Opinion Forum

Election Day USA

November 7th, 2012

By Jan Barry The young woman walked up to the closed, dark community center and burst into tears. “Where can I vote?” she said to an older woman standing in the virtually empty parking lot. “This is my first time.” And so began a conversation among strangers that led to my being asked to drive […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: assistance, community, election, New Jersey, storm, voters, voting
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Stormy Weather

November 3rd, 2012

By Jan Barry Nobody was prepared for the force of Hurricane Sandy when it smacked into the Jersey shore on Monday: Not the barrier island towns turned into miles-long piles of mangled houses, buried cars and burning gas lines, and their dazed, defiant old-timers who’d weathered previous storms, but had to be rescued by police […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Christie, FEMA, hurricane, New Jersey, NY, Obama, Sandy, storm
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A Commitment to Uncovering Local Environmental Issues

December 8th, 2011

By Jan Barry The headlines in a recent newspaper series unveiled a shocking story: “DEP let poison flow for decades” … “North Jersey riddled with failed cleanups” … “Desperate to move, but bound to stay; Residents say homes in Superfund site are worthless.” Got your attention? That’s the intent of the “Toxic Landscape” series that […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: chemicals, environment, Garfield, New Jersey, Ringwood, superfund, toxic
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Weather Wise

November 15th, 2011

By Jan Barry Early Warning Winter dropped from the October sky Two days before Halloween— Tree branches smothered in snow On summer leaves snapping deep into the night Made darker by downed power lines Global warming! skeptics scoffed— As this part of suburban civilization Staggered for days without electricity, Closed schools, postponed Halloween Until tangled […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: electricity, global warming, New Jersey, snow, weather, winter
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Uncle Sam’s Dioxin Cover-Up

July 19th, 2011

By Jan Barry Vietnam and New Jersey, despite the vast distance between them, share a deadly link. Both places, lushly beautiful this time of year, were poisoned by United States government actions regarding one of the most toxic chemicals, dioxin. In Vietnam, dioxin was widely spread as a contaminant in forest-killing Agent Orange herbicides that […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Agent Orange, dioxin, EPA, Ford, HBO, Mann, New Jersey, pollution, toxic
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