Matt Fagan

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Matt Fagan

The school board approved a budget that exceeds the 2% spending cap by 1%. The average assessed city home will see a school tax increase of $150 per year. CLIFTON — City taxpayers can expect a rise in the school portion of their property tax bill after the school board's vote to pass a budget that exceeds the state-imposed 2% cap on levy increases.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Matt Fagan

The Paterson Diocese held its 25th and final Blue Mass Saturday at its Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Saturday, May 3. Though it was the last of a long tradition, a new one will start for friends and families of those who wear blue. The bagpipes, drummers, multiple color guards plus the scores of nattily attired officers are likely to return next year. It's just that they will be heavily reinforced.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Matt Fagan

The city of Passaic will create a scholarship in memory of Jennifer C. Contreras, the 23-year-old local woman who died in the April 8 Jet Set nightclub disaster in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The scholarship will help local youth with costs associated with obtaining cosmetology certification, officials said. "It's been added to the city’s current training program," Mayor Hector Lora said. "We have a partnership with Passaic County Community College.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Matt Fagan

The Clifton School Board is scheduled to choose a name for the new middle school the district plans to open in September. An ad hoc committee recommended "Maple Valley," after the surrounding neighborhood. The school will open at the former Pope Paul VI High School, which closed in 1990. By the end of Thursday's Clifton Board of Education meeting, the district may have a name for its soon-to-be established new school. The apparent winner? Maple Valley Middle School.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Matt Fagan

Passaic's Urban Enterprise Zone has added four police officers to patrol its business districts. The officers will work in commercial areas along Main, Market and Passaic streets and Van Houten Avenue. The UEZ police force will focus on both quality of life and public safety needs, Mayor Hector Lora said. Familiarity does not necessarily breed contempt. With community policing, it can nurture contentment, especially among local businesses.