Times of Trenton Regional News

Regional politics, crime & more

• 2 robbed at gunpoint during home invasion
TRENTON -- City police are looking for gang or drug connections in a Friday morning home invasion during which two residents tied up with duct tape and held at gunpoint.

• 2 teenagers charged after gunfire erupts
TRENTON -- Two 17-year-olds and reported members of the Latin Kings were arrested yesterday afternoon for taking a potshot at two males with a sawed-off shot gun, police reported.

• Cops charge man linked to assault and robbery
TRENTON -- A city man was ar rested early Saturday for allegedly punching a Camden man in the ribs and stealing his cell phone and other items, police said.

• Corzine creates task force on police officer suicides
TRENTON -- New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine has created a new state task force to find out what can be done to prevent police sui cides.

• Dozens gather for abortion protest in Hamilton Township
HAMILTON -- Local anti-abortion activists lined up along Route 33 yesterday afternoon, joining to form one of many "human chains" across New Jersey and throughout the nation to protest abortion.

• Hamilton pipeline fixed
HAMILTON -- The damaged oil pipeline ruptured Friday by workers has been sealed and the pipeline was back in use as of late yesterday.

• Man killed upon impact with a vehicle on I-95
EWING -- A Trenton pedestrian was killed yesterday evening after being struck by an SUV on Interstate 95, police reported.

• Political cartoons: The other sketch comedy
The economy, voter fraud and concerns about vice presidential selections are not new issues to the political scene.

• Township recycling schedule changes
ROBBINSVILLE -- Township officials say they'll save close to $5,000 a month by switching to a different hauler for their recycling needs.

• Bail reduced to $50G for sex assault suspect
TRENTON -- A judge cut the bail in half to $50,000 for a Cleveland Avenue man who is charged with sexual assault after hearing a defense lawyer say that the alleged victim only pressed charges when she learned that he had another girlfriend.

• Cleanup of oil spill continues
HAMILTON -- Crews were still working yesterday to clean up the site of an oil spill at a pipeline carrying diesel fuel from Houston, Texas, to Linden. A subcontractor working on the New Jersey Turnpike expansion drilled into a diesel fuel pipeline Friday, causing the oil to spill.

• Possible closures, mergers for schools
TRENTON -- Six Catholic elementary schools in the Monmouth County Bayshore area will be targeted for "reconfiguration" in a study designed to look at options for schools with plunging enrollment.

• Voting is important, don't let yourself be intimidated
Have you heard the saying, "what you don't know won't hurt you"? Well, after taking an aggressive part in the past two months in one way or another helping to get more than a thousand people registered to vote for the upcoming presidential election, I can tell you -- what you don't know can hurt you.

• Jury gets troubling look into gang world
A jury was given a disturbing glimpse into the inner workings of gangs as the murder trial for Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete, the leader of the Trenton set of the Latin Kings, continued yesterday.

• Link makes towpath access easier
LAWRENCE -- The township is set to open a new and improved connection to the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath this weekend.

• Officials hope medical center will help heal local economy
PLAINSBORO -- Princeton HealthCare System's new hospital here will be the centerpiece of a $1.2 billion-per-year economic juggernaut for the region, mayor Peter Cantu said during yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony for the state-of-the-art hospital.

• State rejects charter proposals
TRENTON -- The only two charter schools proposed for Mercer County have been rejected by the state Department of Education.

• Acclaimed athletes to appear at community fair in Trenton
TRENTON -- Making good choices isn't just the right thing to do, it's also the smart thing.

• Allocation for projects at joint military base
WASHINGTON -- Legislation directing $179.1 million in new funding for 2009 for the McGuire- Dix-Lakehurst joint military base was signed into law late Tuesday night by President Bush.

• Area sprouting more 'green' employment
The Mercer County area is 14th in the country in the number of environmentally based "green" jobs, according to a new national report.

• Congress approves flood aid for some Trenton residents
Half a million dollars of federal aid was approved by Congress last week for residents of Trenton's Island and Glen Afton neighborhoods whose homes are vulnerable to flooding by the Delaware River, Rep. Rush Holt said yesterday.

