Just because we're getting closer to spring doesn't rule out the possibility of a sizable snowstorm in New Jersey. Watch video

For most New Jerseyans, the light snow that fell from the sky Friday morning was not much more than a nuisance.

But each of those little snowflakes, and every windshield that had to be cleared, was a little reminder that the Garden State is not immune to snowstorms in March, or even as late as April. 

An even bigger reminder was the Great Blizzard of 1888, which is considered to be one of the most destructive, and deadly, snowstorms on record in U.S. history. That storm clobbered parts of New Jersey, New York and other Northeast states with 20 to as much as 60 inches of snow between March 11 and March 14.

That wasn't the only big late-season snowstorm to affect New Jersey.

Here's a look at nine substantial snowstorms since the 1950s that hit the Garden State during the months of March or April. Each of these is considered a "high impact" storm by the National Climatic Data Center, the agency that keeps records on every major storm, and some are classified as "extreme" or "crippling."

The rankings are based on each storm's severity, overall impact on the Northeast region, and the size of the population that was affected.

March 12-14, 1993 - Category 5 snowstorm (extreme)
This storm, which was dubbed the "Storm of the Century, was ranked as the highest-impact snowstorm ever to affect the Northeast region of the United States in modern times. More than half of New Jersey was blanketed by 10 to 20 inches of snow, with small pockets of 20 to 30 inches in far northern sections of the state. Elsewhere, heavy snow fell from Tennessee all the way up north to the Canadian border. 

March 2-5, 1960 - Category 4 snowstorm (crippling)
Almost all of northern and central New Jersey was hit with 10 to 20 inches of snow during this storm, with some northern towns getting as much as 20 to 30 inches. Most of South Jersey got 4 to 10 inches.

Residents of Dover dig out after a snowstorm hit New Jersey in early March 2009. (Robert Sciarrino | The Star-Ledger) 

March 18-21, 1958 - Category 2 snowstorm (significant)
Almost the entire state was hit with 10 to 20 inches of snow, and most of Sussex County got as much as 20 to 30 inches. Some sections of the Jersey Shore received 4 to 10 inches.

April 6-7, 1982 - Category 2 snowstorm (significant)
Most of central and northern New Jersey got 4 to 10 inches in this storm, with some northern sections getting 10 to 20 and most of South Jersey getting only 1 to 4 inches.

March 4-9, 2013 - Category 2 snowstorm (significant)
This storm was more severe in Virginia, West Virginia and New England, but it brought 4 to 10 inches of snow over the northern half of New Jersey and less than 4 inches over the state's southern half.

March 15-18, 2007 - Category 2 snowstorm (significant)
This storm dumped heavier snow over northeastern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and many New England states than it did in New Jersey, which had 4 to 10 inches in its northern counties and 1 to 4 inches in central and southern counties.

March 31 - April 1, 1997 - Category 1 snowstorm (notable)
This was another storm that hit New England very hard, dumping 20 to 30 inches over a wide swath up north. Some parts of northern New Jersey were blanketed with 10 to 20 inches, but most of central and southern New Jersey got either 1 to 4 inches or 4 to 10 inches.

March 18-19, 1956 - Category 1 snowstorm (notable)
New Jersey and Long Island, N.Y., were both hit hard by this storm, which dumped 10 to 20 inches over northern and central New Jersey and 4 to 10 inches over South Jersey, with some pockets of 20 to 30 inches in the Morris County area.

March 1-3, 2009 - Category 1 snowstorm (notable)
This storm dropped 4 to 10 inches of snow across the entire Garden State, with some pockets of 10 to 20 inches along the Shore and in parts of South Jersey.

Readers: If you have photos of any of these snowstorms and would like to share them with us, please post them in the comments section or email them to LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com, so we can add them to our gallery.

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

The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment following the incident, officials said.

(File photo) 

NEWARK -- A 71-year-old woman was injured Thursday night after two men allegedly attempted to steal her vehicle, police confirmed.

Following the incident, the victim, whose name was not disclosed, told police that she was approached by two male suspects after parking her car in the 100 block of South 13th Street, said Newark Police Department spokesman Captain Derek Glenn. At least one was armed with a handgun, the victim stated.

The victim told investigators that the suspects began to beat her when she refused to relinquish the keys to her vehicle, and then later fled the scene, Glenn said.

The full extent of the victim's injuries was not immediately disclosed. Emergency medical personnel transported her to University Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Glenn said.

The victim's car was later found on South 12th Street unoccupied, Glenn said.

An investigation by the Newark Police Department Major Crimes Unit is in the early stages, Glenn said.

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

Second round of threats in about a week

Englewood, Paramus Catholic, Teaneck, Cliffside Park, Ramsey, Mahwah, Waldwick, Hackensack, Fort Lee and Oradell schools received threats, according to the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and local police. All the high schools were checked and deemed safe as of around 1:15 p.m.

