The firefighters were hospitalized after suffering heat exhaustion battling an electrical fire in a sub-basement a Essex County College

Essex County College in Newark was the scene of an electrical fire in a sub-basement that sent 13 city firefighters to local hospitals to be treated for heat exhaustion, officials said. Jim Henderson 

 
Firefighters responded to the Newark college at about 8 a.m. on Sunday, after workers there reported a possible electrical fire in the sub-basement of a building on University Avenue, said Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

"Firefighters responded and removed all the occupants inside the location and extinguished the fire," Ambrose said in a statement.

Those injured included a female probationary firefighter who had graduated from the academy just three weeks ago, Ambrose said.

Eight of the injured firefighters were taken to University Hospital, while the five others went to Saint Michael's Hospital, Ambrose said. Ten were treated and released, while three remained hospitalized headed into the evening, Ambrose said.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, Ambrose said.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An electrical fire at Essex County College that sent 13 Newark firefighters to the hospital on Sunday will keep students out of class on Monday, when the college will be closed

NEWARK -- An electrical fire at Essex County College that sent 13 firefighters to the hospital on Sunday will keep students out of classes on Monday, when officials said the Newark campus will be closed.

Classes will be cancelled Monday in order to let crews continue to air out the main building of ECC's University Heights section in Newark, off Market Street, said the college's acting president, Dr. A. Zachary Yamba.

The fire in a sub-basement of the building also knocked out power, which remained out as of Sunday evening while a PSE&G crew worked to restore it, Yamba said.  

"We did it more out of precaution," Yamba said of the closing. "We figured we would give ourselves at least 24 hours."

Even though the spring semester had already ended, Zamba said as many as 2,000 summer session students would miss class on Monday due to the cancellation.

The fire broke out Sunday at 8 a.m. in a buiilding of University Avenue, knocking out power to the campus and overcoming 12 fire department veterans and one probationary officer who graduated from the fire academy last month, who officials said were all treated at area hospitals for heat exhaustion.

The fire remained under investigation Sunday evening, said Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly. But Yamba said he had been told investigators did not suspect foul play.

Yamba expressed sympathy for the injured firefighters, and said the department did "a tremendous job," extinguishing the blaze, which he said did not appear to have caused much physical damage to the building

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An off-duty MTA police officer found the suspect sitting in his truck a few blocks away

NEW YORK - A 26-year-old New Jersey man allegedly struck and killed a Manhattan bicyclist on Saturday night and then fled in his pickup truck, according to a report.

Samuel Silva of Newark was arrested a few blocks away after a witness described the hit-and-run to a passing off-duty MTA cop, NYPost.com reported. The officer, identified by WABC-7 as Otis Noboa, found Silva sitting in his vehicle with the engine running.

Police said Silva struck the woman as he was making a right in his Ford 150 from West Street onto Chambers Street around 8 p.m.

Silva is charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to yield to a pedestrian and driving while ability impaired.

The victim has not been identified.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Jersey H.S. alums selected, June 9-11, 2016

The 15,000 square foot facility at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange will open by the end of the year, officials said. Watch video

WEST ORANGE -- New Jersey's Turtle Back Zoo is embracing its namesake animal.

Essex County officials gathered at the zoo Friday to announce the creation of a Sea Turtle Recovery Center at the attraction. The 15,000 square foot rescue will rehabilitate sick or injured turtles, county officials said in a release about the project.

"We are always looking for new opportunities to expand our preservation and education programs and heighten our visitors' awareness about the importance of animals and the environment," County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said in the statement.

"To be able to develop a Sea Turtle Rescue center here in Essex County and help the very animals after which our zoo is named will provide a great resource to the animal rescue community and fill a great need."

Giraffes arrive at the Turtle Back Zoo

The new facility, which is set to open by the end of this year, will have five recovery tanks, a display for cold-stunned turtles, life support systems, and rehab areas for sick turtles, officials said.

According to officials, all six species of sea turtles found in the U.S. are threatened or endangered. Zoo visitors will be able to see the vulnerable animals as they are rehabilitated, officials said. Once the turtles are healthy, they will be released back into the wild.

The center will also be stocked with information about challenges the turtles face, and how people can help.

