News-pourri

TRYING TO MAKE HIS CASE – Sidney Singer, vice president of leasing for Levin Properties, testifies before the Zoning Board on April 4. Township residents packed the Council Chamber on April 4 for the first of what promises to be several Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings on a proposal to convert the former K-Mart building in Rutgers Plaza into a …

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 …

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT – An artist’s rendering of the proposed 4-story, 200-apartment building targeted for the former K-Mart building in Rutgers Plaza. The developer of a proposed 4-story apartment building targeted for Rutgers Plaza was told by the township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission to “soften up” their building’s styling at the April 2 Commission meeting. Representatives from Levin Properties appeared before …

DETOURS – Detours for the Cortelyous Lane bridge replacement project are posted along neighboring streets. (Graphic: Somerset County Engineering Department). The second of two Somerset County sponsored bridge replacements in the township began April 1 with the closure of Cortelyous Lane, a closure expected to last up to 70 days. The first bridge replaced in the $1.7 million dollar project …

Submitted by Somerset County Park Commission. The Colonial Park Tennis Center is now open daily, offering courts for tennis and pickleball. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. Period. We are the only truly independent media serving the Eight Villages. But we can only …

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’ …

CDBG APPLICATIONS EXPLAINED – Deborah Mitchell, the Township’s CDBG program administrator, talks about some of the 16 applications submitted for grants. A public hearing on applications for nearly $350,000 in Community Development Block Grant money was held at the March 26 Township Council meeting. The public hearing is part of the process of awarding the grants, the money for which …

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 …