Thursday, December 20, 2012

New Jersey lawmaker keeps up attack on beach fees

AP  Eyewitness NewsNEPTUNE -- State Senate President Stephen Sweeney is continuing to speak out in support of making New Jersey beaches free.

The Senate's top Democrat told the editorial board of the Asbury Park Press (http://on.app.com/R55Vl8 ) he'd "love to get into an argument" with any Shore mayors who claim they can't do without beach fees.

Sweeney and Republican Sen. Michael Doherty of Warren County co-sponsored a bill requiring towns getting state and federal beach replenishment money to provide free beach and restroom access.

Shore towns are urging opposition and in fact some are planning to raise beach fees for 2013.

Sweeney says if more small shore towns consolidate services they could easily get rid of beach tags.

Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini says beach fees are an effective "'use tax" comparable to bridge tolls, and for his town, don't even cover the cost of beach maintenance.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Menendez leads senators on Sandy damage tour

  Eyewitness NewsLONG BEACH TOWNSHIP (WABC) -- A group of Democratic U.S. senators toured storm-ravaged parts of the New Jersey shore on Monday, pledging to support the expensive cost of rebuilding and noting that some of their Republican colleagues also have endorsed the cause.

The tour, led by New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez, comes days after President Barack Obama asked Congress for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New Jersey, New York and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy in October.

Standing under a tarpaulin in front of a house that was smashed into another by the storm, Menendez said, "Getting this passed at a time when we're talking about the fiscal cliff is a bit like Houdini. But we're going to do this."

Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Jon Tester of Montana attended the tour, which included a visit to the devastated Holgate section of Long Beach Township. Louisiana Republican David Vitter was scheduled to attend but couldn't make it because of bad weather.

New Jersey elected officials are trying to drum up support for the state's funding request, amid contentious negotiations between the two parties over spending and taxes to avoid automatic cuts scheduled to take effect next year, the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who has called the storm "New Jersey's Katrina," has said more than 30,000 businesses and homes were destroyed in the state or experienced structural damage from the storm. He is seeking $36.9 billion for New Jersey, including $29.4 billion in repair, response and restoration costs and $7.4 billion in costs to protect against future storms.

Landrieu cited the aid Congress provided her state after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and said New Jersey now needs similar support.

"To see it in person is just shocking," she said. "Billions of dollars in damage has been done."

Likewise, Tester said the trip would enable him to go back home to his constituents and explain how badly the emergency aid is needed on the East Coast. Stabenow expressed similar sentiments.

"We appreciate the support we've received when we had tough times," she said. "It needs to get done right away so there can be some hope and some certainty for families."

Landrieu said Vitter has not committed to a specific level of funding but has agreed there is a need and Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi also has voiced a desire to help write funding legislation. Cochran is vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

On his website, he said, "My state of Mississippi is no stranger to the damages caused by natural disasters like Sandy, and I understand the desire for recovery assistance to be made available quickly. To that end, I will work with my colleagues to analyze the administration's recommendation and move toward responsibly providing additional federal disaster recovery funds."

Menendez, in particular, has cited funding for past disasters, including Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and tornadoes in the Midwest, in calling for Congress to do likewise for New Jersey.

In a statement last week, the U.S. senators from New Jersey and New York, all Democrats, acknowledged the difficulty involved in getting the funds approved in the current political climate, saying: "This is going to be a tough fight."

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, robert menendez, hurricane sandy, new jersey news

View the original article here

Gender neutral Easy-Bake oven on the way

AP  by MICHELLE R. SMITHPROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Hasbro says it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven after meeting with a New Jersey girl who started a campaign calling on the toy maker to make one that appeals to all kids.

McKenna Pope, 13, of Garfield, N.J., got more than 40,000 signatures on her online petition at Change.org and the support of celebrity chefs including Bobby Flay, who backed her call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral oven and to include boys in the ads.

She was prompted to start the petition after shopping for an Easy-Bake as a Christmas present for her 4-year-old brother, Gavyn Boscio, and finding them only in purple and pink.

Hasbro invited McKenna and her family to its Pawtucket, R.I., headquarters to meet with its Easy-Bake team, and on Monday, they drove to Rhode Island from New Jersey. During the meeting, Hasbro executives showed off a prototype of their newest Easy-Bake: one that's black, silver and blue.

Hasbro has been working on the new color scheme and design for about 18 months, and decided to invite McKenna to see it and offer her thoughts, said John Frascotti, Hasbro's chief marketing officer.

McKenna said the company is doing everything she asked, including putting boys in the ads.

"I think that they really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me," she said, adding that Gavyn thought the new design was "awesome."

Frascotti pointed out that the classic toy has had about a dozen different color schemes, from yellow to green to teal to silver, since first being introduced in 1963. The most recent iteration, introduced in 2011, is mostly purple with pink accents.

He said it's sold well since then, and that prompted the company to look for a way to update it and to broaden the consumer base by doing it in different colors.

"It's actually a product that's played with by both boys and girls," he said. "We will continue to offer the existing product too because it's so popular."

Hasbro plans to introduce the new color scheme at the industry's Toy Fair in New York in February. Frascotti said people are likely to see it on store shelves next summer.

As for McKenna's Christmas present for her brother, she said the TV show "Inside Edition" gave the family an Easy-Bake Oven after learning of her campaign. For Christmas, she said, she'll probably buy him some mixes to bake in it.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Outerbridge Crossing reopens after separate crashes

  Eyewitness NewsNEW JERSEY (WABC) -- The Outerbridge Crossing has reopened in both directions after two separate accidents forced a closure Wednesday morning.

The crashes closed the New Jersey-bound lanes, while Staten Island-bound lanes were closed for the police activity.

About a half dozen people were injured in the crashes, which occurred just before 8 a.m.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more ABC7 Traffic Center »


abc7 traffic center

View the original article here

Last car removed from derailed New Jersey train

AP  GEOFF MULVIHILLPAULSBORO -- Workers have removed the final tanker car that was part of a freight train that derailed more than two weeks ago in southern New Jersey.

Recovery efforts are now focused on repairing a swivel-style bridge over Mantua Creek in Paulsboro where the accident occurred.

A ruptured tanker car released vinyl chloride when seven cars of the 84-car train derailed on Nov. 30. The gas, used to make PVC plastic, led to the evacuation of more than 329 families and businesses. No one was seriously sickened, though dozens were checked out at a hospital.

