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Baseball Top 20, June 9: State tournament shakeup yields another new No. 1

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Where does your team stand in NJ.com's latest Top 20?

Baseball: South Jersey Group 4 Final: Southern at LenapeLenape head coach Phil Fiore and Mike Doulong. Baseball: South Jersey Group 4 Final: Southern at Lenape. Medford, New Jersey. Friday, June 2, 2017. (David Gard | For NJ Advance Media) 

Softball ace who fanned all 21 in perfect game throwing out 1st pitch at Yankee game

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The Panthers ace will be honored in the Bronx with the rest of her team.

Cedar Grove's remarkable season may be over, but the Panthers have a game to attend this weekend in the Bronx — and their ace, Mia Faieta, will get to throw out the first pitch.

Faieta, who threw three perfect games this season including one in the Group 1 final, will throw out the first pitch and the whole team will be honored before the New York Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles at Saturday night. Rumors of the possibility were swirling last weekend during group finals, but the team announced it would happen via Twitter on Thursday.

The perfect game that made Faieta and Cedar Grove a national story came on May 25 when she struck out all 21 North Warren batters she faced in a sectional semifinal. The sophomore hurler struck out 13 batters in a perfect game against Metuchen in the Group 1 final to earn the Panthers their second state title in three years. Faieta then had 13 more as Cedar Grove took out Robbinsville in the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals.

Cedar Grove's season ended in the Tournament of Champions semifinals against Immaculate Heart, but even in that loss Faieta allowed just one hit. For the season, she has a state-best 384 strikeouts and just 18 earned runs allowed in 176 innings pitched.

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

2 dead, 1 hurt in East Orange shooting, authorities say

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Shots fired overnight on city street.

EAST ORANGE -- A shooting left two men dead and another wounded Friday in East Orange, officials said.

The shooting occurred shortly after midnight in the 100 block of Hollywood Avenue, according to Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the homicide unit.

East Orange police were called to reports of a shooting in the area and discovered Dyshawn L. Simpkins, of Newark, unresponsive in a vehicle, according to authorities. The 19-year-old was declared dead at the scene about 20 minutes later.

Another man, Keeayre Griffin, 29, of Newark, was also shot in the attack and died around 1:30 a.m. at East Orange General Hospital, according to Fennelly.

The third victim was undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound. Authorities would not release his name, citing security reasons. 

Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Task Force detectives and East Orange police were investigating. 

Anyone with information was urged to call the prosecutor's tips line at 877-847-7432. 

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

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

 

 

Man wanted for murder of his nephew kills himself as police surround home, officials say

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No shots fired by police, no other injuries, according to town official.

BLOOMFIELD -- A Newark man wanted for the murder of his nephew fatally shot himself at a Bloomfield home as authorities tried to arrest him Friday while another suspect remained at-large, officials said. 

andrewcourt.jpgA Newark murder suspect killed himself on Andrew Court in Bloomfield June 9, 2017 (Photo: Google) 

Essex County Prosecutor's Office detectives assigned the FBI's Fugitive Task Force tracked the accused killer, Omar Broadway, 35, to a home on Andrew Court, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

As the task force surrounded the home, Broadway apparently shot himself in the basement, according to prosecutors.

Detectives rushed inside and attempted to give first aid, but Broadway died at the scene about 15 minutes later, prosecutors said in a statement. 

A handgun was recovered next to Broadway's body, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the county homicide unit. 

Law enforcement officers did not fire any shots and there were no other injuries, said Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio. Broadway was staying with several people at the township residence, where he killed himself.

The older Broadway was being sought for the May 4 shooting death of Najee Broadway, Murray added. The 18-year-old was found slain that morning on Marie Place, near Irvine Turner Boulevard, in Newark.

Another suspect in the May 4 homicide, Kenneth Durant, 36, of Newark, remained at large, according to Fennelly.

Andrew Court, a dead end residential street off John F. Kennedy Drive, was briefly closed during the investigation. Residents said they saw a swarm of police activity, including marked Bloomfield patrol cars and detectives.

Anyone with information about Durant's whereabouts was urged to call Prosecutor's Tips Line at (877) 847-7432. Prosecutors did not comment on a possible motive for the slaying.

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

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

 

Authorities ID man fatally struck while riding a bicycle

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Authorities said a 49-year-old man was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver on Wednesday on Rose Street.

NEWARK -- Authorities have identified the man killed in Wednesday's hit-and-run as Rodney Stroughn, 49. 

Stroughn, of Newark, was riding his bicycle in the 200 block of Rose Street around 3:30 p.m. when he was fatally struck by a car in the city's Central Ward, Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said Friday.

The car that hit Stroughn fled from the scene. Fennelly said no arrests have been made but the investigation remains active. 

On Wednesday, a section of Rose Street adjacent to Woodside Cemetery was cordoned off by police tape. A bicycle lay on the ground in the residential area that was blocked by police cars. 

Fennelly said Stroughn was hit and taken to University Hospital where he later died.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook

Newark's Portugal Day Festival is here -- these streets will be closed

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The city's weekend-long Portugal Day Festival began Friday and police say residents should expect increased traffic and some road closures.

NEWARK -- The weekend-long Portugal Day festival kicked off Friday in the Ironbound section of the city and is expected to bring traffic delays and road closures as hundreds flock to Newark to celebrate Portuguese cuisine and culture.

There will be music, dancing, performances and food all weekend long and a parade on Sunday afternoon. 

Police said the Peter Francisco Park area will be closed through Sunday. The following streets will also close throughout the weekend:

  • The area south of Market Street, north of Lafayette Street, west of Jefferson Street and east of New Jersey Railroad Avenue will close Friday 5 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. 
  • Niagra Street between Ferry Street and Paterson Street will close Friday 5 p.m. - 1 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m. - 1 a.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. - 11 p.m. 
  • Ferry Street between Chambers and Clover streets will close Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 3 p.m. to midnight and Sunday 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.
  • Ferry Street will close from Magazine and New Jersey Railroad Avenue Sunday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Lafayette Street and Wilson Avenue will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • Wilson Avenue to Lang Street will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • Lang Street to Wilson Avenue will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • New York Avenue to Jabez Street will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • Jabez Street to Rome Street Sunday will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • Rome Street to St. Charles Street Sunday will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 
  • St Charles to Ferry Street Sunday will close Sunday from 9 - 11 a.m. 

