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.

69 articles published

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…

2 days ago0Comments

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…

3 days ago0Comments

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

News

Police: We believe there are people who remember more than they realize

More than 50 years after Kearny resident Nicholas James "Nicky Gary" Maschuci disappeared without a trace, the Kearny Police Department is renewing its investigation and asking the public to come forward with any information that could help solve one of the community's oldest unsolved missing person cases. Maschuci was 60 years old when he…

August 5, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

The Henrietta Benstead Senior Center keeps community at the heart of aging

For more than half a century, the Henrietta Benstead Senior Center has been much more than a building at 60 Columbia Ave. in Kearny. It has been a second home, a gathering place, and a community where friendships flourish, new passions are forged, and older adults continue to find purpose. Behind its welcoming doors,…

July 29, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Lifestyle News

How to maneuver new e-bike registration; enforcement begins in mid-July

New Jersey residents can now begin making appointments to register e-bikes and obtain the permits and licenses required under the state's new e-bike law, with police departments across the state preparing to begin enforcement in mid-July. The law, passed earlier this year, comes amid growing concern over a rise in serious and fatal e-bike…

July 13, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Lifestyle News

Ben and Betsy bring America’s founding story to life in Kearny

What if Benjamin Franklin could tell you what really happened in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and Betsy Ross could explain the truth behind one of America's most enduring legends? Residents will have that opportunity to hear these stories when renowned historical reenactors Rob DeVitis and Alisa Dupuy appear as Dr. Benjamin Franklin and…

July 6, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News

Kearny’s revolutionary roots: A hidden chapter in America’s founding

While Kearny would not officially become a township until 1867, the land on which it stands today played an important role in the Revolutionary War. Long before it was named for Civil War hero Major General Philip Kearny, the area was known as New Barbadoes Neck, a strategic tract of land between the Passaic…

July 1, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

News People

For Pride Week, Kearny Police LGBTQ+ Liaison reflects on progress, visibility, and community trust

Growing up in Kearny, Nicole Cain spent much of her youth and early college years worrying about how others would view her if they knew she was a lesbian. Today, she serves her hometown in a very different role. In 2022, Cain was appointed as the Kearny Police Department’s first LGBTQ+ liaison, becoming…

June 16, 20260Comments

ByJaimie Julia Winters

Jaimie Julia Winters

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