BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A whistleblower’s complaint has been filed against Bloomfield on behalf of Bloomfield FMBA Local 19, the union representing a majority of the Bloomfield Fire Department firefighters. A co-plaintiff in the complaint is Eugene Cantelme, the Local 19 president. The complaint was filed Jan. 19 in Newark Superior Court. It alleges that the township […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — It has been a harsh flu season. Michael Fitzpatrick, the health officer for the Bloomfield Health Department, said a flu is made up of two proteins: hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The notation for the particular strain this season is H3N2. “It likely started in another part of the world among pigs and chickens,” Fitzpatrick […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — An ethics complaint against Judge Wilfredo Benitez, the chief Bloomfield municipal judge, has been filed in the state Supreme Court. The complaint stems from his alleged conduct while being arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, a charge for which he was acquitted in Bergen County Superior Court. Benitez is also a Belleville […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A former Demarest Elementary School student now attending the Purnell School, in Pottersville, will have a work of art shown at the Child Mind Institute, 445 Park Ave., NYC. Nia Lewis, a high school senior, painted “Atlas” as an assignment. Along with the works of several other Purnell students, it will be displayed […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who represents New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District, announced Jan. 29 that he would not be seeking re-election in the November 2018 election. Below is his statement: “Today as I announce my retirement at the end of this session of Congress, I want to use the opportunity to […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School Robotics Club held a fundraiser on Thursday, Jan. 18, in the first-floor gymnasium known as “the Pit.” Billed by club advisor Michael Warholak as the first-ever drone race at the school, students had the opportunity to try out the high-tech whirligigs that are not easy to fly. “We’re trying […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Rich Rockwell, 64, the vice-president of the Historical Society of Bloomfield, has been appointed to the township council. He was sworn-in Monday evening, Jan. 22, as an at-large member. Rockwell fills the vacancy left by Carlos Pomares who was elected Essex County freeholder, District 5, in November. There are two years left in […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A Bloomfield High School senior headed for the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Grace Perrotta, daughter of Stephen and Kate Sheehy Perrotta, of Essex Avenue, learned the good news last week in an email. “I told my older sister first,” Grace said about her reaction to her acceptance. She spoke last weekend […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority has awarded Essex County $14.8 million in federal grants to make safety improvements at 31 intersections in Montclair, Orange, East Orange, Newark, Belleville, Irvington, Bloomfield and Maplewood. “We want everyone to feel safe on our roads whether they’re walking, driving, visiting our local businesses or […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A township couple has started a nonprofit organization with the hope of saving family pets caught in house fires. “We obviously love animals,” David Tucker Jr. said of himself and his wife, Elaina Unnasch, in the living room of their Mill Street home Sunday, Jan. 21. “We wanted to do something to help […]