By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent LYNDHURST – By month’s end, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expects to complete a design plan for purging a 5-acre section of toxin-laden tidal mudflats alongside Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst, said Ray Basso, director of the Lower Passaic River Cleanup Project. That would be the first phase [...]

  By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent NUTLEY– On the morning of April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher (SSN 593), one of the U.S. Navy’s then relatively new fleet of nuclearpowered submarines, was conducting deep-diving trials 220 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. On the surface, the ship USS Skylark maintained radio communications with the [...]

By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent KEARNY – A distraught First Ward resident appealed to the Kearny governing body last Tuesday night for help. Joaquim Ponte said he lives at the lower end of Johnston Ave., with only a narrow alleyway separating his neat two-story home from the rotting former William Pries Iron Works building at [...]

  By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent KEARNY — A stubborn brush fire, fanned by strong winds, destroyed a large swath of the Kearny meadows last week and felled two firefighters, who required treatment for heat exhaustion. The Kearny Fire Department was assisted by units from four other companies and by the Kearny Police Department in [...]

  By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent BELLEVILLE – It’s been sitting stagnant for years, except as a place for parking the township’s yellow school buses. And then, even that activity ceased last year when the Belleville Board of Education relocated its bus fleet to another location in the Valley section. So now the township is [...]

  By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent KEARNY – The long-talked about outdoor reading garden for the Kearny Public Library is a step closer to fruition … if the town can find a way to put a little more green into the picture … cash, that is. Last Tuesday, April 9, the Kearny Town Council voted [...]

  You may not be aware (pun intended) of this, but April is national Distracted Driving Awareness Month. These days, the distractions (along with daydreaming) are chiefly texting or yapping on your cell phone while behind the wheel. Despite repeated warnings, and legal repercussions, motorists continue to do both, often with fatal consequences — to [...]

  At a recent meeting of the Town Council, a ceremony was held to mark the promotions of two members of the Kearny Fire Department and Police Department. Firefighter John DeGiovanni was promoted to captain, and Police Officer Michael Ryan was promoted to sergeant. Capt. DeGiovanni scored a 96.210 on the N.J. Civil Service Captain’s [...]

  Habitat for Humanity of Hudson County (HFHHC) will hold a “Raise the Roof FUN-raiser” Thursday, April 25, at 6 p.m. at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Center, 161 Newkirk St., Jersey City. Proceeds are going, in part, to support “Habitat Helping Hands,” a program designed to help low-income homeowners recover from damage [...]

Belleville Save Monday, May 20, for Clara Maass Medical Center Foundation’s annual golf invitational. Held at the prestigious Montclair Golf Club, this event includes the opportunity to play on the course’s beautiful greens, brunch, cocktails, dinner and a silent auction. Proceeds from the Golf Invitational benefit the programs and services of Clara Maass Medical Center. [...]