From patrolling the streets of Jersey City as a Jersey City Police Officer to surviving in Cagayan on CBS Survivor Season 28. Tony Vlachos has  emerged as the winner this season
. Starting out as one of 18 castaways on the Phillippine Province of Cagayan, Vlachos went on to win the million dollar prize.
The winner was announced from the CBS Lot in Studio City, California in front of a live audience.
Vlachos went into the final two with fellow castaway Woo Hwang  a Martial Arts instructor.
By Ricardo Kaulessar  Photo by Ricardo KaulessarÂ
Reunions usually happen due to a shared experience: graduating from the same school, serving in the same military unit or working in the same job. But it is almost unheard of to hold a reunion for those who were born in the same hospital.
That is, unless you first came into the world at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital.
The legendary facility in Jersey City that for over 40 years, until its closing in 1979, had more than 350,000 babies delivered there was in the spotlight on May 16 when some of those “Margaret Hague Babies†– now full-grown adults – gathered at Zeppelin Hall in the city’s Downtown section.
The event, organized by the Jersey City Medical Center and the LibertyHealth Foundation, was attended by over 200 guests including well-known figures such as former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, now the executive director of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program, who was born at the Margaret Hague in November 1957, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who was not born at the Margaret Hague. Continue reading Born at the Margaret Hague
 
Hudson County Community College (HCCC) President Dr. Glen Gabert;  Chairman William J. Netchert, Esq. and other members of the HCCC  Board of Trustees;  keynote speaker Dr. Rod A. Risley, Executive Director of Phi Theta  Kappa honor society;             Heritage Award recipient, Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise; invocation leader Fr. Michael L. Braden, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry at St. Peter’s University;
  Valedictorian Diana Angelo and the more than 925 members of the Class of 2014;  and members of the HCCC faculty, administration and staff.
 Hudson County Community College 36th Annual Commencement ceremonies.
 Prudential Hall at New Jersey performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.
 Thursday evening, May 22, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
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Former Secaucus resident, Jon D’Amore, who returned 2 years ago for a Standing Room Only reading at the Secaucus Public Library of THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK, his book that chronicles, “…some interesting things that took place in town a few decades ago,†had a conversation with Mayor Michael Gonnelli a couple of months ago about the free concerts Jon put on in Buchmuller Park and Kane Stadium in the early 1970s. Continue reading The Town of Secaucus & Jon D’Amore Presents BOBBY MESSANO
by Melinda Myers
Spring is here and the garden centers are filled with beautiful plants. Many of us are making our way to one or more of our favorite garden shops. We leave with a car full of beautiful flowers and healthy vegetables with hopes of a bountiful harvest.
But before that first plant goes into the ground, make sure your soil is properly prepared. Though not the most glamorous part of gardening, it is the first and most important step in creating a beautiful and productive garden.
Continue reading The Secret to a Bountiful Garden and Beautiful Landscape
River View Observer Staff WriterÂ
Photos by Steve Mack
Election night May 13th results  in Bayonne  was a surprise to everyone especially the candidates for Mayor and the City Council candidates.
With both sides hoping to claim victory the results showed both Mayor Mark Smith and challenger Jimmy Davis each receiving 48% of the vote and the third candidate Anthony Zanowic receiving just 4%
The sure win of the night was 1st Ward Councilman -Elect Thomas Cotter who beat incumbent Councilwoman Agnes Gilesppie
As of this post all the results in other races were not confirmed.
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JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency today
announced that a total of four bids were received for the restoration and management of the historic Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Journal Square.
The respondents included:
1) AEG Live/Mana Fine Arts/NJCU
2) Ace Theatrical group/ NJPAC/ NJCU
3) Catch Holdings LLC
4) Live Nation/Jones Lang LaSalle
Continue reading Respondents to Loew’s RFP include Community Based and National organizations; RFP Committee Selected with Members of the Community to Participate
Bayonne Election for Mayor and City Council May 13th , 2014 Just around the corner
 By Ricardo Kaulessar- photo by Steve A. MackÂ
If you don’t know who Mark Smith, James Davis and Anthony Zanowic are, then you are probably not aware of the upcoming Bayonne municipal election.
The three men are vying to get the most votes on May 13 to be propelled into the highest office in Hudson County’s southernmost city.
However, they are not the only ones on the ballot as there are candidates looking to represent each of the city’s three wards as well as two at-large seats on the City Council.
So in the final days before Election Day, those in the running for mayor and council are doing everything from pressing the flesh with constituents to debating each other in public venues in order to win.
Mark Smith
It’s a cliché that applies not only to sports but just as appropriately to politics – in order to be number one, you have to beat number one. That applies to the challengers who seek to dethrone Mayor Mark Smith.
Smith, who has been mayor since November 2008, is running for a second four-year term.
Continue reading Contenders for Mayor, Council Running in Bayonne Election
To Bean or Not to Bean
  By Sally Deering
To the chili-lover, there’s nothing tastier than a bowl of kidney beans, onions, and peppers simmering in a bath of spicy tomato sauce. Add in beef, pork or other meats and they may soon wax poetic on the art of a good bowl of chili.
Last year, more than 1,000 chili-lovers descended on Grove Street Plaza in Jersey City to taste a bounty of varieties of the hearty concoction created by local chefs and home-cooks vying for chili titles like Spiciest and Best Vegetarian. On Saturday, May 3rd, the plaza will once again be a hub of hungry chili-lovers salivating for some super chili samplings at the 5th annual 4th Street Arts Chili Cook-off and Fiesta Fundraiser. And while cook-off attendees chow down on some tasty chili, a panel of judges will taste-test and award Golden Spoons (wooden spoons painted gold) Golden Skillets and other prizes in several best chili categories. Continue reading Jersey City Cooks Throw Oven Mitts in the Ring at 4th Street Arts Super Chili Cook-off