Authorities said there will be beefed up security this weekend to keep patrons safe.

"We look forward to seeing our residents and visitors enjoy this weekend's Portuguese Feast and all that the city of Newark has to offer," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement. "We simply request that everyone celebrate safely and responsibly."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook

Convictions overturned for professor accused in sex assault of disabled man

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Anna Stubblefield was convicted on two counts of sexual assault for engaging in activities with a disabled man she claims she loved

NEWARK - Former Rutgers-Newark professor Anna Stubblefield, who was accused of sexually assaulting a disabled man who was unable to speak, has had her convictions overturned after an appellate court determined she did not get a fair trial.

The court ordered that Stubblefield get another trial overseen by a new judge.

The decision was handed down Friday, overturning Stubblefield's two 2015 convictions for first-degree aggravated sexual assault. During the trial, the jury concluded that Stubblefield, then a 39-years-old philosophy professor, had sexually assaulted a then-29-year-old man known only as D.J. in 2011. The man had cerebral palsy and was unable to speak apart from making noises. Psychologists determined that D.J. couldn't consent to sex because he was mentally impaired.

During the trial, Stubblefield's lawyers maintained that she and D.J. fell in love and that she was able to communicate with him through a typing method called "facilitated communication." 

Anna StubblefieldAnna Stubblefield (FILE)

Following the conviction, Stubblefield was sentenced to two consecutive 12-year terms in prison and lifetime parole supervision.

Much of Stubblefield's case focused on the accuracy and reliability of the controversial typing method, "facilitated communication," which the appellate court referred to as "FC," in its decision. Before the trial, Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare, who presided over the case, ruled that there could be no expert testimony on the reliability or technique of FC because it wasn't a "recognized science."

Over the course of Stubblefield's 2015 trial, Essex County prosecutors presented three experts who all testified to D.J.'s mental incapacities. One expert, Dr. Howard Shane, who has a PhD in speech pathologies, testified that the man was not a candidate for augmentative communication devices because of his impaired mental state, the decision said.

But Stubblefield's defense attorney had an expert witness too - Dr. Rosemary Crossley, an augmentative and alternative communication specialist from Austrialia who determined that D.J. could communicate and read, according to the decision.  

Crossley did an extensive, three-day videoed evaluation of D.J., which sought to determine his language and literacy skills and determine if he had, "communicative intent," the decision said. She did use FC in her assessment but nothing that she used the device for factored into her overall assessment of D.J., the defense argued.

However, her evaluation and videotape of the assessment were not brought into evidence  - they were deemed unreliable because she had used FC in her assessment, the court ruled.

"The court believed Dr. Crossley's reports and examinations are inadmissible because her communication assessment is based upon an unrecognized field of science known as facilitated communication, rendering Dr. Crossley not an expert and her opinion inadmissible as a net opinion," the decision said in an overview of the facts of the case.

In the decision, the appellate court sided with Stubblefield's defense attorneys, who claimed that by preventing Crossley from presenting her full evaluation of D.J., the court was preventing the defense attorneys from presenting their full argument.

"The jury and not the court should have ultimately determined whether Dr. Crossley's evaluation was persuasive, and whether the state proved defendant knew or should have known that D.J. could not consent," the appellate court ruled.

Because they couldn't hear Crossley's full assessment, the jury was left with the impression that no expert or other person - apart from Stubblefield herself - believed that D.J. had the mental abilities to consent to sex, the decision said. 

"Unfortunately, the court, in its attempt to cleanse the record of controversial FC methodology, limited the evidence to the extent that defendant was not given a fair opportunity to present her defense," the appellate court ruled.

The court went on to call the facts of the case "extraordinary," and that they called for "a liberal admission of evidence supporting defendant's defense."

The appellate court called for a new judge who would allow Crossley to testify regarding her evaluation and who would admit at least parts of her video evaluation into evidence for the jury to view.

Stubblefield's case became a national story after her 2011 charges but the interactions date back almost ten years.

She first met D.J. through his brother, who was a student in her class, in 2008.

Stubblefield, then a department chair at Rutgers University, showed a film to her class regarding FC. The film prompted D.J.'s brother to approach his professor and ask for help for his brother. D.J. could not speak words, wore a diaper and needed help in day-to-day living, according to statement of facts in the decision.

The professor began to have meetings with D.J. in 2009 - at first with his parents and then alone in her office.

"(Stubblefield) became convinced that D.J. had been misdiagnosed as having the intellectual ability of a young child," the decision said.

In May 2011, Stubblefield told D.J.'s parents that she had sexual contact with their son and that they were in love, according to the decision. She then kissed D.J. in front of his parents.

D.J.'s parents questioned whether he was capable of consent and tested him with questions only he would know, according to the decision. When they believed he answered the questions incorrectly, they told Stubblefield to stop having contact with their son and called Rutgers University with a complaint.

The university reached out to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office who, after an investigation, charged and indicted Stubblefield on two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Stubblefield has never denied having sexual contact with D.J. but she has argued that he was mentally competent enough to consent to their interactions. 

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman

Preview and predictions for today's Track and Field Meet of Champions

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It's the biggest meet of the year in N.J.


Victim in fiery crash after police chase undergoes 5-hour surgery

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The West New York man who was severely burned in a crash with a vehicle being pursued by Jersey City police on Sunday underwent surgery yesterday and is doing well, although he remains hospitalized and on a respirator.

LIVINGSTON -- The West New York man seen in a video being kicked by Jersey City cops after a police pursuit Sunday is recovering after a five-hour surgery Thursday.

Burns on Miguel Feliz's arms were operated on and the doctor said the surgery was an "absolute success," said Feliz's brother, Ramon. The family is "very, very thankful," Ramon Felix said.

