FIREFIGHTER'S SKI RACE

Firemen from 45 departments across New Jersey competed in the 22nd annual downhill ski race at Hidden Valley to benefit St. Barnabas Burn Foundation. Thrills, chills, and spills -all for a good cause.

A CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTIE WHITMAN

Former NJ Governor and EPA director Christie Whitman discusses her environmental record, EPA's response after 9/11, and her strained dealings with President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Her comments are quite surprising; describing Bush as being easily swayed by Cheney on issues related to the environment.

TORRE TALES

Ex-Yankees manager Joe Torre discusses his new book "The Yankee Years," and addresses the controversy surrounding the book he wrote with Tom Verducci. Video was shot prior to a book-signing at Barnes & Noble in mid-town Manhattan.

A Conversation with John Scher

Legendary rock concert promoter John Scher talks about The Who, Stones, Sinatra, and Springsteen from his front row seat to rock-n-roll history.

INAUGURATION DAY

North Jereyans joined 2 million others in Washington DC to witness history, as Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. This a video I produced along with a team of photographers and reporters from The Record; Chris Pedota, Kevin R. Wexler, Giovanna Fabiano and Joseph Ax. See full coverage here.

Additional photos by Thomas E. Franklin / The Record

A CONVERSATION WITH LOU DUVA

In the latest installment of "A Conversation With..." we catch-up with the Godfather of boxing, Lou Duva, who candidly recalls his humble beginnings in the fight halls of Paterson, rising through the boxing ranks, and some of his fondest memories in a storied career in the "sweet-science."

VIEW TO A KILL

For this past Sunday's Giants vs. Eagles playoff game, I gained access to the roof of Giants Stadium, where I shot action photos during the first quarter. While it was quite cold and windy, and deathly high, it provided a spectacular view of the military fighters fly-over, the field below, as well as the surrounding North Jersey landscape.

Yes, that's me waving to the camera from high above, photo taken by my friend an colleague Chris Pedota.

GIANTS FALL TO EAGLES 23-11

The Giants fall to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional playoffs, 23-11. The Giants were lackluster and were unable to find the endzone in game that brought the defending Super Bowl champs' season to a disappointing end. Here are some photos from the game.



Photos by Thomas E. Franklin / The Record

A CONVERSATION WITH BRENDAN BYRNE

"A Conversation With..." is a new video project series we've launched at The Record. It will feature candid interviews with prominent people of the world of politics, business, sports, entertainment, and literature. This video is the first installment.

JETS FALL TO FISH, NO PLAYOFFS AGAIN

Jets lose 24-17 to the Dolphins in dismal showing during season finale, denying them playoff berth, in perhaps Brett Favre's final game.

SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM CAMP BUCCA IRAQ

New Jersey National Guard troops send good tidings from Camp Bucca, Iraq, to loved ones back home in New Jersey.

This a video I produced with colleague Tyson Trish, who was in Iraq with columnist Mike Kelly, reporting on the NJ National Guard. This is part of our year-long report, NJ at War.

GIANTS FALL TO EAGLES 20-14

Giants were lackluster in ho-hum loss to rival Eagles, in game that had little at stake for Big Blue.

METS STADIUM ALMOST READY

NY Mets executives gave a behind-the-scenes tour of the nearly completed new baseball stadium, Citifield. The state-of-the-art facility, which draws inspiration from the old Brooklyn Dodgers stadium -Ebbet's Field, promises to be a huge hit with fans, offering many upgraded amenities.

DENVER RAINS ON JETS 34-17

It was a dismal affair for Gang-Green, in a sloppy and soggy defeat to Jay Cutler and the Broncos. Denver took a 27-14 lead into halftime, scoring 14 points off two Jets turnovers. Denver's win snapped New York's five-game winning streak. It was as cold and nasty a night as I could remember, lousy conditions to shoot in.


Photos by Thomas E. Franklin / The Record

PARK OR LANDFILL?

Overpeck Park nears completion

Construction on a three-year plan to convert old landfills and swamps into recreational areas at the 120-acre county park is wrapping up.

