Throughout the nation local and state governments are working around the clock to come up with ways to continue delivering vital services while they slow the advance of the coronavirus and tend to the rapidly growing cases of the virus. Currently our region is the leading national hotspot for this unprecedented outbreak. WBGO's Bob Hennelly, who is a staff reporter for the Chief-Leader which covers the nation's public sector workforce, gives his thoughts on the latest public health message and

A new book titled The Last Negroes At Harvard chronicles the lives of 18 African-Americans who were part of Harvard University’s Class of 1963. Kent Garrett, the book’s co-author, was one of them. WBGO's Jon Kalish caught up with Garrett and one of his classmates from Harvard. Click above to hear the story.

There are more than seven thousand coronavirus cases in New York State as of Friday. More than half of them are in New York City. With the numbers increasing, Governor Cuomo is ordering all employees to work from home. The governor says only essential businesses will be able to have workers in the office or on the job site. “There will be a civil fine and mandatory closure for any business not in compliance." He calls the order the most drastic action the state can take in order to try and slow

Just last week, guitarist Pat Metheny finished the Australia and New Zealand leg of an international concert tour, in support of his new album. Then his band flew on to South America and learned that a remaining slew of dates — in Brazil and Chile, and all over Europe — had been canceled due to the coronavirus.

A WBGO Conversation with News Director Doug Doyle and Bob Hennelly. Doyle: Here in the United States local and state public health officials were scrambling this week in their efforts to get ahead of the coronavirus pandemic which has already killed over 1,000 people in Italy and over 4,000 in the rest of the world with close to 50 here in the U.S. After weeks of messaging from the Trump administrations that the coronavirus was like the flu, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top epidemiologist,

Nicole L. Thompson, a filmmaker born and raised in Newark, will kickoff the Women In Media - Newark 2020 Film Festiva l March 25 at 6pm at the Newark Museum. Thompson is the Director and Producer of Blackbird , an aspirational tale about Sherri Jones, an African American young woman who cleans planes for a living, but dreams of being a pilot. Thompson spoke to WBGO News Director Doug Doyle from her home in Los Angeles. Nicole graduated from the University of Southern California with a Masters of

Joyce Adewumi is the Director and Producer of We Are The Endless Roar , a film that gives a better understanding of traditional African cultural practices and beliefs. We Are The Endless Roar will be screened April 3 as part of the Women In Media - Newark 2020 Film Festival . Adewumi's project will be shown at the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank, New Jersey at 6pm. Adewumi, an accomplished singer, choreographer and educator based in Harlem, in the Founder and President of the New

Laiona Michelle, who dazzled audiences in in last year's George Street Playhouse production of her Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical , returns for a one-night only performance at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on March 19 at 7:30pm in the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater. Michelle joined WBGO's Gary Walker for a wonderful interview last year with the playwright and singer. She returned this month to speak with WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about why she wanted to come back to the

These advocates say they dedicate a lot of their time towards improving water quality in Newark. Between full time jobs, parenting, the struggle is… “O wow, the struggle is real,” says Newark activist, parent and social worker Shakima Thomas. “Keeping people involved is a difficult task because people are concerned with what is going on now in their lives. What they can see or actively change in the moment.” Thomas explains that the difficulty with treating lead in drinking water and its

There are at least 33 coronavirus cases in New York State. Governor Cuomo says that number is expected to rise but he’s urging people not to panic. Meanwhile, New Jersey has at least its third case of coronavirus … the first in South Jersey. The patient is a Camden County resident. Officials say the man in his 60s is currently hospitalized in stable condition. Two other people who tested positive for coronavirus are quarantined in hospitals in Bergen County. Acting Governor Sheila Oliver says