"The addition of the Sea Turtle Recovery will allow Turtle Back Zoo to take the lead on a conservation initiative that is important for our turtles," said Zoological Society Executive Director Adam Kerins. "The Sea Turtle Program gives us the opportunity to participate in an important conservation effort and make a difference with the turtles."

The recovery center replaces what officials called an "antiquated tortoisry building" that was demolished earlier this year. Design and construction of the new facility tops $2 million, which is being funded by the Essex County Capital Improvement Budget, along with donations from Prudential Insurance, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, PSE&G and the Matrix Development Group.

Zoo officials said they anticipate the educational exhibit will be popular among the park's about 750,000 annual visitors.

"Turtle Back Zoo already is a special place where children and families can learn to appreciate animals. Introducing the Sea Turtle Recovery Center helps take our educational programming to the next level and gives us an active role in protecting and preserving wild animals," Turtle Back Zoo Director Brint Spencer said in the release.

"Having the rehabilitation center on site fits into our mission of conservation and expands the potential for animal awareness."

Police are investigating the Saturday night robbery.

Montclair police are investigating. (Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

MONTCLAIR -- Police are looking for two men who they say grabbed a gas station attendant by the throat, pointed a gun at him, and robbed him of about $1,000.

According to a release from the Montclair police department, the two men entered the Delta gas station on Harrison Avenue in Montclair at about 6:22 p.m. on Saturday asking for cigarettes.

"One of the suspects then grabbed the gas attendant by the throat and pushed him further into the booth," police said in the release.

"The other suspect then placed a (gold) gun against the attendant's neck and demanded money."

The two men removed about $1,000 from the attendant's pockets, and ran, police said. The attendant was not injured, authorities said.

The first suspect is described as a heavy-set Hispanic man, about 5-feet-9-inches tall, wearing a black baseball cap and dark sweats. The second is described as a tall, dark-skinned black man who walks with a limp and was wearing a black baseball cap, dark t-shirt, and black sweatpants with a white or gray band around the right leg, below the knee, police said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

June is the month of high school sports championships and celebrations. Here are some of the best photos by NJ Advance Media photographers of the thrill of victory.

The more than $5 million in grants will address lead hazards in nearly 300 low-income housing units, officials said.

NEWARK -- Months after lead contamination was found in the drinking water supply at dozens of schools in the state's largest school district, federal funding to help remediate lead hazards in low-income housing is headed to the city.

Newark and Trenton - two of 11 cities in New Jersey that were recently found to have a high proportion of young children with elevated blood lead levels - are slated to receive millions of dollars in federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to help combat the chemical element, Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker announced in a release Monday.

According to the announcement, the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration program granted Newark $3 million, and the city picked up an additional $400,000 from Healthy Homes Supplemental funding. Trenton got a little over $2.1 million from the two agencies, the announcement said.

The funds will remediate lead hazards in 150 low-income housing units in Newark, and 145 in Trenton.

Menendez bill targets public housing lead hazards

"This federal funding is critical to enhancing efforts in Newark and Trenton to reduce lead hazards in public housing, making the homes safer for residents," Menendez said in a statement about the grants.

The announcement comes after a water crisis in Flint, Mich. reignited the national conversation on lead levels present in paint, water supplies, and other places.

Children in 11 New Jersey cities reported having higher blood lead levels than those of kids in Flint, which experts said was in large part caused by exposure to paint in old homes. The federal government banned consumer uses of lead-based paint in 1978, but many older homes still have lead paint, or lead paint dust in them.

"Under no circumstance should New Jersey families be forced to jeopardize their health or the health of their children due to dangerous levels of lead in their homes," Booker said in a statement.

"We already know the potential health impacts of lead poisoning can be devastating to a child, so we have an obligation to secure the resources needed to update the aging housing and infrastructure in our communities."

In March, revelations of elevated lead levels in Newark schools' drinking water spurred a flurry of lead testing in districts across the state, and several legislation proposals that would require more testing and provide funding to remediate lead issues.

Experts have said that the amount of exposure through paint is much higher than through the amounts found in Newark schools' water.

Staci Berger, the president and chief executive officer of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, called the HUD funding a "big step" toward addressing lead hazards in the state.

"Nonprofit community developers in Newark and Trenton have the expertise to remediate homes and make them permanently safe for today's kids and future generations," she said in a statement.

