The proposed 2014 budget that will be presented to the Township Council next month includes a slight tax increase and money for street repaving and a controversial sidewalk construction plan. Whether that $750,000 allocation for sidewalks on streets near Franklin Middle School survives in the budget that is finally adopted by the council remains to be seen. Mayor Brian Levine …

Somerset Patriots fans who can’t make every home game this season will be able to watch at least 20 of them via the Internet, thanks to SPN.tv, the Patriots’ media network. In addition to live-streaming 20 games during the season, SPN.tv will also broadcast eight original programs and game recaps. The first game to be live-streamed this season will be …

Voices got a little loud at the March 20 Board of Education meeting when a Township Councilman and the board president engaged in a heated discussion about a meeting between among members of both bodies. Councilman Phil Kramer (D-Ward 3) used the board meeting’s public portion to tell members that a meeting he has requested with its facilities committee has …

A 40-year educational veteran – and veteran of a very public dust-up with Gov. Chris Christie – was named interim schools Superintendent March 20 by the Board of Education. LeRoy Seitz will take over the helm on March 29, the day after current interim Superintendent Eveny Pagan leaves the district for another job. Seitz, of Long Branch, will be paid …

The Somerset Patriots have announced the re-signing of third baseman Corey Smith. Smith had an All-Star season for the Patriots in 2013, finishing with a .269 batting average, 82 runs, 138 hits, 29 doubles, 20 home runs, and 84 RBI in 133 games played. Smith was the Atlantic League Player Of The Month for May when he hit .333 with …

Franklin Park resident Jerry L. Midgette, the Somerset County Election Administrator, is the first African-American elected president of the New Jersey Association of Election Officials. Midgette’s election came during the NJAEO’s annual conference on March 18 in Atlantic City. Midgette, a former election lawyer, is also the first Somerset County election official to lead the organization, according to a press …

Teacher and paraprofessional layoffs and a slight property tax increase are in the offing under a $142 million preliminary 2014-2015 school year operating budget approved March 19 by the Board of Education. Those layoffs could be mitigated by outsourcing the district’s substitute teachers, the board was told. Interim schools Superintendent Eveny Pagan told the board that the layoffs of the …

  Franklin Middle School will present “Guys & Dolls” in the school auditorium at 7 p.m. on March 21 and 22, and 2 p.m. on March 23. Tickets are $10, $5 for students, and can be reserved by emailing fmstickets@gmail.com.

Ideas for devices that check surgically implanted mechanisms and provide a way to find lost items took the top two prizes in the fourth annual AT&T Student Innovation Competition. The ideas were created by Franklin High School senior Ajita Singh, who thought up the medical device, and junior Tom Kowalsky, who devised the search device. Singh, who came in first, won …

Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots have announced the signing of shortstop Edwin Maysonet. Maysonet has Major League experience with the Houston Astros in 2008-2009 and with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012. He has a Major League career .265 batting average, 36 hits, and 11 RBI in 76 games played. “If what I hear about Edwin is accurate, it will be …