Kimberly McLain, a veteran of he private and publc sectors, succeeds the late Al Koeppe, whose departure 2 years ago led a dormant period for the alliance, a civic-minded business association

NEWARK -- Newark's renaissance will be a hollow and unsustainable one if residents do not share in it, the new CEO of the revived Newark Alliance told members of the civic-oriented business group Wednesday night.

"While many of us work, play and do business here, Newark ultimately belongs to the people who call it home," CEO Kimberly McLain told some 200 business and political leaders gathered in the Lafayette Tower glass atrium at Prudential Center during the alliance's first public event in two years following the departure of its esteemed former leader.

"We can insure that development continues -- and development is good -- but we can insure that local residents don't get left behind in the renaissance," McLain said.

Mayor Ras Baraka, who has sought to bridge the traditional divide between developers and grass-roots constituents, was among those who applauded McLain.

After McLain had revealed she was not from Newark, Baraka told the gathering, "I'm here to give Kim an honorary Newark membership card."

"You're one of us," he told McLain, who lives with her family in Bergen County.

McLain succeeds Al Koeppe, a highly regarded former president of both NJ Bell and PSE&G who led the Alliance following his professional retirement and then left the group about two years ago. Koeppe died at age 70 in December.

In introducing herself to the gathering, McLain said she grew up "on the wrong side of the tracks," later adding that she was raised by a single mother in tiny Salley, S.C. (pop. 400). She went on to earn her MBA from Columbia University, and worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse and in the non-profit sector, including as president and CEO of the Foundation for Newark's Future.

She's been in the Alliance job for about a year, but has kept a low profile while developing new projects for the group, whose four "pillars" of civic involvement are economic and workforce development, education, and public safety. McLain recently published an opinion piece on NJ.com, arguing in sobering terms why businesses must hire city residents if Newark is to truly prosper.

"Newark residents hold only 18 percent of all jobs in the city, a proportion much lower than most major cities," McLain wrote. "And the city's poverty rate is at 30 percent, more than double the national average."

McLain told the gathering she would soon unveil a program involving what she called "anchor collaboration," working with the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation and with large Newark employers to bolster local hiring, procurement from local companies, and housing.

McLain's predecessor, Koeppe, had been a towering figure in Newark business and civic circles. He was involved with the alliance well before taking over as CEO, and observers said his departure shook the group to its core, sending it into a period of dormancy.

Wednesday night's event was not only a civic coming out party of sorts for McLain, but also a festive revival of the Newark Alliance itself, with an open bar and trays of lamb chops and short-rib sliders.

Alliance Chairman Dennis Bone welcomed a who's who of Newark political and business leaders, and the event's corporate sponsors: Council members Mildred Crump, Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins, Anibal Ramos, and Joe McCallum; state Senators Ron Rice and Sheila Oliver; U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.; the Dodge, Victoria, Prudential and Robert Wood Johnson foundations; PNC Bank; Rutgers Newark; and others.

"It's an exciting time for the alliance," Bone said. "We have new priorities and we have new leadership."

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

Scott Phillips and Theresa Mullen verbally harassed administrators on several occasions, according to court testimony.

NEWARK -- Parents of two girls who are barred from going back to their Catholic grammar school created a pervasive culture of anxiety in the tight-knit school community, according to testimony from school officials.

Scott Phillips and Theresa Mullen, whose young daughters' applications were rejected by St. Theresa School in Kenilworth, repeatedly verbally harassed administrators and made some fear for their safety, the administrators said Wednesday in state Superior Court in Essex County. 

The Archdiocese of Newark, which oversees the school, told the parents in the spring that their daughters Sydney Phillips and Kaitlyn Phillips could not return because the parents threatened the school's ability to carry out its Catholic mission. The parents successfully sued the archdiocese last winter, forcing the school to allow Sydney to play on the boys' basketball team when there was no girls' team.

Now, the parents seek a court order mandating that St. Theresa let the girls go back to classes there this fall. Trial testimony stretched about 10 hours Wednesday after Judge Donald A. Kessler said he was determined to resolve the case within the next few days, no matter how late they must stay each time.

