"Growing up, in my household, I'd never seen a black person drink coffee," O'Neal said

This week, Shaquille O'Neal revealed the worst business decision he ever made: Turning down an offer to team up with Starbucks. 

"My agent called me up and he says, 'Howard Schultz wants to do business with you,' " O'Neal told Yahoo's Graham Bensinger. "And I'm like, 'Coffee, eh.' Because growing up, in my household, I'd never seen a black person drink coffee. So it was my thought process that black people didn't drink coffee."

Schultz, Starbucks' CEO, suggested opening franchises in predominantly African-American communities with the basketball legend's help. 

O'Neal, a Newark native, said that he grew up drinking sweet tea and hot chocolate. In the 1990s, at the time of the proposed business venture, O'Neal said as a principle, he only invested in things he believed in.

"No amount of money can make me endorse something I'm not 100-percent behind," O'Neal said. "So I looked the great Howard Schultz in the face, and, I said, 'Black people don't drink coffee, sir. I don't think it's gonna work.' "

O'Neal said Schultz was shocked by his response.

"You should've seen his face," the retired NBA star said. 

O'Neal also said he regrets the decision as it likely cost him millions.

"That was one of my worst business decisions," he said through laughs. "Now, every time, on every corner in every city, every country, you see a Starbucks, I'm like, 'Awww.' "

He and Schultz are "still good friends today," however. 

Basketball legend Magic Johnson bought several Starbucks franchises in the mid-1990s, eventually selling 105 locations back to the company in 2010.

Janelle Griffith may be reached at jgriffith@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @janellefiona. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

Woman tells of struggles as she tries to break free

She was dropped off at convenience store in Monmouth County, hungry and broke and homeless, but still high from heroin she got "on credit" from dealers who knew she'd be back.

"I have 763 contacts in my phone and not one of those people would help me," said Lynda Saletta. "I burned every bridge -- with family, with friends."

Her new boyfriend, Jake, who asked that his last name not be used, would not let her into his house.

"I'd see it too many times," he said.

This was a few weeks ago.

She'd hit bottom. Again. And went to detox. Again. She's clean now, but has been clean before. She was clean for two years when her first child was born in 1992, then clean again - but on methadone -- when the second baby came in 1995.

But the father was a drug user, too, and violent, and her children were taken from her. That was another bottom.

Then Saletta was clean for almost seven years, working as a manicurist in a high-end salon.

"I did Patti Springsteen's nails. I did Heather Locklear's feet," she said.

But there was more violence in another relationship and "I met a guy with a pocketful of money who said 'Do you party?' and I thought, 'Why not?' "

Lynda Saletta talks about her battle with heroin which she says caused her to lose her children home and found herself working as a prostitute to support her addiction. Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Long story short, she wound up in jail for a year in Florida; the guy she was with got 15. That was two years ago.

"I've been in jail at least 100 times," she said. "For drugs, for prostitution. That was the longest."

She's also been through rehab "four or five" times, each time after a new low.

"I'd say there have been at least four or five 'bottoms' in my life," she said. "I hope there aren't any more, but I can't say that for certain. I'm not sure I'm strong enough. I hope I am."

Lynda Saletta's tears up when she talks about "the waste" her life has been, living - if you can call it that - from fix to fix.

"The only time you're not anxious or sick is when you're high," she said. "The second you come down, you start worrying about how to get money for more. It's serious anxiety. Panic. But that's not as bad as the sickness."

"The sickness" was the first bottom she hit 25 years ago. She was 18, still living with her mother in Rutherford.

"My mother wouldn't give me any money. I had no money and I was sick," she said. "My legs felt all rubber-bandy. I was sweating and shaking."

It was the first time she realized that heroin - and its euphoric stupor - controlled her.

Saletta has been a drug addict since she was 15. She's 43 now and telling her story because she sees too, too many young people following the path that caused her "to lose everything."

"I've lost my kids, I've lost my family, I've lost my homes, I've lost myself," she said. "I don't recognize myself anymore. Maybe someday I will."

Lynda Saletta is a drug addict who now says she is clean. She is telling her story with hopes of helping someone else because drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental deaths in New Jersey.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

She's back at Jake's house now, trying to put her life back together with his help. Part of that was gathering the courage to tell her story, to do some good. She says people are stubbornly naive about heroin.: is it "everywhere" and a danger to "anybody."

"I started going to the Bronx, then Newark. Now, I can go right down the street."

A few weeks ago, while she was working as a prostitute out of a motel room on Route 35 in Monmouth County, her dealer met her at a gas station and convenience store across the street. While others stopped on their daily commute for coffee or a midday snack or soda, Saletta was outside, buying $10 bags of heroin.

She's telling her story because drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental deaths in New Jersey, killing more than twice the number of people who die in car accidents. Let that one sink in for a moment. Last year, 1,310 people died of overdoses, compared to 561 who were killed on the road.

"It's amazing I'm not dead."

At least 10 of her friends are. Maybe more. She started to count, then gave up. "I can't remember all of them."

Equally amazing is that she was not murdered by one of the hundreds of strangers whose cars she climbed into in the middle of the night in the barren industrial sections of Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, or the men who knocked on her door at various motel rooms from Route 1 & 9 in Elizabeth to Route 35 down the Shore.

"In Newark, that was the real bottom."

