Author: ECCYC

East Orange mother seeks answers after baby’s death at hospital – Essex News Daily

Photo Courtesy of Dominique Simmons
East Orange resident Dominique Simmons’ daughter, Divinity Nubia Reid, was pronounced dead on Friday, March 25, at Overlook Medical Center in Summit.

SUMMIT, NJ — For Dominique Simmons, of East Orange, March 25 is a night she will never forget.

“I brought my daughter to the hospital. I wanted to make sure she could breathe. Something was blocking her throat,” Simmons said in an interview with Record-Transcript on Friday, May 13. “I brought her to Overlook Hospital. I was just going to go to any normal hospital in Essex County, but the doula who helps assist with home births said she takes her kids to Overlook Hospital. I’m a transportation driver for Life Ride. I knew where it was because I dropped a lot of people over there.”

After speaking to someone in triage at approximately 2 a.m., Simmons said they put a wristband on her child, weighed her and then laid her down to be examined by a doctor.

“I made some phone calls and I came back into the (exam) room, and the doctors said she’s not breathing OK,” continued Simmons. “I see four doctors pumping her heart in the emergency room. I hear them calling out numbers, and finally the doctor says he’s not getting a pulse from her, and he says to my husband and me that she didn’t make it. It’s my first child. … They pronounced my daughter deceased. 

“I held my baby for three weeks and she was breathing fine” prior to that night, Simmons said, questioning what the doctors did and did not do. As for getting more information that night, “the doctor said he’d have to wait until the medical examiner told us the cause of death. They took her to the morgue.”

The first thing Simmons did was file a police report.

According to the Summit Police Department operations report, after interviewing Simmons, “the death of the infant is being investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, East Orange police, as well as the DCPP (Division of Childhood Protection and Permanency) agency.”

“The medical examiner and eight police came to my home, asking me questions,” Simmons said. “Then a detective came from East Orange.”

According to Simmons, DCPP, formerly known as the Division of Youth and Family Services, or DYFS, asked about the baby and her medical history.

“(DCPP) had an eight-page questionnaire, asking things like how she was sleeping, how I fed her, and she was breastfed. I told them I didn’t have any complications (prior to that night). Everything was OK.”

According to Simmons, the hospital has not been forthcoming with information about her child’s death.

“They said the medical records are locked up,” Simmons said. “Six days later, they said my baby’s cause of death was cardiac arrest. On her medical record, they said she had malnutrition, was malnourished, that her chest was caved in. I’m a holistic person. I don’t eat processed food. My baby was very healthy.”

While Simmons says that she was told her child died of cardiac arrest, she still has not received an official notice of this or a death certificate.

“I have talked to a lawyer, but they’re waiting for a cause of death. I’m waiting for a death certificate,” she said.

Simmons said she had hired Ben Crump, a civil rights activist and lawyer, to represent her. The Record-Transcript tried repeatedly to reach Crump, but calls were not returned.

After Simmons had spoken to Patricia Sohler, Overlook Hospital’s director of patient safety and risk management, on Friday, May 27, she said, “(Sohler) told me they didn’t talk to me before (that day) because I was grieving and (the death of) my baby was under investigation, so they didn’t think it was right at the time.” 

When the Record-Transcript contacted Sohler on Friday, May 27, for comment, Sohler referred the newspaper to Rob Seman, Overlook Hospital’s public relations manager. Seman told the newspaper that he was unable to comment, due to legal reasons.

“I let the police department know I wanted to do a protest (on Thursday, May 26), and they called the hospital and then (Sohler) called me,” Simmons said. “I don’t think they would have reached out to me if the police hadn’t called them. They said they wanted to give me grieving time.

“No one came to my aid that night,” she continued. “I don’t trust them to make proper medical records.”

Simmons believes the hospital is guilty of medical neglect.

“You cost me a child,” she said.

Action being taken to prevent pop-up parties in PPB and LB – wobm.com

Be it certain content creators on TikTok or elsewhere, there have herds of people heading to the Jersey Shore to cause selfish and careless havoc and these communities have had enough.

The Seaside Heights governing body with Mayor Tony Vaz have introduced variance ordinances designed to rid the borough of the infamous and undesired reputation of being a party town brought on by people in front of a camera on a certain reality TV show as well as those heading to the Ocean County borough with no regard for tolerable behavior.

There have been similar actions taken in Point Pleasant Beach particularly since droves of people came there in 2020 will ill intent and purely selfish intentions with treating the borough and beach like a dump by urinating in bushes, throwing bottles and garbage wherever they felt like and drinking and smoking marijuana.

