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Millburn Resident Selflessly Spearheads Town-wide Initiative to Make Masks

By Jillian Risberg hen COVID-19 hit, Carisa Reilly knew she didn’t want to sit idly doing nothing. So the real estate broker and mom of three transformed into the powerhouse ‘Mask Lady.’ It all started with an email chat on Millburn/Short Hills WorkMom group, where several healthcare professionals mentioned they were desperate for masks. “And somebody said, ‘Can’t we just make these’ and Reilly said, ‘Oh my Gosh, yes.’” So they started researching CDC-approved patterns and

materials. “There was a suggestion to put an extra filter in the mask,” says the real estate broker. “Like when you make the mask for nurses and hospital staff it needs to be more than just fabric and they really like to use those Swiffer (dry dust cloths) ‘cause they are electrostatic, so that’s what we did.” “I literally bought the town out of Swiffer,” she says. “People donated hundreds of Swiffers, fabric and elastic and I found nose guards that I could put in.” David Merdinger, who owns a wholesale fabric supply (NJ Textiles) generously supplied them with hundreds of yards of

fabric and elastic for masks and scrub caps, according to Reilly. “We could not have done this without him,” she says. “He truly made all the difference.” It was Merdinger’s wife who forwarded him Carisa’s email detailing what she was doing and he jumped right in. “I saw it as an opportunity to help her, our community and our local hospitals,” he says. “I’m glad I was able to do my share. We have to thank Carisa for coordinating all the facets of this remarkable project.” Several people in town had sewing machines but didn’t continued on page 2

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Initiative to Make Masks... continued from front page know how to use them. “So we tried to organize, if you don’t know how to sew — donate fabric, cut fabric and elastic, assemble the pieces,” Reilly says. “It became very quickly a cottage industry, it was like managing a small factory remotely.” That meant the real estate broker constructed the masks anywhere she could — in her basement, garage, bedroom, living room. And she had help from her twin daughters, Madeline and Abigail and many devoted volunteers. The group collectively called themselves The Mask Makers for NJ Workers, who would drop off their finished products at Reilly’s house. “Because at that point really what we were focused on was protecting our essential workers and our vulnerable people and our social services,” says The Mask Lady. “And we made hundreds for our civil servants in town and Department of Public Works and all of our municipal workers.” Reilly says the community was amazingly supportive. “There were maybe 10 of us sewing these at home and we were being told publicly it’s actually probably a really good idea (to wear a mask),” she says. “So I was an

early adopter of wearing a mask.” For most of us, it’s the first time faced with a global threat like the Coronavirus. When Governor Murphy abruptly stopped school for thousands of Garden State kids, Madeline spent the bulk of her spring break in the garage helping her mom make masks. She says she doesn’t really feel safe. “It’s still kind of dangerous to go out and stuff,” the 16-year-old says, with The Mask Lady adding that they’ve tried to be pretty careful. “It’s been hard for everybody but especially for kids it’s really changed their lives,” Reilly says. By the end of March, early April she realized they’ve got to employ seamstresses because trying to produce 50/masks a day on their own wasn’t going to cut it and there were healthcare workers who urgently needed them. She reached out to Millburn Mayor Jackie Lieberberg, who offered her invaluable support. Next step was to raise $2,400. “I put in $600 of my own money,” the real estate broker says. “In a week we had about $5000 or $6,000. That enabled us to crank them out. The goal was 1,200 (masks) in seven days. We did 1,200 in like 14 days and just had to keep doing them.”

