EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers. In this day and age, Mother’s Day became a day for many to send flowers to mom. However, mothers raise their children, and give everything they have, including motherly love, so they should not be forgotten.
Congressman Donald Payne Jr. passed away on April 24, 2024 at Newark Beth Israel Hospital. I was on vacation, so I could not write about him in an editorial. A nice person, and he was elected with the same name as his father’s, except for Jr. at the end. He was the one who cut the ribbon at Local Talk’s Newark office eight years ago. He had a soft spoken personality and knew how to be a team member. Local Talk’s staff and I will pray for his soul and offer our condolences to his family and friends.
With his demise, the congressperson’s seat is vacated. Governor Murphy then announced that there would be a special election in July to fill his seat. Whether this was on his own or with the consent of the Democrats from Essex County is anyone’s guess. However, the strange thing is that, despite announcing the special election on May 3, the deadline to file petitions is May 10, 2024. It is huge politics being played, as LaMonica McIver was picked by all the main players, and any candidates looking to run as a Democrat outside of the inner circle do not have a worthwhile amount of time to contemplate running and to get the petitions signed. Inner circle officials already have the infrastructure to pull it off. In the Democratic area stronghold of the 10th District, LaMonica McIver will not have any problem winning the election and filling the unexpired term.
The Democrats are in the minority in the House by only a thin margin of 4 congresspersons. Recently, four congresspersons has resigned, and one died. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) died 4/24/2024, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) resigned effective 12/31/2023, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) resigned effective 1/21/2024, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) resigned effective 3/22/2024, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) resigned effective 4/25/2024.
The Israel-Hamas war has killed about 34,789 Palestinians up to now. Israel has taken control of Rafah crossing. Hamas has agreed to ceasefire terms and conditions under an Egyptian-Qatari proposal. However, Israel claims that Hamas changed the original proposal of the ceasefire. Do you think both sides are wrong?
Orange’s Mayoral election is on May 14, 2024. I think this time there is momentum, so more people will vote. I appeal to everyone not to waste their vote. I tried to take a neutral interview of all the candidates running for mayor. Nepotism is a big issue in the upcoming election. Also, parking, emergency services and schools are big issues. In my opinion, the tax abatement is a huge issue as well. Giving tax abatements, the city can invite a lot of developers, but at the cost of residents’ living and supporting the community for decades. Health care is a huge issue, but none of the candidates have spoken about it.
Orange’s school rating is 5 out of 5 for the preschoolers and as they grow up, the rating goes 1 out of 5. Private school is holding with 6 ratings, which brings the overall rating higher. However, the rating is 1 for middle school and high school is the worst. Source: greatschools.org.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