It drew the immediate ire and reaction of PPB Mayor Paul Kanitra who posted a video on Facebook the morning after the pop-up party on June 10, 2020, who said, in part:

“Our town was treated like an absolute toilet yesterday. My message to anyone who comes to our town from this day forward is a very simple one: if you do not plan to treat Point Pleasant Beach and its residents respectfully, you will leave with a very expensive ticket as a souvenir. If you drink in public, you will get cited, if you smoke weed in public, you will get cited, if you throw your trash out of your car as you leave, you will be cited. This is and always will be a family oriented town.”

In 2021, there was a pop-up party in Long Branch and another one this May and yet another possible for June 19 the day after one is lurking for Point Pleasant Beach.

Since the pop-up parry in Long Branch last year, several Jersey Shore State Lawmakers including Senator Robert Singer have introduced legislation or have called for change to prevent these things from happening and go after the troublemakers and in providing police and law enforcement with what they need to protect our communities amidst these planned massive gatherings.

This week, with the pop-up party invite going viral, Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra posted another video on Facebook expressing his concern and challenging Governor Phil Murphy, AG Matt Platkin and others to do something to prevent these pop-up parties and help out these Jersey Shore towns such as PPB and Long Branch.

Mayor Kanitra, before this pop-up party went viral, issued another warning to those looking to engage in selfish and unruly behavior while a guest on ‘Shore Time with Vin and Dave’ recently on 94.3ThePoint and 105.7TheHawk.

Long Branch and Point Pleasant Beach governments and police are on alert ready to react but hoping that the pop-up parties never come to fruition.

Here is more on what’s going on in Long Branch and Point Pleasant Beach and other News stories that have occurred or are occurring at the Jersey Shore.

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Jamesburg, NJ teen mom accused of killing newborn daughter – New Jersey 101.5 FM

JAMESBURG — A 19-year-old woman has been charged with killing her newborn, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced.

Jamesburg police were called Wednesday night after 10 p.m., for a welfare check on Jessica Farag, of Jamesburg.

Farag and her infant daughter were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead.

An initial investigation by borough police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office found that Farag had given birth earlier that day.

She has been charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree desecration of human remains and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Farag was being held at Middlesex County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

Update: NJ arrests in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot

A year later, more than 20 people from New Jersey have been charged with involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

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A little less than 30 cents of every $1 in property taxes charged in New Jersey support municipal services provided by cities, towns, townships, boroughs and villages. Statewide, the average municipal-only tax bill in 2021 was $2,725, but that varied widely from more than $13,000 in Tavistock to nothing in three townships. In addition to $9.22 billion in municipal purpose taxes, special taxing districts that in some places provide municipal services such as fire protection, garbage collection or economic development levied $323.8 million in 2021.

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Good News In Essex: Trailblazing Firefighter + Surprise Proposal – Patch

Community Corner

The world is filled with humor, inspiration and beauty. Here are seven stories to make you smile from Essex County, NJ.

Bloomfield recently welcomed its first female career firefighter, Stephanie Orgueira-Aponte.
Bloomfield recently welcomed its first female career firefighter, Stephanie Orgueira-Aponte. (Bloomfield Division of Public Safety)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The world can be a scary place. But it’s also filled with humor, inspiration and beauty. Let’s focus on that second part. Take a look at some recent good news stories in Essex County below. (Click the headlines to read).

Find out what’s happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Find out what’s happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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Videos Show Police Chase Prior To Fatal Crash In Essex County – Montclair, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Authorities have released dashcam video footage of a police car chase that took place prior to a fatal crash in Essex County last month.

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office also released additional details about the crash, which happened in Glen Ridge on May 10. It involved two Montclair police officers who were trying to pull over a vehicle in connection with a robbery investigation, authorities said. Read More: 2 Dead After Police Chase Ends With Crash In Essex County

Two Philadelphia residents, Gregory Dukes, 42, and Cecil Richardson, 47, were killed in the collision. The driver of the car, Todd Hill, 45, also of Philadelphia, was injured and hospitalized; he has since been released from the hospital, authorities said.