"He is doing well," he said, "He is alive."

He remains on a respirator.

Miguel Felix, 28, was driving on Tonnelle Avenue near North Street when authorities say a crash caused by Leo C. Pinkston, 48, engulfed both of their cars in flames. Police say that had been pursuing Pinkston after he fled from a traffic stop at Ocean and Cator avenues.

Video surfaced on Tuesday showing police kicking Feliz after he crawled out of his car. The video has caused a furor and led to calls for the officers involved to be charged with a crime.

Ramon Feliz said he has "no words to describe the events" seen in the video. The family has hired attorney Alexander L. Locatelli of West New York, he said, adding that he preferred to limit his comments to his brother's health and treatment.

"Anything outside the hospital is of none of my concern," Ramon Feliz said. "The main focus is staying strong for my brother. I leave everything outside the walls of the hospital to the lawyer."

Locatelli could not be reached for comment. 

Ramon Feliz described his brother as an "extremely happy person."

"He is a father. He is a brother. He is an absolute miracle," he said.

It's not clear how long Miguel Feliz will be hospitalized, his brother said.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said the city is trying to identify the police officers in the video and terminate and arrest those who assaulted Feliz. Fulop called the video "outrageous." Fulop's comments have been criticized by local police union leaders, who have defended the cops' actions Sunday night.

Pinkston, of Van Nostrand Avenue in Jersey City, is charged with eluding police and aggravated assault of Feliz. Both charges carry a possible five- to 10-year sentence upon conviction. He remains behind bars at Hudson County jail. Prosecutors, who are investigating officers' actions Sunday night, are seeking to have Pinkston detained through prosecution.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has cautioned against a rush do judgment before the ongoing investigation is completed. 

Baseball championships: LIVE updates, results and links from the Group finals

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Complete guide to Saturday's action

Welcome to NJ.com's LIVE and complete coverage of state-championship Saturday. After three doubleheaders, scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the three Toms River fields, N.J. will have six state champs.

This is your place for everything we'll do today. Live-coverage links are below, and links will replace placeholders as this page fills up through the afternoon.

KET LINKS
NJ.com Top 20 for June 9 
• N.J. players with the best chances of being taken in next week's MLB Draft

Results and links from all 12 state semifinals

• 
2017 State tournament brackets


MORE: Previews, picks for Saturday's 6 state finals


GROUP 1
Middlesex 5, Emerson Boro 4

Look back at live updates
•  WATCH: Mike Salerno hits two-run double for Middlesex
• Full coverage

• Game story

•  Photo gallery
• Box score

GROUP 2
Manasquan 7, Whippany Park 3

Manasquan claims 1st state title since 1986
Stars of the game
Look back at updates
• Full coverage

•  Photo gallery
Box score

GROUP 3
No. 2 Allentown 5, No. 13 Cranford 1 (8)
Allentown's extra-inning magic wins Group 3
Look back at live updates
• Full coverage

•  Photo gallery
• Box score

GROUP 4
No. 9 Millburn vs. No. 6 Hunterdon Central at Toms River North, 2 p.m. 
LIVE updates
• Full coverage

• Game story

•  Photo gallery
• Box score

NON-PUBLIC A
No. 1 St. Augustine vs. No. 4 Delbarton at Toms River East, 2 p.m. 
LIVE updates
• Full coverage

• Game story

•  Photo gallery
• Box score

NON-PUBLIC B
Newark Academy vs. No. 3 Gloucester Catholic at Toms River South, 2 p.m.
LIVE updates
• Full coverage

• Game story

•  Photo gallery
• Box score

Richard Greco may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichardGrecohsLike NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

Meet of Champions, 2017: LIVE updates, results and more, Saturday at 2 p.m.

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Everything you need for the 2017 Meet of Champions

COLUMBUS — History will be a common theme throughout the 49th NJSIAA Meet of Champions. 

Union Catholic's Sydney McLaughlin and Donovan Catholic's Alyssa Wilson will leave their last impressions after launching two legendary careers here in New Jersey. Some other all-time great seniors like East Orange's Cory Poole and Old Bridge's Rey Rivera will also compete for the last time when action gets underway at 2 p.m. here at Northern Burlington High School.

This page will be your one-stop shop for everything you need to follow the action.

Tim McClain will be posting live updates in the comments section below. As the meet progresses, this page will be updated with pictures, stories, results and more. Refresh this page often for the latest content. 

PREVIEWS
Event-by-event preview and picks 
An A-to-Z guide for the 2017 MoC 
McLaughlin: We may never see another athlete like her

MEET INFORMATION  
Meet records
Schedule and order of events
Girls seeds and performance list
Boys seeds and performance list

Performance list for wheelchair and unified events 

TOP STORIES
Sydney McLaughlin ends HS career with 11 MOC golds, track immortality
Sydney McLaughlin cruises to career sweep in 400H, eyes epic 400

With 400 win, Sydney McLaughlin has 11th gold
E. Orange's Cory Poole gets his doubles, with 110 hurdles gold

East Orange's Cory Poole sets meet record en route to 400 hurdles title

Alyssa Wilson defends shot put title | 3-peats in discus
Rahway's Jordan west wins 2nd-straight discus crown | And shot-put gold 
Gov. Livingston freshman phenom takes girls 800

BOYS STORIES & RESULTS (Links filled in as we have them - refresh often)
Track events
100-meter dash (final)
200-meter dash
400-meter dash
800-meter run
1600-meter run
3200-meter run
110-meter hurdles (final)
400-meter hurdles
400-meter relay (4x100)
• 1600-meter relay (4x400)
3200-meter relay (4x800)
Wheelchair & unified events

Field events 
High jump
• Long jump
Triple jump
Pole vault
Discus
Javelin
Shot put

GIRLS STORIES & RESULTS (Links filled in as we have them - refresh often)
Track Events
100-meter dash (final)
200-meter dash 
400-meter dash
800-meter run  
1600-meter run
3200-meter run
100-meter hurdles (final)
400-meter hurdles
400-meter relay (4x100)
• 1600-meter relay (4x400)
• 3200-meter relay (4x800)
Wheelchair & unified events

Field events 
High jump
Long jump
Triple jump
Pole vault
Discus
Javelin
Shot put

Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Former Paramus Catholic football player among 2 killed in N.J. shooting

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Two slain men had careers at student athletes.

