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Police & Fire
Sparta PD: Customer, 73, Tangles With Police After Refusing To Wear Mask In Supermarket Sparta PD: Customer, 73, Tangles With Police After Refusing To Wear Mask In Supermarket
Sparta PD: Customer, 73, Tangles With Police After Refusing To Wear Mask In Supermarket A 73-year-old Sparta man who had a previous history of disorderly conduct coughed on a supermarket employee, saying he had the coronavirus, and then spit on and tried to bite police after he was caught shopping without a face mask, authorities said. An employee asked Vadim Sakiewicz to leave a local Stop & Shop after he walked in not wearing a mask, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The Polish immigrant “became combative,” then coughed on a second employee who came to help, saying he had COVID-19, Grewal said. He then resisted arrest, the attorney general said. Police char…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Girl Seized In COVID-19 Bias Attack On Asian Middlesex County Woman Girl Seized In COVID-19 Bias Attack On Asian Middlesex County Woman
Girl Seized In Covid-19 Bias Attack On Asian Middlesex County Woman An underage teen punched an Asian woman in the head after she and others surrounded the victim in Edison shouting coronavirus-related racial slurs, authorities said. The girl was detained on Tuesday in connection with the incident from 10 days earlier, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Thursday. Police issued delinquency complaints charging her with bias intimidation, rioting, simple assault and disorderly conduct, as well as with violating state coronavirus emergency orders, the attorney general said. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Edison police were continuing an…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
MTA Agrees To $500,000 Coronavirus Death Benefit MTA Agrees To $500,000 Coronavirus Death Benefit
MTA Agrees To $500,000 Coronavirus Death Benefit The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Transport Workers Union of America announced an agreement Tuesday establishing a COVID-19 death benefit for TWU members who died after being infected.  Under the agreement, the MTA will pay $500,000 in a lump sum to the spouse, beneficiary or estate of each deceased member in active service on or after Feb. 1, 2020, Local 100 in Brooklyn reported.  "Transportation workers are the heroes moving heroes of this public health crisis, continuing to get healthcare workers, first responders and other ess…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
Murphy Cancels School Through May 15 Amid Coronavirus Crisis Murphy Cancels School Through May 15 Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Murphy Cancels School Through May 15 Amid Coronavirus Crisis New Jersey schools will be closed until at least May 15, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday amid the coronavirus crisis. "There is no one who wants to reopen schools more than I do," Murphy said. "We cannot be guided by emotion. We have to be guided by the facts on the ground." New classroom configurations and more testing are needed before schools can be opened again, the governor said. "There is no doubt we are saving lives and we must maintain the course," Murphy said. There were 75,317 coronavirus cases as of Thursday in New Jersey, including 3,518 fatalities.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
More Trouble In Lakewood: Police Crash Catered Backyard Party, Packed Toy Store Lot More Trouble In Lakewood: Police Crash Catered Backyard Party, Packed Toy Store Lot
More Trouble In Lakewood: Police Crash Catered Backyard Party, Packed Toy Store Lot Police shut down a Lakewood toy store that had more than 50 customers gathered outside while an employee took orders in violation of mandatory state coronavirus closures, authorities said. The customers who'd gathered in the packed Toys4U parking lot weren’t social distancing or wearing masks, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Ten employees also were together in the store – only three of them wearing masks, he said. Ten cars blocked the fire lane, the attorney general said. Police charged owner Yossi Itzkowitz and manager Tzvi Blau with violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s closure of “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man, 70, Brawls With Police, Customers At Two Wawa Stores Over Not Wearing Mask Jersey Shore Man, 70, Brawls With Police, Customers At Two Wawa Stores Over Not Wearing Mask
Jersey Shore Man, 70, Brawls With Police, Customers At Two Wawa Stores Over Not Wearing Mask Toms River police arrested a 70-year-old local man twice in less than three hours after they said he got into brawls with customers and officers at two different Wawas over his refusing to wear a mask. Stephen Breza “became belligerent when he was told to wear a mask inside the Wawa store” on Route 37 late Saturday morning, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Monday. Breza “started screaming, flailing his arms, and cursing at employees, [then] threatened a customer in the store that he was going to hit him with a pipe,” Grewal said. He screamed at responding officers and resisted …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Resilient Minds On Front Lines': NJ Webcast Gives Responders Critical Support During Pandemic 'Resilient Minds On Front Lines': NJ Webcast Gives Responders Critical Support During Pandemic