• Congressmen weigh in on new package
Area congressmen are weighing the revised federal bailout legislation that the Senate passed on Wednesday.

• County clerk warns of mortgage solicitors
TRENTON -- The Mercer County Clerk's Office is alerting residents to phone solicitations being conducted by a company claiming to represent the county.

• Drug dealer describes fatally shooting friend
Rayshaun Ferguson admitted he shot and killed Ty Brown yesterday, but at one point it appeared his case was headed to trial after an assistant prosecutor balked at accepting his version of events.

• Ewing ministry unchanged after 300 years
EWING -- When the Ewing Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1708, the congregation couldn't afford to build a sanctuary, so parishioners held services under an oak tree on Scotch Road.

• Hamilton girl raising money for cancer fund
HAMILTON -- Township residents will have an opportunity tomorrow support breast cancer research when 8-year-old Nina Santini takes up collections for the Susan G. Komen Central and South Jersey Race for the Cure, to be held on Sunday.

• Hamilton raising flag in salute to Italians
HAMILTON -- The township will hold its annual Italian flag rais ing ceremony tomorrow at the municipal building at 2090 Greenwood Avenue, Mayor John Bencivengo announced yesterday.

• Head-on crash claims the life of Pa. resident
BENSALEM, Pa. -- A 21-year-old Middletown Township, Pa., man was killed in a car accident on Mechanicsville Road on Wednesday evening, police reported.

• Health department to give free rabies vaccines
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- The Princeton Regional Health Department's free fall rabies clinic is scheduled for tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Community Park Pool, located next to the township municipal building near the northern end of Witherspoon Street.

• Hometown heroes lauded for rescue
Two Mercer County men who saved the life of a woman who was being robbed and stabbed on a Trenton street corner in 2007 have been awarded the Carnegie Medal.

• Immigrant sentenced in student sex crime
A former custodian at the Hun School of Princeton was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for having sexual relations with a 14-year-old student.

• Labor union discussions in Hamilton
HAMILTON -- The township has begun contract negotiations with each of the six labor unions representing more than 600 Hamil ton municipal workers.

• Sentencing set for city man who grew marijuana at his home
TRENTON -- A 26-year-old city man who admitted he was raising 31 marijuana plants in his Revere Avenue apartment will be sen tenced to six years in prison.

• Teenager reported missing
TRENTON -- City police are searching for a 15-year-old South Trenton girl missing since Sept. 21.

• The playwright's the thing at TCNJ
EWING -- Saluting his literary genius and Garden State connections, The College of New Jersey yesterday opened a three-day international conference on playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder.

• A Healthy Dose
MARTIN GRIFF/THE TIMES Calley Sheairod, left, receives a flu shot yesterday from Sharon Win, a senior public health nurse in Trenton, and in the background, Joseph Kuhn receives a flu shot from nurse consultant Jasmine Abdul-Raheem at St. James Church in Trenton. The shots were being given as part of the city's flu vaccine program for senior citizens and adults who have chronic illnesses.

• A top grade for first-grade teacher
LAWRENCE -- Jeanne Muzi, a first-grade teacher at Ben Franklin Elementary School, was named New Jersey State Teacher of the Year this week.

• Barbecue will raise funds for good cause
HAMILTON -- Bill's Old Tavern will host a pig roast and barbecue on Sunday to raise funds for the Mercer County Chapter of the Sunshine Foundation.

• Burlington reveals indictments of construction contractors
More than a dozen home improvement contractors, three with connections to Trenton, have been indicted in Burlington County for allegedly cheating customers, the county prosecutor's office said yesterday.

• Cops seek witnesses to man's brutal assault
TRENTON -- Police yesterday issued an appeal for information that they hope will help detectives solve the assault of a city man who has remained in a coma ever since he was beaten into unconscious ness more than three months ago.

• Dispute over documents in county sheriff race
The Republican candidate for Mercer County sheriff alleged yesterday that the county was not providing information about Sheriff Kevin Larkin's office, while a county attorney said her office has been working hard to respond to his request for documents.

• Falling power line causes collision
MANSFIELD -- New Jersey State Police are investigating after a swinging power line set off a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 295 Tuesday afternoon.