EAST ORANGE -- One of the two men killed in a triple shooting early Friday in East Orange was a former Paramus Catholic High School football player, who continued his athletic career at a Virginia college, school officials said.

Dy-Shawn Simpkins Jr., 19, enrolled at Norfolk State University in January, according to the school. He participated with the Spartan football team during the spring practice schedule after graduating from Paramus Catholic High School last year.

"On behalf of the administration, coaches and student-athletes, we want to express our condolences to Dy-Shawn's family," NSU Director of Athletics Marty L. Miller said in a statement Saturday. "He will be dearly missed by the entire Norfolk State University family."

Dan DeCongelio, Paramus Catholic linebacker coach, expressed his sympathies Friday.

"My prayers and thoughts are with Dyshawn's family. You will be missed big guy. It was a blessing that our paths crossed in life," DeCongelio said in a Twitter post.

Simpkins and Keeayre Griffin, 29, were shot to death shortly after midnight Friday on Hollywood Avenue, near 9th Avenue, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Police responded to reports of a shooting on the street and found Simpkins unresponsive in a vehicle, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

Griffin died from his wounds at East Orange General Hospital around 1:30 a.m. Friday, according to the prosecutor's office.

A third man, whose name was withheld for security reasons, was also shot and hospitalized after the attack, authorities said.

Griffin also had a career at a student athlete. He was a Temple University football player after attending Saint Peter's Prep, a spokesman confirmed.

At Temple, he went from a running back to defensive back in the 2009 season, according to his bio on the school website.

Authorities identified the pair as being Newark residents. NSU and Temple listed the men as East Orange natives.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Task Force was investigating the slayings. Prosecutors have not commented on a possible motive for shooting and urged anyone with information to call (877) 847-7432.

 

5 of N.J.'s toughest teaching jobs, a look inside the classroom

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From the kindergarten teacher in an urban district to the college professor teaching behind bars, a snapshot of life inside New Jersey's most challenging classrooms.

They are high school students who dream of attending an elite college, kindergartners learning to read and middle school students with disabilities just trying their best to master telling time.

And they are all relying on someone to guide them there: Their teacher.

Teaching is an often challenging and misunderstood alchemy of art and science. But sometimes teachers are tested in extraordinary and unusual ways, forcing them to innovate on a different level.

NJ Advance Media this school year sought to find some of the more difficult and demanding jobs for teachers, visiting classrooms across the state to witness the daily trials firsthand. 

Educators and administrators had multiple suggestions for some of the more difficult jobs in different grade levels and various types of schools, and school districts selected specific teachers who agreed to be shadowed. 

From the kindergarten teacher in an urban district to the college professor teaching behind bars, the stories provide a snapshot of life inside the classroom for five of the more than 100,000 New Jersey educators who report to work each day.

Dana Tattoli: Special needs, special challenges 

NJTOUGHTEACHDana Tattoli teaches her class at CTC Academy in Oakland. (Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance Media)
 

Dana Tattoli's question should have been simple for middle school students to answer.

Holding a laminated paper clock with a royal blue hour hand and a bright red minute hand, Tattoli asked her class what the clock should look like if 30 minutes had passed since 2 p.m.

"For 2:30, where does the hour hand go?" Tattoli asked, her brown eyes widening as she finished the question.

The answer didn't come easily.

Tattoli teaches at CTC Academy, a private school for ages 7-21 in Oakland, Bergen County where public schools send students with disabilities so severe that they can't accommodate them. None of the students in Tattoli's classroom can speak. Most can't walk. Some will never have the dexterity to hold a pencil.

With the wide range of disabilities at the school, teachers at CTC must be remarkably patient and perpetually upbeat while tailoring their lesson plans to each student individually.

Tattoli, a cheerful 26-year-old, knew full well what she signed up for -- she has two siblings with disabilities and left her job at a preschool three years ago in pursuit of more challenging work, she said.

"It's the kids," Tattoli said, explaining why she enjoys a difficult job. "They each have their own personalities and when you get to know them, you can't help but want to make them better and want to help them out in any possible way."

The hallways at the sparkling new school of about 70 students are lined with walkers, wheelchairs and other devices used to help students sit, stand and travel throughout the school. Nurses come in and out of the classrooms to help with nebulizer treatments or feeding tubes. It's not unusual for a student to fall asleep during a lesson.

After graduation, at age 21, most CTC students live with their families and are not independent enough to hold a job, Tattoli said. 

"Our mission," said Laura DelDuca, the school's principal, "is to help our kids be the best they can be."

No delay for school start times

In Tattoli's class of students in grades 6-8, each student has cerebral palsy, a motor function impairment caused by damage to the developing brain. The disability can carry a range of physical and cognitive affects -- including abnormal reflexes, difficulty walking and intellectual disabilities -- which present differently in each student. 

Because Tattoli's 10 students each have different capabilities, she must differentiate how she teaches every one of them. She keeps five students and their personal aides in the classroom at a time while sending the others to physical therapy or other support programs.

To find an answer to her question about the clock, Tattoli asked each student to respond individually. She began with a 13-year-old girl who was beginning to fall asleep.

"We have to wake up, get that body up," Tattoli said, asking the student's aide to help her stand.

The girl, unlike some of her classmates, has the fine motor skills to point with her index finger, so Tattoli held a black Velcro board with two cards stuck on it, one with the number two and another with the number six.

"Where does the hour hand go for 2:30?" she asked.

The student fidgeted and sat back down. Tattoli asked the question again.

"Where does the hour hand go? Two or six?" she asked.

The teen stretched her index finger forward and pressed it against the two, earning a "good job" from Tattoli. 

Moving across the spacious room, Tattoli asked the same question to each student in a slightly different way, smiling and making eye contact with each of the students, who were arranged in a semi-circle around her.

