Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Less than a week after Gov. Chris Christie agreed to call the state's top law enforcement official about a brewing police jurisdiction controversy in New Brunswick, both police departments announced a new and unprecedented collaboration.
Yesterday morning, the New Brunswick Police Department issued a press release announcing that city police would host an unspecified number of Rutgers University police officers at their regular muster sessions.
FRANKLIN, NJ—Yesterday at 5:03am, Township police responded to a strange car accident where a running UHaul truck was left behind after smashing into a dollar store on Route 27.
Police responded because of an activated burglar alarm at the Family Dollar, located just across the border from New Brunswick near the intersection with Terminal Road.
"Upon arrival they found a Uhaul Truck had struck and gone through the front glass," said police spokesman Sgt. Phil Rizzo.
SOUTH RIVER, NJ—A contingent of more than a dozen activists, including many Rutgers students on Spring Break, confronted Governor Chris Christie about an issue that hasn't been addressed at any of his 2014 Town Halls.
The protestors went after the Governor's administration for approving $4.8 million in Hurricane Sandy disaster relief funding to help build Somerset Mews, a luxury apartment building in New Brunswick that was approved long before Sandy struck.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A letter sent home yesterdays with students at the McKinley Elementary School told parents and guardians that "children were experiencing upset stomachs in the cafeteria during the final lunch period" on Thursday March 20.
The finding quickly launched an investigation by the Middlesex County Health Department, which appears to have concluded.
Earlier this afternoon, the Health Department issued a statement saying the investigation did not turn any evidence of foodborne illness.
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ—What is believed to be a pipe bomb exploded this morning at a small business located on Livingston Avenue, just four blocks south of the border from New Brunswick.
Asbury-Ms. Locksmithing at 1007 Livingston Avenue was the site where one man was injured in the small explosion, according to a report on News12 New Jersey.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A newly-released city memo confirms officially for the first time that changes were made to the motor vehicle jurisdiction of the Rutgers Police Department in December 2013.
The city's police department has been skirting the issue for months, saying the maps are "always" changing and constantly revisited.
But a new memo obtained via the state's public records law confirms that New Brunswick Police Director Anthony Caputo did in fact restrict the RUPD's jurisdiction in early December.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–The city appears to have given up on its battle to keep secret the official jurisdiction maps for the city's two major police departments.
A spokesman for Mayor Jim Cahill had previously said this newspaper's interest "in these maps does not outweigh the overall interests of the public to keep these maps confidential to protect the operations of the police departments and in turn the security and safety of our residents."
New Brunswick Today is an independent, print and digital newspaper founded in 2011. Our mission is to improve the level of civic discourse in the City of New Brunswick by accurately covering local government and demanding transparency and accountability from those in authority.