• Kids want library closings shelved
TRENTON -- Panicked parents and distraught children have been expressing fear over the scheduled closure of four city branch libraries, the library board was told last night.

• Palmer joins Bill Clinton in an event for Obama
Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, in Florida for a mayors conference, joined Bill Clinton yesterday as the former president campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

• Parents: We didn't know about lead in schools
TRENTON -- Some parents of children who attend the elementary schools recently tested for lead are complaining they weren't notified about the contamination that was discovered.

• Pizza shop workers robbed at gunpoint
EWING -- Two pizza shop employees were the victims of an armed robbery Tuesday night, police said.

• Police nab shooting suspect after photo is released
TRENTON -- Just hours after police obtained a warrant for her ar rest and released her photo to the media, Akilah "Kee-Kee" Tolbert was located and charged with at tempted homicide in connection with Monday's shooting on South Olden Avenue, police announced yesterday.

• Police suspect a burglary ring is at work
A spate of burglaries in the Lambertville-New Hope, Pa., area since late June has police in three communities working together to catch those responsible, authorities said.

• Ramada n ends
MARTIN GRIFF/THE TIMES

• Witness says gang leader ordered hit
In a dramatic revelation at the murder trial for Latin Kings leader Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete yesterday, a witness said he heard Ne grete give a direct order to kill.

• Assembly to focus on ecomony
TRENTON -- Assembly leaders announced yesterday that Monday's committee hearings will focus "solely on the financial meltdown and what can be done to help New Jersey workers and businesses weather the crisis."

• Candidates address credit crisis
TRENTON -- Democratic congressional candidate Josh Zeitz called for quick federal action to address the credit crisis, while Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith called for a special session of Congress to address the issue.

• County clerk begins stint as division chief
Mercer County Clerk Paula Sol lami-Covello has been named chief of the County Clerks and Registers Division of the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey.

• Emtpy pockets and big dreams
WEST WINDSOR -- The tur bulent economy has at least one township official wondering if West Windsor -- or any government agency -- can even afford to fund the improvements suggested for the Princeton Junction Train Station area.

• Ex-gangster testifies to leader's style
TRENTON -- As head of the Latin King street gang, Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete had "total control" over the gang's activities and used money from the gang's kitty to purchase guns he gave members to carry out his deadly orders, an ex-Latin King testified in court yesterday.

• Ice cream shop owner takes his licks and reopens
NEW HOPE, Pa. -- Ice cream shop owner Bob Gerenser, also widely known as a George Washington re-enactor, has made peace with the Bucks County Health Department.

• Man is stabbed during holdup
TRENTON -- A holdup victim suffered a stab wound to his liver after one of the men robbing him pulled out a knife, police said.

• Seeking information on missing woman
TRENTON -- Authorities are seeking information on the whereabouts of a missing 31-year-old city woman.

• Trenton woman linked to shooting
TRENTON -- Shot in the abdo men Monday evening during a street fight he might have been trying to break up, a 47-year-old city man remained in critical condition yesterday following two rounds of emergency surgery, police said.

• Two brothers are arrested on drug charges
BORDENTOWN CITY -- Two brothers were arrested and drugs seized after authorities used a search warrant to raid the men's apartment in the 400 block of Prince Street just before 10 p.m. Monday, police said yesterday.

• At hearing, judge dismisses charges against Trenton pastor
A Philadelphia judge has dismissed criminal charges against a Trenton-based pastor from Burlington County whom police had accused of having improper contact with a 15-year-old boy.

• Board OKs pay increase for school superintendent BY JOYCE J. PERSICO
PLAINSBORO -- West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District superintendent Victoria Kniewel has been given a 4 percent raise under a new contract approved by a unanimous vote of the school board.

• Bridge to past also has a future
LAMBERTVILLE -- There will be no wrecking ball for the Calhoun Street Bridge between Trenton and Morrisville, Pa., at least in the foreseeable future. Instead, renovations are planned for the 124-year-old span.

• Cops offer up reward in fatal city shooting
TRENTON -- City police have named a suspect in Sunday's killing of 29-year-old Felix Enrique Cardona and, confirming the reports of friends of the victims, they believe Cardona was killed by a friend.

