Lynch, President JCP&L From:  Mark Giangiulio, General Manager, The Grand Summit Hotel RE:  Alliance Power Group, LLC I 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 JCP&L by securing the necessary supplies and immediately beginning the work.  Within hours the poles were installed and by 11P.M. power was fully …

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Letter To The Editor: Chivukula Will Help Obama Break Congressional Log-Jam

As we look to register our discontent with this obstructionist congressman, the Democrats have put up a good choice.

To the editor Our current representatives to congress come before us for re-election with the lowest approval rating – 10% -- since Gallup started polling it in 1974.  But we keep returning these back-benchers to Congress to bicker and stonewall, against the will of 90% of us. In the NJ - 7th Congressional District, incumbent Leonard Lance, is being challenged by the Deputy Speaker of the NJ Assembly Upendra Chivukula. The contrast is clear. Mr. Lance is a third generation politician. Mr. Chivukula is a first-generation American, an engineer with Bell Labs, with ten years of local and state public service. Mr. Chivukula is a people-person negotiator who starts with the idea of resolving divisive conflict, not contributing ideology to it. …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: The 2012 Summit Election Perspective

Candidate and council president, Rich Madden welcomes recommendations on improving Summit's governance.

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 increases and chaired both our auditor and solicitor search committees. We have a superior City Staff and compatible Common Council and Mayor. Ellen Dickson…

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Would Coffee Consumption Link to Glaucoma Make You Stop?

Harvard study links drinking three or more cups a day to development of 'exfoliation glaucoma' in study participants.

Excuse us while we sip from our third cup of the day. Whether you're a Patch editor or just an everyday joe, a lot of people enjoy their Morning Joe. Some like Joe in the afternoon, at night or, heck, how about all day? But, according to a New Jersey Newsroom article, those of us enjoying our coffee a little too often might be at greater risk of damaging our eyesight. Sorry, we couldn't read that — we were wiping a smudge off our glasses. According to the article, citing both articles in Medical Daily and Science Daily, a study conducted at Harvard University has determined that people who drink three or more cups of coffee a day have a better chance of developing what is called "exfoliation glaucoma" than those who do not partake. Alas, …

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Education Measures Are More Than Just Test Scores

Data on bullying and breakfasts show schools still have a lot to do to help students.

Two separate groups released last week seemingly unrelated reports, both with wide-ranging implications for education and students. One, put out by the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, examined participation rates in school breakfast programs in New Jersey. The other, from the Department of Education, provided the first district counts of incidents of harassment and intimidation since the state's anti-bullying law took effect. The 2011-12 bullying statistics were included as part of the state's annual violence and vandalism report, and boosted the total number of reported incidents (weapons and drug and alcohol incidents are included as well) by more than 50 percent over 2010-11. Some results were surprising, and disturbing. …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Does Parking Lot Project Put Safety First?

Is anybody out there paying attention? Plantings vs. People = Winning new design for DeForest Parking lots! (The following letter was sent to City Administrator Chris Cotter)

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 right there continuing to work with a truck parked nearly behind her car, and no assistance was forthcoming. I climbed up to my friend, and assisted her …

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Summit Bike Shop Asks Drivers, Cyclists to Respect Each Other

According to The New Jersey State Police, there have been 75 cyclists killed on NJ roads within the past five years.

On July  29th, Jackie Olson, 20, of Tewksbury found herself in the midst of a confrontation with a group of recreational cyclists.  Reporting has since been one-sided and has led to an extremely dangerous scenario by further fanning the flames of animosity amongst drivers and cyclists which can lead to deadly results.  Rather than fostering coexistence, it seems that an ever-widening wedge is being driven between both parties.   According to The New Jersey State Police, there have been 75 cyclists killed on NJ roads within the past five years.  That number is staggering and is very alarming. By educating drivers and cyclists on obeying the rules of the road, on having mutual respect and understanding, many of those cyclists’ lives could …

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Letter to the Editor: Our Local Food Pantries Need Help Now

David Allegra, President of Allegra & Company in New Providence, is organizing a Food Drive for local pantries now because no child should go to school or to bed hungry.

Dear Editor and Residents, Why wait for Thanksgiving? Our local food pantries need help now! After reading several articles in the local newspapers and online web sites, donations to our local food pantries have slowed significantly since the economic downturn.  Many more people are jobless and have never needed benefits before. They’re finding themselves having to seek help for food to feed their families. According to the Community Food Bank of NJ, in the last two years, they have seen a 40 percent increase in need – forcing their distribution to skyrocket from 23 to 27 million pounds of food per year.  Also, 43 percent percent of the people who receive food from the Community Food Bank of NJ are children and 10 percent are elderly. …

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