Federal Railroad Administration officials will inspect the track and the bridge's locking mechanism before the span will reopen.

The National Transportation Safety Board could issue a preliminary report on the derailment sometime this week.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, train, evacuation, gas leak, new jersey news

View the original article here

Officials: 285 bears killed during New Jersey's annual hunt

AP  TRENTON -- New Jersey's third state-sanctioned bear hunt resulted in 184 fewer kills than a year ago.

State environmental officials say 285 bears were killed during the six-day hunt that ended Saturday. Last year's hunt had yielded 469 bruins, while 592 were harvested during the 2010 hunt.

Preliminary data show 188 bears were killed in Sussex County. Forty-two were harvested in Morris County, while 32 were killed in Warren County and 23 in Passaic County.

The hunt aims to control the state's black bear population, now estimated at about 2,900 in the hunting area, about 500 fewer than in 2010. It took place in an area north of Interstate 78 and west of Interstate 287.

About 6,400 hunters participated in this year's hunt, or about 1,000 less than in 2011.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, bear hunt, new jersey news

View the original article here

Teen drowns at New Jersey sweet 16 party

  Marjie Mohtashemi, Eyewitness NewsWEST MILFORD, N.J. (WABC) -- There's a demand for answers from the parents of a teenager who drowned at a friend's sweet 16 party.

A wake was held in Washington Heights for 17-year-old Darnell Mickens of Harlem. He will be laid to rest Friday.

He was at a party in West Milford, New Jersey, on Saturday with classmates when he was found in the home's indoor pool.

West Milford police are treating it as an accident, and they say no alcohol was found near the pool.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, drowning, new jersey news

View the original article here

Democrat Barbara Buono to run for NJ governor

AP  by ANGELA DELLI SANTITRENTON -- State Sen. Barbara Buono announced Tuesday she will seek the Democratic nomination for governor, accusing Republican Gov. Chris Christie of "trickle-down economics" that she said have stagnated economic growth in New Jersey and left the state with the highest jobless rate in three decades.

Buono, who has served in the Legislature since 1994, said the governor was right to declare the rebuilding of the state from Superstorm Sandy urgent priority, but she said "that's not the only rebuilding that needs to be done."

"There's another New Jersey that's been slowly eroded by wrong priorities, poor policy choices and inexcusable neglect," the 59-year-old mother of six said in a three-minute video announcing she had filed paperwork to be a candidate for governor.

Buono is the fourth Democrat to enter the race to challenge Christie, but the first who's well known on the state political scene. Also in the race are Edison Planning Board member William Araujo, Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Brigmason and perpetual candidate Jeff Boss.

A handful of other better-known Democrats, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney are weighing runs. Booker has said he will decide by the end of next week.

Sweeney said Tuesday that he's not surprised to see Buono enter the race. "She's been talking about it for the past two years," Sweeney said.

Early polls have suggested all of them now lag well behind Christie, who considered a run for president a year ago, gave the keynote speech at this year's Republican National Convention and has seen his approval ratings soar for his handling of Superstorm Sandy. Buono, who is not widely known statewide, trailed Christie 60-22 in a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released last month. Christie said last month that he's seeking re-election.

Patrick Murray, a Monmouth University political scientist, said a strong showing, even in a loss to Christie, could propel a candidate to front-runner status to run for U.S. Senate in 2014, should incumbent Frank Lautenberg decide to retire. But a blow-out loss could be deeply damaging.

Murray said that despite Christie's popularity, it is possible things could break against him in the next 11 months and that Buono or another Democrat could unseat him. "Chris Christie's going to win or lose this largely on his own merits," Murray said.

For his part, Christie on Tuesday did not have much to say about Buono's candidacy. "I have no time for politics. I have an important job to do. I'll engage in politics when I need to, but I don't need to engage right now," he told NJTV after a business forum in Woodbridge.

Buono, considered to be left of center, said in her video that she'll push for the right for gay couples to marry and state money to support Planned Parenthood. The Sierra Club's New Jersey office was among the first to make a public statement welcoming her to the race, though the group said it's not ready to make an endorsement.

The heart of Buono's message was on economic issues.

"Today, our state has an unemployment crisis--the highest jobless rate in over three decades. Instead of bipartisan leadership, Governor Christie's offered trickle-down economics--policies that have landed New Jersey 47th out of 50 states for economic growth," she said. "We need a real plan to create good-paying jobs all across our state."

In October, the state unemployment rate was 9.7 percent, above the national jobless rate of 7.9 percent.

Christie has boasted about growth of private-sector employment since he took office.

Buono, who lives in Metuchen with her husband, was born in Newark, and grew up in Nutley. Her father was a butcher, her mother an office worker and substitute teacher.

Buono graduated from Montclair State University and Rutgers Law School. She's been a public defender and a private lawyer. She was elected in 1992 to the Metuchen Borough Council and later served as police commissioner there.

She served in the state Assembly from 1994 to 2001 and has been in the state Senate since 2002.

In 2010 and 2011, she served as majority leader, but was ousted from that role early this year.

She did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

---
GET MORE POLITICAL NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS AND ABC NEWS

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »


new jersey politics, politics & elections

View the original article here

Menendez intern, a sex offender, faces deportation

AP  By ALICIA A. CALDWELLWASHINGTON -- A U.S. senator employed an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender as an unpaid intern in his office, The Associated Press has learned. The immigrant from Peru is now under arrest by immigration authorities.

The Homeland Security Department had instructed federal agents not to arrest 18-year-old Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaletahim until after the Nov. 6 Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP.

Sanchez Zavaleta was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his home in New Jersey on Dec. 6, two federal officials said. Sanchez, who entered the country on a now-expired visitor visa from Peru, is facing deportation and remains in custody. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of Sanchez's immigration case.

A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department, Peter Boogaard, said in an email to the AP that ICE followed standard procedures working with local prosecutors before taking what he called "appropriate enforcement action." Boogard also said AP's report was "categorically false." He did not immediately respond to a request to specify what might be false.

Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat, who advocates aggressively for pro-immigration policies, was re-elected in November with 58 percent of the vote. He said his staff was notified Monday, and he personally learned about the case from AP's reporting and knew nothing about whether DHS delayed the arrest. The senator said his staff asks interns whether they are in the country legally but cannot check to be sure.

"We certainly wouldn't have known through any background checks since he is a minor about any sex offender status," Menendez said in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC television. "Once it came to our attention, our New Jersey staff director let the young man go."