• DOT reveals continued closures
WEST WINDSOR -- There will be at least another two months of re-routed traffic around the Alexander Road bridge replacement.

• Driver in car chase is identified
TRENTON -- The driver who led police on a wild motor-vehicle chase that ended in several car crashes in East Trenton Saturday night was identified yesterday as 43-year-old city man who police say was drunk at the time.

• Guilty plea in gang-related killing
The second of three Trenton members of the Gangster Killer Bloods who were charged with a 2005 homicide pleaded guilty yesterday.

• Mayor is upbeat about Hamilton's finances
HAMILTON -- Mayor John Bencivengo addressed key members of the local business community yesterday, highlighting what he said were major government spending cuts under his watch and saying he was "guardedly optimistic" about the future of the township's finances.

• No-cost flu shots to be offered at senior center
WEST WINDSOR -- The township's Health Division will offer free flu shots to residents 55 and older at the senior center on Clarksville Road on Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon and Nov. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.

• Passenger takes wheel after driver hit by bullet
TRENTON -- A city man was shot in the leg early Saturday as he drove down Sanford Street, police reported.

• Pit bull assists in arrest of an armed robber
TRENTON -- A pair of armed robbers were no match for a family's pit bull, who bit one of them and chased down another before police intervened and subdued the suspect, who was still holding a gun, police said.

• Police called to scene of brawling crowd
LAWRENCE -- A fight among 20 or so combatants at the Franklin Corner Tavern ended when someone fired a gun in the air once the fighting moved outside the building, police said.

• Police investigate shooting of motorist
TRENTON -- A 22-year-old city man was shot Sunday night on Second Street, police said yesterday.

• Political group plans open house Thursday
WEST WINDSOR -- The newly formed Democratic Club of West Windsor will hold an open house Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the West Windsor Senior Center on Clarksville Road.

• Program expands to aid homeowners
TRENTON -- With the stock market ailing and credit markets tightening, area bank and church officials today will announce the expansion of a new program to help residents facing foreclosures on their mortgages.

• Shell casings found after motorist reports shooting
TRENTON -- A 39-year-old city man was shot at as he drove his car down the 600 block of Pennington Avenue Sunday afternoon, police reported.

• A smoky mystery at the mall
LAWRENCE -- An errant soda can sparking a transformer is apparently to blame for smoke inside Quaker Bridge Mall yesterday morning, which led to firefighters being dispatched to the mall, police say.

• Hopewell families will work for play
HOPEWELL BOROUGH -- The elementary school was alive Friday night with the sounds of families having fun in the spirit of an old-fashioned barn raising.

• Raise, 'wellness' plan voted
Military members will get a 3.9 percent pay raise in January, but military pay raises through 2013 likely will not grow faster than private sector wage growth.

• School board begrudgingly passes policies
HIGHTSTOWN -- For the sake of productivity, there should be such a thing as a free lunch, say members of the East Windsor Regional school board, who complained last week about a state mandate that would regulate the practice of feeding meeting-goers at taxpayer expense.

• 'The ultimate goal of parole is public safety'
New Jersey State Parole Board Capt. Steven Tallard arrived at the FBI National Academy earlier this summer with the same mission as most of the other law enforcement personnel from across the world chosen to attend: to soak up all the knowledge he could and bring it back to his agency.

• Witnesses describe 'thunderous' city crash
TRENTON -- A police chase down South Olden Avenue late Saturday night ended in a violent crash that injured an innocent motorist and damaged at least a half- dozen vehicles, witnesses said.

• An economic and eco-friendly plan
Hillsborough is marketing an old municipal dump to prospective commercial redevelopers.

• Civic associations holding awards banquet
TRENTON -- The Trenton Council of Civic Associations will hold its annual awards banquet on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Trenton Country Club on Sullivan Way.

• Olympian makes a smashing impression
WEST WINDSOR -- David Zhuang, three-time Olympic table tennis player, dazzled the residents of the Village Grande active adult community Monday with his spins and smashes.

• Rashad, West talk race and indentity
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- "My mother has assured me that the world has come to an end at least three times before," Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad explained to Cornel West, the Princeton University professor.

