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PLANE CRASH ROUTE – A closeup of the left spiral path of a small plane before it crashed in the Six Mile Run on March 30. Air traffic controllers made three attempts in about 35 seconds to contact the pilot of a small plane that crashed in the township last month, but the pilot did not respond, according to a …

EXPLAINING THE PROGRAM – Schools Superintendent John Ravally explains why the school district needs to increase spending by $11 million at the April 10 Board of Education meeting. An additional $11 million in spending for Fiscal Year 2026 approved April 10 by the Board of Education will allow the reinstatement of many line items that had previously been cut from …

BUDGET CAPTAIN – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker presented the proposed 2025 budget to the Township Council on April 8. A $73.2 million proposed budget that includes a 2.63 percent hike in the local portion of property taxes was introduced April 8 by the Township Council. The proposed spending plan is powered by a tax levy of $38,993,310 – not including …

FATAL FLIGHT PATH – A close up of the final spiral of a plane piloted by a Lawrenceville man that crashed in a wooded portion of Six Mile Run State Park, off Hilltop Lane. A 61-year-old Lawrenceville man was identified by authorities March 31 as the person who was killed March 30 when the single-engine plane he was piloting crashed …

LEADING THE DISCUSSION – Mark Healey, the Township’s Principal Planner, at the March 26 Planning Board meeting,where a proposed Master Plan reexamination and BI Zone ordinance amendments were discussed. The Township cannot legally outright ban future warehouse development in Franklin, but officials hope actions that are planned for the next few months will give planners more control over where they …

OFFICIAL RIBBON-CUTTING – Deputy Mayor Shepa Uddin and Township Councilman Ram Anbarasan cut the ribbon March 22 at Herb’s Premium Dispensary on Franklin Boulevard. One of the township’s newest cannabis dispensaries held a grand opening party on March 22. Herb’s Premium Dispensary, located at 757 Franklin Boulevard, brought in a DJ, food trucks, barbecue and catered food to formally celebrate …

Township officials have a rough idea of how much money they would ideally need to keep Franklin running in 2025 – more than $72.4 million – and now they have to work out how that amount will be raised, or if it will be reduced. The Township Council wrapped up the second of two virtual budget hearings on March 18, …

EXPLAINING THE NUMBER – District Business Administrator Stephen Fried explains the preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budget calculations at the March 18 Board of Education meeting. About $6 million in necessary reductions included in the preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budget will impact school district programs and, to a lesser extent, staff, schools Superintendent John Ravally told the Board of Education at …

MULTI MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS – Bloc Somerset, located in the Village Plaza shopping center on Easton Avenue, recorded more than $6 million in sales in 2024. (File photo.) The 12 cannabis retailers operating at least part of 2024 in Franklin generated nearly $400,000 in sales taxes paid to the Township. Cannabis retailers pay 2 percent of their receipts to the …

Central Jersey College Prep Charter School has earned the College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). Schools honored with an AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded access to AP computer science courses for female students in their communities. During the 2023-24 school year, 1,153 institutions achieved …