Former coach admits sexual assault

NEWARK, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced Feb. 21 that Kevin L. Jimenez, 30, of Belleville, has pleaded guilty to second degree sexual assault before Superior Court Judge Sheila A. Venable. In entering his guilty plea, Jimenez admitted that while working as coach for a youth basketball team, he touched […]

TSTI adult ed class on navigating social media for news

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — In today’s world of myriad social media and online news sources, it can be difficult to know which outlets to turn to for accurate reporting. Rabbi Daniel Cohen of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange will lead a class titled “Finding Social Media Sources to Understand the Jewish World” on Thursday, […]

County recognizes ‘Essex Five’ for Black History Month

NEWARK, NJ — On Friday, Feb. 15, at the county’s 16th annual Black History Month celebration, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. presented Essex County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards to the NAACP Chapters in Essex County — Oranges-Maplewood, Newark, Montclair and Irvington — and the Urban League of Essex County. Known as […]

HNA to celebrate Black History Month

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Hilton Neighborhood Association will hold its Black History Month celebration on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in DeHart Center, 120 Burnett Ave. in Maplewood. Join HNA’s Poetry Circle as it reads and listens to poems by historic and contemporary black poets. This meeting is free and open to all. Everyone […]

AileyDance Kids residency culminates with SOPAC grand finale

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange Performing Arts Center, in partnership with The Ailey Organization’s Arts In Education & Community Program, facilitated a 16-week AileyDance Kids residency culminating with a grand finale performance on Feb. 6. Students from South Orange and Maplewood middle schools performed on the SOPAC stage, launching the school district’s observance of […]

South Orange-Vailsburg UMC to celebrate BHM

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On Sunday, Feb. 24, the community is invited to the 10 a.m. worship service at the South Orange-Vailsburg United Methodist Church, at the corner of South Orange Avenue and Prospect Street in South Orange. The service will be a celebration of Black History Month and one in which the words of […]

‘Exploring Golf Island: Exhibit and Talk’ at Durand-Hedden

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Attend “Exploring Golf Island: Exhibit and Talk” on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at Durand-House to learn how this area of Maplewood, bordered by the Maplewood Country Club golf course, the Morris and Essex rail line and Maplewood Middle School evolved from farmland in the 19th and early 20th centuries to […]

Township Committee introduces Toomey’s redevelopment plan

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — On Feb. 5, the Maplewood Township Committee unanimously voted to introduce an ordinance to adopt the redevelopment plan for 104 Baker St., the former site of Toomey’s Automotive. The redevelopment plan, created by planner Paul Grygiel of Phillips Preiss Grygiel Planning and Real Estate Consultants LLC, has gone through several revisions following […]

New theater company creates opportunities on and off stage

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A new theater company will make its debut in Maplewood when “The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin” premieres at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 16 and 17, produced by Progressive Theater. Founded by Gregory Osborne, the company aims to put on shows targeted at minorities while […]