October 2012

UPDATE (10:25am): The story has been updated to reflect the end of the boil water advisory announced this morning.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A new man in charge of the city's water department has his hands full after storm damage left the utility with problems that caused Rutgers University to order an unprecedented evacuation of dozens of dormitories.

Meanwhile, city residents were being instructed not to drink tap water unless they boil it first, until the water was declared safe at 10:25am this morning.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Between 5,000 and 10,000 customers are without power as Hurricane Sandy's impact intensified throughout the day.

No longer a hurricane, Sandy made landfall five miles south of Atlantic City just over an hour ago.

Meanwhile, 80 local residents moved in to Lord Stirling Community School on George Street to wait out the storm, by far the largest collection of county residents seeking shelter.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—As Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast today, county and city officials joined the state government in declaring a State of Emergency.

New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill called for a mandatory evacuation of flood-prone areas near the Raritan River, and ordered residents not to drive on city streets, beginning Monday at 9am.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—On October 17, Rutgers Students and AAUP-AFT members gathered on the steps of the Brower Commons to launch a campaign for Rutgers to end its affiliation with controversial student loan provider Sallie Mae.

Sallie Mae, originally the Student Loan Marketing Association, was created in 1972 as a federal government enterprise, but started to privatize their operations in 1997.  In 2004, Congress terminated their charter, and since then the private corporation has made made huge profits off of college students each year.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—There's plenty of blame to go around for a serious car accident involving a Rutgers University police vehicle and a student pedestrian last month near a popular campus bus stop on College Avenue.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office announced the arrests of two suspects in a robbery and fatal shooting, but also released the identities of two other men who remain at-large.

Nineteen-year-old Joshua Zhou, a Franklin Township resident was slain nearly two weeks ago in the basement of a friend's house on Robinson Street in New Brunswick.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A new fitness & wellness center opening in partnership with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is holding a career fair tonight in the former site of the Rutgers University bookstore.

The fair runs from 5-7pm in the Ferren Mall, located directly across from New Brunswick's train station.  Walk-ins are welcome, and those who wish to pre-register can do so here.