News-pourri

Newly minted Franklin High School principal Nicholas Solomon, center, with his wife, Rebekah and son, Isiah, after his appointment at the June 16 school board meeting. Franklin Township native son Nicholas Solomon was named the new Franklin High School principal by the Board of Education at its June 16 meeting. Solomon, a 20-year veteran of the school district, assumes his …

More than $400,000 in federal CARES Act money will be used by the township to help low- and moderate-income residents whose employment was impacted by Covid-19 train for new jobs. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money is funneled through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Community Development Block Grant program. The Council at …

A member of the Tabatchnick family, whose food manufacturing plant is on Hamilton Street, told the Planning Board on June 2 that the company wants to participate in the budding cannabis industry. (Photo: Tabatchnick Fine Foods.) A June 2 Planning Board discussion on the new zoning ordinance changes for cannabis businesses had an unexpected participant: a member of the Tabatchnick …

Members of the Franklin Food Bank staff, Somerset County Sheriff’s Department and Franklin Township Police Department at the Food Bank headquarters for the check presentation. The fact that the Franklin Food Bank received a donation on June 1 wasn’t unusual; what was unusual was how the donation was delivered. Members of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, accompanied by officers from …

Township Council members decided to have a smaller version of the annual July 4 celebration this year. There will still be the rockets’ red glare and “bombs” bursting in air, but little else at the township’s annual July 4 celebration this year. The removal of state restrictions on outdoor gatherings gave Township Council members the confidence to plan a scaled-down …

The Township Council is following the state government’s lead and will require masks in all public areas of township-owned buildings, beyond the removal date of the governor’s mask-wearing mandate. Mask-wearing inside municipal offices will be up to the discretion of the person occupying that office, the Township Council decided at its May 25 meeting. Gov. Phil Murphy on May 24 …

Layout of the proposed Dada Bhagwan Vignan Institute. The applicants for a temple on South Middlebush Road would have sailed through the Zoning Board of Adjustment approval process were it not for their desire to accommodate the concerns of their neighbors, the Board was told at its May 20 meeting. Kevin Obrien, a planner hired by the applicant, Dada Bhagwan …

Layout of some of the Sterling Pointe apartments approved May 19 by the Planning Board. The Sterling Pointe 55-and-over community will get a little bigger, now that two apartment buildings were approved May 19 by the township Planning Board. The Board approved the developer’s application to build two four-storey buildings, each holding 30 apartments. The application was a modification of …

The putting course and paddle boats at Colonial Park are now open for the season. The putting course is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m., until June 20. Beginning June 26, the facility will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The fee is $8 for adults, $5 for youth and …

The number of violent crimes reported in Franklin during 2020 decreased compared to the previous year, but the township saw an increase in the number of reported non-violent crimes. The increase was enough to kick the total number of reported crimes up a bit, from 855 in 2019 to 859 in2020, according to statistics provided by the township police department. …