The archdiocese initially expelled the girls after the basketball lawsuit, but the archbishop, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, intervened and directed the school to allow them back. 

On the first day last winter when the girls were not to come to school, however, Scott Phillips and Mullen showed up anyway, the school's principal testified Wednesday. The principal, Deacon Joseph Caporaso, said he stood outside that morning with other administrators and a police officer he had called because he worried there might be an altercation.

When the parents arrived, Scott Phillips told the administrators he was recording their interaction, Caporaso said. He said Mullen told them she was rejecting the expulsion and wanted her daughters to return to school.

The principal said he read Phillips and Mullen a statement from the archdiocese's lawyer expressing that they would be trespassing if they did not leave school grounds. Mullen then sarcastically asked the cop if he was going to handcuff her, the principal said.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, we're at this point?'" Caporaso said in response to a question from the archdiocese's attorney, Christopher Westrick.

The Phillips eventually left the school that day, and Tobin reversed the decision to expel the girls a few weeks later. 

In an incident in June of 2016, Scott Phillips came to St. Theresa to meet with Sr. Helene Godin, who was then the principal, Godin testified. Phillips' son was graduating from the eighth grade, and Phillips told Godin his son was tied with another child for valedictorian, Godin said.

Godin said Phillips told her, "I would like to be informed if my son does not make valedictorian because if it happens, my wife Theresa will analyze every single grade that went into the average." 

Phillips then stood in front of Godin's desk, pointed at her and told her their conversation had better not be in vain, Godin said.

"It was very intimidating," she said. "I got out of the office after Mr. Phillips left, and I remember saying out loud, 'I have been bullied.'"

Another child ultimately became the valedictorian, Godin said, and Phillips' son was the salutatorian. She said when she told Phillips, he "erupted in a fit of rage," called her a "son of a (expletive)" and said he would pull his children out of the school.

"I was afraid because I felt threatened," Godin testified. "I felt demeaned. I felt bullied, at this point, again." 

Godin was scared for her safety and the safety of her students, so she asked for a police officer to stand guard at dismissal time, she said.

Phillips and Mullen came in for a meeting later and were not satisfied with Godin's explanation of why their son was not the valedictorian, Godin said.

"They said, 'This will not end here,'" Godin testified.

On cross-examination, the Phillips' lawyer, Susan McCrea, said the Phillips had been worried their son did not become the valedictorian because of one low assignment grade given by a language arts teacher. McCrea said the parents thought that teacher may have been retaliating against the Phillips family because Sydney had recently tried to report that a few sixth-grade boys were sexually harassing some girls.  

Monsignor Thomas Nydegger, the archdiocese's vicar general, testified Wednesday that the archbishop decided not to let the girls return to school because the parents' actions were not in the spirit of the school's Catholic mission. Among other actions, Nydegger said, the parents became more litigious after Tobin reversed the girls' expulsion last winter. 

McCrea said the Phillips girls had been bullied by Facebook posts from people associated with the school, a petition bearing the school's logo and an archdiocesan press release that went home in students' backpacks. 

The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday afternoon with testimony from the archbishop.

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

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Professor Kevin Allred, who taught 'Politicizing Beyonce' at Rutgers University is no stranger to controversy

A 21-year-old Essex County man has been charged with breaking into a woman's Jersey City home, trashing her furniture and punching her on May 9.

JERSEY CITY -- A 21-year-old Essex County man has been charged with breaking into a woman's Jersey City home, trashing her furniture and punching her on May 9.

Marquise J. Carswell, of Bloomfield, is charged with burglary for breaking down the woman's door to enter her home, the criminal complaint says.

Carswell punched the woman in the back and then caused more than $1,000 in damage to her furniture, the complaint says, adding that he was also charged with simple assault and criminal mischief.

