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Millburn schools settle suit spurred by racially-charged brawl, report says

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The $435,000 settlement was reached more than seven years after the incident took place, a report says.

darryl george.jpgThe Rev. Darryl George, shown here in a 2009 file photo, sued the Millburn school district over allegations it failed to properly respond to racially-based bullying of his son that led to a violent fight outside the town's high school. (Star-Ledger file photo)
 

MILLBURN -- More than seven years after a prominent reverend claimed his son was discriminated against by bullies at an upscale New Jersey school district, the family has reportedly settled with the district.

The Millburn Board of Education and a former assistant principal reached a $435,000 settlement with MHS graduate Omari George, according to a NorthJersey.com report. As part of the agreement, the board and former Assistant Principal Michelle Pitts denied any liability in the case, the report said.

The suit claimed that a racially-charged fight George and his family members were involved in outside Millburn High School in 2009 was preceded by several incidents of discriminatory bullying that the school did not address. It also claimed that George was unfairly expelled after the fight. The expulsion was later revoked, and George returned to school.

The lawsuit came about after Omari, his father, civil rights activist Rev. Darryl George, and his older brother, Lamar, were accused of beating a student with a baseball bat during a January 2009 fight outside the high school. They were charged with aggravated assault and weapons possession, but a grand jury later declined to indict the older two men, and a family court dropped charges against Omari.

When the suit was filed in 2011, the community criticized it as attention-grabbing, and not the first that the family had filed against the district.

Previous attempts to settle this suit over the past several years had failed. Omari's father told NJ Advance Media last year that he "would prefer for this community to be dealt with in court so we can recognize that the Millburn school district, which has a great track record in terms of academics, falls far short when dealing with civil rights."

A district spokeswoman declined to comment on the reported settlement Tuesday afternoon.

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


Newark mayor tells West Ward 'Sometimes you're not going to see the police'

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At the first community meeting since a report last month on violent crime, Mayor Ras Baraka won praise for his candor, but disappointed some who had other concerns

NEWARK -- In the first community meeting stemming from the release of a report on violent crime in Newark last month, Mayor Ras Baraka told 150 residents of the city's suburban West Ward that he was not there to address their demands for more police patrols or a crackdown on youth standing on street corners, words that disappointed some and won praise from others.

Rather, Baraka and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said they were in that relatively prosperous part of town to let people know that the focus of the Newark Police Department in the wake of the report would be to reduce the violent crime that has been a particularly difficult and persistent problem, both for the residents affected by it and for the damaging perception of Newark among potential investors, shoppers, new residents and others the city hopes to attract.

For too long, Baraka said, the squeaky wheels have gotten the grease when it comes to police resources, with officers posted or ordered to patrol blocks or neighborhoods that might not necessarily need them most, but where vocal residents have caught the ear of city hall.

All of Newark would still be policed, Baraka said. But additional officers the cash-strapped city has only recently begun hiring after years of layoffs and unaanswered attrition would be deployed in "hot spots," that is, areas that account for a disproportionate share of the city's murders and robberies, violent crimes that persist at high levels despite Newark's relatively modest overall crime rate compared with other cities of its size and demographics.

"The mother of the teenager who was shot didn't make it to the meeting, but you did, so you got to make your speech," Baraka said during what was supposed to be a question-and-answer session but was dominated by complaints about youth loitering on street corners and speeding traffic.

"Sometimes," Baraka told the crowd of about 150 residets gathered at the First Newark Seven Day Adventist Church on Norman Road, a sturdy brick anchor of the West Ward's Vailsburg community, "you're not going to see the police." 

Last month's report, titled "A Call to Action," was issued by the Safer Newark Council, a panel of experts named by Baraka in 2014 to take an in-depth look at crime in the city using data culled over several years. The lead author was Prof. Todd Clear of the Rutgers University School of Public Safety, a member of the Safer Newark Council, who presented the report's key findings during Monday's meeting.

Surprising findings included Newark's having less violent incidents per capita than than comparable U.S. cities of Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland and St. Louis. Among New Jersey's five largest cities by population, Newark also compares favorably or is on par with Paterson, Camden and Trenton, though it generally lags behind Jersey City, which has been uniquely prosperous in recent decades thanks to its rebirth as a New York City bedroom community and back office location.

"An effective public safety strategy must be grounded in data, not hearsay," the report states. "Therefore, for the last 9 months, the SNC has investigated patters f crime in Newark going back to 2007. It turns out that large sections of Newark experience little or no crime."

For example the report found that 80 percent of Newark streets experience no violent crime during any given year, though a small minority of locations, or "hot spots," and individuals who are often repeat or multiple offenders, account for outsize shares of the city's violence.

"Eight percent of block in Newark account for 60 percent of the violent crime," Clear told attendees of the meeting, most of them middle aged or elderly.

West Ward Councilman Joe McCallem said afterward that he appreciated the mayor's straight talk, which he called "courageous." McCallum said he supported police efforts to focus on concentrated violence, and he noted that he had supported the mayor's 2016 budget, which included a 3-percent tax hike that's helping to fund the hiring of 150 new police officers. 

