Lately, I’ve been hearing a growing wave of concern about mail-in ballots (VBMs): how they’re sent out, how they’re counted, and whether they’re truly secure. This concern isn’t unfounded—it’s being fueled by a flood of misinformation that’s threatening to undermine the confidence in one of the most...

What the Township of Westfield and AT&T are planning to do to their Scotch Plains neighbors at the Conservation Center off Lamberts Mill Road is simply wrong, and I am particularly disheartened by the recent rhetoric from certain officials in favor of this project on the heels of a court decision th...

Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s actions consistently reflect a pattern where his voting record directly contradicts his public statements. As NJ-7 voters are aware, Kean supported the “Big Beautiful Budget Bill,” which cuts funding for SNAP, reduces Medicare access for an estimated 70 million people, adds more ...

As Co-Founders of the Raritan Valley Line Mayor’s Alliance representing 32 communities along the RVL, we know firsthand that for communities like ours, reliable train service isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Over fifteen thousand of our residents depend on NJ TRANSIT every day to get to work, schoo...

It remains hard to watch the recent impacts of extreme weather in other regions of the US knowing that the inland flooding in New Jersey remains unresolved. Since Irene, I coordinated the Mayors Council Rahway River Watershed Flood Control, and despite securing over $7 million to evaluate 21 alterna...

Artificial Intelligence, a gifted child born decades ago to the realm of Science Fiction, has officially moved out of its parents’ basement and into the real world. It grew up like anyone else that had a lot of “potential” as a kid - by testing its strengths, faltering on its new, wobbly legs and wo...

Nurses are a gift to the world! “Unsung heroes,” I said in my last column, when I described Sam and his gentle approach to caring for me overnight in an intensive care unit.After thanking Sam, I was transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for specialized cardiac care, where I recovered fr...

Our town prides itself on community, service, and doing right by our neighbors. At the heart of that spirit is the Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad - a 100 percent volunteer-run organization that has served our town with distinction for over seven decades. They respond to emergencies around the cloc...

Today begins a new era for us in the ever-changing world of local print newspapers. We will now operate our newspapers (The Westfield Leader and Union County HAWK) under one banner of The Leader. We believe that this change will be of benefit to you because we’re doing something vastly different tha...

In early April, I started planning a month-long backpacking trip across Washington State with my two younger sisters. I’m an avid hiker, and I love to camp, but I had never attempted anything of this magnitude before. The idea was thrilling - what an adventure! - but it also scared the hell out of m...