A warrant for his arrest was signed on May 17 and he was later arrested by the Jersey City Police Warrant Squad. Carswell made his first appearance on the charges Wednesday in Criminal Justice Reform Court Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, the state moved to detain Carswell through the course of his prosecution and a detention hearing is set for Monday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

The complaint says Carswell and the victim know each other, but the nature of their relationship was redacted from the criminal complaint. 

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, said he had been unaware of alleged bullying against Sydney Phillips.

NEWARK -- The archbishop of Newark did not know about alleged bullying and sexual harassment targeting a 13-year-old Catholic school student when he decided not to let her re-enroll, he testified in court Thursday.

When questioned by the attorney for the parents suing the archdiocese, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said he was unaware that students and parents at St. Theresa School in Kenilworth supposedly made cruel remarks to Sydney Phillips and that a petition against her family circulated in the spring.

He said he decided not to allow Sydney and her younger sister, Kaitlyn, to return to the school this fall because their parents' litigation against the Archdiocese of Newark made it difficult for St. Theresa to function peacefully.

"Personally, it was a very difficult decision to make," Tobin said at trial in state Superior Court in Newark. "We are in the business of helping children."

The aggression of parents Scott Phillips and Theresa Mullen in this case, however, made him decide it was in the interest of the 63-year-old school community for the Phillips girls not to return, Tobin said before Judge Donald A. Kessler.

The Phillipses last winter successfully sued the archdiocese, which oversees the school, forcing St. Theresa to let Sydney play on the boys' basketball team when there was no girls' team. The school initially expelled Sydney and Kaitlyn during the lawsuit, but Tobin directed the school to allow them back. 

When re-enrollment season arrived, however, the Phillipses were told their girls would not be allowed back to school because the parents' behavior violated the school's Catholic mission statement. Phillips and Mullen now seek a court order requiring St. Theresa to accept their daughters for the upcoming school year. 

Lawyers for the archdiocese and for the family this week have repeatedly accused the other party of bullying and harassment. The archdiocese claims Phillips and Mullen intimidated school administrators, while the family says some St. Theresa employees had it out for their children.

Tobin said Thursday he had been surprised to learn archdiocesan employees expelled the girls last winter, and he directed his staff at the time to let them return. Tobin, who is considered to be a churchman in the mold of Pope Francis, was new to the archdiocese and had just been installed as the archbishop in January. 

"I was surprised by the hard line on this," Tobin said. 

In response to questions from the archdiocese's attorney, Christopher Westrick, Tobin said Thursday he was then "astounded" that Philips and Mullen sought to add dozens of new defendants to their basketball lawsuit after he chose to let the girls return to school. The archdiocese previously said the roughly 80 potential new defendants included church and archdiocesan employees, as well as current and former St. Theresa parents and church parishioners. 

Tobin said he considered the Phillipses' intention to expand their lawsuit and the apparent pressure the family was putting on Sister Helene Godin, then the school's principal, when he decided he would not let the girls re-enroll.

"I came to understand that it wasn't about basketball, finally," he said. "I came to understand it was about the tranquility of a scholastic community -- you know, a Catholic school." 

Tobin testified that when he decided not to let the girls re-enroll, he had not received several letters the Phillipses' attorney said Mullen had sent expressing concern that some sixth-grade boys were sexually harassing Sydney and other girls. 

Susan McCrea, who represents the family, asked Tobin if he knew the family sought to name archdiocesan employees and St. Theresa parents as defendants in their basketball lawsuit because of this harassment, as well as in-person and online bullying. 

Tobin said he was told simply that the Phillips wanted to name new parties "because there were comments on the internet" and did not know specific allegations. He said he was also unaware that an archdiocesan press release about the Phillips family had been posted on the walls of St. Theresa Church, in the church bulletin and in the backpacks of St. Theresa's students. 

When he approved a recommendation from Dr. Margaret Dames, the archdiocesan superintendent of schools, not to let Sydney and Kaitlyn re-enroll, Tobin trusted she had adequately investigated the situation, he said. He testified that he would not have chosen to keep the girls from school if he thought Dames had done inadequate research. 