But McCallum said his ward, while relatively prosperous compared with others, was far from crime free, and needed a visible police presence to deter violent crime. 

"We do need more police presence," McCallum said in an interview afterward. "There is something to be said for cops patrolling."

West Ward resident Houston Stevens, 74, a veteran community activist, said he, too, appreciated the mayor's candor.

"They're taking a scientific, educated approach to fighting crime," Stevens said.

But Angelique Francois, a 24-year-old West Ward resident, said did not like what she heard. Francois, a subsittute teacher in the South Orange and Maplewood School District, said it sounded like her neighborhood would not have the kind of high visibility police presence that would make her feel safer. 

"That presence does mean something," she said.

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

Mt. Rushmore: VOTE to pick Verona's 4 best athletes of all time

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Which 4 athletes belong on Verona's athletic Mt. Rushmore? VOTE now to let us know.

Over the course of its history, Verona High School has seen many remarkable athletes and legendary coaches make their mark on the school's sports programs. But of all its great athletes and coaches, which ones deserve to be considered the very best?

This summer, NJ.com is giving fans the opportunity to decide the Mt. Rushmore for 15 high schools across the state — the top four athletes/coaches in school history. With all of its success, you better believe Verona was voted as one of the 15 schools.


RELATED: View NJ.com's complete Mount Rushmore project


We're asking you — the readers, alumni, fans, coaches and athletes — to help us determine the four iconic faces on a Mt. Rushmore for Verona sports.

Scroll through the photo gallery up above to check out photos and some info on each of the candidates that are in the running for the four big spots, and then cast your four votes in the poll below.

The photo gallery is arranged from the oldest athletes to the most recent, and concludes with some of Verona's best coaches.   

Please note we wanted to keep the list to the most deserving athletes and coaches. If you feel we overlooked someone, please let us know by sending an email to bperez@njadvancemedia.com.       

Other important notes

1. We know you take these polls seriously. We do, too. We encourage you to come back and vote often. Please note, the poll will view rapid-fire voting from any individual IP as an attack and will put that IP in a time out.

You can do anything you want within reason to win these polls - make your case in the comments below, use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, carrier pigeons, telegrams ... whatever you want to get the vote out. BUT any tech-based method designed to rack up votes will be flagged and those votes will be thrown out.

2. Here's how the voting works: Make four selections at a time to submit your picks for Verona's Mt. Rushmore. You can vote as many times as you want, and the poll will close at noon on Monday, July 18.

Now it's time to vote in the poll below.

Remember to make four selections each time you vote, and vote as often as you like.

Braulio Perez may be reached at bperez@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BraulioEPerez.

Toaster oven causes 'suspicious package' scare in downtown Newark

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Investigation caused detours on Broad Street

NEWARK -- A suspicious package -- that turned out to be harmless -- caused detours in downtown Newark during the evening rush hour Tuesday, officials said.

The city police division's bomb squad responded to investigate the item, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. Though authorities first described the item as a microwave, police later said it was a toaster oven in a bag. 

The item was found outside a building that houses city offices on Broad Street, between Branford Place and William Street, according to authorities. 

Police closed off the area for about 45 minutes to investigate. People in a store in front of the scene were told to leave while others in the area were asked to stay indoors during the investigation. 

"It should also be noted that the operations of the Prudential Arena, which is nearby, were not impacted by the investigation," police said in a statement.

Bus service was initially detoured in the downtown, but resumed normal operations around 5 p.m., according to NJ Transit. Roads in the area were later reopened.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahycFind NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Newarkers remember 1967 riots that have defined city since (PHOTOS)

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The People's Organization for Progress hosted an annual recognition on the 49th anniversary of the riots.

NEWARK -- Dozens of people gathered in the city Tuesday evening to acknowledge the 49th anniversary of the Newark Riots. The annual remembrance, held each July 12 at the Newark Rebellion marker on the corner of Springfield and 15th Avenues, was hosted by the People's Organization for Progress.

This year's ceremony, organizers said, was not only in recognition of the 26 people who were killed during the five-day riots in 1967, but also of recent changes to the Newark police department.

Has the U.S. learned from the Newark riots?

The recognition, which included speakers who lived through the riots, will include discussion on the consent decree and civilian review board set up as part of a federal monitor on the NPD, the result of a 2014 Department of Justice report finding that officers routinely violated citizens' rights -- one of the complaints that sparked the 1967 rebellion.

"We cannot sit back and let this review board be reduced to something ceremonial with no real authority and power," POP leader Larry Hamm said in a release about the event.

"So there is nothing ceremonial about this year's observation."

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

Rutgers science-based summer program engage, enrich teens

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Rutgers University 4-H Summer Science Program gives teens the opportunity to explore different fields of science, engineering, and technology.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- A group of high school students head out to the Raritan River in Piscataway on Wednesday afternoon to learn about marine life on the river as part of Rutgers University 4-H Summer Science Program.

