One year after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered classrooms around the country and the world, a new NPR/Ipsos poll find U.S. parents are guardedly optimistic about the academic and social development of their children. 62% of parents say their child's education has been disrupted. And, more than 4 out of 5 would like to see schools provide targeted extra services to help their kids catch up. This includes just over half of parents who support the idea of summer school. WBGO resident reporter and dad James Frazier has more on what parents and students having been facing during remote learning. This feature is part of Newark News and Story Collaborative made possible by grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative, headed by WBGO Community Engagement reporter Brit Harley, is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in both local and national media. The Collaborative trains

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Challenging Times for Online Learning in Newark

Recreational marijuana is finally legal in the Garden State. After a failed bid to pass recreational marijuana in the state legislature, a statewide ballot question overwhelmingly approved by voters, and then disputes over how the new system would look, Gov. Phil Murphy signed three new laws last month effectively legalizing weed for personal use. But what does that mean? Many aspects of this new paradigm — from the legal marketplace to the implications for policing to the expungement of past convictions — remain hazy. Here’s what we know and don’t know yet about the state of legal cannabis in New Jersey: The new legal industry Possession of six ounces or less of marijuana — and using it on private property — is now decriminalized in New Jersey for people ages 21 and up. That means you can’t be criminally charged for it. So far though, it still isn’t technically legal to buy or sell recreational marijuana, and won’t be until state officials write regulations and award licenses to the

Recreational marijuana is legal in N.J. What happens now?

We are coming to the end, we hope, of a melancholy season. There are a number of films in theatres and streaming currently which deal with the slow winding down of a life and the effect it has on family. Include in that Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari , a memoir of a Korean family’s move to farm in Arkansas in the 1980s, and Falling , actor turned director Viggo Mortensen’s story of a grown gay son coping with a hateful father in Los Angeles. The best of them is The Father , with Anthony Hopkins, like us, cooped up in his apartment and losing his sense of what’s what and who’s who. Some years ago, I interviewed Anthony Hopkins at the Locarno film festival in Switzerland. He was 69 then and said that at the turn of the millennium he had arrived at a place where he no longer cared what people thought. He'd ended his marriage of 30 years, ran off and married a San Francisco antiques dealer, gave up his British passport and became an American citizen. I met him shortly after he made The World’s

Film Critic Harlan Jacobson Reviews "The Father" starring Anthony Hopkins

The head of New York City’s school system is stepping down in a few weeks. Richard Carranza struggled to hold back tears as he mentioned he has 11 family members and close friends he has lost to Covid-19. He was asked, though, if his departure was connected to disagreements with the mayor on education policy. “I am leaving because I need to take care of me. I need time to grieve. This city, this school system, deserves a chancellor who 100% is taking up the helm," he said. The current superintendent in the Bronx, Meisha Porter, will take over, becoming the first Black woman to hold the job. “I am ready to hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to full recovery," she said.

NYC Schools Chancellor Resigns, Citing Personal Losses

New York City health officials are pushing back against a report showing a new coronavirus variant is rapidly spreading there. The New York Times cited research suggesting this new variant is quickly spreading and vaccines may be less effective against it. But New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said he disagreed because, he said, not enough is known about what he called the New York variant. "We don’t have any evidence at this point that this New York variant, the B.1.526 is what is contributing to the trajectory of cases," he said. Chokshi went on to say that there are no indications so far that this strain spreads more easily, causes more severe illness or reduces vaccine effectiveness. Dr. Jay Varma, the mayor’s top advisor for public health, called this a variant of interest that the city is tracking, saying more data and studies are needed. He said it doesn’t change anything about the city’s public health concern. The variant shares a mutation with the South Africa

NYC Health Officials Dispute Report of New Variant Spread

Veteran actor Frank Grillo has trained as a boxer and martial artist for nearly four decades. That commitment has led to some of the most physical roles in the movie industry, including Boss Level which premieres on Hulu March 5. Boss Leve l is an independent action-thriller co-produced by Grillo along with director Joe Carnahan. It's one of at least eight movies for Grillo in 2021. Grillo joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle from his home in Los Angeles, CA to talk about his passion for fitness and acting. Grillo's character, a retired special forces soldier named Captain Roy Pulver, is trapped in a never-ending time loop on the day of his death. Boss Level's supporting cast includes Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Will Sasson and Grillo's son Rio. One of the film industry's tough guys got emotional when talking about working with his real-life son on the set. "I saw him in a very different light. I saw him as an individual. The movie was just a couple of years ago so he must have been 10 and a

SportsJam with Doug Doyle: Actor and Martial Arts Enthusiast Frank Grillo stars in "Boss Level"

The film Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of Fred Hampton, the Chicago Black Panther leader who was shot to death by law enforcement authorities in 1969. The film is generating Oscar buzz in all the major categories, including best picture. The 40 year-old Brooklyn-based director Shaka King tapped his uncle, a Harlem jazz musician, to compose the film’s score. Click above to hear WBGO's Jon Kalish's feature on the music behind Judas and the Black Messiah .

The Jazzy Score of "Judas and the Black Messiah"

WBGO commentator Mildred Antenor has some advice for transracial couples who want to adopt. Antenor stresses during these troubled times, parents will still need to have "the talk" with their adopted children. Mildred Antenor is a professor and the author of The Gladioli Are Invisible: A Memoir. Click above to hear her commentary.