"In the interim since the re-admission, I thought the situation had deteriorated in the school," Tobin said. "I felt the aggression of the parents was seriously inhibiting the school from realizing its mission."

The trial is scheduled to continue Friday with testimony from other archdiocesan officials.

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

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NEWARK -- Two teens were arrested Wednesday night after a family dispute ended in gunfire, police said. Sharien Harris, 19, and a 17-year-old were taken into custody after police were called to a home on Sherman Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Sharien Harris, 19, began arguing with a family member and then shot at him, police said. No one was injured....

NEWARK -- Two teens were arrested Wednesday night after a family dispute ended in gunfire, police said.

Sharien Harris, 19, and a 17-year-old were taken into custody after police were called to a home on Sherman Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Sharien Harris, 19, began arguing with a family member and then shot at him, police said. No one was injured.

Harris has been charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and terroristic threats.

The 17-year-old, who allegedly helped Harris flee the scene, was charged with hindering.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

CALDWELL -- Domino is a 3-year-old male terrier mix in the care of Rescue Haven. He was left in the basement of an abandoned house in an urban area and was found by construction workers. Volunteers say Domino needs some training but learns quickly and loves being around people. He has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots. For more...

Domino 

CALDWELL -- Domino is a 3-year-old male terrier mix in the care of Rescue Haven.

He was left in the basement of an abandoned house in an urban area and was found by construction workers.

Volunteers say Domino needs some training but learns quickly and loves being around people. He has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots.

For more information on Domino, email donnarescuehaven@gmail.com or go to rescuehaven.org. The rescue foundation is a nonprofit group that rescues dogs from animal shelters and provides foster care until they are adopted.

Shelters interested in placing a pet in the Paw Print adoption column or submitting news should call 973-836-4922 or email essex@starledger.com.

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

More than 100 people gathered in downtown South Orange, where the city rose a blue, white and pink transgender flag in opposition to Trump's policy. Watch video

SOUTH ORANGE -- Cecilia Franko's heart sank when she turned on the television last week and saw President Donald Trump's plans to ban transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military.

As a transgender Marine who left military service in 1996, Franko said she felt defeat and disappointment. She shared those emotions with more than 100 people who gathered in downtown South Orange, where the city on Thursday night raised a blue, white and pink transgender flag in opposition to Trump's policy. 

With tears in her eyes, Franko read a letter on behalf of her transgender girlfriend Jamie Dufour. A retired special forces captain, Dufour spent 12 years in Iraq and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

"The target has changed," Franko told the crowd. "The target is no longer a foreign enemy, it is us."

Proponent's of the Trump's decision say transgender soldiers add to the army's medical costs because they often undergo hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery.

In his initial announcement on Twitter, Trump wrote, "(The military) cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

But South Orange Village President Sheena Collum said it is another example of discrimination within the Trump administration.

"This has nothing to do with saving taxpayer money. The only agenda is to divide our country further," she said.

A Rand Corportation study from 2016 estimated that there are between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender service members in active duty. Of those, the study noted few will seek gender-related treatment and estimated that the military's health care costs would rise by $2.4 million to $8.4 million - or a small percentage increase in "active-component health care expenditures."

Collum, who organized the rally after reading Trump's initial tweets, said the event was the first transgender flag raising in New Jersey since Trump reversed Barack Obama's more open military policy on July 26. 

Days earlier, Gov. Chris Christie signed a pair of bills in contrast to Trump's new military policy.

One would bar state-regulated health insurers from discriminating based on gender identity and the other requires the state education commissioner develop guidelines to help schools create supportive environments for non-gender conforming students. 

Barbra Siperstein, the first openly transgender Democratic National Committee member, urged the audience to vote for politicians who support transgender causes. 

"We have to make a statement and organize for the election of 2017, we have important races here in the state, but also looking forward to 2018," said Siperstein, an Army reserve sergeant from 1964 to 1970.

Siperstein said she watched Obama in 2010 sign the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gay men and women from serving openly in the military. She called that day "an opening" for transgender rights, but said Trump is now taking steps backwards. 

Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca said his neighboring town joins South Orange in opposing Trump's ban on transgender military members. 

"He's keeping out people who voluntarily want to serve our country," DeLuca said. "We will fight against the discrimination of anyone."

South Orange Village, SOMA LGBT, North Jersey Pride, Rad Kids and the SOMA Interfaith Clergy Association helped organize the event. Sponsors included The Local Yarn Store, Congregation Beth El, Oheb Shalom Congregation, Pet Wants SOMA, Realtor Daria Knarvik, Homeowners Hub, Studio 509 and Dr. Olivia Lewis-Chang.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Where for art thou Rodney?

Has anyone seen Congressman Rodney Freylinghuysen? He's shortish, balding, has a continually puzzled look on his face...He looks like a guy who would sacrifice the well being of tens of millions of Americans for a tax cut. I'm starting to get a little worried. He disappeared months ago. He doesn't call, he doesn't write, he doesn't hold town hall meetings, but somehow he manages to show up and vote to strip health care from 23 million Americans (including 500,000 New Jerseyans). His constituents and I are beside ourselves with worry. If you see him, perhaps snatching candy from an infant or tripping the elderly down a flight of stairs, do tell him to give us a call and let us know he's alright.

I'd hate to think his absence lo these many months is due to some sort of extreme cowardice and an unwillingness to answer to the voters to whom he is duly elected to represent. It couldn't possibly be that he's as spineless as a sea scallop, could it? No, of course not. He must have been abducted by aliens or one of those evil immigrants the president is always talking about. Gosh, I hope he's okay. 

We've checked everywhere. His office, his home, underneath his desk. We can't seem to find the guy. His constituents have been writing letters, making phone calls and staking out places he's known to frequent all to no avail. Unless he is, in fact, D.B. Cooper there has to be a practical explanation. 

The service was suspended at Jersey Avenue because of Amtrak power problems, NJ Transit said in a statement on Twitter.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line service was suspended for about an hour Friday morning at Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick due to a disabled train and power problem, the agency said.

NJ Transit announced that service in both directions had resumed around 10 a.m., but with trains bypassing some stations and bus service being provided.

"Westbound NEC trains will continue to bypass Princeton Junction and Hamilton stations due to a disabled train," NJ Transit said in a series of Twitter updates.

"Customers must travel to Trenton for eastbound service to Hamilton and Princeton Junction. Buses will be provided for westbound service from Princeton Junction and Hamilton to Trenton"

Commuters can also expect heavy delays at the Lincoln Tunnel eastbound from New Jersey. As of 9:09 a.m., the travel time is 50 minutes from Turnpike Exit 16E to the New York side, according to 511. 

@CommutingLarry wires down b/w New Brunswick & Princeton. Currently stopped at NB. They're saying we have to go to Trenton to then turn back

-- Jessica Leontarakis (@jessicafill) August 4, 2017

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

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Newark resident last seen in Union County, according to authorities.

NEWARK -- Newark police on Friday asked for the public's help to find a 67-year-old city man who was reported missing this week.

Joseph Douglas (Photo: Newark Dept. of Public Safety) 

Joseph Douglas, who suffers from schizophrenia, was last seen in Summit and has an address on Pennsylvania Avenue in Newark, authorities said.

Douglas was described as 5-feet-11 and 180 pounds. Police did not have a description of his clothing. 

"While police are actively searching for Douglas, we seek the public's assistance in quickly locating and returning him to his family," Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.

Anyone with information about Douglas' whereabouts was urged to contact the city's tipline at tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Information can also be provided using the police division's smartphone app.

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

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Investigators suspect woman possibly knew her attacker.

NEWARK -- A 46-year-old Newark woman was stabbed to death at her home in the city's North Ward Friday, officials said.

Tanya Y. Morris, 46, was declared dead at the East Sylvan Avenue residence about 40 minutes after she suffered the wounds around 8 a.m., according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and city Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

"At this time, it appears the victim may have known her assailant," the officials said in a statement.

