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Under Pressure, Rutgers Releases RUPD and NBPD Dispatch Logs

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Rutgers University released 1,272 pages of police records after being served with an amended complaint in a public records lawsuit filed by this reporter.

The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) logs list each and every call that the city's two major police departments responded to between February 1 and May 31, plus other instances where officers were dispatched.

After eighteen weeks of stalling, Rutgers released the records about 30 hours after being served with the amended complaint.

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Protests at Annual Meeting Target J&J Over Cost of Tuberculosis Drug

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–About 50 protesters uniformly filled Albany Street on April 25 for the annual Johnson & Johnson (J&J) shareholders meeting to convey a message: The price of bedaquiline, a lifesaving tuberculosis (TB) drug sold by J&J, should be no more than a dollar a day.

They chanted in succession, “Pills cost pennies. Greed costs lives,” while most held one or more pill bottles as props.

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New Brunswick Shaken by Two Murders in Less Than Seven Days

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Two men had their lives taken during just one week in the Hub City, but most people in town are still unaware that either situation is being pursued as a murder case by investigators.

The city had gone a little over five months without a killing, but that all changed with two recent tragedies that played out here during the same week.

In one case, an older man's life was cut short by a chance encounter that quickly led to violence in the middle of downtown New Brunswick's main street.

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Behind Closed Doors, Mayor’s Staffer With False Claims in Her Biography Put on Fast Track to Freeholder

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Claribel "Clary" Azcona-Barber, a close ally and staffer for longtime New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, was approved as the new countywide candidate for the Democratic political machine on March 11.

The choice was made by an unknown number of individuals who gathered at the Middlesex County College and voted on who should replace New Brunswick's longtime Freeholder Blanquita Valenti behind closed doors.

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Development Controversy in East Brunswick Approaching Conclusion

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ—The East Brunswick Planning Board is preparing to vote on a proposal to build several buildings, including a Chase Bank and a CVS Pharmacy, at the corner of Summerhill Road and Old Stage Road.

The plans, which also include 96 apartments, have drawn controversy and some of the board's hearings were moved to the Hammarskjord Middle School’s Jo Ann Magistro Performing Arts Center due to overwhelming public interest.

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Race to Replace Five-Term Freeholder Sets Up Convention Showdown

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Two political candidates, one from New Brunswick and the other from Perth Amboy, are competing to secure the best possible path to joining the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The Democratic Party's choices have won every countywide election since the 1990's, so the team that wins their coveted "party line" endorsement will be heavily favored to prevail in the subsequent June and November elections.