HudCoRadio

In our new "Hudson County & Immigration: The Story of America" series of interviews, Matt Caranante of the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, chats with local leaders from different immigrant communities about their experience coming to this country—and our county—and about their work in our community today. 

Matt's guest for this episode is Carla Truncellito Mastropierro, the Executive Director of  the Italian Educational & Cultural Center at Casa Colombo, located at 380 Monmouth Street in Jersey City.

You can learn more about the work of Casa Colombo here:

https://www.casacolombo.org/

https://www.casacolombo.org/video-tours

Hudson County Community College (HCCC) is launching a new "Holz Technik Academy," a joint degree and apprenticeship program in Advanced Manufacturing with Eastern Millwork Incorporated, an industry leader in custom and high-end automated woodwork manufacturing and installation based in Jersey City. Lori Margolin, Dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development for HCCC, and Andrew Campbell, President of Eastern Millwork, describe how this innovative partnership will work and how it could be a model for local workforce development in the future.

The New York Road Runner's Club (NYRRC) Open Run Program is now available in New Jersey, specifically in Hudson County's Lincoln Park. Michael Rodgers, Vice President of Youth and Community Engagement for the NYRRC, describes Open Run and how it found a home in Hudson's largest County Park. 

We discuss "#HudsonGives," a groundbreaking initiative to support local non-profits created by the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Foundation, with HC Chamber President & CEO Maria L. Nieves. 

The County's John F. Kennedy Boulevard Safety Corridor Traffic Study is explained by the Division of Planning's Principal Planner, Kevin Force. This evening's public meeting about the Study is previewed.

The Hudson County Improvement Authority, or HCIA, is an autonomous agency that carries out a diverse set of duties. We discuss what they are with Norman Guerra, who has led the Authority since 2003.

The old "County Welfare Office" is long a thing of the past. Today's Division of Welfare is at the center of a set of services that help people get the skills and support they need to become self-sufficient, dramatically lowering the number of cash assistance recipients in Hudson County. This episode explains how it all works.

Developing partnerships with other government agencies and 3rd party non-profits helps the HC Division of Housing & Community Development deliver innovative solutions for residents. A partnership with PACO http://pacoagency.org , underway this month, keeps low-income kids safe from a still too common health hazard. Randi Moore, Division Chief for Housing & Community Development explains.

Hudson's set-aside ordinance helps women, minority, and veteran-owned enterprises do business with county government. The HC Office of Business Opportunity (HCOBO) employs aggressive networking, supportive consultation, and a growing presence on social media to expand the pool of qualified vendors. The HCOBO's Director Jermaine Pharmes explains.

The Hudson County Open Space Trust—how it was created, how it is funded, how it funds projects, and examples of some of the many projects it has supported.