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There's good news about Newark! Consider the work of Cassie O'Quinn and Carolanne Tims, a pair of Newark High School students. When the school's former band director retired unexpectedly earlier this year, the marching band was left without a leader as the new school year approached. O' Quinn and Tims, two drum majors, took it upon themselves to schedule practices. In his photo essay, Richard Gaw offers the story of how this band played on. We look at the work of Lori's Hands, based at the STAR Campus at the University of Delaware, which links undergraduate students who want hands-on caregiving experience with people in the area who are living with a chronic illness. We also profile John LaMedica who, for generations of people in the tri-state area, has always been known as Jungle John. We discuss how, even today, at the age of 59, his enthusiasm for creatures that creep and slither can barely be contained. We talk to Dr. Lindsay Hoffman, whose research examines how citizens use Internet technology to become engaged with politics and their communities. In this issue, we also introduce readers to Linda Duffy, a Newark resident who specializes in the social history of women in mid-Victorian America. In the five years that Greg Pritchett has owned and operated MVJ Athletics Training Center in Newark, he has introduced hundreds of students to the science of discipline, but what he really provides is a unique gift of opportunity and inspiration. We talk to Pritchett about the training system.

As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of Newark Life!