Fog/Mist 48°
Business
'Chopped' Champion Expands Restaurant Into Morristown 'Chopped' Champion Expands Restaurant Into Morristown
'Chopped' Champion Expands Restaurant Into Morristown Morristown is about to get a taste of Hawaii. Shaka Kitchen, which has two locations in Hoboken, opened their third location in Morristown at 62 South St. this month. The restaurant is run by sisters Kiersten and Krista Gormeley, who spent a year in the Aloha State a decade ago that changed their lives. Enjoying the local cuisine, Kiersten, who won an episode of Food Network's "Chopped" in 2021  started formulating recipes in her head. Kiersten realized there were no poke and acai bowl restaurants in the United States so she decided to start one, opening the original Shaka Kitchen in 2…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
News
Bomb Threats Disrupt Schools For Second Day In NJ District Investigating Teacher For Abuse Bomb Threats Disrupt Schools For Second Day In NJ District Investigating Teacher For Abuse
Bomb Threats Disrupt Schools For Second Day In NJ District Investigating Teacher For Abuse Bomb threats caused a scare for parents for a second straight day in a Monmouth County school district investigating sexual abuse accusations against a teacher. In a news release, the Marlboro Township School District said the FBI and other law enforcement agencies investigated the second emailed bomb threats on Friday, Apr. 19. All schools delayed the start of classes for two hours. The school district said investigators determined the threat was "non-credible." "Although we are dealing with another non-credible threat, the district takes any instance of this nature seriously and will con…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Lifestyle
Emma Roberts Has Piece Of Montclair In Her Grown-Up Los Angeles Dollhouse Emma Roberts Has Piece Of Montclair In Her Grown-Up Los Angeles Dollhouse
Emma Roberts Has Piece Of Montclair In Her Grown-Up Los Angeles Dollhouse Emma Roberts' Los Angeles home is all things vintage. And not without a little piece from her favorite vintage store in Montclair. The 33-year-old actress gave Grayford's on Bloomfield Avenue a shoutout in her home tour with "Architectural Digest." The "American Horror Story" star explains she got the framed, red, "Hopalong Cassidy" button down from Grayford's and knew from the moment she saw it that it would one day hang in her son Rhodes' room. Grayford's has been around since 1931 and is owned by history buffs with a penchant for curating vintage apparel, antiques, and more, its w…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
North Wildwood Restaurant Worker, 21, Dies From Fall North Wildwood Restaurant Worker, 21, Dies From Fall
North Wildwood Restaurant Worker, 21, Dies From Fall Melissa E. O'Malley, a Delaware County native and University of Tampa student, died "following a tragic fall" on Sunday, April 14, loved ones wrote in her obituary. She was 21.  Born in Philadelphia, O'Malley attended Marple Newtown High School and was a junior studying marketing and public relations at UT, her obituary says.  She held a part-time job at Dairy Joy, an ice cream shop in Tampa, and worked at the Surfing Pig in North Wildwood, NJ, according to the restaurant. Friends, coworkers, and loved ones posted tributes on social media.  It is with great sadness…

SHARE

by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues
NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Passaic County correctional officer admitted that he brought an inmate to a "blind spot" at the county jail so two colleagues could beat him for squirting one of them with urine. Officer Lorenzo Bowden, 39, initially agreed with Sgt. Jose Gonzalez and Sgt. Donald Vinales not to talk after they'd received federal grand jury subpoenas two years ago this month, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. Bowden eventually had a change of heart. The pretrial detainee was "transported through an area of the PCJ that does not have a video surveillance camera, which correctional officers …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
Former President Trump To Hold Beachfront Campaign Rally In New Jersey Likely Mid-Trial Former President Trump To Hold Beachfront Campaign Rally In New Jersey Likely Mid-Trial
Former President Trump To Hold Beachfront Campaign Rally In New Jersey Likely Mid-Trial Former President Donald Trump will hold a reelection campaign rally on a New Jersey beach while likely in the middle of a criminal trial up the Atlantic coast in New York City. Trump's rally will be held on the beach in Wildwood on Saturday, May 11, according to a news release from the city on Thursday, Apr. 18. City commissioners passed a resolution on Monday, Apr. 15 approving the 45th President's second campaign visit to Wildwood. The Trump campaign website listed the address for the rally as 3601 Boardwalk, which is next to Morey's Piers & Beachfront Waterparks. The event will …

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds
NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds UPDATE: It's a measure of how despicably and disgustingly a former Union County grade-school teacher and youth soccer coach from Morristown abused dozens of boys he'd met online that a plea bargain got him "only" 17½ years in federal prison. Steven Brooks, 37, must serve at least 85% of the negotiated sentence handed down in federal court in Newark on Thursday, April 18, for posing as a woman to lure at least 70 underage boys into sending him nude photos and videos. That means he'll be in his early 50s before he'll be eligible to experience freedom again. FBI agents who investigated Brooks…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police 6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police
6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police A 41-year-old North Carolina man was killed in a multi-car crash on the Garden State Parkway in Essex County early Wednesday, April 17, authorities said. Tarron Francis was heading north in a Nissan SUV when he was struck by a Dodge passenger vehicle around 12:45 a.m. in Irvington, said Jeffrey Lebron, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police. The impact caused a chain reaction crash involving four other vehicles, two Toyota SUVs, a GMC SUV and a Kia passenger vehicle, Lebron said. Francis died as a result of the crash, and the driver of the Dodge sustained moderate injuries and was tak…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Business
Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak
Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak Trader Joe's is recalling Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil that was sold across the country in 2.5-ounce clamshell packaging due to concerns of Salmonella contamination. This week, the supermarket giant issued an alert cautioning shoppers in 29 states, as well as Washington, DC, not to consume the product as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigates a reported outbreak of Salmonella. Trader Joes is recalling Infinite Herbs Organic Basil FDA According to the FDA, "Trader Joe’s has already voluntarily removed all Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil packed in 2.5-oz clamshell pa…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Schools
NJ Daycare Worker Caused Child's Nose Bleed In Series Of Assaults, Police Papers Say NJ Daycare Worker Caused Child's Nose Bleed In Series Of Assaults, Police Papers Say
NJ Daycare Worker Caused Child's Nose Bleed In Series Of Assaults, Police Papers Say Three students at a preschool in Mercer County were hit and grabbed aggressively by a childcare teacher, authorities said. In one of the incidents at the Malvern School on Route 33 in Robbinsville, the teacher's slap caused a nosebleed, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Daily Voice. Another incident caused a visible injury to an arm, the paperwork says. Ekta Dwarkesh, 45, of South Brunswick, is charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child by abuse or neglect, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Surveillance video from the school…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her 'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her
'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her A film producer from New Jersey is under fire after saying Sydney Sweeney can't act and isn't pretty. Carol Baum, who graduated Columbia High School in Maplewood, disparaged the "Euphoria" star during a Q-n-A at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, on Thursday, April, 11.  Baum, who has produced movies like "Father of the Bride" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was on hand to discuss her experiences producing the 1988 David Cronenberg film "Dead Calm," which came out nine years before Sweeney was born. "I don't get Sydney Sweeney," Baum reportedly said. "I was watching on …

SHARE

by Sam Barron