Online jail records did not indicate whether Sanchez has an attorney. Sanchez declined to be interviewed from jail.

The prosecutor's office in Hudson County, New Jersey, said Sanchez was found to have violated the law in 2010 and subsequently required to register as a sex offender. The exact charge was unclear because Sanchez was prosecuted as a juvenile and those court records are not publicly accessible. The prosecutor's office confirmed to AP that Sanchez registered as a sex offender, although his name does not appear on the public registry. The acting county prosecutor, Gaetano Gregory, is a Republican.

Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official told the AP. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said.

It was not immediately clear why federal immigration authorities would not have been notified sooner about Sanchez's status.

During discussions about when and where to arrest Sanchez, the U.S. reviewed Sanchez's application for permission to stay in the country as part of President Barack Obama's policy to allow up to 1.7 million young illegal immigrants avoid deportation and get permission to work for up to two years. As a sex offender, he would not have been eligible. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, notified Sanchez of that shortly before his arrest, one official said.

Menendez said the arrest spoke to the need for comprehensive immigration reform that brings illegal immigrants out of the shadows.

"It does speak volumes about why we need comprehensive immigration reform," the senator said. "I can't know who is here to pursue the American dream versus who is here to do it damage if I cannot get people to come forth out of the shadows, go through criminal background checks and then determine who is here to pursue the dream and make sure that those who are here and have criminal backgrounds ultimately get deported."

---
GET MORE POLITICAL NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS AND ABC NEWS

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »


new jersey politics, politics & elections

View the original article here

New Jersey man helping alleged drunk driver struck by 2nd

AP  Eyewitness NewsPARAMUS, N.J. -- Police say a Paramus man is in critical condition after being struck by an alleged drunk driver after pulling over to help a woman who had crashed while also allegedly driving drunk.

The Record of Woodland Park reports http://bit.ly/Rwjvzf that 21-year-old Farbod Fallah of Paramus pulled his car over at around 2:15 a.m. Friday to help a woman who police say had crashed her car into a utility pole while driving intoxicated.

Police say Fallah had pulled alongside the woman's vehicle, called 911, and left his car to assist her when both vehicles were struck by a car driven by 30-year-old Gregory Komporlis of River Edge.

Police arrested Komporlis, who they say was driving drunk. It's not clear if he has a lawyer.

Fallah remains hospitalized in Hackensack.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, paramus, dwi, new jersey news

View the original article here

PATH service resumes between Hoboken, Manhattan

AP  Eyewitness NewsHOBOKEN -- PATH service has resumed at the Hoboken station for the first time since Superstorm Sandy.

Trains between Hoboken and the 33rd Street station in Manhattan will initially run daily in both directions from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.

With this latest service restoration following Superstorm Sandy, travelers now can access the entire PATH system between New Jersey and New York. The return of Hoboken service provides more than 29,000 commuters with restored mass transit between Hoboken and Midtown Manhattan. Sandy flooded PATH tunnels with up to eight feet of water and destroyed critical signal and switching systems.

Shutting down service the past two weeks allowed workers long uninterrupted stretches to make repairs, allowing the speedier reopening of the Hoboken PATH station.

Officials say the return of limited 24-hour PATH service is expected in time for New Year's Eve.

For a complete list of routes, visit the Port Authority's website PANYNJ.gov/PATH.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, path train, path, hoboken, hurricane sandy, new jersey news

View the original article here

Hoboken Terminal at least 2 months from power

Web produced by Bill King, Eyewitness NewsHOBOKEN (WABC) -- New Jersey Transit's Hoboken station will be without electrical power for at least another two months while an interim substation is being completed, executive director James Weinstein said Thursday at a board meeting in which he faced more public criticism for the agency's pre- and post-Superstorm Sandy performance.

The past six and a half weeks have been an exercise in patience for Hoboken commuters after the PATH station was devastated by flooding during Sandy. Now, commuters are finding out that repairs are nowhere near completion

"I feel like it's never going to happen, honestly," one commuter said. The New Jersey Transit station there has been running limited service on backup generators since the storm. Now, the Port Authority says it needs weeks to get the heavily damaged PATH station up and running.

Limited service will continue for the time being, making the trip into Manhattan a three-hour ordeal for some commuters.

Because the path doesn't run, I end up having to take the light rail," one Hoboken resident said. "A lot of times the connections aren't good, so it sometimes can take me a lot longer."

Many are frustrated by the delays.

"Two states and they can't get it together to get it up and running?" a commuter asked.

Still, commuters recognize that it could have been much worse.

"Taking the bus, it could be worse," one man said. "A lot of families have it a lot worse than we do here. So I'm thankful."

The Hoboken station has been operating on generators since it reopened about a week after the Oct. 29 storm caused flooding from the Hudson River. Most trains that use the station run on diesel power, but the Gladstone branch, which normally runs on electric power, has had to use diesel since it resumed service last week.

That has meant service on the Gladstone and some of the other lines has been cut back to compensate. About half the regularly scheduled trains on the Gladstone branch aren't running to Hoboken, though other lines into Hoboken are running at about 80 to 90 percent of their normal schedules.

The interim substation should be completed in eight to 10 weeks, but the permanent one could take more than a year, Weinstein said. He added that the new substation would be elevated above flood level.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey transit, path train, path, hurricane sandy, new jersey news, anthony johnson

View the original article here

Gov. Christie returns to Belmar 7 weeks after Sandy

AP  Eyewitness NewsBELMAR -- Gov. Chris Christie returns to Belmar on Thursday, seven weeks after Hurricane Sandy badly damaged the Shore town with sea water and strong winds.

Christie will talk about storm recovery efforts and hear concerns from some of the 5,900 borough residents at a town hall meeting. Mayor Matt Doherty will introduce the governor.

Storm and home debris have been picked up and $17 million has been allocated for construction of a new 1.3-mile boardwalk. But Doherty reports that 40 children from Belmar Elementary School are still displaced, with no timetable for moving back into their permanent homes.

Christie walked along Ocean Avenue with Doherty and first responders and consoled residents the day after the hurricane.

Doherty says the Republican's return is emblematic of his continued support.

---
GET MORE POLITICAL NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS AND ABC NEWS

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »


new jersey politics, new jersey, belmar, hurricane sandy, chris christie, politics & elections

View the original article here

Tombstones found on land in Randolph

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsRANDOLPH, N.J. (WABC) -- A businessman in New Jersey found three tombstones on his property in Randolph.