Find out what’s happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State prosecutors released a statement about the crash, which remains under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability:

“According to the preliminary investigation, the accident occurred shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Bloomfield Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Officers [Michael] Kupchack and [Brandon] Taylor activated lights on their marked patrol vehicles in an attempt to stop the vehicle driven by Mr. Hill in connection with a robbery investigation. At that point, the vehicle sped off, traveling at speeds that reached in excess of 64 mph. Approximately 22 seconds later, and without coming into contact with another car, Mr. Hill lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway and struck a tree. Mr. Dukes and Mr. Richardson were pronounced deceased on scene. Officers Kupchack and Taylor exited their vehicles and located Mr. Hill near the car. Other officers arrived and rendered aid. Once an ambulance arrived, Mr. Hill was transported to University Hospital [in Newark], admitted for treatment and later released.”

Video and audio footage taken at the scene can be seen online here. Prior to releasing the footage, investigators met with Dukes’ and Richardson’s relatives to review the recordings with them.

Find out what’s happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the videos, Montclair police officers attempt to pull over a Hyundai sedan when it comes to a stop at an intersection. The sedan then speeds up and makes a right through the intersection, with police cars in pursuit.

New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

The chase continues down the street as several cars pass by in the opposite lane of traffic.

New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

The sedan then crashes, and the officers exit their vehicle and proceed to the crash site.

New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

According to attorney general’s office:

“This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a state law enacted in January 2019 (P.L. 2019, c.1), which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct all investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations. The Directive establishes clear procedures governing such investigations to ensure that they are conducted in a full, impartial and transparent manner. Under both state law and the Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed.”

“The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time,” authorities said Thursday.

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NJ Attorney General releases footage of police pursuit from fatal Glen Ridge crash – Yahoo News

New Jersey’s acting attorney general, Matthew Platkin, released footage Thursday of a police chase that ended in a deadly crash last month near the Glen Ridge train station while the incident remains under investigation.

The released materials include multiple videos from police cruiser dash cams and a body worn camera that were produced as officers from the Montclair Police Department attempted stop a silver Hyundai sedan sought in what the Platkin’s office has called a “robbery investigation.”

Gregory Dukes, 42, and Cecil Richardson, 47, both of Philadelphia, were fatally injured when their vehicle careened down an embankment into a wooded park near Bloomfield and Ridgewood avenues, the AG’s office stated.

Todd Hill, 45, also of Philadelphia, who was driving the vehicle, was injured in the crash, but survived after he was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, the office said.

As of Thursday, he remained in custody at Essex County Correctional Facility, said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly.

A silver Hyundai involved in a fatal crash in Glen Ridge on May 10, 2022 is seen here in a screengrab from a Montclair Police Department officer's body camera.

A silver Hyundai involved in a fatal crash in Glen Ridge on May 10, 2022 is seen here in a screengrab from a Montclair Police Department officer’s body camera.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 10, multiple police units responded to a 911 call, also released by Platkin, in which a man driving a Range Rover claimed he was following a car whose occupants had just robbed him.

“We’re on Elm [Street.] We just got robbed,” he exclaims. “They took all my money, suitcases, everything,” the man tells the dispatcher, adding that he’s continuing to follow the suspect until the cops arrive.

“They got a gun!” he said at one point during the call, though the AG’s office did not state whether any of the suspects were armed.

Dashcam footage from one of the responding Montclair police units shows the cruiser heading north on Maple Street past Glenfield Middle School until it comes to the corner of Bloomfield Avenue, where a silver sedan is stopped at a red light near at least two other Montclair police vehicles with their lights flashing.

In accompanying body worn camera footage from what appears to be a separate responding unit, an officer gets out of the car to approach the sedan, which quickly makes a right turn heading east as the officer yells, “Yo! Yo!” in an attempt to catch the driver’s attention.

Dashcam footage from one of two police vehicles that swiftly follow the sedan onto Bloomfield Avenue show the suspect’s car picking up speed, eventually travelling as fast as 64 mph on the four-lane county road, according to Platkin’s statement.

As the sedan increases its distance from the Montclair vehicle, its tail lights remain visible until the car drifts left into the oncoming lane of traffic before the lights seem to disappear just after crossing Ridgewood Avenue.

By the time the police vehicle passes through the same intersection, it comes upon the crash site, with the silver sedan lying in a smoking wreckage in a wooded ravine near the Glen Gazebo.

The AG’s office stated Hill lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree and that no other vehicles were involved in the collision.

Story continues after gallery

A police radio recording from the pursuit includes a responding officer who arrives at the scene of the crash and reports there are “three on the ground, one semiconscious,” before correcting himself to say, “two possibly unconscious.”