In Passaic County, officials were also called to threats at Manchester Regional High School in Haledon and Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, officials said. 

"Non-credible threat this morning. School sheltered in place," the Passaic Valley School Superintendent's Office said on Twitter. "All protocols followed."

Authorities also confirmed Nutley High School received a threat late Friday morning. Police responded to the round of hoax threats around 11 a.m. and reported finding nothing dangerous. The investigation was ongoing. 

Officials ordered a "shelter in place relaxed lockdown" at the Waldwick middle and high school, the borough said on Twitter. All students were safe.

The Oradell Office of Emergency Management said River Dell High School was deemed safe after the threat and students were allowed back to class.  

Bomb threats reported at several Bergen schools

Last Friday, a string of threats forced evacuations at schools around the county. Nothing harmful was found after police searched the schools.

In January, 26 schools across North Jersey also received threats. In those incidents, authorities said the threats came from an automated call.

Bomb threats-Teaneck & Waldwick Schools have been cleared....

-- B.C. Sheriff's Dept (@BergenCountySo) March 4, 2016

Bomb Threats-Englewood, Paramus Catholic,Teaneck ,Cliffside Park,Mahwah,Waldwick,Hackensack,Fort Lee, and Oradell. Stay clear pend. search..

-- B.C. Sheriff's Dept (@BergenCountySo) March 4, 2016

Only Hackensack can manage weekly bomb threats.

-- Ryan (@ChaosShadow98) March 4, 2016

HHS is always having bomb threats.

-- ERICAA KANEE (@Alwaysmiaa_) March 4, 2016

Waldwick MS/HS in shelter in place relaxed lockdown. @WaldwickPD are investigating suspicious phone call. All students and staff are safe.

-- Borough of Waldwick (@BoroughWaldwick) March 4, 2016

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

Freddie Wright, 24, of Newark, had pleaded guilty to eluding and related offenses in connection with the Aug. 11, 2014 incident Watch video

NEWARK -- With speeds exceeding 100 mph, Freddie Wright led police on a chase in a stolen Jeep between Essex and Somerset counties, crashed into three vehicles and caused Route 287 to be shut down during rush hour. One of his passengers was eight months pregnant at the time.

Before Wright was sentenced on Friday to 11 years in state prison for the Aug. 11, 2014 incident, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Giordano said it was a miracle that no one died as a result of Wright's actions.

Giordano said "the conduct here is especially depraved in the extent of the car chase."

Wright, 24, of Newark, received the sentence after having pleaded guilty on Jan. 5 to eluding and related charges. Wright must serve more than nine years before becoming eligible for parole and he will receive credit for nearly a year and a half of time served.

Under a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a 12-year prison sentence for Wright, but Superior Court Judge Martin Cronin imposed the 11-year term, in part because of the rehabilitation efforts made by Wright while in custody.

During Friday's hearing, Wright apologized and said he was "manning up to what I did."

"I'd just like to say I apologize to everybody," Wright said.

Wright's attorney, Olubukola Adetula, acknowledged the serious nature of the offenses, but also asked Cronin to consider Wright's upbringing and the problems he faced at school and at home.

Those circumstances "contributed towards him going in the wrong direction, Adetula said.

Wright's mother, Bernadette Wright, apologized on her son's actions and also asked the judge for leniency, saying her son was a "totally changed person."

"He's remorseful," she said. "He regrets what he did. I regret what he did."

But Cronin noted how Wright was previously given opportunities to address his issues when he was placed on probation for prior offenses. "I have to look out for everyone else also," the judge told Wright's mother.

Authorities said the incident began in the afternoon of Aug. 11, 2014 on 17th Avenue and South 19th Street in Newark, where a state trooper attempted to stop the Jeep after running the license plates and learning that the vehicle had been reported stolen.

But Wright rammed the Jeep into the State Police vehicle and sped off, authorities said. The trooper broke his hand in the crash, authorities said.

Wright then led police on a chase along Route 78 West, Route 24 West and 287 South, authorities said. During the pursuit, the Jeep reached more than 100 mph, authorities said.

The high-speed chase ended on Route 287 South in Bernards Township after Wright had struck a minivan and a township police car, authorities said. The minivan driver was knocked unconscious and a police officer suffered broken bones, according to Giordano.

Following the crash, the highway was shut down in both directions for several hours.

In addition to eluding, Wright pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while eluding for hitting a civilian victim; aggravated assault while eluding for hitting the Bernards Police Officer; and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries for striking the State Police vehicle and breaking the trooper's hand.

Following Wright's sentencing, charges were dismissed on Friday against his co-defendants - Jakill Young, 24, and Ericka Whitlock, 22, both of Newark - who were allegedly passengers in the Jeep driven by Wright.

