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Westwood, NJ

NJ Ranks Among Top States For Hospital Safety In Fall 2024, Leapfrog Report Finds NJ Ranks Among Top States For Hospital Safety In Fall 2024, Leapfrog Report Finds
NJ Ranks Among Top States For Hospital Safety In Fall 2024, Leapfrog Report Finds New Jersey hospitals are among the safest in the nation, according to the fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grade report from The Leapfrog Group.  The Garden State ranks in the top 10 states for the highest percentage of "A" hospitals, joining states like Utah, Virginia, and Connecticut. The grades, which are updated twice a year, assess nearly 3,000 hospitals across the country on their effectiveness at preventing medical errors, accidents, and infections. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 30 performance measures to assign grades ranging from "A" to "F," offering patients and fami…
Pittsburgh Pirates Rookie Phenom, Star Gymnast GF Livvy Dunne Jet Off To MLB All-Star Game Pittsburgh Pirates Rookie Phenom, Star Gymnast GF Livvy Dunne Jet Off To MLB All-Star Game
Pittsburgh Pirates Rookie Phenom, Star Gymnast GF Livvy Dunne Jet Off To MLB All-Star Game Pittsburgh Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes is taking his famed moustache, golden arm, and model girlfriend to the MLB All-Star Game this week. In a post on Instagram on Sunday, LSU gymnast, and influencer, Livvy Dunne — who hails from Bergen County — shared a photo of the pair before heading on a private jet to Texas with friends, where the 22-year-old is set to make his 12th career start in the majors at the big event on Tuesday. Skenes - the first overall pick in the 2023 draft - has only started 11 games in his career since being called up earlier this year, notching six wins with an E…
AGAIN? Another Alarm Malfunction Brings Massive Law Enforcement Response To Westwood HS AGAIN? Another Alarm Malfunction Brings Massive Law Enforcement Response To Westwood HS
Again? Another Alarm Malfunction Brings Massive Law Enforcement Response To Westwood HS The second alarm system malfunction at Westwood Regional High School in a little over two weeks created a confusing scene as parents and guardians were dropping off their children on Thursday. The system triggered a 7:43 a.m. May 2 lockdown, similar to what occurred on April 16, when the system malfunctioned twice, Westwood Regional Schools Supt. Jill Mortimer said. As before, a legion of tactical and other law enforcement officers converged on Washington Township -- among them, a Bergen County Regional SWAT team and police from the township, Westwood, Emerson, River Val…
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM A career criminal from Passaic County who's been busted dozens of times in North Jersey in just the past few years used an explosive device to damage an ATM, federal authorities charged. Nicolas Torres, 41, of Passaic, has amassed a lengthy rap sheet over much of his adult life, mostly involving business break-ins that local police and county prosecutors have dealt with. This time, though, the FBI's got him. Torres was captured on surveillance video igniting the device in front of the Chase Bank ATM on North 6th Street in Prospect Park in the early morning hours of July 5, 2022, U.S. Attor…
Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra' Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra'
Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra' Actor Bobby Cannavale has a heartwarming New Jersey-based film premiering this spring that those who've seen it predict could be one of his best. In "Ezra," the pride of Hudson County plays Max, a stand-up comedian from the Garden State who lives with his father, portrayed by Robert De Niro. Max pursues his career while trying to co-parent his 11-year-old son with ex-wife (and Cannavale's real-life partner) Rose Byrne. Max lands a gig on Jimmy Kimmel's show in Hollywood, but the plane fare isn't comped. So he and young Ezra -- who has autism -- embark on a life-changing cross-country trip …
Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill
Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A 17-year-old Park Ridge boy was killed by a single imitation painkiller laced with fentanyl that was given to him by a Westwood man who's been charged with causing his death. The boy thought he was taking an Oxycontin pill before he overdosed last Sept. 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Officers who responded to the emergency call administered Narcan, among other life-saving measures, the prosecutor said. The high school senior was pronounced dead a short time later. Detectives from the prosecutor’s Narcotic Task Force determined during a six-month investigatio…
Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack
Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack The latest in a continuing series of nationwide ransomware attacks closed two hospital emergency rooms in New Jersey. Authorities haven't disclosed what's been demanded by the cybercriminals who forced ambulances to divert to other hospitals from Pascack Valey Medical Center in Westwood and Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair beginning on Thanksgiving evening. Lab work, radiology, scheduling, billing -- basically anything involving computer software -- apparently were affected. "No one can use the computers in the buildings," a source said. "The hospitals are doing everything by paper…
