St. Patrick’s Day parade rolls in Linden police were among those who took part in the Union Serving Linden, Roselle, Rahway, and Elizabeth County celebration. Page 3 LINDEN, N.J WWW.LOCALSOURCE.COM 75 CENTS VOL. 91 NO. 11 THURSDAY Happy day MARCH 20, 2008 Borough stores Offices will close for Good Friday offered facelifts The offices of this newspaper will close Friday in observance of Good Friday. Deadlines for the UEZ funding improvements March 27 issue are as follows: • Lifestyle, including church and By John O’Reilly the facility’s 10-car garage. club news: Monday, noon. Staff Writer Lewis Construction has been a UEZ • Letters: Monday, 9 a.m. ROSELLE — The shopping dis- member since it came to the borough • Sports: Monday, noon. trict’s aging storefronts are getting an two years ago. • News: Monday, 5 p.m. extreme makeover, with a borough Management said they have been • Legals: Monday, noon. agency footing nearly half the bill for happy with the benefits of the group, • Display ads: Monday, noon. the project. which include paying half on the state • Classifieds: Tuesday, 3 p.m. Roselle’s Urban Enterprise Zone sales tax rate, street sweeper service and hopes to take the first step towards rede- extra police patrols in the area. veloping the Chestnut Street shopping “They’ve been very supportive to BOE candidate night area by partially funding facade us...very helpful in welcoming us to the Roselle candidates for the Board improvements for UEZ members. A pro- community,” Fields said. of Education election will be at a posed “Streetscape” initiative also in the Certain requirements must be ful- meeting of the Roselle branch of works would bring repairs to cracked filled before the facade improvement the NAACP April 2 at 7:30 p.m. at pavements in the downtown area. plan can be accepted — business owners Heard AME Church, 310 East 8th The UEZ is a state sanctioned pro- must get three independent estimates ave., Roselle. gram that attempts to stimulate new jobs and make sure their plans are tax com- For information, contact Myrtle Photo By Christine Hudak and increase commerce in areas desig- pliant. Counts at 908-241-9847. Arielle Nogueira of School 9, Linden, wishes everyone a happy St. Patrick’s Day. nated in need of economic help. Mem- UEZ board members will judge plans bers receive incentives such as being based on height, size, design and color Roselle Library Board charged half the state sales tax rate. That requirements that will keep buildings in money is put into a separate account that tune with the color schemes and aesthet- meeting at new time can be used to fund UEZ programs. ics of the area. The Roselle Library Board RBOE candidates square off The borough’s UEZ is made up of 66 Still, Wyatt said he is working close- meetings held on the third Thurs- By John O’Reilly he wanted to see more parents involved with the school member businesses, all of which are eli- ly with the Building Department and day of the month will now begin at Staff Writer system. gible to improve their storefronts, with Zoning Department and aims to 7 p.m. RAHWAY — Fresh-faced newcomers and grizzled Robson also debated school funding with Kowal, who the UEZ footing 40 percent of the bill. “streamline” the process to spare owners veterans vying for three seats on the district’s Board of affirmed his willingness to raise taxes if necessary to The most funding any business can the hassle that could come along with RR celebration a hoot Education met Monday to discuss issues ranging from improve school services. receive is capped at $20,000. making the improvements. The Rahway River Association employee conduct to equal opportunity education. Kowal argued that Rahway was last in spending per Critics of the downtown zone have “There has been a lot of red tape. I and Hanson Park Conservancy will Two incumbents faced off against two first-time candi- student in Union County, coming in at $5,800. complained that the structural damage to noticed it’s often because business own- celebrate the Rahway River with dates and a former board member. Robson defended the district’s spending, however, some of the areas buildings and side- ers don’t follow proper procedure,” said the 2nd Annual Owl Prowl and Deborah Bridges has been on the board for nine years pointing out that Kowal’s figure did not take into account walks has driven away out-of-town cus- Wyatt. other Night Critters event March 26 and is seeking her fourth term, while Bernard Robson is in grants and state aid, which swelled spending to $9,000. tomers. They are happy to see a change. Officials hope the facade improve- at the Skeet Shooting Parking Area his sixth year and seeking a third term. Peter Kowal was Kowal still felt more tax money could be allotted to stu- “I expect the facade