This morning on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Sam Champion showed some tape of people walking around Branch Brook Park enjoying the cherry blossoms. He mentioned that after the additional planting is completed that there will be over 4,000 cherry blossom plants in the park, more than Washington D.C. Nice to see. I am going to take a look see this weekend and also report on renovations of BOYS PARK, THE TENNIS COURTS, AND NEWARK SCHOOLS STADIUM. I saw the St. Benedicts Prep baseball team lost to my nephew's school 17-0 yesterday. Benedicts has one of the best soccer teams and basketball teams in the entire nation, but baseball has fallen on hard times. Joe K. must be turning over in his grave. Saw the nephew of Joe D'Angillo play for Seton Hall Prep Wednesday. Back in the day when Mr. Crowley coached the Red Sox there were some near Pier Six brawls when they played the D'angillo's team. Great competitors on both sides. Jimbo remembers. Joe became a big star in football and baseball at Bloomfield High School and Carteret School.

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spelling Good Counsel and Essex Catholic education?

was up north for 3 weeks seen the park was shocked over the number of new trees planted in the park the blossoms were just starting to bloom cherry bloosoms, dickie dee's,easter vigel @St.Lucy's thats newark to me all i needed was the 85 degrees we get in ftlauderdale to be really happy

Definitely taking a drive through the park today enroute to an event in Nutley. I hope many others also do so. It is a nice reminder of our youth. The county government and "the Friends of the park" organization have done an incredible job keeping the park beautiful. The state of the art ballfields near Lake Street are a far cry from the patches of dirt we played on in our youth.

I visited the Cherry Blossom Festival today and took some photos. Here's one:

Huge crowds, beautiful blossoms, great weather. We also enjoyed the bicycle race on the Heller Parkway side and hot dogs from Chris' Original Heller Parkway. Did you see the man-made geysers shooting up from the pond near the Second Avenue entrance? I think today is the final day of the festival and it would be a shame for anyone to miss it. We have the Cherry Blossom Festival every April and St. Gerard's Feast @ St. Lucy's in October marked down as "can't miss events". Enjoy today.

I'm glad to see that the NY Metro area gives some attention to Branch Brook's blossoms; down here in Burlington and Camden Counties all the newspapers tout the ones in D.C. I've written letters to the editors of the Burlington County Times and The Courier Post for 3 years in a row telling them that New Jerseyans and Philadelphians don't have to drive all the way to D.C. to see cherry blossoms when we have a better and more abundant display right in our own state.Do you think they'd send a reporter to Newark to check them out? Not on your life. Newark "don't get no respect!"

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