"It's a solvable problem, we just need the resources."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Here are the top wind gusts reported across New Jersey on Sunday, and an explanation of why it was so windy.

There were no storms on Sunday, but trees were swaying, flags were whipping  and patio umbrellas were tough to keep open. The culprit: Strong winds generated by a turbulent atmosphere.  

"We had a very strong high pressure system make its way south and east, behind a cold frontal passage," said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's regional office in Mount Holly.

Essentially, cooler and drier air was flowing from the Great Lakes region into the New Jersey region on Sunday as a low-pressure system and humid air was slowly moving out of this area and heading toward eastern Canada, Gaines said. 

The difference in pressure between each of those systems -- known in meteorology as the pressure gradient -- was greater than it normally is. That's what generated the steady breeze and strong wind gusts that were blowing throughout the day on Sunday, Gaines said.

Big wildfire in Pinelands still burning

Sunday's hot temperatures -- which soared into the upper 80s and low 90s across much of the state -- also played a role in the wind, he noted. The heat caused air from higher up in the atmosphere to mix in with air much lower, near the surface, so some stronger winds were pulled down towards the ground.

The end result was a very windy day peppered with gusts as high as 46 mph in Atlantic City and 41 mph in Newark. 

Sharp changes in pressure in the atmosphere turned Sunday into a very windy day across New Jersey. Pictured is a file photo of an American flag blowing the the wind on the beach in Belmar. (Star-Ledger File Photo) 

Atlantic City had the highest wind velocity across the Garden State, and the city also tied a high temperature record for June 12 when the mercury hit 93 degrees, Gaines said. That reading matched the record dating back to 1914.

Here's a look at the wind gusts reported across New Jersey on Sunday. Some data is from the National Weather Service, and some is from the New Jersey Weather & Climate Network at Rutgers University. Wind readings were not available in every county.

ATLANTIC COUNTY

• Atlantic City Int. Airport: 46 mph
• Mullica Twp.: 43 mph
• Pomona: 41 mph
• Hammonton: 33 mph
• Atlantic City Marina: 29 mph
• Egg Harbor Twp.: 27 mph

BERGEN COUNTY

• Haworth: 33 mph
• Lyndhurst: 30 mph

BURLINGTON COUNTY

• Mount Holly: 41 mph
• Wrightstown: 36 mph
• Silas Little: 34 mph
• Oswego Lake: 32 mph
• Red Lion: 32 mph

CAMDEN COUNTY

• Cherry Hill: 25 mph
• Sicklerville: 25 mph

CAPE MAY COUNTY

• Woodbine: 35 mph
• Dennis Twp.: 34 mph
• West Cape May: 28 mph
• Cape May Court House: 25 mph

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

• Upper Deerfield: 41 mph
• Fortescue: 38 mph
• Millville: 38 mph
• Bivalve: 32 mph

ESSEX COUNTY

• Newark: 41 mph

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

• Logan Twp.: 36 mph
• South Harrison: 35 mph
• Clayton: 32 mph
• Piney Hollow: 32 mph
• Sewell: 29 mph

HUDSON COUNTY

• Jersey City: 31 mph

HUNTERDON COUNTY

• Pittstown: 37 mph
• Kingwood: 34 mph

MERCER COUNTY

• Trenton: 36 mph
• Hopewell: 35 mph
• Hamilton: 22 mph

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

• New Brunswick: 26 mph

MONMOUTH COUNTY

• Sea Girt: 39 mph
• Cream Ridge: 36 mph
• Oceanport: 36 mph
• Howell: 24 mph
• Wall Twp.: 21 mph
• Holmdel: 18 mph

MORRIS COUNTY

• Chatham Twp.: 34 mph
• Parsippany: 24 mph

OCEAN COUNTY

• Harvey Cedars: 41 mph
• Berkeley Twp.: 38 mph
• Point Pleasant: 34 mph
• West Creek: 30 mph
• Toms River: 21 mph

PASSAIC COUNTY

• Charlotteburg: 31 mph
• Hawthorne: 31 mph

SALEM COUNTY

• Mannington Twp.: 34 mph
• Woodstown: 21 mph

SOMERSET COUNTY

• Hillsborough: 32 mph
• Basking Ridge: 31 mph

SUSSEX COUNTY

• Wantage: 35 mph
• High Point: 29 mph
• Walpack: 21 mph

WARREN COUNTY

• Stewartsville: 36 mph
• Greenwich: 28 mph
• Pequest: 26 mph
• Mansfield: 25 mph
• Hope: 22 mph
• Hackettstown: 19 mph

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

One of four suspects has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of a Jersey City woman.