How they ended up there is a mystery.

Three tombstones were found at a construction site off Middlebury Boulevard in Randolph on land next to this sports complex.

"Why would this stone be here? Doesn't make any sense," said Gene Kozak, owns land.

Gene Kozak is developing the land, but this was one discovery he didn't expect when workers were digging through the dirt.

He gets emotional just talking about it.

"I don't know why people would do that. You don't know why somebody would do that," Kozak said.

He believes someone dumped the tombstones.

Construction workers discovered the tombstones on the property probably about six months ago. Gene Kozak says he wasn't informed until last week and he tells Eyewitness News he's been haunted by it ever since.

He's haunted by the dates on the tombstones and the names; Eleanor Carlson was 99 years old when she died.

Elizabeth and Vincent Ryan, a husband and wife, shared another one of the tombstones.

Edward Purcell was born July 4th and that's Gene's birthday as well.

"I'd like to know more about those people; who they were, and how they contributed to the country," Kozak said.

He's hoping someone will come forward with answers.

"Maybe the family members might be still around and recognize the tombstones and try to collect them," Kozak said.

"It's a dignity issue, respect issue," Kozak said, "These are people who built this country, made it what it is today, you're saying we should respect that and respect their memory even more."

Just as the names are etched in stone they remain in his thoughts.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news, jeff pegues

View the original article here

Picture released of man wanted in girlfriend's murder

  Eyewitness NewsPATERSON, N.J. (WABC) -- She was stabbed and killed and now police in New Jersey say they know who did it, the woman's ex-boyfriend.

Police in Paterson released a picture of the man they're looking for, Raheem Jones, a 34-year-old ex-con who, police say, killed his ex-girlfriend Natasha Smith.

Smith was found Wednesday stabbed several times inside her home in Paterson.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, paterson, murder, stabbing, new jersey news

View the original article here

Mother, 3-year-old son die in murder-suicide fire

SCOTCH PLAINS -- Authorities say a northern New Jersey mom purposely set a house fire that killed her and her young son.

Union County prosecutors initially thought 32-year-old Katherine Halverson and her 3-year-old son, Jeremy Scott McDonald, died after getting caught in the fire at their Scotch Plains home Tuesday night. But after autopsies were performed Wednesday, the deaths were ruled a murder-suicide.

Authorities say that they believe Halverson took her son to a small second-floor bedroom, where she started the fire. Both victims died of smoke inhalation, but it's not clear why Halverson killed herself and her son.

Firefighters forced their way into the home after neighbors reported seeing smoke. The fire was quickly extinguished, and the damage was confined to the second story of the duplex.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, scotch plains, fire, deadly fire, new jersey news, toni yates

View the original article here

Feds: Teen, 17, hired to strip at bar, paid in alcohol

  Eyewitness NewsNATIONAL PARK (WABC) -- Regulators have suspended the alcohol license for a southern New Jersey bar after managers were caught hiring a 17-year-old to strip and paying her with alcohol.

Park Place Bar and Grill in National Park cannot serve alcohol for 50 days as a result of the decision announced Thursday by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Officials say an investigator in February 2011 found the minor being served drinks by a bartender, who told officials she was directed to give her as many drinks as she wanted "to loosen her up."

A bartender, manager and owner were charged with serving alcohol to a minor. The girl and two others were charged with underage drinking.

"The division aggressively sought the suspension of this license, and we will continue to look for licensees who serve alcohol available to persons under the legal age," said Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Michael Halfacre. "This case was particularly troubling because the licensee used alcohol to exploit a minor for financial gain."

In addition to admitting the underage violations, Park Place Bar and Grill also conceded they had been purchasing alcohol from a nearby liquor store for sale at their establishment, which is also a violation.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

NJ Transit rolls out bus time smartphone app

  Eyewitness NewsTRENTON (WABC) -- New technology could take the mystery out of riding the bus in New Jersey.

Starting Thursday, New Jersey Transit is rolling out its new smartphone program, called My Bus Now.

It will allow riders to check their phones and see, in real time, just when the next bus will arrive.

It is available now on a test basis around Trenton and Princeton.

It will expand to the entire state, with its 19,000 bus stops, by early spring.

---
ONLINE: njtransit.com

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more ABC7 Traffic Center »


new jersey transit, new jersey, mass transit, subway, bus, abc7 traffic center

View the original article here

Firefighters battle 7-alarm blaze in Elizabeth

  Eyewitness NewsELIZABETH (WABC) -- A seven-alarm fire burned through a large auto body shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey, early Tuesday.

The fire broke out inside Portuguese Auto Repair on 7th Street just before 4:30 a.m.

The flames burned through numerous vehicles in the auto body shop.

Numerous loud explosions inside the business were believed caused by gas or propane tanks.

Crews initially had to force their way into the business to gain access.

No injuries were immediately reported.

Meanwhile, a three-alarm fire burned through a home at 315 Broad Street in Keyport. Residents escaped the fire, which appears to have started in the attic at around 4:15 a.m.

Several houses were also reported on fire on Mystic Island in Little Egg Harbor, Ocean County.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, elizabeth, fire, new jersey news

View the original article here

Reusable shopping bag measure advances in NJ

EAST RUTHERFORD (WABC) -- A bag that once held someone's groceries is now pollution.

"You know how long that takes to be biodegradable? Years. I don't know how many years, but a lot of years," Bob Muchnicki of Lyndhurst said.

Some New Jersey lawmakers want to make the bags as unappealing as possible. A bill to do just that passed a committee vote on Monday. It calls for charging customers 5 cents for every new plastic or paper bag they receive during a shopping trip.

"I think that's ridiculous! I think we pay for enough in the grocery store, that we don't need to pay for plastic bags," Susan Trizzino of Elmwood Park said.

That kind of objection may be the silver lining for people who like the idea of never seeing these bags again.

"I know plastic bags are not good for the environment, so if we can get rid of them - any way to deter people from using them, I think would be a good idea," Glenn Canlas of Bloomfield said.

"I guess we have to do what we have to to protect the environment," Donna Edone of Paramus said.

We found a perfect example just a few yards away from where we did those interviews: plastic bags wrapped around the vegetation in the wetlands of the Meadowlands.

We met Susan and Sharon coming from an Aldi Market, where they bought reusable bags. The store has never offered plastic bags. You bring your own reusable bags.

