Plane Crash in Morris County, $200,000 Fine for PSE&G, Passaic River Flooding Fix

A Verona man was seriously injured when his single-engine plane late Thursday morning near the Pequannock-Lincoln Park border.

Police said Leslie E. Gwyn-Williams, 61, was flying from Morristown Municipal Airport to meet a friend at Lincoln Park Airport when his plane lost power and its engine. Gwyn-Williams sustained multiple leg and head fractures, as well as facial and internal injuries.

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Public Service Electric & Gas after a report found its workers missed chances to prevent a July 2008 natural gas explosion that killed Teaneck resident Richard Hass, according to findings from the state Board of Public Utilities. A settlement with PSE&G was reached Thursday at a BPU meeting in Trenton, Board spokesman Doyal Siddell said.

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A was released Thursday by Gov. Chris Christie's Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission. The 15-point plan is designed to minimize the impact of floods, provide better disaster support to flood victims, improve water flow in the Basin and expedite the permit process for county and municipal projects aimed at eliminating or reducing flooding.

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U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced Wednesday that three New Jersey fire departments received a combined $315,523 in funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. Jersey City received $178,080, Tinton Falls received $103,693, and Burlington Township received $33,750.

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On Tuesday, the New Jersey Department of Education released the 2010 School Report Cards for all traditional public schools and charter schools in the state. The report cards contain statistical profiles in the areas of school environment, student information, student performance indicators, staff information, and district and charter financial information.

“Transparency and accuracy in providing information about our schools is critical to parents’ ability to select the best school for their children’s needs,’’ acting Commissioner Chris Cerf said in a statement. “We need to do a far better job of providing this service.”  

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A shows that property values in towns designated as Transit Villages have risen the most in communities with an infrastructure behind the designation. The report, commissioned by the New Jersey Association of Realtors Government Research Foundation and conducted by the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers' Bloustein School, showed an increase in property values for the towns with the designation, but did not directly connect the rise to the status.

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If you like to frequent Hoboken's bar scene, be advised: The city is that would set stricter rules for bars, people and construction workers to reduce noise disturbance in town. Hoboken's old noise ordinance was never officially approved by the state, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said, adding that she hopes to have the new ordinance in effect by April.