AUGUST 28, 2019 • WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM • VOL. CXXXII, NO. 16
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
SUMMER STORMS
Melham: Lest we forget, Belleville gets the same water as Newark does
By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
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Photo by Nicholas Matos
It sure has been a wild August, weather-wise, hasn’t it? Check out this photo taken by Nicholas Matos, of Kearny. He grabbed the shot on Davis Avenue, Kearny, last week during one of the rainstorms that have hit the area with a lot of thunder and lightning. Check back in the coming weeks for more on the unusual summer weather.
he past few weeks have been frustrating for Belleville Mayor Michael Melham and residents of the entire community. While Belleville has been dealing with water challenges since late 2018, recent conference calls, press conferences, meetings and news reports seem to only highlight the City of Newark and concerns from Newark residents. “I’ve been telling everyone that will listen: Belleville residents drink the same
exact water, which travels through a virtually identical infrastructure,” Melham said. “In the future, if you are going to mandate filters, bottled water and testing, Belleville must be included.” Early, Melham expressed exasperation that surrounding mayors were not included on several early conference calls about the water challenges, even though the Township of Belleville is a customer of Newark and directly purchases its water. Speaking on behalf of the people of Belleville, Melham has made his voice heard via calls, texts and emails to fed-
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WATER, 16
What’s a business owner to do when a service animal comes in? By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
a restaurant. And the answer is very much a “yes,” a service dog may be present anywhere the public is able to be — and it’s because of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that this is possible. We bring you this information in case you ever attend a restaurant and see a service dog there. Christopher Sweet is a technical assistant at the Northeast Center for the Americans With Disability
Envision this scenario, if you will, for a moment. It’s a hypothetical, but it’s possible it could happen to you one day — or maybe it already has. You walk into a local eatery — and inside is a person with a service dog. Notice we said service “dog” and not animal. It’s not a bother, really. But you wonder whether it’s right, or legal, for a service animal to be inside
Act. He told The Observer last week that Titles II and III of the ADA make it clear that service animals are “allowed in public facilities and accommodations. A service animal must be allowed to accompany the handler to any place in the building or facility where members of the public, program participants, customers or clients are allowed. Even if the business or public program has a ‘no pets’ policy, it may not deny entry to a person with a service animal. Service
animals are not pets. So, although a ‘no pets’ policy is perfectly legal, it does not allow a business to exclude service animals.” And, Sweet says, there is a set of guidelines that any business owner and the business’s employees must always follow. “When a person with a service animal enters a public facility or place of public accommodation, the person
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SERVICE, 19
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