One student used her feet to control a computer and selected the number two from the options on her screen.

For another student, who struggles with range of motion, Tattoli took the cards off the Velcro board and held them far enough apart that the girl was forced her to cross her right arm to her left side of her body to point to the correct answer.

It's a routine Tattoli repeats day after day, question after question.

"Our teachers need to be incredibly creative, incredibly patient, empathetic," DelDuca said. "(Dana) is just so optimistic and she honestly has expectations for each and every one of her students in her room to progress and grow."

Lisa Fischman: Newark's 'new first grade'

N.J.'s toughest teaching jobsLisa Fischman teaches her kindergarten class at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Newark. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

Lisa Fischman has a monster in her classroom.

His name is the More Monster and he eats, well, more. More potato chips, more pizza, more pickles, whatever food there's a greater number of, the More Monster eats it, inspiring giggles from the children in Fischman's class.

When Fischman starts drawing pictures of food on her whiteboard, the kids know what is coming: "He wants to eat things that are...," she began.

"More," the 5 and 6 year olds said in unison.

The monster -- a greater-than symbol with teeth drawn inside of it -- is one of Fischman's many creations used to blur the lines between playing and learning, a balance she's been forced to master. 

Fischman is a full-day kindergarten teacher at Harriet Tubman School in Newark, one of the most challenging jobs in any environment. Amid a national push in recent years to increase the rigor of kindergarten, Fischman's tasked with taking students historically at-risk of falling behind and setting them ahead of the curve.

"All the requirements and expectations of kindergarten have been amped up," said Fischman, a towering 32-year-old who played professional basketball in Israel before becoming a teacher six years ago. "Kindergarten is the new first grade."

Every school day, Fischman reports to an aging building just a few blocks north of Springfield Avenue in Newark's central ward. Among the state's oldest schools, Harriet Tubman School was built in 1875 -- when Ulysses S. Grant was president.

In Newark, like many other urban districts, Fischman's students face tough odds. Newark's state test scores for reading and math are among New Jersey's lowest, and about one-in-four Newark Public Schools students fail to finish high school on time, despite a rising graduation rate.

At Harriet Tubman, some students arrive without the basic social and emotional skills expected for school-age children, such as sharing or potty training, principal Malcolm Outlaw said. For them, academic learning becomes even more difficult.

Nationally, the focus of kindergarten has shifted thanks in part to high stakes testing in elementary and middle school and the ambitious goals for "college and career readiness."

"Kindergarten is not a mandatory grade in the state of New Jersey, but it where a child's academic foundation begins," Fischman said.

Where teachers make the most

In a classroom where nearly every inch of wall space is covered by posters and students' art projects, Fischman's students are counting by 5s and 10s, reading short books and learning how different punctuation marks change the way they should read a sentence out loud.

"Let's take a look at page 3," Fischman asked a group of her most advanced readers. "Can you find a punctuation mark that shows us that we need to read with expression?"

One student pointed to a comma. Another to quotation marks. After Fischman told students to look at the end of the sentence, they found an exclamation point.

"When we see an exclamation point, it usually means that the writer is what?" she asked.

"Excited," one student said before the group read the sentence together in their best excited voices.

Even with the more rigorous requirements, Fischman tries to make kindergarten just as fun as it has always been. When her students count, they do it while dancing along to a music video she plays on her smartboard.

When they read, they wear green, plastic witch fingers with long, pointy finger nails for singling out each word.

And the students probably don't even realize when they are taking a test, Fischman said. To disguise what's happening, she calls her exams "brain bombs."

"I am the corniest person you will ever meet," Fischman said. "I try to teach them the way that I would like to learn."

The district considers Fischman's class a model, Outlaw said. Teachers from across the district visit to observe her approach and see what they can incorporate into their own classrooms.

Raising academic expectations for kindergarten without sacrificing students' fun isn't something every teacher can do, Outlaw said.

"Its taken her a whole lot of work in order to do that," Outlaw said. "Do you want to put in that time and effort to combine two worlds? That's what it takes and that's what she put forth."

Jeffrey Linn: Breaking the language barrier 

N.J.'s Toughest Teaching JobsJeffrey Linn, an English-as-a-second-language teacher, leads a group of students at Hillcrest Elementary School in Franklin Township. (Andrew Miller | For NJ Advance Media)
 

It was a school night many years ago, as Jeffrey Linn recalled, when he left work and drove to a nice Chinese restaurant in Franklin Township.

Linn sat down at a table, but didn't order anything. A dishwasher emerged from the kitchen and sat down across from him. In Mandarin Chinese, the two began a conversation about the man's son, Linn said.

"It was his first time to hear anything about this child that he understood," Linn said, recalling one his most unusual parent-teacher conferences.

In 27 years as an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teacher in diverse Franklin Township, Somerset County, Linn has grown accustomed to working outside of the box. He's directly responsible for students who could get lost in the shuffle - those who could all too easily slip through the cracks - and has helped the district reinvent the way it teaches the English language.

In Franklin, a melting pot of a community, Linn, 54, has seen "every imaginable language, almost" pass through the hallways, he said. From the students who can't speak a full sentence in any language to those who are fluent in English but have a dearth of knowledge of academic terms, every student each year comes with their own set of challenges, he said.

The hardest cases, he said, are students who are trying to learn English while struggling with dyslexia or dysgraphia, a condition that affects students' ability to write. 

"You have to resign yourself to the fact that you are not going to have a really big social life," said Linn, tall, bald and bespectacled. "You are going to come here early, you are going to leave here late, and you are going to go home and hit the couch."

This year, for the first time, Linn is a veritable nomad of a teacher. Because of overcrowding at his school, Hillcrest Elementary, he has no classroom -- not that it dampers his enthusiasm.

"I absolutely love language," he said, sitting on a bench at the entrance to the school gymnasium.

U.S. News' best high schools

Franklin, like most districts, uses a push-in, pull-out model, which means Linn spends half of his time in his students' regular class and the other half pulling them out for special instruction in an empty classroom somewhere else in the school.