Dukes and Richardson were pronounced deceased on scene.

The Office of Public Integrity and Accountability continues to investigate the deadly incident, after which, the case will be referred to a grand jury.

Platkin’s release did not state whether Hill faces charges at this time.

Duke’s and Richardson’s deaths occurred less than two weeks after Platkin repealed a December 2020 directive issued by former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal that limited officers’ ability to conduct vehicle pursuits in light of a spate of deadly chases.

However, Grewal’s directive included multiple carve outs, allowing law enforcement to pursue a vehicle to prevent death or serious injury, or if the driver and other occupants are suspected of committing a crime of the 1st or 2nd degree, which would have included robbery, according to state criminal statutes, if the 911 caller’s allegation that the suspect had a gun was accurate.

Nicholas Katzban is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: katzban@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @nicholaskatzban 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ police pursuit: Footage released footage of fatal Glen Ridge chase

Irvington, NJ cop discover baby and an apparent murder/suicide at home – New Jersey 101.5 FM

IRVINGTON — Two people are dead in an apparent murder/suicide at a house early Thursday morning.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said police were called to a home on Adams Street, where they found Daquasha Jackson, 31, and Dane Lawrence, 29, with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead around 3:55 a.m.

Stephens did not disclose other details.

RLS Metro Breaking News, citing an unnamed police source, said Jackson’s baby was also found inside the home. The child was not harmed.

A preliminary investigation indicates it was likely a murder/suicide, according to Stephens.

Stephens asked anyone with information to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-847-7432 or 1-877-TIPS-4EC.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

8 sharks you may find off New Jersey’s coast

Every NJ city and town’s municipal tax bill, ranked

A little less than 30 cents of every $1 in property taxes charged in New Jersey support municipal services provided by cities, towns, townships, boroughs and villages. Statewide, the average municipal-only tax bill in 2021 was $2,725, but that varied widely from more than $13,000 in Tavistock to nothing in three townships. In addition to $9.22 billion in municipal purpose taxes, special taxing districts that in some places provide municipal services such as fire protection, garbage collection or economic development levied $323.8 million in 2021.

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Irvington, NJ cop discover baby and an apparent murder/suicide – New Jersey 101.5 FM

IRVINGTON — Two people are dead in an apparent murder/suicide at a house early Thursday morning.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said police were called to a home on Adams Street, where they found Daquasha Jackson, 31, and Dane Lawrence, 29, with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead around 3:55 a.m.

Stephens did not disclose other details.

RLS Metro Breaking News, citing an unnamed police source, said Jackson’s baby was also found inside the home. The child was not harmed.

A preliminary investigation indicates it was likely a murder/suicide, according to Stephens.

Stephens asked anyone with information to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-847-7432 or 1-877-TIPS-4EC.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

8 sharks you may find off New Jersey’s coast

Every NJ city and town’s municipal tax bill, ranked

A little less than 30 cents of every $1 in property taxes charged in New Jersey support municipal services provided by cities, towns, townships, boroughs and villages. Statewide, the average municipal-only tax bill in 2021 was $2,725, but that varied widely from more than $13,000 in Tavistock to nothing in three townships. In addition to $9.22 billion in municipal purpose taxes, special taxing districts that in some places provide municipal services such as fire protection, garbage collection or economic development levied $323.8 million in 2021.

New Jersey’s license plate designs through the years

Assembly panel OKs revision to mail-in voting – POLITICO

Voters who forgo casting their ballots in person may need to mail them earlier than usual.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed a bill today that would revise deadlines for sending, submitting and counting mail-in ballots. Assemblymembers John McKeon (D-Essex), Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer), and Committee Chair Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson) all voted in favor of the bill, while Vice Chair Carol Murphy (D-Burlington) and Assemblymember Robert Auth (R-Bergen) abstained.

Under the legislation","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/A3822","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d260001","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d260002","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Under the legislation, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, counties would begin mailing ballots to voters 38 days before an election instead of 45 days, the number of ballots received and counted must be posted on county boards of elections and Division of Elections websites, and counties can determine pickup schedules for ballots that are deposited in ballot drop boxes.

While there was agreement on a provision that allows for the opening and counting of mail-in ballots up to five days before the election, voting rights advocates pushed back on a provision that would reduce the deadline for mail-ballots to be accepted to four days after an election from the current six days.

“We can’t support any effort to curtail voting,” Henal Patel, director of the Democracy and Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, testified.