The bill says all stores would have to offer the same bargain if the bag ban becomes law. A similar law adopted Washington, D.C. nearly three years ago reduced the number of plastic bags ending up in the nearby Anacostia River by 60 percent and caused three-quarters of residents to cut their use of disposable bags, according to a follow-up survey.

"By charging a nominal 5-cent fee for each paper and plastic bag, customers become incentivized to either forego a bag or bring a reusable bag rather than pay the 5-cent fee," said Keith Anderson, interim director of the district's Department of the Environment, who came to Trenton to testify about the bill.

Anderson said D.C.'s 2009 bag law requires 4,300 food and liquor stores to charge customers 5 cents per disposable plastic or paper bag, generating $2.1 million a year for river cleanup. Merchants keep up to 2 cents if they offer an environmentally friendly alternative. Random inspections are conducted by secret shoppers, he said, and violators can be reported via a tip line. Warnings are issued for first offenses but fines for continued noncompliance can reach $500. Most businesses are not troubled by the law, he said, because it's enabled them to order fewer bags, thereby reducing their bottom lines.

Sen. Bob Smith of Piscataway, who chairs the environmental panel and is sponsoring the bill, said New Jersey could look forward to $28 million in revenue from the law, which could be dedicated to helping regenerate Barnegat Bay. The bay, which has deteriorated because of overdevelopment and storm water runoff, was battered further by Hurricane Sandy.

Several other countries including China have banned plastic bags or instituted fees for single-use bags. In the United States, nearly 100 communities or cities have passed laws limiting throw-away bag use, led by San Francisco, which passed a disposable bag ban in 2007.

Zach McCue of Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of more than 130 environmental organizations in New Jersey and New York, said the manufacture of thin-film plastic bags consumes millions of trees and barrels of oil, takes up space in landfills for a long time and is harmful to marine life, especially birds and sea turtles that ingest the bags, or pieces of bags, or get entangled in them.

But a representative of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based group of bag manufacturers, said the ban amounts to a tax on businesses and would hurt some of the 30,000 who work in American bag-making factories.

He said bag laws have not been shown to reduce the amount of plastic bags recovered from waterways.

---
Information from the Associated Press in this story.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, pollution, recycling, plastic bags, reusable bags, east rutherford, new jersey news, toni yates

View the original article here

Spectacular New Jersey light display set to music

  Eyewitness NewsMINE HILL (WABC) -- A holiday display in central New Jersey is attracting a lot of attention, both in the virtual and real worlds.

Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris has been creating spectacular light and music displays for the past five years.

He asks visitors to drop off donations for a local food pantry.

Check out the video of his creation.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Lifestyle & Fun »


lifestyle & fun

View the original article here

New Jersey students show support for Sandy Hook

NEW MILFORD (WABC) -- Almost all of the middle school students at Solomon Schecter wore green and white to support the students and families at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

They are planning to do more to let the victims' families know they are not alone.

A group of sixth graders met with the school rabbi at the day school to discuss their feelings and ways they can help ease the pain of the families in Newtown. "We all have younger siblings or daughters or sons and we don't know what it's like to lose them, but we can imagine," Jesse Abed, a sixth grader, said.

Jesse and his friend Alexa used social media to encourage their friends to wear green and white to school on Monday, to support the students and teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary school.

"I wanted to help the families and show them we respect them and they're not alone," Alexa Wanderman said.

The 400 students at the Jewish day school said a special prayer at morning services for the Newtown community.

"May your presence be felt among all those who are grieving," Rabbi Fred Elias said.

And other students plan to mail letters, send gifts, and travel with their families up to Newtown to offer their condolences and support.

"I want to do as much as I can to make them feel just a little bit better," Abed said.

The school's spiritual leaders are encouraging students to do more, to reach out to strangers during their darkest days.

"Despite this tragedy, we can, with our collective efforts, repair our world," Elias said.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


connecticut, school lockdown, shooting, newtown, newtown school shooting, mass shooting, new jersey news, jen maxfield

View the original article here

Preview of FEMA trailers for NJ residents

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsUNION BEACH, N.J. (WABC) -- The devastation in Union Beach is so extensive and there are dozens of other homes on Shore Road that are destroyed.

FEMA officials said Tuesday that 50 trailers will go out to New Jersey residents starting next week.

Eyewitness News got a preview of what residents can expect.

40 FEMA trailers have been parked at Great Adventure since early November.

Starting next week, some New Jersey residents who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy will call these one and two-bedroom units home.

"If you've lost everything and you come into this, you will feel a little more relaxed," said Steve Minnick, of FEMA.

Inside the trailers, the basics; a couch and dining room table in the living room, a bed and a dresser in each bedroom, and one full bathroom.

For people who lost everything, FEMA provides the kitchen essentials, including a coffee maker, pots and pans, utensils, and even a weather radio to alert families when another storm is on the way.

FEMA officials say the trailers will be provided for free to qualified families. They will be set up in mobile home parks, outside of flood zones, and will be home for about 18 months.

"Rental units are our primary option for long term housing," said Chris McKniff, of FEMA.

In Union Beach, which sustained some of the worst storm damage, many believe the trailers are a better long-term solution than hotel rooms or extended stays with relatives.

"If they get a trailer they have a place to store it and have a Christmas," said Joann Peperoni, a storm victim.

Others wonder why the trailers have been parked in an empty parking lot for six weeks, instead of being shipped out to people who need them.

Konstantine and his neighbor lost their homes along the water.

"She has nothing and her whole lifelong possessions are in that house. Gone. She is right back to where she started," said Konstantine Zios, a storm victim.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, fema, hurricane sandy, new jersey news, jen maxfield

View the original article here

Parents and officials to discuss school safety in Tenafly

TENAFLY, New Jersey (WABC) -- The Tenafly superintendent will hold a meeting at 8 pm at the high school library. Parents in town lobbied for a meeting with administrators and police, to hear more about security already in place, and ask for more.

"I didn't want this moment to pass without being a catalyst for change," said Jackie Goldschneider.

Goldschneider is a mother of four, two sets of twins in Tenafly. Her older children will start kindergarten next year and she wants to be sure they'll be in a safe place.

"Anything I can do to add a layer of security between my child and the outside world, I want to do," she adds.

Following the tragic shooting of schoolchildren in Newtown, Jackie rallied friends on Facebook and contacted Tenafly's superintendent, who got back to her right away and quickly scheduled a town wide meeting on Tuesday night.