She has been beaten and robbed; during her most recent "bottom" a guy came to her motel room, paid her for sex, then tried to steal her purse.

"I got dragged by his car," she said, showing the large road rash scar below her knee. "But he didn't get my purse."

She said "it's a miracle" she doesn't have AIDS.

"I shared needles I knew were dirty," Saletta said, showing the track marks on her neck and both arms. "But that's what you do when you're desperate. You do things ... you do things you can't believe you're doing. But you don't even think about. It's all about getting more drugs."

She's telling her story because it all happened to her - "a pretty little Italian girl," she said, "who just liked to party a little. It was fun, when it started."

 There are two "read between the lines" elements to that statement.

The first is, "How did this happen to me?"

The second is, "It could happen to you."

And that's why she stepped up to tell her story.

"Maybe it can help somebody."

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

DiVincenzo was charged with misusing more than $16,000 in campaign funds and failing to disclose nearly $72,000 in campaign spending over a two-year period, including more than $9,000 for airfare, hotel stays and food for two trips to Puerto Rico during the Super Bowl weekends in 2011 and 2012.

TRENTON--A high-profile case charging Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo with misusing thousands in campaign funds is facing likely dismissal because the lone Democrat on the state's short-staffed campaign finance watchdog agency took himself out of the matter.

An administrative law judge is recommending the case be dropped because he said the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, which by law must include two Democrats and two Republicans, cannot take action based on the vote of a single party.

"I conclude that ELEC did not have the required quorum to initiate the complaint," said Judge Jeff Masin on Wednesday, agreeing with attorneys for DiVincenzo who argued the commission was legally precluded from moving on the case. "As such, the case is void...and must be dismissed," he concluded.

While Masin's opinion--which was first reported by Politico--is not binding on ELEC, a decision to proceed would likely wind up in court. The commission has at least 45 days to decide if it wants to accept the recommendation. If its members take no action, the recommendation becomes the final decision. ELEC officials declined comment.

A spokesman for DiVincenzo called Masin's decision the right one.

"We hope that the commission accepts his recommendation," said Anthony Puglisi. "Ensuring that the commission functions with a legal quorum and in a bipartisan manner is important to all candidates for public office. We hope this decision will set the stage to bring closure to this matter."

DiVincenzo was originally charged by ELEC in October 2013 with misusing more than $16,000 in campaign funds and failing to disclose nearly $72,000 in campaign spending over a two-year period, including more than $9,000 for airfare,  hotel stays and food for two trips to Puerto Rico during the Super Bowl weekends in 2011 and 2012, which the county executive described as a political retreat for Essex County Democrats.

According to the complaint, DiVincenzo--who was facing potentially big fines--also used his campaign account to pay for tickets to the U.S. Open tennis tournament,  Devils games and a Houston Astros game; a $676.94 tuxedo at Joseph A. Bank; a gym membership,  at $97.25 a month; and more than $100 in parking tickets in Nutley, then his hometown.

ELEC had taken action after a political foe, Marilynn English, filed a complaint in 2011 about DiVincenzo's lack of disclosure.  The Star-Ledger, which examined DiVincenzo's campaign reports, reported in 2012 that the county executive also racked up about $250,000 in charges to his personal credit cards over a 10-year period, and then paid the bill with his campaign account without disclosing exactly what the money was spent on.

The proposed dropping of the charges against DiVincenzo--an powerful ally of Republican Gov. Chris Christie--owes much to a long-standing vacancy on the election commission that Christie has left open since the November 2011 death of Lawrence Weiss, a Democrat and retired Superior Court judge.

When the case was first brought in 2013, the commission included Republicans Ronald DeFilippis and Amos Saunders, and Democrat Walter Timpone--a former assistant U.S. attorney who once headed the Newark office's corruption prosecution division. Timpone, however, recused himself from the case without explanation. He has not commented on the matter.

Angelo Genova, an attorney for DiVincenzo, maintained that Timpone's recusal left ELEC without jurisdiction to take action on the complaint. ELEC argued that all it needed to move on the matter was a majority of the membership, noting it could invoke the rule of "stern necessity" to allow it to act without a member of the opposite party.

Masin said the Legislature specifically precluded the ability of a single-party majority from making a determination in any campaign enforcement matter in New Jersey.

"It is important to note that in such a directly political setting as this agency inevitably works, a decision to charge a violation of the campaign finance laws is likely to quickly become a matter of public interest and attention and to be used as political fodder in campaigns and in other political settings," the judge pointed out, who said any vote unrepresentative of the required bi-partisan commission would promote "the very appearance of partisanship in the enforcement process that the Legislature was attempting to eliminate."

Christie recently nominated a new member to the ELEC, but selected another Republican to succeed Saunders, who died last month. The commission still has only one Democrat.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Sujahda Vereen, 21, died following a Wednesday night shooting on Jeliff Avenue, authorities said.

NEWARK -- Authorities are investigating an overnight shooting that left a city man dead.

Shortly after 9 p.m., Sujahda Vereen, 21, was found unresponsive by authorities responding to reports of a shooting in the 200 block of Jeliff Avenue, said Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter in a released statement.

He was pronounced dead at approximately 11 p.m. after being transported to University Hospital in Newark with gunshot wounds, Carter said.

An investigation into Vereen's death by the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is ongoing, Carter said.