According to Lieberberg, at the very beginning of the pandemic she had the opportunity to highlight folks who were doing exceptional work in town. That included Reilly, whose community-wide effort to make masks spanned the healthcare workers, first responders and those exposed through their dedicated work with the public. “It took a village but Carisa hired the sewers, sourced the material, employed people,” the mayor says. “I mean it was incredible what she did — really singlehandedly, running around delivering fabric, people donating fabric, and she perfected her craft. With each batch it got better and better. They’re (the masks) unique; I give her a tremendous amount of credit and she has another day job.” And it wasn’t just Millburn, says Lieberberg. The real estate broker’s face coverings also went to an underserved population that otherwise wouldn’t have had access to face masks. “It’s very gratifying that her generosity had no boundaries,” the mayor says. By Executive Order towards the end of April all essential workers and frontline workers had to wear masks and if you were in a store you were required to wear a mask. “Now we have a whole new group of peo-

ple who need masks and it was still really hard to find them,” Reilly says. “So we had to develop a different kind of mask because what we were doing for healthcare workers was very protective but also quite hot to have three full layers on your face.” She and the Mask Makers felt they needed to regroup. “So we came up with a completely different design that was two layers of fabric, lightweight, much easier to make,” says The Mask Lady. “And it was really important to me and still is to source as much as we could locally.” They have produced more than 3,000 masks and scrub caps thus far. And she is involved in a Millburn/Short Hills volunteer gardening project, one more way The Mask Lady is giving back and making a difference. Looking ahead, the real estate broker is also planning to take part in an initiative on Alignable.com called #mymoneystayslocal, which involves being a leader in the community to encourage people to support local businesses and services whenever possible. She has a dedicated GoFundMe page and for further information, contact themasklady2020@gmail.com.

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Opinions

A VIEW FROM THE LEFT

EDITORIAL &

Want To Boost Economic Growth? Tell Government To Spend Less

ark Shields is on vacation. This column is by Veronique De Rugy. Intellectuals are supposed to speak truth to power. Unfortunately, some seem to be more interested in saying what everyone expects them to say, which only reinforces the status quo. Thankfully, a few scholars are resisting this trend, fighting for what is true rather than what is popular. Case in point: a recent Hoover Institution paper on “A Pro-Growth Fiscal Consolidation Plan for the United States” by economists John Cogan, Daniel Heil and John Taylor, which makes the case for a reduction in spending now in order to positively impact the economy. It’s refreshing to see their research, considering that we live in a world where pundits and even economists bend over backward to make the case that more debt is not a problem and that more fiscal stimulus is desirable. Never mind that the arguments that intellectuals offer to defend these claims aren’t supported by the academic literature. Consider the mistaken notion that more spending will stimulate the economy and somehow reduce the debt burden of the policy in the first place. Research overwhelmingly confirms that, for a variety of reasons, the return of government spending on economic growth is much less than the money spent. Then there’s the argument that interest rates are low and hence, it’s a good time to take on more debt -- despite the chance that variable interest won’t always be that low. But more debt, even at low rates, still means more interest payments. Before COVID-19, the United States paid close to $400 billion in interest payments annually, or 8% of our budget. It’s only going to get worse now. Japan, for instance, has a massive amount of debt, despite its 0% long-term interest rates. Its debt repayments are its second-largest budget item. I wish reporters and economists would stop asserting, like The Wall Street Journal recently did, “The example of

Mark Shields Japan has shown that debts can rise for a long time, well above 200% of GDP, without sparking a fiscal crisis.” Really? I would have thought that Japan’s two decades of no growth and wage stagnation could be considered a crisis. Moreover, Japan is quite different than the United States and can get away with more overall debt than we could. That’s because most Japanese securities are held in the Social Security trust fund that’s owned by the government. This means that net public sector debt is actually significantly lower in Japan than in the United States. Enter the new paper by Cogan, Heil and Taylor, which finds that, when faced with an inevitable debt explosion in our future, the only viable and desirable option is for Uncle Sam to limit expenditures as a share of GDP, around the 20% ratio that prevailed before the pandemic. The authors find that this approach avoids the “potentially large increase in future federal taxes.” Better yet, they actually find that the policy would boost both short- and long-term GDP. This research will be added to decades of empirical evidence that spending-based consolidations are expansionary in the long term and, sometimes, can boost growth in the short term, too. However, my excitement with the paper continued on page 6 100% MailedNewspaper Flanders, NJ 07836