Young was charged with riding in a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest charges, and Whitlock was charged with riding in a stolen vehicle, court records show. Whitlock, who was eight months pregnant at the time, gave birth on the day after the incident, authorities said.

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

Lawyers argue whether former board members should be partly responsible for losses at the bankrupt watershed agency.

NEWARK -- For lawyers arguing in federal court over whether U.S. Sen. Cory Booker should remain in a lawsuit alleging that he failed to properly oversee the city's bankrupt watershed corporation, the question could come down to this: How far does a board member have to go to say he's done his duty?

Legal teams representing the former Newark mayor and the provisional trustees who took over at the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. debated the point Friday before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Vincent F. Papalia. 

The judge said he would rule soon on whether Booker and former board Vice Chairman Vaughn McKoy should remain as defendants or dismissed from the case.

The provisional trustees filed the suit last year against 28 individuals or businesses, saying some, such as former Executive Director Linda Watkins-Brashear, should be held financially responsible for looting the agency. Others, such as Booker and McKoy, also share financial responsibility because even if they were caught off guard by the corporation's spectacular crash, their inattention to matters allowed it to happen, the lawsuit says.

Attorney James Scarpone, representing the watershed, said it's not enough to argue that Booker and McKoy did not know about the watershed's financial peril -- even if auditors did not bring it up.

"They made no effort to find the facts," Scarpone said. 

No Flint water crises for N.J.: lawmakers 

The watershed's public tax returns from 2007-2012, he said, clearly showed Watkins-Brashear was making hundreds of thousands more than her contract allowed. Financial and legal professionals also hired by her saw their compensation increase as well, he said. No one checked on how -- or if -- the agency bid for contracts. 

Even if Booker and McKoy relied on those professionals in good faith, Scarpone said, good faith does not solely "consist of a lack of intent to do harm."

Average citizens, he noted, were able to investigate and expose the corporation's misdeeds, which they would reveal in a report entitled "Hog Wild," which was sent to the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller.

Booker's attorney, Marc Elias, said the corporation's bylaws specifically put oversight responsibility in the hands of its secretary and treasurer. It also was reasonable for Booker to rely on professionals' reports on the corporation's financial state, he said.

Mayors hear lots of complaints, Elias added, and if the mayor of Newark had to respond to every allegation of wrongdoing or face litigation, "we're going to have a whole lot of lawsuits."

As for McKoy, attorney Jaimee Katz Sussner said it was reasonable for him to rely on the professionals hired by the watershed. "There was tons of oversight here," she said. McKoy's "only sin was volunteering at the request of the mayor," she said.

Sussner and Elias also argued that McKoy and Booker have legal immunity from financial responsibility, since they were acting on the public's behalf and had no role in the corruption there. 

Laws protect honest board members from financial responsibility so that good, honest people will serve on them, Elias said.

Watkins-Brashear last year pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and filing a false tax return in connection with her role at the watershed. Special Projects Manager Donald Bernard Sr. and two contractors also pleaded guilty to corruption charges. 

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

100 companies dumped toxic chemicals in the river, which is one of state's, and country's, most polluted rivers. Watch video

NEWARK -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday its $1.4 billion plan to clean up the most polluted portion of the Passaic River, an area made so unhealthy from corporate dumping that people are forbidden from eating the carcinogenic fish and crabs that come from it.

Pictured, a bird in the polluted Passaic River looking east towards Jersey City on June 1, 2007. (File photo) 

Friday's announcement of the project, which may generate over 500 jobs and which officials said will not be paid for by taxpayers, was tempered by criticism from the Sierra Club, and righteous anger from former U.S. Senator Cory Booker over what corporations did to the river and Newark in the first place.

Also, EPA officials cautioned, this project to clean up the lower eight miles of the river, will take over 11 years, and even then the fish won't immediately be safe to consume.

Judge approves $190M Passaic River cleanup

And, while the plan calls for the cleanup to be paid for by the 100 companies responsible for polluting the river with an array of chemicals, those companies have not yet signed up to do this, they said.

The negotiation part of the process could take one year, EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. The designs and dredging will take another 10 years, she said.

The actual plan calls for sediment to be dewatered, transported by train for disposal, and the entire lower eight miles to be "capped," meaning a sand and stone barrier of about two feet will be laid above the contaminated sediment remaining after dredging.

"Eleven years may seem like a long time, but remember, we are cleaning up over a century of toxic pollution," Enck said.

Enck spoke to reporters at a packed press conference attended by government and community officials from Newark and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Also, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, representing Governor Chris Christie; Booker; and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez heralded the EPA's work.

Among the 100 toxic chemicals that have caused health concerns for Newark residents is dioxin, a byproduct of the pesticide Agent Orange that was used during the Vietnam War and was produced by the former Diamond Alkali facility in Newark, Enck said.

According to EPA officials, short-term exposure to dioxin can cause skin lesions and altered liver function, and long-term exposure can cause reproductive and developmental problems, disruptive hormone function, damage to the immune system and thyroid function, and cancer. 

