General News

Today at 10:23 AM Franklin Township experienced an earthquake which was centered in Lebanon NJ with a magnitude of 4.8. About 18 miles from our municipal complex.  I have contacted our public safety director Quovella Maeweather who indicated the state, which obviously includes Lebanon, has activated the office of emergency management but Somerset County and Franklin have not. There are …

The Franklin Food Bank’s 35th Annual Tour de Franklin Charity Bike Ride is set for April 28 at Franklin High School. The Tour de Franklin is the Franklin Food Bank’s largest annual fundraising event, attracting up to 800 cyclists to provide critical funding for the Food Bank’s operations. It has also grown into a Spring tradition in Franklin Township, when …

OBJECTING TO OBJECTIONABLE BOOKS – Township resident Michele Petersen, in the box with a green border, speaks to the Library Board of Trustees about taking some books off of the library’s shelves and placing them with librarians. A township woman has asked the Franklin Township Library to move some books with sexual content from library shelves to behind the librarians’ …

NJ HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF – Laurie Doran, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, speaks during the Masjid-e-Ali Interfaith Iftar March 22. Representatives of multiple faith traditions gathered at Masjid-e-Ali on Cedar Grove Lane March 22 for the mosque’s annual Intra- and Interfaith Iftar. The event is held during Ramadan, a month-long Muslim observance of fasting and …

PLANS OUTLINED – Sylvester Elliott, lead pastor at ECG New Jersey, tells the Zoning Board of the church’s plans for the space. A 1,600-square-foot retail space at Veronica Plaza will become a house of worship following a March 21 approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The approval for ECG New Jersey came with conditions, including no more than 49 …

COUNTY TAKES OVER – Somerset County will renovate Guglielmo Marconi Memorial Park after officials stopped unauthorized work being done by the Franklin Township Marconi Foundation. Plans by a private organization to refurbish the Guglielmo Marconi Memorial Park at Easton Avenue and JFK Boulevard have been scuttled by Somerset County officials, about two months after the Township ordered that work on …

MAKING THE CASE – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker told the Open Space Advisory Committee on February 20 that the Meadows Foundation needs help in paying some of its bills. The Open Space Committee on February 20 voted to recommend that some of its money be used to help the cash-strapped Meadows Foundation pay some of its bills. The recommendation will …

Tips on staying safe in the wake of an uptick statewide of car thefts and home burglaries were given during a virtual town hall meeting February 15. The town hall was hosted by Mayor Phil Kramer and Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather. During the roughly 50-minute session, Maeweather reviewed a number of steps residents can take to keep their properties …

TIRED OF THE FIGHT – Planning Board member Robert Thomas said he just didn’t care any longer about a house of worship’s plans to construct an arch on their driveway on Cedar Grove Lane without realigning the driveway with one across the street. It took about eight months, but the Jain Center on Cedar Grove Lane won approval for a …

THE MAYOR SPEAKS – Newark Mayor Ras Baraka speaks during the Somerset County Democratic Committee’s Black Caucus’ celebration of Black History Month on February 3. Speaking to a cheering audience in the Township Senior/Community Center, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on February 3 delivered a fiery speech honoring “champions of justice” in the African-American community and extolling those in attendance to …