Crashes into Utility Poles, New School Calendar Top Local News

Not everyone was happy — but the Board of Education predicted as much — when the school board voted Monday to adopt a revised school calendar for 2013-14 that shortens the February vacation and cuts out Martin Luther King's birthday was a way of getting students out sooner in June. But the Sept. 9 start date remained, partially due to two holidays the previous week, and also because the school administration said teachers hadn't expected to report for service days prior to Labor Day in the calendar, which had been previously adopted.

Two Restaurants Close in Basking Ridge [Update]

Fresh restaurant at the Highlands Village Center in The Hills, and Doon Restaurant at the Lyons Mall have closed recently, and a leasing agent for the Fresh space said a new restaurant is being sought for that location. Other new tenants could be moving into both malls.

Ridge Basketball Drops Neck and Neck Fight With Linden in State Final Game

School officials said this is the first time in 40 years that Ridge boys basketball had reached the state finals — the team battled Linden — a premier group of players — till the very end before losing by three points. But this year's Ridge team still ended up with an amazing season record of 27-2. 

Bernards Schools Propose 2013-14 Budget With 1.54 Percent Increase

Public hearing on next year's school budget is March 28.

Van Crashed Into Utility Pole on Lyons Road

A Somerset Hills Florist van heading north on Lyons Road, just south of the Lyons Mall, crashed into a utility pole, resulting in one block of the road being closed off for hours.

Whitenack Road Reopens Several Hours After Crash into Pole

Friday morning's slick roads led to a few fender benders on Whitenack Road, including a crash into a utility pole that brought wires down, and closed the road between about 9:30 a.m. until later in the afternoon.

Should the Far Hills Races Ban Alcohol at General Admissions Gates? [POLL]

Respondents voted — or commented upon — the decision to ban alcohol from being brought in through general admissions gates for this fall's Far Hills Race Meeting. Those at the top of the hill will not be affected by the ban. The change was made after complaints about excess drunkeness and rowdiness reached a peak last October. The annual steeplechase horse races draw about 40,000 people each year from throughout the metropolitan New York area.

Basking Ridge Resident is first Woman Board Chair at Stevens Institute of Technology

Basking Ridge resident Virginia P. Ruesterholz, a longtime executive at Verizon in Basking Ridge and a 1983 graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, has been elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of her alma mater in Hoboken.