Officials said that the pollution in general was also linked to asthma. Booker, who called the issue an example of "greed" and "sin," said that there may also be a link to autism.

For Joseph Della Fave, the director of the Ironbound Community Corporation, which represents Newark citizens, the issue of pollution in Newark has long been one of "environmental racism."

He noted that the pollutants entered people's homes after flooding during Hurricane Sandy.

"There's an inordinate amount of contaminants, pollution, and the major sources of pollution in communities of low-income, disenfranchised, people of color communities such as Newark," he said.

"In Ironbound, the state's largest garbage incinerator, the world's greatest concentration of dioxin... It's an old industrial community, but it's always been an immigrant community. Newark, in the 50s and 60s, it became largely an African-American community. Dumping those facilities here, as opposed to elsewhere, became a practice."

Like Della Fave, Debbie Mans, executive director of NY/NJ Baykeeper, is also on board with the plan.

"The only statement we should be hearing from the polluting companies now is 'When can we start this cleanup and return the Passaic River back to the community?'" she said. "The communities along the lower Passaic River have waited for over 30 years, since the first listing of this site onto Superfund, for a cleanup."

However, not everyone is on board with the plan. 

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, issued a statement saying that, "just like in Flint, Michigan, this clean-up is about political expedience, not doing what is right for the Passaic River."

"The EPA's clean-up plan will not work because it will only cap the pollution," he said.

"The 8.3 miles are only being dredged 2.5 feet instead of 12 to 30 feet needed to remove the contaminants. All caps fail and when the river floods, it will erode and cause the cap to wash toxic sediments into the river. The EPA has undercut its original clean-up plans so the responsible parties would approve it...before the end of the Obama Administration."

Enck responded to criticism from the Sierra Club saying that the two agencies "disagree."

After the press conference, a man who manages a Newark parking lot said he was pleased by the news -- until he learned that it would take over 11 years.

He said that he could smell the Passaic River as he passed it, and he thought the smell had gotten "worse" in recent years. In response to the prospect of the project bringing jobs to the city, he asked "Are they temporary?"

Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Eric Talmadge, 40, of East Orange, received the sentence as part of a plea deal in connection with the June 12, 2013 shooting death of Bilal Woods, 31, of Newark

NEWARK -- Citing "proof issues" in the case against Eric Talmadge, a Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced him to five years in state prison for the 2013 fatal shooting of another man in Newark.

The five-year prison term handed down by Judge Peter Ryan was recommended by prosecutors under a plea deal with Talmadge in connection with the June 12, 2013 shooting death of Bilal Woods, 31, of Newark.

Talmadge, 40, of East Orange, pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to reckless manslaughter and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He must serve more than four years before becoming eligible for parole and he will receive credit for more than two and a half years of time served.

Talmadge had been charged with murder - which carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison - but that charge was downgraded to reckless manslaughter as part of the plea agreement. Under the plea deal, a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon against Talmadge was dismissed.

In handing down the sentence, Ryan noted the "proof issues" and also pointed out how Talmadge has been arrested 15 times. The current case represents his sixth conviction on an indictable offense, the judge said.

When he pleaded guilty, Talmadge admitted to shooting Woods in the area of West Kinney Street and Nevada Street in Newark. During an argument with Woods, Talmadge said he shot him in the lower part of his body.

During Friday's hearing, Talmadge's attorney, Wanda Akin, cited "problems" with the state's case against Talmadge in terms of the witnesses and the credibility of their accounts.

Given "the deficiencies in the state's case in that regard," the parties were able to reach the plea agreement, Akin said.

Soon after, Talmadge stood up in the courtroom and said he wanted to "apologize to the victim's family."

"If I could take this situation back, I would," Talmadge said.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who handled the case, said he appreciated that Talmadge is remorseful and also noted there were "proof issues in the case" that led to the plea agreement.

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

Police have issued a warrant for Rashon Hayes with a bail set at $35,000.

Rashon Hayes, 38, is wanted in connection with a series of burglaries. Newark Police Department 

NEWARK -- City police are looking for a 38-year-old man wanted in connection with a string of burglaries in Newark's North Ward, officials said. 

Police have issued a warrant for Rashon Hayes with a bail set at $35,000, the Newark Police Department said in a release.

Police said Hayes became a suspect this week after finding items in a pawnshop from the February 20 burglaries.

Hayes is described as a 165-pound man who is 5-foot-9 with brown eyes and bald head, according to police. 

He's known to frequent the area of 7th Avenue between Clifton and Summer avenues, the release said.

If anyone has a information on Hayes' whereabouts, they can call 1-877-695-8477 or 973-733-6080.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Newark police believe the man shown in their wanted posted was one of two men who robbed a 59-year-old woman

Newark Police Department is trying to identify this man in connection with robbery. Newark Police Department 

NEWARK -- City police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man in connection with the robbery of a 59-year-old woman, official said.  