HAPPY THURSDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I’m Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. We’re adding New Jersey political trivia to this newsletter and will shout out one person who correctly answers the question in the following day’s edition.

Kudos to Rob Browne for knowing that four attorneys general served under former Gov. Tom Kean. Today’s question: Prior to the state Constitutional Convention of 1966, how many members were in the New Jersey Legislature? Send answers and tips to jcustodio@politico.com","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"mailto:jcustodio@politico.com","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d270001","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d270002","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>[email protected].

We’re here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy’s spending plan.

ALL ABOARD — Officials in New York, New Jersey and the nation’s largest passenger rail service are finally all on board for Penn Station’s long-delayed redevelopment, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today as she formally kicked off the bidding process for the busy transit hub’s anticipated multi-billion-dollar facelift.

Hochul was joined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Phil Murphy and leadership from Amtrak to announce that New York is officially accepting bids from architectural and engineering firms to redesign the midtown Manhattan nerve center linking commuters to the Garden State and Long Island.

As a hub for two commuter rail systems and the city’s subway system — each with varying needs — Penn Station has long been one of the most difficult infrastructure projects for elected leaders to strike agreement on. But they displayed a united front in the effort to redesign North America’s busiest rail terminal.

“This was jammed up for a very long time, simply because there could not be consensus between New York and New Jersey and Amtrak,” Hochul said to reporters after the press conference in Moynihan Train Hall. …

“Having a brand-new Penn Station doesn’t mean much if we can’t ensure that the trains heading here can get here on time,” Murphy said. “And having a brand-new tunnel… doesn’t mean much if we continue to require passengers to feel herded into an uninviting and obsolete Penn Station. This is a moment where the whole will be truly better than the sum of its parts.” — Danielle Muoio Dunn

COVID NUMBERS New Jersey reported 3,120 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2022/06/nj-reports-11-covid-deaths-3120-cases-vaccine-doses-ordered-for-kids-under-5.html","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d290000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d290001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>reported 3,120 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and 11 deaths from the virus on Thursday. The state’s seven-day average was down 4 percent from a week ago and up 6 percent from a month ago.

CHILD LABOR — New Jersey’s child labor laws could be getting their first major update in decades under a fast-tracked bill that advocates hope to pass early in the summer tourist season. The Assembly Labor Committee today unanimously approved legislation, NJ A4222 (22R), that would allow minors to work longer hours, eliminate parental consent requirements and reduce paperwork.

The state’s laws restricting the hours minors can work date back to 1940 and, according to advocates, hasn’t been meaningfully updated since. …

In response to the labor shortage brought on by the pandemic, New Jersey last summer temporarily expanded the hours 16- and 17-year-olds could work from 40 hours per week to 50 hours per week during the summer. The bill the Labor Committee advanced today would make that change permanent.

Parental consent would not be required for minors to work, though the state would be required to provide parents with an opt-out form for extended summer hours.

School districts would no longer play a role in issuing working papers for minors. Instead, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development would set up a database to register minors and their employers. Work permits would never have to be renewed and minors could work up to six hours straight before taking a break, up from five.

The bill is sponsored by Assemblymember Roy Freiman (D-Somerset). — Matt Friedman

NJ SECRETARY OF STATE REJECTS NEW PARTY BID ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/secretary-of-state-rejects-malinowski-bid-to-also-run-as-the-moderate-party-candidate/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0002","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0003","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>NJ SECRETARY OF STATE REJECTS NEW PARTY BID — New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The acting New Jersey Secretary of State has rejected a bid by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) to run as a Democratic candidate for Congress while at the same time running as the candidate of the newly-formed Moderate Party, a move that is widely expected to prompt a court challenge to a state law banning fusion voting.

‘No candidate shall sign an acceptance of nomination on a General Election petition for nomination for an office if the candidate has signed an acceptance of nomination on a petition for the Primary Election nomination for the same office,’ Tahesha Way, the state’s top election official, said in a letter to Malinowski.

Way said state election law prohibits Malinowski, the likely Democratic nominee – he won Tuesday’s primary against perennial candidate Roger Bacon — to file an independent petition.”

PRESERVATION ADVOCATES PUSH HERITAGE TOURISM ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2022/06/09/in-fight-to-restore-a-historic-battlefield-state-urged-to-support-heritage-tourism/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0004","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0005","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>PRESERVATION ADVOCATES PUSH HERITAGE TOURISM — New Jersey Monitor’s Dana DiFilippo: “Mention Princeton and the Revolutionary War likely isn’t what springs to mind.

