STAGEfest 2013 at The landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Journal Square
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JERSEY CITY  – Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, and the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management, are asking that the residents of Jersey City take the necessary precautions in the event of dangerous weather conditions.
by: Maureen Wlodarczyk
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When I was five years old, we moved from Jersey City to Union Beach, a place where my parents could afford to purchase a small ranch house with carport. For many years after, I spent two to three weeks each summer back in Jersey City, visiting my maternal grandparents at their apartment on Rose Avenue in Greenville. I loved staying with them and being the center of my grandmother’s attention. My grandparents never owned a car so my grandmother and I would take the bus to Journal Square to shop or see a movie. One summer I unexpectedly came down sick, very sick. My grandmother tucked me in up to my chin in her own bed and called for the family’s faithful physician, Dr. Front. He was what used to be called a (very) “tall drink of water,†and had to duck his head when coming through the doorways of the apartment. When he appeared at my bedside, I am told that my eyes opened wide like saucers. No doubt. Looking up from my sickbed to take in the whole of him was quite an experience. His diagnosis: the grippe.
Today, the word grippe, coming from a French word meaning “seize suddenly,†has been replaced by the modern term “influenza,†the two words being essentially synonymous. For decades before that summer I took sick in Jersey City, Hudson County residents had been stricken by periodic grippe outbreaks including in 1889 and 1892. The most serious of those was the 1918 “Spanish†influenza pandemic that first broke out in Europe and killed thousands of soldiers on the battlefields of World War I before making its way to the United States.   Continue reading Hudson Then . . . Again- INFLUENZA
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JERSEY CITY, N.J. / March 1, 2013 — Hudson County Community College (HCCC) invites area families to gather the children together and come to the College for a day of reading and fun. The College will hold its Sixth Annual Literacy & Family Day on Saturday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street, just two blocks from the Journal Square PATH Station in Jersey City. There is no charge for admission; all children must be accompanied by an adult.
 HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert said the event, which is prepared and presented by the College’s Academic Affairs Division and the Culinary Conference Center, is an annual celebration of the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, who is better know to generations of Americans as Dr. Seuss, author of Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat and 44 more beloved children’s books. Continue reading Hudson County Families Invited to Bring the Kids to Hudson County Community College’s Sixth Annual Literacy & Family Day

 JERSEY CITY, N.J. / February 26, 2013 — Hudson County Community College Foundation will present another segment in “Arts Talk Series†on Friday morning, March 1, 2013 when the very accomplished and productive artist Mark Beard appears. The event will take place at 11:00 a.m. in the Follett Room of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center at 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City — just two blocks from the Journal Square PATH Station. The event is FREE and open to the entire community.
 Born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1956, Mr. Beard has worked in many media. His prints, paintings, sculptures and handcrafted books have been exhibited throughout the world and are included in collections at the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), the Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT), The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München (Munich, Germany), Albertina (Vienna, Austria), at Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities, and at Hudson County Community College (NJ). Continue reading Noted American Artist Mark Beard to Appear at Hudson County Community College Foundation’s Next Arts Talk Series Presentation

NFL Players and Twins Devin and Jason McCourty, Devin plays for the New England Patriots and Jason for the Tennessee Titans were in Jersey City City Hall yesterday as sponsors along with the City of Jersey City for the Tackle Sickle Cell Blood Drive. The blood Drive was held between the hours of 10:30 am -4:30 pm.
NFL PLAYERS THE MC COURTY TWINS IN JERSEY CITY FOR TACKLE SICKLE CELL from River View Observer on Vimeo.
A group of Hudson County residents give blood on Saturday February 23, 2013 for the Tackle Sickle Cell blood drive sponsored by NFL Players and twins Devin and Jason McCourty and the City of Jersey City
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By Sally Deering

 In October 2012, the second annual Golden Door International Film Festival of Jersey City lit up screens at the Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre and other venues where films from all over the world premiered and winners chosen. On Sat, March 16th, the festival’s Executive Director Bill Sorvino presents “The Best of the Fest†where three films from the Golden Door International Film Festival will have encore screenings at Art House Productions in Jersey City.
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The feature film to be shown is “Maybe Tomorrow†directed by Michael Wolfe and starring Wolfe, Dominik Tiefenthaler and Paul Lange. At the Golden Door, the film won Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay. The film centers on the friendship between three men and the test their friendship endures when they become involved in a crime that ultimately changes their lives forever.
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Next on the bill is “Pollination*† a short film about the special life of plants by filmmaker Sam Borowski and starring Federico Castelluccio (of “The Sopranosâ€) and Chris Kattan.Â
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Rounding out the evening is “My Time with the English Tourist,†a short documentary by Jersey City resident John Dunstan that won the Audience Choice award. The film short is a 13-minute valentine to Jersey City’s Liberty State Park and the wildlife that resides there as seen through Dunstan’s camera lens during walks with his English bulldog Tommy.
 “These three films were chosen across the spectrum,†Sorvino says. “The feature film, ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ is a powerhouse movie starring Michael Wolfe. John’s film is a short documentary about the walks he took with his dog and the beautiful wildlife in Liberty State Park. It’s a great film. And Sam’s film ‘Pollination*’ packs a 7-minute wallop.’ Continue reading Golden Door Does Its Best Film Festival’s ‘Best of’ to be Screened at Art House Productions in Jersey City
JERSEY CITY, N.J. / January 25, 2013 — New and continuing students at Hudson County Community College still have time to register for Spring classes, which begin on Monday, Jan. 28, and Spring Late Start classes, which begin on Feb. 11.
  HCCC offers a variety of classes in degree and certificate programs which meet during the morning, afternoon and evening, weekdays and weekends, in online and in-person formats. The College also has articulation agreements with several area colleges which will facilitate transfer of credits for a bachelor’s degree.
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For more information, please visit www.hccc.edu/mystart or call 201.714.7200.
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 By Sally Deering

It’s January and the winter blahs are knocking on the door, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit home with another Lean Cuisine. Why not skip the frozen dinner, throw on your overcoat and head out for some yummy neighborhood dining during Hudson Restaurant Week and a night of yummy delights at A Taste of Hoboken. Both events are a terrific way to spice up these cold wintery days – and nights.
 On Tues, Jan. 22, A Taste of Hoboken, the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA’s annual gala fundraiser celebrates its 22nd anniversary. It will be held at Stevens Institute of Technology’s Canavan Arena in Hoboken with 40 restaurants, bakeries and cafes participating. These eateries will be offering tasty bites from the dishes on their menus and some chef surprises, too.  And for the first time since A Taste of Hoboken started all those years ago guests will have the opportunity to sample beer and wine from all over the world. Continue reading Calling all Foodies! Hudson Restaurant Week and A Taste of Hoboken invite Foodies to Feast

 Kirk, who studied at Townson Unviersity and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland left his home town immediately after graduating and began touring – he traveled with the USO and Indie pop rock singer/songwriter Jenny Boyle playing in a number of European countries, Africa and the Middle East and joined Gary Thomas, founder of jazz studies at Peabody, on tour in  Japan, before returning to work on his Masters at NYU.  While at NYU he met and played in essembles with John Scofield, Chris Potter, Kenny Werner and Lenny Pickett.  He was an adjunct faculty member in the Steinhardt Music School at NYU and headed a music outreach program for inner city youth in Harlem and the east Village.  It would begin his passion for bringing music to underserved communities which he continues to do through the OrchKids initiative in Baltimore.