MORRIS COUNTY — Assemblywoman Aura Dunn criticized Trenton’s spending priorities on Tuesday during a debate on the $60.75 billion fiscal year 2027 state budget, arguing school districts are struggling while legislative Democrats direct funding to district-specific pet projects.

“While we’re finding $611 million for legislative pet projects, school districts up in the Highlands are being told there isn’t enough. In West Milford, an elementary school is closing. In Jefferson Township, high school athletics are on the chopping block,” Dunn (R-Morris) said. “These are real communities, real kids, real programs being cut because this budget leaves them underfunded by the state’s own formula.”

In May, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn introduced a bipartisan school funding fix (A4860) for districts located in municipalities subject to Highlands development restrictions. The legislation would provide additional state aid to school districts in communities where large portions of land are protected by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, which limits a municipality’s ability to grow its tax base. 

“Unfortunately, our school funding system has failed to account for the economic impact of these environmental burdens that limit a town’s ability to expand their tax base in the same way that urban districts are limited by municipal burdens,” she said after introducing the bill. 

From the floor of the Assembly, Dunn noted Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s first state budget includes $253 million in last-minute legislative add-ons, on top of $358 million in supplemental spending for fiscal year 2026 discreetly pushed through by Democrats, a practice the governor denounced earlier this year.  

“If we have time to find money for Christmas tree projects, we have time to fix the school funding formula for districts like these,” Dunn said. 

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County officials gathered at The Grand Café in Morristown on July 1, 2026, to celebrate the restaurant’s forty-fifth anniversary, presenting owner Allison Lloyd Porter with proclamations and awards honoring the Morristown institution.

The event, held indoors as outdoor temperatures reached ninety-five degrees, drew about fifty attendees, according to Morris County Commission Director Stephen Shaw, who praised the café’s legacy. Assistant County Administrator Brian Murray noted that some guests in attendance had been patrons since the restaurant’s earliest days, when men were required to wear jackets to dine there.

Desmond and Alice Lloyd, immigrants who built what became known as an American dream story, opened The Grand Café on July 1, 1981, bringing high-end French-American cuisine and old-world hospitality to Morristown’s dining scene. Desmond Lloyd drew inspiration from his years in the English Merchant Navy, where he worked as a waiter in the upscale dining rooms of luxury cruise liners before eventually working his way up at Rod’s Steakhouse in Morristown.

Both founders have since passed away, and their daughter, Allison Lloyd Porter, now runs the restaurant. Porter grew emotional while thanking the community, saying the past forty-five years were built not only by her parents but by the countless staff members who have served customers over the decades. She added that the café will continue to evolve as it looks toward its next forty-five years.

Officials in attendance included Morris County Commission Deputy Director John Krickus, along with fellow commissioners Deborah Smith, Christine Myers and Thomas Mastrangelo, as well as former freeholder John Murphy. Morris County Sheriff James Gannon and state Assemblywoman Aura Dunn also attended, along with Chiara Garcia, chief of staff for state Senator Anthony Bucco, and former Morris County Republican chair John Sette. Morristown Fire Chief Robert Flanagan was also present.

The Grand Café, located at 42 Washington Street, is marking the milestone with a month of special events, dining promotions and live entertainment throughout July. Offerings include a forty-five-dollar prix fixe lunch menu featuring signature dishes from the restaurant’s history, select wines offered at forty-five percent off, and live piano music every Saturday evening from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the main dining room. A jazz quartet is scheduled to perform on Thursday, July 9, 2026, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and harpist and vocalist Lexie Lowell is set to perform later in the month.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris/Sussex Vicinage of the New Jersey Courts has opened a new exhibit inside the historic Morris County Courthouse and the adjoining Administration and Records Building, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence and launching a celebration leading up to the courthouse’s own bicentennial in 2027, marking 200 years since the building was constructed in 1827.

The exhibit was launched in conjunction with Morris County’s “Light to Unite” campaign and a public reading of the Declaration of Independence held on July 8. The self-guided display traces more than 270 years of Morris County’s legal and civic history, beginning with the county’s first log courthouse in 1755 and continuing through the present-day courthouse.

Through historic photographs, artifacts and interpretive displays, visitors can see how the courthouse evolved alongside Morris County and the nation over the past 200 years, reflecting the enduring principles of justice, liberty and the rule of law.

