News-pourri

We’re coming down to the wire, folks. Election Day is Nov. 5; township residents will not only help pick a governor, state Senator, state Assembly members and county Sheriff, but also new Board of Education and Township Council members. There are also the two public questions, one of which would allow proceeds from games of chance to be used for …

Name: James Vassanella Street Address: 39 Austin Ave. Section of Town You Live In: Somerset If incumbent, how many years have you served: Eight. Do you belong to any civic organizations: Cub Scouts pack 195 Little League Lions Club Franklin Soccer President of the Franklin Community Foundation Trustee of the CJHRC- Housing Resource Center and many others. I’ve lived in …

Name: Phil Kramer Street Address: 429 Canal Rd. Section of Town You Live In: Somerset If incumbent, how many years have you served: Four Do you belong to any civic organizations: Present Canal Fest Organizing team Cedar Hill Cemetery – Board of Directors Marconi Foundation – Trustee Past US Air Force B52 Pilot Campaign to save East Millstone’s Post office …

Name: Raleigh Steinhauer Street Address: 49 Pinecrest Drive Section of Town You Live In: Somerset If not, have you held any elected position before, and if so, what: I have been a Committee person for my district since 2008. Do you belong to any civic organizations: Volunteer for Second Chance for Animals in Franklin. What do you see as your …

An Englishtown-based developer on Oct. 31 won Zoning Board of Adjustment permission to build a gas station/convenience store and small retail building at the corner of Hamilton Street and Veronica Avenue. But before he can start digging, the developer, Felix Bruselovsky, will have to return to the board for site plan approval, which will include an agreement on the gas …

Name: Theodore Chase, Jr. Street Address: 159 Georgetown Rd. Section of Town You Live In: Southern end, receives mail with Princeton address If incumbent, how many years have you served: 4 years Do you belong to any civic organizations: Planning Board 1996-to date Environmental Commission, 1996-2009 (now Council liaison to) Open Space Committee, 2001-2009 (now Council liaison to) New Jersey …

Democratic U.S. Senator-elect Cory Booker barely lost Somerset County to his Republican opponent, Steve Lonegan in the Oct. 16 special election, but he trounced him in the township. Unofficial results from the Somerset County Clerk’s Office show that Booker garnered 7,731 votes to Lonegan’s 3,438 in Franklin. A total of 11,296 of the township’s 40,072 registered voters – or 28.2 …

Embattled schools Superintendent Edward Seto used his porti0n of the Oct. 17 Board of Education meeting to fire back at his detractors. The school board in September voted to not offer Seto another contract when his expires at the end of this school year. Seto, reading from a prepared statement, answered some of his critics and defended his record. “While …

A plan to provide for tractor-trailer parking at a Clyde Road warehouse – including the removal of about 900 trees from the property – won Planning Board approval at its Oct. 16 meeting. The 40-year-old warehouse at 60 Clyde Road needs tractor-trailer parking to remain competitive, the applicant’s attorney, Peter Lanfrit, told the board. “He’s trying to establish long-term tenancy …

A proposal to build a two-story, 22,000-square-foot medical office building on Veronica Avenue won Planning Board approval at the Oct. 16 meeting. The proposal, submitted by Dr. Didier Demesmin of University Pain Medicine Center, sparked some conversation by the board members over the proposed number of parking spaces before it won approval. Demesmin’s plan is to close his existing office …