Burger Buzz – The Merchant owners, siblings Dave and Anne-Marie O’Brien, have been serving up good
food, cold brews, and delightful spirits in Downtown Jersey City for over a decade, but the newest
addition to their menu is an unbelievable burger. This Pat LaFrieda short rib burger is topped with beer
caramelized onions, applewood smoked bacon, horseradish-chive cheddar cheese, iceburg, and a slice
of heirloom tomato, served on a brioche bun with hand-cut fries to boot. It will tantalize your taste buds
and beat out all competition. On Thursday nights, the Merchant will offer up this beautiful burger and a
pint of New Jersey Beer Company beer for just $15. Come and enjoy!
The Merchant Bar & Restaurant, est. 2002, is located at 279 Grove Street in Downtown Jersey City, just
three blocks from the Grove Street PATH. For reservations and inquiries call 201-200-0202
—
Art Venue Nouveau – Bayonne Spotlights Artist Community with First-Ever Art & Music Festival Friday June 14th
Cats Watching Me
A Better Life
Â
St. Maarten Sunset
Faces of Bayonne
A Flower Painting
By  Sally Deering Hoboken’s been doing it for years; Jersey City does it, too; and now, Bayonne has joined the ranks of local towns holding their very own arts & music festivals. Where artists go, others follow, Joe Waks, a professional artist and member of the Art Circle of Bayonne says. More and more artists are planting roots in Bayonne.
 To celebrate that trend, Mayor Mark Smith and his administration are sponsoring Bayonne’s first-ever Arts & Music Festival on Fri, June 14, from 6 pm to 11 pm. Sixty artists from the Art Circle of Bayonne, a collective of painters, photographers, sculptors and other artists will exhibit their works inside the Bayonne Community Museum on Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets. Artists will also give free painting and drawing demonstrations outside the museum. Continue reading Art Venue Nouveau – Bayonne Spotlights Artist Community with First-Ever Art & Music Festival Friday June 14th
WIN, LOSE, DRAW -Courtroom Artist Christine Cornell See the Art in Justice
By Sally Deering
A terrorist flirted with her; a murderer stuck his tongue out at her; and a victim whose face was slashed shared with her the heart-stopping details of her attack – it’s all in a day’s work for courtroom artist Christine Cornell who has spent decades in the courtroom with her canvas and pastels drawing some of the biggest criminal trials in our country’s history.
Cornell, a Weehawken resident, has been drawing trials since the 1970s and images from her portfolio are sought after by documentary filmmakers like Ken Burns who features 30 Cornell drawings in his new film “The Central Park Five†which recently aired on PBS about the five young men convicted and later found not guilty of the rape attack of the “Central Park Joggerâ€. Just last week CNN contacted Cornell for a documentary on the 1980 murder of Beatles’ singer/songwriter John Lennon. They wanted to purchase the drawing Cornell did of gunman Mark David Chapman at his arraignment clutching the book “Catcher in the Ryeâ€.
Continue reading WIN, LOSE, DRAW -Courtroom Artist Christine Cornell See the Art in Justice
30 Before 30- Jonathan Verpent’s Mission: 30 Good Deeds by his 30th Birthday
By Sally DeeringÂ
 On August 25th Jonathan Verpent of Hoboken will blow out the candles on his 30th Birthday cake and complete something that took him a year to accomplish. Verpent will be celebrating his birthday doing his 30th good deed of the year.
 30 Deeds is Verpent’s website where he documents his experiences volunteering for many well-deserving non-profit organizations here in Jersey and in New York. With the help of New YorkCares.com and NewJerseyCares.com – two websites devoted to connecting volunteers with non-profits who need a helping hand – Verpent has completed 18 good deeds that have included walking dogs at an animal shelter, giving out meals to people who are homeless and building homes through Habitat for Humanity. Verpent performed his first good deed on the Saturday after Hurricane Sandy.
