Profiles

How David Dinkins' political career left a lasting legacy

by Kariyah Bennett

Crystal Feliciano is a go-getter. Or shall we say, a go-giver? She has a full-time job as a finance teacher and she is a journalism advisor at Trenton Central High School; she serves as the North Ward District 5 Committeewoman—for a second term—and is the 1 st V.P. of the Trenton Dems; she runs The Giayana Monae Genesis Foundation; Project M.O.V.E.; hosts for the multi-stellar award-winning Station of the Year, WIMG 1300AM; is a reporter for Peterson’s Breaking News of Trenton NJ; and hosts her own podcast called “All the Chatter.” Feliciano simply loves to be out and about. “I love the people,” she said, “and I balance my time.”

When my wife and I moved to the Trenton area in 2016, we were delighted to find out what nerds do on Friday nights in Trenton: we play Scrabble at the bookshop, of course! Since then, Sue and I have become regulars at Eric and Donna Maywar’s Classics Used and Rare Books — a uniquely Trenton “institution” whose owners go beyond their own walls to help build and maintain a thriving community downtown. Classics began in 2000 in New Hope, Pennsylvania where Eric started selling used books with a focus on general-interest readers. “It wasn’t about selling books for collectors. Then someone bought a first-edition of War of the Worlds!” He also recounts the story of receiving a box of children’s books that later made its way to the Trenton location after a flood in New Hope.

If you were around in the early 1970s, you couldn’t miss hearing Jim Croce’s hit songs on the radio: “I Got a Name,” “Time in a Bottle,” “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song,” and “Operator.” Accompanied by lead acoustic guitarist and harmonizer, Maury Muehleisen, ‘Jim Croce’ became a household name.

By Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta The African American community in Trenton has some heavy-duty celebrating on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Credit for Trenton’s Juneteenth Weekend in Mill Hill Park on June 18th, 19th, and 20th, is due in part to an incredible lady who got the ball rolling 10 years ago. That is when Latarsha Burke made the decision to devote her time to work with youth and family. Burke is the CEO/Executive Director of The African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County, which improves the quality of life for the African American community through arts, education, and culture. TAACC provides opportunities for diverse families to come together in a positive, safe, environment to build communities through collaboration across cultures.