Fire Chief McCarthy retires after 39-year career

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield Fire Department Chief Joseph McCarthy will be retiring at the end of this month. He has been 39 years on the job and fire chief for seven. McCarthy, 59, grew up in a fire department family. Both his father and grandfather were members of the East Orange Fire Department and both retired […]

Donaldson accepts a plea of seven years

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Former Bloomfield High School running coach and teacher Leo Donaldson accepted a plea deal in Newark Superior Court on Tuesday, March 20, for seven years in prison. He was indicted on 36 counts stemming from sexual contact with minors. Donaldson, 32, must serve 85 percent of his sentence, or five years, 10 months […]

County recognizes today’s students, tomorrow’s leaders

NEWARK, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. hosted the county’s annual Women’s History Month Program at the Essex County Hall of Records on Monday, March 19. The theme of this year’s ceremony is “Students Achieving Today – Our Leaders of Tomorrow.” During the ceremony, 2018 Essex County Althea Gibson Leadership Awards were presented […]

Meet Essex County’s mayors

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The eighth annual Essex County Meet the Mayors Event will be Saturday, April 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Westminster Hotel, 550 West Mt. Pleasant Ave. in Livingston. The mayors of all 22 Essex County towns, as well as the mayors of Little Falls and Clifton, have been invited to participate. […]

Tucked away in the back of a church, art flourishes

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Artists painting under the radar? Who knew there was an open artists studio in Bloomfield at the Brookdale Reformed Church every Tuesday morning? There is and has been for about 20 years. It is an easy-going environment, according to the man who oversees it, Belleville resident and former commercial artist Richard Toglia. An […]

Murphy’s proposed budget puts aside more money for schools

TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy’s first proposed budget increases state “formula” aid that goes directly to school districts by $283.6 million, the initial step toward fulfilling the state’s school-funding obligation, according to a March 15 press release from the NJ Department of Education. The budget also increases aid for expanded preschool, STEM programs and […]

District hosts state expert on emergency planning

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The topic of school safety was presented at Bloomfield High School by the school district on Monday evening, March 12. The guest speaker was Thomas Gambino, from the Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning, of the state Department of Education. He was introduced by Schools Superintendent Sal Goncalves who called him an […]

Essex County cleans up in JerseyArts awards

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The ArtPride New Jersey Foundation, in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, recently announced the winners of the 2018 JerseyArts.com People’s Choice Awards, including several venues in Essex County. More than 18,000 ballots were cast in the annual contest, which celebrates the extraordinary work of New Jersey’s […]

Three from Bloomfield in reading of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Nutley Little Theatre presented a reading of “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Sunday, March 11. At the Little Theatre, readings alternate with stage productions with the readings being presented one time while stagings have a number of performances. The readings, which are free to the public, typically occur in October, January, March and […]