'Resilient Minds On Front Lines': NJ Webcast Gives Responders Critical Support During Pandemic As if the all the other dangers that first responders face aren't enough, doing so amid the coronavirus pandemic presents additional challenges that a New Jersey webcast launched Monday aims to address. The biggest challenge for law enforcement, for one, is "figuring out what the new normal is, how to protect yourself and how do we get you [the] resources now," state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said during the opening segment of "Resilient Minds on the Front Lines." Organizers are dedicated to providing "tools, knowledge, skills and instruction to assist in a time of need -- to "help…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATED: More Than 40 New Jersey ShopRite Stores Reported Coronavirus-Positive Workers UPDATED: More Than 40 New Jersey ShopRite Stores Reported Coronavirus-Positive Workers
Updated: More Than 40 New Jersey ShopRite Stores Reported Coronavirus-Positive Workers More than 40 ShopRite stores in New Jersey have workers sickened by coronavirus and three with employees showing symptoms of the virus, the grocer said. Some have been updating their Facebook pages when an employee tests positive.  None of the workers who tested positive remain at work and those who were in close contact with them were ordered to self-quarantine, ShopRite said. ** Did we miss one? Email clevine@dailyvoice.com ** The stores with employees who tested positive for coronavirus are in: Aberdeen Bloomfield Brick Brooklawn Byram Carteret Chatham Clark Clinton East Or…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing 'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing
'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing A Bergen County toddler got a bittersweet visit from her grandmother whom she hadn't seen in three weeks -- and it didn't even matter that a glass door was in the way. Christina Penaloza of Wood-Ridge shared footage of her 14-month-old daughter Gabriela Gia, pressing her face against the front door when Penaloza's mom Daria Baricevic showed up for a visit. Baricevic helps Penaloza raise Gabriela, but of social-distancing guidelines, Baricevic hasn't been able to come by the house. That's been hard on Gabriela, who shares a special bond with her grandmother -- who she calls Baba. "Gabriel…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'Hey You Down There, Break It Up': Elizabeth PD Drones Will Shadow Social Distancing Violators 'Hey You Down There, Break It Up': Elizabeth PD Drones Will Shadow Social Distancing Violators
'Hey You Down There, Break It Up': Elizabeth PD Drones Will Shadow Social Distancing Violators WATCH: Drones will be flying around the city of Elizabeth warning citizens to follow Gov. Phil Murphy's social distancing directives or face fines of up to $1,000, Mayor Chris Bollwage said. Elizabeth police have been using drones since 2018, but they've gotten five newer models with voice capabilities, Bollwage said Tuesday. The drones will fly around the city with an automated message from the mayor telling people to "stop gathering, disperse and go home," he said. "Summonses have and will continue to be issued to those found in violation," Bollwage said. "You have been advised."

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things 'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things A Morris County man was caught on surveillance video coughing on and touching objects in his estranged wife’s home, saying he had “the 'rona,” authorities charged. “Do you want the 'rona?” Nikolas Whitehill, 39, of Parsippany, is heard asking on the video, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. A court order allowed Whitehill to enter his wife’s house on alternating dates when she isn’t home to feed the fish, Grewal said. She provided video footage to the police from March 28, he added. Police charged Whitehill with violating an executive order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy that make …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Murphy Orders Parks Closed, Waives Testing For Students Murphy Orders Parks Closed, Waives Testing For Students
Murphy Orders Parks Closed, Waives Testing For Students New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy closed all parks and waived school testing -- with schools closed indefinitely -- in a series of executive orders signed Tuesday. UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly said schools were closed for the rest of the year. The four orders extended the public health emergency declared on March 9, shut all state and county parks, extended deadlines for school boards operating in an April timeframe and waived assessments. The 13,000 current high school students will not have to submit portfolio appeal or complete mandated exams in order to graduate …

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by Cecilia Levine