• A daughter saved
HAMILTON -- Aliscia Ball was sitting in her car smoking, and may have been using a flammable aerosol spray on the night of Aug. 10 when there was an explosion and she suffered serious burns to her face, neck and arms.

• Blogger, bookstore receive honors
TRENTON -- A downtown bookstore and a grass-roots champion for a more open city government are among the winners of this year's Trenton Council of Civic Associations annual awards.

• Official's link to developer causes dispute
ROBBINSVILLE -- Council members sparred publicly at a council meeting this week over whether or not it was improper or unethical that one member did not disclose that her employer has had contracts with the developer of Town Center.

• Softball game to benefit state trooper killed in Iraq
TRENTON -- There will be no losers tomorrow when New Jersey state troopers and members of the U.S. Army take the field at Waterfront Park stadium for a softball game to benefit Dwayne M. Kelley, a State Police sergeant and Army reservist killed in Iraq this summer.

• Suspect is charged in Hamilton burglary
HAMILTON -- A 48-year-old Thorofare man who allegedly tried to lure a 15-year-old girl to a park to have sexual relations is free on $100,000 bail, officials said yesterday.

• Vendors list for Mercer County Italian American Festival
WEST WINDSOR -- Organizers have released the following list of vendors whose culinary creations and merchandise will be available in PNC Bank's Italian Market tent at the 9th annual Mercer County Italian American Festival today and tomorrow at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

• 10-years behind bars for gangster who cops plea in slaying
Appearing thin and nervous in his orange jail jumpsuit, Dontay Brannon, the Trenton gangster who was mistakenly freed from the Mercer County Correction Center despite pending murder charges, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter yesterday.

• Burglary suspects struggle with cops
HAMILTON -- Two police officers checking out suspicious characters behind a Chambers Street gas station Wednesday night struggled with two of them, including one who had a handgun, police said.

• Differing stories when kid comes home late from school
TRENTON -- A parent and the city school district are at odds over what happened Wednesday when a 6-year-old child did not arrive home until more than two hours after school let out.

• Freeholders questioned about baseball team's new lease
Republican candidates attending the freeholder board meeting last night took up one of their main campaign issues, peppering the all- Democrat board with questions about its approval of a new lease for the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team.

• Grant to fund cemetery upgrades
The Department of Veterans Af fairs is issuing a $2.6 million grant to purchase a structure for cre mated remains and make improvements at the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown.

• Holt bill would benefit area war sites
A bill to establish a federal grant program for preserving and protecting historical battle sites has cleared the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt announced yesterday.

• Motorist, 38, extricated from Rt. 130 wreckage
ROBBINSVILLE -- A woman was seriously injured yesterday when her sport utility vehicle slammed into a tree after rear-end ing another vehicle on Route 130, police said.

• Robbinsville to hire firm to find a new school leader
ROBBINSVILLE -- School board members will choose a firm for a superintendent search at next month's board meeting in order to fill the position that will be left va cant when Superintendent John Szabo retires in June.

• Trenton schedules 19 flu shot clinics
TRENTON -- Throughout the month of October, the city will hold 19 flu shot clinics at senior centers and community locations, the mayor's office announced.

• University reschedules celebration for Oct. 18
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- The "Community and Staff Day" originally planned for tomorrow has been postponed due to the threat of inclement weather, Princeton University announced.

• Apartment blaze began in kitchen
TRENTON -- An elderly couple was hospitalized last night after a fire broke out in their apartment.

• City police director bids a final farewell
TRENTON -- Joseph Santiago returned to police headquarters yesterday to say his goodbyes and imparted to his commanders his wish they stick with his policies for the most part.

• Conference for Women to have some star power
GOLDIE HAWN

• Cops: Man threatens restaurant employee
PLAINSBORO -- A 42-year-old Princeton Township man was ar rested and charged with terroristic threats after threatening to assault the manager of the McDonald's on Schalks Crossing Road, according to police.

• Dogs, their owners will have their day
ROBBINSVILLE -- Best Friends Pet Care, in cooperation with the American Kennel Club, will hold a "Responsible Dog Ownership Day" on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the kennel at 1379 Route 130.

• Drugs, cash seized in apartment raid
PEMBERTON -- Eight people were arrested after a drug raid at an apartment in the Browns Mills Arms complex Sept. 18, police reported. A ninth person was ar rested later.

