County launches opioid addiction hotline program

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Officials have launched a new program — Helping Hands 365 — that features a 24/7 hotline connecting addicts with peers who have achieved sobriety in an effort to reduce opioid-related overdoses in the county. More than 130 county residents died of such overdoses in 2018. Prevention Links, a local nonprofit organization […]

New interim principal announced for Union High School

New interim principal announced for Union High School

UNION, NJ — Battle Hill Elementary School Principal Mark Hoyt will become the interim principal at Union High School starting Aug. 1, Union Superintendent Gregory Tatum announced at the Union Board of Education’s July 16 meeting. Hoyt has been principal at Battle Hill since August 2015. Previously, he was the principal at Washington Elementary School. […]

Cranford set to ban plastic bags, utensils

Cranford set to ban plastic bags, utensils

CRANFORD, NJ — The township appears set to become the 17th municipality in New Jersey to bar commercial establishments from distributing single-use plastic utensils and bags under an ordinance introduced at the governing council’s meeting Tuesday, July 9. All five members — four Democrats and one Republican — voted at the meeting to introduce the […]

Review: ‘The Wake’ presents a storm within a storm

Review: ‘The Wake’ presents a storm within a storm

By Daniel Jackovino / Staff Writer UNION, NJ — “The Wake,” the 2019 Premiere Stages Play Festival winner, by Tammy Ryan, is currently at the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center at Kean University through Sunday, July 28. Directed by Glen Ridge resident John Wooten, the play is about two estranged sisters reuniting in a rented Florida […]

Berkeley Heights EMS squad asks for LOSAP help

Berkeley Heights EMS squad asks for LOSAP help

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — The president of the local Volunteer Rescue Squad has asked the Township Council to support a program that would provide its members with tax-deferred income benefits in an effort to retain and reward volunteers for their service to the community. Joe Savino addressed the council at its June 25 regular meeting […]

Hearing on 140-foot cell tower at UCC delayed

Hearing on 140-foot cell tower at UCC delayed

CRANFORD, NJ — A hearing to consider whether three wireless mobile phone companies can erect a 140-foot cell tower on the rear western side of the Union County College campus was postponed July 8 because a group of residents opposed to the structure said it was not prepared. Cranford Zoning Board of Adjustment Chairman Richard […]

New acting prosecutor named for county

New acting prosecutor named for county

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Former Union County Assistant Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo has been named to replace Jennifer Davenport as acting prosecutor in the county, becoming the third person to hold the title in less than three months, and the sixth in less than two years. The state Attorney General’s Office announced the appointment in […]

Cranford residents leery of ‘reimagining’ plans

Cranford residents leery of ‘reimagining’ plans

CRANFORD, NJ — Detailed results from a survey regarding the potential “reimagining” of the school system revealed that more than 60 percent of residents say the proposed plans do not account for any impact of a potential 905-unit apartment complex at 750 Walnut Ave. The survey was available from April 26 through May 13, and […]

Route 22 roadwork to begin in August

Route 22 roadwork to begin in August

UNION, NJ — Construction on westbound side of U.S. Route 22 between Vauxhall Road to the west of Bloy Street is set to begin by the end of the month and will take about a year to complete, according to state Department of Transportation officials. Both lanes will be open during construction during daytime hours […]