Authorities believe the man shown in their wanted posted was one of two men who robbed the woman of an unknown amount of cash on Feb. 22 at 100 Chadwick Avenue.  

An award of $2,000 has been offered for any information leading to their arrest, the Newark Police Department said in a release. 

Police described the person in the photo as a 180-pound man in his late-40s to mid-50s. He has a low haircut and a full beard, according to authorities. 

Anyone with information on the robbery can call 877 695-8477. 

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Woodland Cemetery in Newark tries to come back from the dead after years of neglect.

There have been plenty of attempts to bring Newark's Woodland Cemetery back from the dead.

But all of them - for one reason or another - have fizzled.The 1856 burial ground, which holds the graves of Civil War veterans and many others, remains a shambles.

Even though the cemetery is open, it looks abandoned, with tall weeds, toppled-over headstones and trash scattered across its 37 acres on Rose Street.

Karima Jackson, of Newark, believes she has the template that will now work to get the place cleaned up. 

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Look to your left. Look to your right.  That would be you - neighbor. She needs you to pull this off for the 85,000 people who have been laid to rest at Woodland. "You just can't say you care about Newark and (not) prove it,'' Jackson said.

She has been tapping the community on the shoulder as a member of Organize Change Inc., a grass-roots organization in Newark that is spearheading the latest effort to spruce up the cemetery.

The group is inspired that 500 people signed a petition to support this cause. And it is pumped that residents, city officials and the volunteer cemetery board met last week.

"What we're doing is trying to correct three decades of neglect,'' Jackson said.

The hard part is finding money for the Herculean job. There are nearly 60 dead trees that need to be razed. Headstones have to be righted before the sky-high grass can be whacked and then cut with a lawn mower.

Board president Rosemary Hilbert said the estimated cost for landscaping is $80,000, but the board only has $18,000 to use - money that is the annual interest from a trust fund for maintenance.

If the cemetery were selling graves, she said it would be in better financial shape to make repairs. But the site became inactive in 1980, she said, when it could no longer accommodate more burials. That meant the cemetery wasn't pulling in any income. With no money, maintenance ended, the cemetery deteriorated and attracted undesirable visitors.

"We can't fix it up because we don't have any money,'' Hilbert said. 

Families have been afraid to visit. The body of a man was found partially burned one year. Dogs ran wild. Drug vials are scattered everywhere. People only return during Safe Day, an annual event in May for which the cemetery is cleaned up as much as possible so that genealogist Mary Lish and volunteers can help families find their loved ones. 

Karl Harrell, who has lived across the street from the cemetery for 50 years, remembers when it was gorgeous. He ate berries from the trees, played baseball in an open area. 

"I've seen it go from a graveyard, to a yard and now, it's just a field,'' he said.

Hilbert said the cemetery board has identified a section, with about 300 to 600 empty plots, that can be sold once the cleanup is done. Revenue from the new plots will be used to address other problems, such as uneven ground from graves that have collapsed.

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Until that happens, the board is looking for people to be involved, and that's where Jackson and Organize Change come in.  Jackson, an enthusiastic doctoral student at Rutgers,  said the community has more of a stake in the grounds than it realizes. If you are a plot holder, she said, you are part-owner of the cemetery and have a voice in what happens.

She's exploring grants, corporate donations and technical assistance for feasibility studies. Hilbert hopes she's successful, because the board has tried grant proposals that were rejected. Newark Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins has weighed in. She's calling on fencing companies to kick in and philanthropic foundations, too.

"If we don't feel the compassion, it won't get done,'' Chaneyfield Jenkins said.

Jackson has May 7 lined up for a massive cleanup with Jersey Cares, a volunteer group that is organizing a large number of people to do some heavy lifting.

Neighborhood residents are cautiously optimistic. They've had icy relationships with past cemetery boards over the years and didn't get involved.

Vera Jones was about to give up on the cemetery after a bad experience last year. The weeds, she said, were so thick that she couldn't get to her mother's grave.

And then she met Jackson, who told her that things would get better. "It was like God sent an angel right to me,'' she said of Jackson.

After last week's meeting, which was also her mother's birthday, a member of the cemetery board took Jones to the area where Ethel Mae Turner was buried in 1972.

Jones had a birthday balloon that got away. But she also had a second balloon, one that says "I love you'' - she tied it to a fence, so she can find her mother again.

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

The Prudential Center is hosting the gymnastics competition for the first time. Past Olympians pick the athletes to watch in the lead up to Rio 2016.

Two city men wanted in connection with an alleged assault of a man reported to be their cousin were apprehended by Newark police Friday, officials said.

(File photo) 

NEWARK -- Two city men wanted in connection with an alleged assault of a man reported to be their cousin were apprehended by Newark police Friday, officials said. 