But unlike the traditional ESL method, the district leaves students in their primary classroom for reading and writing and pulls them out for science and math.

Linn subscribes to a teaching method called Total Physical Response (TPR), in which certain words have a physical response that students do as they say it. He's taken that approach to the extreme, or "TPR on steroids," as his supervisor Julie Ochoa called it.

Every single vocabulary word Linn teaches is broken down into a series of hand motions students perform as they sound out each syllable.

In a recent lesson on energy sources, Linn (in a portable classroom in a trailer outside the school) taught six third-graders words such as replenish and recreate.

"Now we have this word, nonrenewable," Linn said. "Does anybody know what 'non' means?"

"Like, do not?" a student said.

Linn asked the class to look at him as he shook his head back and forth.

"This is non," he said, head moving left to right.

Then, he twirled his index finger in a circular motion twice and said "re."

As the students watched closely, Linn completed the hand signals for "new" and "able."

"Non-re-new-able. Non-re-new-able" the students repeated aloud, mimicking Linn's hand motions.

"Because it's non, you don't have the ability to make it new again," Linn explained to the class. "That's the word nonrenewable, and it's related to energy sources and it's really important."

The method is so successful that Hillcrest has begun using in its regular education classes. Academic words such as identify, analyze and summarize are taught to all students, not just English language learners, with hand motions and phrases that will help students remember them.

"Now, the whole building pays attentions to those words in this kind of way," said Ochoa, the district's supervisor of ESL and bilingual instruction. "Jeff is making an impact on the entire population at Hillcrest, which is really wonderful." 

Aimee Babbin: Lofty expectations 

N.J.'s toughest teaching jobsAimee Babbin teaches honors physics to sophomores at High Technology High School. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

Aimee Babbin's job is easy. At least that's what other people think, she said.

In fact, it's beyond easy, she's heard. It's the five-letter word that makes teachers cringe: cushy.

"You teach science at a science school," Babbin said with exasperation, mimicking what she's heard. "Your life must be so easy."

Babbin, 31, understands the perception. After all, she teaches some of New Jersey's smartest students in her physics and chemistry classes at High Technology High School, a specialized school for Monmouth County's top academic performers. U.S. News and World Report has named High Tech the nation's best school for science, technology, engineering and math three years running.

Trying to meet her students' lofty expectations, managing their colossal stress and answering a never-ending series of questions that go above and beyond her curriculum, sometimes leaves Babbin worried she's not doing enough.

"Everyone wants to learn the most that they can from every single class and get the most they can from every single teacher," explained Rachael Hutson, a fast-talking junior at the school who hopes to attend an Ivy League university. "The teachers have to adapt to that."

High Tech, a pre-engineering academy in the Monmouth County Vocational Technical District, accepts about 75 new freshman students each year through a competitive application process that considers GPA and scores from an entrance exam.

The families of students who make the cut expect results, so much so that many students pre-study their textbooks during the summer to gain an edge, students say.

Most students at High Tech's campus in Middletown Township dream of attending elite universities and have reason to believe they can get in -- the school's average SAT score was 1,506 out of 1,600 last school year, the highest in New Jersey.

If a student is on track to earn a grade lower than an 80 percent in a class, their parents must be notified, according to school policy, Babbin said. 

"There's not much fooling around," said Aneesh Agrawal, a senior from Middletown Township. "Most of the kids are academically driven. That's why they are here."

How to go to a top school

That drive is apparent in Babbin's physics class. During a recent lab period, Babbin -- better known as "Babbs" among students -- bounced from lab table to lab table, answering question after question about how to charge a capacitor.

Several times, students left their seats to stand behind her so they could capture her attention the second she finished answering her latest inquiry. By the end of the period, dozens of "Miss Babbin" queries were asked and answered.

Often, students pose theoretical questions or seek higher-level discussions that typically wouldn't be covered until college, Babbin said. When she first started teaching at the school, she would go on 20-minute tangents trying to explain complicated concepts. Now, she tells students to ask her during lunch, she said.

"I spend hours every night prepping," said Babbin, who has earned a reputation as the laid-back, self-deprecating, joke-making cool teacher. "If I want my students to be working at a semi-collegiate level... I need to know the material inside and out."

Babbin knows firsthand the pressure her students face. She graduated from High Tech in 2004 before earning a chemistry degree and master's in education from Monmouth University.

To combat stress, she tries to lighten the mood with jokes, ends especially dry sentences with "Yay physics!" and taps her fingers together in a jokingly-maniacal way when she stumps her class with a question. 

If everyone is wrong, everyone is learning, she said.

"Remember what I said about being wrong?" Babbin recently told her physics class. "It's awesome. Now is the time to be wrong."

In those moments, Babbin knows she is making a difference, something she wasn't sure she could do when she first got the job.

"I was nervous that I wouldn't be good enough for High Tech," she said. "Honestly, that feeling doesn't really go away."

Michele Tarter: Teaching behind bars

Michele Tarter teaches at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for WomenMichele Tarter, a professor of english at The College of New Jersey, teaches a writing workshop at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, Hunterdon County. (Keith A. Muccilli | For NJ Advance Media)
 

That first class. The nerves. The pounding heart. Michele Tarter remembers it all so vividly, she said.

It was 1998, and Tarter was a young professor at Eastern Illinois University with an idea to do something different. So, there she was in a classroom at a maximum-security prison.

About 15 women, violent criminals and convicted murderers among them, formed a circle around Tarter and waited to learn about women's autobiographies, she said.

"I must confess to you... when they came in, I thought 'Wow. What am I doing?'" remembered Tarter, now a professor at The College of New Jersey.

Since then, Tarter has spent parts of the last 16 years going onto prison turf, under strict prison rules, to reach some of the state's longest-serving inmates at New Jersey's only maximum security prison for women. It's a position so unenviable that TCNJ didn't even have a program for teaching prisoners before Tarter asked if she could do it for free during her spare time, she said.

