{"id":9373,"date":"2025-07-11T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?p=9373"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:37:12","slug":"orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TOWN WATCH<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ORANGE<\/strong> – A June 30 Facebook page posting concerning negotiations between the city and its firefighter unions may have some wondering if there were any layoffs of unionized and\/or civil service employees in Orange on July 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The posting, dated June 28, coming from Elvin Padilla, Jr., started with “Layoffs averted at the Orange Fire Department!” The posting stated that the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association had “spent four hours with our local. We used every resource available and saved eight jobs. Thanks to the hard work of your union, we prevented layoffs scheduled for July 1, 2025.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears that the Rahway-based NJSFMBA joined Orange FMBA Locals 10 and 210 in talks with city administrators in keeping the eight jobs. Local 10 represents rank and file firefighters and 210 its superior officers. Padilla himself is a retired former OFD officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Local Talk” had noticed two letters from Dwayne D. Warren as Mayor and as “Appointing Official” on the front doors of Orange’s Freddie Polhill Law and Justice Complex at 29 Park St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The May 16 notices, in Warren’s initials, states that all employees represented by unions and\/or the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission are subject to furloughs and\/or layoffs effective July 1. The said employees may be subjected to lateral transfers and\/or bumping by employees with higher seniority, depending on civil service commission judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren, in the first letter, indicated that this legally required advance notice was due to unions rejecting his administrators’ earlier offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This step is taken when a municipality finalizes a budget and has encountered difficulties doing so. The last time here was in 2011, when then-Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. laid off 50 employees, including eight firefighters and 10 police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEWARK<\/strong> – Melissa Reed was sworn-in as Newark Public School Board of Education’s latest member at the same June 27 meeting where the incumbent eight members approved her appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed, 29, was one of nine candidates who sent their applications on or by June 2 whom the board considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed is the South Ward Democratic Committee’s District No. 25 leader, which she was elected to last year. Her day job is with the Essex County Division of Senior Services. Before her appointment and inauguration, Reed sat in the audience with Elaine Asyah Aquil, who ran last April on the three-member All Kids Matter ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others submitting applications included 2024 candidate Fawn Ross, two-time runner Ade’Kamil Kelly, three time runners Latoya Jackson and Sheila Montague and four-time candidate Latoya Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed sat in the chair where three-term member and former board president Dawn Haynes had sat until her sudden May 1 resignation. Since Haynes had 11 months left to her term, Reed will finish out – and has the option to run for a full three-year term in April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IRVINGTON<\/strong> – Last rites for the late Irvington High School junior Ziyad Alim Cook were both formal and communal here and in Newark June 30 and July 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A July 2 Janazah prayer service for Cook, 17, was held by the Islamic Burial Service in Newark’s Roseville section prior to his burial at East Hanover’s Heavenly Rest Cemetery. The community, however, gathered on IHS property two nights earlier to celebrate the scholar-athlete who would have graduated with the Class of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blue Knights football team, Principal Farnel Mangan and IPS Superintendent Dr. April Vauss presented Cook’s mother with her son’s No. 33 jersey. Cook was a defensive lineman and linebacker on the 2024 Blue Knights gridiron and competed as a 215 lb. wrestler 2024-25. The ceremony included the launching of blue and white balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vauss, in a statement, recalled Cook as, “an inspiring young man who embodied the spirit of the IHS Blue Knights, admired not only for his athletic prowess but for his kindness and compassion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Ranessha Bell said that her son had a ready smile and a talent for dancing and cooking. Ziyad, she said just got his driving learner’s permit, was looking at several colleges to continue playing football and to graduate as a private chef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those plans ended at about 6 p.m. June 26 at 227 Brookdale Ave. just over the border in Newark. Cook and an identified 17-year-old boy were in front of his grandmother’s house when someone shot them and fled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both were rushed to Newark’s University Hospital. The 17-year-old was admitted in critical condition. Cook died at 9:19 p.m. The ECPO Homicide Unit’s investigation continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EAST ORANGE<\/strong> – Some of the $83.3 million NJTransit had awarded on May 28, 2024 to renovate Brick Church Station here became visible here June 18. One of the project’s contractors had placed temporary Willscott Flex trailers to be used as interim ticket offices and restrooms to the station house’s east under the elevated Morris & Essex Line’s railroad tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those trailers will be used while contractors restore and improve the 1922 station – one of the last built during the then-Lackawanna Railroad’s 25-year grade separation project – over the summer. NJTransit has posted closure advisories and urged riders to look for signs redirecting them to the regularly scheduled trains on the elevated platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the anticipated work is done next summer, riders will find full handicapped access while retaining the 102-year-old station’s features that put it on the national and state registers for historical places. That includes restoring the center platform’s former freight elevator plus a new elevator for the westbound platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reopening is to mesh with the grand opening of The Crossings at Brick Church’s 400 apartments and a “Super ShopRite” supermarket. That $500 million project – which has the seven-floor parking garage in use and the current 1974 ShopRite to be replaced – has been underway since late 