Hi Friends,
Interest rates are up, but so is ...
Letters to the Editor
By LISA BEITTEL
April 23, 2024
JESPY HOUSE CHANGED EVERYTHING, AND JESPY CENTER WILL DO THE SAME Please allow me to add my voice to the ongoing conversation about the new JESPY Center project under consideration in South Orange. I cannot think of a more worthwhile endeavor nor a more appropriate place for this Center to be ...
The JESPY Judi House is located directly across the street from First Presbyterian and Trinity Church on Irvington Avenue in South Orange. For the members of our church, the Judi House community has been a wonderful neighbor. We have had JESPY friends as both contributing members, and visitors ...
As a South Orange resident, my family and I chose this neighborhood because of its values as a welcoming community. We are a Black Latine household, and one of our two daughters is neurodivergent. (Definition: Neurodivergent) When we first moved here, we reveled in the diversity that defined our ...
I am a parent of an adult son with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. My son is a client of JESPY House’s Day Habilitation program where he is learning life skills that are setting him on a path for independence. Just like every parent, I have dreams for my son. I hope that he will have a ...
Dear Editor, I’m Victoria Bond. I live in South Orange with my husband and our third-grade son who has autism. I have served as the Special Education Liaison at Marshall Elementary School; I currently fill that role at Delia Bolden Elementary School while also serving as the Vice President of ...
I write as the parent of a son who has flourished through JESPY House programs for nearly three decades. As such, I want to share my personal perspective and my unequivocable support for the JESPY Center, a project which will provide critical residential and training services for adults with ...
South Orange’s Planning Board is considering approval of The JESPY Center, which would provide residential, recreational, and vocational services to our neighbors with Intellectual and Development Disabilities. This project has far-reaching impact and warrants the whole-hearted support of our ...
In the quiet corners of our town, amidst the busyness of daily life, there lies a profound lesson in humanity – a lesson that has been deeply underscored for us in the wake of these devastating acts of terrorism that have exploded in Israel. As the sole Jewish members serving on our town councils, ...
The year is 1869. Three years after Governor Marcus L. Ward signed a state Constitutional amendment delivering the end of slavery in New Jersey. Sixty-two years after the NJ state legislature took voting rights away from property owning female and African American residents. In 1869, the Charter ...
In profound sadness and deep reverence, we gather to remember and celebrate the life of our beloved Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, a mentor, a friend, and an extraordinary trailblazer. Her legacy is not confined to history books but lives on in the hearts of those she touched as she ...
Dear Neighbor, I wanted to share an important issue with you - On Monday night (July 24), the South Orange Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on Ordinance 2023-09 on second and final reading which will forever alter the rich culture and history of South Orange Village, by changing the ...
June 2 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and with gun violence now the number one cause of death for children in the United States, arguably it is more important than ever that the public be informed of developments in the law. Undoubtedly, most of us are disturbed by this statistic, ...
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - On behalf of the SOMA Action Climate Committee, I’m writing to express our concern regarding the recent proposed settlement by the Environmental Protection Agency for the clean-up of the decades of accumulated pollution dumped into the Passaic River. It allows 85 ...
In 2019, one year prior to the most critical election in our nation’s history, I called on my colleagues in Essex County government to take the necessary steps to protect and secure the integrity of our elections and election results. In my role at the time as President of the Essex County Board of ...
UPDATE: Since this article was originally published one year ago, Juneteenth Independence Day was signed into law by President Biden as a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth Day has been celebrated on the third Friday of June as a state holiday in New Jersey since 2020. WHY JUNETEENTH SHOULD BE ...
When Deborah told me she was running for Township Committee, I first thanked her, and then I offered to write a letter to the editor. I have lived in Maplewood for nearly 30 years and I have never been more genuinely excited about a candidate for local office. I hope you will join me in voting for ...
I’m writing in support of Deborah Engel, my former employer and now business partner and dear friend, for Maplewood Town Council. I worked for Deborah for a year at Work and Play, the coworking space with onsite childcare that she founded (one of the first of its kind in the world), and together we ...