But the town best known for its Ivy League university played a pivotal role in American independence, with one of the war’s most influential battles won there.

Preservationists are working to make the Princeton Battlefield State Park as big a draw as Valley Forge, Independence Hall, and other more nationally known Revolutionary War sites — and they have a deadline, with the nation’s 250th anniversary approaching and the tsunami of tourists they hope it’ll bring.

They face an uphill battle. Public funding for state parks has flatlined for years, and New Jersey doesn’t tend to or tout its historic sites the way states like Massachusetts and Virginia do, critics say.”

SOME OFFICIALS SKEPTICAL OF WORLD CUP WINDFALL ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2022/06/09/fifa-world-cup-metlife-stadium-east-rutherford-nj-economic-impact/7498759001/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0008","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e0009","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>SOME OFFICIALS SKEPTICAL OF WORLD CUP WINDFALL — NorthJersey.com’s Daniel Munoz — “Within days, we should know whether MetLife Stadium will take center stage in what’s arguably the most beloved sporting event on the planet.

On Thursday, FIFA, the international soccer federation","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/soccer/2022/05/18/us-soccer-equalizes-pay-in-milestone-with-women-men/50246235/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e000a","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2e000b","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>soccer federation, plans to announce the host of the 2026 men’s World Cup","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/soccer/2022/04/03/world-cup-2022-schedule-groups-game-times-qatar-tournament/7266301001/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2f0000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d2f0001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>World Cup, the quadrennial tournament that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to more than 60 matches, including a final expected to draw more than 1 billion television viewers.

The 83,000-seat stadium in the Meadowlands is among the favorites, and Gov. Phil Murphy and other proponents have touted a potential $500 million windfall for New York and New Jersey, which have submitted a joint bid.

But economists and some local officials aren’t so sure.”

— It appears as though a tornado touched down in Camden County this morning. ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.nj.com/weather/2022/06/nj-weather-probable-tornado-briefly-touched-down-weather-service-investigating.html","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Camden County this morning. 

— The George Washington Bridge will go to cashless tolling next month.","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://nj1015.com/major-toll-changes-for-george-washington-bridge-drivers-coming-from-nj/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300002","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300003","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>cashless tolling next month.

— Two brothers drowned in a pool in Bayonne’s Lincoln Community School last night. ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.nj.com/hudson/2022/06/two-drown-in-bayonne-school-swimming-pool.html","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300004","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300005","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Bayonne’s Lincoln Community School last night. 

— A Long Beach Island man was sentenced to two years in prison for throwing explosives at Pittsburgh police while protesting the death of George Floyd in 2020. ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.app.com/story/news/local/courts/2022/06/09/lbi-explosive-pittsburgh-pa-2020-protest/7567588001/","_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300006","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000181-4a04-d7bf-abef-cf360d300007","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>protesting the death of George Floyd in 2020. 

Toms River man charged with vehicular homicide in Lakewood crash – wobm.com

A Toms River man has been charged with Vehicular Homicide for driving at excessive speeds and causing a crash that claimed the life of a Lakewood resident in March of this year, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.

An investigation into the March 9 crash run by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Lakewood Police found that 23-year-old Alejandro Huerta-Arias of Toms River was driving in a 2012 Infinity G35 at an average speed of 91-mph — more than 40-mph over the posted speed limit — along Madison Avenue near Courtney Road when he collided with a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, driven by 35-year-old Mark Mandel of Lakewood who was trying to make a left turn at the time.

As a result of that Wednesday morning crash, Mandel and his Chevy Impala were forced into a traffic signal.

Lakewood Police were first on the scene and Mandel was pronounced dead from the crash.

Huerta-Arias was brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment after suffering a fractured leg.

Following the investigation, Huerta-Arias was charged Wednesday with Vehicular Homicide and surrendered himself to Lakewood Police.

After turning himself in, Prosecutor Billhimer said that Huerta-Arias was brought to the Ocean County Jail, where he remains pending a detention hearing.

There have been a number of crashes in recent years from drivers moving along a given road at a far excessive speed that has led to a tragedy as a result.

In one such crash, a Manahawkin man was eventually indicted for driving 74-mph on Radio Road in Little Egg Harbor in a crash that killed a girl days before her birthday.

In another case, a Burlington County man was charged for doing 75-mph in a 50-mph zone in a crash in Chesterfield that killed a woman who was riding her bike along Sykesville Road.

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