At this time the motive is undetermined and no suspects have been identified, Carter said.

Additional details of the incident were not immediately made available.

Vereen's death brings the city's 2015 homicide total to 69.

The slaying comes in the midst of procedural changes designed to help local authorities combat a recent spike in homicides.

On August 20, city officials announced that a total of 115 officers were being pulled from the department's Real Time Crime Center, intelligence posts and other administrative bureaus in order to increase visibility on the streets.

In an August interview, Newark Police Director Eugene Venable said the officers would remain reassigned through September, when the program would be re-evaluated.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4_EC or 1-877-847-7432.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The N.J. Arcade featured more than two dozen new games at Bloomfield College.

BLOOMFIELD -- The next Flappy Bird-style app phenomenon or Monopoly-esque board game may on the horizon.

More than two dozen burgeoning game developers displayed their latest innovations Wednesday at the "N.J. Arcade," a traveling expo that set up at Bloomfield College. Hundreds of local table, board, video, and virtual game enthusiasts passed through the display to check out the latest innovations in the industry, and chat with the games' creators.

"They were all at different stages in their development," Brian Chung, co-director of The Sheep's Meow, which put on the event, said of the games on display.

"But, they are all viable...it's very cool because you see all of these people who are experiencing the games, having fun, and being inspired to create."

Chung and co-founder GJ Lee, both professors in Bloomfield's game design program, said this event was partially designed to give students an opportunity to connect with game creators working in the field. Attendees ranged from N.J. families with kids looking to play new games, to students hoping for pointers on game design, they said.

"There was so much there to play and do and see," Michael Murphy, a senior BC game design student, said in a phone interview about the event.

"It showed us what people in the industry are using, and allowed us to ask (the creators) for tips and tricks."

The games on display were widely varied, Chung and Lee said. They included everything from "The Networks," a board game that asks players to pitch new TV show ideas to their competitors, to "Planet Licker," which has players lick flavored controls to move virtual players around.

Showing a beta version of our licking video game #PlanetLicker at #njarcade tonight! pic.twitter.com/JsijGPULAZ

-- mouth arcade (@moutharcade) September 17, 2015

The event, the creators said, is also a way for East Coast game developers to attract some attention.

"It's a great way to understand what your audience sees (when they play your game), what you are doing well, and what else you need," said Quintin Rodriguez-Harrison, the Lead Game Programmer at Zapling Studios. Rodriguez-Harrison attended to show off his app, "Justice Royale," which he described as a "throwback beat 'em up" game.

Events like this, "really build up the East Coast developer community," he said. "It brings the exposure that we all need."

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

"The Church House: Sexuality in the Black Church" will debut at Rutgers-Newark on Sept. 28

D. Channisin Berry (Handout)

NEWARK - As a veteran documentary filmmaker, D. Channisin Berry prides himself on shining light in dark places.

For his latest venture, the Newark native has once again explored a topic many consider taboo, and which colors a space many in the black community consider more sacred than any - their church.

"The Church House: Sexuality in the Black Church", which will debut at Rutgers-Newark later this month, explores a myriad of issues within African-American spirituality, ranging from its views on homosexuality to adultery by church elders.

"I had many people come to me and talk about what was going on in the black church - not only just homosexuality but sexuality and sex period," he said in a Thursday interview. "The use and abuse of power from the pulpit to the pew. It's nothing new, but it's just something that nobody wants to talk about."

Many of the questions posed by the film may seem obvious. It tackles both the church's views on homosexuality and pedophilia, issues that are far from confined to African-American houses of worship.

However, it also delves into problems Berry believes are buried even deeper in the fabric of his community, such as pastors and other authority figures using their positions to pursue female members of their congregation, and the lack of women in leadership positions throughout the church.

"Women have been relegated to the floor and not the pulpit. How is it that 53 to 72 percent of the congregation are women, and yet they have no say-so in the church's business?" he said. "Are you telling me that God doesn't speak through women too?"

Berry said he has received some resistance from church leaders around the country fearful about his film's impact on the church, but said that any criticism has been far outweighed by supporters anxious to have a conversation about long-festering issues.

THE CHURCH HOUSE TRAILER from TINE TIME PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

The film features interviews with pastors from the Newark area, including the Rev. Ronald Slaughter of Saint James AME Church. 

"The Church House" will look to build on the success of "Dark Girls" - his look at the sensitive topic of colorism in black communities.

"I only tackle things that make me cry, make me think deeply and have much to do with people of color in terms of healing," he said.

The documentary will premiere at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Rutgers-Newark's Paul Robeson Center.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting Eventbrite.com or calling (973) 624-4007. All proceeds will go to the St. James Social Service Corporation.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The 'Montclair March for Justice' ended at an MLK, Jr. statue Wednesday evening.

MONTCLAIR -- It was not a 47-day, 1,000-mile trek. But the large crowds who gathered and protested in Montclair Thursday said they stood in solidarity with the hundreds who took part in the national NAACP's 'Journey for Justice.'

According to reports, hundreds of activists ended a march in Washington, D.C. Wednesday that began in Selma, Alabama on Aug. 1. The march, which was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act, addressed a myriad of civil rights issues participants said are still present in American culture.

"National organizers urged people to help get the message out in their own communities," said Michael Maskin, a Montclair resident who attended four days of the national march last month.

"We wanted to organize a solidarity movement locally."