In its ninth year, the program works with urban youth from seven different counties, Atlantic, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex Passaic and Union. Students participate in hands-on activities exploring biochemistry, biotechnology, marine and environmental sciences, physics, and engineering.  

Participants have completed their freshman year in high school and must be recommended by a teacher.  Each year, 53 students are chosen to participate in the program. Selected youth must provide a minimum of 50 hours of service to their local 4-H program.

Kristin Hunter-Thomson, Rutgers University's Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) Program Coordinator has been a part of the program for five years. The program is interdisciplinary so it exposes students to a wide range of science. 

Students have the opportunity to live on Cook campus in New Brunswick for a week.  They are exposed to different kinds of scientists. "Our program shows kids there is much more than just medicine in science."  The students spend a week with Rutgers scientists, talking about their work, touring their labs and learning about their research.  

For Hunter-Thomson the exciting part of the program is getting the students involved in the hands-on experience.  Rather than just seeing pictures or watching the Discovery Channel, they get in the field to hold the fish, see it squirm, identify it and talk with other students about marine life.

"We get them into the river for a hands-on experience, it's a cool opportunity." 

Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @psapone. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Newark social justice rally: 'Our very survival is at stake'

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People gathered Friday afternoon outside the Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Federal Building on Broad Street to protest police misconduct.

NEWARK -- More than 50 people protested against police shootings and misconduct in the criminal justice system during a rally Friday afternoon outside the Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Federal Building.

While about a dozen city police officers blocked off the intersection of Broad and Court Streets, citizens gathered to preach for unity between cops and the communities they serve. 

"We must ensure that we have a binary covenant -- a covenant that will address how police persons treat our citizens, and therefore have a covenant that speaks to how our citizens ought to respect our police officers," the Rev. David Jefferson, Sr., New Jersey's president of the National Action Network, told the crowd. 

Larry Hamm, chairman of the People's Organization For Progress, called on the community to join several mothers of those killed by police at 4 p.m. on Mondays outside the federal courts building for what he calls Justice Mondays, "to let these people know that we will not let this be swept under the rug," he said, pointing to the building at 970 Broad Street. 

"It is incumbent upon all who want justice no longer to be spectators, but to get off the sideline and get involved in the struggle for justice," Hamm yelled into a microphone. "Because our very survival is at stake." 

100 Newarkers call for racial unity (PHOTOS)

As the gathering wrapped up, the Rev. Amir Natson, who used to pastor Ebenezer Baptist Church on Camden Street, said minority communities need to take pride in themselves before they can deal with issues affecting them.  

"Our young sons are selling drugs because they can't get jobs. ... They (join gangs) because they are looking for love," Natson told the crowd. "Where are our fathers with these young men that have children that don't know how to be fathers to their children, because they've never had a father?"

The rally comes after protesters across the country have called for an end to police violence in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

The night after Castile was killed, five police officers in Dallas, Texas, were killed when a sniper ambushed them during a peaceful protest. At least nine others cops were injured before police used a robotic device to kill the heavily armed shooter.

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozickaFind NJ.com on Facebook and Twitter.

Man shot in possible domestic dispute, police said

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The victim, 47, was shot once and was in stable condition, authorities said

police lights2.jpg 

NEWARK -- Police are investigating an early-morning shooting that left one man injured on Saturday.

The shooting occurred at 1 a.m. at South 7th Street near 12th Avenue, said city Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

Ambrose said the victim, a 47-year-old man from the city, was shot once and was in stable condition. 

He said investigators are trying to learn the details of the shooting but the victim was being "uncooperative."

Ambrose said the incident may be a domestic dispute.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

N.J. first responders train for terrorism, mass casualties

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EMTs and first responders learned new techniques in treating gunshot wounds and other injuries. Watch video

NEWARK -- Amidst a slew of gun violence and terrorist attacks across the country and around the world, first responders in northern New Jersey are preparing for the possibility of a mass casualty incident here. 

They're learning how to treat gunshot wounds, compromised airways and bioterror attacks on the human body -- all in the hopes that they'll never have to use those techniques.

Speakers from University Hospital's EMS, trauma and anesthesia departments are giving lectures and demonstrations this weekend to about 40 EMTs and paramedics participating in a two-day seminar at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. 

"In light of recent events throughout the world in the last one to two years, starting with the [Newtown,] Conn., school shooting, active shooting is a hot topic now, to say the least," said Dennis Boos, director of the hospital's community center.

First responder training historically has kept pace with the biggest concerns of the times, Boos said. Instruction in past years focused on chemical threats, airline shootings and building explosions, with the focus recently pivoting to firearms attacks.

Northern New Jersey is a particularly appropriate spot for terrorism training because dense communities, proximity to New York City, mass transit systems and major corporations make places like Newark and Jersey City likely targets, Boos said. 

"It puts us at a higher likelihood than somewhere in Hunterdon County or Sussex County, where they don't have the population or geographics," he said. 

