Highland Park Planet (http://highlandparkplanet.org/page/2/)
The borough wins certification at a prestigious “silver” level community, earning an impressive 515 points
Highland Park prides itself for its activism and intellectual thought on practical local and international matters. It is the position of the Highland Park Equity Commission that our local government should not be engaged in legislative retaliation against geopolitical movements and potentially any residents who support them. READ MORE
Highland Park is on a fast track to get federal funding for improved walking and biking sidewalk access to Irving and Bartle schools. On Tuesday, October 23, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, along with Senator Patrick Diegnan, Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak and Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, announced the advancement of a Safe Routes To School (SRTS) project that will improve the safety and access of sidewalks near the Irving School and the Bartle School. READ MORE
Sustainable Jersey on Tuesday Oct. 22 announced
the recipients of the 2019 Sustainable Jersey for Schools awards – and the
Highland Park School District was among the winners by earning the GREEN TEAM
COLLABORATION AWARD. “The district institutionalized a culture of
sustainability since it was last recognized by Sustainable Jersey three years
ago. The natural next step was to work with borough partners to scale up our
efforts by implementing exciting projects like the $30,000 grant-funded
planting of trees all over our campuses,” said Dr. Scott Taylor, Superintendent, Highland Park Schools. The announcement was made at a reception during
the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) Workshop 2019 in Atlantic
City. READ MORE
On Saturday Nov. 9, 2019, the Highland Park Conservative Temple (HPCT) – Congregation Anshe Emeth will host a special Shirainu Jewish Music concert featuring Ensemble Lucidarium. Founded in 1991 in Basel by Avery Gosfield and is now based in Geneva and Milan, Italy, Lucidarium is on a USA tour, supported by the Canton of Geneva. READ MORE
Acclaimed actor Denzel Washington is coming to New Brunswick, NJ to receive the first Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee Living Legends Award from Crossroads Theatre Company at its inaugural A Night With Crossroads fundraising and friend-raising gala and show being held at several venues within New Brunswick’s arts and cultural district on Saturday, October 19. READ MORE
Rutgers scholar Camilla Townsend offered her opinion on the nationwide debate over whether Columbus Day should be abolished and statues of Christopher Columbus removed. “Abolishing Columbus Day will not change what happened. But we should add an Indigenous Peoples’ Day and encourage schools to take it seriously, as Canada has done. Many students graduate high school thinking that perhaps they shouldn’t celebrate Columbus without knowing exactly why, and still knowing next to nothing about indigenous peoples’ history. Helping them learn that history might yield better results than abolishing a holiday,” Dr. Townsend said. READ MORE
Scientists from Rutgers University and around the world have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium from a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a “plant probiotic,” more robust plants and other antibiotics. READ MORE
The Rutgers Jewish Film Festival celebrates 20 years of exploring Jewish history, culture, and identity through film. Running from Nov. 3-17, the festival will feature 19 films, including four New Jersey premieres and a closing night preview screening, and discussions with filmmakers, scholars, and other noteworthy guests. The event will be held at three venues: New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick (NBPAC – Opening Night Only); AMC New Brunswick, 17 US Highway 1 South, New Brunswick (AMC); and Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street, Princeton (PGT). The festival is sponsored by Rutgers’ Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life and is made possible by a generous grant from the Karma Foundation.
The festival kicks-off on Sunday, Nov. READ MORE
Highland Park Police officers on Sept 30 arrested an individual suspected of allegedly attempting burglaries/break-ins at residences on Graham and Donaldson Streets. READ MORE
Susan Avis Lichtig, age 67, died on Sept. 18, 2019 in her home in East Windsor, N.J. Prior to September 2018, she had been a longtime resident of Highland Park, N.J., and active in the community.
Susan was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Dec. 25, 1951, daughter of Edwin Lichtig, Jr. and Edna Frieder Lichtig. Early in her life, Susan was one of just a handful of women to be selected to attend Dartmouth College’s first Exchange Program. After graduating from Wheaton College, in Norton, MA as a French major, she received an EdM in Educational Media from Boston University. For most of her career, she served as a quality assurance professional and corporate training instructor/designer at Bellcore, Telcordia, ADP and the International Monetary Fund. Her greatest passion was in creative expression. She devoted
herself to cooking special gourmet meals for family and
friends, developing her own mixed media art forms, and teaching art at local senior centers,
at the Highland Park library as well as regionally, e.g., as a teaching intern
at the International Center for Photography in NYC and as a teacher’s aid for
artist Mary Taylor. READ MORE