News-pourri

Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad asked for a review of area Municipal Court Judge salaries in early 2018, including that of presiding municipal court judge Hector Rodriguez, barely a year into Rodriguez’s current term. The review, requested several months after Prasad steered a township landlord to Rodriguez for help with a tenant issue in 2017, came around the time budget appropriations …

Several township figures are considered among the state’s African-American power elite by a statewide political publication. InsiderNJ.com‘s “2019 African American Political Power List” includes people as varied as state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, former Township Councilwoman and current Somerset County Freeholder Shanel Robinson, longtime Councilwoman Kimberly Francois, entrepreneur Randall Pinkett and the Rev. DeForest “Buster” Soaries of First Baptist Church …

Exhibitions of black culture, calls for continued social justice activism and an appearance by the state’s Lieutenant Governor highlighted the annual Black History Month celebration Feb. 16 at the township Community/Senior Center. Sponsored by the Somerset County Democratic Black Caucus, the day also featured a number of speakers, including state Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, Mayor Phil Kramer, Somerset County Freeholder …

The Franklin Township Cultural Arts Commission performance gazebo was officially gifted to the township at the Feb. 12 Township Council meeting. The gazebo, located in the municipal complex, next to the township library’s main branch, was the brainchild of Bill Grippo, the MacAfee Road School principal and former township politician known for his fundraising prowess. Grippo partnered with CAC members …

The Township Council on Feb. 12 honored one of their own who died in late January. John Clyde, a former Councilman and Mayor, died Jan. 24 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. A Council member for 16 years, Clyde served as Deputy Mayor in 2000 and Mayor in 2001. Clyde was also active on the township’s Environmental Commission, …

Rejecting repeated calls for his resignation, Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad on Feb. 12 vowed to fill out his term, and accused those who oppose him with “political grandstanding.” Prasad (D-At Large) has been enmeshed in controversy at various times over the last three years, most recently over his handling of the approval process for the now-defunct plan for a “Peace …

Organizers of the upcoming “Empty Bowls Franklin Township” fundraiser have high hopes for their inaugural event. The founding executive team members – Susan Winston Seamon and Bob and Ceil Cheril – say they wanted to do something to help ease the concerns of people with food insecurity. The fundraiser is set for 1-5 p.m. March 10 at the DoubleTree Hotel …

The township’s municipal prosecutor and a long-time educator are among the nine women chosen as the 2019 Outstanding Women in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women. Bernice Jalloh, an attorney who is currently the township prosecutor, will be honored in the Journalism/Media/Law category, and Wanda Brooks-Long, CEO of an educational services company and former …

A developer is looking to bring a Chick-fil-A and a second Starbucks to a lot adjacent to the Route 27 redevelopment area. The project is targeted for land now occupied by Frank’s Hardware & Building Supply and Sunny Seafood on Rt. 27/Somerset Street, bordered by Kevin Apuzzio Avenue and the WaWa convenience store. The project also includes a Secure Space …

Township Democrats tapped some home-grown talent in picking the newest member of the Township Council on Jan. 22. Township native Crystal Pruitt was unanimously picked by the council to fill in the one-year unexpired term of former Councilwoman Shanel Robinson. Robinson, who held an At-Large seat, is now a Somerset County Freeholder, having won that position in November’s election. In …