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RIDGE VIEW ECHO WRITER

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer

471 ARTICLES
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
Environment

Looming Increased Truck Traffic Needs More Air Monitors

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
The good news is that the state Department of Environmental Protection will provide monitors to the township to establish a baseline for air quality...
Government

Commercial Maintenance Code for Knowlton?

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Knowlton to consider Property Maintenance Code for Commercial / Industrial properties...
Environment

Drought Conditions Spare North Warren – for now…

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
North Warren not experiencing drought conditions yet it's a different story nearby
Community

Frelinghuysen Takes Big Step Toward Having its Own Fire Department by Appointing First Fire Chief

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
With the appointment of its first fire chief, Frelinghuysen Township has taken a major step toward creating its own fire department. John Shoemaker, a veteran...
Phalon's File

The Debate that Never Was

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
It’s time to put this controversy to rest. Every day there is another post on social media about the long- running battle in the...
Community

Despite Theft, Butterfly Garden’s Volunteers Forge Ahead

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Despite the theft of a donated tree and other items from their garden, the volunteers at the Knowlton Township Butterfly Garden have vowed to...
Community

Long-term Solar Use at ‘Solar Farms’ Mulled by Knowlton

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Who foots the bill for dismantling decommissioned solar farms?
Community

Gotheimer nixes National Park status for Delaware Water Gap

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
With the announcement that he will not support a redesignation of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as a national park, Rep. Josh...
Community

Vandals Damaged Bathrooms at Knowlton’s Tunnel Fields

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Beyond the well-groomed athletic fields, the pristine picnic areas and the immaculate playgrounds, the bathrooms at Tunnel Field continue to be a headache for...
Pets

The Blairstown Land Use Board wants Every Dog to Have its Day

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
The Blairstown Land Use Board may take action Aug 15 concerning dogs
News

Knowlton Seeks Refinancing Sewer Debt for Lower Rates to be Paid Off by Commercial Users

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Refinancing lower rate bond to be paid off only by commercial properties
Community

A Facelift Next Summer for Knowlton’s Mount Pleasant Road Sorely Needed

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Town to address that driving Mount Pleasant Road, in Knowlton, has been far less than pleasant
Community

Blairstown Chicken Changes Put on Hold

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
It’s good to be a chicken in Blairstown, as the township Land Use Board is expected to review what are considered to be, in...
News

Rockfall Report Due by Year End

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
The next steps in the planning of the much-delayed and much-debated rock mitigation project on the S-curves on Interstate 80 will be released by...
Community

A Good Time to Be a Mets Fan

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
You know who you are. You’ve been suffering for decades. Sure, the Mets stumbled their way into the playoffs a few times since the...
Community

Knowlton Cleans Up After Storm

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Electric power was restored to Knowlton residents by 4 p.m. Tuesday, about 22 hours after a storm ripped across North Warren County, shredding power...
Community

Call the police! It’s simple!

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
We live in dog country here in North Warren. Blairstown, in particular, is one of the most dog-friendly small towns I’ve seen. Just about every business on Main Street keeps a bowl of fresh water on their sidewalk. People see dogs all the time.
Government

Knowlton Sees an Average $21 Tax Hike in 2022

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
Knowlton taxpayers will see an average increase of $21 in property taxes this year.
Community

Costs to Enforce NJ’s Plastic Bag / Styro Ban Falls on Towns & Counties

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
The State legislature passed a statute that effectively ended the use of plastic shopping bags in New Jersey starting May 4. While widely, if grudgingly, applauded by many people, the enforcement of the law, it turns out, will fall almost entirely to counties and municipalities, which will get to keep less than a third of the fines collected.
Community

North Warren Regional High School Senior Class Graduation, June 21st, 2022

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer -
The Senior Class of North Warren Regional High School celebrated their commencement June 21 at the NW Stadium.  
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About us

Ridge View Echo is your local independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news source. We provide local news serving the Blairstown, Frelinghuysen, Hardwick, Knowlton and surrounding communities in northern Warren County, New Jersey.

Ridge View Echo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.

Articles

The latest

Knowlton Elementary School Sees Strong ELA Scores; For Math, It’s Complicated

Knowlton
It’s test score presentation season, that time of year...

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Notes From the Fallen Tree
Beech blight aphids are a type of woolly aphid...

After Second ICE Operation in Hackettstown, Local Groups Unite in Protest

Community Issues
About 50 protesters marched through downtown Hackettstown on Sunday,...
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