Video: Teen steals cop car during fight
More details on the fight. Apparently the keys to the cruiser were dropped when police stormed in to break up the fight (how many cops were on the scene is unclear from the story). A kid grabbed the keys and jumped into the cruiser, crashing it into two parked cars and injuring two other kids.
Only in Newark.
Newark school fight ends with theft of police car
Holy cow. Somebody needs to confiscate this kid’s copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.
A fight involving scores of Newark high school students ended after one of the teens stole a police vehicle and drove it into two parked cars, authorities said this afternoon.
Witnesses said responding officers took two students into custody, but one managed to break away. Meanwhile, the other student got a hold of the keys to a marked police car, which he drove for about a half-block before ramming into two cars parked on the south side of the street, Detective Todd McClendon said in a release.
One of the cars that was hit jumped a curb, striking two students who were taken to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to McClendon. Witnesses said the victims were a 10-grade girl and an 11th-grade boy.
The teen who took the car has been arrested, McClendon said.
It’s true, despite rumors to the contrary, the Portugal Day Festival and Parade will take place on the weekend of June 7th—mark your calendars. This is one of the biggest cultural festivals in the state, drawing a half-a-million people to Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood for music, food, drinks and great times.
New to the festival? Don’t worry: we’ve put together a survival guide for you below and some directions to help you find it. All roads (and planes and rails) lead to Newark in this state, so you’ve got plenty of options on how to get here—but, really, the train is your best bet.
It’s sure to be a hectic and fun-filled day: enjoy, be responsible and stay safe!
Portugal Day is celebrated annually in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. Drawing crowds of up to a quarter-million people over a weekend, the street festival typically runs along 17 city blocks. Visitors can enjoy Portuguese food, drink, music, dance and arts and crafts at the street fair, which runs East from Newark Penn Station along Ferry Street.
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Corzine to review 3 finalists to head Newark schools
Its interesting—and a litle bewildering—that in the current political climate, there are three stakeholders in our public schools apart from the kids and their parents: the state, who appoints the superintendent; the city administration, who has no direct influence over the schools: and the teachers’ union, whose primary role appears to be to antagonize the city with outrageous billboard advertisements.
Three candidates will be considered by Gov. Jon Corzine to lead the state’s largest district, with more than 80 schools, 42,000 students and a nearly $1 billion budget.
Former Washington, D.C., Superintendent Clifford Janey, Providence Superintendent Donnie W. Evans, and Ross Danis, former Randolph assistant superintendent and program director of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, were selected from 45 candidates who applied for the job to replace Superintendent Marion Bolden.
The candidates were selected by a committee, appointed by Corzine, that has met regularly since the beginning of the year, said committee chair and Rutgers-Newark history professor Clement Price. “We were rigorous in our deliberations, exacting when researching references, and wanted candidates whose qualifications, values and experiences spoke directly to what we heard from the community and city stakeholders,” he said.
“I find it remarkable there are three candidates and there is not one Newarker involved,” said Newark Teachers Union president Joseph Del Grosso. “What does that say for the people who have labored in Newark?”
Amusing sidebar: unless he’s changed his home address, Del Grasso himself is not a “Newarker”. Does he actually mean with this quote people who live in Newark, people who work here, or both?
Interesting clip of Booker talking about values at Google, but only two minutes of a much longer talk.
Newark honors the city’s finest
The homicide detectives who tracked down the killers of three college students last summer were among dozens of city cops honored today for exemplary work.
During the annual Police Week awards ceremony at City Hall, Police Director Garry McCarthy singled out the detectives for solving the Aug. 4 murder of three students—and the wounding of a fourth—while under the scrutiny of national media. The squad was given the department’s “unit award” for outstanding work by a single squad.
“The amount of pressure put on the homicide squad was mind boggling,” McCarthy said. “Within 13 days, all six (of the killers) were identified and apprehended in places as far as Virginia and Maryland.”
Newarkers invited to picture their city
Newark photographers, fire up your cameras! Newark Now is holding their fourth annual “How I See It” event, giving you a shot to tell your Newark story through photography.
“How I See It” was created to allow Newark residents to capture what motivates their community involvement and their passions about their neighborhoods. Armed with a camera, our community partners go out into the community and photograph images that illustrate the spirit of their neighborhoods. The photographs are unique glimpses into Newark’s neighborhoods and reflect the passion behind the photographer’s community involvement.
The finale will be held on on June 4 and take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at 27 Mix, 27 Halsey St., according to a news release. The program begins at 7 p.m.
Details on how to submit photos for the competition to follow.
Feds drop charges that Sharpe James bilked Newark
After relieving Newarkers of $58,000 from the city budget—and that’s only the amount the DA actually has evidence for—we’re sure glad to see the former mayor save us the money we would have spent prosecuting him in court.
Federal prosecutors today dropped charges that had alleged former Newark Mayor Sharpe James abused city credit cards after determining that a conviction wouldn’t have added any more prison time than he’s already facing under a guilty verdict they scored against him last month.
U.S. District Judge William Martini dismissed that indictment today at the request of Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Germano. Under an agreement between James and prosecutors, the former mayor pledged not to see a postponement of his July 29 sentencing on separate corruption charges.
Update: Thurman at Blue Jersey weighs in with hilarity:
Hat tip to the Star-Ledger for explaining that Chris Christie has spared us the details of a sex trial for Sharpe James by providing us the details from which we were spared:
The dismissal spares the government the expense and effort of a second trial and spares James potential embarrassment regarding salacious details. For example, pre-trial court papers filed in the case showed prosecutors planned to introduce evidence James billed the city for pornographic movies and body lotions while staying at a Miami hotel, an allegation he vehemently denies.
I think I just threw up a little.
A Broad Street fixture to close
In its heyday as a shopping mecca, Newark was a the place to come for sofas, dinning room tables and bedroom sets.Furniture stores Borok’s, Bushberg’s, Meyers, Moss and Carter dotted Broad, Springfield and Market streets. The department store Bamberger’s also sold furniture. But over the years, the stores closed, and what was once known as furniture row became a misnomer.
Now Borok’s, which has called 888 Broad St. its home since 1936, is shutting its doors June 30. “This is the last legitimate furniture store left in the city,” said Bert Borok, 77, the owner of Borok’s Home Furnishings.
Glowing review of Newark’s Theater Square Grill, which can be found in the NJPAC building downtown.
Come to think of it, it was a bit like Riverdance without the music: a vast crew of servers choreographing three courses — fixed price, $50 — with no stumbles or unseemly haste.
A meal at Theater Square does entail sacrifices, of course. Intimacy, for one: the dining room, designed by Barton Myers, the arts center’s lead architect, is the size of a small airplane hangar. Still, it remains one of the handsomest restaurants in the state — a soaring, airy two-story space, its formal geometry and muted browns, blacks and whites lightened by wall-sized windows that look out on the arts center’s graceful plaza and the Newark skyline.
We scour the web for Newark stories on a daily basis to give you one-stop shopping for Newark news. Check out these updates from the New York Times, the Star Ledger, WBGO public radio, Google News, Twitter, Flickr and blogs in and around the area.
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 Earthtimes (press release) | Airport slot auctions proposed for Newark, JFK Reuters - The Transportation Department plan for Newark airport in New Jersey and New York's John F. Kennedy airport -- and a similar one announced recently for the ... DOT proposes slot auctions at JFK, Newark airports US Plans Steps to Ease Congestion at Airports New York airport slots to be auctioned |