Maskin said he partnered with the Montclair chapter of the NAACP, Blue Wave New Jersey, and other activist groups to plan an N.J. march. The groups gathered at Montclair High School Wednesday afternoon, and walked to the Martin Luther King, Jr. statue at Nishuane Park.

"There is a lot of pent up frustration (in the community)," Maskin said. "This seemed like a positive, physical way to release that energy."

Maskin said he and other local organizers centered the "Montclair March for Justice" around several issues that national movement is rallying for, including expanding access to voting, education equity, prison and police reform, improving relations between police departments and urban communities, and expanding low-income access to healthcare.

The march also took on local issues, organizers said.

"There are a lot of concerns locally about schooling justice and...the achievement gap (between white and black students)," said Al Pelham, the President of the Montclair Chapter of the NAACP.

"This march has got the young people energized...it's great to have young people out in the streets and wanting to make some noise about injustice."

Maskin said the show of support from community participants was a sign that the issues surrounding the Voting Rights Act are still relevant.

"It's easy to think of that as ancient history, that these issues are behind us. But, we are still marching."

Newark officials welcomed a class of 50 police officer recruits Thursday at a ceremony at City Hall.

NEWARK — City officials welcomed a class of 50 police recruits into the fold Thursday at a midday ceremony at City Hall.

The group, made up of 31 men and 19 women, represent another in what Mayor Ras Baraka has said will be a series of staffing additions to a department that has yet to fully recover since 160 sworn officers were laid off in 2010.

Those that survive the six months of training will officially join the force in 2016, adding to the 986 sworn officers currently employed by the department. A class of 51 police recruits currently receiving police academy training is expected to join the department even sooner.

Police Director Eugene Venable took to the podium in the packed municipal council chamber to both praise the recruits for choosing public service, and to remind them of the expectations that accompany it.

"You took this job because you want to serve a purpose," Venable said. "You want to serve the citizens of Newark. You can have that impact on your community. We're expecting you to be role models."

Venable was joined by Police Chief Anthony Campos, members of the city's Municipal Council and Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray, who informed the group they had the support of the prosecutor's office.

If successful, the recruits will join a department facing both internal and external challenges.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report alleging widespread civil rights abuses and disproportionate targeting of African-Americans.

The agency is currently in the process of choosing a monitor that will oversee a range of reforms to its disciplinary and training systems.

The city also continues to grapple with a recent surge in street violence officials have said underscores the police department's staffing woes. Last month, city officials temporarily reassigned 115 police administrators to street duty following a raft of fatal and non-fatal shootings.

Police Chief Anthony Campos advised the recruits that, like the department itself, they too will face significant pressure in the coming months.

"We live in a time of diminished resources," he told them, adding that the city's investment in them comes attached what "significant responsibility."

"You're being trusted with the most sacred of duties, that is to protect and serve your fellow citizens," he said.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Miss America viral moments, college trouble and more in this week's NJ.com News Quiz of popular stories.

Miss America was crowned in New Jersey, but another contestant's story went viral. Why? And is her profession among the best careers in New Jersey? And did you hear about that Houdini-esque magic trick in New Brunswick that went awry? Have you kept up with the most popular stories on NJ.com this week? So many questions! Only seven questions on our weekly news quiz. Answer them -- no googling, please. Will you be crowned top quiz taker or mocked by hosts on "The View" for your poor performance? Share your score in comments and maybe Miss America will let you wear her tiara.

Enrique Lavin may be reached at elavin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @enriquelavin. Follow us on Facebook.

The family of 3 year old Rahmere Tullis share loving stories about the energetic toddler who was struck and killed by a car being chased by Newark police.

Look at Rahmere Tullis in this picture. Take a moment and really look at him. Don't those big brown eyes make you want to blow out birthday candles and celebrate his life, which started just three years ago?

We already know how it ended last week, as Rahmere was walking to his third day of preschool at 7:40 a.m. with his mother, Jonika Matthews. And we know where we were and what we said when our hearts dropped as the death cloud hung over Newark again.

Rahmere, just 3 years old, died senselessly when he was hit by a car being chased by Newark police.  Authorities say the suspect, Troy Ruff, was wanted on aggravated assault and weapons charges. As the 22-year-old Newark man tried to get away from officers, he allegedly struck Rahmere at the corner of South 7^th Street and 15^th Avenue.

That part still makes us shudder. But Rahmere's parents and family members want us to erase the way he left Newark and embrace how he spent his time here.

"We want to mourn his death, but I want to celebrate his life,'' says Jewel Stuckey, an aunt.

Two weeks after he was born, the fidgety infant they called "Squirmy'' -  because he tossed and turned in his crib - kept trying to hold his head up, looking to see what he might have been missing.

"That's how we knew he was something special,'' says his father, Cordell Tullis.

At 3 months, he held his own bottle. He was walking by 8 months and getting into everything, working his way toward that proud papa moment.

"Dada."

Those were his first words at 9 months. He was moving so quickly, family members playfully say that Rahmere may have skipped eating baby food and went straight from formula to chowing down on meat as his teeth came in.

The stories about Rahmere had the family smiling for a bit the other day. It helped to soothe the pain. His parents, aunts and grandmother told colorful tales about the energetic boy, who slept soundly until he got up just before dawn and woke up everyone.

