Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

Much has gone on in Westfield this week, and I've greatly enjoyed my time as guest editor.  Here is a recap of this week's events:

On Monday we reported the arrest of Samuel Cavanaugh, 18, and two minors for a series of jumpings and robberies they perpetrated in Westfield and Cranford this winter, as well as the arrest of Ahmed Mostafa, of N.C., after a motor vehicle and foot pursuit in Westfield.  We also told you that Westfield High School continued its streak of distinguished performances at the annual YMCA Model U.N. conference in Hershey, Penn., on Sunday.  They were awarded the title of premier delegation and many individual students received top honors.  Josh Solomon, one of the delegates and also a Patch intern, gave a personal account of his early acceptance to Northwestern University. In sports, a strong performance by the WHS boys indoor track team won them the title in the Union County Relays championship.  Ronak Patel also wrote a profile of WHS football's Patrick Gray's return from injury and his future aspirations.

On Tuesday we told you that Wesfield's Bramnick and Munoz of the State Assembly were about to start their new terms of office as the State Legislature reconvened.  In government and public safety, Westfield's Kirsch and Walsh were confirmed as State Judges in Trenton and WPD hired six new police officers.  A look at the past week's police activity was recounted in the police blotter, including a description of home burglaries occurring on Jan. 7.  We also ran a sports profile of senior WHS swimmer Suzanne Lemberg.

On Wednesday, Debi Levine reported that Westfield schools had agreed to sign on to the state's application for federal grant money from the Race to the Top program.  We also told you that the town will be purchasing new and improved radar speed signs for elementary school zones in the near future. In sports, the WHS girls basketball team fell to Cranford, 46-40.  Finally, we spotlighted the work of local photographer Andrea Mellen whose work had hung in Starbucks for the past few months.

On Thursday we reported that Westfield school bus and facility budgets were not going to jump dramatically in 2010. The police department spoke to Patch about the purchase of three new cruisers to replace old vehicles. We featured the local Presbyterian kindergarten's holiday service project to help Afghani students by sending them basic school supplies.  In sports, the WHS hockey team beat SP-F in a decisive victory.  Also, editor John Celock wrote about other people's reactions to Westfield political tradition.

On Friday we reported that both the boys and girls basketball teams were victors in games the night before.  The girls won a blowout against Elizabeth, but the boys narrowly won in the final seconds of an exciting game against SP-F.  However, the ice hockey team was not as fortunate as they had their winning streak snapped by Madison.

On Saturday and Sunday we rolled out the final two installments of the multi-part series on the history of the Westfield Boys lacrosse team. We told you that Washington Elementary School's PTO had raised funds for a new track to  be installed this summer. We also featured a which include a march from the Westfield circle to Temple Emanu-El where a service will be held at approximately 1p.m.