Photo courtesy of GoFundMe.
From local news to festival submissions and volunteer opportunities, here’s everything you might have missed in this week’s news roundup.
Help This Jersey City Restaurant Get Back On Their Feet After Fire
Last week, a fire struck and severely damaged Meryendang Pinoy, a Filipino restaurant located at 283 Newark Avenue in Downtown Jersey City.
The family-run restaurant, according to the GoFundMe, is currently unsafe to operate. In this time of uncertainty, one of the owners’ family members created the GoFundMe where you can support the small businesses. You can donate here.
Donations will go directly toward rent and essential costs while they work toward reopening.
“Any donation, no matter the size, gives us hope and helps us keep going. If you can’t give, sharing this means just as much,” Ericka Maullion wrote in the post. “Thank you for standing with a small business when it needs it most.”
Want To Show Off Your Talents And Creativity? The Jersey City Poetry Festival Is Looking For Submissions
The Jersey City Poetry Festival is back for the third year and is now accepting submissions until Feb. 28. Anybody can submit. No requirements necessary.
Opportunities include the possibility of:
- Being published in a digital online magazine
- Being featured in a paper magazine
- Being featured at a public event centered around a 250th anniversary celebration
The following topics are encouraged:
- What independence and freedom mean today
- How the ideals of the Declaration of Independence have shaped your life or community
- The ongoing journey toward equality, justice and unity
- Reflections on America’s promise—fulfilled, unfinished or still unfolding
- Hopes and visions for the nation’s next 250 years
- The pursuit of happiness
You can submit testimonials (personal reflections, up to 250 words), poetry (any style, up to 100 words) and creative works such as film, paintings and other mixed media.
You can submit your work here.
This Non-Profit Is Looking For Volunteers
Mercy For My Neighbor is a Jersey City non-profit organization and they need volunteers. Students will have the opportunity to earn community service with their volunteering.
Mercy For My Neighbor helps children, seniors and people experiencing homelessness every week with food and essential supplies.
No previous experience is needed, just the desire to help the community!
If interested, you can email [email protected] or call 201-205-3890.
Looking For An Internship This Spring?
The Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA) in partnership with Hudson County Economic Development Corporation (HCEDC) announced 2026 internship opportunities for the Spring.
There is an internship for businesses and for students.
You can read more about the internships and sign up here.
Hudson County Crowns Back-To-Back Spelling Bee Champion
Congratulations are in order for Ishaan Gupta, the winner of the 67th Annual Hudson County Spelling Bee. This is his second year in a row.
The seventh grader, from Frank R. Conwell Middle School #4 in Jersey City, will be representing Hudson County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland later this year.
“Ishaan possesses an impressive determination and love of learning, and I know he also benefits from the constant support and encouragement of his parents and teachers,” Hudson County Executive Craig Guy said in a statement.
“I also want to congratulate and thank every single participant in our spelling bee this year. Hudson County is proud of every one of you for stepping up and competing.”
The winning word of the spelling bee was Kwashiorkor. This word is a noun and from a native word in Ghana, and means “severe malnutrition in infants and children characterized by failure to grow and develop, anemia and degeneration of the liver, and caused by a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet.”
New Jersey Governor Is Standing Up Against ICE
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has taken action to put restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a way for New Jerseyans to report unconstitutional actions by ICE.
Sherrill signed Executive Order 12 which prohibits ICE agents from operating on any state-owned, state-leased or state-controlled property without a judicial warrant or judicial order. These properties can include, but are not limited, places such as parking garages or parking lots.
Sherrill’s administration has also created a portal where any resident can report ICE activity.
“I take seriously my responsibility to keep New Jersey residents safe and, as a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor, my commitment to upholding the Constitution will never waver,” said Sherrill in a statement. “This executive order will prohibit ICE from using state property to launch operations.”
New Jersey Is Trying To Make It Illegal For Law Enforcement To Wear Masks
New Jersey lawmakers in the state senate are pushing a bill to restrict law enforcement from wearing masks or disguises in public.
If passed, any enforcement officer wearing a mask may be fined up to $1,000, up to six months in prison or both. But there are exceptions to the rule, which includes officers going through an undercover assignment or wearing a medical-grade mask.
The proposed bill comes days after federal ICE agents detained people in Jersey City and Hoboken.
The proposed bill is currently pending review by the legislative counsel.According to NewsNation, the bill is not a direct response to the ongoing controversy with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers throughout the country.
Know any local news we should include? Email Stella Accettola at [email protected]!
