ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — On Saturday, Aug. 1, Essex County hosted a caravan to raise awareness about the U.S. census and motivate residents to complete their census questionnaires. The parade went through Newark, Irvington, Orange and East Orange, four municipalities with low response rates. “Being counted in the census is important because the federal money […]
SOUTH ORANGE / BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Older Americans Month is usually in May, but Essex County took the liberty of delaying it until July, holding off on announcing the winners and honorable mention honorees of the Essex County Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of an in-person celebration, all eight […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield School District Superintendent Sal Goncalves and Assistant Superintendent Joe Fleres presented the district’s reopening plan for September at the July 21 Board of Education meeting, a month after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that schools would resume in-person learning after being forced to move online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. […]
EAST ORANGE, NJ — On the heels of the creation of the city of East Orange’s Virtual Summer Work Experience Program, also known as SWEP, a virtual learning experience held in collaboration with VIP Online Academy and Seton Hall University, the program has seen buy-in from many donors. Most recently, Greg Campbell of Electronic Access […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Public Library is open only for curbside pickup as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, but that’s not stopping the staff from working on new projects. The library, always ready to preserve a story, is creating an archive to document the pandemic and is asking Bloomfield residents to […]
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Since portions of Bloomfield broke off from the town and became Glen Ridge in the late 1800s, six municipal clerks have worked for the borough. With the retirement of Michael Rohal earlier this summer, Glen Ridge welcomed Tara Ventola as his successor on July 14 — making her the only the […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Board of Education discussed the path back to reopening schools in the fall at its July 20 meeting. The health and safety of students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic is the top priority, and the school population will not all return to in-person instruction at the same […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange residents gathered on Northfield Avenue on July 25 for another Black Lives Matter protest, led by the West Orange African Heritage Organization. Standing on either side of the road down the street from the Turtle Back Zoo, protesters held up signs asking drivers to honk in support. “This is […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Township Committee voted to further the discussion in 90 days about whether or not the town’s auxiliary police should be disarmed, in addition to preventing the use of the unit in the event of an emergency. Maplewood Police Chief Jimmy DeVaul had already deactivated the volunteer police during the COVID-19 […]
EAST ORANGE, NJ — Mayor Ted Green and the East Orange City Council designated the corner of South Clinton Street and Elmwood Avenue, across from Fire House 5 as Robert Slaughter Square on July 15. The ceremonial street renaming honors the legacy of retired Fire Capt. Robert Slaughter, a well-respected public servant and the first […]