Citing potential disruptions for inmates, the state Department of Corrections denied NJ Advance Media's request to shadow a college professor teaching in a state prison. But Tarter agreed to share her inside story of teaching at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County because she wants people to know that prison inmates are worth teaching, she said.

"My experience has been that they are so hungry to learn that they are often much more engaged than a lot of my college students," Tarter said.

TCNJ renames building

For Tarter, the challenge of working in the prison has never been the inmates. The scary part, she said, is getting to them. It's about a 40-minute process that starts with a metal detector and ends after three locked gates, two security checkpoints and one ride in a prison guard's vehicle.

One time, a TCNJ student coming to help Tarter teach was forced to take off her bra because of the wires inside and leave it in a locker, Tarter said. On another occasion, guards confiscated about $500 worth of supplies, including colored pencils and adult coloring books Tarter had brought for her class.

"The only fear that comes is with the guards, and when it comes I just go with the flow," said Tarter, who stands about 5-foot-3-inches and 110 pounds. "I go in with respect and with the eye on the prize, which is I've got to get into that classroom." 

Tarter's works almost exclusively with prisoners in maximum security, and her students have run the gamut from women who killed in cold blood to mothers whose only crime was not calling police after their son or daughter admitted to killing someone, Tarter said.

Some of the women who take the workshop are serving life sentences and will likely never step foot outside of the prison again, she said. 

What the women are in for, Tartar said, doesn't matter once they get inside the classroom, a square room with a chalkboard, a fiberglass window for the guards to watch from and the kind of white plastic chairs that can be stacked on top of each other.

Tarter has taught the workshop on women's memoir writing in a variety of formats over the years, depending on her availability. Sometimes, it's been a semester-long class that meets for three hours each week. Currently, she visits the prison a few times each year for full-day sessions, and the inmates receive no college credit.

The classes usually begin with some reading, which the inmates then discuss, followed by quiet time for writing and, finally, time for sharing each other's work. The goal, Tarter said, is to help the women achieve self-reckoning and healing through the written word.

That's exactly what happened for Cynthia Cupe, who was convinced of stabbing a woman to death during an argument in Newark in the summer of 1986, she said. Before Cupe took Tarter's class several years ago, she felt like she had lost her voice, like her opinion didn't matter, she told NJ Advance Media in a telephone interview.

Today, Cupe has been out of prison for about a year and is attending classes at Rutgers University. She credits Tarter with helping her heal and find her confidence.

"She didn't judge us," Cupe said. "She challenged us, made us feel like we were more than just our crimes, more than what we had been convicted of, that we were valued as human beings, that we did matter, that we pretty much still could find meaning in life." 

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

Penn State lands another top N.J. recruit: An updated look at the N.J. to PSU pipeline

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18 N.J. players were on PSU's Big 10 championship roster in 2016

West Orange High School honors ROTC Cadets

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School hosts its annual Military Formal and Awards Ceremony.

qChief Master Sgt. Ricardo Thurston, AFJROTC Cadets Abby Rosu and Iveth Gonzales, and Maj. Marchesini, commander, at the school's Military Formal and Awards Ceremony. Rosu will succeed Gonzalez as the Cadet Squadron Commander for the 2017-2018 school year. 

WEST ORANGE -- The West Orange High School Jr. Air Force ROTC honored cadets and commanders at the annual Military Formal and Awards Ceremony, held June 1 at the Wilshire Grand Hotel.

Graduating seniors Chase Garguilo, Andrei Rosu, Matthew Stern, Iveth Gonzales and Danielle Arrabito were presented with shadowboxes, a long-standing tradition to highlight the recipient's military career. Principal Hayden Moore also announced that Maj. Joseph Marchesini (USAF-Ret.), commander of the AFJROTC and Chief Master Sgt. Ricardo Thurston had been awarded Outstanding Instructor Awards by the Air Force, given to 10 percent of all instructors annually. Moore also announced that Marchesini had been named an Outstanding Instructor for Region II.

The event concluded with the ceremonial retirement of this year's Cadet Lt. Col. and squadron commander, Iveth Gonzales, and the appointment of Abby Rosu as the school's cadet squadron commander for 2017-2018.

Receiving awards were Abby Rosu, Air Force Association Award; Gabby Petrucelli, Daedalian Award; Alina Chant, American Legion Scholastic Award; Andrew Ramirez, American Legion General Military Excellence Award; Madison Mitchell, Daughters of the American Revolution Award; Michaels Monroy, American Veterans Award; Chison Chima, Reserve Officers Association Award; Aamore Richards, Military Order of the World Wars Award; Michael Giovine, Military Officers Association of America Award; Vanessa Lettman, Veterans of Foreign Wars Award; Zharia Bynes, National Sojourners Award; Colin Morgan, Sons of the American Revolution Award; Rachel Scott, Scottish Rite Americanism Award; Sayeed Bennett, Military Order of the Purple Heart Award; Ayana Tapper, Air Force Sergeant Association Award; Gio Trinidad, Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War Award; Terrance Toussaint and Angel Cordero, Tuskegee Airmen Award; Gordon Schneider, The Enlisted Association Award; Andrew Amoyaw, Celebrate Freedom Foundation Award; Dayana Yepez, National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Award; and Wesley Rideau-Winds and Jadon Boyce, Air Commando Association Award.

To submit school news send an email to essex@starledger.com.


Videos explain Newark school enrollment process

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Videos provide information on Newark Enrolls.

 

NEWARK -- Newark Public Schools has released a series of short videos that provide Newark families with information about Newark Enrolls, the city's school enrollment system.

The videos explain the school match process and how students are assigned to district schools. There are three videos, each one explaining key pieces of the enrollment process: Basic Information About Newark Enrolls, Newark Enrolls in Action, and Magnet Schools and Other Details.

"We are excited to share these new resources with Newark families," said Gabrielle Ramos, NPS executive director of enrollment. "When families are experiencing Newark Enrolls for the first time, we want to make sure we can explain how this process works in a clear and concise way. We believe these videos will be a vital tool in making the enrollment process easier for parents to understand from the outset, so that families are better equipped to make the best choices for their children on their enrollment application."

