EDISON, N.J., Dec. 31 (ZFJ) — The Edison Town Council ejected a man from the council chambers for holding an American flag during public comment at the Nov. 25 combined meeting. The council also passed two ordinances to limit public comment time and grant the council president broad authority to restrict “disorderly” behavior at the dais. Two ordinances related to the council’s public comment were on the agenda that night. The first, O.

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — Water has been restored to most residences affected by the water main break on Thursday, Dec. 26, according to Mayor Sam Joshi. This incident has been one of Edison’s largest water main breaks, impacting about 20,000 residents. In a statement posted to social media yesterday afternoon, Joshi said that 99% of impacted water supplies have been restored. The boil advisory will remain in effect until lab results come back safe, which he says can take up to 48 hours.

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — New Jersey authorities issued a notice of violation to M&U International on Monday, Dec. 23, for an unpermitted discharge in connection with a chemical spill that entered the Raritan River. According to M&U International’s website, the company is a supplier of “synthetic and natural aromatic chemicals, food additives and essential oils.” Their facility in Branchburg, N.J., repackages these chemicals and is located within the watershed and upstream of New Jersey American Water (NJAW)’s surface water intake.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — Dr. Dominique Mwepu, 53, of Gaithersburg, Md., a lecturer for the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park, died on Sept. 30, 2024. The Montgomery County Police Department reported that he had been fatally struck by a car. “He was a beloved husband, father, friend, known for his incredible sense of humor, always quick with a joke and able to bring laughter to even the most difficult moments,” reads his obituary.

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 26 (ZFJ) — A 20-inch water main broke near M Lane and Woodbridge Avenue at about midnight today, Thursday, Dec. 26. Residents served by Edison Water Utility along Woodbridge Avenue, Route 27, Route 1, and areas up to Talmadge are experiencing little to no water pressure. A boil water advisory has been in effect since 3:10 p.m. Emergency repair crews have been working on isolating the break, according to Mayor Sam Joshi.

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 26 (ZFJ) — The state has linked a change in the taste and odor of water supplied from the Raritan River to a leak from a facility that packages fragrances and flavoring. Authorities say that there is no public health threat. On Monday, Dec. 23, New Jersey American Water (NJAW) announced that initial investigation results from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found that the water issues were caused by a Dec.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 25 (ZFJ) — Students at the University of Maryland, College Park, will have an annual two-day fall break starting in the fall 2025 semester, announced President Darryll J. Pines in a campus wide email on Dec. 2. The break, the result of a “years-long effort,” will take place on the second Monday of each October—Indigenous People’s Day/Columbus Day—and Tuesday. Staff and faculty will observe Indigenous People’s Day/Columbus Day on the Monday of fall break.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Dec. 19 (ZFJ) — Seven people have been arrested in connection with a drug trafficking ring involving Rutgers University students, announced the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office on Dec. 5. Operation RU Pharm was an undercover narcotics operation led by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force and assisted by the Rutgers University Police Department, New Brunswick Police Department, and Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. The operation, lasting several months, uncovered “a closed and private social media network” that Rutgers students used to buy and sell narcotics.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (ZFJ) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 3, only for it to be overruled by the National Assembly several hours later. In an unannounced press conference at 10:23 p.m. on Tuesday, Yoon accused the opposition Democratic Party of “an obvious anti-state act that plots insurrection” for attempting to impeach multiple government officials and cutting public safety budgets.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 4 (ZFJ) — Bundle up, folks. A cold front is en route to the Northeast and is expected to bring rain and snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday. “Beginning tomorrow, the passage of the Arctic cold front will lead to an outbreak of snow squalls containing intense bursts of snow and gusty winds upwards of 50 mph in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, which spread southeastward into the Central Appalachians and Northeast by Thursday,” according to the short range forecast issued by the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center on Tuesday, Dec.