PART ONE
More of 2019’s most noteworthy stories:
The U.S. Department of Labor and Social Security Administration National Disability Employment Awareness Month? We agree with with DJ, blogger, and Rock Against Dystrophy founder John “Turbo” Shatesky: Such a mouthful when #RockYourDisability gets right to the point! And at the risk of taking it too literally, he was joined by singer and fellow wheelchair user Phil Barbetta of the band Corevalay.
Eight physicians who work for Coordinated Health through service agreements had to go to court to retain their “staff privileges” at St. Luke’s Hospital in Warren County. Non-profit St. Luke’s says that Coordinated Health’s for profit system doesn’t work with theirs. Since there are only two hospitals in the county, everyone should both be working on something will that will work for their patients.
Plans for the largest wind energy farm in the U.S. have been approved for 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. The first phase is scheduled to come online in 2024 and aims to light half a million homes while generating 15,000 jobs. While Governor Phil Murphy as set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2050, we’ll settle for lower gas prices.
The debut album of North Jersey band Aurin features a song written by their guitarist about the suicide of his brother, and a video featuring messages from fellow mourners. “I miss him every single day of my life,” says Andrew Wayne. “I wanted to let people hear about the kind of after effects that suicide can cause.”
Todd Fraizer, of both the New York Mets and Tom’s River, went to bat with RWJ Barnabas Health to help fund a recreational site for those with special needs. Inspired by a 19-month old who suffered a traumatic brain injury, the Field Of Dreams project will feature rehabilitative stations, an all-inclusive playground, and facilities for soccer, bocce, basketball — and baseball, of course.
Dr. Sajjad Iqbal, who ran a pediatric practice in Ridgewood NJ for 35 years, was diagnosed with salivary duct carcinoma in 2002. Given a 30% chance of surviving for two years, he came up with his own care plan, wrote a book, and joined the board of a cancer patient advocacy organization. His efforts reached a patient 8,000 miles away in New Zealand through a Facebook group, and the recommendations Dr. Iqbal made rendered the patient cancer free!
“Kids enjoying recess or playing soccer should not be overwhelmed by the smell of rotten eggs,” state senator Nicholas Sacco said when he introduced a resolution to permanently close the Keegan Landfill in Kearny. A judge ruled against the landfill’s owners the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), citing it as a “clear and immediate danger.”