Hit-And-Run Murder Charges, Extradition Top Week's Local Headlines

A 26-year-old Fort Lee man was charged with murder in connection with the hit-and-run death of his girlfriend Monday outside the , where he allegedly struck her with his car and then drove over her multiple times, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced Tuesday.

Charles J. Ann of 201 Bridge Plaza North in Fort Lee was charged with the murder of 25-year-old Aena Hong, of Fort Lee, with whom he had what authorities described as a "tumultuous dating relationship." Ann is accused of hitting Hong with his car after an argument and then repeatedly driving over her, in front of multiple witnesses, authorities said. (Full Story)

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Ann was extradited to New Jersey Friday morning and transported to the Bergen County Jail after a stop at the Fort Lee Police Department for fingerprinting and photographing, according to The Record. He is scheduled to appear before Presiding Criminal Division Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi Monday morning in Hackensack, where he will be arraigned on murder charges, officials told Patch.

But Hong's art will live on in her memory on the walls of the children's room at the Palisades Park Public Library to fascinate and inspire generations of children to come. (Full Story)

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The responded to an electrical fire Friday morning at Mediterranean West on North Avenue, causing evacuation of the building and leaving residents without electricity, heat or hot water. The fire put itself out, but a worker was injured in the incident, according to fire officials.

Fort Lee Fire Chief Keith Sabatino told Patch the fire was the result of renovation work being done in the building's electrical room, where a contractor accidentally bumped a piece of metal up against a bus bar, a major piece of electrical equipment that distributes power throughout the entire building. (Full Story)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Thursday released aid numbers for New Jersey school districts based on his proposed $32.1 billion budget, including $7.8 billion in K-12 formula aid, an increase of $135 million over last year and part of $213 million in additional state funding for education over Fiscal Year 2012. 

For Fort Lee that means $1,946,449 in state aid for grades K-12 for 2012-2013, an increase of $428,847—or 28.3 percent—in total aid over last year. The increase marks the second year in a row that aid to Fort Lee schools has gone up.

Meanwhile, state aid to the Borough of Fort Lee will remain flat under Christie’s proposed budget, figures also released Thursday show.

Fort Lee is set to receive $1,771,192, the same amount the borough received last year, according to the state Department of Community Affairs. (Full Story)

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United Water New Jersey announced Monday afternoon that the “boil water advisory” that had been in effect since early the day before had been lifted for customers in the northern section of Fort Lee, in addition to parts of Englewood Cliffs, Englewood and Tenafly. (Full Story)

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Members of Fort Lee’s Church of the Good Shepherd tried something new Wednesday morning, taking part in what they were calling “Ashes to Go” in celebration of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. (Full Story)

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And members of the baseball team, dressed in full uniform, put on a high-energy demonstration for some of the roughly 40 youngsters who participated in the “Intense Baseball Clinic” Wednesday to kick off the three-day charity clinic and get the kids excited about the game. (Full Story)

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The Week in Review appears every Sunday on Fort Lee Patch.