Union County Means Business In 2013

The county will host a series of business networking events in the coming months.

The following is a monthly column submitted by Union County Freeholder Chairwoman Linda Carter. Despite the explosive growth of Internet-based social media in the business sector, there is still no substitute for getting out, meeting people and exchanging ideas face to face. Those personal experiences can make all the difference when you are looking to start or grow a business.  That’s the driving force behind our Union County Means Business (UCMB) series of networking events. The Freeholder Board began UCMB last year as a way to help local business owners and managers connect with useful resources and programs, especially ones that are available through local, state and federal agencies. It was such a great success that we are continuing …

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FedupLiz

7:34 am on Friday, April 5, 2013

Amen and not soon enough   more ›

Letter To The Editor From Citizens Against the Helipad In Summit

In this letter, Citizens Against the Helipad say they are pleased that Summit's denial of the Overlook Helipad Application was upheld in Superior Court of New Jersey.

Dear Neighbors, Friends and Supporters: We are thrilled to be able to report to you that Judge Karen Cassidy of the Superior Court of New Jersey has affirmed Summit’s denial of the Overlook helipad project. Judge Cassidy held that the Summit Zoning Board was not arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable in its 2010 decision turning down the hospital’s request for a variance in order to construct a rooftop helipad.  Rejecting Atlantic Health’s arguments that the Zoning Board acted improperly, she found that the decision was validly made upon the evidence and the law. This is a significant victory.  Overlook insisted that the Zoning Board’s decision reflected only parochial interests and that it should be overturned by an independent arbiter …

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Curt J

3:43 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

@Anonymous: I dunno, I pay about $16k a year to Morristown in property taxes and never thought that entitled me not to live under te flight path of their copters in/out of M'town Memorial. By under the flight path, I mean I can read the FAA numbers on the underbelly of the copters from my deck. I've learned to identify the state police copter from the Atlantic health copter by noise pitch alone. …   more ›

Letter to the Editor: League of Women Voters Position on Gun Control

LWV urges fellow citizens in our communities to join with them to lobby for the passage of laws that better protect all citizens from violence by weapons of assault.

To the Editor: The shooting of school children at the Sandy Hook School is, unfortunately, just one of a string of horrific incidents where an assailant used assault weapons to indiscriminately kill and maim.  We urgently need common sense solutions to the gun violence that is plaguing our nation. The members of the League of Women Voters of Berkeley Heights, New Providence and Summit urge all elected officials - and at all levels of government - to work together to adopt measures that will ban assault weapons.  We need laws that place limits on magazine size and close the gun show loopholes so that buyers of guns everywhere must undergo thorough background checks.  There should be no special protection of the gun industry. Our position on…

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Paul B Raynolds

8:19 pm on Sunday, February 17, 2013

Unfortunately, Ms Davis talks about "assault weapons" but like most people who favor an assault weapons ban, has no idea what she is talking about. There is no such thing as an "assault weapon" as this is a term conjured up by gun control activists to demonize a whole host of firearms they don't like. There are assault rifles but when talking about the civilian market, these are virtually all …   more ›

Freeholder Mirabella: Tested Once Again, Union County Looks Forward to 2013

Union County Freeholder looks ahead to new year.

Between the global economic meltdown of 2008 and a series of natural disasters culminating in Hurricane Sandy, Union County has seen its share of crises over the past four years. We have also been touched by the sorrows borne by communities not so very far away; here in New Jersey, the devastation of shore towns by the storm, and in Newtown, Connecticut, a human tragedy from which no real recovery is ever possible. While our hearts and minds reach out in sympathy, we can also look inward and prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead.  And as this year comes to a close, there is cause for renewed hope in the future. One cause for optimism has been the growth of new relationships all across the spectrum of our community. In this regard, …

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Poll: Should the U.S. Ban High-Capacity Ammo Magazines?

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg will ask Congress to approve a ban on ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds. Do you agree with his proposed bill?

