What started with a non-emergency accident with our $1.3 million dollar fire truck in January, ended up with a specially worded council subterfuge from our Fire commissioner, Councilman Mark Lazarow. The final chapter to what the Hawk’s original article called “Garwood Combats Scrutiny.”Two months a...

At Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, the 2024 Municipal Operating and Capital Budgets were presented to Westfield residents. If you didn’t have a chance to tune in, please take a few minutes to review the presentation and the budget details on the Town website (www.westfieldnj.gov) because you are goi...

The purpose of this letter is to advise Garwood residents of two upcoming activities regarding the Borough’s shade trees – the trees between the sidewalk and curb of our streets.The first is that PSE&G manages an ongoing tree pruning program in this area to maintain 8’ of ‘line clearance’ around ele...

An art-loving guard at the Guggenheim Museum would impose these three enlightening rules on museum- goers if she were in charge: 1. You don’t have to look at everything.2. You do have to look at something for at least five minutes.3. Don’t lay eyes on the wall text. This guard is also the author Bia...

A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism ProgramDo Women Really Ruin Everything?How did our world become so pink and blue? The stereotypical things that are mainly enjoyed by women like Taylor Swift, the Barbie movie, boy bands, and even the color pink are “basic” and demonized, yet...

In a few short weeks, Westfield voters will be asked to choose three new members to serve on the local board of education (BOE) and to weigh in on an additional funding request that will allow the district to raise its annual budget by $1,675,397 over its general operating budget of $131,545,336.It’...

A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism ProgramWe Need to Ditch the iPadsIt’s the generation of the iPad kids. Generation Alpha.I didn’t get my first iPad until I was in third grade, but even with that, I wasn’t allowed to have social media, or fully access the internet. I played T...

“The friendships that stick are treasures and ultimately make life complete; without them, I would be lost.”Those words from a psychologist colleague and friend, Dr. Kathy G., capture how precious and vital friendship can be.In my last column on the Art of Friendship Part I, I talked about making ne...

A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism Program‘Earth’ Without Art Is Just ‘Eh’Throughout history, art has evolved into an educational tool, a form of creative expression, and an essential part of our lives. However, it is often pushed to the side regarding educational funding. Acc...

New Jersey, which is consistently ranked among the least transparent states in the country, has never been what we would call “forthcoming” with its dirty little secrets. On Monday, both the State Assembly and the Senate will be voting to gut the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and essentially send o...