Speak Out!

Here we go again. For the second time in three years (that we know of), Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has demonstrated that he is unfit to serve, and must, for the sake of the township, step down. And once again, that display of his lack of trustworthiness revolves around race, with some backroom dealing added in to spice things up. …

By Rob Trautmann, Somerset. Time and time again, Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has proven he has neither the intellect nor temperament to represent the people of Franklin Township. Time and time again, the Township’s Democratic Party has swept his indiscretions under the rug. This was highlighted by the council’s recent post hoc approval of what the Franklin Reporter recently referred …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. An ad-hoc committee is formed by a council or a school board usually to speed up a process, to come to a faster conclusion, or get to the bottom of something quickly.,  It is sanctioned by the governing body but it is more like a club, not an official committee.  It sorts through all the permutations …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. This May I was in a South Carolina Arena, about to watch my eldest daughter graduate.  For any parent this is a defining moment.  My daughter’s proud, Mom is proud, and I am proud.  As I looked over the crowd of 1000s of kids all as special as mine, a thought popped into my head.  Congratulations …

By Arnold W. Schmidt, Somerset. Franklin Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad performed the impossible at the August 14th Township Council meeting.  We live in a beautifully diverse town and Mr. Prasad managed to transform the proposed construction and celebration of a “Peace and Nonviolence Park” into a controversial, divisive issue. Mr. Prasad is the organizer and main proponent for this project.  …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. Apart from Assemblyman Joe Danielson’s professional presentation on medical marijuana, Tuesday’s (Aug. 16) Township Council meeting was an absolute train wreck. As a Democratic committeeman I was beside myself. So much so, I had to wait to write this to process my thoughts. I was there as a member of the Open Space Advisory Committee, a …

“Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.” Thomas Jefferson wrote those words in a letter to John Jay in 1786. Even though Jefferson had often been pilloried in the press while he was president, he always maintained his belief that a free press was vital to …

By Skip Schaeffer, Somerset. “E pluribus unum” is Latin for “out of many, one.”  It is the national motto of the United States and can be found on the Great Seal of the United States as well as some U.S. currency. Franklin Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad apparently has his own translation, though.  He interprets the national motto to mean “the …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. This letter is in response to Mark Grieco’s letter regarding his assertion that Pres. Trump’s actions were treason. Your letter made me realize I have stopped listening or trying to understand all together. That’s bad. To start, watching Trump’s public discourse is like that lemonade commercial with the kid playing T-ball. The kid hits a great …

Submitted by Franklin Township Task Force on Compressor Station 206 & NESE’s Steering Committee. Series Issue 6:  Williams-Transco’s NESE and Compressor Station 206:  Who Will Protect Us? The costs of continuing to build natural gas facilities and pipelines will be borne by all of us and future generations who will contend with health issues, impacts from severe weather events, potential …