Omar Martin has admitted his role in the kidnapping and fatal shooting of a mother of five from Jersey City. (Essex County Correctional Facility) 

NEWARK -- A Newark man has admitted his role in the 2012 kidnapping and murder of a Jersey City woman whose whose body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a vacant Newark townhouse.

Omar Martin, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this month to murder for the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Regina Baker on June 19, 2012.

Several days before her body was found, Baker was abducted at gunpoint by several on a street in Jersey City.

Details about why Baker was kidnapped and the motive for the killing were never disclosed.

Martin pleaded guilty to murder on June 3, according to court records.

He was one of four people arrested for the crime. He is the second to plead guilty. Karon Adams, 28, of Irvington, pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Newark in October 2014, but his sentencing has been repeatedly postponed, according to court records.

Regina Baker, 29, a mother of five, was kidnapped in Jersey City in June 2012. (Photo courtesy of ABC News) 

The two other defendants, Damon Zengotita, 40, of Hillside, and Michelle Paden, 41, of Newark, are still awaiting trial.

In August 2014, Martin was sentenced to four years in prison for an unrelated drug case. 

In March 2012, about three months before the drug case, Martin was arrested in a Newark residence, where he was allegedly found with 425 envelops of heroin.

He was free on bail for those charges when Baker was kidnapped.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas said Shawn Shaw's sentence had to show that guards have an obligation to protect inmates.

NEWARK -- In a case that had court officials recalling the recent Stanford University rape case, a federal judge Monday sentenced a former Essex County Correctional Facility guard to 25 years in prison for raping a female inmate in 2010 and then trying to cover it up.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas told Shawn Shaw, 42, that he had lived an admirable life up to that overnight shift on Dec. 27-28, when he was the lone guard on the women's tier. But then, she said, "You lost who you were at that very moment."

Shaw was convicted in February of depriving the woman's rights under color of law and obstruction of justice after a jury trial of seven days.

Witnesses testified that Shaw -- the only guard on the overnight shift that night because of a snow storm -- targeted the woman and called her on an intercom system. A computer record showed that the woman's cell door was opened around 2 a.m. and she testified that Shaw, who outweighed her by nearly 100 pounds, entered the cell, got on top of her and had sexual intercourse with her.

She testified that she said no, then "froze" during the assault, unable to call out for help. Her cellmate testified that she slept through the incident. 

The victim at first did not report the matter, fearing retaliation, she said. But after jail officials learned of a possible assault, she was examined and found to have evidence of Shaw's DNA in her. 

When the FBI was called to investigate, Shaw denied he made sexual statements to her or entered her cell that early morning. 

During the trial, Shaw continued to deny the charges, a position he maintained before being sentenced. 

"God knows the truth," he said in a tearful statement. "He knows I'm a good man."

Fake W-2's net inmates $400K in refunds

During the sentencing,  the Stanford case, in which former student Brock Turner received a sentence of six months for raping an unconscious woman, was mentioned  because of the wide range of possible sentences facing Shaw.

Defense attorney Mark Fury asked for a sentence of no more than 10 years, prosecutors demanded 30 years and federal sentencing guidelines would have allowed Salas to put him in prison for the rest of his life.

In letters sent to Salas, family members begged for only probation.

According to Fury, Shaw's "more or less blemish-free" life up to that early morning should have counted in his favor. A life sentence, he said, was "so far out of proportion" to a sentence that would serve the interests of justice. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Eicher, however, noted that Salas was required to sentence Shaw to a term that would show respect for the law. The sentence in the Stanford case, he said, showed disrespect for the law.

While prosecutors were willing to see Shaw sentenced to something less than life, Eicher said a long sentence would send a signal to other guards that sexually assaulting inmates is a serious offense. 

In the case of the victim -- who was reluctant to participate initially in the investigation -- the sentence could be lifelong, Eicher said. "She's already got a life sentence," he said.

