SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — After the 2016 presidential election, two groups of people gathered in their kitchens and living rooms in Maplewood and South Orange to discuss what it would mean for politics in the United States. When the groups heard about each other, they joined forces to become SOMA Action, an organization […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — In the center of Maplewood are 25 acres of recreation space; playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts, softball fields, and a duck pond can all be found in Maplewood Memorial Park. The town’s Department of Public Works is normally tasked with maintaining the park, but this summer the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy’s internship […]
WO School District looks at schedules, policies to ensure compliance with new state recess law
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Board of Education discussed New Jersey’s new recess legislation and how the law will affect the school day at each of the district’s seven elementary schools at its Aug. 27 meeting at West Orange High School. The law, P.L. 2018, c. 73, which was signed by Gov. Phil […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — After eight years at the helm of Gregory Elementary School, Principal Michele Thompson is retiring and handing her office over to Makeida Estupinan. Officially approved at the July 16 West Orange Board of Education meeting, Estupinan is taking over as principal after three years as the assistant principal at Gregory. “Overall […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Michael Oren will return to West Orange on Tuesday, Sept. 4, to take the stage at Temple B’nai Shalom for his talk “Israel and American Jews: Common Destiny or Separate Paths?” The Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and West Orange native and will be speaking in his hometown about the relationship between […]
WOHS sophomore gathers community for Aug. 15 flag raising to celebrate Indian independence
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Residents gathered on the front steps of Town Hall to celebrate Indian Independence Day, raising India’s flag in a ceremony organized by 14–year-old Riya Goel on Wednesday, Aug. 15. The event brought members of West Orange’s Indian community together, something Goel said she hadn’t often seen. “I didn’t think the Indian […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Three weeks after West Orange officials announced they had found elevated levels of legionella bacteria in the water sources at Town Hall, test results of the township’s other municipal buildings revealed six other locations also have elevated levels of the bacteria. According to an Aug. 15 press release, internal plumbing was […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood is no longer accepting partial property tax payments, a change in policy that comes after South Orange voted in June to allow its tax collector, Aderonke Zaccheus, also serve as Maplewood’s tax collector. Payments may now only be paid for each quarter in lump payments by Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. […]
Blending mathematics and art to deceive, delight the eye
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Visitors who step into the 1978 Maplewood Arts Center until Aug. 31 may think they are seeing double as they look at Christine Romanell’s work in “Everything is Connected.” Romanell’s work explores patterns that do not repeat, many of which are found in nature. The art on display in the exhibit is […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. renewed his request to Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin to reenact the 2-percent cap on interest-arbitration increases for police and fire employees Tuesday, Aug. 14. The measure was first introduced in 2011 and renewed in 2014, before it was […]