Many will celebrate with true joy on New Year’s Eve as they turn the page on 2020 and leave behind a year that has wrought much devastation across the globe, the nation, the State of New Jersey and the towns of South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey.
The stories that brought readers to the pages of Village Green in 2020 reflect the dominance of COVID-19 on the news this year. Beyond the school closures and the business shutdowns, readers also came to collectively mourn those who lost their lives to the disease.
In between, there were still other tragedies but also moments of joy. And there was a renewed focus on the struggle for social justice, as evidenced in peaceful demonstrations and thought-provoking essays.
Stories are listed in descending order, starting with the article that received the most page visits in 2020. Note that Village Green remains committed to covering all aspects of the South Orange and Maplewood community — including school district and local government policy as well as redevelopment projects — regardless of site traffic.
- Danny Ives, 27, Owner of Maplewood Bike Shed, Dies in Motorcycle Crash in South Orange
- South Orange Business Under Fire After Confrontation Goes Public
- South Orange Police Issue Girl Scout Cookie ‘Warning,’ Offer to Help Community ‘Dispose’ of Cookies
- South Orange Loses First Community Member to COVID-19: Roehl Cosio Empestan
- Maplewood Mayor: 44-Year-Old Resident is First Reported Coronavirus Fatality
- NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Orders Residents to Stay Home, Non-Essential Businesses to Close by 9 p.m. Saturday
- HBO’s ‘The Plot Against America’ Features Scenes Shot in Maplewood
- NJTV: County Exec Announces First Coronavirus Case in Maplewood
- All New Jersey Schools to Close Indefinitely—That Includes South Orange-Maplewood
- South Orange Village Center Alliance Votes to Remove Bunny’s Owner From Board
- Gerard William (Jerry) Ryan: Maplewoodian, Public Servant, Husband, Father & Friend, Passes Away at 59
- Maplewood Mother Diagnosed with Coronavirus: ‘I Feel Really Lucky to Have Gotten Tested’
- John Herman Clomax, Jr., 62, of South Orange, Broke Barriers, Guided Many
- ‘Stark and Sobering’: As COVID Surges in Maplewood & South Orange, Leaders Implore Residents to Stay Home and Mask Up
- ‘Stay the Fu@# Home’: A South Orange Family Copes With Coronavirus
- Missing Rutgers Honor Student Had Running Route Through South Orange-Maplewood
- ‘A Tough Day’: Maplewood Loses Four Community Members to COVID-19
- Letter: Maplewood Schools Are Segregated Because Maplewood Neighborhoods Are Segregated
- Lee Boswell-May Passes, South Orange Mourns
- Dear White Neighbors, Stop Being Defensive About Race
- Emmanuel (Mani) Arguelles, Beloved Columbia High School Math Teacher
- As Kings Looks for Buyer, Maplewood Employees Receive 60-Day Warning of Potential Closing
- Maplewood Coronavirus Patient Self-Isolating, Playgrounds and Rec Facilities to Close March 16
- Athalante Debrosse, 44, Amazing Mom, Lived a Life of Love
- Essex County Closes All Parks, Playgrounds, Dog Parks to Prevent Spread of COVID-19
- Dr. Godwin Molokwu, Former Board of Ed Candidate, Is 25th Maplewoodian to Die of COVID-19
- UPATED: 5 Positive COVID-19 Cases, Including High School Student, Marks ‘Worst Day in South Orange Since April’
- Police: South Orange Business Hosts Large Party in Violation of Indoor Gathering Limit
- March 21: Maplewood COVID-19 Cases Now at 7; Essex Cty Testing Sites to Open Next Week
- Movie Theater Leases End at South Orange Performing Arts Center, Maplewood Theater
- UPDATE: Maplewood Kings Food Market to Close Permanently in December as Town Leaders Seek New Grocery Store
We would also like to mention that “Support Village Green,” a page where Village Green raised funds through the Local Media Association COVID-19 Fund, was a top landing page for 2020. Through the generous support of the community, we were able to keep the lights on and continue to hire and pay our contributors and vendors – enabling us to continue delivering much needed and timely public policy and health information — at a time when our advertising revenue was severely impacted due to the shutdown and 100% of our content was being provided for free outside the paywall.
With your help, we have weathered the storm. Although the Local Media Association has ended this fundraiser, we continue to survive and thrive through the support reader subscriptions and our local advertisers.
Thank you for your support and be well in 2021!
