WBGO's Bob Hennelly, who is also a reporter for the Chief Leader , talks to WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about how first responders and civil service workers in New York City haven't had all their stories told. Bob has been covering the struggles of the NYFD, NYPD, First aid and others as they deal with the coronavirus crisis. Check out his most recent article about that here .

Father Robert Ballecer is a Jesuit priest from California known for his high tech skills. He’s been living and working in the Vatican since 2018, setting up video studios and helping with social media projects. WBGO’s Jon Kalish spoke with him earlier this week to find out what's the latest digital projects he's working on. Click above to hear their conversation.

Alex Urrea, CEO of Eduscape, has been leading educational companies for more than 20 years. Urrea says passion is to reach as many learners as possible by leveraging technology to personalize the learning process and give teachers and students an active voice in their education. Urrea spoke to WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about how Eduscape, based in Montvale, New Jersey is working with schools and parents during the coronavirus pandemic. At Eduscape, Urrea invests his time collaborating with

Since January 8th, 1948, Easterseals New Jersey says it has worked to meet the continuously growing needs of people with disabilities and the families who love them here in New Jersey. Easterseals New Jersey CEO Brian Fitzgerald talked to WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted his organization. "The intellectual developmental disabled population, they are primarily in a group residence or with their family. The group we are most concerned about are those

Even before Eddie Cotton officiated the Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis fight in 2002 in Memphis, Tennessee, he was legend in Paterson, New Jersey. Cotton, who served as the first black president of the Paterson City Council, died early this morning at the age of 72. He had been hospitalized for more than a week after contracting the coronavirus. Paterson public historian Jimmy Richardson says Cotton was extremely popular in town. "We grew up on the same street, Governor Street, and remained friends

Should the coronavirus pandemic devastate state revenues across the country, as is widely expected, New Jersey will be among the states most dependent on federal aid to keep itself running. That precarious position — relying on a president and Congress who have been willing to let New Jersey bleed money in the past — is the product of decades of poor financial planning and spending instead of saving. “Our fate is basically in the hands of the federal government,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney

On March 20, the number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey had just soared above 800. That day, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an emergency package of laws to deal with the outbreak, including one that loosened the requirements of the state’s Open Public Records Act, or OPRA. “We just have to deal with the reality of manpower, the ability to turn things around,” Murphy said at a press briefing. “We’ve gone to a different place.” The new law virtually eliminated the deadlines that New Jersey agencies

New York Red Bulls captain and midfielder Sean Davis is one of many professional athletes who had their much anticipated seasons postponed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Red Bulls homegrown talent is practicing social distancing and staying in his Jersey City apartment during the shut down prompted by the virus that has created havoc in the sportsworld and everywhere else. Davis spoke to SportsJam host Doug Doyle about being isolated from his family and his teammates while keeping in shape

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation has created the Louis Armstrong Emergency Fund for Jazz Musicians to provide much needed support to vocalists and instrumentalists in the New York metropolitan area.

What to watch in a pandemic is new territory for a film critic. Nothing as WBGO film critic I'm expected to deal with not now. Or Ever. But here we all are. I started with the conventional wisdom from the first time the world crashed in the age of movies, the Great Depression of the 1930’s leading into WWII: Happy pictures make an anxious and scared populace happy. There is no better film than Preston Sturges’ 1941 comedy Sullivan’s Travels , starring Joel McCrea as a hotshot studio exec