Continue reading 30 Before 30- Jonathan Verpent’s Mission: 30 Good Deeds by his 30th Birthday
Brava RAZZA Owners Dan Richer and Fred Shandler Take Pizza to New Heights in Jersey City
  By Sally Deering
 When you step inside RAZZA, Pizza Artigianale on Grove Street in Jersey City (right across from City Hall) you are immediately transported from the city street to a totally different atmosphere. Industrial and mysterious, like something out of a futuristic movie, the restaurant and the food are both unique and original. The walls are unpainted and reminiscent of the days when the space was part of the old Majestic Theatre, an old movie theater. There are unvarnished wood tables, metal stools and a large blackboard that features the day’s menu. Continue reading Brava RAZZA Owners Dan Richer and Fred Shandler Take Pizza to New Heights in Jersey City
Mayor Healy & Mayor-Elect Fulop to Attend Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Event With President
Mayor Healy & Mayor-Elect Fulop to Attend Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force EventJERSEY CITY – Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Mayor-Elect Steven Fulop will attend a Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force event with President Barack Obama and Governor Chris Christie at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, 1300 Ocean Avenue.
President Obama and Governor Christie will tour the Jersey Shore, view the rebuilding efforts and speak with homeowners and business owners impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Following the tour, President Obama will deliver remarks at the Convention Hall, where Mayor Healy and Mayor-Elect Fulop will be in attendance. Continue reading Mayor Healy & Mayor-Elect Fulop to Attend Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Event With President
City of Bayonne Announcements
Mini-Golf Course to Open
 Mayor Mark A. Smith has announced that the Bayonne Mini-Golf Course will open for the season on Memorial Day weekend – Friday, May 24, from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, May 25, Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m., weather permitting. The Mini-Golf Course will also be open on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) in June from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m. until school gets out for the summer. When the school year is over, the Mini-Golf Course will be open daily, weather permitting, through Labor Day, Monday, September 2.
          The cost to go around the nine-hole course is $3.00 per player. Continue reading City of Bayonne Announcements
Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark Joins National Memorial Day Salute to Our Heroes
Thousands of Catholic Cemeteries across the Country Unite for National Program
Catholic Cemeteries, NJ, May 27, 2013 – As the country prepares to celebrate Memorial Day, Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark will join thousands of Catholic Cemeteries across the United States in a national celebration, “Serving God and Country: A Memorial Day Salute to Our Heroes.” This national program, developed by the Catholic Cemetery Conference, will honor those men and women who died while serving in the armed forces, as well as recognize both our active military and military veterans who have served our country.
“Serving God and Country: A Memorial Day Salute to Our Heroes,†we invite our active military and veterans to participate in a Memorial Day Mass, and/or other cemetery-related activities throughout the weekend at Catholic Cemeteries. Veterans and active military are invited to serve as flag or candle bearers during the opening and closing processions at Mass, and will also be invited to serve as Lectors, participate in the Presentation of Gifts, and recite uniform intercessions followed by a moment of silence.
Hudson County Community College Announces Bayonne Resident David Tadros Is Valedictorian
 Hudson County Community College’s Class of 2013
Â
JERSEY CITY, N.J. / May 15, 2013 — Hudson County Community College President Dr. Glen Gabert announced that David Tadros of Bayonne has been chosen as Valedictorian for the College’s Class of 2013.
 David Tadros is not what many people would consider a “traditional†college student, insomuch as he is older — 26 years of age — and had postponed pursuing a college education until just two years ago. What’s more, he is “surprised†by the fact that he has been chosen as Valedictorian, despite the fact that he carried a 4.0 grade-point average throughout the two years he was studying at the College. Continue reading Hudson County Community College Announces Bayonne Resident David Tadros Is Valedictorian
Hudson County Community College to Hold Ceremonies Thursday Evening May 23rd, 2013
Approximately 1,000 students expected to graduate in the Class of 2013
             Â
 On thursday evening approximately 1,000 students are expected to graduate in the class of 2013. At the ceremony will preside Hudson County Community College (HCCC) President Dr. Glen Gabert; Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise; HCCC Board of Trustees Vice Chair Bakari Gerard Lee, Esq. and members of the Board of Trustees; Keynote Speaker J. Noah  Brown, President and CEO of the Association of Community College Trustees; 2013 Heritage Award Recipient Kenneth Lindenfelser, Sr.; Major Charles Kelly of The Salvation Army, who will lead the invocation; HCCC Class of 2013 Valedictorian  David Tadros and the students graduating in the HCCC Class of 2013; members  of the HCCC administration, faculty and staff.
  Hudson County Community College 35th Annual Commencement Ceremonies. will take place at Prudential Hall at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ.
Â