Acting on warrants, Newark Police Department investigators took Dashon Perry, 40, and Isan Nelson, 32, into custody after tracking the pair to a home in the 1600 block of Bayview Avenue, said Newark Police Department spokesman Detective Hubert Henderson. 

Naghi Perry, 23, a third man wanted in the alleged attack, remains at large, he said.

According to police, the 32-year-old victim is a cousin to all three suspects. Officials said the four men were arguing near a residence at Mountainview Avenue and North Munn Avenue on March 1 when one of the suspects allegedly pulled a gun and fired a single shot.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/03/71-year-old_woman_injured_in_newark_carjacking.html

It was not immediately made clear whether the shot struck any of those involved in the incident, but police officials said the victim was injured after one of the other suspects allegedly struck him with a baseball bat.  

The suspects fled prior to the arrival of responding police officers, officials said. The victim was later transported to University Hospital for treatment.

Perry and Nelson now face charges of aggravated assault and several related weapons violations, officials said.

A police investigation into the assault, along with a search for Naghi Perry, are ongoing, officials said.

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

The lawyer for Fabian Rodriguez said that, like the 7-year-old victim's, her client's family was also broken. West New York's Mayor Felix Roque had little sympathy for him. Watch video

WEST NEW YORK -- The lawyer for the driver in the West New York hit-and-run that killed a 7-year-old girl said her client was "one of the most remorseful" defendants she had ever represented, with a child of his own the same age as the victim.

"Everybody loses right now, both families are broken up," said attorney Brooke Barnett. "All I know is that the person I'm dealing with is one of the most remorseful individuals I have ever dealt with."

Pictured, Shaila Pichardo, 7. (Photo courtesy of Vainieri Funeral Home)
 

Barnett represents Fabian Rodriguez, 33, of Newark, a native of Ecuador who is in the United States illegally and is now being held in the Hudson County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail on criminal charges related to Monday's fatal hit-and-run, which include leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Authorities say Rodriguez was driving a black 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe just after 8 a.m., Monday, when he struck and killed Shaila Pichardo, 7, as she was walking to School No. 1 in West New York, where she was a first grader. Shaila was walking with her mother, Yeime Vital, 32, who was hospitalized after she was also struck by the SUV.   

While Rodriguez has entered a not-guilty plea, Barnett acknowledged that he was behind the wheel of the SUV, and that he briefly stopped and got out of the vehicle after the accident, as authorities have asserted. But Barnett said she had no idea what was on his mind when he drove off.

"I am in the midst of exploring his mental state at that time," said Barnett. "People do things that are not explainable."

"For all I know, he got out of the car and saw his son on the ground," she said.

West New York Mayor Felix Roque did not believe the lawyer's assertions.

Referring to Barnett, Roque said, "I would say thank God it wasn't her kid."

"He's still a human being, but to not stop and offer aid, he should get the maximum punishment and sent back to his country," said Roque, a medical doctor originally from Cuba. "Let him now pay for the crime."

Barnett said Rodriguez was working when the accident occurred, driving into New York City to pick up parts for his company, a printing firm in Hillside known as LallyPak. Officials of the company did not respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.

Authorities say Rodriguez was heading east on 61st Street, in the direction of the Hudson River and New York, when he turned left onto VanBuren Place, an intersection of two one-way streets without a traffic light, a stop sign or a crossing guard. Barnett said he was initially headed for the Lincoln Tunnel, but decided on an alternate route due to traffic.

Authorities said there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident. Nor, Barnett added, was there any indication that Rodriguez was on the phone at the time.

While Barnett acknowledged that her client was in the United States illegally, she is not representing him in immigration matters, and she declined to address his immigration status or how it played into his employment or his marriage in the United States. She said she did not know where he entered the country or on what basis.

Also charged in the case is Johana Rosas-Alvarez, 26, whose own lawyer, Rodrigo Sanchez, and Barnett have identified as Rodriguez's wife. Barnett said the couple were married eight years ago, though she did not know where or by whom, after they had known each other in Ecuador, where Rosas-Sanchez is also from originally.

Rosas-Alvarez, the legal owner of the SUV, was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and she is charged with hindering Rodriguez's apprehension by allegedly taking the Tahoe to a car wash to erase any evidence of what happened.
 
The couple made their first court appearance together on Wednesday, when both were clearly distraught and at times in tears. Sanchez has not returned calls since speaking to a reporter briefly following Wednesay's hearing. 

Barnett noted that the couple have a 7-year-old son, Fabian Jr., who has been reunited with his mother after she was released on bail this week.

The mother of Shaila Pichardo was also released this week, from Palisades Medical Center, where Roque said she was treated for injuries to her knee and back. She is inconsolable, the mayor said, often sitting by herself on the sofa even as the house is filled with well-wishers. Roque, a pain specialist, said he would personally attend to the mother, who is uninsured, free of charge.

