Bridge to be closed this weekend for continued project work
The Bayonne Bridge will be closed beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, May 2, and continuing through 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, to allow work to proceed on the “Raise the Roadway” project, which will allow larger, more efficient ships to access the region’s port terminals.
The scheduled weekend work will allow for the safe removal of portions of the structure of the bridge and for the lifting of large steel and concrete sections onto the bridge.
Motorists should consider using the Goethals Bridge as an alternative.
Additional full weekend closures are expected throughout the year and will be announced.
To receive the latest updates, travelers should register for Bridge and Tunnel Alerts at http://paalerts.com/, call 511, or visit www.511NY.org or www.511NJ.org.
Debate air times released by Rotary Club
The Rotary Club Mayoral Debate will be broadcast on Cablevision Access Channel 19 from now until the municipal election on May 13, the Rotary Club announced on Monday, April 28.
The debate will air on Wednesday, April 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. and Sunday, May 4, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The debate will continue to air until the election on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 p.m., Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 4 to 6 p.m.
The week of May 6 to 13, the final week before the election, it will be aired additional times, as well as daily for the final three days, including May 13.
2014 municipal budget adopted by council
The City Council adopted the $137.7 million 2014 total general appropriations budget at a special meeting called on Thursday, April 24, by Mayor Mark Smith.
The municipal budget contains no tax increase for the 2014 calendar year.
The council held a public hearing on the then-proposed budget on April 16.
Alonso takes elected school board initiative to court
Michael Alonso, chairman of Bayonne School Board Choice, and an independent candidate for Third Ward Council, filed a special motion in Superior Court on Friday, April 25, to change the school board in Bayonne from an appointed one to an elected one.
“The people of Bayonne have a constitutional right to vote for the members of Bayonne’s
school board, just like voters have in other towns across America, and in every other city
in Hudson County, ” Alonso said.
“Even [Mayor] Mark Smith finally came around to my position long shared by his mayoral opponents, Jimmy Davis and Tony Zanowic,” he said. “When asked at last week’s public debate where he stood on this issue, Smith responded, ‘I am not opposed to it.’”
Mayor Smith said he is open minded regarding an elected school board should the public want it.
“I’m not opposed to an elected school board,” he said. “Should the petitioners be successful in getting the matter on the ballot, then the people will decide. I support having the issue decided by the people, not the courts.”
Alonso said that he started the elected school board movement to improve the educational system and help students learn.
High school spring dance concert set for May 9
The second Bayonne High School Spring Dance Concert “Chapter One: Blueprint – An Evening of Dance” will be held on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. in the school’s Alexander X. O’Connor Auditorium.
“Chapter One: Blueprint” features performances from the BHS Dance Company, Dance Department students, and students from the newly established BHS Academy for Fine Arts and Academics.
Under the direction of Dance Department faculty Kelli McGovern and Lori Alexander, the evening of contemporary dance will showcase the young artists’ work and dedication to the creative process resulting in varied works of physical expression.
The evening includes faculty and senior-student choreography, and features guest choreographer Lauren Connolly’s “Etched in Our Being,” which the dancers performed at the New Jersey High School Dance Festival last month.
Tickets will be sold at the door. They are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.
For additional information, contact the BHS Department of Fine and Performing Arts at (201) 243-1119.
EPA honors work of exceptional New Jersey environmental leaders
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored individuals and organizations from across New Jersey with Environmental Quality Awards for their achievements in protecting public health and the environment on April 23.
The awards recognize significant contributions to improving the environment and public health in the previous calendar year.
An area award winner was the Hackensack Riverkeeper, which runs eco-programs all year that have proven highly successful in attracting thousands of people to the Hackensack River.
During 2013, the Hackensack Riverkeeper’s eco-programs provided nearly 7,000 people with a mixture of environmental education and recreational opportunities on the river and empowered them to become active participants in preservation through widely attended volunteer river cleanup events.
The Eco-Cruise program, which invites visitors to tour the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers and Newark Bay, attracted nearly 3,500 people last year.
Free nature walk offered this Sunday
The First-Sunday-of-the Month Walk with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society will take place on Sunday, May 4, at 10 a.m. at Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry.
This free two-hour nature walk starts at the park’s entrance.
“We’ll look for warblers and other spring arrivals and pick up any litter we find along the way,” said Brian Aberback, NJMC spokesman.
Participants must sign a standard liability release for the event that is good for NJMC/BCAS events throughout the year.
To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or (201) 230-4983.
Check meadowblog.net for last-minute weather updates.