MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race celebrated its 25th anniversary with a virtual ceremony on March 29, honoring the founders of the organization and the work that its volunteers and staff members have done since. According to Carol Barry-Austin, who sits on the CCR board of trustees and […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The criminal trial of Fayola Howard, 36, a Bloomfield resident and 2005 Bloomfield High School graduate, will be scheduled this month, according to the office of Newark Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler, who will hear the case. Howard is charged with six counts, including aggravated manslaughter, in the death of Kevin Thomas, […]
IRVINGTON, NJ — On March 31, the township of Irvington dropped the lawsuit it had filed against a resident for various reasons, including her filing more than 75 Open Public Records Act requests. The lawsuit was filed against Elouise McDaniel, 82, by the township and listed clerk Harold Wiener, who fulfills record requests as part […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Department of Environmental Protection is awarding 38 grants, totaling $1.3 million, to promote the stewardship of urban and community trees and forests throughout New Jersey, NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced March 21. The grants support Gov. Phil Murphy’s environmental justice initiatives in vulnerable neighborhoods, with 75 percent of the […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On March 31, South Orange swore in Ernesto Morillo as chief of police, making him the first Afro-Latino and person of color to earn the rank of chief in the South Orange Police Department. Rather than focus on his amazing story and accomplishment, he used his time to honor Officer Henry […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — For Amy Popp, a media specialist at Tuscan Elementary School, receiving a fellowship from the Achieve Foundation in March has special significance. She is one of five educators who were awarded Michelle T. Riecke Fellowships totaling $5,073 to pursue professional development programs this summer. Popp will attend the week-long […]
EAST ORANGE, NJ — Former East Orange Mayor Robert L. Bowser died Saturday, April 2. He was 86 years old. Bowser held the distinction of being the first black person in East Orange’s history to have been elected to serve a third term as mayor. He served four terms in total, from 1998 to 2014, for […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Women’s Club of Glen Ridge hosted its annual Favorite Doll Tea on Sunday afternoon, March 20. According to Asha Gormandy Lee, the chairperson of the club’s Ways and Means Committee, 177 tickets were sold to the event, which is in its 11th year. Attendance was purposely lower than in previous […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District broke ground on another portion of the Long Range Facilities Plan at South Mountain Elementary School on March 22, starting the 18-month process to build nine new classrooms, a courtyard and a revamped playground. The fifth project to get off the ground, South Mountain’s expansion is […]
NUTLEY, NJ — Ron Negra was cleaning out a closet at his mother’s house in Lacey Township in 2019 when he found a sealed box filled with decades-old letters from people located all around the country. They were responses to letters his mother, Agnes Negra, had written during World War II to families of soldiers, […]