VERONA, NJ — Thursday evening's thunderstorms touched off a tornado that was confirmed on the ground in Verona.

According to the National Weather Service, the twister was an EF-0 with maximum winds of 65 mph. EF stands for Enhanced Fujita Scale, which is used to rank a tornado’s wind speed and damage on a scale of zero to five.

The twister was on the ground for less than a ...

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — New Jerseyans rarely need a reason to celebrate, but National New Jersey Day on July 27 was a great excuse for families to come out to Meadowland Park, even in the heat, to honor the Garden State.

Gathering on Flood's Hill and getting dinner delivered personally by Town Hall Deli's owner, Matt Wonski, having the kids play games with staff from the ...

NEW JERSEY — July 27 is National New Jersey Day. While this is not an official holiday, the New Jersey State Instagram, which is possibly the snarkiest governmental social media account in the country, lent it some credibility when it posted Monday, "Tomorrow is #NationalNewJerseyDay. Prepare accordingly."

Hawthorne's Mayor Richard Goldberg told TAPinto Hawthorne, ...

TRENTON, NJ — Following the recent upsurge in the Delta variant of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on July 27 updated its guidance for people who have been fully vaccinated. The CDC said that while individuals can resume activities that they did prior to the pandemic to reduce the risk of being infected with the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others, wearing a ...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood is seeing a huge spike in COVID-19 cases in July, especially among those who can't or won't be vaccinated.

"Maplewood, as of Friday [July 23], is at 1,613 cases," Health Officer Candice Davenport told TAPinto SOMA. At the end of June, the township's caseload was 1,554, meaning there have been 54 cases in the first 23 days of July.

TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy announced at his regular COVID press briefing on Monday, July 19, that over 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in New Jersey and that more than 5 million individuals who live, work, or study in the state are now fully vaccinated.

Among the 4,432,769 fully vaccinated individuals (as of June 28), only a small fraction ...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Five people have submitted applications to the Essex County Clerk's Office to run for the three open seats on the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education. Election Supervisor Jennifer Ferry released the names today after yesterday's 4 p.m. deadline to file, but said the names are still considered unofficial. 

The candidates are:

Shannon Cuttle of ...

South Orange/Maplewood, NJ — Former South Orange/ Maplewood Board of Education (BOE) President, Annemarie Maini, has decided that she will not run for a third term. Maini has released the following statement, addressed to the community outlining her views on what we have gained from the Past and Current Leadership in the District. She speaks of what she has learned from these leaders and ...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Helping members identify ways to work more efficiently together was the focus of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education (BOE) board retreat Thursday evening; the retreat was led by Charlene Peterson and Ray Pinney from the New Jersey School Board Association. 

“The intent from my perspective is to have this be a conversational ...

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Moments after noon today a Nissan Maxima landed on its side on South Orange Avenue near the corner of Riggs Place.

The driver was able to extricate himself through the sunroof. The car had to be towed. 

The South Orange police and fire departments responded. Officials at the scene told TAPinto SOMA that the accounts of the crash ...

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — If a planned merger comes to fruition, South Orange and Maplewood will both be serviced by the South Mountain Regional Fire Department. 

The name was announced as the Maplewood Township Committee joined the South Orange Board of Trustees in a joint meeting on July 26 — the first in-person meeting for each of the governing bodies since early March 2020 ...

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Alen Hadzic, a 29-year-old West Orange native who graduated from Montclair High School, was temporarily suspended in June by the US Center for SafeSport when three women reported him for sexual misconduct between 2013 and 2015. Hadzic denies the allegations.

He’s an alternate on the Olympic Fencing team but is prohibited from staying in the ...

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne Valley High School’s outstanding fencer, Francesca Russo, is in Tokyo right now, settled into the Olympic village and prepping for competition. Her road to Tokyo, though took a turn during the pandemic and COVID came very close to derailing her dream.

Russo’s story is one of perseverance through outer difficulties and inner doubts.

She moved to Wayne with ...

WEST ORANGE, NJ — As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing that was required to slow the spread of infections, there has been a significant drop in blood donations. As a result, the nation’s hospitals and blood centers are experiencing a severe blood shortage.

Area hospitals rely on the support of individuals to provide much of the blood used to provide ...

NEWARK, NJ – In a state faced with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation, Gov. Phil Murphy aims to tackle those numbers with the establishment of a universal home nurse visitation program for newborns.

Murphy signed a landmark bill (S690) on Thursday at the Leaguers, Inc. building in Newark, giving New Jersey one of the most comprehensive and robust home visitation ...

WEST CALDWELL, NJ -- Dr. Joseph DalBon of the New Jersey Center for Laser and Cosmetic Dentistry spoke with TAPintoTV to discuss a new painless laser oral treatment created to alleviate sleep apnea.

“Sleep apnea is a condition where the patient is waking up during the night and unable to breathe that can cause a number of serious health issues,” he said. Some of these health issues ...

WAYNE, NJ -- General Manager of Lincoln of Wayne, Peter Spina, Jr., spoke with TAPintoTV about the three kinds of electric vehicles in the automotive marketplace; Hybrid, PHEV, and BEV. 

Hybrid vehicles have gas and electric engines but no plug-in charging functionality. “The system charges itself through regenerative braking,” Spina explained. “It harnesses the kinetic ...

McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning, McCormick Culinary Italian Seasoning and Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Ranch Seasoning have been recalled due to possible contamination with Salmonella, announced McCormick & Company, Inc. The company was alerted by the FDA after routing testing. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The four products ...

A voluntary nationwide recall of Give and Go Muffin products has been announced due to potential for the products to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, said the company. Muffins baked by Give and Go are sold under several brand names including many in our area. 

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in ...

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in conspiring to defraud two banks of $250,000 using stolen credit cards and blank checks, as two men from South Orange await sentencing, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

The two men from South Orange, Alexander Varice, 22, and Dashawn Duncan, 27, as did Nasheed ...

TENAFLY, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed legislation (S-3982) providing additional aid to small businesses as they recover from the pandemic. The bill provides $135 million to small businesses throughout the state and will be administered by the Economic Development Authority as part of its Phase IV Emergency Grant Program and NJ Community Stage Relief Grant ...

SOUTH ORANGE/MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood and South Orange are working with Zero Waste Associates, a team of consultants, on an ambitious goal of creating a Zero Waste Strategic Plan and Procurement Strategy.

The Procurement Strategy will help set up a new collection system bid to divert more recyclable and compostable materials from the incinerator in Newark, where the towns’ ...

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — New Jerseyans rarely need a reason to celebrate, but National New Jersey Day on July 27 was a great excuse for families to come out to Meadowland Park, even in the heat, to honor the Garden State.

Gathering on Flood's Hill and getting dinner delivered personally by Town Hall Deli's owner, Matt Wonski, having the kids play games with staff from the ...

SOUTH ORANGE/MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood and South Orange are working with Zero Waste Associates, a team of consultants, on an ambitious goal of creating a Zero Waste Strategic Plan and Procurement Strategy.

The Procurement Strategy will help set up a new collection system bid to divert more recyclable and compostable materials from the incinerator in Newark, where the towns’ ...

Now is the time to plan and plant vegetables for a bountiful fall harvest. Planting now extends the harvest season for greater yield without expanding the garden.

Start by looking for vacant spaces in the vegetable garden. Fill areas that were not planted this spring or replant rows of quick maturing vegetables like lettuce, spinach, radishes, and beets that have already been harvested. Expand ...