David Furst

Mary Mann with New Jersey News Commons at Montclair State University joins New Jersey Public Radio host, David Furst, to highlight the work of two local news reporters. One covers the news for the web site, Planet Princeton - the other is a freshman working for the student radio station at Montclair State University.

Over the past couple of weeks, they broke stories that were later picked up around the state. The first has to do with a parking scandal in Princeton. The next involves the heckler who disrupted the second and final debate between governor Christie and State Senator Barbara Buono.

Steve Lonegan, the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey, is continuing to make up ground in some public opinion polls. A poll Monday from Monmouth University found the former mayor of Bogata trailing Democrat Cory Booker by 10 percentage points. 

The rollout of the health insurance exchanges is starting to gain momentum in New York, but progress continues to be slow in New Jersey. One state developed its own system - the other outsourced it to the federal government.

About two-thirds of the states, including New Jersey, opted not to develop their own exchange, and the federal system, healthcare.gov, has been consistently overwhelmed since October 1st, with relatively few people able to log in, create accounts, examine different insurance plans and enroll in a plan.

There's less than a week to go before a special election for the open U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Steve Lonegan faced each other in the second of two debates Wednesday night.

"This Trenton Life," a play created by high school students and the Passage Theatre Company, was performed this summer in in a revitalized vacant lot in Trenton. A mini-documentary about the experience now appears on the web site, State of the Arts. Mary Mann is with New Jersey News Commons at Montclair State University. She speaks with New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst about the collaboration.

From civilian employees facing furloughs at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to the closure of national parks in New Jersey, we've been hearing about the many ways the partial government shutdown is affecting people in the state.

But New Jersey bloggers have been doing a good job calling our attention to some of the less obvious impacts.

Mary Mann is with New Jersey News Commons at Montclair State University. She speaks with New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst about some of the OTHER results of the shutdown.

During the Rutgers-Arkansas football game last Saturday, some new lyrics were unveiled for the university's alma mater. The idea was to drag Rutgers into the 21st century and make the words more gender-neutral.

Specifically, "My father sent me to old Rutgers, And resolved that I should be a man..." is now "From far and near we came to Rutgers, And resolved to learn all that we can."

A raging fire has destroyed more than 50 local businesses and caused millions of dollars in damage in two Jersey shore resort towns
    
The fire destroyed the newly-rebuilt Seaside Park section of the boardwalk Thursday, but makeshift sand dunes saved the northern portion in neighboring Seaside Heights.

Orthodox Judaism meets high-tech innovation. "Wanna Pray" is the sassy name of a new app designed by Linden, New Jersey-based app creator, Josh Weiss. He's also vice president of his Orthodox synagogue.

New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst speaks about the new app with Mary Mann, with New Jersey News Commons at Montclair State University.

 

The 'Cake Boss' opens a new joint in Westfield... and the blogs go wild.

Mary Mann with New Jersey News Commons at Montclair State University joins New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst to talk about the new Carlo's Bakery location - and how the Cake Boss has gotten involved with making political endorsements in New Jersey.

While Syria's civil war has ravaged the country for more than two years, very few Syrian refugees have sought safety in the United States. The New York-based International Rescue Committee says that may be poised to change, however.

This month, Livingston was presented with an award for having the "best tasting water" in the state by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Water Works Association. And earlier this summer, Facebook called Livingston one of the top-10 "fittest" cities in America.

It's sobering that one of our first back-to-school stories this August is all about a "shooter drill" in New Jersey. But that's the reality of back-to-school, 2013-style. This was a major school shooting simulation that took place at Liberty Middle School in West Orange on Tuesday. The story was reported by West Orange Patch.

 

We may have missed 'Shark Week' on the Discovery Channel but we'll make up for it with a terrifying New Jersey story. This gruesome slice of state history appeared on weirdnj.com. It all started in Beach Haven in July of 1916.

It's the latest suburban showdown. Barista Kids recently reported on the growing divide between neighbors who spray their lawns with pesticides... and those who do not. Debbie Galant with New Jersey News Commons speaks with New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst about a new program to encourage pesticide-free lawns in Montclair.

It's standard practice around this time of year. As we head into the home stretch of the summer beach season, it's expected that shops and restaurants along the Jersey shore will grumble about the weather and its impact on their bottom line. But this year, obviously, is very different.

According to several reports, the stinging jellyfish in Barnegat Bay are worse than ever this year. New Jersey Public Radio's David Furst speaks with Mary Mann of New Jersey News Commons about the bothersome jellies - and a study underway looking into why they are now here in such abundance.

 

When a deadly and historic storm struck New York and New Jersey in late October, WNYC Radio became the hearth for a shell-shocked community to share needs, demand answers to pressing questions and get vital information.

On that evening of Oct. 29, WNYC lost electric service along with the rest of Lower Manhattan, but managed to stay on the air with generator power, austerity, and the sheer will of a dispersed staff. In a city without subways and tunnels, hosts, reporters and producers walked in the dark to reach our studios, and improvised to report from far-flung storm-ravaged areas.

In the 1970s, British singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band, The Rumour, recorded a series of acclaimed albums including Squeezing Out Sparks, which Rolling Stone ranked as one of the greatest of all time. Then it ended. Parker parted ways with the Rumour, launched a solo career and later settled in upstate New York.

New Jersey beaches are, on average, 30 to 40 feet narrower after Sandy, according to a recent study. Nearly $700 million dollars has been spent replacing sand on the state's beaches, ...