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. […]
LINDEN, NJ — The City Council has voted to leave the 8th Ward seat, which was vacated when Michele Yamakaitis took over as council president, open until the November general election. Some council members and members of the public bristled at the move during the Jan. 15 meeting, asserting that the seat is being left […]
LINDEN, NJ — It was the beginning of a new era for the local Board of Education as it prepared to have its first meeting in almost 19 years without Raymond Topoleski on Thursday, Jan. 3. Topoleski has retired from the board he joined in April 2000, on which he served twice as president and […]
LINDEN, NJ — Mayor Derek Armstead will receive about a 36 percent pay raise retroactive to Jan. 1 despite protests by some council members and residents who characterized it as “greedy” and “excessive.” Armstead’s raise, which will push his salary to $100,000 a year, rankled many at the Dec. 18 Council meeting who said he […]
LINDEN, NJ — Joseph Bianco seemed to get choked up. The 98-year-old city resident dropped out of high school to get a job and help his immigrant parents make ends meet, and later enlisted in the Air Force, got married, had kids and worked to provide for his family. He has pursued his interests in […]
LINDEN, NJ — Mayor Derek Armstead is in line to reap the financial rewards of his landslide re-election victory three weeks ago. Armstead, who won the mayoral race with 70 percent of the vote, could receive a 40-percent pay raise starting next year. His current salary is $73,425, and he could earn as much as […]
LINDEN, NJ – The vice president of the local Board of Education, who was a vocal opponent of the mayor in the weeks leading up to the general election, said he is trying to get her fired from her job at the city library. Theresa Villani first made the claim that Mayor Derek Armstead was […]
LINDEN, NJ — Armed special law enforcement officers in uniform will soon be posted inside four schools as part of the city’s ongoing effort to increase security for its 6,100 students. The goal is to have the officers inside Linden High School’s Academy of Science and Technology, McManus and Soehl middle schools and School No. […]
LINDEN, NJ — A post on Mayor Derek Armstead Facebook and Twitter accounts has accused state Assemblyman Jamel Holley of trying to interfere with the city’s Board of Education elections and urged him to “stay out of Linden!” According to the post that appeared Oct. 22, Armstead alleged that Holley had paid children to distribute […]
LINDEN, NJ — The senior captain in the city’s fire department claimed he was “skipped” for a promotion in retaliation for filing two formal complaints against the chief. Fred Cassel, a 31-year member of the department, said he was “disappointed” when he was not promoted to deputy fire chief. The Linden City Council voted at […]