Hello Livingston.  I'm Scott Egelberg, the new Local Editor for the Livingston Patch. I just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself. Some of you who read other Patches may recognize me as the former Interim Editor for the South Orange Patch.  I filled in there for the seven months (October 2011-April 2012). I've covered everything from government meetings to town fairs and anything else in between.  So I'm excited to see what Livingston has to offer.  A little about me;  I'm a lifelong New Jersey resident.  I grew up in Randolph and I’ve lived in South Orange now for close to a decade. …

My grandmother was a daredevil who rode a motorcycle in a globe on the Steel Pier. She roared around at 75 miles per hour, calling herself CeDora in a costume that would have made Madonna blush. She loved that year and forever told stories of the other performers, including aerial artists, boxing cats and water acts. It was dizzying, both the stunts and the excitement of performing next to future stars like Johnny Weissmuller, who swung through in 1931 on his way to Hollywood and Tarzan fame. My grandmother spent a year zipping around the steel globe. For me, the timing is about the same as …

Jerry Ferrara sure knows how to pick ‘em. Now I have to confess. When Patch sent us the photo of Ferrara in a Patch T-shirt, I thought the guy looked good, but I wasn’t altogether sure who he was. We don’t have cable TV in our house, which makes me pretty clueless about pop culture. “What planet have you been on?” my friend Charlie asked when I posted to Facebook.  “I mean this guy was Meadow Soprano's boyfriend. Cut out the Masterpiece Theater on Sundays and get in the real world with real peeps!” Fair enough Chuck. I know something about Ferrara now. First, he’s Turtle aka Sal on HBO’s …

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities. At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors …

Jennifer Goodman Linn was honored on Friday at the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City, where nearly 800 family and friends, and the Cycle of Survival community, celebrated her life through tears -- and at Jen's request – laughter and smiles. "Jen understood what life was all about," said Rabbi Peter Kasdan, rabbi emeritus of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex. "She knew its fragility and brevity. She made a decision when she was just a little girl that she would not waste one breath to mediocrity or lose one moment to idleness." Jen founded Cycle for Survival in 2006, which has raised more…

On July 20, 1969, I was among half a billion people watching on television as Neil Armstrong planted the first human foot on another world. What he said is legendary: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," words scripted on a banner I hung above my bed in our home in Livingston. My children today are as enchanted with space as I was as a 9-year-old girl. They dream of exploring Mars and conducting experiments on the International Space Station. Two weeks ago, my son watched the final space shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center. A few years ago, he met Buzz …

Minutes after the final launch of a NASA space shuttle, my 11-year-old son -- who watched the final liftoff just 5 miles away -- called home his voice full of excitement for the awe-inspiring event he witnessed on a beach off the Kennedy Space Center. “You could see the smoke, you could see the shuttle, and you could see the shuttle go through the clouds,” Stephen said. “And the heat from the rocket is hot.” The whole family got thisclose to seeing the historic launch of the last mission in NASA’s decades-long space shuttle program. But our daughter was too sick to fly and we watched on TV as…

The summer I was 17 our family set out cross country in a Winnebago camper we bought secondhand from a science teacher at Livingston High School. Our six-week adventure would take us to such national oddities as the Corn Palace in South Dakota and a country radio broadcast with Conway Twitty, to natural treasures like Yellowstone National Park, with a layover in Davenport, Iowa, for a quick fix of something in the engine that went wrong after a month on the road. It was an amazing trip, but even more so since my sisters’ nickname for our Dad is “Wrong Way Wally.”  The summer of ‘77 he managed…

I always wanted to live by water and with this week’s March rains, I can wade in my own backyard. But the pond in our yard is also in the basement, a soggy mess that the kids are helping to mop up and clean out, a spring cleaning that none of us expected quite so soon. There’s little solace in knowing we’re not alone as we watch the rescues and water rising in our neighboring towns. Livingston has had 4-5 inches, a month’s worth of rainfall in a five-day period, according to Dr. David Robinson, the state’s climatologist. “The situation in the Passaic basin is serious,” Robinson said. “Should …

