Author: ECCYC

(SUMMIT, NJ) — Vivid Stage, formerly Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, will present a world premiere production of Life’s Work by Laura Ekstrand from April 21 through May 1. To complement the production, Joan Speare’s paintings will be displayed in the lobby at the Oakes Center. The exhibit, entitled “A promise made, a promise kept,” includes works that the artist created in her deferred career.

Speare says, “I knew I wanted to try oil painting, but life got in the way – marriage, divorce, raising children alone.  I promised myself that I would paint when I retired.  Cancer forced me to leave the corporate world.  So I started painting. Ten years later I am happily creating art with oils and have won several awards including First Prize in the Essex County Senior Art Show 2020. I am at last doing what I have wanted to do for so many years.  But I can’t help wondering what life would have been like had I been able to begin painting earlier in life.”

“A promise made, a promise kept” will run concurrently with the show from April 21 through May 1, and may also be viewed by appointment.

Life’s Work is a new play by Vivid’s Artistic Director, written with the ensemble members in mind. Every intimate relationship is based on a web of understanding, whether implicit or explicit. In this comic drama, two couples discover what happens when their agreements around work and money shift and evolve. Chip suddenly decides to quit his corporate job, blindsiding his wife Lynn, who is just returning to her career after years as a primary caregiver. Shelly, a photographer who earns her living as a barista, navigates her relationship with the practical Eduardo, a restaurant manager. This world premiere production asks, ‘Is it possible for a partnership to survive when the ground rules change?’

Vivid Stage will require all visitors to show proof of vaccination and a photo ID for all events, and to mask throughout their time in the facility. Proof of vaccination may include a valid paper vaccination record, a photo of a valid vaccination record, the NJ Docket App, or equivalent app from your state. 

Life’s Work will appear at Vivid Stage at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit from April 21 through May 1. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Special dates: Thursday, April 21, is a preview performance; all tickets are $25. Sunday, April 24, is Senior Sunday; seniors age 65+ pay $25. Talkbacks follow the April 24 and May 1 matinees.  Tickets are available for purchase online. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre.  

Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs. The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and many other corporations, foundations and individuals.  Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

NEWARK — The Department of Public Safety in New Jersey’s most populous city is searching for a woman accused of pepper-spraying a victim and stealing that person’s purse following what is being reported as a road rage incident Friday afternoon.

The department said in a Facebook post that video surveillance captured the suspect spraying the victim with OC spray and taking the handbag just before 2 p.m. Friday in the area of 14th Avenue and South 12th Street.

No further information was given about the instance of road rage that was reported to have preceded the encounter.

The suspect, a Black female, was identified as wearing a security uniform for Allied Universal, a Conshohocken, Pa.-based company with two offices in Newark.

At the time of the incident, she was driving a black, four-door BMW, approximately between the model years 2003 and 2010, according to police.

Anyone with information can call the 24-hour Crime Stoppers tipline at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477), visit newarkpd.org, or download the Newark Police Division app.

Patrick Lavery is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com

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Essex News Daily

This article was posted online by Essex News Daily. Spot On New Jersey collects excepts of news articles from this source and add these in the ‘Gateway’-category.

NEW BRUNSWICK — The Rutgers University Police Department is reminding students and other residents of this college town to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity after a victim was robbed on the street Sunday night.

RUPD said on Facebook that the victim, whom they said was affiliated with the university, was approached by “multiple male perpetrators” around 8:45 p.m. at Bishop Place and College Avenue.

According to the police report, the suspects demanded items of value, the victim was struck twice with a closed fist, and both sides of the confrontation fled the scene. The victim reported he witnessed the perpetrators heading down College Avenue in the direction of Mine Street.

Further descriptions of the suspects are limited, police said. No weapons were displayed in the encounter.

The victim sustained minor injuries, according to police, but refused medical attention.

RUPD is advising members of the community to avoid “isolated or dark areas,” and walk in groups during nighttime hours.

Security escorts can be requested by calling 732-932-7211, the police department said.

Patrick Lavery is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com

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A memo put out by acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin might be shocking to some. Platkin’s memo makes clear that under New Jersey’s legalized recreational marijuana law members of law enforcement are well within their rights to partake in the consumption of marijuana as long as it’s when they’re off duty.

It reminds police departments they “may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use cannabis off duty.” As long as they’re not actively high on duty, it won’t matter if a drug test shows traces of thc left in their system from days or weeks ago.

If you find this shocking, get over it. Some police officers already use marijuana when they’re off duty. Guess what? So do some judges. Some lawyers. Some doctors. Some everybody.

When legal sales begin Thursday, April 21, the only thing this changes for those officers is a threat is removed for them. As well it should be. Just as alcohol is a legal substance but no law enforcement officer would be allowed to be drunk on the job the same it will be for marijuana and being high. But what they do in their private time, just like alcohol used responsibly, is none of our business.

Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer disagrees with me. She’s a Republican out of Gloucester who has a problem with Platkin’s memo and put out a statement on the matter.

In it Sawyer says, “Anyone who wants to work in public safety must be held to higher standards. Our men and women in law enforcement have the responsibility to make life-altering decisions on a daily basis, for themselves, their partners, for the public. I want to trust that they are at their best when doing so.”

On what basis is her beef? The fact that marijuana is still an illegal Schedule 1 substance under federal law. This ridiculous classification puts marijuana unfairly in the same dangerous classification as LSD and heroin.

This apparently got the attention of Gov. Phil Murphy who on Monday says he’s open to changing the rules and disallowing off-duty officers from partaking in legalized marijuana.

New Jersey’s law legalizing marijuana isn’t going to greatly increase the number of officers smoking marijuana when off duty. I think Assemblywoman Sawyer has seen “Reefer Madness” as a documentary rather than a propaganda film. If you want to support our police then support the decisions they make on how they want to live their lives when not on the clock.

Who’s right? Take our poll below.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now:

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Arc of Essex County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism, gathered for its 24th annual Building Tomorrows 5K Run and Family Walk on Saturday, April 9, at the South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange.

The 5K winners were Jose Veras, 30, of Jersey City, and Julianne Roberts, 29, of West Orange, Veras, the overall winner and men’s division winner, finished with a time of 17:04, and Roberts won the women’s division with a time of 23:40.

Ian McCartney, 31, of Hoboken, with a time of 17:48, and Carlos Nunes, 56, of Kearny with a time of 18:03, rounded out the top three for the men’s division, and Allison Place, 41, of West Orange, with a time of 24:57, and Michele Ellis, 52, of Lake Hopatcong, with a time of 25:17, rounded out with silver and bronze for the women’s division.

Other local runners who made the top 99 are: Joseph Boyce, 29, of South Orange, with a time of 21:27.64; Andy Gonzalez, 25, of Bloomfield, with a time of 22:29.80; Jonathan Gonzalez, 29, of Bloomfield, with a time of 23:06.51; Mark Reyes, 29, of Bloomfield, with a time of 24:03.53; Korbone Fong, 33, of West Orange, with a time of 24:21.16; Richard Hoff, 60, of South Orange, with a time of 24:31.44; Paul Delos Reyes, 34, of Verona, with a time of 24:47.02; Kevin Gilligan, 29, of West Orange, with a time of 26:24.76; Florence Dibella, 48, of Maplewood, with a time of 26:31.61; Meredith Whitaker, 31, of South Orange, with a time of 28:48.96; Nate Murphy, 9, of Maplewood, with a time of 29:35.47; Jacqueline Ogilvie, 57, of West Orange, with a time of 30:17.64; Maggie All, 38, of Montclair, with a time of 30:46.36; Nicole Stainer, 28, of Livingston, with a time of 30:48.22; Donald Theobald, 57, of Caldwell, with a time of 31:07.24; Kimberly Theobald, 26, of Millburn, with a time of 31:07.35; Nehemie Exius, of West Orange, with a time of 32:21.27; Cameron Black, 26, of West Orange, with a time of 33:12.45; Jacob Selin, 50, of Livingston, with a time of 33:38.51; Chau Reyes, 31, of Bloomfield, with a time of 33:43.66; Kate Facto, 39, of Maplewood, with a time of 34:07.47; Jennifer Cudmore, 48, of South Orange, with a time of 34:07.49; Arden Murphy, 11, of Maplewood, with a time of 34:08.87; Chris Murphy, 48, of Maplewood, with a time of 34:09.14; Sherri Kim, 53, of Livingston, with a time of 34:18.38; Michael Brown, 29, of South Orange, with a time of 34:56.12; Sophia Chanana, 13, of Verona, with a time of 35:17.20; Arun Chanana, 57, of Verona, with a time of 35:17.22; Wanda Weaver, 62, of Newark, with a time of 36:13.33; Mike Baldassare, 57, of West Orange, with a time of 36:27.79; Adam Krieg, 45, of Maplewood, with a time of 36:45.43; Samuel Choi, 12, of Livingston, with a time of 36:49.78; Stephanie Chen-Schmidt, 28, of Verona, with a time of 37:09.58; Richard Trenk, 64, of West Orange, with a time of 37:31.84; Diane Choi, 49, of Livingston, with a time of 39:16.96; Nancy Fass, 46, of Belleville, with a time of 45:36.97; and Sarvani Piratla, 38, of Millburn, with a time of 51:11.09.