Addressing more than a dozen supporters of Shaw in the courtroom, Salas said she respected the work of the attorneys during the trial and the jury in finding him guilty. "We may disagree with it, but as a judge, I have to follow that verdict," Salas said, saying Shaw faced "insurmountable evidence" against him.

As a guard, "You had an obligation to protect the people whom you were guarding," the judge said. "They don't stop being human because they committed a crime."

Shaw has a right to maintain his innocence, Salas added, but said it was difficult for her that Shaw showed "not even a slight bit of remorse."

In addition to the 25-year sentence, Shaw will be required to serve five years of supervised release following the end of his prison term and register as a sex offender.

He also was ordered to pay $6,000 restitution to the victim. 

Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Find out if there could be a charter school opening near you.

TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie's administration has advanced nine charter school applications to a second round of consideration, allowing organizers to submit more detailed plans for their proposed schools. 

Another 15 applications were either rejected by the state, disqualified for filing errors or withdrawn, the state Department of Education announced Monday. 

The proposals that advanced span seven counties, including two schools pitched in Essex County. If the schools earn final approval, they will open in 2017-18. 

Christie is an ardent supporter of charter schools and recently introduced a deregulation plan that he said would give charter schools greater flexibility in hiring staff and better access to high quality facilities.

Earlier this year, Christie called charter schools "salvation for families." 

Towns paying the highest school tax bills

Here is the list of proposal that were advanced, rejected, disqualified or withdrawn:

Advanced

Ailanthus Charter School (Franklin Township, New Brunswick)

College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School (Asbury Park and Neptune)

College Achieve Paterson Charter School (Paterson)

Elite Academy Charter School (Jersey City)

Fulbright Academy Charter School of Montclair (Montclair)

Innovation STEM Charter School (Newark)

Ocean Academy Charter School (Lakewood)

The Holistic Charter School for Behavior Therapy (Hopewell & Lakewood)

Universal Business Academy (Englewood)

Denied

21st Century Charter Community School for Blended Learning and Language Immersion (East Orange)

Brown Academy Leadership Career Readiness Learning Center Charter School (Trenton)

Global Community Charter School (North Plainfield)

Global Learning Charter School (Paterson)

Justine Academy Charter School (Newark)

MIGHT Leadership Elementary Charter School (Paterson)

Newark-Pneuma Academy Charter School for Science, Health & Technology (Newark)

Plainfield-Pneuma Academy Charter School for Science, Health and Technology (Plainfield)

The Duke Ellington Charter School of the Arts (East Orange) 

The Frank Sinatra Charter School of the Arts (Bloomfield)

Disqualified 

Larry D. Gooding Performing Arts Charter School (East Orange, Irvington and Newark)

Madame CJ Walker Charter School of Entrepreneurship and Job Development (Newark)

Paterson Dual Language Public Charter School (Paterson)

The Legacy Charter School of The Arts and Humanities (Wilingboro)

Withdrawn

Math, Science and Technology Community Charter School-Pennsauken (Pennsauken, Merchantville and Maple Shade)

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Mayor Ras Baraka, who will lead a 6 p.m. vigil on the steps of City Hall, asks federal lawmakers, "How many more lives must be needlessly lost?" before guns are more tightly controlled. Watch video

NEWARK -- Mayor Ras Baraka is urging federal lawmakers to approve federal gun control legislation in the wake of the Orlando shooting massacre.

"How many more lives must be needlessly lost before Congress takes action to impose even the most basic, common sense, and bipartisan reforms on the sale and distribution of guns?" Baraka said in a statement Monday afternoon, a day after 50 people were killed and at least 53 wounded at the nightclub Pulse, the single deadliest shooting in U.S. history.

"This ghastly horror is the result of many things - bigotry, the accessibility of assault rifles to unstable and dangerous people, homophobia, and appalling divisions and splinterings in our country that are making it impossible to reach unity," Baraka continued. "The result is pain and suffering, all of it utterly unnecessary and preventable."

Officials say the gunman, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Queens, NY, native and U.S. citizen who was once married to a former New Jersey woman, pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call, in which he was also killed. Mateen is said to have legally acquired the automatic weapon he used in the shooting.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, his ally Gov. Chris Christie and others have called the incident a terrorist attack by radical Islam. President Obama referred to the incident as and example of "homegrown extremism."