First responders in this weekend's program are practicing trends in pre-hospital and emergency care on "bleeding" mannequins that simulate a range of afflictions, from gunshot wounds to lacerations to genitalia injuries, and give users real-time feedback by talking and breathing. The emergency workers practice using contemporary tools, like tourniquets, to stem the bleeding. 

They're also learning basic and advanced techniques to aid patients with non-functioning airways. Hospital representatives are focusing on alternatives to typical methods, like attaching small cameras to tubes that can enter patients' throats to open their airways. 

The state Department of Homeland Security's Newark/Jersey City Urban Areas Security Initiative is sponsoring the event, which drew emergency workers from 21 volunteer and paid institutions across the northern part of the state.

Boos said the hospital intends to repeat the program four times in the next year.

MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWS

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Music video aims to 'de-carcerate' the Garden State

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Decarcerate the Garden State advocated against forced labor in prisons during an event Saturday in Plainfield. Watch video

PLAINFIELD -- Six people stand at the corner of Front Street and Park Avenue, rapping, while a video camera films them. 

The microphone changes hands as the song segues from verse to chorus. 

"When we put down the tools/And we give it a rest/Non-violent/Enslavement protest."

The group, comprised mostly of young Plainfield residents, was recording a music video Saturday to protest forced labor by the incarcerated. The 13th Amendment permits involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

To Bob Witanek, co-founder of Decarcerate the Garden State, that's unacceptable. He's promoting a planned prison strike for Sept. 9, when inmates across the country say they'll refuse to work. Solidarity actions are planned for Camden, Highland Park, Newark, Trenton and other cities in New Jersey. 

The date is an homage to a 1971 riot at Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, N.Y. About 1,000 inmates rose up to demand better living conditions, taking 42 staff members hostage in the process. The turmoil left 43 people dead.

Decarcerate the Garden State also recently turned its focus to national non-profit The Sentencing Project's June report, which found black people in New Jersey are incarcerated at 12 times the rate of white people -- the highest disparity of any state. Nationally, the ratio is about 5 to 1. 

Witanek attributes New Jersey's numbers to many factors, including the significantly higher poverty rate among the state's black population. Still, he doesn't believe economic factors tell the whole story.

"At least part of it is differences in policing, in prosecution and in courts," he said. "It'd be impossible to come up with that statistic, otherwise."

He's taking action to combat the ratio, which he calls "a blemish on New Jersey." Decarcerate the Garden State is asking people to come to them if they think racial factors impacted the prosecution or sentencing of someone they know. 

Once Witanek has data, he said he plans to demand that local and state government bodies address it. 

"What there needs to be, on every level, is an investigation and a call by government to say, 'Bring us the information, and if you can make a case, we'll take a look.'" he said. "They have to admit that there's a problem." 

Ireyah Stevens, 22, joined Decarcerate the Garden State's event Saturday because she said she was troubled by New Jersey's incarceration rate of black people. The numbers hit particularly hard in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has gathered steam nationally in the past two years.

She said being black in America feels scary these days. 

"Either you die, or you get incarcerated," said Stevens, of Plainfield. 

Black Lives Matter ties directly to other issues affecting black Americans, like nutrition in prisons and corrections officer-inflicted violence against inmates, Witanek said. More than half of New Jersey's prison population is black, according to The Sentencing Project's report.

"Incarcerated black lives matter, as well," Witanek said. 

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Stabbing victim, dead man in same apartment appear unrelated, authorities say

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Officers found man stabbed and body after receiving a tip Saturday, according to police.

NEWARK -- Police found a man injured from a stabbing and another man dead in the same Riverview Court apartment Saturday, authorities said.

City police were in the early stages of an investigation, but there was no immediate evidence the stabbing and death were related, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Officers responded to reports of a stabbing on Riverview Court shortly after 4 p.m., but could not find any victims after a search of the housing complex, police said.

About two hours later, police received a tip and discovered one man suffering from a non life-threatening knife wound and another man dead in an apartment, according to authorities. The stabbing victim refused to cooperate with police.

Police target panhandling in busy areas of Newark

The state Regional Medical Examiner's Office would determine a precise cause of death, though police said it was likely drug-related.

The case remained under investigation, but it did not appear that the stabbing victim or dead man were residents of the apartment, according to Public Safety Department spokesman Capt. Derek Glenn.

The probe was ongoing and anyone with information was asked to call the Newark police toll-free hotlines at 877-NWK-TIPS (877-695-8477) or 877-NWK-GUNS (877-695-4867).

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahycFind NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Karen Fazio's top picks for vet services in N.J.

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Criteria that is of utmost importance to me as a pet owner includes expertise in a field or specialty, bedside manner and consideration of a client's concerns.

One of the first questions I'm asked by the owners of a new puppy is, "Who do you recommend as a veterinarian?"

Criteria that is of utmost importance to me as a pet owner includes expertise in a field or specialty, bedside manner and consideration of a client's concerns.

When it comes to service, I am particularly hard to please. I think this is because of the high standards I set for myself and my employees.

