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NJ Honors Jorma Kaukonen For Entertaining ‘During Difficult Times’ NJ Honors Jorma Kaukonen For Entertaining ‘During Difficult Times’
NJ Honors Jorma Kaukonen For Entertaining ‘During Difficult Times’ One of the few rock legends ever to be immediately recognized by his first name got a bi-partisan ovation from New Jersey lawmakers this week. In town for a socially-responsible, two-night outdoor run at Monmouth Park’s Blu Grotto, Jorma Kaukonen received a commendation from the state Legislature for providing New Jerseyans with “wonderful respite and entertainment during difficult times.” The Grammy-winning former Jefferson Airplane and long-running Hot Tuna lead guitarist has played livestreams and capacity-reduced gigs throughout the pandemic. Kaukonen, 79, has compared the current-day …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Drivers Infuriated By Network Outage At All 39 MVC Centers NJ Drivers Infuriated By Network Outage At All 39 MVC Centers
NJ Drivers Infuriated By Network Outage At All 39 MVC Centers All of New Jersey's 39 Motor Vehicle Commission agencies are back up and running after a network issue that kept them from processing transactions Monday morning. The problem reported at 9 a.m. was caused by vendor software and did not affect online transactions, state officials said. The issue has since been resolved, though the Edison center remains closed until Tuesday, due to a power outage. Some New Jersey drivers have been lining up at the state's centers nearly every day since July, when they reopened after months of closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This incident did not help.…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program
Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program A Middlesex County staffing firm has agreed to pony up $345,000 to settle federal allegations that it underpaid highly-skilled foreign nationals who were brought to the U.S. to work under a special visa program currently under fire from the Trump Administration. Edison-based Savantis Solutions didn’t admit or deny the Justice Department’s allegations, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. Instead, it agreed to pay back wages and interest to current and former company employees who entered the United States on H-1B visas. Although federal authorities didn’t specify their nation…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Amazon Hiring 6,900 More New Jersey Workers As Online Shopping Booms Amazon Hiring 6,900 More New Jersey Workers As Online Shopping Booms
Amazon Hiring 6,900 More New Jersey Workers As Online Shopping Booms Amazon plans to hire another 6,900 workers in New Jersey, the Seattle-based company announced Monday. The mostly full-time Garden State jobs are among 100,000 new jobs the online-shopping behemoth expects create nationwide, Amazon said. The new employees will be placed in one of the company's 14 fulfillment and sorting centers in the state and three delivery stations. Amazon reported record profits during the most recent quarter of 2020 ending June 30 as more shoppers relied on Amazon during the COVID-19 pandemic to buy groceries and supplies. Amazon currently employs about 34,000 workers…

