UNION COUNTY, NJ — The Pfizer vaccine opened to children 12 – 15 in New Jersey Wednesday night, state health officials said.

The state Health Department in a statement said that following federal authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children in that age range, it is allowing the vaccine to be administered to those children.

“With today’s recommendations, ...

NEW JERSEY -- Touting the benefits of vaccination in curbing the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy at his press briefing today said he anticipates the CDC and the FDA will give the green light to Pfizer’s emergency use authorization application to vaccinate adolescents ages 12 to 15-years-old. Murphy added that the New Jersey Dept. of Health is currently finalizing guidance for ...

TRENTON, NJ – To discourage the use of hazing as part of organizations' initiation ceremonies on college campuses, a bill sponsored by Assemblymembers Carol Murphy, Louis Greenwald and Roy Freiman seeks to preempt the return of hazing to New Jersey schools by upgrading the charges for this dangerous behavior. The measure was advanced by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee ...

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for 12- to 15-year-olds in New Jersey. Plainfield Public Schools, partnering with the Office of the Governor of New Jersey and Walgreens Pharmacy, will provide a COVID-19 Vaccination Day open to students 12-years-old and up this Saturday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Plainfield High School Auditorium, 950 Park Avenue.  

ID is ...

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy announced today via Twitter that for the first time in over six months, the state's number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 has fallen below 1,000.

"With our numbers trending in the right direction, we can continue fighting back against this virus if we all get vaccinated," Murphy tweeted.

Murphy said that 7,804,653 total ...

UNION COUNTY, NJ — The Pfizer vaccine opened to children 12 – 15 in New Jersey Wednesday night, state health officials said.

The state Health Department in a statement said that following federal authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children in that age range, it is allowing the vaccine to be administered to those children.

“With today’s recommendations, ...

NEW JERSEY — The community is being alerted to a nationwide safety recall of certain Kidde smoke detectors for failing to sound off during smoke conditions or a fire.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on May 6 announced the recall of some 225,000 Kidde smoke and combination smoke/carbon monoxide alarms — Model Series 2040, 2050, 2060 and 2070, which have a TruSense logo or ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Plainfield Police and Fire units responded around 2:12 p.m. on Wednesday to the 900 block of West Sixth Street for a burn victim, according to a release by Plainfield Police Director Lisa Burgess.

The 8-year-old victim was severely burned by a candle, and was transported via State Police Medevac from Plainfield High School to St. Barnabas ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Plainfield Police units responded to the area of the 1100 block of West Third Street on a report of shots fired on Monday, May 10 at 6:51 p.m. according to a press release sent Tuesday.

Officers located a 20-year-old male victim who was treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound at an area hospital.

The Plainfield Police Criminal Investigation Bureau continues ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The Union County Board of County Commissioners announced that the Motown tribute band Shadows of the 60s will headline a free, live drive-in concert at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 at Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield.

The event is free, but registration is required online in advance to reserve a spot. Reservations will be available on a first come, first served basis ...

TRENTON — Governor Phil Murphy announced the Your Voice, Your Shot video contest that urges New Jersey residents to share why they and others are getting vaccinated.

The contest calls for compelling, creative and captivating videos, and a number of finalists will be chosen. The public will then be invited to vote on their favorites. The winning video will be used in the ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The Rotary Club of the Plainfields is seeking volunteers to help build a butterfly garden — a project to benefit the environment — at the Drake House. Butterflies are pollinators, and feed on the nectar of flowers.

According to sciencemag.org, over the past two decades, surveys of the two major populations of monarch butterflies in North America have ...

SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD, NJ -- The Fox News morning show Fox & Friends shined a national spotlight on the school reopening situation in Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Thursday morning.

Danielle Wildstein and Vicki Dembiec, two of the parent leaders of a lawsuit filed to force the SPFK12 district to open full days for five days, appeared on the morning show along with their attorney, James ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The Plainfield Public Schools district is holding a virtual job fair for middle and high school teaching positions for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

The event will be held on Wednesday, May 19, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. To see a list of available positions, and to start an application, click here.

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Escuelas Publicas de ...

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ -- St. Bartholomew Academy eighth-grade students Justin Klein and Anthony Kwiatkowski were honored for their participation in the Veteran of Foreign Wars, Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest.

On Friday, May 7, 2021, Joseph McCourt of VFW Memorial Post 10122 in Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the chairman of the contest, presented the students with a Certificate of ...

ROSELLE, NJ — A 2-year-old child is safe and has been reunited with his family after being briefly kidnapped in a vehicle that was stolen outside a Roselle home Thursday night, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Roselle Police Chief Brian Barnes jointly announced Friday.

“The diligent work of our Roselle Police Department, along with county police, not only ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The Board of Education approved the appointment of a new head football coach on April 20. On Thursday, the Plainfield High School Athletics Department and players welcomed Coach James Williams, who will lead the Cardinals in the upcoming fall season.