"I didn't want to spend the weekend posting photos of victims and saying this is so horrible and not doing anything," adds Goldschneider.

Parent leaders in the community also think it's important to inform parents about security already in place, and to remind them of their own responsibility.

"It's not just the school's job, it's the parents too, if you get buzzed in and someone trails behind you, you need to be strong and say u need to be buzzed in too," adds Eileen Pleva. With the PTA.

Tuesday's meeting will include the Tenafly superintendent, the police chief, and parents.

Officials say they're open-minded, and if a parent has a good suggestion for increased security, they'll consider it.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news, jen maxfield

View the original article here

New Jersey man charged with illegal import of whale tusks

AP  Eyewitness NewsNEWARK -- A New Jersey man has been charged with the alleged smuggling and attempted sale of illegally imported whale tusks.

Officials with the federal Environment and Natural Resources Division say Andrew L. Zarauskas was arrested Friday at his home in Union.

He faces conspiracy and money laundering charges related to the purchase and attempted sale of tusks from narwhals, a medium-sized whale with an extremely long tusk that is sought by collectors.

An indictment by a federal grand jury in Maine names Zarauskas and alleged co-conspirator Jay G. Conrad of Lakeland, Tenn.

Prosecutors say the two men allegedly engaged in the illegal import of the tusks from Canada to the United States and conspired to launder money to conceal the proceeds.

It is not clear if the men have retained attorneys.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Proceeds of 121212 concert headed to Sandy victims

AP  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- The Robin Hood Foundation says it is beginning to distribute $50 million in proceeds from last week's benefit concert to organizations helping victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Visit the "121212 The Concert for Sandy Relief" website to make a donation.

Madison Square Garden spokeswoman Michelle Isaacs said Wednesday the money was raised through ticket sales, merchandising and charitable auctions at the Dec. 12 show, which featured Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones. More revenue is expected to come in. Robin Hood says it is distributing roughly 40 percent of the money to organizations based in New Jersey, with the rest in New York and Connecticut.

The devastating storm tour into the New York metropolitan region on Oct. 29.

---

Viewers can help support Sandy survivors, too!

Visit the "121212 The Concert for Sandy Relief" website to make a donation.

Spread the word on Twitter - #121212concert.

Like the concert on Facebook.

http://www.thechildrensstorefront.org/

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »


new york city, hurricane sandy, music, new york news

View the original article here

World Trade Center spire hoisted atop building

AP  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- The first section of the spire that will crown One World Trade Center has been hoisted atop the building.

It was lifted onto the 104-story building on Wednesday.

Nine of 18 giant steel pieces of the spire arrived at the site in New York City Tuesday via barge from Port Newark, N.J.

The arrival marked the end of a 1,500-nautical-mile journey that started in Canada on Nov. 16.

A plant outside Montreal produced the 18 pieces. The spire will make the tower the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The remaining nine pieces of the 408-foot, $20 million spire are being trucked in from Canada and another plant in South Plainfield, N.J.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »


new york city, world trade center, new york news

View the original article here

New Jersey girl wants gender-neutral Easy-Bake oven

AP  by MICHELLE R. SMITHPROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Some well-known male chefs are getting behind a New Jersey girl's call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven.

Chefs including Manuel Trevino of TV's "Top Chef" and Michael Lomonaco of Porterhouse New York are featured in a YouTube video applauding McKenna Pope's online petition, which had reached about 40,000 signatures as of Tuesday on the website Change.org.

The 13-year-old 8th-grader from Garfield, N.J., started the petition when she went to buy an Easy-Bake Oven for her 4-year-old-brother, Gavyn Boscio, but discovered it comes only in purple and pink. She wants Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro to feature boys on the box of the toy and to make it in gender-neutral colors.

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay said last week he agreed that Hasbro should make an oven in other colors to appeal to boys, and in the nearly 3-minute-long video posted online Tuesday by Flay's publicist, several chefs from around the country joined in on the call.

A spokesman for Hasbro did not comment.

Lomonaco is known for his TV appearances and was executive chef at Windows on the World atop the north tower of the World Trade Center at the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the video, he and other chefs root for McKenna.

"We signed your petition McKenna! You get Hasbro to change that packaging! Little boys and little girls can all be chefs," he says to cheers from the rest of his kitchen.

Laurent Tourondel, who has started restaurants around the world, says cooking is for girls AND boys, while New York chef Spencer Rubin asks: "Hasbro, please make an Easy-Bake for dudes."

Joshua Whigham, of The Bazaar by Jose Andres in Los Angeles, says he supports making an Easy-Bake that's more friendly for boys.

"I can understand not wanting to cook on a pink oven," he says. "Ask Hasbro for a steel, or a black or a something really cool oven."

Brad Spence of Amis Trattoria in Philadelphia says he has young children at home.

"My son, I cook with him every Sunday, so I'd love to see something like that happen," he says.

McKenna's mother, Erica Boscio, told The Associated Press that McKenna is scheduled to meet with Hasbro on Monday.

Online:
http://bit.ly/ZbpkUU

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Cory Booker to explore senate run

  Eyewitness NewsNEWARK (WABC) -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker has announced via Twitter that he will explore a run for U.S. Senate in 2014.

Booker's tweet linked to a statement on his website in which he writes, "Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor. As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for The United States Senate in 2014."

Sources tell Eyewitness News reporter Dave Evans that Booker will only run if Lautenberg declines. Lautenberg will be 90 in 2014.

"As I explore a run for the United States Senate, I look forward to consulting with Senator Lautenberg," he wrote in his statement. "During my lifetime, he has been one of New Jersey's most important leaders. It would be a privilege to continue his great legacy of service."

The decision means that Booker will not be challenging Governor Chris Christie next year. Booker was considered the best chance for Democrats against the popular Republican governor.

WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON YOUTUBE

CLICK HERE TO READ CORY BOOKER'S FULL STATEMENT

---
GET MORE POLITICAL NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS AND ABC NEWS

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »


new jersey politics, cory booker, politics & elections

View the original article here

Schools look at security after Newtown tragedy

PASSAIC, N.J. (WABC) -- Video surveillance, and lots of it, is at the heart of protecting schools in Passaic. But even here, the safety of students and staff has taken on new meaning after the tragedy in Newtown.

Cameras cover every angle at the high school and middle school buildings, with plans in the budget for more cameras at elementary schools, drawn up long before the Newtown tragedy.