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A VIEW FROM THE RIGHT

When Reporters Babble ‘Without Evidence’

ne of the common tropes we see in everyday news coverage is the claim that something said by President Donald Trump or his supporters is “without evidence.” This is a stark factual claim. Sometimes, it’s starkly wrong. The hashtag #DefundNPR started trending on Sept. 1 after NPR tweeted this to 8.3 million followers: “President Trump declined to condemn the actions of the suspected 17-year-old shooter of 3 protesters against police brutality in Kenosha -- claiming, without evidence, that it appeared the gunman was acting in self-defense.” Video evidence clearly shows a man holding a handgun approach the 17-year-old, Kyle Rittenhouse, while he is on his back, and Rittenhouse shoot him in the arm. You don’t have to justify everything Rittenhouse did to know there’s obvious evidence of acting in self-defense. The actual article NPR linked in the tweet made no such boast of Trump acting “without evidence.” Reporter Alana Wise cautiously claimed: “Graphic video from the chaotic scene only tells a partial story. The shooter’s alleged actions have split onlookers on party lines.” But she failed to explain what the video showed. The words “without evidence” are routinely applied to Trump’s statements about mail-in voting. On the “Today” show on Aug. 16, NBC’s Hallie Jackson said, “On Saturday, the president, without evidence, claimed mail-in voting to be, quote, ‘catastrophic.’” On the same show two days later, NBC’s Peter Alexander lectured saying, “The president, without evidence, keeps escalating his attacks on universal mail-in voting and defending recent policy changes at the Postal Service that critics warn could delay the delivery of ballots.” But NBC is blatantly avoiding evidence from its own base in New York City. The city took six weeks to count a record 400,000 absentee ballots cast in the June 23 primary and didn’t certify

Tim Graham liberal Rep. Carolyn Maloney as the winner until Aug. 6. When Maloney’s opponent, Suraj Patel, conceded last week, he complained that 11,000 ballots in the district remained uncounted. Thousands of voters also reported receiving their ballots late or never getting one. If you’re a Patel backer, that would feel “catastrophic.” It would certainly feel “catastrophic” to Trump-hating reporters if Trump were to win a state with mail-in ballots by a narrow margin. They would complain if it took weeks to count the ballots and if some ballots were never counted. No one believes they wouldn’t eagerly promote challenges to the integrity of the election. See 2016. Meanwhile, it’s sadly routine for liberal media outlets to make outlandish claims about Trump. The Washington Post editorial board recently published a hyperpartisan editorial claiming Trump “has done as much as any global actor to advance the cause of authoritarianism and undermine the free world. Mr. Trump’s most conspicuous aid to tyranny has been his relentless support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.” There is overwhelming evidence that Trump’s policy toward Putin has been tougher than the Obama-Biden continued on page 6

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Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Livingston-Morristown Life • September 2020 • Page 5

Items to Include in College Students’ Quarantine Bags

illions of parents dropped their children off on college campuses for the start of a new school year in August. While that might not stand out in a normal year, 2020 has proven to be anything but normal. Many colleges and universities grappled with how to approach the 2020-21 academic year as the world continued to battle the COVID-19 outbreak. Some schools chose to offer only remote learning and keep kids off campus entirely, while others offered in per-

son classes and welcomed students back to campus. Still others created hybrid learning plans that combined remote learning with in person sessions. Regardless of which option schools ultimately chose, it’s fair to say that many recognized the potential that the pandemic could once again upset the academic apple cart after the semester began, forcing students and educators to adjust to fully remote learning in much the same way they did back in March. In addition to that potential