In the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, CT, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced plans to reintroduce high-capacity magazine ban legislation in the 113th Congress. Lautenberg’s bill, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, would prohibit the manufacture and sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. It also would ban ammunition magazines that could be readily converted to accept more than 10 rounds. “In light of yet another horrific shooting tragedy, it is clearer than ever that there is no place in our communities for deadly high-capacity gun magazines and I will keep working to pass my bill to reinstate the ban on them,” Lautenberg said in a statement. “If we don't pass a high-capacity …

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Devilsfan

10:52 pm on Monday, December 17, 2012

And I'm Santa Claus   more ›

Superintendent Nathan Parker Reacts to Newton, CT School Shootings

In light of the horrific shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut this morning, Parker sent the following letter to parents of Summit School District students.

Dear Parents, The news today of the deaths of a number of children is heartbreaking.   Several people have asked about how we are handling the news. At a time like this, the unfathomable pain of the parents, surviving children, the classmates, relatives and neighbors causes us to feel great sadness. We look at each other in disbelief that our children might hear of such a tragedy in a community much like Summit. Although some parents may have the urge to protect children from such news, please understand your children could hear of this incident through media or discussions with their peers. At school, we have alerted our teachers to listen carefully to the children's casual conversations and have asked them to intervene gently to reassure…

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Mountainside Residents Collect Donations For Sandy-Affected Families

Community spirit alive and well in Borough of Mountainside as residents with big hearts reach out to hardest hit communities, whose residents lost everything during Superstorm Sandy.

It doesn’t necessarily have to take a superstorm to move Mountainsiders into action. In times of trouble, folks in the Borough traditionally just show up when somebody needs help. So it really didn’t surprise me when I received an email from longtime resident Cindy West, asking me to help spread the word about a three day collection drive for those who lost far more than their patience with the power company.  We were the fortunate ones. Aside from a handful of scary tales from the night a Frankenstorm rolled into town and cancelled Halloween for a second year in a row (but who’s counting), no one died here. No houses had burned down, and no one in the Borough, that I am aware of, was seriously physically injured as a direct result of the …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Summit Taxpayers Association Mission is a Moon Shot

Let’s demand an end to Union County wasting over $20M each year from Summit’s tax levy.

Next meeting November 27th Summit Middle School Room 118 at 7.30pm --- The Summit Taxpayers Association (STA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to advocate for fiscally responsible government.  Organized in 1943 exclusively to represent Summit Taxpayers, the STA mission is to reduce property tax increases in Summit to zero over three years, by 2014, through dialogue, non-partisan analysis regarding our City, School and County budgets. I paraphrase Jack Swigert, Lunar module commander on Apollo 13, to say “Summit, we’ve had a problem here”.   Commander Swigert was referring to an explosion in the number 2 oxygen tank caused by a frozen “O” ring.  I refer to the explosion in Union County spending and taxes.  Each of these …

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What Are You Thankful for This Year?

Has Sandy changed your perspective?

During this season when we feel inclined to take stock of our blessings, it's usually the big things that top that list: good health, family, and friends. But this year, more so than others, I find I'm grateful for all the little things as well. If there is one positive that can be taken away from the nightmarish aftermath of Superstorm Sandy it is a newfound appreciation for all the conveniences we take for granted: heat, light at the flick of a switch, a home-brewed cup of coffee. Even paying almost $4 a gallon for gasoline doesn't sting like it used to when you don't have to wait four hours to fill up the tank. So, I'd like to take a moment to share what I'm thankful for this year in addition to the items above and I hope you'll do the …

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Freeholder Chairman Mirabella: After Sandy, Moving Forward

County Official looks forward in letter to the editor.

This has been an extraordinary time in Union County history, and we’ve seen some extraordinary things. We’ve seen the worst of the damage and destruction that a powerful storm can bring, first with Hurricane Sandy and then with the nor’easter Athena. We’ve also seen the best of human nature, as Union County residents pulled together to keep each other safe at the height of the danger. So many people have been involved in the response and recovery that it’s impossible to thank them all, so I’d just like to say that as a lifelong resident of Union County I could not be more proud to say that this place is my home. We’re not out of the woods yet. Tragically, two deaths in Union County have been attributed to the storm, and people are still …

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