To be included in my list of top veterinarians, all veterinary offices must meet stringent standards of care regarding the handling of pets, minimizing stress during visits, good understanding of animal behavior, post-treatment care and follow-up with client/patient.

Over the years, I have interacted with many veterinarians. Here, I have listed those, who -- in my opinion -- are some of the best in the state. The recommendations are listed by county.


ATLANTIC COUNTY

Red Bank Veterinary Hospital (24-hour)
535 Maple Ave.
Linwood
(609) 926-5300
rbvh.net
Veterinarians: By specialty
Specialty: Multidisciplinary

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ESSEX COUNTY


Animal Emergency and Referral Associates
1237 Bloomfield Ave.
Fairfield
(973) 788-0500
animalerc.com
Veterinarian: Emily Levine, D.V.M.
Specialties: Multidisciplinary; behavioral

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MIDDLESEX
COUNTY


Animal Hospital of Sayreville
257 Oak St.
South Amboy
(732) 727-7739
sayrevillevet.com
Veterinarians: Joe Spinazzola, D.V.M., and Melissa Beck, D.V.M.
Specialties: General practice; diagnostics

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MONMOUTH COUNTY
 


Garden State Veterinary Specialists (24-hour)
1 Pine St.
Tinton Falls
(732) 922-0011
gsvs.org
Veterinarian: Thomas D. Scavelli, D.V.M.
Specialty: Multidisciplinary (referral only)

Colts Head Veterinary Services
15 Hidden Pines Drive
Clarksburg
(732) 780-7563
coltsheadvet.com
Veterinarian: Elden Klayman, D.V.M.
Specialty: Equine medicine

* * *


SOMERSET COUNTY


Red Bank Veterinary Hospital (24-hour)
210 Route 206 South
Hillsborough
(908) 359-3161
rbvh.net
Veterinarians: By specialty
Specialty: Multidisciplinary

* * *


PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY

Penn Vet | Ryan Veterinary Hospital
3900 Spruce St.
Philadelphia
(215) 746-8387
vet.upenn.edu
Veterinarians: By specialty
Specialties: Multidisciplinary; teaching; behavioral

Karen Fazio is a professional behavior consultant and owner of The Dog Super Nanny in Keyport. She also is head of the behavior department at the Animal Hospital of Sayreville in South Amboy.


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Boxers fight it out at N.J. tournament to keep youth off streets (PHOTOS)

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The first-time event was created as an incentive to keep young men away from street life, organizers said.

NEWARK -- Boxers from across the state traveled to the city Saturday afternoon to compete in the first of what the mayor says will be an annual event to encourage young people to get off the streets and in the ring. 

"Guns down, gloves up," Mayor Ras Baraka's brother Obalaji Baraka yelled into a microphone before the event, which the city is calling the "Mayor's Belt Boxing Tournament." "Rocky was a movie. This is the real thing."

People cheered on their friends and relatives in the ring over the course of about two hours during the matches at Kasberger Sports Complex on North 5th Street.

Some traveled from as far as Camden, Obalaji Baraka said, to compete in the first round of the tournament, which was put together to not only showcase the area's boxing talent but to give the city's youth an incentive to stay away from street life.

"Instead of picking up guns, why don't you pick up the gloves and show us what you're really made of," said Anthony Carr, who has been in and out of boxing for 30 years and trains 19-year-old Khalil Coe, who won his fight Saturday. "Boxing is one tool, but it's important that you understand life -- your character carries you further than boxing." 

N.J. youth boxers pay tribute to Muhammad Ali

The mayor stayed for the entire event, congratulating the fighters and taking photographs with some afterward. 

"You've got good hands, man," Ras Baraka told 18-year-old Christian Coakley after he won his fight during the last round of the afternoon. 

Those who won their matches Saturday move onto the second round July 30 at 860 S. Orange Ave, Obalaji Baraka said. The final two days of the tournament are scheduled for Aug. 7 and Aug. 14. 

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Montclair church takes legal aim Newark archbishop | Di Ionno

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishioners plan action against Myers decision to shut them down.

The small band of protesters was dwarfed by the soaring twin bell towers of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

They didn't take up much space on the grand and expansive entrance way, graced by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

And they didn't have much of an audience, either. Sunday Masses at one of North America's most ornate and imposing cathedrals don't draw like they used to.

The irony wasn't lost on the people from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (OLMC) in Montclair, who came to the Archdiocese of Newark's cathedral last Sunday to protest the closing of their little neighborhood church.

"We get more people at Mass than they do," said Marguerite De Carlo. "Why don't they shut this down?"

She was being facetious, of course. But the anger is genuine and growing. So they decided to make their voices heard - and take their cause public - at the home parish of Archbishop John J. Myers, who made the decision. Today, they will take to the streets of Montclair, as part of their annual festival, beginning at noon. 

MORERecent Mark Di Ionno columns

The archdiocese announced in May that OLMC would close and merge with Immaculate Conception in Montclair to form a new parish, to be named St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, after she is canonized in September.

It is part of a survival trend: Since 1999, the archdiocese has closed 35 churches, merging them with others to create 18 new parishes.

