DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Interim township manager Michael Lapolla was recently added to the 2022 lawsuit filed by CFO Padmaja Rao, who says Lapolla — like ousted former manager Timothy Stafford and others — has excluded her from key aspects of her job. Your reaction to the alleged exclusion?
Sincerely,
Song Remains the Same
Dismay. Heck, Judge Stephen Petrillo warned Montclair last year against continuing to do that very thing to Rao. If local students had a learning curve that bad, many teens would still be enrolled at Montclair Community Pre-K.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Squirming on tiny chairs. Rao — who has additional complaints about Lapolla — also alleges that her continued exclusion has happened with the knowledge and approval of Mayor Sean Spiller and councilors Lori Price Abrams and Robin Schlager. Comment?
Sincerely,
The Group
If true, another example of how those three Township Council members have acted (and voted) similarly in many instances. They are a bloc, which is not a block but a possible highway to hell.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Attorneys representing the township of Montclair — one of the defendants in Rao’s lawsuit — have now even subpoenaed resident Sarah Avery, who’s been very critical of Spiller and some other councilors at Council meetings. Retaliation against Avery?
Sincerely,
Courting More Dismay
Seems that way. The May 14 election can’t come soon enough, but that eagerly awaited event is still a biblical 40 days and 40 nights from today’s date of April 4. Reminds me of all the rain this week.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Given the treatment of Montclair’s female CFO and Avery, “isn’t it ironic” that there was a Council proclamation praising Women’s History Month at its March 26 meeting?
Sincerely,
Alanis Moreofthesame
Ironic is an understatement, which is not an underpass beneath the possible highway to hell. When you come to a pitchfork in the road, don’t take it.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Sounds like a Yogi-ism after an Alanis Morissette-ism — and, yes, proclamations can be “virtue signaling” when people “talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.” What happened when the pitchers who late Montclair resident Yogi Berra caught got careless?
Sincerely,
Chest-Protector Vector
They “balked the balk.”
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Speaking of the Council, will you endorse a mayoral hopeful and some other candidates before the election? There are several excellent people running!
Sincerely,
Endorsement Endorphins
Yes, in a column or columns during the next few weeks. For now, I’m learning more about each candidate, consulting a Ouija board, and summoning spirits at daily seances.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Also this month, 12 Montclair restaurants are showcasing plant-based dishes. Great to hear?
Sincerely,
Megan the Vegan
Yes! Cows, pigs, and other animals are pleased, too, as they peacefully toss Frisbees in Anderson Park.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Do you walk in that park or hallucinate there?
Sincerely,
Anderson Looper
I’d rather discuss Church Street, which a group of Montclair High students want to make pedestrian-only — as has been suggested before. I like that great idea as much as I dislike the not-great actions of some of our town’s elected and unelected officials.
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.