Baraka issued his statement in advance of a vigil in memory of the shooting victims, sheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday in front of City Hall. Pulse is a predominantly gay nightclub and gathering place, and the vigil is being held in conjunction with the Newark Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Commission.

"Tonight, with the support of our LGBTQ Commission, the City of Newark and its diverse and united people will respond with love and prayer for the victims in Orlando by holding a vigil on the steps of City Hall," Baaka continued. "I urge all of Newark to join me at this vigil in sending our condolences and support to the victims, and a firm message to the world: Newark stands opposed to gun violence, homophobia, and bigotry."

Newark is just one of many municipalities throughout New Jersey that have planned vigils in light of the mass shooting. Others include:

• Several vigils are planned in and around Hunterdon County beginning Monday night.
• Jersey City is hosting a vigil Tuesday night at 8 p.m.at the Newark Avenue pedestrian plaza, at Grove Street and Newark Avenue.
• Red Bank is hosting a community vigil Wednesday at 8 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring candles for a brief ceremony in the plaza in front of the Red Bank Municipal Building at 90 Monmouth Street.  
• South Orange and Maplewood are hosting a joint vigil Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Sloan Street Gazebo in South Orange. In a statement about the event, Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca said it would be an opportunity to support the families of the victims. "It is important that we stand united against all acts of hatred and terror, as an attack against any group on ideological grounds, here the LGBT community, is an attack against our nation and the freedoms on which it was founded and upon which it endures," he said in a statement.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

For the first time ever, NJ Advance Media is ranking 50 softball teams at the end of the year.

NJ.com's reporters ranked the top 50 teams in the state.

The officer was suspended after alleged domestic incidents.

Officer Joselito Nebiar was rightfully terminated, an appeals court found. File photo. (Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

MONTCLAIR -- The firing of a former township police officer arrested in a domestic disturbance incident was upheld by a state appeals court, reversing an earlier decision that would have cost Montclair $270,000 in back pay.

In the decision released Monday, superior court judges ruled that Montclair rightfully fired Joselito Nebiar, who was suspended without pay in June of 2013 and fired in December of 2014. The decision effectively undoes one made in March that ordered the township to reinstate the former officer, and pay him $270,000 in missed wages.

"A number of the trial court's key factual findings in its de novo review are contradicted by the record," Judges Carmen Messano and Harry Carroll wrote in the decision of why they ruled to reverse the trial court's decision.

"The Borough's proofs were sufficient to prove (the) plaintiff's unfitness...and support the termination of his employment as a police officer."

Nebiar's firing stems from two alleged domestic incidents with his then live-in girlfriend, the decision says. Though Nebiar was not indicted in connection to charges filed against him in one of the incidents, Montclair police eventually fired him after a psychological evaluation found him unfit to serve as a police officer and carry a service weapon, it states.

A trial judge in March sided with another psychologist who testified on Nebiar's behalf and determined that he was fit for duty. However, Messano and Carroll found "significant factual and legal inaccuracies in the trial court's findings," the decision says.

"No doubt, this decision is a victory for the Montclair community and the efforts of Mayor (Robert) Jackson and the (town) council to ensure that its police force is composed of individuals that are fit for duty in the interest of the citizens that they serve," said Angelo Genova of Genova Burns, who represented the township in the case.

Nebiar could legally appeal the decision. An attorney who represented him did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his plans Monday.

The exhibit coincides with a community forum on shootings in Orange.

ORANGE -- An art movement aimed at fighting gun violence has come to New Jersey.

After stops in NYC, Philadelphia, Frederick, Md., and Alexandria, Va., artist Pamela Flynn has partnered with HANDS and other community groups to bring "Considering Harm" to Orange, a city that has been grappling with a spike in gun violence this year.

"The crime rate is going up instead of going down," said Christine Jackson, a spokeswoman for HANDS, a nonprofit that works to rehabilitate neighborhoods in Orange.

"We want to keep residents informed...to get the conversation started and keep it going."

In the traveling show, Flynn pairs artistic images of violence with stories and statistics from the community in which it is being exhibited. The Orange version includes details on a bloody shootout in April that killed a 17-year-old. His death was one of two bloody homicides in the city in three days.

