NEWARK, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. announced three project labor agreements with local construction trades unions on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The agreements ensure that union workers will be hired to work on the modernization and expansion of the Essex County Newark Tech school building in Newark, the construction of the new […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Indian Independence Day was once again celebrated in West Orange, with residents and elected officials breaking in a new flagpole to raise the Indian flag on Aug. 16. The town wasn’t able to hold the flag-raising event last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was only the third time residents […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood’s Memorial Park wasn’t empty as the sun rose on Aug. 13, with residents rolling out their yoga mats for an early-morning session hosted by East Orange–based homeless shelter Isaiah House, followed by a morning dance party. Proceeds from the fundraiser went to both the shelter and the family of Moussa Fofana, […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Township Council unanimously approved an ordinance permitting cannabis retail establishments in town at its Aug. 16 meeting, a move that comes after New Jersey voters approved a ballot measure that legalized the sale of cannabis in November 2020. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation on Feb. 22, and municipalities in […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge Borough Council unanimously approved an ordinance to use $150,000 in grant funding from the Essex County Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund to resurface the track at Hurrell Field at its Aug. 9 meeting. The project, which has already been finished, cost a total of $174,000; the remaining […]
UNION, NJ — Countless individuals look to Irvington as the beginning of their story, including one elderly couple who began their married life in the town. Charles W. Sommer Jr. and Rose Sommer, both 92 years old, wed on Aug. 19, 1951, making Aug. 19, 2021, their 70th wedding anniversary. The two, who now live […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Glen Ridge School District Superintendent Dirk Phillips presented the district’s plan for how it will distribute the money it received from the American Rescue Plan grant at the July 26 Board of Education meeting. The district received $1,274,117 in funding, which will be distributed over the next three years, through the […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education has held two board retreats in the last three weeks in an effort to find its footing after a tumultuous spring and summer that began with the resignation of member Kamaljit Kaur Zubieta in May because of what she called “cliquish behavior” on […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Township Council unanimously introduced the 2021 municipal budget at its July 26 meeting. The budget is a total of $95,652,790.32, with a tax increase of $19 per year for the average homeowner. This represents a tax increase of approximately 0.47 percent. “The biggest priority was to help the township residents […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Aug. 6 that a 20-year-old Newark man had been arrested and charged with the June 6 murder of Moussa Fofana, an 18-year-old Maplewood resident and Columbia High School junior. Yohan Hernandez was charged with murder, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of […]