Authorities said no arrests have been made and did not reveal more details on a possible motive in the slaying.

Anyone with information was asked to call the prosecutor's office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at: 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

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

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NEWARK-- A Newark woman whose car was blocking traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport was arrested on drug charges after police found hundreds of folds of heroin, Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said. Port Authority police were called to an area near Parking Lot Road and Entrance Bridge around 10 p.m. Thursday night on a report of a 1994 Mercury...

NEWARK-- A Newark woman whose car was blocking traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport was arrested on drug charges after police found hundreds of folds of heroin, Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said.

Ana Camacho (Port Authority police)  

Port Authority police were called to an area near Parking Lot Road and Entrance Bridge around 10 p.m. Thursday night on a report of a 1994 Mercury Capri parked in an active driveway.

As police were speaking to the driver, 32-year-old Ana Camacho, they noticed a small bag of what appeared to be heroin resting at the top of her blouse, Pentangelo said. When asked about the bag, Camacho tried to hide it, Pentangelo also said.

A total of 200 folds of the drug were allegedly found.

Camacho was charged with manufacturing, distributing or dispensing a controlled dangerous substance and possession of CDS.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Finish out the summer at Jersey City fish shack, a Mediterranean tapas joint in Asbury Park, a French bistro in Princeton, or with Korean fried chicken in New Brunswick

Prima Jr and his band, the Witnesses, perform as part of the the Horizon Foundation Sounds of the City Thursday evening concert series, at NJPAC through Aug. 24.

Louis Prima Jr. loves it when people leave one of his band's shows in a daze. They'd probably arrived, he said, expecting a low-key lounge act. Instead, when they depart, "they describe it as getting hit by a freight train."

"It's non-stop, beginning to end. High energy is an understatement," Prima said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. "We want people up jumping and having as good a time as we are. It's entertainment the way it used to be."

Listeners can judge for themselves when Louis Prima Jr and the Witnesses take the stage at New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Chambers Plaza for a free concert Aug. 10.

The performance is part of the Horizon Foundation Sounds of the City Presented by M&T Bank, a program that will continue to offer free shows on Thursdays through Aug. 24. Hip-hop duo Black Sheep/Das EFX will perform on Aug 17. Another hip-hop artist, Talib Kweli, will close the season on Aug. 24.

For more information on the program -- which is also sponsored by BD, RWJ Barnabas, Newark Downtown District, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers Newark -- and inclement weather advisories, visit www.njpac.org.

Louis Prima Jr. looks like his father, often sounds like him and can emulate the patriarch's trumpet playing note for note. Prima and his 9-piece band perform some of the older Prima's classics - like "Sing, Sing, Sing" and "Angelina/Zooma Zooma"--as well as original, newer music.

But even those new songs have that distinct "Prima sound:" horn-driven with touches of Italian folk songs, jump blues, big band swing and New Orleans jazz. (Prima Sr. was a Crescent City native.)

"It's still Prima. It may not be all the Prima songs, but it is the Prima sound," Prima Jr. said, noting that songs on his band's 2014 album, "Blow," "do things with horns that bands have not done in many, many years."

Because of all those similarities, it's natural for people to compare the son to the father. But unlike other children who have followed a parent into the entertainment industry that Prima knows - "The majority of them are miserable about it. It's funny to me."  - he welcomes the remarks. "

"He was a monster, a genius. Everybody knew he was a great performer but he never gets the credit he's due as a musician and a writer," Prima said. "To be compared to him is one the greatest compliments anyone can give me."

That said, there can be a down side to those assessments, he said. "Some people expect me to be him and they'll go, 'Well, he's not his father,'  and I say, 'Well, neither are you.'"

Junior's mother was Senior's widow, singer Gia Maione Prima. (The NJPAC performance is co-sponsored by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation.)  Maione Prima used lyrics from one of the songs her husband made popular on his tombstone, "When the end comes, I know, they'll say just a gigolo, life goes on, without me." Maione Prima, who died in 2013, is now also entombed there. 

