Essex County News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A cyberattack against a “vital” U.S. oil pipeline has contributed to a spike in already high gasoline prices. New Jersey gas prices now average $3.04 per gallon, according to AAA, compared to roughly $3.01 per gallon nationally. 

In Essex County, the price at the pump has hit $3.08 as of Wednesday, part of a national trend in high gas ...

EAST ORANGE, NJ — New Jersey State Police are searching for Chinna Payne, a Black female infant, who was reported missing on Monday afternoon.

According to police, she is suspected to have been abducted by Damion Payne, a 27-year-old Black male who was last seen driving a 2016 Nissan white Altima with Virginia plates (VPF6043) in East Orange. The suspect ...

NEWARK, NJ — Two Essex County Vaccination Centers, including Kmart at 235 Prospect Avenue in West Orange and Essex County College at 177 West Market Street in Newark, are now open for walk-in appointments from 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday to anyone who resides, works or attends school in Essex County.

As of this week, the county vaccination centers at Sears in ...

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr., the Essex County Board of County Commissioners, West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi, the West Orange Township Council and Saint Barnabas Medical Center will present an emergency food distribution event rain or shine on Thursday, April 29 at Colgate Park, located at 60½ Cherry Street in West Orange, ...

NEWARK, NJ — The 2021 Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival in Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark will be held virtually due to the ongoing conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (BCBSNJ) is the premiere sponsor of the virtual festival.

“The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of our lives, but it has not stopped our ...

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A study published recently in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows vaccines may offer some protection for the babies of pregnant and breastfeeding women. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is still limited and uncertain information about its safety for pregnant and breastfeeding ...

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, West Caldwell Police Chief and Roseland Police Captain Richard Costello have announced that Roseland police officer Richard Haffner, 43, of West Caldwell, has been arrested on 21 charges that include aggravated sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, and witness tampering. 

Haffner, who was ...

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley High School Class of 2018's Victor Melillo was given a hero's welcome this week as he made his last journey home. 

The 21-year-old planned to continue a family tradition by becoming a New Jersey firefighter. Melillo died in the line of duty and continued to help people he never met by donating his organs to those in ...

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange High School will be closed to in-class learning until Monday, April 19, Superintendent J. Scott Cascone announced in a correspondence late Monday.

Cascone cited "multiple confirmed cases" of COVID-19 at the school and noted that there is a connection between some of the positive cases and various school events. 

The superintendent called ...

NEWARK, NJ — A corrections officer has been charged with smuggling contraband at the Essex County Correctional Facility, located on Doremus Avenue in Newark.

Alray Blackmon, Jr., 31, of Newark has been charged with second degree Attempting to Provide an Electronic Communication Device to an Inmate, third degree Possession with Intent to Distribute Synthetic Cannabinoid, ...