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $83.3 million station renovation was awarded to NJTransit by the Federal Transit Administration through its All Stations Accessibility Program. The first M&E trains stopped at Brick Church – before there was an East Orange – in 1838. The Lackawanna Railroad once had all its express trains out to Scranton and Buffalo stop here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEST ORANGE<\/strong> – Mourners of the late municipal judge, councilman, attorney and horse racing advocate Dennis O. Dowd recalled the three intertwining strands in his life while at his July 2 Funeral Mass at Orange’s Our Lady of the Valley Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dowd, 77, who died here June 23, was a two-term township councilman 1976-84, a one-time council president and, in 2015, its chief municipal judge. The son of former Livingston Mayor and state senator David W. Dowd used his Seton Hall Law School juris doctorate to represent the Horsemen’s Protective and Benevolent Association and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis Owen Dowd, who was born here Oct. 2, 1947, however, first graduated from Rutgers in pre-veterinary medicine and animal husbandry. Dennis, while a teenager, fell in love with horse racing working as a groom for trainer Uncle Bernie Dowd at Monmouth Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one-time U.S. Amateur Harness Racing Team member became a legal representative or an executive for the NJSEA, Monmouth Park, Freehold Raceway, Bally’s Corp. and the state racing commission. He was credited with bringing The Breeder’s Cup harness race to New Jersey in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wife Mary, sons David and Padraic, four grandchildren, brothers Mark and Tom, sisters Dana Dowd Williams, Mary Ann Meyer and Angela Tramporta are among his survivors. Daughter Molly and brother David, 29 – who was killed while breaking up a fight at a Union discotheque in 1980 – predeceased him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOUTH ORANGE<\/strong> – Village elders have been welcoming residents to the revamped South Orange Community Pool since July 4 – but are urging South Orange Water Utility customers to start conserving its use in lawn watering since June 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Sheena Collum, in her June 30 announcement, said that the community pool at 5 Meade St. will be open in time for Independence Day and that proof of South Orange citizenship would be needed to enter instead of pool badges that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collum thanked villagers for “their continued patience” in getting the pool ready for the season. The pool was to open before the last day of school but the pool gutters’ installation was not completed in time. Delays in getting specialized pool contractors and subcontractors, hiring specialized workers and weather-related delays prolonged the work from last summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riders on NJTransit’s Morris & Essex Line witnessed the pool’s stops and starts in 2024-25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOWU Administrator Howard Levison, on June 23, asked its water customers to start limiting lawn watering to twice a week as a voluntary measure. The former Village Trustee cited the string of hot and dry weather for urging early conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Levison is overseeing the utility’s operations and ownership to New Jersey American Water, his advisory is limited to village customers. NJAW has not issued advisories so far for its customers – including those in Irvington, West Orange or Maplewood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAPLEWOOD<\/strong> – “The Maplewood Memorial Library for the 21st Century,” with the snip of a red ribbon 11:33 a.m. July 5, opened to the public before a “Local Talk” estimated crowd of 500. Most of those who stayed in the 90-degree dry heat began taking 30-minute self-guided tours of the now-two-story, 32,000-square-foot building at 51 Baker St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original Memorial Library’s 23,000 sq. in. footprint and four walls from its 1956 core and 1969 wings were retained. Keeping within that perimeter was key for the U.S. Green Building Council to award Maplewood its first Gold LEED certification to a New Jersey Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One notices the solar paneling on most of the new MML’s roof. Township Councilman and Library Trustee Vic DeLuca said that two-thirds of that paneling was paid for from some $2 million in public and private donations to the library foundation fund. Another million from that fund went to purchasing the library’s furniture. (Over 800 donors’ names are found on the second floor outdoor patio brick surfacing.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental sustainability was one of several elements built into the new design. DeLuca, Library Director Sarah Lester, Mayor Nancy Adams and Assemblywoman Garnett Hall (D-Maplewood) were among speakers who praised MML’s inclusion and diversity reflecting Maplewood’s values. (“Banned books are found here.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work to make “The New MML” a reality started either two or 10 years ago. The construction that replaced the 1950s-60s blend of Mid-Century Modern and Colonial styles began in November 2022. Sept. 1-2, 2021 flooding from Hurricane Ida hastened its closure, shifting patronage to the Hilton Branch Library and a temporary library at the former Maplewood First Aid Squad building at 129 Boyden Ave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The library board and foundation and then-Mayor DeLuca persuaded the Township Council to appropriate $12 million to replace the outmoded Mid-Century MML in 2015. The parties also successfully pursued the 2020-21 New Jersey Library Construction Bond Fund – resulting in the awarding of an $8.3 million grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the new library is open, the Hilton Branch at 1688 Springfield Ave. will be closed for some rest and recreation now until July 21. That Mid-Century\/Colonial library had to pull double duty the last six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLOOMFIELD \/ NUTLEY<\/strong> – It can be said that Salvatore Cetrulo, 81, who died in Nutley Jule 11, moved from Bloomfield in 1967 and never left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cetrulo is best known in Nutley as being a 30-year Nutley Police officer. He joined that township’s “finest” in 1967 and walked the beats until he was promoted to Sergeant. Sgt. Cetrulo, in his last years on the force, became a desk sergeant before retiring in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born to Vito and Theresa Cetrulo in Newark Jan. 17, 1994, Sal moved with the family to 69 Hill St., in Bloomfield’s Watsessing section, by 1950. While it is not clear where Sal graduated high school from in 1965, Vito and Theresa had moved away by 1970.