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outcome, students who returned to campus must be prepared to enter quarantine if they or a friend, classmate or roommate tests positive for COVID-19. In anticipation of that, it pays for students to prepare quarantine bags in case they need to isolate themselves at any point during the semester. Clothing Few college students have exclusive access to washers and dryers in their dorm rooms or apartments. Shared laundry rooms will likely be off limits while students are under quarantine, so make sure to pack enough clothing to get through two weeks of isolation. Take inventory of your supply of pajamas, underwear and socks and purchase more if necessary. Food and cooking supplies College students accustomed to eating their meals at the dining hall food may need to prepare their own meals while in quarantine. Stock up on nonperishable items, such as pasta, soup, rice, and cereal, that can be stored in your room for long periods of time without expiring. Bottled water can help you stay hydrated should you feel ill, while decaffeinated tea can help you stay warm should you feel chills. Bring along a mini refrigerator, a toaster or toaster oven, a tea kettle, some pots and pans, bowls and plates, and utensils as well.

Medical supplies Extra masks are a must-have when returning to campus, and they can help students make it through quarantine as well. Masks can be worn when using restrooms or showers, even if students are attending schools that plan to isolate people who test positive in buildings that cannot be accessed by non-infected community members. In addition to extra masks, make sure you have enough daily medical supplies, such as toothpaste, shampoo, body lotion or soap, deodorant, tissues, and disinfectant, to last through quarantine, which is typically no less than two weeks. Technology While in quarantine, students will want to stay connected to the outside world and parents will no doubt want to check in as often as possible to see how their children are faring. A reliable laptop, desktop or tablet can ensure students can chat with family and friends and even stay up-to-date with their schoolwork via the Zoom conferencing app. A backup phone charger also can make sure students stay connected throughout their quarantine period. Quarantine bags can help students returning to college campuses this fall safely navigate their time in isolation.

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Boost Economic Growth...

continued from page 4 is actually rooted in their scholarship and methodology, not just their conclusions. Here’s why: The traditional objection against spending cuts is that they hurt demand (consumption), but this study shows that a reduction in spending actually increases consumption in the short run and into the long run. That’s because, in the same way people tend to increase their savings during a recession due to fear of the future, consumers also consider the long-term tax implications of

today’s spending measures. They’ll increase their spending and investment habits in anticipation of future tax cuts -or, at the very least, no future tax hikes. The result is that the growth in output resulting from the spending restraint is driven primarily by consumption, which should be politically salient. The authors, however, also highlight that, as expected, investment reacts positively in the long run. At a time when flawed arguments for more government spending and more debt are reemerging, this paper goes against the big government status quo and offers a

blueprint for us to not only regain control of our spiraling debt but also do so in a way that will boost short- and longterm economic growth by boosting demand and then investment. Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. To find out more about Veronique de Rugy and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

some people would see as a clear lie?” Even the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution published a 2018 analysis concluding, “We should not slip into collective amnesia over the Obama administration’s weak and underwhelming response to Russian aggression.” Trump provided lethal aid to Ukraine; Obama didn’t. But no one should expect the Biden-loving press to ever report that “Biden stated without evidence Trump

weakened American policy toward Russia.” Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

When Reporters Babble... continued from page 4 “reset button” approach. In 2012, then-President Obama drew media cheers for mocking Mitt Romney’s suggestion that Russia was a threat. Trump upset reporters last fall by mocking Obama at a press conference in France for letting Putin take over Crimea in 2014, saying Obama was “outsmarted.” (How dare he!) PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor emotionally objected and said, “Why keep repeating what

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grams of high-quality protein and all nine essential amino acids. Eggs are also a source of vitamin B12, biotin (B7), iodine, selenium, high-quality protein, riboflavin (B2) and pantothenic acid (B5). Additionally, eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin that can help protect your eyes from harmful blue light that comes from electronic devices. The committee recommends introducing continued on page 23

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Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Livingston-Morristown Life • September 2020 • Page 7