The event raised more than $50,000 for The Arc of Essex County, and also included a family-friendly walk and an assortment of family activities, including a magic show, interactive bubble stations and cupcake decorating. It was the first time Building Tomorrows had been held in person since 2019.

The Arc of Essex County is one of the state’s largest providers of services and supports to the IDD community with a wide variety of programs that serve individuals from birth through their senior years.

“We would like to congratulate all of the runners and walkers who took part in the 2022 Building Tomorrows 5K Run and Family Walk,” The Arc of Essex County CEO Linda Cancro Lucas said. “It was so delightful to be able to gather together again, and thanks to everyone’s fundraising efforts and the participation of the community, we raised needed funds which will enable The Arc of Essex County to continue to fuel vital programs and services for children and adults with IDD.”

Top fundraisers were Maria Thottukadavil, Nancy Fass and Patricia Salmon, who received gift certificates donated by McLoone’s Boathouse as prizes.

  ARC of Essex County, South Mountain Recreation Complex

EAST WINDSOR — A man was struck by a tractor trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike Saturday afternoon creating massive traffic delays.

Charles H. Niclas 3rd, 43, of Somerdale, was standing outside a vehicle on the shoulder of the northbound outer roadway north of Exit 8 in East Windsor around 12:25 p.m.

The driver of the tractor trailer, which was towing a fifth wheel recreational vehicle stayed at the scene after the crash, State Police Trooper Brandi Slota said.

The right two lanes of the outer lanes were closed for several hours with delays on both the inner and outer lanes going back at least 14 miles to Exit 7A for Route 195.

It was the fifth fatal crash on the New Jersey Turnpike this year, according to State Police records.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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TAP Into Another Town’s News:

New Jersey Transit is looking at keeping the mask mandate in place on portions of all NJT trains, even when the federal mask mandate is lifted.

The mask mandate for trains, busses and airplanes was due to expire today, April 18, but the Biden administration announced it was extending mask rules until May 3.

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying infection rates to determine if the masking rules will be extended again.

“This is a CDC call,” Jha said on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ “CDC scientists made it very clear that they needed 15 days to asses the impact of BA-2 on hospitalizations and deaths to see if there’s a substantial increase in severe disease.”

However, NJ.com reports a NJT rider and commuter advocate asked board members on April 13 to consider setting aside one car on all trains that would still require masking.

Face coverings have become a highly polarizing issue throughout the pandemic. They are largely voluntary in all areas of New Jersey. Even as COVID cases have been rising over the last several weeks, Gov. Phil Murphy has resisted imposing a new statewide mask mandate.

When Murphy lifted mask restrictions for all but medical settings in New Jersey, that did not include mass transit. Federal rules require masking on all mass transit and airplanes and in airports, transportation hubs, rail and bus stations and on train platforms.

At least one NJT commissioner was open to the idea of having a ‘mask only’ rail car.

It would be similar to the so-called ‘quiet cars’ where cell phone use is prohibited.

No vote on the issue was taken, but NJT staff members have been asked to report back to the board on the feasibility.

There are concerns about how accepted the cars would be among riders as well as enforcement.

There has been an increase in rude behavior toward conductors asking for enforcement of existing mask mandates and that has also translated into a sharp rise in the number of assaults against NJT crew members.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

NJ Transit is looking at keeping the mask mandate in place on portions of all of its trains, even when the federal mask mandate is lifted.

The mask mandate for trains, busses and airplanes was due to expire today, April 18, but the Biden administration announced it was extending mask rules until May 3.

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying infection rates to determine if the masking rules will be extended again.

“This is a CDC call,” Jha said on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ “CDC scientists made it very clear that they needed 15 days to asses the impact of BA-2 on hospitalizations and deaths to see if there’s a substantial increase in severe disease.”

However, NJ.com reports a NJ Transit rider and commuter advocate asked board members on April 13 to consider setting aside one car on all trains that would still require masking.

Face coverings have become a highly polarizing issue throughout the pandemic. They are largely voluntary in all areas of New Jersey. Even as COVID cases have been rising over the last several weeks, Gov. Phil Murphy has resisted imposing a new statewide mask mandate.

When Murphy lifted mask restrictions for all but medical settings in New Jersey, that did not include mass transit. Federal rules require masking on all mass transit and airplanes and in airports, transportation hubs, rail and bus stations and on train platforms.

At least one NJ Transit commissioner was open to the idea of having a ‘mask only’ rail car.

It would be similar to the so-called ‘quiet cars’ where cell phone use is prohibited.

No vote on the issue was taken, but NJ Transit staff members have been asked to report back to the board on the feasibility.

There are concerns about how accepted the cars would be among riders as well as enforcement.

There has been an increase in rude behavior toward conductors asking for enforcement of existing mask mandates and that has also translated into a sharp rise in the number of assaults against NJ Transit crew members.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.