Hello Readers,
November 4, 2021 is a big day. Being an Indian, we celebrate Diwali and coincidently it falls on the same day we publish our 21st anniversary issue. So let me wish all of our readers Happy Diwali. Diwali is the last day of the Indian calendar. People go to each other’s houses to celebrate and pay their respects to the elderly. Elders in the family usually give some money to bring a smile to the young ones. Diwali brings family together and make family a priority. Chopda means books of accounts, marking the beginning of the new accounting year with the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity in Diwali. Usually there is a four-day holiday. For Diwali, everyone cleans their house and prepares for a better life in the new year. November 5th is the new year. I wish all the Indian readers a Happy New Year.
As for our anniversary, I must thank all the readers and supporters of Local Talk Weekly Newspaper. Also, I must thank all my staff and volunteers, without them it would be impossible to run Local Talk Weekly smoothly every Thursday.
The Election on November 2 was tough for many. The people’s eye is on our area to see the results concerning Governor Phil Murphy. Murphy, as heard on 3:30 p.m. November 3, is leading by about 15,000 votes. The law states that the clerks must wait until November 8, 2021, for those who mailed their ballots before November 2, 2021. About 175,000 mail-in and provisional ballots are left to be counted from now until then. Mail-in ballots will help Murphy as more Democrats in Murphy stronghold areas tend to use the mail-in ballots.
So far, Murphy has received 1,201,420 votes while Ciattarelli has 1,186,337 votes (98% votes counted). Neither Murphy nor Ciattarelli have conceded, and the result will take a week. Let’s wait and watch.
Another gubernatorial race everyone was keeping an eye on was the Virginia election. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who was boosted by Trump, won the close election. Youngkin received 1,675,832 votes while Democrat and former Governor Terry McAuliffe received 1,603,588, according to about 99% of votes that have been counted. Due to Youngkin’s win and NJ’s gubernatorial election race being close, Washington Republicans are eyeing on winning some Senate and House of representative seats in the 2022 election.
The majority of the local leaders won their races without any major contest. Congratulations to all the winners and I hope they will work for the benefit of the people in the future. Ted Green and all the council members up for reelection won uncontested, as East Orange is a stronghold of the Democrats.
The Biden administration is trying to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the price of the drugs. However, Biden is not getting the support of the lawmakers. The strong medical and pharmaceutical lobbyists are controlling our lawmakers. However, one thing the Biden administration can do is that they can penalize companies which raise the prices faster than inflation for Part B and D drugs as of October 1, 2021. The penalty can be 100% price gouging plus penalty. It is not easy, but it is feasible to protect people, especially the elderly over the age of 65.
Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves for winning their first World Series championship since 1995 over the Houston Astros. A lot of people are happy the Astros did not win, as they have a history of cheating.
Have a wonderful week.
I’ll talk to you next week.