He'd get in his mother face, nudging her at 5:30 a.m. to fix breakfast. That morning, when the car jumped the curb, she didn't have time to cook, planning instead to buy him his favorite egg-and-cheese sandwich from the corner store.

"He didn't even get a chance to make it to the store,'' she says.

When he was home, it was all about Rahmere. She might have treated him to a favorite sandwich or just listened to what he had to say.

"He was like an old soul,'' Matthews says. "It was like he'd been here before.''

Rahmere was solid at 33 pounds, standing 3 feet tall, with an appetite that seemed endless. Ooodles and noodles were another favorite and just about any kind of fruit. Peas and broccoli were only digested if his mom sprinkled a little sugar on them.

Family members say Rahmere had presence about him, even though he was so young. He stood out among his 12 cousins, strutting about like a rooster with confidence. Take another look at the picture with this story. Notice the button on his blue shirt. It says - "I'm the boss.''

He was a big boy, all right.  He sat still in the barber's chair at age 1. On the first day of pre-school, he dressed himself in clothes that his mom laid out. When he came home that day, Matthews says Rahmere affirmed his "big boy" status, telling her that he used the potty without a problem.

What a kid, right?

Spiderman and Ninja Turtles were his buddies and so were his cousins. Technology was part of his world, too. It was nothing for Rahmere to scroll over to the YouTube app on his dad's phone or play a race car game on Xbox.

He loved cars. The one at Chuck E. Cheese's, the many he collected from Happy Meals at McDonald's.  Sometimes, he didn't even want the food, just the car. Or he'd sit on his daddy's lap, pretending he was driving.

But there was nothing like car rides with Dad. He'd sit in the back in his car seat, listening to R&B or hip-hop, his hands and feet shaking to the sounds.

"He would be back there dancing,'' Tullis says. "That's why it's hurting me so much.''

This is how it was for an evening, a chance for the family to open up before picking out a burial plot and his clothes. He'll be dressed casually in jeans with a T-shirt that has a picture of his parents, and he'll wear a cap with his name on it.

Coping at this point is tough, knowing that this didn't have to happen and finding out that insensitive people posted pictures on Facebook.

"My son wanted to live,'' Tullis says. "He had a purpose on this Earth.''

Matthews says she's trying to hold on, but she knows what's about to happen.

"I know I'll be no good when the day comes.''

That day is tomorrow, at Christian Pentecostal Church in Irvington. Visitation is at 9 a.m.; the funeral is at 10 a.m.

Rest well, Rahmere, and thank you for letting us get to know you through those big, beautiful brown eyes.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @Barry CarterSL 

BLOOMFIELD — Nova is an 8-month-old mixed breed at the North Jersey Humane Society shelter in Bloomfield. Rescued as a stray, he gets along well with other dogs and is said to be very good with children. Nova is housetrained and walks well on a leash; he will do best in a home that provides consistency and with owners...

Nova 

BLOOMFIELD -- Nova is an 8-month-old mixed breed at the North Jersey Humane Society shelter in Bloomfield.

Rescued as a stray, he gets along well with other dogs and is said to be very good with children.

Nova is housetrained and walks well on a leash; he will do best in a home that provides consistency and with owners willing to teach him basic commands.

Nova has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots.

For more information on Nova and other adoptable pets, visit the shelter at 61 Bukowski Place in Bloomfield. The shelter, which is caring for 50 animals, is open from noon to 5 p.m. seven days a week with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

For more information, call 973-748-0194 or go to njhumane.org.

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.

Dany Garcia, who grew up in Belleville, created one of Hollywood's top partnerships with ex-husband Dwayne Johnson.

By GERRY STRAUSS | For INSIDE JERSEY

DANY GARCIA always had a plan.

Even as a young girl living in Belleville, Garcia believed that life was going to take her far beyond the streets of her Essex County town.

"My father had come over from Cuba at a very young age and worked really hard to put three children through school and to give us this middle-class lifestyle, and it inspired me," she says. "It really put a fire in my belly, and I had a love for enterprise and I had
a love for making an impact and making money."

Dany Garcia met ex-husband Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at the University of Miami. Their success as a tag-team business enterprise has allowed them to give back generously to their alma mater. Here, they donate $1 million for the school to renovate its football facilities.AP file photo 

The girl who would go on to marry Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and create a multimillion-dollar film and TV production company says she enjoyed a very happy and typically suburban Jersey childhood.

"My high school and my middle school were just a few miles away, so we'd walk to school, and it was barbecues and the pool, and being on a track team and marching band. It was very much a great American experience. I loved it."

But there was always something tugging at her. Garcia understood her parents' sacrifices. She wanted to do the same -- and more -- taking the dream even further.

"I just had this thought that I would take care of my family and build tremendous enterprise, and it would just be such a different life."

So by the time she entered high school, Garcia already had her eye on a career in business. "I decided that I wanted to be involved in international finance marketing," she says.

Next stop, the University of Miami.

"It was the gateway to Latin America, which I felt was the smart place to be if I was looking for this international perspective," says Garcia.

But the view expanded to the hunky defensive tackle on the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It wasn't long before Garcia was dating Johnson. They married in 1997.

She graduated with honors and quickly rose up the ranks at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith to become a vice president, and then founded a private wealth management firm.