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by Jon Craig
News
Murphy Signs Bills That Will Reduce Wait Time In MVC Lines For Some NJ Residents Murphy Signs Bills That Will Reduce Wait Time In MVC Lines For Some NJ Residents
Murphy Signs Bills That Will Reduce Wait Time In MVC Lines For Some NJ Residents A pair of bills signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy this will save the state's senior residents time in line at Motor Vehicle Commission agencies. One bill -- both signed Thursday -- gives new state residents 120 days (as opposed to 60) to get New Jersey licenses and get their registrations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The other allows agencies to use old photos of drivers age 65 and older more than eight years. The latter also applies to those with certain medical conditions who cannot wear face masks. Designated senior hours at the agencies are forthcoming. “This legislation will reduce…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ: Cliffside Park Lawyer Created Fake Companies, Got $9 Million In COVID Loans, Bought Mansion NJ: Cliffside Park Lawyer Created Fake Companies, Got $9 Million In COVID Loans, Bought Mansion
NJ: Cliffside Park Lawyer Created Fake Companies, Got $9 Million In COVID Loans, Bought Mansion A Cliffside Park lawyer scammed lenders out of $9M in COVID-relief loans by creating records for bogus businesses he claimed to control, then spent the money on a $1 million home in Cresskill and millions more in stock market investments, authorities charged. Jae H. Choi, 48, “fabricated the existence of hundreds of employees, manipulated bank and tax records, and falsified a driver’s license on the applications,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Choi told the lenders that he paid $3 million in monthly wages to hundreds of employees in the non-existent companies, Carpenito said. Lenders…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Bergen County Couple Builds Legacy With 2nd Restaurant Named After Daughter Bergen County Couple Builds Legacy With 2nd Restaurant Named After Daughter
Bergen County Couple Builds Legacy With 2nd Restaurant Named After Daughter For a while, The Humble Toast has been Shalom and Jacqueline Yehudiel’s baby. The Fort Lee couple opened their Teaneck restaurant as newlyweds in October 2018 and devoted each day to growing the business. Then, seven months ago, they welcomed their first child: A baby girl named Nava. Balancing the two was certainly a challenge, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, The Humble Toast founder managed, and is ready to take on another challenge. The couple has plans to open La Cucina Di Nava, a kosher Italian restaurant on West Englewood Avenue in Teaneck named after none other than…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
'It Was A Nightmare': Vintage NJ Toy Store Owners Struggled To Relocate During Pandemic 'It Was A Nightmare': Vintage NJ Toy Store Owners Struggled To Relocate During Pandemic
'It Was A Nightmare': Vintage NJ Toy Store Owners Struggled To Relocate During Pandemic A Lodi business owner has jumped through hoops to reopen his toy shop after attempting to relocate in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. AJ Maltese, 25 -- who you may recognize from this story -- was supposed to move Zonk's POP Culture World into its new Little Ferry shop with business partner Anthony Ditizio in March. The store, which is named after Maltese’s nickname and favorite video game, Air Zonk, first opened in Butler in June of 2019. After recognizing a desire to expand and relocate, the duo signed a two-year lease on their new Little Ferry storefront on Main Street beginning Mar…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Woman Airlifted After Waterslide Injury At NJ Amusement Park 'Land Of Make Believe' Woman Airlifted After Waterslide Injury At NJ Amusement Park 'Land Of Make Believe'
Woman Airlifted After Waterslide Injury At NJ Amusement Park 'Land Of Make Believe' A woman was airlifted to an area hospital after she went unconscious on a water slide at a Warren County amusement park Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. The woman was alert and fully conscious before she was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center from the "Land of Make Believe" around 1 p.m., NJSP Trooper Charles Marchan told Daily Voice. Initial reports said that the woman was unable to feel her legs and had sustained a possible head injury. Daily Voice's call and email to the amusement park were not returned as of 3 p.m. The park has been open for nearly 66 years, and recently …

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
Atlantic City Fried Chicken Spot Named Best In NJ Atlantic City Fried Chicken Spot Named Best In NJ
Atlantic City Fried Chicken Spot Named Best In NJ Looking for some finger lickin' good fried chicken? Head to Atlantic City, Yelp says, home of the best fried chicken joint in all of New Jersey: Kelsey and Kim's Southern Cafe. The Melrose Avenue joint was named to Yelp's list compiled in celebration of National Fried Chicken Day on July 6, which runs down the best fried chicken spots in every U.S. state. Kelsey and Kim's opened in 2012, and features a modest yet savory selection of country homestyle eats. Fried chicken is the main attraction, of course. Try it on top of fluffy waffles or by itself: Dark meat, white meat, tenders,…

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by Valerie Musson
Business
COVID-19: Famed Gay Bergen County Night Club Struggles To Survive COVID-19: Famed Gay Bergen County Night Club Struggles To Survive
Covid-19: Famed Gay Bergen County Night Club Struggles To Survive For 42 years, Feathers Night Club has served as a safe place for the LGBT community. But the River Edge establishment has been closed for four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it's struggling to stay alive. In an effort to avoid closure, owner Paul Binnetti has launched a GoFundMe to help its survival, where more than $12,500 had been raised as of Thursday morning. Feathers, New Jersey's longest running gay club still in existence, opened on June 21, 1978. That was a time when being gay was not widely accepted," owner Paul Binnetti. Feathers was the first gay night club…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
How This Bergen County Pizzeria Survived COVID-19 Pandemic, Opened Third Storefront How This Bergen County Pizzeria Survived COVID-19 Pandemic, Opened Third Storefront
How This Bergen County Pizzeria Survived Covid-19 Pandemic, Opened Third Storefront Loyal customers. Hardworking staff members. Sheer luck. That's how Francesca Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta owner Sal Reina says his pizzeria was able to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and then open a third Bergen County location. With stores in Glen Rock and Elmwood Park, the new Fair Lawn location on Broadway was set to open in March -- just one week before COVID-19 swept the state. As neighboring businesses fell one-by-one, Reina couldn't help but wonder if it would happen to his, too. "Once I heard schools were closing," said Reina, "I knew something drastic was going to happen…

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by Cecilia Levine