program to go a ments can be coordinated with their in Lenape Park, Kenilworth Boule- on the board for 15 years before taking the last term off. dents. “It’s easy to say hold the tax line, but I want what’s long way towards beautifying our com- anticipated Streetscape program, which vard, Cran-ford. The event will be Ray Lopez and Edward Quinn are both fresh chal- best for children even if taxes go up,” he said. mercial areas and making Roselle a is expected to kick off within the year. held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Bring lengers in this election. Kowal added that he felt the district’s public relations regional shopping destination,” said If the Streetscape plan moves for- flashlights and warm clothing. Bridges said voters could count on her vote as one that could use a boost and create a better image for the school Mayor Garrett Smith. ward, unappealing sidewalks would be To register or for information, will support diversity in the district. system. Four local businesses have already replaced and widened. Uniform lighting, contact Dennis Miranda at 570 228- She renewed her commitment to growing English as a Lopez admitted he lacked the experience of other can- expressed interest in the project, accord- gas fixtures, benches and kiosks would 1404. Second Language and bilingual classes to keep up with the didates, but said he could offer a wealth of knowledge ing to Roselle UEZ director Harry be placed in the shopping district, to city’s evolving population. about the school system where he received all of his pre- Wyatt. increase foot traffic. RET moves meetings When asked about inequalities in learning opportunities college education. The UEZ set aside $205,000 for the Wyatt said the money is already set The Roselle Education Team has for students, she vowed to “make sure the superintendent A background in business made him a suitable candi- project, which will end when the funds aside for the sidewalk improvements, a new weekly meeting location.The is bringing in programs to close the gap.” date, according to Lopez. are used up. though engineers are currently dealing team will now meet every Thursday Bridges was adamant about following “policy and pro- “I couldn’t pick out the math book we use, but I can get Wyatt said funds will be distributed with terrain issues at the construction from 7 to 9 p.m. at Sphinx Restau- cedure” when personnel issues arise. She said strictly together the people who could do it,” he said. on a “first-come, first-serve basis,” and site between 1st and 3rd avenues. rant and Banquet, 121 East 2nd enforced policy was the best way to control employees Lopez stressed a need to work with the district’s special additional funding could become avail- A potential loan program for busi- Ave., Roselle. who are acting in poor character. education program, which he once took part in. able if there is a strong enough response nesses is also being discussed. Bridges also highlighted her concerns over a lack of He said he could use inside knowledge of the program from local vendors. “I’m excited we’re finally getting City seeks top seniors knowledge about technology among students. to help “rework some faults and capitalize on what’s work- “When someone wants to increase things off the ground. Our biggest chal- The Linden Department of Fellow incumbent Robson told the crowd his strength ing.” their business, what do they do? They lenge is juggling all these projects, but Recreation and Community Ser- was in his experience. Quinn is also new but has two children who currently advertise, and the best form of advertis- that’s a good problem to have,” said vices is accepting nominations for Robson spent five of his six years in office working on attend Rahway High School. ing is right there on the business itself,” Wyatt. the Outstanding Senior Citizen of the school board’s finance committee, which recently com- He focused on expanding extracurricular and recre- Wyatt said in support of local businesses Business owners interested in taking the Year until the end of the day. pleted a budget that calls for taxpayers to spend $40 more ational programs for students. “You need to entertain them taking part in the program. part in the facade improvement program To submit a nomination, call than last year. to keep them out of trouble,” Quinn said. Jackie Fields, director of Lewis Con- can call the UEZ office at 908-259-3001 908-474-8627. He added that during his tenure the school board was He also noted a problem with the city’s youth, saying he struction on East 2nd Avenue, said her or e-mail them at uez@bor- committed to equal opportunity, citing the Amistad Bill would like to do something about a rise in gang activity company is one of the businesses taking oughofroselle.com.