Meanwhile, as Johnson's football career faltered, he turned to pro wrestling, becoming a World Wrestling Federation superstar, an actor and -- eventually -- a box office kingpin.

The couple had a daughter, Simone, in 2001, but by 2007, the marriage was over.

Their business partnership, however, remained intact. Garcia would go on to establish her own talent management and production operation called The Garcia Companies.

She and Johnson were then the biggest entertainment tag team in America.

"While we were going through our divorce, we made the decision to continue to work together, and that was pivotal," she says.

"I think that is extremely rare -- for individuals (who) are ending a marital relationship to be able to continue in such a close partnership. But we recognized the great work we had done in the past and we knew we could do so much more."

"While we were going through our divorce, we made the decision to continue to work together, and that was pivotal," Dany Garcia says, of her business relationship with ex-husband Dwayne Johnson.AP file photo 

For several years, Johnson, 43, and Garcia, 46, tried to break into Hollywood's elite by following the industry's standard advice for a professional wrestler: Walk away from the sport, drop the nickname and lose some muscle mass to look more relatable. In
essence, bag all of the things that made Johnson a star in the first place.

"We eventually received an opportunity for Dwayne to star in a small film called 'Faster,' " Garcia says. "Our decision to do that movie meant walking away from how a Hollywood actor's supposed to look and feel. The film was dirty, it was intense, it had action and he just said, 'I'm going to be me.' He gained his muscle mass back and he was raw in this role. It was ... a career-turning moment."

And the couple has never looked back. Huge box office earnings came from The Rock's arrival in "The Fast & Furious" and "GI Joe" franchises, along with stand-alone blockbusters such as this summer's "San Andreas."

Yet, it's the duo's savvy insight and openness to outside-the-box projects that has put the pair over the top as a global force in entertainment. While some established film stars might stubbornly stick to the big screen, Garcia's strategy landed Johnson on

HBO this year in the comedy-drama series "Ballers," which has already been renewed for a second season.

"I attribute the success to the opportunity for Dwayne to play a character that is so close to who he is," Garcia says about Johnson's role as a former NFL player-turned-financial manager.

Future projects for Johnson include the "Rock and a Hard Place" documentary for HBO, and "Rock The Troops," a live television concert in the works for next year.

At press time, Garcia, who also is a bodybuilder, was planning to return to New Jersey to compete in the Europa Games in Atlantic City.

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Here are the top 10 imports handled by the Port of New York and New Jersey in the first half of 2015, according to the Port Authority.

NEWARK -- An improving economy and diversion of cargo from the West Coast made for a record year for the Port of New York and New Jersey in 2014, a trend that continued into this year. Thanks to growing volume, a regional trade group said this week the port had generated 40,000 new jobs since 2012.

So what is all that cargo coming into the port, sloshing in the holds of super tankers or stacked on the huge floating warehouses known as container ships?

Well, 90 percent of everything, according to the industry cliche: cars and what fuels them; smart phones and refrigerators; perfume and pearl earrings; beer and bananas.

Here's a list of the top 10 commodities and consumer goods, ranked by dollar value, that arrived in the port in the first half of 2015, according to figures from the Port Authority.

1. Petroleum: $6,784,350,892
2  Appliances: $3,802,870,153
3. Vehicles: $2,585,177,621    
4. Plastics: $1,723,074,427  
5. Electronics: $1,458,851,998
6. Chemicals: $1,454,920,278  
7. Oils and perfumes: $928,655,240    
8. Pharmaceuticals: $897,480,980
9. Optical and photographic: $801,778,807
10. Pearls and precious gems and metals: $562,393,630

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

Ross performed at NJPAC earlier this week.

NEWARK -- Legendary diva Diana Ross just wrapped her second concert in Newark in as many years, and to celebrate it, the city gave her a message - she can come back anytime.

Mayor Ras Baraka took a backstage moment at Ross's NJPAC concert this week to present the singer with a key to the city, he posted in a photo on his Facebook account.

"I presented legendary entertainer Ms. Diana Ross with the Key to the City on the occasion of her decades-long career and return to Newark," Baraka wrote in the post. The city declined to comment further on the key Friday.

NJPAC celebrated Ross's return (she performed at the Newark venue in 2013) with a stream of Twitter posts through her concert praising her performance.

Stop in the name of love! #DianaRoss is singing her Motown classics! #NJPAC pic.twitter.com/7Oenpiw4RF

-- NJPAC (@NJPAC) September 16, 2015

#DianaRoss shows us who's BOSS in this fabulous blue gown! #njpac pic.twitter.com/oairZ79u9x

-- NJPAC (@NJPAC) September 17, 2015

Ross is the latest visitor to Newark to receive its key. In June, Baraka presented a key to activist Al Sharpton. In 2013, then Mayor Luis Quintana presented a key to Giants punter and longtime community volunteer Steve Weatherford.

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

 

A marijuana and cocaine transaction turned out to be a sting that yielded three arrests, according to the report

                                                                                     (File photo) 

PARSIPPANY -- Three men have been charged in an alleged scheme after authorities said they brought a loaded handgun and counterfeit money to a $17,000 marijuana and cocaine transaction that turned out to be a sting in a Parsippany parking lot, according to an account in the Daily Record.

