DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Fire Chief John Herrmann is retiring at the end of this month after years of controversial leadership. Why now?
Sincerely,
Timing Tim
Perhaps because his job may no longer be protected when a new Township Council and possibly a new township manager take over this year. Only one incumbent is seeking Council reelection, which means six new faces and 12 new ears; 13 if someone brings a tasty corn on the cob to a meeting.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Keep ears of corn out of this. Councilors Robert Russo (the sole incumbent running) and David Cummings said a new permanent chief shouldn’t be picked until after a new Council is sworn in. Do you agree?
Sincerely,
Great-to-Wait Kate
Very much so. This is lame duck time, when that aquatic creature is playing peg-legged Captain Ahab in a rousing production of “Moby-Dick” on Edgemont Pond.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Montclair has even more theatrical options than I thought. Why has the chief’s tenure been so problematic?
Sincerely,
The Sum of Troublesome
For one thing, there was the lawsuit by Black firefighters credibly charging racism and nepotism in the department and its promotion exam. Edgemont’s waterfowl have done better; their previous pond production was a fair-minded adaptation of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” called “Invisible Duck.”
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Then there was the renewal of the deal for Montclair to provide firefighting services to Glen Ridge that has GR paying MUCH less than it should. Why did our town allow itself to be fleeced to such a degree?
Sincerely,
From Dupe to Nuts
You’d have to ask the sheep in the cast when Edgemont’s ducks and geese adapted Jane Smiley’s farm-set novel “A Thousand Acres.” Those sheep wore floaties during the production.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Heck, the chief even received an overwhelming vote of no confidence from firefighters under his command! How did Mayor Spiller and some other Montclair officials ignore that display of rank-and-file democracy?
Sincerely,
Ignori Is Not a Restaurant
You’d have to check with the mayor’s “Protecting Our Democracy” group.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
In other news, the Council and the Board of Education have settled the Woodman baseball-field dispute. Comment?
Sincerely,
It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over, and It’s Over
The BOE — which sued the township but shouldn’t have — made some project concessions that differ from the food concessions at Major League stadiums that charge so much for hot dogs that fans take out second mortgages and slather mustard on the mortgage documents.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Sounds even tastier than corn on the cob. Are Montclair High baseball players happy that work will resume on the field?
Sincerely,
RBI: Relief Barrels In
They obviously wish work hadn’t been delayed, but yes. And Edgemont’s waterfowl troupe this spring will commemorate the imperfect agreement by staging “Field of Dreams,” based on W.P. Kinsella’s novel “Shoeless Duck.”
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Wasn’t that book called “Shoeless Joe,” referring to banned-from-baseball hitting virtuoso “Shoeless Joe” Jackson?
Sincerely,
The Jacksonian Error
After saving tons of money on Montclair’s firefighting services, every Glen Ridge official can afford footwear.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
The BOE on March 18 passed a tentative 2024-25 budget that — unlike what happened in a number of recent years — maintains all current staffing and programs. Great?
Sincerely,
A Question of Balanced
Great. That budget news even convinced Edgemont’s ducks and geese to revise their planned “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” play. The teacher is now Ms. Chips, and she won’t have to leave.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Lastly, what do you think of Peter Yacobellis — the 2020-23 Montclair councilor who now resides in Washington State — sending a March 18 message to many on his email list that included his endorsement of several Montclair councilor candidates?
Sincerely,
A Message Not on My 2024 Bingo Card
Feels inappropriate given that Yacobellis is not living here. Sure, Washington State is walking distance from Montclair, but it’s a many-month walk — as depicted by Edgemont’s waterfowl thespians in “As You Hike It.”
Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Montclair Local.
I wonder what Peter Yacobellis thinks of the proposed All-Way Stop on Upper Mountain @ Jerome Pl? Stopping 8,000+ carbon-burning cars that travel UM a day for less than 50 pedestrians seems like using a sledgehammer when a scalpel would do. Of course, it really is quite academic since we are transitioning to electric vehicles.
Anyway, carbon emissions, like stormwater runoff in Montclair respect our Ward boundaries, so this is really just a 1st Ward NIMBY issue.
And because of Council tradition, all 6 other Council members voting will defer to the wishes of our 1st Ward Councilor. What a concept! Yes, deference! A practice that is a little tricky to navigate for my Mayor & At-Large representatives.
I am curious if the soon to be revealed MEC’s Climate Action Plan is broken down by Ward?
Thank you for the comment, Frank. Ha — 😂 — yes, we’re all eager to hear what someone not in Montclair anymore thinks about four-way stops and other issues in our town. 🙂 (Sarcasm alert.) Personally, for safety reasons, I’m fine with more four-way stops even though there’s a bit of an added-pollution price to pay.
Re ward deference — not always. For instance, as you know, the Council voted last October to approve the redo of the 4th Ward-based Lackawanna Plaza despite 4th Ward councilor David Cummings being against it and voting no.
Hmmm. [sarcasm alert] I thought the 65,000 sf, state-of-the-art supermarket want was to address the more expansive Food Desert. The oft-mention desert that reaches across the street into the 3rd Ward and actually trespasses on the 2nd Ward. And the PILOT revenue was not just for the benefit of the 4th Ward, but as so many asked for it to benefit the schools!
I take issue with my other representatives hands-off approach to issues in my ward and that they are relying on the judgement of the Ward Councilor. A Councilor who I think believes how you get to your destination is as important as arriving. Yet, a Councilor who may know, certainly should know considering the responsibility he has been given of the casually fabricated crash data justification that underpins the study. But, that’s just my minority opinion.
OK, I’ll bite. How many car & truck equal the missions of one leaf blower?
New & improved:
OK, I’ll bite. How many cars & trucks does it take to equal the emissions of one leaf blower?
How many vehicles equals the emissions of one leaf blower? Not sure, Frank, but the gas-powered version of those machines is of course known for spewing a nasty amount of pollution for its size.
As for your other comment, I’m in favor of a smaller Lackawanna Plaza redo with a good supermarket — turning that “food desert” into “food: dessert,” among other grocery-store items.
And the 1st Ward councilor I think you’re referring to is (as you know) not running for reelection. 🙂
Frank,
A better question is how much pollution is spewed into the atmosphere when China mines the materials and makes those batteries in unregulated factories? How much toxic waste will the dead batteries leave behind in landfills? Hint: No one knows because it would destroy the “green” narrative. Fossil fuels are less than perfect but their damage can be quantified. Batteries and solar panels are a dirty secret while billions are being made by politicians and their donors. All good!!
I blame Mother Nature. What other reason could there be for her to create these minerals she had to foresee we would strip mine. She had to know we would then water evaporation process.
She has to have a fail-safe plan. Right, she evolves. Humans innovate. It’s a race!