Daughter Of Late Combat Veteran Jailed For Death Threats To Public Officials: NJ State Police Daughter Of Late Combat Veteran Jailed For Death Threats To Public Officials: NJ State Police
Daughter Of Late Combat Veteran Jailed For Death Threats To Public Officials: NJ State Police A grieving naval officer’s daughter from Bergen County who’s been involved in a court battle with the local veterans home made what New Jersey State Police allege were credible threats against two public officials following her father’s death. Amy Johnson, 54, of Westwood, had initially “voiced her dissatisfaction with the court’s decision" over a power-of-attorney request, says a State Police complaint filed in Superior Court in Hackensack. She initially left email and voice messages that the NJSP said mentioned two public officials by name and were “concerning, harassing and threatening i…
Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead
Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead UPDATE: The 76-year-old brother of a Westwood woman whose body was found at least a week after she died was arrested on related charges. Joan Winter, 70, formerly of Yonkers and Hartsdale, NY, and her brother Mark, 76, had lived together for several years in what had been their late mother's Kennedy Terrace home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Washington Avenue, those who knew them said. Two friends who’d gone to the house looking for Joan said Mark told them she’d gone, a source with direct knowledge of the discovery said. Westwood police went to the home to conduct a welfare check around 1 p.…
GRISLY FIND: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say GRISLY FIND: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say
Grisly Find: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say UPDATE: The 76-year-old brother of a Westwood woman whose body was found at least a week after she died was arrested on related charges. Joan Winter, 70, formerly of Yonkers and Hartsdale, NY, and her brother Mark, 76, had lived together for several years in what had been their late mother's Kennedy Terrace home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Washington Avenue, those who knew them said. Two friends who’d gone to the house looking for Joan said Mark told them she’d gone, a source with direct knowledge of the discovery said. Westwood police went to the home to conduct a welfare check around 1 p…
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report The number of brutal murder confessions continues to mount for imprisoned New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, who reportedly is scheduled to plead guilty to five more killings, all of women on Long Island. Cottingham, now 76, has been serving multiple life sentences in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, NJ, for more than four decades for killing six Garden State women between 1967 and 1980. He's spent a considerable part of that time lately claiming he's committed several other killings. “For a long time now I have been trying to understand the darkness that enveloped my soul…
'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident
'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident Shock and sorrow spread with the news that a young Westwood man was accidentally dragged and killed by a subway train at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan. Joseph Ancona, 20, apparently tried to board a southbound No. 1 train when his clothing got caught in a subway door at the station off 59th Street around 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, city police said. “The victim was then dragged and struck by [another] train,” the NYPD reported. Ancona was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It wasn't clear whether the conductor was aware of what was happening or why the doors didn't automati…
Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many' Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many'
Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many' Shock and sorrow spread with the news that a young Westwood man was accidentally dragged and killed by a subway train at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan. Joseph Ancona, 20, apparently tried to board a southbound No. 1 train when his clothing got caught in a subway door at the station off 59th Street around 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, city police said. “The victim was then dragged and struck by [another] train,” the NYPD reported. Ancona was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It wasn't clear whether the conductor was aware of what was happening or why the doors didn't automati…
Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD
Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD A serial burglar wanted on warrants out of no fewer than eight towns in four counties was captured by Maywood police and charged with a break-in at a local dry cleaner. Nicolas G. Torres, 40, of Passaic, has been repeatedly arrested and then subsequently released under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law, mostly on commercial burglary charges, over the past several years, records show. His criminal record stretches back more than a decade before that, however. Earlier this year, Torres was linked to break-ins at businesses in Fort Lee, Leonia, Englewood Cliffs, Little Falls, Montclair, Ridg…