Daniel Godfrey, 23, of East Orange, Shayne Hudson, 30, of Morristown and Eric Scotland, 26, of Morristown were arrested Wednesday on drug, weapons and forgery charges for having the counterfeit money in their possession, according to complaints filed in Superior Court in Morristown. Godfrey was charged with attempted robbery.

Godfrey on July 26 had allegedly agreed to sell marijuana to an unnamed person,  but wound up robbing and pistol-whipping him in the head in Morristown, the Daily Record reported.

A cooperating witness told police that Godfrey was trying to buy five pounds of marijuana and the witness agreed to help law enforcement and arranged this week's transaction, according to the report.

On Wednesday, Godfrey, Hudson and Scotland were met by police officers who said they found marijuana in the vehicle, counterfeit money and a loaded handgun that fell from Scotland's lap as he was pulled from the vehicle, according to the report.

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

 

Roe's successor will be charged with replacing music director Jacques Lacombe

James Roe, the oboeist who stepped into the corner office at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra after the NJSO's embarrassing hiring blunder in 2013, is leaving to head the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York City, the orchestra announced Friday.

NJSO chief operating officer Susan Stucker, who was named to her post when Roe was appointed NJSO president and CEO, will be serve as the interim head of the state's largest musical ensemble until a successor is appointed. Roe takes up his new position Dec. 1.

Roe's successor will have a major task: Replacing music director Jacques Lacombe, who leaves next year after six years with the orchestra. Lacombe, an ambitious hire for the financially struggling organization, will become chief conductor of the Bonn Opera in Germany. 

Roe focused on audience engagement during his tenure, launching NJSO Accents, pre- and post-event parties, wine tastings and sing-a-longs, and helping establish the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute for young and emerging composers in conjunction with Princeton University.

In a statement, NJSO board of trustees co-chairs Ruth C. Lipper and Steve Sichak praised Roe's efforts to build audiences and to balance the budget.

"It is not easy to leave: when leaders of OSL approached me to take the helm, it presented an opportunity to return to an organization with which I had a deep 20-year relationship, and such opportunities are rare in life," Roe says in a statement. "I am profoundly grateful for my time with the NJSO and, with a full heart, acknowledge its leadership, musicians and staff."

Roe took over from Richard Dare, who resigned less than two weeks after starting work when The New York Times revealed that he had been convicted of molesting one of his students, a 15-year-old girl who later became his wife, and spent 60 days in jail and three years on probation for lewd and lascivious acts. "Media attention to my family's personal life will harm the organization and musicians I cherish, as well as needlessly embarrass my wife," Dare said in his resignation.

Dare, the former CEO and managing director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, told top NJSO officials about his criminal background during the search process, but Sichak told The Star-Ledger that Dare had given "an incomplete and misleading version." But the search committee and the Board of Trustees were not informed of Dare's criminal history.

Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

The city council had alleged that Mayor Dwayne Warren intended to "circumvent" the law when he appointed his former campaign manager Willis Edwards III as deputy business administrator in 2012

Editor's note: This post has been updated with details from the official legal settlement.

ORANGE - More than two years after being ordered to vacate his position, former Assemblyman Willis Edwards III and the Orange city council have agreed to resolve their long-simmering lawsuit over his appointment as business administrator.

In an interview Friday morning, Edwards said he had agreed to change his title to director of the office of budget management policy/assistant business administrator - a job created under a 1985 ordinance that is authorized to serve as business administrator if the position is vacant.

"I'm happy that we have finally resolved this matter and we can focus on moving forward," Edwards said.

Edwards

According to a copy of the legal settlement obtained by NJ Advance Media, he will be paid an annual salary of $8,250 until Nov. 2, at which point he will leave the post.

In exchange, Edwards, Warren and the council have all agreed to drop all legal claims against each other. Edwards may not seek reemployment in the business administrator's office unless "lawfully appointed" to the position, but will not be banned from public employment in the city.

The new position does not require council approval, putting to rest the executive board's allegations that Warren broke the law when he appointed Edwards as deputy business administrator after they voted not to appoint him to a permanent post in the office in 2012.

The council filed suit in Essex County Superior Court in March 2013, alleging that the deputy job provided Edwards with the same powers they had declined to provide him, and that Warren had "clearly intended to circumvent the Council and the law."

The following month, Essex County Superior Court Judge Siobhan A. Teare sided with the council, saying that a deputy director position could not exist in the absence of an actual departmental director to serve under, and ordered Edwards to vacate the post.

Edwards, who managed Warren's successful 2012 mayoral campaign, remained on the city payroll, being named the mayor's chief of staff - sparking new legal wrangling. At one point, Teare ordered that the city be fined $1,000 per day until it handed over documents about Edwards' salary and job description - though order was vacated after the city complied.

Council President April Gaunt-Butler said she was relieved to have the suit come to an end, and hoped the outcome showed residents that city government was committed to transparency and respect for the law.

"It is really important for us to follow proper protocol when it comes to our hiring practice in the city of Orange," she said. "We just have to follow the rules."

Robert Tarver Jr., who had been representing the council, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Edwards, who remains listed as business administrator on the city's website said he held no animosity toward the council, and that he considered the entire dispute a misunderstanding based on Warren's choice of the word "deputy" in his title.

"When the mayor said deputy, it was a play on words. He should have just said assistant administrator," he said.

State pension records indicate Edwards earned $143,757 last year. He declined to say whether his new title would come with a change in salary.