Half the Fun is Getting There

By Laverne H. Bardy ur plane was scheduled to take off momentarily. My cousin and I stood at the airline counter and presented proof of who we are. I showed the photo on my license. Phyllis had a passport. The airline attendant looked at Phyllis’ passport, then at Phyllis, then back at the passport. “This picture doesn’t look like you,” she snarled. Wise-guy that I am I said, “Oh, pulleeease, nobody looks like their passport picture, thank goodness.” “No,” she grunted. “This doesn’t look like you.” She held up the passport. By George, she was right. The picture looked nothing like Phyllis, because she’d brought her husband’s passport by mistake. Phillis and I doubled over with laughter, but stopped abruptly when the attendant informed us Phyllis could not enter the plane without photo identification. Me swearing that she really was Phyllis didn’t alter her decision. Sweat formed on Phyllis’ forehead as she foraged through her purse, and came up with her Costco photo ID card. The attendant squinted, examined the picture, then waved us through, which neither

of us understood because her husband’s passport picture looked more like Phyllis than her Costco photograph. Because ours were last minute reservations we were stuck in the last row, next to the rest rooms. The seats were tight and didn’t lean back. My knees narrowly missed touching my nose. It was hot. Suddenly, I didn’t feel well. I told Phyllis I needed to remove my tight, restricting bra or I was going to be sick. I asked her to cover me. I had the window seat; Phyllis was on the aisle. She looked around and said all was clear. I leaned as far forward as I could – which wasn’t far considering how close my seat was to the one in front of me – and unhooked my bra. Then, I worked magic in the most discrete way possible as I reached into the jacket’s sleeves, and bent each elbow in a way that allowed me to slip my bra straps over them. Once my shoulders were free, I reached under the front of my jacket and pulled the bra out. A pretty smooth operation, if I do say so. Suddenly Phyllis, who had been standing in the aisle, concealing me from other passengers, fell over her seat and laughed so hard and for so long she was unable to catch her breath. The flight attendant

came by and asked if there was something she could do, but Phyllis was incoherent. Our goal had been to avoid attention, but instead we’d become the center of attraction. Everyone was looking. Everyone, while Phyllis continued laughing. Finally, gasping, she gathered her wits. “A man was behind me, in the out-cove between the restrooms. He must have been in the restroom when you began your strip, and came out in time to enjoy your entire act. By the time I realized he was there, your puppies had already been freed.” I was mortified. I wanted to fall through a hole in the plane. But, suddenly, I rethought the situation. I wasn’t going to let it bother me. I had done this man a service. Because of me he had a great story to share with his buddies; one I was certain he would embellish. In the meantime, I couldn’t figure out how to leave the plane without him seeing me. Then I realized he probably never saw my face. I had purchased an Easy-Pass ticket Online. When I arrived at the airport I brought my ticket to an Easy-Pass check-in machine and answered the prompted questions. One question stumped me so I asked a desk attendant for assistance. She requested identification. I reached under the top

of my scoop neck blouse and whipped out my license and credit card, where I’d filed them for easy access. The attendant laughed loudly, and informed all surrounding attendants of my efficient filing system. I enjoyed a laugh with them and left for the plane. Ten minutes later, while in the Ladies Room I heard the following on the loud speaker: Will Laverne Bardy please return to the check-in counter for her license and credit card, on which she can expect to find several new charges for the Home Shopping Network? Laughing all the way, I retrieved my card from the same woman who had assisted me a few moments earlier. It was time to enter the plane. A male voice announced that passengers with an F or a B code on their tickets would be subject to security checks. I had neither an F or a B, but that same attendant was now continued on page 8

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Half the Fun...

continued from page 7 standing at the gate with a security guard who was clutching a wand and pointing it at me. “Why me? I asked. I don’t have an F or a B on my ticket.” “Because we like you,” he smiled. The attendant, with a huge grin, instructed the guard to pay special attention to my chest because knowing my penchant for storing things there, I could have a concealed weapon. By now I was laughing hysterically, the attendant was howling and the guard, who

was frisking me with his wand, was loving his assignment. On my return trip, I lost my license in the airport. An armed guard found it but refused to return it unless I gave him my phone number. What could I do? He had a gun. Laverne Bardy is the author of “Driving Backwards on a One-Way Street: A Savvy Senior’s Map to Finding Humor in Everything.” How to order the book, as well as general information about Laverne, can be found at lavernebardy.com.

