Star Ledger: Atlantic Yards breaks ground: Nets are the heartbreak kids

You’d think it would be easy to say goodbye to a team with fewer victories than Congressional Republicans. But chances are the Nets are going to get good and sexy before they leave — like the spouse who loses the weight, gets the makeover, then runs off with, well, a Russian millionaire.

They’ll draw better at The Rock than they did at Tumbleweed Center in East Rutherford, but fans will have to decide whether to fall in love again or opt for a casual, open relationship. After all, another NBA team could move in after the Nets leave.

We feel a heartbreak coming on.

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Broadway Elementary brought in Ms. Parker in January out of exasperation with students who, left to their own devices, used to run into one another, squabble over balls and jump-ropes or monopolize the blacktop while exiling their classmates to the sidelines. Since she started, disciplinary referrals at recess have dropped by three-quarters, to an average of three a week. And injuries are no longer a daily occurrence.

“Before, I was seeing nosebleeds, busted lips, and students being a danger to themselves and others,” said Alejandro Echevarria, the principal. “Now, Coach Brandi does miracles with 20 cones and three handballs.”

The school is one of a growing number across the country that are reining in recess to curb bullying and behavior problems, foster social skills and address concerns over obesity. They also hope to show children that there is good old-fashioned fun to be had without iPods and video games.

The Times reports on a new model of structured recess in use at eight NJ schools to focus students on cooperation and sportsmanship.

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Tomorrow, the United Nations will be announcing a special Social Media Envoy group that will use the power of social media over the next year to raise awareness for malaria control in African countries.

The special envoy is made up of well-known figures from both the social web and broadcast media, including Mashable’s own Pete Cashmore. Those that have joined the group have pledged to take one “social” action — such as a tweet or a Facebook post — every month for the next year starting from World Malaria Day on April 25, which last year saw Malaria No More also use Twitter for the cause.

The hope is that the tweets, posts and other social actions will inspire and motivate social media audiences in support of malaria control. The UN’s goal is to provide all endemic African countries with malaria control interventions by the end of 2010, working towards the aim of near-zero deaths from malaria by 2015.

Mayor Booker will be one of the represntatives in the UN’s envoy.

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Through Twitter, Mayor Booker was able to connect residents with snow removal resources and alert response agencies to areas in need of action.

Required to give his acceptance in Twitter’s 140-character maximum, Mayor Booker read his remarks from his phone and said, “Newark is rising thanx 2 the power of people working together. Thank u Twitterverse & Tech Corps 4 unifying people 4 inspiration & justice.”  

Mayor Booker has been an active Twitter microblogger since August 11, 2008 and currently has 1,076,008 followers.

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However, if the city as a whole lacks the edge of a major campaign contest — “quietist I can ever remember an election year at this time,” observes one South Ward insider – Pantoliano, notwithstanding the odds, is undisputably making an enthusiastic effort to unseat incumbent Amador.

Pizarro gives a rundown of the remarkably muted 2010 election politics.

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Then someone sent me some T-shirts. One was made for a city swim program, one for a community mentoring program, and a small, bright orange one for a children’s basketball program. They’re all paid for by the City of Newark division of recreation. Printed across the backs of the shirts:

Mayor Cory A. Booker

“Here to Win in 2010”

Making Newark’s Recreation/Cultural Affairs “The International Destination.”

I’m not sure what the last two lines mean, but the first two sure read like politicking at public expense.

Smart piece on City Hall’s apparent misuse of public funds for political means. The shirts were not distributed, and the city’s Inspector General is investigating the incident.

However, this is the type of political shenanigans that were business-as-usual in years past, and the exact culture Booker ran to reverse.

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While Newark is always looking to bring in new residents, as a Newarker, I am very excited to see new potential places to live.

Blake Turner summarizes some of the latest options for would-be Newarkers looking for the loft lifestyle.

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Filmmaker Tonia Grady said the documentary “is nothing more than a call-to-action by one woman who is watching helplessly as her daughter is caught in the throws of this merciless disease — I like to call fatherlessness…I sink to a new low every time my child asks me, “Mommy where is my daddy, and why doesn’t he come to see me?” I have always despised the vicious cycle of fatherlessness, but never did I think that a child of mine would fall victim to it.”

Great writeup by Ninapilar about Man Up, a 10-city documentary about the heartbreaking issue of fatherlessness, featuring Newark Now’s Comprehensive Center for Fathers.

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After a February 2009 shoot-out in the troubled West Ward complex left five people injured, Georgia King worked with Newark Now to establish an on-site family success center and a resident council. Since August, it has seen no shootings and a stark reduction in drug sales and violent crime, according to city leaders.

Through financial counseling, field trips for children, bookbag giveaways, and similar “community nurturing programs” residents from the buildings and officials from the non-profits say they have begun to turn the complex around, but point to continued work if the effort is to be sustained and duplicated throughout the city.

Very exciting to see what can happen when you creatively take limited resources and direct them to focused solutions.

“More police on the beat” is only one solution to the problem of crime, but it doesn’t affect lasting change. The true challenge is to restore neighborhoods with lasting solutions that get to the root cause issues.

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