Passaic has what's called "active shooter training" for police officers assigned to schools. During an active shooter exercise in 2009, Passaic officers learned to fan out in teams that are on the scene only a few minutes after the first reports of a gunman.

Students are also drilled on evacuation procedures. Passaic officials say they advocate extensive training and preparation for every school district. Schools across the U.S. beefed up patrols and security plans were reviewed as teachers and students returned to class on Monday after a gunman stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Friday, killing 26 people and then himself. A handful of schools were locked down throughout the day as extra vigilant administrators and police responded to any report of suspicious activity.

At least three schools were on alert in Ohio after threatening comments were made on Facebook and Twitter. In Ridgefield, Conn., swarms of parents picked up their children and police were at each school after a report of a suspicious person at a nearby train station. In Philadelphia, officers rushed to a high school after security officers mistook a student's umbrella for a gun. And in Tampa, Fla., the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office questioned students after a bullet was found on a school bus.

Some parents kept their kids at home. Camille Lacroix-Moulton said her two children both woke up feeling a bit under the weather, so she decided it was best for them to stay home. Her daughter is in kindergarten; her son is in fifth grade.

"Mainly because of my little one. She just turned six, and I don't want her to hear about it," the Milford, N.H., mother said. "It wasn't really me thinking, 'Today's the day that something bad's gonna happen to her. It was more like, a lot of this stuff is going on today. I'm sure a lot of kids know about it, even at her age. So I was more than happy to wait a day and let it die down."

Chicago resident Melissa Tucker said she only sent her children to school after assurances from administrators that extra safety precautions were made.

"I was actually going to keep them home today," she said.

One school district in western Pennsylvania went so far as to get a court order over the weekend so it could arm officers in each of its schools Monday. The board had recently voted to let officers have guns but decided to expedite the process. The court order affected the Butler Area School District and the South Butler County School District, both about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Schools held a moment of silence and flew flags at half-staff. Meanwhile, teachers and administrators tried to handle the psychological toll of the shooting, many of them opting for routine rather than a discussion about the shooting.

At the Global Concepts Charter School in Lackawanna, N.Y., near Buffalo, Principal David Ehrle fielded calls from parents who told him they had shielded their children from news coverage over the weekend. The parents wanted to know whether the kids would hear about it from their teachers. He told them they would not.

"Certainly, you can't stop kids from talking on the bus or at the lunch table, but as a school we're not, if you will, sponsoring educating about it," he said.

Ehrle said teachers at the kindergarten through eighth-grade school were told to assure kids who asked that the school was safe and send any apprehensive students to a counselor if necessary.

"Often, normalcy is the most comforting thing for the students," he said. "That was the message that we sent out over the weekend to the staff is, that we need to continue on doing what we've always done."

Eight-year-old Ally Tobey said she had a completely normal day of third-grade in Concord, N.H. Asked if any of her friends or teachers mentioned Connecticut, she said simply, "nope."

American history teacher Richard Cantlupe said he would remind his students his No. 1 job was to keep them out of harm's way and that, "Just like the teachers at Newtown, I would do whatever I had to do to keep them safe."

Rosell said she didn't tell her daughter any details about the shooting, but did try to prepare her in case there was ever a dangerous situation in the future. She advised her daughter to dive onto the floor if she ever saw someone with a gun or people screaming.

"You mean like hide under my desk?" she said her daughter asked.

No, Rosell told her, explaining she should pretend to be lifeless on the floor instead and not move until she comes to get her. Her daughter looked at her confused.

"You could tell she was lost," Rosell said.

---
Some information from The Associated Press

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


connecticut, school lockdown, shooting, newtown, newtown school shooting, mass shooting, new jersey news, art mcfarland

View the original article here

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Dispute over naming Clifton Park park over deceased publisher

  Eyewitness NewsCLIFTON PARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A battle over a name as a renowned Harvard professor and attorney is threatening to organize a loud and determined crusade if a New Jersey city approves renaming a park after a beloved local publisher.

"Chester Grabowski is an anti-semitic racist bigot," said Alan Dershowitz.

The Harvard law professor doesn't hold back when it comes to Chester Grabowski.

Grabowski was the publisher of the Post Eagle in Clifton.

He died 6 months ago, and some have suggested a park or a street should be named after him.

Because, his son says he did a lot of good for a lot of people.

"People stop us every day and say if it wasn't for your dad and thanks for your father," said Mathew Grambowski.

Mathew is a councilman in Clifton and says his father knew presidents, kings and even the pope.

0He doesn't defend some of what his father said, but doesn't believe he was a bigot either, and is horrified by what Dershowitz has been saying.

"And if you're saying that's why he shouldn't be honored, what about the people who do have reason to honor him?" He asks.

But Deshowitz says nothing but his family should ever bare Grambowski's name.

"He told the Polish people to be mad at the Jews for killing Christ... He was a horrible man," he said.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Passengers injured when bus overturns in Wayne

  Eyewitness NewsWAYNE (WABC) -- A bus carrying about 60 people overturned Saturday morning on an Interstate 80 exit ramp in Wayne, New Jersey.

The accident happened at about 7:45 a.m. when the bus overturned on a highway exit ramp and slid down an embankment.

Police believe the driver was travelling at a high rate of speed, and was unable to negotiate the curve coming off the exit ramp.

Some windows burst during the collision and the frames pinned three people, but they were quickly freed and taken to hospitals with the other victims.

The bus was chartered by Cynthia Tours based in Toronto. The passengers were a mix - some were part of a church group, others were coming down to visit family. There were also drop off locations in both Manhattan and Flatbush. The bus was attempting to come over through that overpass when it skidded into a muddy ditch.

"I just felt a big boom, people started flying," said passenger John Anthony.

Anthony was the first to climb out of the broken front windshield of the Canadian Tour Bus and call for help. He took pictures of the frantic rescue.

All 56 people on board left Toronto at 6 p.m. on Friday evening. They passengers had plans to spend their three-day Canadian Thanksgiving holiday weekend in New York. The bus then lost control and flipped over near Exit 53 on I-80 East in Wayne around 7:40 Saturday morning.

That is when passengers sprang into action. Warren Lawrence helped 15 people out of a rooftop hatch.

"The bus was lying on its side - people want to get out," Lawrence said.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The 51-year-old driver is Neville Larmond, who is in the hospital suffrering from a gashed arm. As a matter of routine, investigators will look into whether drugs and alcohol were involved.

The accident backed up traffic in the area for hours while law enforcement officials and emergency services vehicles attended to the scene.

