BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Two decades of perseverance paid off Aug. 24, 2021, for Stephanie Orgueira-Aponte, 32, when she was hired as the first female Bloomfield Fire Department firefighter. A graduate of Nutley High School, Class of 2009, she moved to Bloomfield four years ago in the hopes of being hired. “I fell in love with […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — When Che Tafari, age 12, didn’t get a callback following his audition for Netflix’s new hit “Me Time,” he was understandably feeling a bit dejected. But it turned out to be a good thing — a very good thing. Che had so impressed “Me Time” lead actor Kevin Hart and director […]
ORANGE, NJ — Orange Board of Education member Fatimah Turner, a licensed clinical social worker, has created a community center for residents of Orange and surrounding communities in her cafe on South Essex Avenue. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner realized the community was lacking a space where all members of the community […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Ask any number of writers how they go about their business and you will likely receive, boiled down, this answer: write, write, write. Simple enough. Ask Eda Uzuncakara, Glen Ridge resident and author of “Jumping on the Drips,” a collection of interconnecting short stories, and you will get two answers: draw, […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Multiple cannabis business owners took the podium during the public comment section of the Sept. 6 West Orange Township Council meeting to express frustration regarding delays in the town approving their applications, and to ask for updates regarding when the task force will interview them and pass their applications to the […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — On Sept. 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the United States’ first monkeypox death, that of a man in Los Angeles County, Calif. Here in New Jersey, health officials are urging residents to learn the facts about monkeypox and to protect themselves accordingly. The Essex County Health Department […]
UNION, NJ — The second play of Premiere Stages’ 2022 season, “Scab,” opened at Kean University on Thursday, Sept. 8. Written by Gino DiIorio and directed by Glen Ridge resident John J. Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages, “Scab” is a play of subtle tensions apart from the strife connecting its two characters: Gilda, […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — After dark on Nov. 3, 1966, Carol Ann Farino, age 17, was walking back to her home on Jefferson Avenue in Maplewood, where her parents and 11-year-old sister were waiting for her. But Carol never arrived home. The vibrant and popular teenager had been abducted after she left work and murdered. Her […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Time was when all a police officer walking the beat would carry was a sidearm, handcuffs and a nightstick, a veteran cop might tell you. But times have changed. For the present-day officer, the emphasis is on nonlethal encounters and the possibility of acting as a first medical responder at the […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The newly hired principal of Liberty Middle School was arrested in West Orange on Aug. 30 for driving while intoxicated after she crashed and caused property damage on two private properties on Rock Spring Road. Aretha M. Dooley-Malloy was leaving a fundraising event for Councilman Bill Rutherford, who is running for […]