Around New Jersey
By PAT SHARKEY
April 23, 2025
SOUTHERN OCEAN COUNTY, NJ - As of Wednesday morning, April 23, 2025, the fast-moving wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, which started on Tuesday in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area, continues to burn, but significant progress has been made. Here's the latest information from the New ...
NEW JERSEY— A Holmdel resident is among eight individuals charged in connection with a sweeping fraudulent lending scheme that federal prosecutors say defrauded thousands of small business owners across the country out of millions of dollars.Joseph Rosenthal, 33, of Holmdel, is one of the ...
CHATHAM, NJ — At just 11 years old, Chatham fifth grader Alice Wang is taking the junior squash world by storm.In just the past year, Wang won the 2025 U.S. Junior Squash Championship, the 2024 U.S. Junior Open, and earned an impressive third place finish at the 2025 British Junior Open, one of the ...
NEWARK - A first-of-its-kind hub designed to serve thousands of local girls with hands-on STEM, leadership and life skills programming will meet the surging number of Girl Scouts in Newark. The Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) officially opened the Girl Scout Leadership Center in Newark on ...
PLAINFIELD, NJ — On Saturday, the wife of Governor Phil Murphy came to Plainfield High School to host the Nurture NJ Family Festival. The event aims to connect families with resources from the state, county, and other local partners. Since 2019, these festivals have provided services for more than ...
PROSPECT PARK, NJ - More information is coming out about Anand Shah, the councilman who was arrested for racketeering on April 9. According to the Attorney General, Shah “was identified as allegedly managing illegal poker games and an online sportsbook in association with the Lucchese Crime ...
NEWARK - An East Side High School senior, a proud Latina immigrant who could not speak English when she came to the United States at age 11, has gone from a rural Brazilian village to one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Newark’s Yasmim Barros has been accepted to Harvard University on ...
NEWARK - The 14-year-old arrested for fatally shooting a Newark police officer last month will likely be tried as an adult in federal court, according to a federal prosecutor. Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba sent “a very serious message” to New Jersey gangs in a morning appearance ...
TRENTON, NJ — New Jerseyans soon might have an incentive to forget about their plastic reusable shopping totes, as some lawmakers are pushing for a return to paper bags in grocery stores.The state in 2022 banned paper and single-use plastic bags at large retailers in a step to combat climate ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield High School student Francesca Mani was in the room where it happened Wednesday when Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law legislation (A3540/S2544) establishing civil and criminal penalties for the production and dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media, aka ...
SOMERSET, NJ - A small aircraft crash in Franklin Township claimed the life of a Lawrenceville man on Sunday, March 30, prompting a multi-agency investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), according to a newly released statement from the Franklin Township Police ...
NEWARK, NJ - Messages like “It’s Madness To Think Sex Buying Won’t Land You A Penalty,” “Sex Buying Is Foul,” and “It’s Madness To Think Sex Buying Is A Victimless Crime” rotated on an electronic Broad Street billboard in Newark this past week, greeting sports fans coming to the Prudential Center ...
UNION, NJ – During a presentation to the Union Board of Adjustment on Wednesday evening for the approval of a new monopole telecommunications structure, representatives from the cell tower company also announced the impending removal of the township’s iconic water sphere.Currently, the water tower ...
SOMERSET, NJ—Authorities in Franklin Township are investigating a single-engine aircraft crash that occurred Sunday morning, prompting a multi-agency emergency response and an active federal inquiry.According to a press release issued by the Franklin Township Police Department, air traffic control ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Seated at the Westfield Community Center and flanked by caregivers, seniors and residents with disabilities affected by proposed cuts to Medicaid, Gov. Phil Murphy repeatedly drummed a message that seemed focused on an absent audience member, Representative Tom Kean Jr. “I don’t ...
SOMERSET, NJ - Backyard chicken keeping will soon be legal in Franklin Township, following a unanimous vote by the township council to approve Ordinance 4460-25 during a public meeting Tuesday night.The new ordinance amends the township’s municipal code to allow residents to maintain small backyard ...
NEWARK, NJ — CivicsNJ, a new, non-partisan coalition that describes itself as an organization “dedicated to advancing civic learning and engagement” launched earlier this month at a ceremony in Newark.“The purpose of CivicsNJ is to share information, connect teachers and other service leaders to ...
Linden, NJ-Linden Police Department reported that at approximately midnight on Sunday, March 23, 2025, officers responded to Applebees, located at 671 W. Edgar Rd, on reports of shots fired.According to initial reports, four men came to the restaurant, and upon locating the victim, chased him out ...
NATIONWIDE – The national clothing retailer, Forever 21, which provides fast-fashion clothes at a lower price point, announced on Monday that it would be liquidating its stores after filing for bankruptcy once again. According to the newswire service, Reuters, Forever 21 “said it would wind down ...
NEWARK - Gubernatorial candidates Ras J. Baraka, a Democrat, and Republican Bill Spadea fell into a verbal back-and-forth on whether Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs help New Jersey's minority-owned businesses at a panel discussion hosted by the New Jersey Diverse Business Advisory Council ...
NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF) has released its list of 60 nominees for the 2025 public vote, which is open through April 15.The inductees will be announced at the end of June, with the induction ceremony scheduled for the fall.TAPinto is proud to be a media sponsor of the New ...
NEWARK, NJ - March Madness basketball fans visiting Downtown Newark for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight segments of the NCAA tournament can access a guidebook to the city’s arts, cultural and food scene. Tuesday, Newark Alliance, Invest Newark and the city's Arts and Education District launched ...
NEW JERSEY — A new study from WalletHub finds that New Jersey gets less federal aid from the federal government than most other states, making it 2025's “least federally dependent” state.The personal finance website ranked all 50 states by virtue of their total scores, based on each state's ranking ...
TRENTON, NJ — Potholes around the state could soon be on the road to recovery. The New Jersey Department of Transportation's (NJDOT) annual statewide pothole repair campaign starts Monday."Over the next couple of months, our priority will be repairing the most significant potholes from this ...
NEWARK - Making his family proud was why fallen Newark Police Sgt. Joseph Anthony Azcona wanted to become a police officer for his city. Reading from Azcona’s police academy file, dated Sept. 17, 2019, Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda stood before the packed Cathedral Basilica of the ...
TRENTON, NJ — A legislative committee signed off on a bill to require New Jersey schools to teach elementary school students cursive handwriting.The legislation is the first step toward reinstituting a statewide policy to teach cursive handwriting to all students by third grade, a move that ...
SOMERSET, NJ - Homeowners in Franklin Township will soon be allowed to raise backyard chickens under a newly approved ordinance to regulate small-scale poultry keeping while ensuring public health and safety.On Tuesday, the township council passed Ordinance No. 4460-25, amending the township's ...
BELMAR, NJ — Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D-30) has introduced new legislation aimed at providing financial relief to couples struggling with infertility by requiring Medicaid to cover the cost of ovulation-enhancing drugs and related medical services.The bill, known as A5383, is modeled after a ...
NEWARK, NJ - As we reported last night, a Newark Police officer was shot and killed and a second officer who was also shot is in University Hospital in critical condition but expected to survive.The officer who was killed has been identified as Joseph Azcona, 26 years old and had been on the police ...
PARAMUS, NJ - A 24-year-old Newark man stands accused of a string of Dunkin' Donuts burglaries, many of which the dollar amount of damage caused was more than he made off with from the till.Enajaim E. Bowman, 24, was arrested on various charges related to the series of burglaries that spanned four ...