The gas face

The blue shirts scattered like cockroaches in the kitchen when I aimed my point and shoot camera in their direction. “Nobody wants to see my ugly mug,” says one of the Spectra Energy reps at yesterday’s Open House in the gym at PS #9 on Mercer Street.
Texas-based Spectra, which wants to build a natural gas [...]

Last call for recall

An appeals court is weighing arguments from a group of Tea Party activists in New Jersey who want to recall Sen. Bob Menendez. The groups were in court this week, asking an appeals panel to let them continue to collect names on a recall petition while the court determines if they can even recall Menendez. [...]

Snow job

Now that’s how you do a snowstorm. 48 hours of steady falling snow can do wonders for a city. Before it turns to hard gray slush, the blanket of white and the hush it brings can fool you into thinking that this little town is something close to heaven. Granted, you gotta be a little [...]

Where’s Jerry?

The public hearing on the municipal budget began around 7 p.m., with the first of what would be 30-some-odd speakers. Slightly after 7 p.m. I was on my way out the door. I know this rankles a few of you. How can he report on a meeting he didn’t even stay to watch. I could [...]

Of silver balls and surf

Ever since the days when former Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague threw his wild, whiskey-fueled, Roman-themed parties at the old Casino,  Asbury Park has always been the shore destination for Jersey City folks. Actually, I made that part about Frank Hague up, but it could be true. The more likely reason for Asbury’s popularity among [...]

Spin vs. spun

Thursday’s indictment of former Newark Deputy Mayor Ron Salahudddin may yet prove to be a blow (or not) to the Cory Booker reelection campaign, but the mayor’s response to the announcement is something Booker’s buddy, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, might’ve been wise to study. If only the U.S. Attorney’s office had announced the Sullahadin [...]

Lhasa De Sela (1972-2010)

If you know me, you know I love the city of Montreal. They’ve got a great jazz festival up there and I try to go every summer. Lucky for me, I used to get paid to go to jazz festivals, see great shows and interview amazing artists from a wide range of experiences and geographic [...]

What do you have to say for yourself?

It’s safe to say the heat is now on high. Today’s quasi-conviction of former Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, while not a home run by any standard, confirms that stink is in the mayor’s inner circle. (In case the dozen or so guilty pleas in this case hadn’t already done that.) Whether you believe that an [...]

Sounds Found, Episode 23

Darkness on the edge of Square

We used to walk to Journal Square from Downtown. When I was a kid, the Square had three movie theaters, any number of restaurants and several record stores where you could spend an entire Saturday, noon to past sundown. The Loews Theater holds a special place in my heart, as you know, and my first [...]