News Around New Jersey
By NICOLE ZANCHELLI
March 4, 2025
NEWARK - Eleven young adults, ages 18 to 26, graduated from the inaugural class of the Newark EMS Corps on Feb. 27 after completing a five-month, paid emergency medical technician (EMT) job-training program.The 11 Newark EMS Corps Program graduates are Anthony Andrews, David Yousef Arce, Tanajah ...
WOODBRIDGE — The NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has removed 25 exotic animals from SeaQuest at Woodbridge Center to give them better living conditions elsewhere.State environmental authorities confirmed that 25 exotic and endangered animals were removed from ...
Director and screenwriter Sean Baker, who made history on Sunday by winning four Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards for his film "Anora," is a New Jersey native and the son of Somerville attorney Steve Baker.Baker won Oscars for writing, editing, directing and producing “Anora.” His wife, Samathan ...
TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy proposed a record $58.1 billion state budget with more than $1 billion in new taxes and fees, a continued commitment to property-tax relief, and a raft of socially progressive initiatives that may collide with what he called “the noise of chaos and confusion” of ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – An agency focused on stimulating business development and job creation across the state will invest $25 million to support start-up companies pursuing research and development of cutting-edge technologies in New Brunswick.The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – Jodiefoss Ramos’ work-study paycheck could stretch only so far, so she started skipping breakfast. That, however, left the Rutgers’ Air Force ROTC cadet weak when she reported for physical training three times a week.“My stomach would be rumbling all the time, and it was terrible,” ...
TRENTON — Using sexually explicit pictures – whether real or fake – to smear opponents in New Jersey political campaigns should be a crime that carries a prison term and fines, state Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez proposes.Jessica Ramirez (D-32nd Dist.), who represents Hoboken and part of Jersey ...
NEW BRUNSWICK - Two Rutgers surgeons are the first in the state to use robotics in breast reconstruction after cancer treatment. Surgery with the robot is less invasive than traditional surgery, so patients typically heal faster and have smaller scars.Edward Lee, a plastic surgeon, and Danbee Kim, ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – Suzanne Sicora-Ludwig, who has served on the City Council since 2017, has pleaded guilty to a DWI charge stemming from a 2024 incident in which she crashed her 2014 Range Rover into a tree on Edgebrook Road.She will be required to utilize an ignition interlock device – a ...
WOODBRIDGE — Animal rights activists – heartened by New Jersey’s move to revoke wildlife permits for SeaQuest at Woodbridge Center – say they plan more protests and will step up pressure on township officials to not renew SeaQuest’s municipal permits.The NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Fish ...
TRENTON, NJ — A bill that would vastly reduce plastic waste in New Jersey won narrow support from lawmakers amid criticism from business groups and praise from environmentalists.The legislation, S-3398, was approved Monday by a 3-2 vote in the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, with Democrats ...
NEWARK - James Evans, a 71-year-old Africana Studies major at Rutgers University-Newark, marvels at how his life has come full circle.“My younger self would have laughed out loud,” he said. “Back then, college wasn’t even on the radar. I was a teenage rebel – actually, more of an idiot. Would a ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – By day, De’Yanna Moore checks out books and dutifully performs other tasks in her role as a librarian assistant at the New Brunswick Free Public Library.She harbors a dream, however, to some day serve as an ambassador or diplomat, perhaps assigned to one of the United States’ 250 or ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – The Rutgers-New Brunswick Police Department has launched a Street Smart NJ pedestrian safety campaign to raise awareness about ways to reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes – an important issue in a state where the fatality rate far exceeds the national average.This public education ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – Sara Adair shared smiles and swapped stories between posing for photos with several of the health care professionals at Robert Wood Johnson University who worked together to save her life.Standing off in the corner of the room, her son couldn’t help but consider how close his mom ...
NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a law that doubles the number of petition signatures most New Jersey candidates for state, county, and local offices now need to get on 2025 election ballots.The new requirements take effect immediately for candidates who wish to run on all 2025 primary and ...
TRENTON, NJ – A diverse and recognizable group of 13 New Jersey residents will have six months to recommend ways that the Office of the Attorney General can “further its mission of eliminating corruption, promoting transparency, and strengthening the public’s trust in government.”New Jersey ...
NEW JERSEY — Parents may wish to brace for more white-knuckle time teaching their teenagers to drive safely. They can also hire qualified driving instructors or rely on local high school driver-ed programs.This comes as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) set strict new requirements for ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – The past melds with the present at Rutgers’ Zimmerli Art Museum as it presents a new exhibition featuring 97 artists representing more than 50 indigenous nations and communities throughout North America.“Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always” is an ambitious exhibition of ...
TRENTON, NJ — “We want you back!” NJ lawmakers told the nation’s nomadic Miss America, urging the competition to return in 2025 “and every year thereafter.”A resolution pleading with event organizers to come back was passed by the state Assembly by a voice vote, with no objections, on Thursday.
TRENTON, NJ — New Jersey elementary teachers may soon find furry friends in their classrooms. The state Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bipartisan bill establishing a pilot program to place therapy dogs in elementary school wellness programs. School districts including Barnegat, Clifton and ...
NEW JERSEY — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was ordered to begin an 11-year federal prison term in June for accepting bribes, including gold bars and cash, in return for giving favors to Egypt, Qatar and a few New Jersey businessmen.U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein sentenced Menendez in a Manhattan ...
TRENTON, NJ — Sean Lavin was a Mercer County sheriff’s officer who responded to Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans in 2005. His memories of finding those who didn’t survive left him sleepless afterward and triggered post-traumatic stress disorder, he said. “Not one of us were OK with ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Robert Lewis, affectionately known as “Mr. Bob” by Washington School families, died peacefully on Jan. 26 at the Center for Hope Hospice in Scotch Plains at age 96, according to his obituary.Lewis was in the spotlight in 2023 when he was told to leave the post he had held for three ...
TRENTON, NJ — Business leaders failed to persuade lawmakers Monday to drop a bill requiring stores to warn gift-card buyers about potential fraud.Assembly bill A-4636 would compel retailers to post information about how the cards can be manipulated and made worthless. Businesses that fail to ...
TRENTON, NJ — A bill to increase the safety of inflatable bouncy houses – typically rented for backyard birthday parties and parking lot carnivals – was approved Monday by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee.The measure, A3433, would require bouncy houses to include anchors and stakes. It would ...
TRENTON, NJ — New moms who work as New Jersey state troopers or professional firefighters may gain guaranteed paid time off with their babies and other job benefits under legislation approved Monday in Trenton.Supporters in the Assembly public safety committee said such first responders now ...
JERSEY CITY — Jim McGreevey is on the brink of a political comeback as mayor of New Jersey's second-largest city.The state’s former 52nd governor and Woodbridge Township’s mayor for a decade, appears well positioned to be this Hudson County city’s next mayor with a mighty campaign war chest and ...
NEW BRUNSWICK – Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway says he has no information that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are or will be on the school’s New Brunswick, Newark or Camden campuses.Holloway, however, is instructing students and faculty members to contact ...
NEWARK - East Ward Councilman Michael Silva issued a statement on the immigration crisis in the United States and offered a path forward on Friday, Jan. 24. His statement followed a Friday morning press conference – held by Mayor Ras J. Baraka, a Democrat who hopes to run for governor – that ...