In 2015, MyVeronaNJ.com published 845 news and feature stories about Verona, as our real estate market continued to rebound and our sports teams dominated many of their opponents. The Town Council election put a new majority in office, which lead to the departure of Verona’s long-time town manager and scrutiny of his operations.
The Verona High School football team had another perfect season and captured another state championship, and we captured the action on a new sports scoring app. Several new businesses came to town, including a clothing store, an organic juice bar, a sports fan-wear boutique and New Jersey’s first electric bike store. People with Verona connections opened food businesses in Caldwell and West Orange.
An 1880 home fell to the wrecking ball, but an experienced developer unveiled a plan to give the Annin Flag building new life as a loft-style apartment complex. Our public schools gained recognition and much-need improvements to their facilities. One VHS senior was accepted to 16 colleges, including seven of the eight Ivies.
We added several hundred more followers on Facebook and opened the door to a new social media outlet, Instagram, which quickly found an audience. We also had several new writers grace our site, like Beth Shorten’s perceptive reflections on life in our community.
Our readers took their first big vacations since the recession hit, but whether they were near or far, they kept in touch through MyVeronaNJ.com. Here are the most-read stories of 2015:
- Jeffrey S. Huze, Loving Father, Son And Brother: Too many Veronans died too young in 2015, like Jeff, who was only 44.
- Verona Resident Killed In Reservation Accident: A simple morning commute turned deadly for Susan Niler, who was a dedicated wife, mother and volunteer.
- Vandalism At HBW: Verona’s public schools have been working hard on upgrades, but somebody didn’t respect the work.
- PARCC Matters, For All The Wrong Reasons: Reader Beth O’Donnell-Fischer wrote that the new standardized test looked like a set-up for student failure rather than an accurate measure of learning.
- Prostitution Bust In Verona: Trouble in paradise? That’s what some readers wondered after an unusual arrest made headlines.
- Fact Check: Nochimson, Sapienza, Taxes: The Town Council race was one of the most acrimonious ever, with charges and countercharges flying.
- Senior Citizen Assaulted In Home Invasion: The Verona Police quickly caught two suspects, but it took the state crime lab eight months to process the evidence so they could be charged.
- Nochimson, Roman Elected To Town Council
: The governing body’s majority changed and it set a new style of government in motion.
- Martin Resigns, Stern Named Interim Manager: The town manager departed, and there were multiple changes in leadership at Verona’s public schools.
- Ariane Beats Bobby Flay!: The Verona restaurant owner once lost a “Top Chef” challenge to Bobby Flay by one point and she was determined not to lose again.
You can browse through even more top stories by looking at those that were the most read in each month of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.
