Clown threats sweep the country, affect two towns

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Just when we thought 2016 couldn’t get any weirder, the clowns came. Beginning in South Carolina with unsubstantiated reports that clowns were trying to lure children, clown-mania swept across the country, leading to reports of scary and dangerous clowns and threatening social media postings made by “clown” accounts. Though […]

How did a $48K grant from H.U.D. wind up at the library?

ORANGE, NJ — It was recently revealed that the FBI warrant and subpoena served on the Orange Public Library and City Hall respectively are tied to a $48,000 federal Housing and Urban Development Department grant received through Essex County and then repaid to the county after questions about its origin and use arose. How did […]

Three appellate judges hear Lion Gate case

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A panel of three appellate judges has heard arguments from an attorney representing four township residents who claim that 2nd Ward Councilman Nicholas Joanow had a conflict of interest when he voted for a $10 million bonding ordinance that provided funds to purchase land bordering his own. The land, known as “Lion Gate,” […]

Friends of Edison begin work on ‘pocket park’ on Main Street

Friends of Edison begin work on ‘pocket park’ on Main Street

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Work began this October to create a small “pocket park” at Thomas Edison National Historical Park on Main Street. The Orange/West Orange Chapter of UNICO supported this community and park initiative with a grant to the Friends of Thomas Edison NHP, which will manage the project. Scalora Landscape Services of South […]

Refurbished Chris Gatling Center reopens to the public

Refurbished Chris Gatling Center reopens to the public

IRVINGTON, NJ — In keeping with the spirit of renewal, Mayor Tony Vauss and Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Director Donald Malloy hosted the grand reopening of the refurbished Chris Gatling Recreation Center on Union Avenue on Friday, Sept. 30. “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” said Malloy, who also sang the national […]

County honors two exceptional Italian-Americans

County honors two exceptional Italian-Americans

NEWARK, NJ — The 2016 Essex County Italian-American Heritage Month observance was held Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the lobby of the Essex County Hall of Records. Decorated in the festive Italian colors of red, white and green, the lobby was a standing-room-only backdrop for the cultural festivities. During the cultural event, Essex County Executive Joseph […]

Local singer is receiving recognition

Local singer is receiving recognition

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Lauren Brown, a 15-year-old Bloomfield High School sophomore, warmed up the audience at a recent concert celebrating girl groups of the 1950s and ‘60s at the “Super Girl Group” concert in Paramus on Saturday, Sept. 24. The event featured singers from the Raindrop, the Cookies, the Jaynetts, and others, and Brown sang a […]

BOE elections: candidates Yaros-Ramos and de Leeuw

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge Board of Education will have a contested election this year. Running for three, three-year seats are incumbents Elizabeth Ginsburg, Heather Yaros-Ramos and Michael de Leeuw, and challenger Teresa Boyle-Vellucci. Each candidate will be interviewed and asked the same questions. Two candidates will be presented here and the remaining candidates […]

Mayor, district: Edison Village will not overload schools

Some say the development will overcrowd the schools

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Representatives from the township, school district and Prism Capital Partners are saying the first phase of the Edison Village project will not have a major impact on local schools when people move into the mixed-use project’s residential units. Though the first phase of the project includes a total of 333 apartments, […]