The Argument for Open Access in High School
Viswa was a former member and president of the Millburn board of education. He continues to be interested in public education, with STEM and K-12 education in particular. In many high schools—and even in middle schools—entry to certain courses is restricted by “gating rules”. These may take the form of minimum grades, qualifying exams, standardized test scores, or teacher recommendations....
Press Release: Families and Businesses Pay More Under Macurdy Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 6, 2025 CONTACT: Kean MacLelland Union County, NJ – Assemblywomen Nancy Muñoz and Michele Matsikoudis today responded to Andrew Macurdy’s support of A4704, a corporate transit fee that targeted businesses and drove up costs for families. “Andrew Macurdy doesn’t understand what’s best for our district, one of the strongest districts in New Jersey for high-impact job creators,” said Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz. “His...
Press Release: Muñoz and Matsikoudis Release First Ad: “Grateful”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 22, 2025 CONTACT: Kean MacLelland Union County, NJ – Today, Muñoz and Matsikoudis for Assembly released their first ad of the 2025 General Election cycle, entitled “Grateful.” The ad highlights the story of Lorri Faris, a survivor – now “thriver” – of domestic violence, and how legislators like Assemblywomen Nancy Muñoz and Michele Matsikoudis are fighting for...
Community Voices: What Our Children Deserve From Local Government
Last night we had another round of “this is for the children” and “she’s a community volunteer” as a response to reasonable questions about the Recreation Commission’s handling of the turf field. These lines have a long tradition in Berkeley Heights and remain one of the cringiest tactics government bodies fall back on when policy goes south. I’d like to...
Community Voices: Resident Urges Council to Act as JCP&L Faces State Scrutiny
Michael Leblond is a resident of Berkeley Heights, the following is an email he sent to the Berkeley Heights Town Council on power outages. 9/9/25 Dear Mayor Devanney and members of the Town Council, I am writing to express my growing concern regarding the frequent power outages in our community and their negative impact on daily life. As a fifteen...
Community Voices: Democracy Survives When We Use Our Voices, Not Our Weapons
John Migueis Being that I’m the one that puts our articles on the socials I have a lot of the discussion surrounding the Charlie Kirk incident coming across my feed. I didn’t really know much about him – his content isn’t part of the media I consume. From what I gather his approach was to publicly debate people and he...
BHFD Press Release: 2nd Alarm Fire at The Highlands Complex
BERKELEY HEIGHTS FIRE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: Contact: Jim Hopkins, Chief (Ο) 908-464-0800 2nd Alarm Fire at The Highlands Complex Berkeley Heights, N.J.: September 10 2025 Yesterday afternoon at 12:15 p.m., the Berkeley Heights Fire Department was dispatched to a reported house fire on Cardinal Court in the Highlands Townhouse complex. Upon arrival, units observed heavy smoke showing...
Community Voices: A Resident’s Perspective on Affordable Housing and Flooding in Berkeley Heights
by Luann Alario The following is a firsthand account from a Berkeley Heights resident, who has lived in town since 1986 and recently began attending public meetings. It reflects her direct experience and concerns shared during Planning Board discussions. I’ve been a resident of Berkeley Heights since 12/1/86, and attending town meetings is a new experience for me. And it’s...
Loretta Rivers: ‘We must not allow silence to be the response to tragedy.’
Following our Deadly Discretion report on the killing of 68 year old Deborah McCalla Terrell, NJ21st invited community members and leaders to share their perspectives. Loretta Rivers, Piscataway school board member and former Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s 17th Legislative District Assembly seat, responded with the following statement: Hello NJ21St, I appreciate the curiosity of allowing me to respond. I...
Three Floods, Zero Answers
Joseph and Jacqueline Cinque Are Residents of Berkeley Heights, NJ Recently, my husband and I attended the August 7th township meeting regarding the bond that the town seeks to remedy storm damage. I was particularly disappointed to not see anything mentioned on measures that can be taken to mitigate future flooding, particularly in the neighborhoods of Briarwood Dr E, Lawrence,...
nj21st.com (with the exception of featured images and logo) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
