I was saddened to learn Professor Clem Price has passed away. Today, all of Newark mourns for a man who was thoughtful and wise, sincere and kind. I want to offer my condolences to his wife, Mary Sue Sweeney Price, his family and friends and his colleagues at Rutgers University. As my professor and senior advisor at Rutgers, Dr. Price had a great influence on my life and imbued me with a desire to stay in Newark and give back to the city. I owe him a debt of gratitude.

North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. issued a statement regarding Newark Police Chief’s order directing police officers to refer victims of crimes such as simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment to file complaints in municipal court, rather than compile an incident report themselves.

The order has since been corrected by Police Director Eugene Venable, who told nj.com that Newark Police Department is still taking incident reports of all nature. "There have not been any policy changes," Venable said. "Policy is set by the Police Director."

We had a great turnout for our 9th Annual North Ward Halloween Event at Branch Brook Park on Oct. 31.

I want to thank all the volunteers and the sponsors: Mayor Ras Baraka, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, state Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, Council President Mildred Crump and Council members at-large Carlos Gonzalez, Edward Osborne and Luis Quintana.