New Jersey’s Public Employee Pension Fund is severely underfunded based on projected demands of future pension payments and retiree health care costs, which appear to be growing at an unsustainable pace. That is the conclusion...
Read MoreThe contentious tone of public discourse in the months leading up to the November U.S. presidential election has been widely acknowledged, as well as the public's desire for more 'news' and less 'opinion.' But another troubling aspect of news has been the tendency to personalize news stories...
Read MoreThe Nieman Journalism Lab—a project of Harvard University— has issued its annual round of predictions for the future of journalism in the coming year (double future tense is Nieman's.) from a wide swath of news professionals. These 200-plus short essays are candid...
Read More"The most important issue regarding cities is getting people to believe that things can be different," said Carol Coletta, Senior Fellow with the Kresge Foundation's American Cities Practice and luncheon keynote speaker for the second NJ Spotlight on Cities conference in Newark.
Read MoreAs creative director of a civics-based news site featuring videos about social change, I'm asked from time to time how CivicStory decides on topics for its stories. Answer: When initiatives have 4 or 5 significant or surprising elements that are of interest to a broad...
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CivicStory's successful June 9th benefit program began with a fascinating 'champagne tour' of Recharging the Image: Selections from the Mott-Warsh Collection guided by Curator Mary...
Read MoreYou may think that dictionaries are 'old hat' to young tech-savvy students. But to Franklin School 3rd Graders, they're "magnificent,"...
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President Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers University -- the first by a sitting U.S. president - included key civic points...
Read MoreTwo hundred and fifty information theorists, scientists, engineers and researchers from around the world converged at Nokia Bell Labs in Murray Hill last Thursday and Friday to celebrate the centennial of mathematician Claude Shannon...
Read MoreMarch 30, 2026 - I started the day by making an omelet with fresh eggs—that is, eggs laid by one of my neighbor Jenny’s hens...
Read MoreOne phrase [from Laudato Si'] that just leaped off the page at me was this, and I'll quote Pope Francis directly...
Read MoreFew people could have viewed the political behaviors on display over Presidents' Day weekend, immediately following Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s death...
Read MoreThis forum, for those of you who are new, is a response to Pope Francis's invitation to all people...
Read MoreThe Pope’s 2015 encyclical on climate change—“On Care for Our Common Home”— created an enormous stir around the world when it was published 8 months ago...
Read MoreOn January 7 nearly 50 citizens gathered in Summit's Calvary Episcopal Church to hear Fletcher Harper, Executive...
Read MoreWhether the Paris climate agreement motivates humanity to avert a climate apocalypse is a story only the coming years will tell. I do believe, however, that any encouraging forecasts about the future of life on Earth will depend largely on...
Read MoreLast Tuesday, more than 200 people from 40 cities gathered in Newark to attend “Legacy City Preservation: A National Conversation” at Rutgers University-Newark’s newly renovated...
Read MoreThe Newark Riverfront Guide was researched, written and designed by a team led by Damon Rich (former Planning Director & Chief Urban Designer for the City of Newark), including staff from the Newark Planning Office and...
Read MoreThere's reason to be optimistic about the news coverage in advance of Paris climate talks -- especially if you hope the conference succeeds in pivoting the world toward a healthier future for humanity. Last week...
Read MoreFrom garden clubs and river-keepers to watershed associations and environmental commissions, every municipality in New Jersey has a group of environmental nonprofits in close proximity...
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