Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

Another busy week here in the two towns.

The week started with some strong sports performances by local youth and followed with updates on taxes and upcoming local elections. Midweek was marked by an armed robbery in Scotch Plains and the end was dominated by our continuing coverage of the school budget issue. Many of you, our readers, contributed heavily to the discussion on this hot topic. Thanks for keeping the debate civil, yet spirited.

Stay tuned this Tuesday as we bring you complete reports from election night. In the mean time, here's a look back at our past week's news.

On Monday, we brought you detailed coverage of the Raiders baseball team's impressive performance against Dayton High at Patriots Field on Sunday. We also brought you photos and video from Saturday's Scotch Plains-Fanwood Youth Baseball opening ceremonies and coverage from Rep. Leonard Lance's recent presentation on the health care bill at Fanwood Memorial Library.

On Tuesday, we reported just how much Fanwood taxes are slated to rise this year, along with a story on how local seniors feel about the school budget issues and the Scotch Plains police reports.

On Wednesday, we let you know that Scotch Plains Councilmen Dominick Bratti and Jeffrey Strauss may be running as independent candidates this year. We also filled you in on who's running for Fanwood's council and gave you brief bios of the candidates in both towns. We also brought you coverage of the Union Catholic baseball game against Cranford.

On Thursday, we told you about the Irish pub that's planned for Fanwood; reported live from the scene of an armed bank robbery on South Avenue; shared with you letters to the editor from school board candidate Michael Lewis and SPFEA President Dominick Giordano; and informed you about the governor's privatization task force meeting in Union County this week.

On Friday, we brought you coverage of the school board meeting the night before, during which Park Middle's PTA heads spoke out about recent letters they received from teachers in district. Teachers also spoke out in favor of passing the budget during the meeting. We also brought you letters to the editor from the Board of Education president, the superintendent and former Park PTA President Maggie Savoca. We also filled you in on the latest regarding the proposed cell tower in Hillside Cemetery, and brought you coverage of the Union Catholic baseball game against Governor Livingston.