Commentator Mildred Antenor: Transracial Adoption Comes with Responsiblity

The 41st Annual Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series , One Begins Again: Organizing & the Historical Imagination, will be online on Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 9:30am. The conference is presented by the Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience. You can register here . Joining WBGO Journa l host Doug Doyle is Director of the Institute, historian, curator, writer and professor Jack Tchen and two orginal members of the Marion Thompson Wright Study Club, former Director of Planning for the City of Petersburg, Virginia Leonard Muse and Seton Hall Professor of History Larry Greene. This year's MTW conference wil moderated by Barbara Ransby. Alicia Garza, Bill Fletcher Jr., and Cara Page, each in important ways, speak about organizing as a means to healing generations of society-wide injustice. Professor Tchen says the coronavirus pandemic has prompted his staff to change its approach to this year's conference. "With it being virtual we have a chance

41st Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series "One Begins Again" will be virtual Saturday February 20

The Jazz and music world continues to mourn the loss of one its most beloved artists. Pianist, keyboardist, composer and Bandleader Chick Corea. Corea died on Wednesday, February 10 from a rare form of cancer that was diagnosed just recently. Corea is a revered figure in contemporary jazz but is also an artist whose work spanned fusion to classical. He was 79. WBGO has many specials planned this month to celebrate Corea's impact of the world and this station. in 2014 on WBGO’s “The Checkout” program, host Josh Jackson sat down with Chick Corea for a memorable chat. Bassist and Jazz Night in America host spoke with NPR’s Here and Now …..about his relationship with Chick Corea. Keep it tuned to WBGO for much more music and information about the legacy of Chick Corea. He was putting out so much lately on social media during the pandemic. Thanks for the great music Chick….We will all miss you.

Chick Corea's Legacy on WBGO

After covering the pandemic for more than a year WBGO’s Alexandra Hill is one of the first on our staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Alexandra documented the experience as she received the second and final dose of the Moderna shot at the former Kmart location in West Orange New Jersey. “I made getting the vaccine a priority and was eager to sign up in January when the demand was not as high, the reason, I live in a multi-generational home and care for not only my children, but my 75 year old mother. This location is by appointment only, something that’s just as hard to come by as demand continues to increase, volunteers check you in upon arrival before swiftly finding you a private curtained off room where you receive the injection.” Once you are inoculated you are given a vaccine card with your name date of birth and dates of vaccination. Then it’s off to the observation area where you must remain for 15 minutes before you are allowed to leave. “Overall the experience was fast and

WBGO's Alexandra Hill Documents Vaccine Journey

The inspirational story of Davyeon Ross is just one of the many reasons why ShotTracker , the company he co-founded in 2013, has reached amazing heights in technology and sports. Ross, who was born and raised in Trinidad and Tibago, became an All-American basketball player at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Ross joined SportsJam host Doug Doyle to talk about ShotTracker, his business and tech saavy, his basketball career and the importance of family and faith in his life. ShotTracker is a revolutionary sensor-based system that delivers statistics and analytics to teams, fans and broadcast networks instantly, enhancing the experience of the game, both on and off the court. ShotTracker is already a game-changer in college basketball with the likes of Bill Self of Kansas, Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Mike Brey of Notre Dame stressing the importance of the system that gives their clubs real-time game information. Davyeon Ross not only brought his background in computer science

SportsJam with Doug Doyle: ShotTracker President and Co-Founder Davyeon Ross

Two River Theater's most popular education program in Red Bank, New Jersey is creating something entirely new with Tiny Shakes: Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed by Em Weinstein (A Little Shakespeare: Twelfth Night ). Weinstein and Two River's Education Director Kate Cordaro joined WBGO Journal host Doug Doyle to talk about the exciting and creative break from the theater's A Little Shakespeare productions. Because of the limitations of 2021 and coronavirus pandemic, Tiny Shakes brings high school students (audition submissions due March 1) from all over the country together with a professional design team, with students performing and supporting the production behind the scenes. Em Weinstein says students will get a great opportunity to delve deeply into Shakespeare's star-crossed romantic tragedy, giving them creative license to come up with virtual interpretations through TikTok videos, animation, dance routines, as well as rap battles and traditional scene readings. "I love

Teen Auditions Sought for Tiny Shakes: Romeo and Juliet at Two River Theater

Like Toronto, NY and other film festivals, Sundance in the Plague Year was virtual. It reduced its scope and crammed 73 films into six days. Nothing unspooled, it all streamed digitally, with 28 satellite drive-in sites scattered around the country. Here in the East it was freezing, and we got the snow Park City didn’t. Our film critic Harlan Jacobson sees black and white in color at Sundance this year. HJ:. Sundance this year took the measure of Race – where we’ve been and where we are, maybe where we’re headed only by inference. Sundance 21 was Black History Month condensed to a concentrated week . One after another, across the Sundance spectrum of American dramatic films and documentaries, the stories focused on Black characters, historical or fictional, first and foremost coming to terms with identity and with Color. Fred Thompson, Alvin Ailey, Rita Moreno, Romeo and Juliet on Instagram, Black Baltimore under surveillance cameras, prisoners in the Ivory Coast. The Black films that

Film Critic Harlan Jacobson Reviews 'Judas and the Black Messiah' and 'Summer of Soul'

The number one housing complaint in New York City during the winter months is a lack of heat. Tenants who want to force their landlords to provide adequate heat can call the city’s 311 line and request that an inspector from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development visit their home but there are a limited number of inspectors and home visits may occur when a tenant is at work. Tenants can now use a tech tool to get action: a web-enabled thermometer that documents conditions inside their homes. WBGO’s Jon Kalish fills us in on the Heat Seek device.

Heat Sensor Technology Provides Hopes for NYC Tenants

Hosted by Doug Doyle The WBGO Journal is an award-winning half-hour news magazine that airs Saturdays at 6 am. Reports and analysis, informative interviews and features.

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