Community Corner

Belleville's Superintedent Sued for Sexual Misconduct, Nutley's Tan Mom is Back and a Road Rage Incident Leads to a Stabbing

The month's top stories in Belleville and Nutley

Joseph Picardo, the superintendent of Belleville’s public schools since 2010, went on paid leave after another administrator sued him for sexual misconduct. Helene Feldman was later named interim superintendent.

A road rage incident in Nutley ended with a Pompton Plains man being arrested on assault and drug charges. The man, Sefer Nasufi, also allegedly stabbed the victim in a bank parking lot, police said.

Nutley’s most notorious tanorexic, Patricia Krentcil, has teamed up with an author to provide online tips on proper skin care.  In one of the webisodes Krentcil gets a skin peel.

School overcrowding was a hot topic of discussion at both school board and township council meetings this month. Some parents blame the problem at least partly on illegal multi-family homes rented by families with school-age children.

A Belleville home sustained heavy damage in a fire that may have been caused by an overloaded electrical cord. No one was injured in the blaze.

Nutley has decided to join a lawsuit against phone service provider Verizon over taxes the company pays for its poles and other equipment located in the township. The company has argued that because the number of landlines has dropped due to the increased popularity of cell phone service, the taxes should be reduced.

Owners of LukOil gas stations across the state staged a one-day protest against high prices charged by their supplier by raising the price of gas to $8 a gallon.

Several gathered at Eagle Rock in West Orange to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. On the day of the attacks in 2001, hundreds gathered at the site, which offers a panoramic view of the New York City skyline.

US Sen. Bob Menendez held a rally in Belleville on behalf of the “47 percent” of Americans referred to in secretly recorded comments by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Menendez, a Democrat, is seeking a second term in the US Senate this year.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here