News

New Jersey has asked the Philadelphia-based delivery company goPuff for more information regarding its successful application for a $39 million state tax incentive.

It comes one week after WBGO reported that goPuff had failed to mention a federal overtime and minimum wage violation when asked on its 2018 application.

Legendary Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau has died at the age of 99.

His distinguished 35-year career included countless convictions and high-profile cases, including Bernie Goetz and John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman. He also developed a reputation for going after white-collar criminals.

Jessye Norman’s commanding soprano makes her the quintessential operatic diva for many listeners. But she frequently draws inspirations from jazz: She ranks Billie Holiday, Mabel Mercer and Sarah Vaughan high on her list of influences.

“I love singing jazz,” Norman told Rhonda Hamilton in 2013. “I don’t like the idea that classical music should be over here and jazz should be someplace else. It’s all wonderful, and we should be open to enjoying it all.”

And introducing SPAGA, a new trio led by pianist Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits.

New Jersey will tighten its already strict gun laws with a new set of measures aimed at reducing illegal firearms sales and curtailing gun suicides.

They are the latest laws signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, a progressive Democrat who has made gun control one of his top priorities since taking office.

“Even though we have more work to do, we must take great pride in what we are doing today,” Murphy said at a Tuesday press conference. “These new laws will continue to send the message that we take gun safety and the safety of our communities seriously in New Jersey.”

Award-winning contemporary American Sculptor, conceptual and visual artist, painter and printer Willie Cole was born in Newark but his artwork is loved worldwide. 

Cole, who now lives in Mine Hill, New Jersey and part-time in Los Angeles, is excited about his latest project that will eventually end up in a Newark school.  He'll be using 16 and 8 ounce water bottles to create a 30-foot kid sculpture.  It's not the first time he used water bottles in an artistic way.

WBGO commentator Mildred Antenor is tired of hearing that certain candidates aren't "black enough" to run for office or represent certain populations.

Antenor says the most recent example is California Senator Kamala Harris.

El Paso City Councilman Peter Svarzbein recently spent a weekend in Newark while he attended the Next City's first-ever regional Vanguard conference.

WBGO's Alexandra Hill caught up with Democratic councilman to talk to him about the border crisis impacting his community.

A group of academics and analysts have recommended changes to how New Jersey draws its legislative maps.

The report comes about seven months after top lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled legislature abandoned a plan to rewrite the rules around legislative mapmaking in response to overwhelming opposition.

New Jersey will dramatically limit how its state prisons and county jails use solitary confinement, under a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday.

The bill will exempt certain “vulnerable” inmates from being kept in isolation and lessen the use of the practice on prisoners for whom solitary confinement is deemed necessary.

“I don’t think it can be overstated how real this is for so many people who’ve been really mentally, emotionally, and spiritually tortured through long-term isolation,” said Rev. Charles Boyer, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Woodbury.

The theatre season is just getting started, it's way too soon to predict theatre awards -- but theater critic Michael Bourne says he's seen a winner off Broadway, The Secret Life of Bees.

On the list of things that must be done over to get right, surely a remake of The Lion King is somewhere down near the bottom. Disney’s 1994 original animated version made about a billion dollars worldwide at the box office. 

So, why is there a remake?

To make a lot of money again, that’s why. 

Andreas, The Boy Who Imagines is a new children's book that teaches youth how to dream again without needing technology.

It’s the first published work of Jersey City author and songwriter Jeraco Rivers. Rivers says his two-year old son sparked his desire to write “Andreas the Boy Who Imagines”.  In the book,  a youngster uses a special gift to help his single mother get through some difficult times.

Rivers recently sat down with WBGO Media Fellow Marcellis Counts to talk about his message.

Charlie Haden left us five years ago, but his influence and musical contributions are still being felt today.

Last year, Impulse! Records posthumously released a tranquil recording featuring the double bassist in an intimate duo setting with the pianist Brad Mehldau, titled Long Ago and Far Away. They performed together in 2007 at the Enjoy Jazz Festival in Germany.

The home delivery service goPuff failed to disclose a federal labor law violation to New Jersey officials when it applied for a $39 million corporate tax break last summer, a warehouse workers union said.

It is the latest example of a company facing scrutiny for its application to the controversial Grow New Jersey tax incentive program, which is currently under investigation by a state task force that found it lacked oversight.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bill that could help revitalize blighted areas in towns and cities.  

The New Jersey Land Bank Law allows municipalities to use public or nonprofit entities as an agent to acquire abandoned properties and revitalize them to benefit neighborhoods. Governor Murphy says it gives cities like Newark, Paterson, and Elizabeth another tool to reshape communities.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that there is "no rationale" as to why the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team members are paid less than men. Cuomo made the comments ahead of signing equal pay legislation into law. 

The legislation expands on a state law prohibiting gender pay discrimination making it illegal to pay someone less based on factors such as their race, religion, or gender identity. Cuomo signed the changes into law, just before joining the U.S. women's soccer team for the parade honoring their World Cup victory.

The pastures of perfectly lined soccer pitch didn’t always exist as they do at Players Development Academy.

The United States Women’s National Soccer team paraded through the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan, receiving keys to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio during a post parade ceremony.  New Jersey’s own Carli Lloyd was the first member of the team to speak to the thousands of fans in attendance.

“I'm super proud of this team.  We were obviously here four years ago; it never gets old.  These parades are amazing.  The fans are amazing,” she said.  

Boosters and critics of New Jersey’s controversial tax incentive program came out to speak Tuesday during a public hearing in Trenton held by the state task force investigating the programs.

Gov. Phil Murphy created the task force to look into a system he said lacked oversight under the previous administration and needs to be overhauled.

Several speakers at Tuesday’s hearing agreed with Murphy’s position, but others said the generous tax incentives have helped lure businesses to some of New Jersey’s most distressed cities that would have otherwise lacked development.

For 35 years, the tradition of Jazz in July at the 92nd Street Y has been a swingin’ shelter from the swelter, while delighting audiences with scorching sounds spread over 7 evenings.