Several highways connect there, and the area is known locally as the "spaghetti bowl".

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE

CLICK HERE TO SEE RAW AERIAL VIDEO FROM THE SCENE

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, wayne, bus accident, bus, passaic county, new jersey news

View the original article here

Steroid-related meningitis outbreak grows

AP  By MIKE STOBBENEW YORK -- A deadly meningitis outbreak rose to 47 cases in seven states Friday, as clinics scrambled to notify patients across the country that the shots they got for back pain may have been contaminated with a fungus.

The tally of deaths from the rare fungal meningitis remained at five. But a seventh state, Michigan, was added to the list with four cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

Tennessee's cases now total 29; Virginia, six; Indiana, 3; two each in Maryland and Florida and one in North Carolina.

Looking for a source of the outbreak, investigators have focused on a steroid custom-made by a specialty pharmacy, New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. Health inspectors found fungus in at least one sealed vial of the steroid at the company's facility this week.

The pharmacy recalled 17,676 single-dose vials of the steroid, methylprednisolone acetate. Shipments went to clinics in 23 states.

As a precaution, the Food and Drug Administration urged physicians not to use any of the company's products, and on Friday released a list of them.

The first known case in the meningitis outbreak was diagnosed about two weeks ago in Tennessee. Three of the five deaths are in Tennessee; the others in Virginia and Maryland.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include severe headache, nausea, dizziness and fever.

The type of fungal meningitis involved is not contagious like the more common forms. It is caused by a fungus that's widespread but very rarely causes illness. It is treated with high-dose antifungal medications, usually given intravenously in a hospital.

---
Online:

CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis.html
More from the CDC

Recalled list:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm322752.htm

--

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Health News »


meningitis, health news

View the original article here

Teachers, bosses charged in school sex scandal

AP  GEOFF MULVIHILLCAMDEN -- Six months ago, a student came to Triton High School Principal Catherine DePaul with a disturbing story: She believed another student was involved in a sexual relationship with a teacher at the school, and she'd seen explicit text messages the two had exchanged.

At that moment, prosecutors say, a cover-up was put in motion that ultimately unraveled Thursday when DePaul, an assistant principal and three teachers were charged with offenses ranging from child endangerment to sexual assault and official misconduct.

Each of the five adults has been suspended from the school in the Philadelphia suburb of Runnemede, and each could face at least five years in prison if convicted.

The teachers - all men in their late 20s or early 30s - are accused of striking up relationships with female students during the 2011-2012 school year.

Sexual relationships between teachers and students are not unheard of. Camden County prosecutor Warren Faulk noted that the media seems particularly fixated on the female teacher-male student cases that are reported around the country each year. But what distinguished the allegations at Triton High was the inaction by administrators who ignored policies and safeguards that were in place and instead allowed a culture "where teachers thought they could get away with improper relationships with their students," according to Faulk.

"These charges constitute individual personal, moral, legal and ethical failure," Faulk said at a news conference Thursday.

Faulk said rape charges could not be filed because the sex acts were consensual and the girls were 17 or 18 at the time - old enough to consent under state law.

According to court documents, math teacher Dan Michielli, 27, of Blackwood, had intercourse with a student multiple times during the school year. He is charged with official misconduct, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual conduct.

Gym teacher and boys' soccer coach Nick Martinelli, 28, of Cherry Hill, is charged with official misconduct involving an 18-year-old. Prosecutors say he touched and kissed the girl when she was a student and had intercourse with her after she graduated in June.

Math teacher and girls' track coach Jeff Logandro, 32, of Blackwood, is charged with official misconduct, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child. A court filing says he inappropriately touched a female student.

Authorities say a student, not one of the alleged victims, told a substitute teacher in April that teachers were "hooking up" with students. Authorities say the substitute teacher then told DePaul.

Prosecutors say the principal met with the student, who told her she'd been to one of the teacher's homes with a girl who was involved with him and had seen the explicit text messages. Authorities say DePaul asked her to write an account of what she had heard and that Assistant Principal Jernee Kollock stayed with the student to help her write the statement, even helping her with her grammar - but also making it seem less serious.

Around the same time, Faulk said, DePaul learned one of the teachers had driven an alleged victim and another student to Ocean City in violation of district policy. But, he said, the teacher was merely reprimanded.

Faulk said neither administrator contacted authorities. Both were charged with official misconduct.

Faulk said DePaul later said she wished she had been more concerned for the students than the teachers.

The defendants either could not be reached or did not return messages left Thursday by The Associated Press. All five are due in court Oct. 11.

The teachers were suspended by the Black Horse Regional School District last month; the administrators were suspended Thursday. Superintendent John Golden said in a statement that the district was cooperating with authorities, notifying families of students of the allegations and offering counseling.

"In addition, we have initiated a comprehensive review of our existing policies, protocols and training and education materials to prevent this from happening again at this or any district school," the statement said.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, teacher, new jersey news

View the original article here

Friday, October 5, 2012

Funeral service Friday for teen killed in Bloomfield crash

  Web produced by Bill King, Eyewitness NewsBLOOMFIELD (WABC) -- Funeral services will be held in New Jersey Friday for a teenager killed in a car crash last weekend.

Hundreds of mourners turned out at a wake in Bloomfield Thursday night to pay their respects to 16-year-old Christina Lembo.

Friends remember Lembo, a junior at Bloomfield High School, as a sweet, smart athlete. Four other people were hurt in the crash, none of them seriously. The driver, Omar Baldeon, was consumed with thoughts of what, if anything, he could have done differently.

Baldeon was driving with two classmates in the car just after 11 p.m. when a black Camaro that eyewitnesses believe was drag racing with another car blind-sided him, slamming into his Honda Civic.

No charges have yet been filed. The case is expected to go to a grand jury.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, bloomfield, essex county, accident, new jersey news

View the original article here

Fire tears through florist in New Brunswick

  Eyewitness NewsNEW BRUNSWICK (WABC) -- A third-alarm fire burned down a New Brunswick warehouse used to manufacture artificial flowers late Wednesday.

The blaze tore through Reyes Florists on Somerset Street just after 10:30 p.m.

One home sustained minor damage from the spreading flames, which shot out of the roof of the warehouse. One firefighter was treated for a leg injury and another for heat exhaustion. They were both treated and released from the hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

CLICK HERE for images of the scene.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »


new jersey, new brunswick, fire, new jersey news

View the original article here