The videos can be found at nps.k12.nj.us. or Newarkenrolls.org.

To submit school news send an email to essex@starledger.com.

2 shot in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood, police say

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The shooting is not related to the the Portugal Day Festival, police said.

NEWARK -- Two people were shot early Sunday morning in the city's Ironbound neighborhood, police said. 

A 21-year-old male and a 19-year-old female were shot shortly after midnight near the intersection of Ferry and Congress streets, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said. Their injuries are not life-threatening, he said. 

Police said the shooting is not related to the Portugal Day Festival, which was ending at the same time. 

"This isolated incident appears to be the result of a dispute between two armed suspects who are brazened and showed a lack of respect for human life," Ambrose said in a statement. "Our detectives are working tirelessly to identify the suspects and to bring them to justice."

Police are asking anyone with any information to call them at 877-695-8477 or 877-695-4867.

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

Newark cops shutter 5 businesses after failed inspections

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The inspections were conducted by a task force that includes city police and fire.

NEWARK -- Five businesses were closed and four more issued summonses following a series of inspections by a city task force over the past three weeks, police announced Sunday.

The inspections, conducted by a group that included the Newark police and fire divisions along with code and health officials, found violations at seven businesses on South Orange Ave this week, according to a statement from Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose.

Three of those businesses -- 1 Creole Cuisine, JJKM Tax and Travel, and Family Dollar -- were closed and issued summonses, while F&M Carpet and Mt Big Mo Grocery Store were cited for violations but not closed. Village Laundromat and Sunny Cleaner both had violations, but were not closed, police said.

Four other businesses on Mount Vernon Place -- Bellefluer Unisex Salon, Suds City Laundromat, Puissance Divine Clothing and Jacob's Restaurant and Bakery -- also had violations but were not closed, according to police.

Authorities said S.I.G. Variety Store on Maple Avenue and Delta Gas Station on Chancellor Avenue were both closed as a result of inspections during the first week of the operation. Two other businesses on Maple Avenue, H&M Cuttz Barber Shop and Birts Nutrition, were both cited for violations but remained open, police said.

"These locations were selected in response to citizen complaints," Ambrose said in the statement. "We will continue operations like these throughout the summer and will respond to all concerns brought to our attention that denigrate the quality of life in our city."  

Police said several of four businesses inspected last week on Clinton Avenue are also expected to receive citations for infractions ranging from expired paperwork to ceiling tile violations.

Police have urged anyone with information about quality of life or criminal complaints to either call police at 973-733-6000 for non-emergency activities, or to call the 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867).  Police said anonymous tips are kept confidential and could result in a cash reward.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Ferry Street 'packed' for Newark's Portugal Day parade

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Thousands of musicians, dancers, politicians and others from Newark's Portuguese community and beyond crowded the city's Ironbound section for a march down Ferry Street

NEWARK -- Thousands of celebrants packed the streets of Newark's Ironbound section on Sunday, capping a three-day Portuguese festival highlighted by a parade down the area's well-known main drag.

"Ferry Street is absolutely packed on both sides of the street," said George Marques, a member of the Portugal Day Newark committee, which organized the parade. "We're at capacity."

The annual festival is timed to coincide with the Dia de Portugal, a Portuguese national holiday on June 10, commemorating the death in 1580 of poet Luis de Camoes, the country's most celebrated literary figure. Beyond literature, the festival in Newark, like those in Portugal and elsewhere around the world, is a celebration of Portuguese culture. 

The parade dates back to the 1970s, said Marques, 46, who was born and raised in the Ironbound and had been attending ever since he can remember. 

This year, Marques said 80 groups took part in the parade from the Newark Portuguese community and beyond, with marchers alone numbering in the thousands, apart from those lining the sidewalks to take in the spectacle.

Musicians, folk dancers, cultural and civic groups, as well as police, firefighters and politicians marched a half-mile from the Five Corners intersection formed by Wilson Avenue, Merchant and Ferry streets to Newark Penn Station.

Mayor Ras Baraka led the procession, and the parade marshal was Jose Mario Gomes, president of Underground Utilities, a Linden-based construction firm.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose released a statement asking that, "everyone celebrate safely and responsibly."

"We look forward to seeing our residents and visitors enjoy this weekend's Portuguese Feast and all that the city of Newark has to offer," Ambrose stated.

The weekend-long celebration that began Friday night was marred early Sunday morning by the shooting of two people at the intersection of Congress and Ferry streets, in an incident that authorities said was not related to the festival or participants.

A 21-year-old man and 19-year-old woman suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds just after midnight, said Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose. Police were searching for two assailants Sunday afternoon.

Marques acknowledged that the incident cast a pall over the festivities. But he said the celebration picked back up and the parade was as festive as any he could recall.

"We're not going to let that put a damper on things," he said. 

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

Authorities probe man's death at Newark senior building

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Authorities say a man fell 12 stories to his death on Sunday at the Baxter senior apartment tower on Summit Street

9 Summit St Newark Google.jpgAuthorities are investigating a man's fatal fall from his 12th-floor balcony Sunday at this building in Newark 

NEWARK -- Authorities are looking into the death of a man who fell from his balcony at a senior apartment building in Newark on Sunday.

Police said Newark Police officers responded to the scene on Summit Street on Sunday afternoon, when witnesses said the man fell from the 12th floor balcony of his apartment at 9 Summit St.

Following an initial probe, police said the case was turned over to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, which handles homicide investigations.

Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly confirmed that his office was investigating the man's death, though he declined to characterize it as a homicide.

"We are investigating the death of a man at a high rise building on Summit Street who came off of an upper floor balcony," Fennelly said.

Neither Fennelly nor Newark Police would identify the man.

The 14-story building is identified in online records as the Baxter Senior Center, where no one answered the phone on Sunday afternoon or evening.

The building is located on the site of the old Baxter Terrace public housing complex, which had been operated by the Newark Housing Authority. Most of the Baxter complex was demolished earlier in the decade, though officials said a senior building was left standing on the site.

Housing authority officials could not be reached.

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

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