But OLMC was not a failing parish. It was financially and spiritually healthy, say its members.

"We are not going quietly,'' said De Carlo. "It's time for people to see this archdiocese is not about the good of the people or advancing our faith. It's about its own monetary advancement."

The parishioners have hired lawyers for both civil and canon law matters.

"We found something that's going to shake this whole thing up," said parishioner Raffaele Marzullo.

"The archdiocese hasn't filed the proper paperwork with the state to keep the church (OLMC) certified as a corporation," said Frank Cardell, who was the OLMC business manager until its finances were turned over to Immaculate Conception.

Still, he continues the fight.

"We're working on a decertification," he said. "They can't merge us if they don't control us as corporation."

Sr. Kate Kuenstler, an independent canon lawyer with a national group called FutureChurch and its "Save Our Parishes" initiative agrees.

"This is troublesome (for the archdiocese)," said Kuenstler, who has worked on hundreds of cases in 42 American dioceses and four countries. "In civilian law, they can't form a new corporation (of the merged churches) if they don't own the name of the existing corporations."

The OLMC parishioners also plan to file a lawsuit against the archdiocese over its "We are Living Stones" capital campaign, which began last September.

"We're saying it was fraudulent," said Cardell, credited by parishioners for leading its financial resurgence. "It was presented to us as a fundraiser to help save parishes when they knew all along they were going to shut us down.

"This doesn't just affect us," he said. "There are other parishes on the chopping block while they're out raising money."

James Goodness, the director of communications for the archdiocese declined to comment.

According to the archdiocese website, OLMC parishioners pledged $99,730 to the campaign, $55,076.94 of which has already been received. Of the $90 million the archdiocese was attempting to raise from its 219 parishes, $40 million was to be returned for local use.

De Carlo, who led the "We are Living Stones" initiative at OLMC said simply, "We should get our money back."

The church also had an $80,000 surplus, raised from feasts, festivals and collections. The archdiocese turned that money over to the pastor at Immaculate Conception.

"They took all our books and records and money and made new bank accounts," Cardell said. "In the meantime, they haven't even filed an official decree saying our church is being dissolved, and under Canon Law, we can't appeal until the decree is filed."

The archdiocese said the decision was made based on several variables, including church attendance and sacraments administered.

But the parishioners say it comes down to money and land value.

The church is two blocks from the Bay Street Station of Montclair. New condos, retail stores and parking decks have been built, older apartment buildings have been refurbished and a hotel with a rooftop restaurant is planned.

The church property is assessed at $962,000. Montclair property is typically assessed at 84 percent of market value, meaning that even if the church sold for $1.15 million, it would still be a bargain in the redevelopment-rich area.

"If a bishop is functioning merely as a CEO and sees a sellable church as a franchise, then it's all about making a profit," Kuenstler said. "But that shows a real lack of understanding of a church as a place of community of the faithful, and of heritage and culture. A bishop is supposed to function as a spiritual leader, not as the sole corporate stockholder."

Kuenstler, like the parishioners, is perplexed by the decision to close a profitable church that carries no debt to the archdiocese and has been recently upgraded.

"Usually, a bishop takes a church that has diminished assets and folds it into a financially healthier church," she said. "Not the other way around."

Not only did OLMC have an $80,000 surplus, the parishioners funded $250,000 in repairs and replaced the heating systems in all three buildings on the Pine Street property.

"For a little parish, that's pretty darn good," said Cardell. "We're making money. Does that sound like a church you'd want to shut down?"

Robert Russo, the former mayor, a current councilmember and Montclair's longest serving public official, thinks not.  

Though not a parishioner, he sponsored a unanimous resolution asking Myers to reconsider.

"This is an up-and-coming area," said Russo. "You'd think they'd want to keep the church open to attract more people. We offered our help, we asked for a one-year reprieve. We got no response. Not even a letter."

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook. 

Woman shot in ankle in Newark, police say

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Police are investigating.

NEWARK -- A woman was shot early Sunday in Irvine Turner Boulevard, authorities said.

The woman was shot in the ankle at about 5 a.m., Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

Police have not identified a motive or suspects, Ambrose said.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Judge won't block jobs demonstration at Port Newark on Monday

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Citing safety and logistical concerns, the Port Authority sought to block a motorcade led by the mayor demanding port jobs for Newark residents. A state judge refused the request

port newark.jpgA demonstration at Port Newark, shown here in a file photo, can proceed as scheduled on Monday, a state Judge ordered, after the Port Authrority of New York and New Jersey had sought to block it, citing logistical and safety concerns. 

NEWARK -- A demonstration led by Newark's mayor demanding port jobs for city residents is scheduled to proceed Monday, after a state judge refused a request to block it by the Port Authority, which had cited logistical and safety concerns in the wake of anti-police violence around the country.

Mayor Ras Baraka plans to lead a motorcade of up to 100 vehicles through Port Newark to demand more city residents get the lucrative longshoreman jobs and other jobs generated by the port.

