Jersey City, NJ – The 36th Annual Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (JCAST) kicks off Friday, transforming the city into a sprawling gallery with more than 120 venues across all six wards from October 3 through October 5.

This year’s theme, “Convergence: Art, Technology, Business, and Wellness,” highlights the intersection of creativity and community. The three-day event will feature over 60 open artist studios, curated exhibitions, live performances, film screenings, poetry readings, and interactive installations.

Founded in 1990 as a small downtown studio tour, JCAST has grown into one of the region’s longest-running open studio festivals, drawing more than 5,000 visitors annually and reinforcing Jersey City’s status as a major cultural hub.

Mayor Steven Fulop praised the event’s citywide reach, saying JCAST “showcases what makes Jersey City special: world-class creativity in every ward and a community that celebrates its artists and small businesses.”

Produced by The Creative Side under founder and director Atim Annette Oton, along with Donna Kessinger, Melissa Ulto, Judith Rahilly, and Shantel Asante-Kissi, the 2025 edition includes two major curated shows: “Convergence: Pivoting a Renaissance” at Eden Wood Realty and “The Art of Convergence” at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center.

The weekend will also feature business networking sessions, a VIP fundraiser, and Friday’s official kick-off party with live jazz and the presentation of JCAST Legend Awards to photographer Ernie Pannicioli and the late Ruth Moore of Moore’s Lounge.

Saturday programming includes guided art tours, a two-wheel “art crawl” by Bike JC, LGBTQ+ and women-focused artist tours, and panel discussions. Full schedules and locations are available at TheJCAST.com.

Christine Goodman, the city’s cultural affairs director, said the tour embodies the city’s spirit. “Every October, JCAST brings the city to life through the beauty and energy of art,” she said.

For one weekend, the streets of Jersey City will double as a canvas, celebrating artists and the communities that support them.

Bronx, NY – A Bronx man has been arrested in connection with an attempted rape that took place near East 150th Street and Wales Avenue earlier this summer, police announced.

Jose Hernandez, 30, of 595 Prospect Avenue, was taken into custody after being identified as the suspect in the July 17 incident. Authorities said Hernandez approached a 20-year-old woman around 12:15 a.m. and attempted to rape her before fleeing northbound on Wales Avenue. The victim was not physically injured.

Hernandez is now facing charges of attempted rape, strangulation, and assault.

He was apprehended following an investigation by the NYPD’s 40th Precinct detectives.

What began as a midnight attack in Mott Haven has now led to an arrest and criminal charges.

Brooklyn, NY – A federal judge has ruled that a Hofstra University professor may proceed with part of his discrimination lawsuit against the school after a botched overseas research trip sparked student complaints and administrative fallout.

Timothy Daniels, a tenured anthropology professor who is African American and Muslim, sued Hofstra and several administrators alleging he was treated more harshly than white colleagues following a 2019 student research trip to Malaysia. Daniels claimed the university rushed to discipline him because of his race and religion, and later retaliated when he spoke out and prepared legal action.

Court records show Daniels organized the trip, funded by a grant, to study shadow puppetry with four female students. While abroad, concerns arose about safety, lodging, and transportation, including reports that a student drove a rented van in rural areas. By mid-July, one student’s parent contacted then–Dean Benjamin Rifkin urging Hofstra to bring the students home. Within days, the students separated from Daniels and requested the university arrange their early return.

Daniels alleged that once the group returned, administrators including Rifkin and then–Provost Herman Berliner unfairly escalated the situation. He argued that similar incidents involving white faculty were not handled with the same scrutiny. Around the same period, Daniels helped establish the Black Faculty Council at Hofstra to address systemic bias, heightening tensions between him and school leadership.

In the decision, U.S. District Judge Allyne R. Ross granted Hofstra’s request to dismiss certain claims but allowed others to proceed, including Daniels’s claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The judge found there was enough evidence for a jury to consider whether Daniels faced discriminatory or retaliatory treatment.

Daniels, who joined Hofstra in 2005 and earned tenure in 2011, was later appointed chair of the Anthropology Department despite the ongoing conflict.

The case, Daniels v. Hofstra University et al., remains active in the Eastern District of New York.