GOTCHA! Thieves Captured After Crashing Stolen Car Into Stopped Traffic At Routes 17 And 4 GOTCHA! Thieves Captured After Crashing Stolen Car Into Stopped Traffic At Routes 17 And 4
Gotcha! Thieves Captured After Crashing Stolen Car Into Stopped Traffic At Routes 17 And 4 Two out-of-state teens were captured after crashing a stolen car into two vehicles -- sending a driver to the hospital -- while trying to cross from one busy Paramus highway to another, authorities said. Parris Lamont Dennis, 18, of Jamaica, Queens, and Shahiem X. McCrimmon, 19, of the Bronx bailed out but were caught after bystanders advised police of their movements shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, They were taken into custody without incident, Paramus Deputy Police Chief Robert M. Guidetti said. A Saddle River police officer began chasing the 2019 Honda Civic with Vermont licens…
UPDATE: 'Popping Sounds' Heard During Washington Township Fire Not Ammo, Authorities Say UPDATE: 'Popping Sounds' Heard During Washington Township Fire Not Ammo, Authorities Say
Update: 'Popping Sounds' Heard During Washington Township Fire Not Ammo, Authorities Say Popping sounds heard during a fire involving two structures and multiple vehicles in Washington Township weren't from ammunition, as some neighbors and witnesses surmised, local authorities said. The Pascack Road homeowner was out when paint cans apparently combusted in what became an intense, three-alarm fire across the street from Memorial Field late Friday afternoon, they said. A shed and a vehicle apparently went up first, then an SUV that could be seen from the street, witnesses said. The fire then began burning up the house, they said. The shed was destroyed, the vehicles totaled an…
Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution
Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution A former Bergen County resident must spend nearly three years in federal prison for producing bogus training certificates for massage parlors that sold sex. Naresh Rane, 68, gave 10 of those certificates to a former local councilman who was later found dead of suicide along with his wife, authorities said. Rane, formerly of Closter, owned and operated the now-defunct Axiom Healthcare Academy on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, which touted itself as a provider of massage therapy training. Anyone who didn't want to go through the training could pay Rane anywhere from $1,000 to $2,600 for …
NJ Family's Ice Cream Shop Expands With Third Location: Report NJ Family's Ice Cream Shop Expands With Third Location: Report
NJ Family's Ice Cream Shop Expands With Third Location: Report A family owned ice cream shop is expanding its footprint with a third North Jersey location, reports NJ Advance Media. Stack Creamery will be replacing Postmark at 48 Washington St. in Morristown, with a soft opening planned sometime this month. Stack Creamery's unique touch allows customers to choose from several ice cream flavors and toppings to build their own custom ice cream sandwich, and offers a multitude of ice cream-related baked goods. The flagship store for Stack Creamery is located in Westwood, while a second store opened last year in Jersey City.  To read the full r…
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Another female victim has been added to the list of imprisoned 75-year-old New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, thanks to advances in DNA technology. Cottingham was arraigned on Long Island via videoconference Wednesday from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton for the 1968 slaying of a New Hyde Park woman in the parking lot of the popular Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. He entered a not-guilty plea to murder charges in the death of Diane Cusick, a 23-year-old divorced single mom who worked as a dance instructor. Cottingham, a married father of three who’d lived in Lodi and wor…
RESPECTS: Visiting Hours Today (Sunday), Funeral Monday For New Milford High School Senior RESPECTS: Visiting Hours Today (Sunday), Funeral Monday For New Milford High School Senior
Respects: Visiting Hours Today (Sunday), Funeral Monday For New Milford High School Senior UPDATE: Visiting hours are scheduled from 4-8 p.m. Sunday followed by a 10 a.m. funeral service on Monday for an 18-year-old New Milford High School senior who drowned trying to help a group of local kids. Both the April 25 service and visitation for Clinten Ajit the day before are at St. Peter's Mar Thoma Church, 56 Ridgewood Road in Washington Township: (201) 837-2200. The service will be followed by interment in Westwood Cemetery, 23 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood: (201) 664-7161. Ajit was born in Niranam, Kerala, India on Jan. 22, 2004. He emigrated to the U.S. with his family in Septembe…
GoFundMe Established For Family Of Drowned New Milford HS Student GoFundMe Established For Family Of Drowned New Milford HS Student
GoFundMe Established For Family Of Drowned New Milford HS Student UPDATE: Visiting hours are scheduled from 4-8 p.m. Sunday followed by a 10 a.m. funeral service on Monday for an 18-year-old New Milford High School senior who drowned trying to help a group of local kids. The April 25 service and visitation for Clinten Ajit the day before are both at St. Peter's Mar Thoma Church, 56 Ridgewood Road in Washington Township: (201) 837-2200. The service will be followed by interment in Westwood Cemetery, 23 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood: (201) 664-7161. Ajit was born in Niranam, Kerala, India on Jan. 22, 2004. He emigrated to the U.S. with his family in Septemb…