In the past few days, Livingston Patch has been reading a range of comments that center on the ethics battle last year on the Livingston Board of Education. While we welcome comments from our readers, some of the recent postings have degenerated into personal attacks. The Patch’s editors have agreed to suspend public comments on this particular story. We have also decided to delete all the recent comments on this issue and have taken the extra step to suspend the ability to comment on the recent ethics ruling for the time being. Users who continue to make postings may have their ability to …

We could hear the fire siren loud and clear in the house where I grew up in Livingston. The station was just a block away. I loved trying to race the volunteers who hurried down Hobart Gap Road whenever the call sounded to watch the engines pull out, lights flashing and sirens blasting. A summer tradition was a square dance, with a raffle drawing – for livestock. I remember one summer night watching the grownups dance and our neighbor winning a goat. Our friend hoped that with the goat munching on his grass he would never have to mow his lawn again. Now that’s suburban living! Fire Chief …

Wondering if this latest snow might push this winter into the record books? We know it’s been one of the snowiest seasons – the third highest in 63 years. But with another 8 inches expected tonight, could we set a record? Not quite, says David A. Robinson, the state’s climatologist. The state record for January is 21.9 inches in 1996. And that beat a record that stood for 47 years. So far, Robinson estimates that we’ve had 12 inches of snow this month. Remember the blizzard happened in December. It doesn't appear as if we'll have a January record unless the second round of this event “over …

There may be something to be said for sweeping the snow from one's own doorstep. After a half-dozen storms since becoming Mayor of Livingston, Rudy Fernandez could justify digging out just his own. But he's been out the morning after each of the storms helping neighbors shovel their walks and drive. And after hearing a complaint that the bus stops were still snow covered and icy, he set out to find out what he could do about that too. There’s no film crew recording the mayor’s every scoop. Shoveling is simply an extension of the ways Fernandez and the other elected officials on the Township …

I suppose the ancient Greeks and Romans were on to something when they decided to symbolize a new year with a newborn. The lore of Baby New Year is something that Patch can not let go.   I've interviewed three different mothers in the past week at Saint Barnabas Medical Center for stories on Baby New Year – the early arrivals on 1/1/11 – and the "miracle" born in the snow. Saint Barnabas delivers 6,000 babies a year. On New Year's Day, there were six tiny newborn noisemakers, said Samantha Anton, a hospital spokeswoman. This afternoon, my newest mother, Gia Sanchez of West Orange, was still …

With visions of moonwalks in our heads, my family, the dog, and our telescope braved winter winds to watch the giant red moon that glowed against a dark, cold sky on the eve of the winter solistice. Our teenager couldn't take in enough of the sight. "It's awesome," she said. Bundled in blankets we wondered if our next family vacation could be a trip to the moon.  "If we had a trillion dollars," wished our 10-year-old son. We thought our early morning watch was sheer lunacy. But we're finding today that we were not the only ones outside in the cold with a dream. Robert Thiemann is an amateur …

It's not everyday I get to go dancing with my Dad, yet alone the full Old Guard. But the perks of working for Patch in Livingston are invitations that find you not only seated at a table with the mayor, but also with the parents of your best childhood friend. Such reunions have been commonplace since joining Patch as the local editor a month ago. Dancing with the Old Guard at their holiday celebration on Tuesday were the parents of friends with whom I graduated Livingston High School, the trainer who soothed tired sports muscles, and neighbors from Collinwood Avenue. Now retired, these …

Jennifer Goodman Linn has a simple philosophy on life: "Anything is possible when you eliminate fear from the equation." Indeed, so much has been possible. My sister Jeanne can rattle off her friend's achievements since graduating from Livingston High School in seconds flat: Duke University and Harvard Business School. Work in Fortune 500 companies. Bell ringer on Wall Street. Appearances on every major television network. Author. Winner of countless awards and distinctions. And without fear, battling a rare cancer that has inspired thousands to join Linn in her quest to put a positive spin…

When my parents moved to Livingston, it seemed the ideal town to put down roots. Already a budding suburb, Livingston boasted good schools and sports, a hospital, and a grocery that found fame for hosting a game show called "Supermarket Sweeps." My first-grade teacher would wheel a television into our classroom at Monmouth Court to watch my parents' run on the show. They won nine days straight, my Mom sparkling under the television lights and calmly ringing up the correct retail price for items like milk and lobster. My Dad raced around the store for turkeys and candies, loot worthy of …