The motorcade is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Port Newark, the main hub of the Port of New York and New Jersey, which, along with container and bulk cargo terminals in Elizabeth, Jersey City, Bayonne, Brooklyn and Staten Island, make up the Port of New York and New Jersey, the East Coast's busiest shipping port.

Baraka has been aggressive in trying to maximize revenues for his cash-strapped city from the Port Authority, which has long-term leases on city property occupied by Port Newark and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Baraka is also among those who have publicly called for the hiring of more Newark residents as longshoremen, though the Port Authority has little direct influence in filling those jobs. Rather, those jobs go to members of the International Longshoremen's Association union, who are hired by private companies after undergoing background checks by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Walter Koprowski Jr. in Newark ordered the Port Authority and Newark Police departments to work together to devise a safety plan for the motorcade.

The order states that, "the parties agree to engage in good faith negotiations pursuant to the Port Authority's permit process for expressive activity."

"The Port Authority retains the right to place in the permit reasonable time, place and manner restrictions which will be applicable to this demonstration," the order continued. "Further ordered that the City of Newark and any other defendants agree to comply with the Port Authority's rules and regulations for expressive activity at Port Newark for this demonstration."

In the order, Koprowski reserved the right to reopen the matter should negotiations break down.   

A spokesman for the Port Authority said the bi-state agency would comply with the order.

"The City will have a permit for the protest," the spokesman, Steve Coleman, said in an email Sunday. "It will be a motorcade and they will not be getting out of their vehicles. The permit allows up to 100 cars but they have told us it will be far less. We do not anticipate any major disruption to port operations although we have notified all stakeholders. We do not comment on PAPD deployment for any operation that we handle."

The protest dispute arose amid broader, ongoing tensions between the Port Authority and the city, whose largely working class, minority residents breath the emissions from port trucks that traverse residential neighborhoods that abut the port, carrying goods from China and other export nations to stores and consumers throughout the region.

On Sunday, a city spokesman dismissed the notion that the demonstration would pose a safety threat to police officers.

"The PA wanted to stop the march but not because of the anti-police climate, no matter what they might say," Baraff stated in an email. "After all, the Newark Police are supportive of and protective of demonstrators. That said, the PA took the city of Newark to court to try to stop the demonstration, but a judge ruled that the demonstration could continue, but that our police and the PA police needed to meet over the weekend to work out details. That has occurred."

But the safety of officers is a deep-seeded concern for the Port Authority Police, which lost 38 officers in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. That attack has been been evoked repeatedly in the wake of the Dallas shootings on July 7 that left five officers dead, the highest police death toll in any one incident since the 2001 Trade Center attack.  

The Port Authority raised its concerns even before the killing of three officers Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, La., the location of one of two shootings of black men by police that prompted the otherwise peaceful demonstration in Dallas where police were shot by a sniper.

On Sunday, the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association released a statement saying it was "shocked and saddened" by the Louisiana shootings, in which one suspect was also killed.

"Every decent, law-abiding American should be shaken to their core by the current assault on law enforcement," read the statement, issued by PAPBA President Paul Nunziato. "We ask our political leaders to come together and speak as one in an effort to once again united this great nation toward the goal of safety and security for all. We also ask these same leaders to unequivocally condemn those who espouse violence as a means to settle their grievances."

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

 

Field Hockey: Way-too-early 2016 outlook for 2015 Top 20

N.J. pets in need: July 18, 2016

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Thousands of dogs and cats are available for adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

Here is this week's collection of some of the dogs and cats in need of adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

If a nonprofit rescue group or animal shelter in any of the following counties wishes to participate in this weekly gallery on nj.com, please contact Greg Hatala at ghatala@starledger.com or call 973-836-4922:

* Bergen County

* Burlington County

* Essex County

* Hudson County

* Hunterdon County

* Mercer County

* Middlesex County

* Monmouth County

* Morris County

* Ocean County

* Passaic County

* Somerset County

* Sussex County

* Union County

* Warren County

More pets in need of adoption can be seen here and here.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

Gun safety questions linger after latest suicide at shooting range

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Over the past two years there have been at least six shootings at N.J. gun ranges.

WOODLAND PARK - A 24-year-old New Jersey law allowing for temporary transfers of firearms at gun ranges is under scrutiny following the latest in a string of suicides at New Jersey shooting ranges.

Police say a Bergen County man in his 20s shot himself in the chest Tuesday with a weapon he rented from Gun For Hire in Woodland Park, a shooting range that allows gun rentals to anyone with a driver's license and a companion.

Women who come to the range need only a driver's license, according to the website.

Some question whether ranges should allow people off the street to be handed a gun.

"This is insanity," said Manny Cerca, who has owned the Bullet Hole shooting range in Belleville for more than three decades. 

The Bullet Hole, like many other galleries, requires customers to own their own gun and have a state-issued firearms ID card. Also, there is a full-time range officer standing by at all times while the facility is open, Cerca said.

"We've been here 35 years and we've never had an incident. And there's a reason - we don't rent any firearms at our facility," Cerca said.

