SCOTCH PLAINS — The township council on Tuesday gave its unanimous backing to two applications seeking to open cannabis outlets on eastbound and westbound Route 22. In March, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) will begin accepting applications from entities seeking to open cannabis-relat...

WESTFIELD — New Jersey’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program (N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1) has a long and often complicated history. In Westfield, where growth and redevelopment remain major focal points for the community, the use of such incentives has often led to some debate. “The PILOT is, without qu...

CRANFORD — A regular monthly meeting of the Cranford Board of Education came to a screeching halt on Monday after one of the attendees refused to follow the Governor’s executive-order mask mandate. The assembly was expected to discuss topics pertinent to Cranford’s school system, such as the three-y...

WESTFIELD — Despite some public objection, the Westfield Mayor and Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to approve a transfer of funds from the town’s Affordable Housing Trust to The Arc of Union County. The funds will be used to construct a single-family group home with four units of special-needs ...

CLARK — The Clark mayor and council took a moment out of their first regular meeting of the year, held on January 18, to thank one local family for their many years of dedicated service to the community. Fred and Jean Asal and their daughters, Patty Palmer and Lisa Dunn, were collectively recognized...

GARWOOD – At the board of education meeting held on Tuesday, members of the board were given presentations on the 2020-2021 fiscal audit as well as results of the Start Strong assessment. The 2020-2021 audit was presented by Steven McDermott. He said that the final reports are still delayed due to t...

SCOTCH PLAINS — The zoning board of adjustment last week elected Craig Peskin as chairman and Dan Sullivan as vice-chairman. Mr. Peskin has been a board member since 2019 and most recently served as vice-chairman under long-time chairman Ken Anderson, who was not reappointed to another term. At the ...

WESTFIELD — A recent surge in Covid-19 transmission rates that threatened to derail in-person instruction seems to be leveling out for the Westfield school district. “Since our return in January, we did see a surge in positive Covid cases brought into our schools from the winter break that continued...

WESTFIELD — Of the many words that she could opt to use to describe her life with multiple sclerosis (MS) — words like fear, pain, frustration, anger or confusion — one Westfield mom says the generosity of her friends and neighbors has recently inspired a far better option: hope. Jamie Utitus, a spe...

GARWOOD — Two Republicans joined the borough council last week, cutting the Democrats’ former unanimous control of the governing body to a 4-to-2 margin. At the council’s reorganization meeting on January 6, Heather Loffredo and Kimberly Salmon were sworn into three-year terms by State Senator-Elect...