Among the exhibit’s highlights is the court-martial of Benedict Arnold. One of the most significant legal proceedings of the Revolutionary War took place in Morristown during the Continental Army’s second winter encampment. From December 23, 1779, through January 1780, Major General Benedict Arnold was tried by a military court at Dickerson’s Tavern on Spring Street. The proceedings resumed a case first opened at Middlebrook earlier that year but postponed because of military operations.

The exhibit also examines the 1887 blasphemy trial of Charles B. Reynolds, one of New Jersey’s earliest legal challenges involving freedom of speech and religious liberty. The widely publicized case was argued by orator and Civil War veteran Robert G. Ingersoll and became part of the nation’s evolving conversation about free expression and religious freedom.

Additional displays highlight notable Morris County court cases, the history of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the courthouse’s Federal-style architecture, considered one of the finest surviving examples of its kind in New Jersey. Visitors also may step inside the historic courtroom, which has remained in continuous use for nearly two centuries.

As a keepsake, visitors may pick up a complimentary copy of “Founding Documents of the United States,” a pocket pamphlet containing the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.

Self-Guided Tour

The exhibit is open to the public during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors can explore the self-guided exhibit at their own pace by following directional signage throughout the historic courthouse.

1. Begin on the second floor of the Administration and Records Building, 10 Court Street in Morristown. Access the second floor using the lobby elevator after passing through security screening.
2. Cross the enclosed pedestrian bridge into the historic Morris County Courthouse, where the exhibit begins with the history and evolution of the county’s courthouses.
3. Continue through displays featuring landmark trials, historic artifacts, digital presentations and notable figures in Morris County’s legal history.
4. Proceed to the first floor to explore exhibits on the history of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office.
5. Before departing, pick up a complimentary pocket Constitution.

Visitors requiring accessible access may view both the first-floor and second-floor exhibits by entering the Administration and Records Building and the historic Morris County Courthouse separately. Upon arrival at either building, visitors should notify a sheriff’s officer that they would like to view the 250th anniversary exhibit and require accessible access.

MORRISTOWN — At 5:59 p.m., the bell atop the historic Morris County Courthouse rang 13 times as about 70 people stood on the lawn outside to witness a recreation of one of the nation’s defining moments: a public reading of the Declaration of Independence exactly 250 years after Americans first heard its words read publicly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At precisely 6:00 p.m., Morris County Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw stepped to the podium and began reading the Declaration’s opening words:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”

Spectators responded with a resounding “Huzzah!” as he concluded with the Declaration’s enduring assertion that “all men are created equal” and are endowed with the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

View more photos from the Declaration of Independence reading, or watch the livestreamed recording.

Morris County joined communities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the United States territories in reading the Declaration of Independence at exactly 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time as part of a nationwide campaign called “Sharing the Spirit of America.” July 8 marked the 250th anniversary of when the document was first read in public in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, later that same day, in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Morris County reading was shared by 13 public leaders in honor of the 13 original colonies. After Director Shaw, Commissioner Deputy Director John Krickus read a portion of the document, followed by Commissioners Christine Myers, Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Deborah Smith, Douglas R. Cabana and Tayfun Selen, Surrogate Heather J. Darling, County Clerk Ann F. Grossi, County Administrator Deena Leary, Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Sheriff James M. Gannon, and Assignment Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz of the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts.

State Senator Anthony M. Bucco also attended the ceremony.

The evening began with Revolutionary-era music by the Colonial Musketeers Senior Ancient Fife and Drum Corps of Hackettstown. Attendees also explored the Morris County 250th Traveling Mural, an interactive public art project by artist Dan Fenelon touring the county as part of Morris County’s Semiquincentennial programming.

Following the reading, attendees enjoyed complimentary red, white, and blue ice pops, adding a patriotic touch to the evening’s festivities.

The Declaration of Independence reading was coordinated by the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, the Morris County Heritage Commission, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, the Division of Buildings and Grounds, County Administration, and the Office of Communications and Digital Media.

The ceremony concluded another 250th Anniversary campaign, “Light to Unite,” which involved lighting up county facilities with red, white, and blue lights beginning on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress formally approved a resolution separating the colonies from Britain. The celebration of American independence in Morris County will continue with a special 250th anniversary exhibit presented by the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts inside the historic Morris County Courthouse, which was built in 1827.

The free, self-guided exhibit commemorates America’s Semiquincentennial while launching the courthouse’s 200th anniversary celebration that will take place next year. Through historic photographs, artifacts, and interpretive displays, visitors can explore more than 270 years of Morris County’s legal and civic history, tour the historic courtroom, and receive a complimentary copy of Founding Documents of the United States. The pocket pamphlet contains the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. The exhibition is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.