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Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Livingston-Morristown Life • September 2020 • Page 9

Livingston Man’s First Professional Short Film Enters Post-Production

By Steve Sears 1-year-old Livingston resident Ralph Gamba has made great strides this year with his personal filmmaking, and the best thing yet is on the doorstep. “View,” his first professional short film, is entering post-production. Gamba, a Pace University junior and Digital Cinema and Filmmaking major in the Media Communications and Visual Arts Department, explains his project, which was assigned by Pace University professor, Lou Guarneri. “I was lucky enough to take a class called Story Idea Development this past spring,” he says. “In that class, we were told to put together a screenplay, and so that screenplay is the basis of the film.” Pace University was offering students who decided to do a research project over the summer $1,000, and Gamba grabbed the opportunity and used the money to fund his film. Here’s the teaser. In the 15-minute film, the profile is on an everyday, general office worker immersed in a 9 to 5 routine. “It basically started from a basis of my own emotions – kind of feeling along with everything, sort of coming back from my winter break – so I kind of put all of those emotions into the everyday character,” Gamba says. “He simply goes through this whole

routine, and something causes his routine to break, and there’s this whole big change: ‘Why am I doing this routine? Who am I doing this routine for?’ All these sort of life questions that we always ask ourselves.” Olivia Velta, a friend of Gamba’s, plays the role of a nurse in the film. Gamba is looking to submit the film somewhere, and he credits the help of his professor, Melanie LaRosa, who is Project Mentor and Editing Professor and has been in the business for over 20 years. Gamba has discussed distribution with her, but he is also going to shop it at various film festivals and Pace University school events. In addition to Sarah Morge and Emily Alfieri, who are also friends of Gamba’s and editors on the project, Alan Torres, who met Gamba when both were students at Seton Hall Prep, is his Executive Producer. “I do help him (Gamba) with certain shots, and I do post-production music choices, buy I’m mostly an auxiliary, trying to aid him as much as I can.” He also adds, “He (Gamba) is a good writer. We actually had senior Honors English together, and all year long, Ralph would always get better grades on every single paper. And when he first showed me this script, when it was just an assigncontinued on page 10

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Page 10 • September 2020 • Livingston-Morristown Life • Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com

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Short Film... continued from page 9 ment, I was really amazed by it.” For Gamba, who grew up loving films, the biggest touchstone was when he was a toddler, which coincided with the initial Pirates of the Caribbean releases. “I was very obsessed with pirates and all things piracy and that sort of fantasy world, but I also found myself watching the behindthe-scenes DVD of the actual movie. And so, from that early age, I kind of built up this love of seeing how it works. At around age 12, I knew this was where I was going to head, because I had this interest in the process.” For Gamba, it was cemented when, at a college fair, a recruiter asked him what his major was, and Gamba blanked and just blurted out, “Film.” For the remainder of the fair, he discussed the choice with others and realized it was the way to go. Gamba, who has experience using both

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Analog and Digital camera systems such as the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Canon XF405, DJI Phantom 3 Drone, as well as Super 8 and 35mm film, reaches back to his Seton Hall Prep days to recognize a few other special folks who have improved his skills. “Antonio DiFiore, my junior year English teacher, was hard but had a fun and educational teaching style, and my senior year English Teacher, Peter Ford, was a well-meaning professor who furthered my writing skills and helped me refine them.” Gamba’s main goal now is to complete his four years of college and gain as much experience as possible, being willing to continue to learn and forge his path onward and upward. Ralph Gamba can be reached at rgamba21@gmail.com, or by visiting his Instagram page, @regproductions.

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