Prima Jr and the Witnesses never have a set playlist, but one constant is Prima's desire to end the show with a traditional New Orleans Second Line dance. He usually chooses "When the Saints Go Marching In" or "Just A Gigolo" to end the night on a high note.

Said Prima, "No matter how many times we do it and people see it, everybody's on their feet for that part of the show."

LOUIS PRIMA JR. AND THE WITNESSES

Horizon Foundations Sounds of the City

NJPAC's Chambers Plaza

1 Center St., Newark. 800-GO-NJPAC. 

No tickets are required for this outdoor performance. Aug. 10, 5 -9 p.m. For more information, go to www.njpac.org.

Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

The pastor of The Church of St. Theresa in Kenilworth said he filed the charge in February.

NEWARK -- The mother of two girls whose Catholic school refuses to let them return was charged with criminal trespass in February when she tried to drop off her kids at school after they were expelled, her lawyer said in court Friday. 

The pastor of The Church of St. Theresa filed the charge against Theresa Mullen on the day she brought her daughters, Sydney Phillips and Kaitlyn Phillips, to the parish's school in defiance of a letter instructing the girls not to come back, the pastor testified at trial. 

"We asked if she would leave. She didn't want to leave," the pastor, Fr. Joe Bejgrowicz, testified in Superior Court in Newark. "We notified (her) then that she would be trespassing." 

While the criminal charge remains pending, Mullen and her husband, Scott Phillips, seek a court order to require St. Theresa School in Kenilworth to admit their daughters for the upcoming academic year after the school said the girls were not welcome.

The Archdiocese of Newark, which oversees the school, has claimed it directed the girls not to return because the family disrupted St. Theresa's ability to carry out its Catholic mission. The Phillipses say the school was actually retaliating against them for suing the archdiocese to get Sydney onto the boys' basketball team when there was no girls' team. 

As that lawsuit carried on in February, archdiocesan officials expelled Sydney and Kaitlyn, saying the parents had signed an agreement that any students could be kicked out if their family filed legal action against the school. Days later, the archbishop, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, directed his staff to allow the girls back. 

Judge Donald A. Kessler then ruled Sydney had a legal right to play on the boys' basketball team for the last game of the season. In the spring, however, the archdiocese advised the Phillips family their daughters would not be allowed to re-enroll for the fall.

On cross-examination Friday by the family's attorney, Susan McCrea, the principal of St. Theresa said he felt "menaced" and afraid for his safety when Mullen and Phillips brought their daughters to school Feb. 2 after being informed the girls had been expelled. 

The principal, Deacon Joe Caporaso, previously testified that he initially asked Mullen to come inside to his office so other students and parents would not witness the confrontation. Later, he said, school officials asked her to leave. 

"That all could have been handled differently than just to show up," Caporaso said.

Bejgrowicz, the church pastor, said in response to questions from the archdiocese's attorney that Mullen refused to leave the school after Caporaso read her a statement from an archdiocesan lawyer saying she was trespassing. 

Mullen was taking a video recording while they spoke, Bejgrowicz said after a question from the attorney, Christopher Westrick. Phillips, meanwhile, reminded Bejgrowicz of the family's long history at St. Theresa, the pastor said.

"He was shouting out," Bejgrowicz testified. "He seemed to be very angry." 

Mullen's video of the interaction, part of which was shown in court, shows Mullen telling Caporaso and Bejgrowicz she was denying the archdiocese's request for her daughters not to return. 

"If the police want to arrest me and my children for being on the premises, they can do that," she says in the video. 

After Westrick objected to showing the rest of the video, McCrea said the remainder of the footage showed St. Theresa officials asking Mullen to stay at the school, and not to leave. 

The judge said he would view the rest of the footage privately, and McCrea said in that case, she wanted him to exclude the video from consideration altogether. The issue remained unresolved when testimony ended Friday. 

Bejgrowicz testified that Kenilworth police officers at the school told him he could file a notice of trespass against Mullen, so he did so at the police station the same day.

