Fight Against Car Theft Goes High-Tech

ELIZABETH – They look like props from the latest TV crime drama, but Union County’s new on-board police computers have a real-life purpose: catching more car thieves and keeping more violent criminals off the streets.

The new computers are automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) devices that use the latest technology to identify license plates and match them with databases.

“Union County was very interested in obtaining this equipment from the start,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Angel G. Estrada.  “We observed it in action in other jurisdictions, we were convinced that was a worthwhile investment, and we put it in place.”

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Edison Budget Calls For 5% Tax Increase

EDISON – Mayor Jun Choi unveiled his $118 million spending plan for the new fiscal year this week. It includes a proposed five percent increase in the tax rate, which the mayor emphasized was less than the rate of inflation.

Edison’s Township Council had clashed fiercely with the mayor on previous budget proposals, but this year Choi has four supporters on the seven-member legislative body. Within the next month, the council is expected to introduce the budget and begin public hearings.

Choi says his budget will bring financial stability to the township. “I have been and remain committed to restoring the fiscal integrity of our community by avoiding financial gimmicks and facing up to our fiscal realities,” the mayor said.

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ExxonMobil Held Liable For Pollution Of Linden Site

ELIZABETH – A Union County judge has ruled that the ExxonMobil Corporation is liable for polluting the waterways, wetlands and marshes on and near its former refinery sites in Linden and Bayonne.

Superior Court Judge Ross R. Anzaldi found that ExxonMobil had contaminated both sites through active disposal and accidental spills of hazardous substances in a ruling on part of a natural resource damage lawsuit filed on behalf of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The amount of damages owed by ExxonMobil will be determined at trial.

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Remembering the Past: Rahway Memories

by Diane Norek Harrison

RAHWAY-Here is a trivia question from my contributor Ed from Rahway. He wanted me to ask the readers if they knew what once stood on the grounds where the City Hall is now? I think he knows the answer, but he did not tell me! Know it? Send it to me when sending your own memories or past material.

Here are some memories I received by email from Patty DeLeo Gwozdz a member of the 1966 class of Rahway High School. “Hi Diane, When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to leave Rahway. But now…how wonderful the memories of growing up in Rahway. If only I could go back for a short visit to a time of sharing carefree summers and magical winters with family and friends!

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