Hospital's Opening, Assemblyman's Criminal Charges, Ostrich-Clad Activists Top This Week's News

HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley is Open in Westwood

The hospital admitted its first patient early Saturday morning.

Assemblyman Schroeder Will Fight Criminal Charges

The attorney for indicted assemblyman Robert Schroeder will make a "substantial filing" of defense motions, he said Friday.

Assemblyman Schroeder Discloses 71 Creditors to Ethics Committee

Assemblyman Robert Schroeder has released a list of 71 creditors to whom he owes $25,000 or more, northjersey.com reported Wednesday.

Schroeder, of Washington Township, submitted the handwritten list to the state's Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards May 15, according to the report.

A 17-year-old Englewood boy was assaulted by two enraged NY Rangers fans who mistook him for a man they claimed sold them bogus playoff tickets a week earlier, according to Englewood police.

Robert Brancaccio, 39, of Hillsdale, and Raymond Sorg, 43, of Ridgefield Park, are facing aggravated assault charges for allegedly "slamming" a 17-year-old to the ground Saturday night at a shopping center in Englewood, as the boy was headed to work. The teenager was taken to Englewood Hospital with a shoulder injury, police said.

Board OKs BP's Plan to Reopen Former Getty Station

The former Getty gas station on Washington Avenue, which has been sitting empty for several months, will reopen as a BP.

The Washington Township Planning Board unanimously approved BP's plan to rebrand and reopen the gas station during its meeting Wednesday night.

Hospital Reopening Could be Boon for Westwood Businesses

Many residents and business owners are hoping the opening of HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley could have a positive impact on the local economy.

Pascack Valley residents gathered for parades and memorial services for the holiday.

Anti-Fracking Activists Don Ostrich Costumes to Seek Support in Westwood

A group of environmental activists visited Westwood Wednesday in an effort to gain support for a bill banning hydraulic fracturing waste fom New Jersey.

State lawmakers passed a bill last year which would have banned solid and liquid waste from the natural gas drilling process commonly called "fracking," but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the law, citing concerns over its constitutionality.

Members of environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch — some wearing inflatable ostrich costumes — asked people passing by the Westwood Post Office to call their state representatives and urge them to "pull their heads out of the sand" by overriding the governor's veto.