SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD – Hindus have welcomed Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools (SPFPS) in New Jersey announcing closure of its eight schools (in its 2024-2025 School Calendar) on their most popular festival Diwali; which falls on November one this year.Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in...

To the self-proclaimed Progressive, Bill Nierstedt, regarding the Garwood Ketchup Wars, I would have let your rebuttal stand in the HAWK, but you asked many questions of me, so, my final statement: As I noted at council and in the HAWK, I am for sustainability along with practicality. Sadly, like ma...

Managing growth with costs is a concern I take seriously not only as a BOE candidate, but as a Westfield resident, home owner, and taxpayer. As a financial services professional with more than 20+ years of experience, six of which were spent with a Big 4 accounting firm, I am not afraid of numbers a...

My decision to run for the Board Of Ed wasn’t easy considering our children have graduated. But events over the last few years regarding this current BOE—both in terms of philosophy and budgetary management—made me wonder if there are systemic problems within. Then came the BOE’s anodyne response to...

As Westfield residents prepare to go to the polls on Tuesday,April 16 to vote on an additional spending proposal in the 2024-2025 school district operating budget, I want to share with you how the process differs from last year and why this continued investment in our students and our schools is vit...

Have you been arrested by the Ketchup Police yet? Have you been accosted by the superhero cop wearing the ketchup and mustard colored cape? Bruce Patterson wants you to believe that with the Garwood Council’s recent adoption of the ordinance prohibiting restaurants from throwing single use utensils ...

Anxiety, like a hive of buzzing bees, swirled around our mixedrace group one morning in February when we met together to share our experiences of race and racial inequity. Nine people, three Black and six white, gathered in a comfortable room around tables that enabled us to see each other’s faces.W...

Improving Early and Elementary Education My Name is Julie Steinberg and I am running for the Westfield Board of Education, election April 16th. As a parent, the point of entry into your child’s educational experience can be both exhilarating and terrifying. The excitement of the first day of school ...

It is with great enthusiasm that I announce my intention to seek reelection as Mayor of Scotch Plains Township and I’m proud Councilwoman Ellen Zimmerman will once again be my running mate. Since taking office, we have worked tirelessly to implement policies and programs to improve the quality of li...

TRENTON–Educatorsshouldspend their time planning and teaching, not filling out endless piles of tedious paperwork. Tothatend,theAssemblyonMarch 18 passed a bill that will create the New JerseyEducatorEvaluationReviewTask Force. Its purpose will be to study and suggest changes to the current public e...