Community Corner

Newark Obesity Campaign in Top State News

A weekly look at news in New Jersey.

Mayor Cory Booker's Let's Move! Newark campaign, Newark Now and Nestle have teamed up to bring an educational pilot program to New Jersey's largest city that will  starting in early childhood. A staggering 45 percent of children ages three to five are overweight or obese in Newark, more than twice the national rate.

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With the help of a longtime friend, Matthew Ferguson videotaped himself in several stages of shaving while  by artists Nicki Minaj and David Guetta. The Internet world ate it up, and in two days, the video has gone viral, amassing more than 330,000 views.

Find out what's happening in East Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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The state's two largest utilities were rebuked by the Board of Public Utilities Saturday for not doing more to prevent explosions that endangered the public. In both cases—a manhole explosion that burned a woman in Morristown last summer and a house explosion in Clifton in 2010—the incidents were part of a pattern of problems. [NJ.com]

Find out what's happening in East Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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Unlike Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Jersey City Mayor Jerramaiah Healy is to his city for a Jersey Shore spin off. In an interview with Good Day New York, Fox 5's morning show, Healy said he is welcoming the two "young ladies" to town.

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Bruce Springsteen, a member of 2008's inaugural class of inductees in the New Jersey Hall of Fame, is being joined in enshrinement by familiar faces. Gov. Chris Christie announced the newest hall members Friday, with Springsteen's E-Street band making the cut. [Asbury Park Press]

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A Bridgewater-Raritan High School alumnus, and Raritan native, is looking for the vote of his former neighbors and others to get him an exciting new challenge—the chance to . According to Brian Domingo, a Raritan native and current San Francisco resident, he is one of three Mets baseball fans, and one of 50 overall, names as a finalist in the 2012 MLB Fan Cave Contest.

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New Jersey will receive an estimated $837 million as part of Thursday's $25 billion settlement among five giant banks and state and federal authorities on foreclosure abuses, raising hopes of financial relief for some homeowners who were evicted or are facing foreclosure. The settlement money will be used to lower loan amounts and allow refinancing for some homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth—a group that numbers 300,000 in New Jersey. [NorthJersey.com]

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With the controversy still swirling, West Deptford committeeman Sam Cianfarini said Thursday he isn't backing down or apologizing for controversial remarks he last week. It was just two words—"Heroin High," in reference to West Deptford High School—that ignited the firestorm, which Cianfarini said has been taken out of context and used for purely political purposes.

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The Marine Mammal Stranding Center of Brigantine on Friday morning was monitoring a common dolphin that has been  on the bayside of Ocean City for more than 24 hours. Brandi Biehl, a field stranding technician with the Stranding Center, said the marine mammal is out of its range and likely very stressed.

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U.S. Senator Robert Menendez came to Ridgewood this week  in clearing congestion and cutting red tape to initiate transit development while preserving and creating jobs.


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