The father, Javier Pichardo, a native of Mexico, spoke tearfully of his daughter's loss and of his absence of ill-will toward the SUV's driver during a press conference on Tuesday. Roque said Pichardo is anxious to bury her daughter, though a service had not been scheduled as of Friday. 

Roque, who has pledged to pay the little girl's funeral expenses personally, said a fund drive led by the West New York Police Benevolent Association has raised $10,000 to cover other costs, including flights plane tickets for Shaila's grandparents, from Puebla, Mexico. Roque said he picked up visas for them on Friday.
   
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The Small Business Administration has increased its lend rates to black-owned businesses 116 percent statewide, the agency announced this week.

ESSEX COUNTY -- The U.S. Small Business Administration is lending more money to black-owned businesses in New Jersey, the organization announced this week.

Within the first four months of the 2016 fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2015 through Jan. 31, 2016, the agency doled out 26 loans - totaling $5.4 million - to African American small business owners.

That represents a 116 percent increase over the number of loans, and a 74 percent increase in the amount of money, over the levels during the same period the year before, the agency said. In 2015, the SBA gave out 12 loans totaling $3.1 million to black borrowers, it said.

The average SBA loan to a black-owned business was $211,000, with the largest loan of $2 million going to a business in Irvington, officials said.

The loans, however, were unevenly distributed throughout the state, the SBA said. During the first quarter, Essex County saw the most loans to black business owners, nine, worth $2,605,000. Bergen and Burlington Counties followed, with just three apiece.

Nine of the state's 21 counties logged zero loans to black business owners in the same time period.

SBA New Jersey District Director Al Titone called the lack of loans in some parts of the state "disturbing."

"We obviously need to continue to aggressively market to our African American neighborhoods," he said, nothing that the agency plans to increase marketing and community outreach to African American business owners.

Still, SBA officials say the overall uptick in loans will continue. The SBA is on track to surpass last year's total number of loan approvals by 50 percent in 2016, officials said.

Kellie LeDet, a regional SBA administrator, credited the agency's lending partners, and specially-targeted programs, with increasing the loan amounts.

"In order to increase lending among African Americans and other ethnic groups...it is necessary for us to talk credit repair with them and it is a necessary step to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners to qualify for the financing they may need," LeDet said.

Overall, SBA loans in New Jersey were up 29 percent in fiscal year 2015, to 1,738 loans worth $822 million.

See how much money black entrepreneurs in your county were loaned in the first quarter of this year in the gallery above.

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

He also called out Gov. Chris Christie for supporting someone who would cut the EPA. Watch video

NEWARK -- Following Donald Trump's repeated call during Thursday night's debate to cut the Environmental Protection Agency to save money, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez rallied in support of the agency. 

Menendez (D-N.J.) also condemned the tone of the the most recent Republican presidential debate, and the fact the Governor Chris Christie would support Trump, given his EPA position. 

The frontrunner for the Republican presidential candidacy, Trump repeated prior calls to end the EPA during Fox's Thursday night debate.

"You have to judge, in the measurement of who you endorse, what they stand for," Menendez told NJ Advance Media on Friday.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) criticized Donald Trump's call to cut the EPA after the EPA announced on Friday, March 4, 2016, a historic plan to get 100 polluting companies to pay for a $1.38 billion cleanup of the Passaic River. (Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

"And (Thursday) night, Donald Trump once again reasserted that part of the way he is going to deal with the deficit is by eliminating the EPA. Well, then, I'm not surprised because he probably doesn't like the EPA engaged when he has to build buildings, he doesn't really care about the environment and how you affect it...You need someone to be the cop on the beat, and that's what the EPA is."

Of Christie's endorsement of Trump, Menendez said that "it's really, just in this dimension alone, pretty hard to comprehend, in the state that has the largest number of Superfund sites in the nation, that the governor would endorse someone who actually wants to end the agency that actually could do something about those sites."

N.J. to add to 25 more 'Superfund' sites

Menendez was speaking at a press conference in which the EPA announced a $1.4 billion cleanup plan for the polluted Passaic River, one of the most polluted rivers in the country.

Other officials at the conference, including U.S. Senator Cory Booker, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District Colonel David Caldwell, declined comment when asked specifically about Trump's statement.

Christie has been criticized recently by the Sierra Club of New Jersey for "siding" with water polluters. However, Martin, who was at the conference on behalf of Christie, said in his speech that Christie was a longtime, strong supporter of Passaic River cleanup.

"Gov. Christie and I are committed to protecting all the waters in New Jersey. Since the first day of this administration, the governor and I have been committed to this project very specifically," he said. "We decided that this was going to be a priority for the state of New Jersey. ...The chosen remedy and this record of decision is strongly supported by Gov. Christie and myself."

