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 …

The Somerset Patriots have announced the signings of outfielder Aharon Eggleston and utility player Miguel Abreu. Eggleston had an All-Star season for the Patriots last year, finishing with a .294 average, 126 hits, 22 doubles, eight home runs, and 56 RBI. “We are extremely excited to have Eggy back with us this season.  He was a huge part of our …

By Raleigh Steinhauer, Esq., Somerset. The Township Council’s recent takeover of the Hamilton Street Special Improvement District sets an ominous precedent. And while the Council’s unprecedented actions may not technically be illegal (the point is debatable) they certainly violate the intention of the law. The Hamilton Street Special Improvement District is a Special Improvement District (“SID”) created pursuant to state …

Bridgewater, NJ – American Diabetes Association’s Northern New Jersey Market has announced that Sparky Lyle, a Major League Baseball Cy Young Award winner (1977) and Manager Emeritus of the Somerset Patriots, will join Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes as the Honorary Chair. Lyle, who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, will drive fundraising and raise awareness around three events …

A township-based wealth management firm was named one of two $100,000 grant recipients from the Toigo Institute for Leadership Excellence Advancement and Diversity (I-LEAD)’s “Bridge to Business Initiative.” The firm, Momentum Advisors, was founded by township resident Allan Boomer, a Toigo Fellow. The program’s mission is to support the successful launch and growth of Toigo alumni-owned finance businesses. Momentum Advisors was …