Warren issued a statement confirming the lawsuit had been resolved and saying he looked forward to continuing "the great work we're doing here in Orange." It is unclear if or when he intends to name a permanent business administrator.

Councilman Kerry Coley, who has publicly battled with Warren and is rumored to be prepping a run to unseat him next year, said he was happy to have the suit resolved, but was still cautious about whether the agreement would be adhered to.

"I hope that Willis and the mayor will comply with the court order. But if not, I guess we'll be back in court again," he said.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Following moves by police officials to help combat summertime street violence, documents reveal that a recent surge in shootings in Newark continues.

NEWARK -- Following moves by police officials to help combat summertime street violence, documents reveal that despite an eight percent reduction in overall crime, a recent surge in fatal and non-fatal shootings in Newark continues.

There were 218 total shooting incidents in Newark as of Sept. 6, according to police records obtained by NJ Advance Media. That's a 22-percent increase from where the total stood at the same point in 2014, the records say.

Law enforcement officials have given varying explanations for the increases. In an August interview with NJ Advance Media, Newark Police Department Director Eugene Venable tied the uptick to disputes among city residents involved in the local trade of illegal narcotics.

Other law enforcement officials have chalked the increases up to interpersonal beefs.

Along with an increase in the number of shooting incidents, police documents indicate that there has been a corresponding increase in the number of those injured in shootings.

By Sept. 6, 2014, 210 people had been wounded in reported shootings in Newark. At that same point in 2015, the total stood at 266, according to police department documents.

According to police reports, six of those injuries occurred earlier this week in three separate shooting incidents during a bloody 24-hour period in Newark.

The first began near University Heights at around 1 p.m. Tuesday, with a shooting and car chase near the intersection of First St. and Dickerson St., the report said. 

Witnesses reported a Dodge Charger chasing a grey mini-van, with the driver firing shots at the van as they went, according the report.

As the Charger neared 12th Avenue, an officer stationed nearby unsuccessfully attempted to pull the vehicle over, it states. The male suspect driving the Charger sped off, striking a garbage truck and occupied school van before coming to a stop near South 11th Street and South Orange Avenue, the documents said.

Newark police have not released official details of the shooting or the subsequent pursuit, but according to the reports the occupants of the school van were uninjured in the incident.

The suspect driver was able to flee the scene on foot, the report said. It was unclear whether any arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

In the aftermath, a male was transported to University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck, the report said. His current medical condition has not been released by authorities. The motive for the Tuesday afternoon shooting remains unclear.

At 6 p.m. later in that day, a man was shot 10 times in the arms and chest outside of a local deli in the 300 block of Clinton Avenue, the reports say. He was later transported to University Hospital for treatment. His current medical condition is unclear.

Hours later, four others were wounded in yet another shooting incident in the 30 block of Irvine Turner Boulevard near the Betty Shabazz apartment complex, according to a police report detailing the incident. Additional details of the shootings have yet to be released by police officials.

The Tuesday shootings mark the second time this month that multiple people were injured by gunfire in a 24-hour period. On Sept. 9, four people were wounded by gunshots in three separate incidents, according to police reports obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

No one was injured in the shooting, authorities said.

No one was injured in the shooting, authorities said. File photo. (Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

MONTCLAIR -- A township man was arrested after police say he fired a gun in a "targeted attack."

At about 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to the intersection of Claremont and Greenwood Avenues on a report of shots being fired, Detective Sergeant James Milano announced in a release Friday.

No one was injured in the shooting, he said.

After an investigation, 25-year-old Rueben Moore was arrested on aggravated assault and various weapons charges, police said.

"Preliminary investigation indicates that this was a targeted attack," Milano said in the release.

Moore is being held on $50,000 bail, police said. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.

Authorities did not comment on what may have prompted the alleged shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call 973-744-1234.

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

 

John Towey, 63, of Nutley, entered the plea through his attorney when he was arraigned on the charges before Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan

NEWARK -- A retired Belleville police officer pleaded not guilty on Friday to attempted murder and related charges for allegedly shooting his brother at the former cop's Nutley home last February.

John Towey, 63, entered the plea through his attorney when he was arraigned on the charges before Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan in connection with the Feb. 28 shooting.

Given the "quite voluminous" discovery in the case, which includes several thousand pages, Towey's attorney, Anthony Iacullo, requested additional time to file any pre-trial motions. The judge told him to file any motions within 60 days.

Towey is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 30.

Outside the courtroom after Friday's hearing, Iacullo said Towey never intended to harm his brother.

"Our position is that anything that happened...on that night was not intended and John would never do anything intentionally to hurt his brother," Iacullo said.

In addition to attempted murder, Towey was indicted on Aug. 25 on charges of aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

According to the indictment, John Towey was using a .38-caliber handgun when he allegedly tried to kill his brother, Bernard Towey.

John Towey also allegedly "left the scene of the injury knowing or reasonably believing that the injured person was physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, or otherwise unable to care for himself," according to the indictment.

Authorities have said Towey's brother had been staying at Towey's house for a few days when the shooting occurred. During the incident, one bullet pierced the brother's spine, authorities said.

Towey was arrested on Feb. 28 and ultimately brought to the Essex County Correctional Facility. He was released from custody on March 3 after posting $75,000 bail.

Towey retired from the Belleville police force in 2009, public records show.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.