Cranford Radio

Many people in Cranford have attended a play or musical in New York City. While you see the performers on stage there's a lot you don't see that makes the show possible. Cranford resident Christy Ney has worked extensively in theater including stints with the Tony Award-winning Side Man, the first national tour of The Lion King and 14 years in the New York City production of Wicked.

Today, she teaches, does free lance work as a stage manager (and more), and is involved with the arts community in Cranford.

Calvary Lutheran Church will host this annual event the evening of Thursday, December 19. The event is organized by the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council. One of the leaders of the organization, Rev. Carmine Pernini, the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Rahway, spoke with me about the event.

As sung in one of the signature songs from the musical, the next Cranford Dramatic Club production is a "tale as old as time." However familiar this story may be, there will still be some surprises as the CDC presents Disney's Beauty and the Beast in December.

Cranford Radio spoke with three of the cast members, Avamichelina Hodgens (Belle), Zach Love (Beast) and Sean Lynch-Littlejohn (Lumier) to get a sneak peak at the musical.

The Cranford Public Library's current building opened in 1962. While the main library has expanded over the years, the children's room has basically maintained the same footprint. That's going to be changing.

Starting in the new year, construction will begin on an expansion of the children's room. Joining me on this week's podcast is Kathy Cannarozzi, the director of the Cranford Public Library. We talk about how the library will change, the funding and the schedule.

Additional information on library expansion

If you're old enough to remember the late 1990s you may recall the hype and excitement about the dawning of the internet age. Some predictions came true, other promises fizzled. Today, artificial intelligence is having a similar moment.

For this week's episode I turned to Google's NotebookLM. I uploaded articles about me from The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as a piece I wrote and presented on CBS Mornings. The results are amazing and scary. You have to listen carefully to realize these are AI-generated hosts.

Narcan, generically known as naloxone, is a medication that can reverse or reduce the effects of an opioid overdose. You do not need to be a medical professional to administer Narcan.

The Cranford Prevention & Wellness Alliance, together with the Cranford Police Department, is sponsoring a free Narcan training and distribution event at the Cranford Community Center.  It will be on Tuesday, October 15 between 7 and 8:30 pm.

On this week's episode I speak with Karen Bennett from the Alliance and Captain Matt Nazzaro from the Cranford Police Department about the event and how Narcan is used.

Community Access Unlimited has provided training, housing and employment services to those with developmental disabilities since its founding in 1979. One of CAU's newest ventures is the T.eat.ch Café, where members can learn and practice various aspects of running a restaurant. 

On this week's episode I speak with Sandie Lynch, CAU's associate executive director, and Joshua Moreines, a Cranford resident and graduate of the program.

In some ways the story of Rev. Dr. Deborah Brooks is the story of returning. First, there was her returning to live in Cranford after spending the first ten years of her life in town. There was also returning to St. Mark AME church, first as a member and then as the pastor.

In this week's episode hear about Rev. Brooks journey, a bit about the congregation and an upcoming Family & Friends Day to which the community is invited.

Fans of anime are likely familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh!. Two of the main characters on the series are Marik Ishtar and Yami Marik. Both were voice by Cranford resident Jonathan Todd Ross. Today, Jonathan is a prolific audiobook narrator, having narrated nearly 500 books.

On this week's Cranford Radio episode we talk about both roles, including getting an inside look at what goes into voicing an audiobook and how technology has and continues to change the business.  

On Monday, August 12, the bloodmobile will be at the Community Center between 1 and 7 pm. Donors on Monday will be get a voucher for tickets to a Mets game. 

This week's guest on the podcast is Genevieve Toscano, an account manager with New Jersey Blood Services, a division of the New York Blood Center. We chat about why the need for blood increases during the summer, the different types blood donations that can be made and some of the misconceptions about donating blood.