News-pourri

Zach Lichtmann, left, stares into the heavens with three township residents as they look for the International Space Station, which was flying 300 miles overhead during the National Night Out celebration. Hundreds of township residents came out to the Municipal Complex on August 2 for Franklin’s first observance of the National Night Out celebration. The residents were greeted by about …

Mayor Phil Kramer, Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Center for Great Expectations CEO Peg Wright, left to right, talk during the lawmakers’ tour of the Center. Leaders at the Center for Great Expectations – the group that provides services for expectant women at risk and women recovering from substance use, and their young children – thought they …

School board president Nancy Lacorte leads a slate of three incumbents in the November Board of Education election. Three incumbents are being challenged by two newcomers and a former Board member for the three available Board of Education seats. School board candidates in Franklin are chosen during the general election in November. Current school board president Nancy Lacorte, board vice …

The 2022 class of the Franklin Township Police Department Youth Academy. A week of physical training, classroom learning and once-in-a-lifetime experiences was capped off at the July 22 Franklin Township Police Department Youth Academy Cadet graduation. The 15 cadets – down from 22 when the program started – were led into the Franklin Middle School – Sampson G. Smith campus …

Canal Walk’s 18-game winning streak was snapped July 22 in a 3-2 loos to the A Team in the Senior Softball League’s opening championship game. The A Team is the defending champion, having won the ultimate series each of the last three years. The next game in the best two out of three series is set for 9:30 a.m. July …

Project architect Ashraf Ragab describes the apartment building to the Planning Board. A Kendall Park developer who wants to build a three-story mixed-use residential building on Hamilton Street will have to wait until at least November to see if his project will become reality. That’s because the Planning Board told representatives of the developer, Mohamed Nassim, that his application had …

Supporters of the zoning ordinance change – most of whom live in Canal Walk – react when the ordinance is unanimously approved by Township Council members in attendance at the July 19 special meeting. The ink is barely dry on the Township Council’s approval of an ordinance limiting where warehouses can be built in Franklin, but at least one objector’s …

With oppressive heat in the immediate forecast beginning July 20, the Township has established cooling centers in the Municipal Complex off DeMott Lane. A cooling center in the main branch of the Franklin Township Public Library will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and …

Mark Healey, the township’s Director of Planning, discusses the proposed warehouse ordinance at a recent Planning Board meeting. (File photo). A lawsuit could be in the offing if the Township Council, as expected, adopts on July 19 an ordinance that will limit where future warehouses can be built within Franklin. Michael Mandelbaum, manager of 5 Belmont Associates, objected to the …

Three more cannabis businesses were given resolutions of support by the Township Council at its July 12 meeting. That brings to 17 the number of cannabis businesses that want to locate in the township which have been supported by the Council. The three newest businesses are: FranklinGrow to be located at 6 Shirley AvenueControl Grow to be located at 300 …