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cetrulo may have moved from Bloomfield to Nutley for love, having met the former Jeanne Merich sometime in the late 1960s or 70s. Merich was a native Nutleyite who graduated with the NHS Class of 1972. They moved to the Avondale section, near the ITT Avionics\/Abundant Life Academy, to raise son Kirk and daughter Desiree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cetrulo owned and operated his Sal Cetrulo Floor Covering from his home office from 2007 until 2022. His general contractor’s license expired in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A visitation and Funeral Mass was held for him at Nutley’s Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church June 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MONTCLAIR<\/strong> – The “State vs. Amir Doctry” terroristic threat case is headed for a Nov. 11 trial jury selection date since Doctry had denied an Essex County Prosecutor’s Office plea bargain on June 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECPO attorneys had offered Doctry, a former Northeast Elementary School teacher here, had offered the maximum five years’ probation without any jail time. Prosecutors had also offered reducing probation to two or three years and record expungement if he applied for pretrial intervention and submitted to mental health treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctry, in a statement to State Superior Court-Newark Judge Karina Fuentes, rejected both offers. “I don’t cop out, I’m not a violent person, I don’t have a record, I never hurt anyone, he said in the status conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctry is facing two third-degree charges of making terroristic threats with a five-year maximum concurrent prison term – or two consecutive five year terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ex-Montclair Public Schools teacher is accused of making online death threats against Northeast Principal Joseph Putrino June 13. Although the district had put Doctry on administrative leave for “erratic behavior” the week before, MPS did not open its schools for instruction that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPS resumed a normal school day the following Tuesday. The FBI and Philadelphia police, acting on an arrest warrant, apprehended Doctry there early Monday morning. The Pennsylvania native was later extradited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BELLEVILLE<\/strong> – The 19-year-old driver who had left the intersection of Franklin and Belleville avenues after 12:15 a.m. July 1 quickly returned there to tell Belleville police and ECPO detectives that he thought he had hit a deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That “deer” was Eliana N. Ambrosino, 26, who was walking across Belleville Avenue at that time when the motorist was driving south on Franklin – and hit her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambrosino was taken to Clara Maass Medical Center – where she died of her injuries. It is not clear whether the last of the NJTransit No. 74 buses had to be detoured from the crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elly Nichole Ambrosino was a lifelong Belleville resident. She had been promoted from School No. 7 and Belleville Middle School and had graduated from the Belleville High School Class of 2019.  Her S.W. Brown & Son-posted obituary noted her talent for mathematics and her passion for dogs – either as stuffed toys or live animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Nicole Ambrosino, father Vincent Martinelli, grandmother Patricia Lombardi. paternal grandparents Ramona Martinelli and John Vantassel and sister Emily Rae Ambrosino are among her survivors. Uncle Tristian, a 2002 BHS football captain who died in 2019, is among those who predeceased her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S.W. Brown, of Nutley, has not posted Ambrosino’s last rites. A GoFundMe.com page has been established to handle her funeral expenses. The ECPO-led accident investigation continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOWN WATCH ORANGE – A June 30 Facebook page posting concerning negotiations between the city and its firefighter unions may have some wondering if there were any layoffs of unionized and\/or civil service employees in Orange on July 1. The posting, dated June 28, coming from Elvin Padilla, Jr., started with “Layoffs averted at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essex","category-topstories","category-town-watch"],"yoast_head":"\nOrange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TOWN WATCH ORANGE – A June 30 Facebook page posting concerning negotiations between the city and its firefighter unions may have some wondering if there were any layoffs of unionized and\/or civil service employees in Orange on July 1. The posting, dated June 28, coming from Elvin Padilla, Jr., started with “Layoffs averted at the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1496\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\"},\"headline\":\"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\"},\"wordCount\":2424,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Hyperlocal - Essex County\",\"Top Stories\",\"TOWN WATCH\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\",\"name\":\"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg\",\"width\":2256,\"height\":1496},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"A Household Name Since 2000\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -","og_description":"TOWN WATCH ORANGE – A June 30 Facebook page posting concerning negotiations between the city and its firefighter unions may have some wondering if there were any layoffs of unionized and\/or civil service employees in Orange on July 1. The posting, dated June 28, coming from Elvin Padilla, Jr., started with “Layoffs averted at the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/","article_published_time":"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2256,"height":1496,"url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/"},"author":{"name":"Admin","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5"},"headline":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs","datePublished":"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/"},"wordCount":2424,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","articleSection":["Hyperlocal - Essex County","Top Stories","TOWN WATCH"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/","name":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-11T18:38:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","width":2256,"height":1496},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/orange-fire-department-escapes-layoffs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Orange Fire Department Escapes Layoffs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/","name":"","description":"A Household Name Since 2000","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Orange-City-Hall-better-quality.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9376,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373\/revisions\/9376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}