Athletic Director John Quinn said, “Coach Williams is a veteran head High School coach and was very successful in ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Erick Rodriguez, Lucas Kidder and Nasir Powell had two hits each, scoring a combined 7 runs, to lead Plainfield to a crushing 21-2 win at home over Roselle Park on Tuesday.

Cameron Smith threw a strong 3 innings for the win, while striking out 6 batters. Bryan Williams and Powell, Coach Sean Radu said, ran wild on the bases, with 5 stolen bases each.

The pitching team ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — After a year-long closure due to COVID-19 concerns of the administration, Plainfield municipal parks opened Saturday for residents to enjoy dawn to dusk. A ribbon cutting ceremony was also held at the new Rushmore Recreational Complex in the Fourth Ward.

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said, "Ever since I took office, it has been my plan to make sure that we transform all ...

NEW JERSEY — Colonial Pipeline Co. announced in a statement late Wednesday evening that the pipeline that was shutdown by a ransomware hack last week was going to restart and begin operating again. 

“Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal. Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue ...

Elizabeth, NJ. — 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 Union County, the price at the pump has hit $3.035 as of May 12. This is part of a national trend in high gas prices ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Frontline workers at the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority rallied outside the main office at 127 Roosevelt Avenue Tuesday to send a message to those in leadership positions, saying they want a fair contract with fair wages.

Sam Andrews said, "We're in the process of negotiating another contract, and this is the reason why we're out here, because we ...

Hershey’s Chocolate Shell Topping has been voluntarily recalled due to undeclared almonds, announced the Hershey company in a press release.

Approximately 1,700 bottles were incorrectly filled with Heath Shell Topping which is made with almonds, they said.

The product being recalled was shipped nationwide between April 15 and May 3, 3021 and have a product code of ...

Demand for food assistance expected to remain high as pandemic begins to fade

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Almost 300 New Jersey food pantries and soup kitchens are sharing in $3.5 million to improve their services ...

NEW JERSEY, NJ  – Science in Donation, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting, educating, and advocating on behalf of the interests or members of the donation and transplant communities, is celebrating Governor Phil Murphy’s signing of a new law that prohibits insurance discrimination against living organ donors.

Since its launch, the group has been advocating against ...

NEW JERSEY — Criminal jury trials will resume in person next month, under a Supreme Court order issued Tuesday that revises juror service based on the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in New Jersey.

The Court’s order directs the resumption of in-person criminal jury trials beginning June 15, with cases that involve detained defendants receiving the highest priority. 

Civil ...

BAYONNE, NJ — National disasters don’t always bring out the best in people. Often, unscrupulous characters seek to take advantage of people during tough times. As more people across the United States and the State of New Jersey are rolling up their sleeves to protect themselves against COVID-19, the risk of scammers selling fraudulent vaccination cards is now higher than ever, ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The League of Women Voters hosted a forum Thursday with the three candidates running to fill the Fourth Ward council seat currently held by Stacey Welch. Moderated by Ann Armstrong of the Hunterdon-Somerset County LWV chapter, Welch, Taleana Williams Hurst and Terri Briggs-Jones answered questions that focused on development, the city budget, safety and the PMUA. Voters ...

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Voters will have a choice to vote by mail or in-person in the June 8 primary election, but drop boxes are here to stay, county officials said. Whichever way voters decide to cast their votes, the registration deadline is May 18.

Since Gov. Phil Murphy announced the primary election will be mostly in-person, Union County Board of Elections Administrator Nicole DiRado ...

Planning a few long weekends or a vacation may have you rethinking your garden plans. Don’t let time away from home stop you from growing flowers and vegetables in containers.

Irrigation systems with timers and self-watering pots are options to make container gardening and vacation care easier. You may, however, just be looking for ways to adapt your existing container gardening care ...

Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet.  Consider growing edamame (edible soybeans) in this year’s garden.

Soybeans help promote overall health reducing the risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.  Plus, the high fiber in soy helps fight colon and some other cancers.

Edamame is an ancient Asian vegetable and is often eaten right from ...

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Frontline workers at the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority rallied outside the main office at 127 Roosevelt Avenue Tuesday to send a message to those in leadership positions, saying they want a fair contract with fair wages.

Sam Andrews said, "We're in the process of negotiating another contract, and this is the reason why we're out here, because we ...

Ocean County, NJ - New Jersey Tourism Industry Association (NJTIA) held their annual Advocacy Day event online May 6 in honor of National Travel & Tourism Week. Held via zoom, NJTIA continued this important tradition recognizing the impact tourism has as one of the leading industries within the Garden State.

The event opened with a welcome message from Governor Phil Murphy, tourism ...