HILLSIDE, NJ — School board members voted 6-2 to suspend Superintendent Antoine Gayles with pay at their Jan. 24 regular meeting. A contract extending Gayles’ employment by three years with salary increases was passed by the previous board during its lame-duck session, and is being contested by the current board. The motion was introduced by […]
ROSELLE PARK, NJ — Mayor Joe Signorello said he continues to support a proposed ordinance that would relax local pay-to-play rules over objections from some Borough Council members and residents who say it could put local politicians in the pocket of businesses who want to work in the borough. Ordinance No. 2563, which would repeal […]
ROSELLE, NJ — Council members clashed with one another and the mayor regarding a series of appointments that filled the agenda at the Jan. 16 council meeting. The vote to appoint a new municipal prosecutor, the awarding of contracts to new attorneys and the selection of an architectural firm were called “political favors” by some […]
SUMMIT, NJ — School administrators discussed the estimated budget impact of expanding school district’s universal half-day kindergarten into a free full-day program next year at their Jan. 17 meeting, drawing mixed reactions from residents. Talk of adding full-day kindergarten for the 2019-2020 school year began last year and, according to Superintendent June Chang, the January […]
CRANFORD, NJ — The installation of full-day kindergarten across the township, a key component in the superintendent’s proposal to restructure the district, would benefit students who are hurried under the half-day setup, according to local teachers at a Jan. 22 meeting at Livingston Avenue School. Shaun Benoit, who teaches half-day kindergarten at Bloomingdale Avenue School, […]
UNION, NJ — Township residents will soon see a significant number of trees removed from along sidewalks and roads under PSE&G’s electrical upgrade program and the municipality’s 2019 road program. PSE&G has proposed routes for connecting the three electrical substations in the township using aboveground and buried 69 kilovolt power lines; the initial phase involves […]
UNION, NJ — Cleanliness, quality of extracurricular activities and student behavior all need improvement, according to the results of a districtwide survey of students, parents and staff in the township’s schools. The Culture and Climate survey was distributed to four groups — school staff, elementary students, middle-high school students and parents — at the end […]
SUMMIT, NJ — The local Fire Department’s new Insurance Services Office rating could mean lower insurance premiums throughout the city, according to fire Chief Eric Evans. At the Jan. 15 Common Council meeting, Evans said the Class 2 Public Protection Classification program rating grade from the ISO is earned by fewer than 2 percent of […]
KENILWORTH, NJ — The borough is about to receive a seven-figure bill for treatment of its waste water, and its commissioner to the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority is concerned the town is being overcharged. The $1.05 million bill will represent about 4.1 percent of the RVSA’s budget during its metering year, which ran from October […]
LINDEN, NJ — State Sen. Nick Scutari, who served as city prosecutor for about 16 years, was removed from the position by a vote of the City Council at its Jan. 15 meeting. The council, the majority aligned with Scutari’s political rival, Mayor Derek Armstead, voted to replace him with Scotch Plains-based attorney Deirdre Mason. […]