Watchdog takes the stand, tries to hide behind Shied law, as prosecutor hammers away
After two grueling days on the stand, the decision of whether activist and blogger Tina Renna legally deserves protection under the New Jersey Shield Law for newspersons is in the hands of Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy. The two-day hearing took place after Renna refused multiple times to provide the Union County Prosecutor’s Office with […]
Individual health departments are becoming a rarity as communities look for shared savings
There was a time when towns in Union County had their own local health departments, but those days are coming to an end. Now municipalities are looking at whether the health needs of their community can be handled just as well by a regional health department. Increasing state-mandated services, reduced state aid, and the high […]
Santa Claus gets lots of letters, especially from kids in Union County. And there were countless letters this year that Santa’s elves shared with LocalSource, with many mentioning superstorm Sandy. Although taking this major storm in stride, most kids expressed concern that next time a hurricane hits, they would like their families to be better […]
Four municipal employees may face penalties for using public generators for personal needs
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office is looking into exactly how many county employees helped themselves to generators immediately following superstorm Sandy. County sources with knowledge of how this unfolded confirmed Monday that there were four public works employees in addition to “at least” one person in the public safety department that took home generators for […]
Since superstorm Sandy, FEMA has approved $557 million for homeowners, paying more than $250 million in the past month for rent, emergency home repairs and even money for cash strapped homeowners impacted by floodwaters. But not all FEMA money is going to survivors. A few weeks ago on the site of the former General Motors […]
Mayor recalls path of destruction as Sandy's surge devastates residents
LINDEN — Although the city took a major hit from superstorm Sandy, Mayor Rich Gerbounka is counting his blessings and looking toward recovery. The city is slowly rebounding after superstorm Sandy swept through its streets, leaving more than $900 million in damages to private and public sectors. The mayor admitted that after Tropical Storm Irene […]
Preliminary private, public losses in Union County breach $1 billion
In both private and public losses combined, Superstorm Sandy cost Union County more than $1 billion. The good news is FEMA is supposed to help defray the majority of the costs incurred by municipalities, but not all. The preliminary tolls from each town are now in and the total spent by Union County municipalities for […]
Last week residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy came out to a recovery information meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Administration and private state insurance industry representatives, but in the end there were more questions than answers. The session, held at Union County College’s Cranford campus was spearheaded by Republican Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and the Union […]
Those with homeowners policies just missed having the dreaded “hurricane clause” go into effect. Thanks to the storm being downgraded right before landfall in New Jersey, property owners with damage only have to deal with one deductible, not two. According to Marshall McKnight of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, it was a […]
Restoration of power is a complex process, according to those at the top of the ladder at Public Service Gas and Electric. So complex that customers have little concept how fragile the entire system actually is when it comes to storms like Hurricane Sandy. “As consumers, we expect to flip on a switch and the […]