EPA Region 2 Regional Administrator Judith Enck also declined comment on Trump's statement.

"We don't get in the middle of partisan politics," she said to NJ Advance Media. "I think our announcement today in Newark is a great example of why you need a strong EPA to clean up the toxic legacy of the past."

Christie's press spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what his thoughts on the EPA and Trump's statement.

Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

People lined the streets for the annual Nutley event.

NUTLEY -- St. Patrick's Day celebrations have officially begun in Essex County.

The first of the county's three parades stepped off Saturday at the Holy Family Church in Nutley, and continued along Harrison Street, Franklin Avenue, and Chestnut Street.

This year, the Nutley Irish American Alliance honored a handful of locals, including 2016 Grand Marshal Mary Ellen Clyne.

The Nutley parade is one of three in the county. The others include one in Newark on March 11, and one in West Orange on March 13. West Orange recently announced its parade will be held in honor of longtime participant Brendan Tevlin, who was killed in a brutal murder in 2014.

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

Teacher makes a lesson out of a 1929 newspaper.

St. Thomas the Apostle School fifth-graders Colin Salandy, Taylor Cardew and Laura Conigliari look through a 1929 Newark Ledger newspaper.St. Thomas the Apostle School 

BLOOMFIELD -- When one of his students brought in a newspaper from 1929 that he found while helping his grandfather clean out his basement, St. Thomas the Apostle School fifth-grade teacher Michael Petrillo seized the opportunity to use it as a history lesson.

The newspaper was a Newark-Ledger from Dec. 3, 1929. The students were able to look through the newspaper and compare advertisements, news articles and political cartoons from then and now.

According to Petrillo, "Anyone can read from a text book over and over again, but giving the students something to hold, read, and see from a certain era, that is mind blowing to anyone let alone a fifth-grader."

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

Most lanes of traffic on Routes 1&9 in Elizabeth remained closed early this afternoon, hours after a one-car crash knocked down a utility pole.

ELIZABETH -- Only one lane was open in each direction on Routes 1&9 in Elizabeth early Sunday afternoon, hours after a single-car crash knocked down a utility pole.

The crash, which occurred before 7:30 a.m. near Maple Avenue, forced police to close all lanes of traffic in both directions.

A car struck a pole in a crash that split both the vehicle and the pole, city officials said.

They said the driver survived but suffered a broken leg. His identity was not immediately available.

A truck traveling down the highway then hit the wires, causing the pole to come down on the northbound lanes, officials said.

One lane was open in each direction on the highway by early afternoon, officials said.

However, repair crews from PSE&G were still at the scene as of 2 p.m. Sunday trying to restore power that was knocked out in the area.

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

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

The man employed by a major shipping company apparently shot heroin with a woman inside a warehouse bathroom Saturday

NEWARK - A contractor was found dead after shooting heroin at a Newark Liberty International Airport warehouse Saturday, according to a report by WCBS 880.

Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, the radio station says the man employed by a major shipping company entered a bathroom with a woman around 2 a.m. Saturday, and turned up dead later that morning.

A Port Authority source that spoke with NJ Advance Media Sunday confirmed the death, and said the woman had been taken in for questioning but later released.

Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo declined to comment at length, but said the contractor, a 64-year-old resident of Palisades Park, was pronounced dead after being rushed to Newark Beth Israel Hospital Saturday morning.

He also denied WCBS's report that the incident took place in a secure area and was being investigated as a "serious" breach.

"There was no breach," he said.

The history of pet photography goes back quite a bit further than most people think.

The history of pet photography goes back quite a bit further than the founding of icanhas.cheezburger.com.

Courtesy of mashable.com 

The picture at right has long been accepted as the oldest photograph to show a human being. Taken in Paris in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, the scene captures a man having his shoes shined in the lower-left portion.

But Amanda Uren notes on mashable.com that modern researchers believe they've also located a child and a dog on the opposite side of the street. They have not yet been able to determine if the dog was leashed or being properly curbed ... yet.

Courtesy of i09.com 

Cats weren't too far behind. Cyriaque Lamar states on i09.com that "the progenitor of shameless cat pictures was probably English photographer Harry Pointer (1822-1889), who snapped approximately 200 photos of his perplexed, albeit jovial, Brighton Cats. Pointer began his career shooting naturalistic photos of cats, but he realized in the 1870s that coaxing felines into ludicrous poses was an exercise in delicious absurdity."

"Pointer often arranged his cats in unusual poses that mimicked human activities -- a cat riding a tricycle, cats roller-skating and even a cat taking a photograph. Pointer increased the commercial potential of his cat pictures by adding a written greeting such as 'A Happy New Year' or 'Very many happy returns of the day.'"

Had the internet existed in Pointer's day, he would've been a very wealthy man.

Here's a gallery of photographs of animals in a slightly different situation -- they need homes. More adoptable pets can be viewed here and here.

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