Jaimie Julia Winters

Jaimie Julia Winters is an award-winning editor and journalist. She has held senior editorial and communications roles with local, nonprofit, and faith-based news organizations, including Montclair Local, Jersey Catholic, The Record, South Bergenite, Ridgewood News, and North Jersey Media Group/ Gannett, where she helped pioneer digital-first reporting, transparency-driven coverage, and features.

75 articles published

News Season

Kearny spooky legends that go bump in the night

Kearny may have a few residents who never quite moved out — and some of them apparently don't need to pay property taxes. Ghosts of Kearny Rumor has it that something paranormal may be going on at the old Kearny Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad's house. According to local lore, a little girl may…

1 day ago0Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

After 8 months in ICE detention, Kearny man vows to fight for other immigrants

Martin Soto spent eight months in immigration detention, including four months in solitary confinement after participating in a hunger and labor strike at a Newark detention facility. He was finally released Oct. 6 after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper that his continued detention was unlawful. At a news conference Friday,…

October 13, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

Kearny schools were more than ready for the statewide cellphone ban

Kearny educators report better student focus and more face-to-face interaction as statewide restrictions take effect By Jaimie Winters In Kearny’s middle school hallways, students have a familiar routine: arrive at school, head to their lockers and put away their cellphones for the day. The district-wide practice in Kearny predates New Jersey’s implementation…

October 12, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

Kearny marks breast cancer awareness month with Tie Kearny Pink event, mobile mammograms

For more than two decades, Emma Quintana has turned her own experience with breast cancer into a support system for women facing the disease. Quintana, a Kearny resident and breast cancer survivor, founded Mujeres Valientes — Spanish for “Brave Women” — after experiencing firsthand the fear and uncertainty that accompany a cancer diagnosis. What…

October 1, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

Kearny’s Midland Avenue set for $2.8M makeover, Arts District designation

Midland Avenue is poised for its biggest makeover in decades, as a $2.8 million streetscape project prepares to bring new sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and public amenities to the commercial corridor — and the town looks to build on the avenue’s history as an entertainment and arts destination. Construction on the long-awaited Midland Avenue Streetscape…

September 14, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Lifestyle News

Kearny Farmers Market returns with new home, bigger vision

After an uncertain start to the summer, Kearny’s Farmers Market is back—and organizers say its new home at Memorial Park is giving the longtime community gathering a fresh start. The market, which was in limbo earlier this year after Alstede Farms withdrew and organizers struggled to secure a new produce vendor, returned in July…

September 11, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Lifestyle News

Midland Avenue’s arts legacy could help fuel a new renaissance in Kearny

For decades, Midland Avenue was home to one of Kearny’s most distinctive cultural institutions: the Halfpenny Playhouse, a small theater that brought professional actors, Broadway productions, children’s theater, and the arts to the heart of town. Now, as Kearny looks toward a new chapter for Midland Avenue, that history could provide a foundation for…

September 9, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News People

Twenty years of Girl Scouts: Kearny Troop builds leaders and community

Twenty years ago, Marybeth Kennedy was asked to start a Girl Scout troop at St. Stephen’s School in Kearny. Her daughter was just 3 years old and attending the pre-K program. Kennedy agreed. What began with 41 young girls in the Daisy program has grown into a multigenerational Kearny tradition, with girls ranging in…

September 8, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Lifestyle News

First paycheck leads to a bigger dream thanks to Pathways to Independence

“Wait until my parents see what I’ve done.” Those words came after an individual at Pathways to Independence received his very first paycheck through the organization’s Extended Employment Program. For him, the check represented more than money earned for a job. It was a tangible sign that he was accomplishing something on his own…

August 19, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News People

$15 garage-sale find leads back to a Kearny family’s military history

When Michael Langhirt spotted an old military hat at a garage sale in Wayne, it wasn't the hat itself that caught his attention – it was the word “Kearny.” Langhirt, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served from 1996 to 2009 and grew up in Kearny, was browsing items posted on Facebook Marketplace…

August 17, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Jaimie Julia Winters

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