nj • 19th November 2022

Three killed in house fire in Passaic County

Three people were killed in a fire Friday night in Clifton, police said Saturday morning. The fire broke out in a home on Ladwik Lane home around 7:30 p.m., police said. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, whose office is investigating, identified the victims as Steven Warga, 65, Elaine Warga, 71, and Helen Popovich, 95. A fourth individual was transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson and was in stable condition.

nj • 19th November 2022

Body of missing N.J. hiker found after weeklong search

The body of a 41-year-old man who went missing last weekend was discovered Saturday, authorities said, following a week-long search by teams on the ground, in the air, and on boats along the river within the sprawling Ramapo Valley Reservation where he frequently hiked by himself. Hector Zamorano, of Mahwah, was found about a 40-minute walk deep into the 4,000-acre reservation in Bergen County by another hiker on Saturday morning, according to Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton. His body was

nj • 18th November 2022

N.J. health officials end COVID dashboard updates on weekends, holidays

New Jersey’s COVID-19 online dashboard, which has been providing daily updates on cases, deaths and other data, no longer will be update on weekends and holidays, the state Department of Health has announced. The change for daily cases and deaths took place last weekend, the Department of Health said. The state stopped reporting weekend vaccination updates on Oct. 14. This is the first time since New Jersey reported its first case of the coronavirus on March 4, 2020, that there will not be dai

nj • 18th November 2022

N.J. reports 1,417 COVID cases, 14 deaths. Busy holiday travel week ahead.

New Jersey health officials reported another 1,417 COVID-19 cases and 14 confirmed deaths on Friday ahead of a busy travel week leading up to Thanksgiving. The statewide rate of transmission stayed at 0.88 for the second day in a row. A transmission rate below 1 is an indication that the outbreak is declining, since each new case is leading to less than one additional case. A transmission rate of 1 means the number of cases have leveled off, while anything above 1 indicates the outbreak is exp

nj • 9th November 2022

N.J. election results 2022: Ocean County

Voters in Ocean County cast their votes Tuesday in the 2022 general elections for local, county and school board seats. Check back here for the unofficial results, which will be updated as they become available. Vote totals will be listed for all races. Winning candidates will have an ✔ in front of their names. Ballots that are mailed in and postmarked by Nov. 8 can be accepted until Nov. 14, so results will continue to change after the close of polls on election night. Provisional ballots are

nj • 5th November 2022

Are you surrounded by Democrats or Republicans? How N.J. breaks red and blue in all 21 counties.

Yes, New Jersey Democrats can boast about having a million more registered voters in their party compared to Republicans (2,524,019 vs. 1,520,511), according to the October statistics from the state’s Division of Elections. But Republicans continue to add small but steady numbers of registered voters in the state. Compared to this time last year, 14,061 more people registered as Republican. Registered Democrats, meanwhile, dropped by 52,723 and the number of voters who claim no party affiliatio

nj • 1st November 2022

Halloween candy hangover? These N.J. counties rank highest for annual dental visits.

The Halloween treats are gotten, the tricks are finished, and the candy is... still stuck in your teeth? A trip to the dentist might be in your future. Residents of some New Jersey counties are much better at making sure all that sugar doesn’t wreak havoc on their teeth than others by keeping up with dental visits. The New Jersey Department of Health asked residents if they had visited the dentist for any reason, including for a routine cleaning. Statewide, about two-thirds of residents (67%)

nj • 28th October 2022

Here’s how many ‘zombie houses’ are haunting N.J. neighborhoods, according to new study

There may be plenty of homes decorated with zombies in your neighborhood this Halloween, but the number of “zombie houses” by real estate standards is likely very small in New Jersey, new real estate data shows. A report by Attom, a national real estate data firm, found New Jersey had the fifth smallest percentage of zombie properties — or homes abandoned before the start of foreclosure proceedings. Just 0.41% of all properties in New Jersey fit the description of a zombie property during a po

nj • 22nd October 2022

A third of homes sold in under 2 weeks in these N.J. counties recently

Prospective homebuyers have to make decisions quickly in five New Jersey counties, where nearly 30% of homes recently sold had been on the market for less than two weeks. Buyers looking to move in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland and Morris counties had to put offers in quickly between Sept. 19 and Oct. 16, the most recently available data provided by Redfin, a national real estate brokerage. At least 32% of homes that sold during that time frame had been on the market for under two w

nj • 20th October 2022

Here’s how many homes sold in each N.J. county this September

Home sales in New Jersey were down significantly in September 2022 compared to the same period last year, data published by Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, shows. Between Sept. 5 and Oct. 2, there were 2,138 homes sold statewide, according to Redfin. That’s a quarter fewer homes sold than in the same time period last year, when 2,869 homes were sold. Some counties saw a steeper drop in year-over-year home sales than others, but the decrease was seen in all 21 counties. Cape May was h

nj • 17th October 2022

N.J. amusement park accidents reports plummeted this year, but there’s a catch

Despite some serious incidents at New Jersey amusement parks that drew significant attention, the overall number of accidents reported by ride operators to the state this year plummeted like the first drop on Kingda Ka. But there’s a catch. The state Department of Community Affairs, which inspects rides and collects incident reports, changed the definition of what is considered a “serious injury” that must be reported to the state agency in 2022. “The intent of the code change was to improve d

nj • 15th October 2022

Mega Millions ticket worth $1M sold in N.J. as $494M jackpot is split by 2 winners

A Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million was bought in New Jersey for Friday’s lottery ticket drawing, while jackpot winning tickets for the $494 million pool were sold in California and Florida. The lucky New Jersey ticket matched five numbers, but not the Mega Ball. New Jersey Lottery officials will disclose later in the day where the ticket was bought. One other second-prize ticket was sold in North Carolina. Friday’s winning numbers were: 9, 22, 26, 41, and 44. The Mega Ball drawn was 19 wi

nj • 15th October 2022

Carbon monoxide leak at Newark senior apartment sickens 11

Eleven residents at Newark senior apartment building were hospitalized early Saturday morning after a carbon monoxide leak, Newark officials said. The leak was detected at the Stephen Crane Elderly Apartments in Newark’s North Ward around 5:40 a.m. on Saturday, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said, after two residents were found passed out. Eleven people were taken to two different nearby hospitals to be treated for shortness of breath and light-headedness, Fragé said. All are in sta

nj • 15th October 2022

Student loan forgiveness application available for first time. Nearly 1.1M N.J. residents eligible.

The long-awaited federal student loan debt relief application went live on Saturday morning in a beta version, more than a month after President Joe Biden announced a large-scale debt cancellation effort, marking the first time some borrowers are able to apply. The application is now available on the FederalStudentAid website for some borrowers. Many others, however, will still not be able to submit applications just yet. “We’re providing periodic access to the form to help us get ready for ou

nj • 15th October 2022

1 killed in dirt bike crash in Monmouth County

One person was killed when a Jeep and dirt bike crashed on Friday night, Monmouth County officials said. Clifford Walton, 40, of Aberdeen, was driving the Kawasaki dirt bike in the area of Arlington Avenue and Gordon Street around 6 p.m. when he was hit by a Jeep, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office said. Walton was taken to Bayshore Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the Jeep, a 34-year-old who is also from Aberdeen, was not injured in the crash and remained on th

nj • 3rd October 2022

N.J. cop found guilty of killing estranged wife

A Newark police lieutenant was found guilty of murder and related charges for shooting his estranged wife to death three years ago at the Morris County home they once shared. John Formisano faces up to life in prison in the killing of Christie Solaro-Formisano in July 2019. She was gunned down outside her Jefferson Township home.

nj • 2nd October 2022

Coastal flood warning, 50 mph wind gusts today in N.J. from Ian remnants

A coastal flood warning and wind advisories are in effect for large portions of New Jersey as the remnants of Hurricane Ian make their final march across the Garden State. Shore towns from Ocean County south are now under a coastal flood warning, up from an advisory, the National Weather Service said early Sunday morning. Shore towns north of that remain under a flood advisory. For non-coastal towns, wind advisories will likely be Ian’s biggest impacts, the weather service says. Most towns inl

nj • 1st October 2022

Looking for love? These N.J. counties have the most singles to swipe right on

Hinge, Tinder, Bumble. There’s no shortage of dating apps, but are you in the best spot to find that match in New Jersey? Just under half of the state’s residents are single, meaning they have never been married, are divorced or widowed, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. About 2% are still legally married but separated from their spouses. For those looking for love, the county with the highest proportion of single residents is Essex County at 55.9% of the eligible popul

nj • 30th September 2022

N.J. police were preparing for a wild car show in Wildwood. How did it still turn deadly?

By the time the fog of spent gasoline and burnt rubber had dissipated late Saturday night, two people were dead. The vehicles descended on Wildwood quickly, part of an impromptu car show known as H2oi, H20i, or H2022, and once the mayhem reached a fever pitch, the cars fled just as fast. But the damage was done. Two were killed in a multi-car crash. Still others were injured in separate collisions, including when a car hit a golf cart. In the aftermath of an “unsanctioned” car meet-up that bro

nj • 27th September 2022

Driver who slammed into family in golf cart during Wildwood H2oi car rally faces assault charges

A Linden man has been charged after driving into a golf cart and seriously injuring one person during the deadly H2oi car meet-up in Wildwood over the weekend, court records show. Eryk R. Wnek, 22, is charged with aggravated assault and assault by auto after striking a golf cart occupied by two adults and four juveniles, records obtained by NJ Advance Media show. Wnek was in town for the H2oi car rally, an event originally intended to celebrate water-cooled Volkswagens and Audis, but which in