It’s great when residents decide to clean up their city – when they take a problem into their own hands and fix it. They put on their gloves and give hours of their time to remedy a problem government refuses to fix. I’ve participated in clean-ups in Plainfield and elsewhere. Once, I even spent the…
I want you to take a look at lot 8 in Plainfield. It’s located on Watchung Avenue, right behind the first block of East Front Street downtown businesses. Lot 8 has become atrocious through years of decay and neglect by Plainfield leadership. And while it has relatively new, modern parking meters – the paint job…
Anyone who regularly uses Pemberton Avenue to go from East to West in Plainfield knows that the street has been closed since the fall because, according to signs, the bridge is out. I went to the park and took this photo with my drone on December 21st. At that point, you can see that there…
Born and raised in Plainfield, I registered this blog in 2013, on the day of my 27th birthday. I then actively posted here for several years before slowing down to writing only occasional stories in 2016 – in the middle of my three-year term on the Board of Education. But through the years, I have…
Last October I had a job interview in Seattle. I didn’t want to move there, really. Even though flights are relatively cheap, it’s pretty far away with a three hour time difference. But I was willing to relocate almost anywhere to get my foot in the door as a professional writer. While I ultimate didn’t…
Disclaimer: Before I start, this is strictly a political analysis. No talk of potholes or crime or classrooms – not today at least. Let’s discuss what transpired earlier this week. On Tuesday night, Mayor Mapp called the day’s election results “bittersweet”. The Democrats won, but his Board of Education candidates were handily defeated. Click here…
On Wednesday, April 4th, the Plainfield Anti-Violence Coalition will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. “We must keep King’s vision of economic justice, fair and decent housing, and social justice alive,” said Coalition Chairman Norman Deen Muhammad. The memorial will…
The Plainfield Public Schools Office of Early Childhood has launched a new initiative designed to increase the engagement of fathers as well as improve early literacy development by creating child-friendly reading spaces at the local barbershops in Plainfield. According to Early Childhood Director Evelyn Motley, each of the preschool centers has committed to set up…
Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp and the Plainfield City Council want a raise. Most notably, Mayor Mapp would like he and his mayoral successors to make $75,000. The $145,000 in raises for elected officials come with no increase in responsibilities. They are still part-time positions. If this ordinance passes on second reading, our part time mayor…
On the afternoon of Saturday, July 15, around thirty residents gathered at the corner of Plainfield Avenue and West Fourth Street to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Plainfield rebellion of 1967. The commemoration was lead by the Plainfield Anti-Violence Coalition. Elena Rutherford and I took the pictures you will see here. I apologize for…
