Week In Review: Patch in Transition, Julius in Concert, the Y in Macedonia, and You On The Sidewalk With A Shovel

Close observers of Basking Ridge Patch (our favorite kind of BR Patch observers, by the way) have noticed a few changes around these parts of the Web in the last few days and weeks.

Most notably, editor Nathan Susanj headed off to another state to start one of its first Patch sites. In the time since, Jason Koestenblatt, editor of the upcoming Long Valley Patch, has been keeping the lights on. And this week, Patch readers saw a new name hit the top of the page, where Jason's and Nathan's had been before—that of longtime Bernards Township resident and area journalist Linda Sadlouskos.

As far as the Patch HR folks are concerned, Linda formally takes over the editor post Monday—but she's spent much of this week at the wheel regardless, writing or editing most of the material you've seen over the last few days. With some assistance from Jason (who's keeping an eye on things over the weekend as well), and some just-in-case backup from Bridgewater Patch's Audrey Levine, Linda jumped right in to the role—and showed us what a great resource she'll be for Patch and the Basking Ridge community.

You'll learn more about Linda in the coming days, when she introduces herself in a letter to Patch readers. But if you didn't get a chance yet, be sure to peek in at some of the interesting news that happened on her watch so far:

• Basking Ridge's own Julius Trombino opened up for the Jonas Brothers at Jones Beach. His family was kind enough to share video and photos from the concert.
• Ridge High School athletes are taking to the 2010 season with pride and force—and we've been there to see them in action. See our photo galleries of the football team's preseason scrimmage, Ridge boys soccer practice and this week's cheer camp.
• The township still hasn't secured a bid for solar panels at the Pill Hill municipal landfill, but it's still hoping for a bright resolution to the project.
• Free Fridays ended at the Somerset Hills YMCA, but you can still try out the facility for a full week at no cost.
• Speaking of the Y, it sent volunteers to Macedonia in July, to help out with a partner YMCA there. Its the third such trip made by teens and young adults from the Somerset facility.
• With a little good timing (), work on resurfacing the Pleasant Valley municipal pool should begin this fall. It's part of a larger project that also would include new concrete decking, new lifeguard chairs and a ramp that would allow pool access for handicapped swimmers.
• The community's beautification task force wants to make sure Bernards Township looks good even when whizzing by at high speed. It's focusing some energy on highway exists.

• Firefighters kept busy with two fires in two days.
• The township expects to save money; you can expect to get up early on snow days. Township committee members are considering an ordinance to require people to remove snow from their own sidewalks.

Linda's set for a marathon training session Monday—but she returns to the site full-time from Tuesday on. If you've got some news to share with her for this week and beyond, drop her a line at linda.sadlouskos@patch.com.