• Ex-senator complains about 'left-of-center rantings'
TRENTON -- Former state Sen. Dick LaRossa has lodged an ethics complaint against state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora for weighing in on national politics from his legislative office.

• Ex-TEMS workers file civil lawsuit
TRENTON -- Four Trenton Emergency Medical Service supervisors who were fired earlier this year have filed a 14-count civil lawsuit against the agency and three current employees alleging a host of hostile working conditions, including sexual harassment, discriminatory retaliation and age discrimination.

• Free lecture series set next week in Princeton
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker will deliver this year's Toni Morrison lecture series on "The Unfinished Journey of America's Spirit" at Princeton University next week.

• Motorist arrested after passenger calls police
MANSFIELD -- An intoxicated man who became involved in a dispute with a woman while driving through Springfield Township early Sunday fled in his car to Mansfield, where he backed into a police car before being arrested, police said.

• New school board member gets unanimous thumbs up
PLAINSBORO -- John Farrell, a financial expert who turned to teaching upon leaving Ernst & Young after 28 years, is the new member of the West Windsor- Plainsboro Regional Board of Education.

• Officers charge father with resisting arrest
HAMILTON -- A 25-year-old man who the Mercer County Sheriff's Office said was $12,000 behind in child support payments was ar rested at his home on Brockton Street, the office reported yesterday.

• Resentencing set for gang member
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Sheriff's officers and members of the U.S. Marshal's Service Regional Fugitive Task Force took into cus tody a 22-year-old borough man on probation charges yesterday morning, the office announced.

• Weather won't affect Italian festival
WEST WINDSOR -- Even the threat of a coastal storm that will bring heavy rain and wind to the Eastern seaboard tomorrow through part of the weekend is not dampening spirits for this weekend's ninth annual Mercer County Italian American Festival.

• W. Windsor council postpones meeting
WEST WINDSOR -- The regular business meeting of township council Monday has been rescheduled for Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building on Clarksville Road.

• Ambulance transporting patient collides with car
TRENTON -- A Trenton EMS ambulance was involved in a minor car accident on the 600 block of South Broad Street while transporting a patient to the hospital, officials say.

• Bank robbery is thwarted by teller
LUMBERTON -- An attempted bank robbery was stymied by a teller yesterday morning and one of the suspects was quickly arrested nearby, police said.

• DEP fines Lawrence recycling site $1M
LAWRENCE -- A township re cycling facility has been fined $1 million by the state Department of Environmental Protection and could be shut down if it does not comply with orders to obtain permits.

• Enjoy a 3-day journey to Italy
WEST WINDSOR -- Can 100,000 people be wrong?

• Ewing council presents budget
EWING -- Township residents would see an 8-cent increase in the municipal tax rate under the budget introduced by the township council last night.

• Gang leader sentenced to 15 years in prison
TRENTON -- The leader of the Gangster Killer Bloods faction of Trenton's violent Bloods street gang was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale drug distribution ring, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

• Input is sought on superintendent search
A public forum on the Hopewell Valley school board's search for its next superintendent of schools will be held 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Hopewell Valley Central High School's cafeteria.

• Man is charged with assault on cop
TRENTON -- A city man was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer Friday after allegedly pushing a cop and refusing to go into custody.

• Man is wounded in parking lot shooting
WILLINGBORO -- A 28-year-old township man was wounded in a shooting Monday evening in a shopping center parking lot, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.

• Nonprofit group gets $250K grant
TRENTON -- Isles Inc., one of the city's longest-lasting community development and environmental organizations, will receive $250,000 through a state partnership designed to help revitalize New Jersey communities.

• Officers arrest man hiding in attic
TRENTON -- Wanted for allegedly violating probation, a city man was arrested yesterday after authorities found him hiding in the attic of an apartment, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office announced.

• Officials set to OK loan to senior housing project
Mercer County freeholders are scheduled to approve a $525,000 federally funded loan to the politically charged Heritage Village senior housing project on Brunswick Pike in Lawrence tomorrow night.

