This is the kind of exhibit you'll want to spend hours enjoying: The Newark Public Library will showcase original photos, iconic photo-books and select photo journals from the late 19th century to the present day. The exhibit is called Photographic Books and Prints from the Special Collections of the Newark Public Library, and is on view from January 20 through March 20.

It's quite an archive on display here: rare issues of Camera Work; a portfolio of 20 photogravures by Paul Strand and original photographs and photo-books by Diane Arbus, Margaret Bourke-White, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Roy DeCarava, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Frank, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Edwin Hale Lincoln, Gordon Parks, Sebastiao Salgado, Weegee and others.

About three dozen students from four schools in the city took wooden canoes they crafted from blank pieces of wood, and caste them on the murky waters of the Passaic River this weekend as the culmination of a program that taught them math, history, environmental science and carpentry skills.

Their excitement quickly turned into nervousness as they worried whether their hand-crafted vessels would hold their weight.

"I've never been in a boat. If we fall, I can't swim," said a clearly worried Jazmine Serrano, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from William H. Brown Academy.

But she said she also couldn't pass up the chance to try a boat she helped make from scratch.

As 2008 drew to a close, so did an era of newspaper reporting in New Jersey, as Editor and Publisher chronicled so poignantly in its cover story in the December issue and online. The impact of The Star-Ledger's decline is being felt throughout the state. Here at the ACLU of New Jersey, we've already suffered the consequences of the paper's "shrinking" pains.

The reality of the paper's situation hit me in October when the Star-Ledger failed to cover a story concerning three young men who were roughed up by the Newark Police. In the past, the paper consistently covered stories about our police-practices lawsuits and assigned reporters to both thesState and Newark police beats. Those days are gone.

The loss of more than 150 news staff that left The Star-Ledger under the buyout leaves a chasm in state and local democracy that won't easily be filled.

The Devils hockey team does not plan to pay the first year's rent on the $375 million Prudential Center, and in fact they maintain the Newark Housing Authority owes them nearly $800,000 due to delays in completing the arena.

The authority, which owns the year-old arena, had expected to receive a multimillion-dollar rent payment by Sept. 30, but extended the deadline until two days ago, at the team's request.

The team owners delivered 12 pages of letters and calculations to the authority stating their lease allowed them to deduct nearly $2.2 million, due in part to delays in building the arena and completing construction on the land around it.

Taking that deduction into account, the authority owes the team $791,530, according to a letter from Gordon Lavalette, an executive vice president with the team.

In these tough economic times it's not unusual for businesses to close.

The Atlantic League is no exception.

After Friday's stunning announcement that the Newark Bears will cease operations, the Atlantic League and the city of Newark will have to make some tough decisions.

Right now, there are no Newark Bears. Owner Marc Berson it was time to shut the doors rather than lose money next season. Newark is one of the weaker teams in the Atlantic League in terms of attendance, averaging 2,764 a game in 2008, the second lowest on the circuit. It may not get better next year in the current economic climate.

Yet that doesn't mean Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium will be dark next season.

Some council members will boycott opening over lack of city luxury box

The thousands of invitations for the grand opening of the Devils arena in downtown Newark have yet to be addressed and mailed.

The final touches of a city celebration meant to toast the largest public-private arena partnership in Newark's history are still being perfected and finalized.

But with four weeks to go, some city council members are planning to boycott the opening festivities at Prudential Center arena. It has nothing to do with their aversion to Bon Jovi, the Jersey band that will be rocking "The Rock" on Oct. 25.

They are upset about their luxury suite: They don't have one.

Construction is moving along on the new Prudential Center in downtown Newark. Check out the progress as New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek takes us on a tour. (Video by John Munson)

The New Jersey Devils will play hockey in a new Newark arena starting in 2007 after posting a $100 million letter of credit with the city.