He said he filed charges only against Mullen because Phillips left St. Theresa to drop off his son at a local high school, while Mullen continued to refuse to leave. 

The whole family eventually left, Bejgrowicz said. 

In response to a question from McCrea, Caporaso testified that he tries to avoid replaying the events of Feb. 2 in his mind. Sydney and Kaitlyn were crying throughout the confrontation at the school, Caporaso said.

"It was a horrible day for all of us," he said.

The trial is expected to resume Monday. 

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

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A Friday night shooting in Newark left one person dead, officials said.

NEWARK -- One man is dead after a Friday night shooting in Newark's South Ward, Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed. 

Stephan Vaughn, 31, of Newark was fatally shot in the area of Elizabeth and Pomona avenues around 10:30 p.m., authorities said. 

A law enforcement source, who requested anonymity to speak on the investigation, said there was a large quantity of drugs found inside the man's apartment, where he was shot.

Additional details on the incident were not immediately available. 

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

Woman killed Friday morning.

NEWARK -- Authorities on Saturday asked for the public's help to find a man wanted on charges he stabbed his wife to death at their home in the city's North Ward.

Steven Damon, 47 (Photo: ECPO) 

Steven Damon, 47, of Newark, is accused of attacking Tanya Y. Morris, 46, around 8 a.m. Friday at the residence on Sylvan Avenue, near Broadway, according to authorities. Morris died at the scene about 40 minutes later.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office charged Damon with murder and weapons offenses in the slaying.

Damon fled the murder scene and was possibly headed south or to New York state, Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose announced in a statement. 

He is considered "armed and dangerous," the officials said.

The couple has two young children, who are with family members, officials said.

The prosecutor's office did not provide information on a possible motive for the slaying. 

Anyone with information about his whereabouts was urged to call the prosecutor's Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at: 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

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

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Crews used a boat to reach driver on city street.

NEWARK -- Firefighters rescued several motorists who were trapped by flood waters brought on by heavy rain early Saturday in Newark, officials said.

Crews with Engine Company 19 used a fire boat to shuttle two people stuck in their car by rising water along Frelinghuysen Avenue around 5:35 a.m., Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

Members of the Newark fire division's Company 29 rescued another trapped driver a short time later.

Firefighters also searched several abandoned vehicles in the area, but all were found empty.

There were no reported injuries, Ambrose added.

Storms drenched portions of the state early Saturday before giving way to mostly clear skies.

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

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Eric Bolling has been suspended as the network investigates allegations that he sent lewd text messages.

Fox News host and New Jersey transplant Eric Bolling has been suspended from the network as it investigates allegations that he sent lewd text messages to three female colleagues. 

Bolling was suspended Saturday after The Huffington Post revealed the longtime host sent "an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message to at least two colleagues at Fox Business and one colleague at Fox News," according to the Huffington Post story.

A Fox News spokesperson said in a statement Saturday that Bolling was suspended "pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway."

Bolling's attorney Michael J. Bowe responded to Huffington Post's allegations telling the media outlet that "Mr. Bolling recalls no such inappropriate communications, does not believe he sent any such communications, and will vigorously pursue his legal remedies for any false and defamatory accusations that are made."

The moves comes months after popular host Bill O'Reilly was ousted amid a series of sexual harassment claims against him. Network executive Roger Ailes, who died in May, was also forced out after another sexual harassment scandal. 

Bolling moved with his wife to Livingston in 1999 but the family now divides its time between Demarest and Long Beach Island. He was most recently co-hosting "The Fox News Specialists."

Substitute hosts will rotate for the Specialists show and his others show, "Cashing In'," Fox confirmed. 

He was one of Fox News' earliest and most vocal supporters and an original co-host of "The Five," before moving up the ranks. 

Bolling was asked by a NJ Advance Media reporter in June about the network's controversies and the impression that Fox News's corporate culture is not friendly to women.

"It's something I've never seen and experienced -- obviously, I'm a male," Bolling said at the time. "It comes as a shock to me."

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