• Rider cancels classes after power outage
LAWRENCE -- Rider University canceled classes yesterday afternoon and evening after a car hit a telephone poll on Route 206 and knocked out the electricity on much of the campus.

• Rider cancels classes after power outage
LAWRENCE -- Classes at Rider University were canceled yesterday afternoon after a car struck a utility pole on Route 206 and knocked out power to much of the campus, university officials and police said.

• School board appoints member
The Hopewell Valley Board of Education appointed Leigh Ann Peterson, a senior compliance officer for the troubled investment banking giant Lehman Brothers, to fill the spot left vacant after former board president Linda Mitchell stepped down in July.

• Town wins grant for special needs recreation
WEST WINDSOR -- The township has received a $15,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to continue offering recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

• Truck driver pleads guilty to theft of U.S. funds for fuel
An Ocean County man has pleaded guilty and an East Windsor man has been charged in connec tion with the theft over $200,000 of federal money that was meant to pay for fuel for local mail trucks, officials said.

• Two are injured in collision at intersection
EAST WINDSOR -- A three-car crash at the intersection of Route 33 and Route 133 left two people injured yesterday morning, police reported.

• Veteran cop leads city force
TRENTON -- Fred Reister could have retired 13 years ago with a pension and health benefits for life.

• 3 males force their way into home of city senior
TRENTON -- An 89-year-old man's home was ransacked by three teen intruders while the resident was threatened with a knife Sunday afternoon, police reported.

• 7-Eleven clerk throws milk crate at gunman
LAWRENCE -- A man tried to rob a convenience store early yesterday but was forced to flee empty handed after his victim fought back, police said.

• Cop uses pepper spray on accused bike thief
LAMBERTVILLE -- Police reported yesterday they arrested a 34-year-old city man who allegedly tried to steal a bicycle and resisted arrest.

• Counties qualify for disaster aid
Mercer and Burlington counties are among 10 New Jersey counties designated as natural disaster areas because of crop losses caused by severe weather during the 2008 growing season, the state Department of Agriculture announced yesterday.

• Departure spurs mixed reaction from within the rank-and-file
TRENTON -- In police headquarters, and out on the streets, some police officers smiled a little more yesterday. One is said to have danced a quick jig down a police headquarters hallway.

• Gangster admits guilt in slaying
A last-minute guilty plea in the murder trial for Trenton gang leader Victor "Little Vic" Lopez sent already-selected jurors home yesterday.

• Gunman reportedly shoots at house in city
TRENTON -- Police said shots were fired at a home on the 100 block of Anderson Avenue on Fri day afternoon.

• Man gets attacked asking for directions
TRENTON -- A Bedminster man was assaulted early Saturday after asking for directions to the Rescue Mission, police reported.

• Man robbed outside Hamilton Ave. bar
TRENTON -- A 27-year-old city man was hit over the head and robbed at the rear of Rittman's Bar on the 1100 block of Hamilton Ave nue Saturday night, police said.

• Program provides shelter from life's storms
TRENTON -- Many have been on the streets or nearly so at some point in their lives.

• Punch by robber leads to victim's hospital visit
TRENTON -- A 46-year-old city man was allegedly assaulted after giving up $1.45 to two men who demanded a dollar from him, police reported.

• Putting the good of the people first
LAWRENCE -- Ben Dworkin, director of the newly established Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said he will give the state something it needs more of: honest public servants.

• Regional water utility talk suggested
Leaders in several local suburbs said yesterday they plan to discuss the creation of a new, public-owned regional water utility as an alternative to Trenton's proposal to sell local water pipelines to a private company.

• Residence ransacked in ruse by 'contractor'
ROBBINSVILLE -- Police are warning residents to beware of people showing up at their homes claiming to be contractors after an elderly man reported a flimflam artist gained entry to his house Saturday evening.

• Teenager hit by car while riding bicycle
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- A 16-year-old Princeton High School student was struck by a car while riding his bicycle on Franklin Ave nue near Tee-Ar Place on Thursday afternoon, police reported.

• Transit village in legal limbo
HAMILTON -- The time had come to introduce a controversial transit village ordinance that once was the centerpiece of their election campaigns, but township councilmen Dave Kenny and Den nis Pone were sitting in the audience.