News-pourri

A proposed 32-home development at Cedar Grove Lane and Amwell Road didn’t seem to impress the Planning Board when it was presented to its members. The developer, Anatol Hiller, brought the proposal to the board at its June 21 meeting, not as a formal application, but as a concept. And the concept left several board members saying, “meh.” The homes …

A raft of bills co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) moved through the state Legislature during June. Among the bills Danielsen supported and which received either committee or Assembly approval are: A bill (ACR-13) urging Congress to enact reforms addressing sexual harassment and assault in the United States Armed Forces was advanced by the Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs …

A 101-room hotel on a four-acre lot off Atrium Drive was approved June 21 by the Planning Board. The four-story hotel will be a limited-service Hampton Inn, the board was told, and will not have a restaurant or banquet rooms. It will have an indoor pool, fitness center, small meeting rooms and will offer guests Continental breakfasts, said Steven Finch, …

In what is one of the best-kept secrets in the township, the two Franklin Township Police officers involved in the April 9, 2016 shooting death of a township resident will not face a federal civil rights investigation. Although that determination was made in February, township officials reached for comment said they had not heard about it, and the person who …

Update 3: After a lengthy discussion, the Human Relations Commission deferred making a recommendation to the Township Council, pending information members said Mayor Kramer was going to supply. The mayor also told the commission that part of the recording package would be a relocation of their meetings from the library’s Historic Collections Room to the municipal building’s large conference room. …

The township Police Department’s Neighborhood Police team held its second pizza and ice cream social at its Hamilton Street office June 16. As it did last year, the team held the event on the last day of school for district students. The officers welcomed children and adults into their office for slices of pizza – donated by Nicola’s Pizzeria – …

There has been a massive recall of various food products over the last two weeks due to an undeclared allergen being found in an ingredient common to all of them, according to releases from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. The problems were discovered on June 6, when the companies received notification from an ingredient supplier that ingredients used …

The township will increase the number of board and committee meetings that are recorded and televised. That was the decision June 13 by the Township Council, after the idea was broached by Mayor Phil Kramer. Kramer said he was responding to a June 5 editorial in the Franklin Reporter & Advocate, in which it was noted that most every board …

A student member of a township commission, a charitable foundation and awareness of PTSD were recognized June 13 by the Township Council. Nicholas Renda, a Franklin High School senior who was a junior member of the township’s Human Relations Commission for two years, was commended by the council for his work. “(T)he Township of Franklin has benefited greatly because of …

If the number of cars parked at The Palace at Somerset June 12 was any indication, the 17th annual Elijah’s Promise Chef’s Night was a success. The event is the largest fundraiser held by Elijah’s Promise, and supplies the organization with about 25 percent of the culinary school’s budget, said Michelle Wilson, Elijah’s Promise’s associate director. Wilson said the event …