NightWatch: Sport Parks, Peppertown Problems and NJ’s Testing Shift

In this shorter episode of Nightwatch we tackle the growing logistical nightmare on Sherman Avenue and the historical drainage issues lingering over Peppertown Park.

Then, we look at the paper trail behind the Columbia Middle School (CMS) turf project—specifically a March 30th NJDEP Green Acres disclosure revealing an expired, 21-year-old land lease and the familiar undercurrents of county-level professional service contracting.

Finally, we expose an concerning admission from the NJ Department of Education: New Jersey has fully rolled out its brand-new adaptive NJSLA testing system with no technical or baseline validation data ready ahead of time.

Related Source Documents & Reporting:

NJ ELEC Data & Harbor Consultants: https://nj21st.com/2025/10/01/legal-but-opaque-a-case-study-mapping-the-political-economy-of-union-county-governance/

DEP/Township Correspondence on CMS Field: https://nj21st.com/2026/05/21/lower-columbia-fields-hydric-soils-green-acres-questions-and-unclear-grants/

NJ DOE Email Exchange on Adaptive Testing: https://nj21st.com/wpcontent/uploads/2026/06/Re_Adaptive-Testing-Records.pdf

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