It sounds like something from a “CSI” episode, but it’s not fiction. And though the story has no (apparent) link to the area The Observer covers, you never know. Over the course of 40+ years, people can move aound a lot. Old memories can resurface. Maybe someone knows something; something they didn’t even realize was [...]

A couple of major news stories that made headlines recently made me wonder where the United States is headed as a force for change in the world. First, there was the devastating fire at the fertilizer plant in Texas that laid waste to much of the host town, West, and the puzzlement over what, if [...]

    Okay, enough with the serious stuff. It’s time for another column of absurdities, or another absurd column. Your call. Animals are always good copy so let’s start with the creature pictured to the right. You may already know the story because it broke last month, but in case you didn’t hear about it, [...]

Ag-Gag Laws and Freedom of the Press Dear Editor: “Despicable, unconstitutional, ridiculous, immature, idiotic, and mendacious.” And that’s just how Tennessee newspapers characterized the state’s “ag-gag” bill now awaiting the governor’s signature. “Ag-gag” bills criminalize whistleblowing that exposes animal abuses, unsafe working conditions, and environmental problems on factory farms. Instead of encouraging whistleblowing and preventing [...]

Some weeks ago, after completing my work at The Observer after 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, I drove to Kearny High School to take some photos of the stalled construction project. I parked my car on Devon St., close to the main entrance, and proceeded to take some shots of the classroom trailers on the school’s [...]

To the Editor: In recognition of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, I’d like to encourage Nutley motorists and motorcyclists alike to commit to “sharing the road” during the month and all year long, in a collective effort to reduce motorcycle death and injuries. Motorcycles are among the smallest and most vulnerable vehicles on the [...]

On Monday, April 15, being otherwise occupied and not one of those people who tweet or Facebook, I had not been online, or near a TV, all day, so I was oblivious to what had happened in Boston. I returned home and flipped on the television, and there on the screen was President Obama addressing [...]

So the sword has fallen on the head basketball coach and athletic director at Rutgers, our premiere State University, in the wake of the release of videos showing abusive actions and homophobic barbs by the coach toward his players. Should we be shocked that (a) nothing happened until the videos came to public light, (b) [...]

There is one aspect to a job in journalism that I have never quite understood, and with which I have never been comfortable. I’m talking about the ghoulish pursuit of a) crime victims, b) accident victims, c) the families of crime victims or accident victims, and the worst d) the families of murder victims — [...]

Last week’s story about neighbors up in arms about a development proposal that would replace a vacant Belgrove Drive dental office with a two-family home incorrectly reported that the dentist who occupied that office had passed away. Dr. Charles Bridges is alive. We regret the error.