"Each time this is exhibited, it's people from (the depicted) areas that come see it," Flynn said. "The shootings are very relevant to them." She is working now on the exhibit's next stop, which she said will be in Trenton later this year.

The Orange exhibit, which is open at the Kelli Copeland Creative Lofts in Orange through the end of the month, coincides with a community forum Tuesday night meant to discuss gun violence in the community, organizers said.

It all comes about two months after Mayor Dwayne Warren launched "Operation Spring Cleaning," a public safety push he said was meant to cut gun and other street crimes. It includes increased street patrols, checkpoints, and cooperation between police and residents, Warren said in a release about the initiative at the time.

"The ultimate goal of Operation Spring Cleaning is to blanket our streets with coverage and quell crime and disorder as we head into the warmer months," he said. "We also ask and need the support of residents as we move to defend and protect our community."

Tuesday's community forum is being held at the Orange Public Library from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Alex Bolden is believed to be the first ECLC School graduate to attend an out-of-state college serving the general population

CHATHAM -- At the ECLC School in Chatham, which serves students from ages to 6 to 21 with autism, Down syndrome and severe learning disabilities, most graduates attend adult day workshops. Some get jobs after leaving the school, and a few go on to college.

Alex Bolden of Livingston, who graduates on Thursday, will do something truly rare. Not only will he be going to college, but he'll be doing it out of state.

Bolden, 21, diagnosed with both autism and Down syndrome, has been attending ECLC for the past 11 years. Now he is headed for George Mason University in Virginia, where he'll be enrolled in a certificate-granting program that trains students with disabilities in life skills along with giving them a taste of the regular academic subjects.

George Mason is a public institution that is the largest research university in Virginia and Bolden is believed to be the first ECLC graduate to attend an out-of-state college that serves the general population.

What made Bolden stand out for such an unusual mission?

"He's just a great kid," said ECLC Principal Diane Gagliardi. "He's a responsible kid. It's a great program there and they're looking for students who can be somewhat independent and follow a program."

Students in the George Mason LIFE program are "developmentally delayed, but still growing and learning," she added.

The brochure for the Mason LIFE program says it provides "young adults whose disabilities have traditionally excluded them from higher education with an inclusive university experience that will further their academic skills, prepare them for employment and encourage independent living in their communities."

Said Bolden of his choice to go to college, "I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do after high school and I asked my mom, 'where am I going to college? She was surprised." 

Bolden's mother, Tara McCabe, said she was "shocked" when her son told her he wanted to go to college.

"It wasn't something we had talked about at all, but it's what people around him do. Alex was ready before I was," she said.

"Alex has always had big dreams," she added. "We take it one step at a time and see where we wind up."

So McCabe and her son researched what was out there for a student like Bolden, limiting their choices to schools within an eight-hour drive. The LIFE program at George Mason, located just outside of Washington, D.C., was their first choice.

"It's a really nice balance between your typical college and a supported life," McCabe said. Students get plenty of attention as the staff includes other students getting training in related human services subjects.

In addition to reading, math and regular "catalogue courses," students learn such life skills as "nutrition" in the "really individualized" curriculum that provides a "really nice transition" between home life and the working world, McCabe said.

Bolden, who wants to focus on sports management, hopes to open a sports camp for children with disabilities after he graduates.

A dedicated swimmer who is certified in CPR and first aid, Bolden volunteers helping chlildren at Livingston's recreation center and also plays basketball, soccer and softball.

In the dorm where he will live, Bolden will share an apartment with other students in the LIFE program but they will be surrounded by students in the general school population.

Bolden has already chosen his dorm and he's very pleased that it's located right next to the pool.

"Swimming is kind of like yoga for me, but it's more fun," he said. "I'm a water baby."

Bolden will be tasting the college life next week, when he heads to George Mason for orientation.

"It's very exciting," his mother said. "Terrifying, but exciting. He's never been away from home before. This is an experience I can't give him.

"If he stayed home, I couldn't stop doing his laundry, but now he's going to have to figure it out," she added. "He's always been interested in living independently."

So independently, in fact, that Bolden, who is learning how to drive, hopes to eventually be able to drive himself from New Jersey to Virginia.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.