ELECTION DAY

ELECTION DAY 2008
North Jersey voters and politicians get an early jump beating the polling traffic.
This video was a team effort. I coordinated our coverage, and video was shot by photographers Carmine Galasso, Tariq Zehawi, Liz Lara, web producer Kim Mineo, and reporter Mike Feeney.

The MEANING OF OBAMA'S CANDIDACY

I interviewed dozen's of subjects for this pre-Election Day video commentary on the meaning of Barack Obama's candidacy for the office of President of the United States. I tried to interview as many thoughtful and insightful people I could, and mix together their comments. This is a sound-bite driven piece, with very little B-Roll. Each subject was asked the same question: "As an African-American, what does Barack Obama's candidacy mean to you?"

The JOKER

Local make-up artist Jeremy Selenfriend, of Emerson's A Monster in My Closet, makes up Chris Mann as Batman's The Joker for Halloween.

EMERGENCY ROOM REOPENS

Hackensack University Medical Center reopened for business the ER at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, 10 months after hospital went bankrupt and closed. The HUMC staff and community excitedly opened their doors at 9am today. Read full story by The Record's Lindy Washburn.

JAZZ LEGEND WARREN BATTISTE

Legendary New Orleans jazz guitarist Warren Battiste has been living in Dumont ever since he fled New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. He is a well-known recording artist and will appear in an upcoming movie about Chess Records. Read the full story by The Record's Jim Beckerman.

I spent a few hours with Mr. Battiste in his tiny apartment in Dumont, a man as soft-spoken as his soothing guitar strumming. Having visited New Orleans a few months ago, we had much to talk about. He told me his harrowing tale of survival during Katrina, and his fending for himself after he made the fateful decision to ride out the storm by playing a Hurricane-gig at a downtown club. When the gig was over, and he realized he needed to get out of town as the storm approached, it was too late. Remarkable, he perservered.

NETS MEDIA DAY

The New Jersey Nets introduced a new team that features many new faces, and a roster of young talent. Today was their annual media day. Yes, they still have Vince Carter, but not much else other than some young unproven players. It should be an interesting season. Read The Record's Al Iannazzone's blog In the Zzone.

ELI GETS WAXED

Bet you didn't know Eli Manning and I have at least three things in common. For one, we both have two brothers, albeit his older brother plays QB a little better than mine -but not much better. Secondly, we were both ran around on the field at University of Phoenix Stadium moments after the Giants trounced the Evil Empire in Super Bowl XLII. OK, he had a little more do with that than me, but I sure made some nice pics of it all. Even got a splash of Tom Coughlin's GaterAid bath on my sleeve.

And lastly, now we both have a wax statue at MadameTussauds in Mid-Town.



Here is a YouTube video someone sent to me. I've never seen it, or been inside. Wax people make me nervous.

REMEMBERING 9/11

This week marks the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York. Hard to believe. To commemorate this important date, I put together some words and pictures that tell the story of my experiences covering the tragic events that day. Working on this piece and reviewing all my raw images from that day, brought back a rush of memories and emotions.

Many of the photos in this multimedia project have never been published before, and it was interesting to match the images to the words I wrote for the audio. To see it come together as a narrative was satisfying, despite the somber and devastating subject matter.
The Record published my story.

The Record's website NorthJersey.com did a 9/11 Anniversary live blog today, a comprehensive running report on today's commemorative events.

FIRE SPRINKLERS SAVE LIVES

The NJ Division of Consumer Affairs will decide whether to require older high-rise apartment buildings to install sprinkler systems for fire safety. The Division of Consumer Affairs has until Sept. 17 to approve or reject the proposed regulations, which are being pushed both by fire departments across the state and the fire sprinkler industry. But rental apartment building owners, and individual apartment owners, have complained that the cost of doing so is too high. Read Joe Ax's story in The Record.

Today, fire officials and sprinkler industry rep's used a side-by-side fiery demonstration to show the effectiveness of sprinklers.