The Westfield Leader and Union County HAWK have long held that editorials and opinions do not belong on the front page with news articles and facts. Today, we are breaking that tradition for the first time since I bought the paper in 2020 to talk about a potentially detrimental move that could strip...

SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD — The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education met November 21 to discuss the month’s agenda and lay plans for next year. The board voted on a wide range of motions, among them a new high-school ceramics course and board policies projects. The board voted to approve two referen...

AREA — The results of several municipal elections that were too close to call on November 5 have now been officially certified by the Union County Clerk’s office. In Garwood, Sean Keagan Foley, a Democrat who was first elected to fill the remainder of an unexpired term on the borough council in 2023...

CRANFORD — The Cranford Board of Education returned to the topic of teacher retention during its regular meeting on Monday as part of an ongoing conversation about budgetary constraints. This issue was discussed at prior meetings, but this meeting drew a larger turnout from the general public concer...

CRANFORD — A member of the Cranford Police Department who has filed suit against the township, its mayor and its police chief will be heading to trial next year after more than two years of legal complications.By way of background, Sgt. Timothy O’Brien has alleged via formal complaint that he was de...

WESTFIELD — Westfield’s intermediate- and high-school students may find themselves following new schedules when class resumes in the fall of 2025. On Tuesday, during a regular meeting of the Westfield Board of Education, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Matthew Bolt...

SCOTCH PLAINS —Afifth-grade teacher at Malcolm E. Nettingham Middle School was moved to tears on Thursday when she learned that she has been named as the winner of a prestigious education award that recognizes her as one of the most outstanding teachers in the country.“I am speechless,” said Emily L...

SCOTCH PLAINS — The recreation commission on Monday discussed raising fees for summer-camp attendees in order to improve the experience and to be able to fairly pay counselors.Boosting camp fees next year could provide additional funds for a variety of extra activities that, in recent years, have be...

COUNTY— Residents of Wendell Place, a dead-end street that buts up against the Clark Reservoir, are still petitioning Union County to abandon its plans to build a public boat ramp and a small parking lot in a wooded area at the edge of the neighborhood, despite the county’s oft-repeated stance that ...

GARWOOD — During the November 7 meeting of the Garwood mayor and council, some residents questioned why the municipality had not joined forces regarding a pending lawsuit in opposition to recent amendments to the state’s affordable- housing law. Mayor Jen Blumenstock stated at the time that she felt...