A man at 'Gun For Hire' who declined to identify himself touted the facility's popularity and its safety record before asking a reporter to leave.

"We have 1.2 million people who use our facility and just one suicide. Go report on France or something," he said.

Tuesday's fatal shooting at Gun For Hire was the second at the facility in two months.

Over the past two years, there have been at least six fatal shootings at New Jersey gun ranges:

  • July 12: An Elmwood Park man in his 20s fatally shot himself in the chest with a handgun he rented from Gun For Hire at The Woodland Park Range, police said. The unidentified man, who was accompanied by his brother, also in his 20s, was pronounced dead after being taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson.
  • May 28: A 30-year-old Garfield man fatally shot himself in the head at Gun For Hire in Woodland Park, according to reporting by The Record. The man, who went to the shooting range with a friend, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, the news outlet reported at the time. 
  • Nov. 30, 2015: A 28-year-old man fatally shot himself in the chest at the RTSP Shooting Range in Randolph. Rick Friedman, an owner of the shooting range, told NJ Advance Media at the time that the man had practiced at the range a couple times before the incident. There were no apparent signs the man planned to take his own life, Friedman said.
  • Sept. 19, 2015: A 21-year-old man fatally shot himself at the RTSP Shooting Range in Randolph, the prosecutor's office said. "It is a terrible tragedy when someone does not get the help that they need to prevent them from taking their own life," the shooting range's general manager said in a statement the next day.
  • Jan. 5, 2015: Former state corrections officer Jeffrey Mazeski, 32, of Woodbridge, fatally shot himself at the Shore Shot Pistol Range in Lakewood, police said. Mazeski's mother, who at the time declined to give her first name, said she believed her son rented the gun the day he shot himself. "My son went there by himself," she told NJ Advance Media at the time, adding later: "That place should be shut down."
  • Sept. 6, 2014: A 30-year-old man fatally shot himself at the Shore Shot Pistol Range in Lakewood, police said. The man had shot himself in the chest, police said.

Suicide at Woodland Park shooting range

Ira L. Levin, president of the New Jersey Firearms Dealer Association, won't rent guns unless the customer comes in with their own weapon.

"You have to physically have a firearm with you. If they don't have one, they can't use one," Levin said.  

"If someone owns their own firearm and ammo and, God forbid, they want to hurt themselves, they can do that in their own home," he said. "Obviously, I don't advocate that, but I think the chances are less if they own their own they won't do it at a range."

Levin owns Legend Firearms in Morganville and is in the process of building a 30-lane firing range in Monmouth County. He said customers who come with their own firearms sometimes want to rent a different weapon they are thinking about buying.

Often, ranges that rent to people who come in off the street try to make things safer by insisting people come in pairs, Levin said.

This was the case at Gun For Hire in Woodland Park. The unidentified man who shot himself had come with his brother, according to reports.

"Obviously, coming there in pairs didn't work out in (the Woodland Park) case," Levin said. "But you would think that someone who goes to a range with their friend or relative would know if the person is suicidal or not."

Anthony P. Colandro, a master firearms instructor and the owner of Gun For Hire, did not return a call and email seeking comment.

Woodland Park mayor Keith Kazmark told NorthJersey.com that Gun For Hire, which opened in the three years ago, is operating within the law. 

Kazmark said he was given legal advice that state law supersedes any borough ordinance. Still, he hopes to talk to Colandro about the tragedies at his business, according to the news website.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Friday cited a law passed in the early 1990s allowing dealers and owners of gun ranges to transfer possession of weapons.

"The 1992 law in N.J. - 2C:58-3.1 - authorizes this temporary transfer of a firearm at a gun range. The law speaks for itself," said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the N.J. Attorney General's Office.  "We have no further comment."

In part, the law states a licensed dealer or legal owner "may temporarily transfer a handgun, rifle or shotgun to another person who is 18 years of age or older, whether or not the person receiving the firearm holds a firearms purchaser identification card or a permit to carry a handgun."

Monmouth County attorney Evan Nappen, who wrote the manual, "New Jersey Gun Law," believes suicidal people will find a way to kill themselves - with or without gun ranges.

"If someone is despondent or not in their right frame of mind, an owner would never rent to them. However, if someone is appearing normal, then how are you going to know?" asked Nappen. 

Nappen said the state's gun transfer law has proven useful to people unsure about whether they would like to own a firearm.

"The ability to transfer is useful for the overwhelming number of law-abiding citizens," Nappen said. "If you don't make this available, you're going to force people into a long licensing procedure and they may end up with a gun even though they don't want one."

Manny Cerca of the Bullet Hole believes the gun transfer law should be altered or a waiting period imposed for people seeking to rent firearms.

"There should be a three-day cooling off period," Cerca said. "Maybe people (intent on suicide) will stop and think about it. Maybe three days will give them time to change their mind."

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Changes made these the toughest sections in N.J. HS football

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NJ.com looks at the toughest football sections after the NJSIAA released its 2016 classifications last week.

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