UPDATE: New Milford High School Student Drowned Trying To Retrieve Ball For Soccer Players UPDATE: New Milford High School Student Drowned Trying To Retrieve Ball For Soccer Players
Update: New Milford High School Student Drowned Trying To Retrieve Ball For Soccer Players UPDATE: The body of a New Milford High School senior was removed from a borough pond hours after what witnesses said was a tragic accident. Clinten Ajit, 18, was doing a good deed when he went into the Hard Castle Pond behind the Dorchester Manor Apartments near the borough athletic fields around 7:15 p.m. Friday, April 22. "Some kids accidentally kicked a soccer ball in the water and [he] said he would get it for them," a responder said after police spoke with witnesses. "He didn't know how to swim and never came back up." Responding officers found Ajit's shoes on the bank, the ball floa…
Women Looking For Any Excuse To Be Pulled Over By Bergen County Officer Going Viral Women Looking For Any Excuse To Be Pulled Over By Bergen County Officer Going Viral
Women Looking For Any Excuse To Be Pulled Over By Bergen County Officer Going Viral Women across North Jersey are apparently willing to get themselves into trouble if it means scoring a date with one of River Edge's newest officers. A photo of Domenic Pizzanelli holding a lost dog on the River Edge PBA Local 201's Facebook page has caught the attention of thousands of women, many threatening to run red lights and rob banks just to chat with the officer. The good news? The dog, MoMo, was returned home within hours. The bad news, at least for Bergen County hopefuls, Pizzanelli is off the market. In fact, Pizzanelli's girlfriend of two years, Riana McShea, has been nothing …
A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57 A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57
A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57 TRIBUTE: The holiday season at the Emerson Fire Department won't be the same without Mark Brackenbury. Little else in town will be, either. The lifelong firefighter died peacefully at his Jersey Shore home surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, March 13, following a battle with cancer. He was 57. A Queens native, Brackenbury earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken before becoming an accomplished IT director. He began his professional career in 1993 as an IT manager with Health Management Systems in New York before joining Pfizer in 2002. Bracke…
ICE Puts Hold On Contractor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teens In Hackensack, Westwood ICE Puts Hold On Contractor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teens In Hackensack, Westwood
ICE Puts Hold On Contractor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teens In Hackensack, Westwood A married contractor was charged with sexually assaulting two pre-teens in Hackensack and Westwood nearly five years ago. Francisco Barrera-Capistran, 36, who now lives in Homasassa, FL, was arrested in Westwood on Monday, Feb. 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He remained held in the Bergen County Jail after ICE placed a detainer on him Tuesday amid questions about his immigration status. Jail records list him as a Mexican national. If a local judge orders his release for some reason -- say, bail reform -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has requested 48-hour …
Concerns Emerge For Paterson Homeless Outreach Program After Founder's Arrest Concerns Emerge For Paterson Homeless Outreach Program After Founder's Arrest
Concerns Emerge For Paterson Homeless Outreach Program After Founder's Arrest A man charged in a stabbing during a dispute over a parking spot outside his Clifton home operates a Paterson outreach program that's received more than $300,000 in grants this month and boasts partnerships with New Jersey State Police, among others. The ”lead-up to the incident” last weekend involving Roger Lester, 42, “is still unclear and has become a legal matter,” a publicist for his organization said Thursday. Brennan Jenkins of Ruthleess Marketing contended that Lester -- the founder and CEO of NJ PAAIN (Preparing Adolescent & Adult Ideologies Now) -- had been “caught […
Hackensack PD: Jaywalking Waldwick Woman, 83, Struck By SUV Driven By Westwood Resident, 80 Hackensack PD: Jaywalking Waldwick Woman, 83, Struck By SUV Driven By Westwood Resident, 80
Hackensack PD: Jaywalking Waldwick Woman, 83, Struck By SUV Driven By Westwood Resident, 80 An 83-year-old pedestrian from Waldwick was hospitalized -- and got a ticket -- after she was struck in Hackensack by an SUV driven by an 80-year-old Westwood woman, authorities said. The victim needed ankle surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center after she was struck on Berry Street by a Ford Edge whose driver had made a left from southbound State Street at 2:17 p.m. Sunday, Police Lt. Anthony Natale said. Police issued a summons to the pedestrian for jaywalking, Natale said.
Fire Strikes Family Of Late EMT From Emerson Fire Strikes Family Of Late EMT From Emerson
Fire Strikes Family Of Late EMT From Emerson The family of a beloved EMT who died last year suffered another tragedy when fire severely damaged their Emerson home earlier this week. Valderes “Val” Toulouzan-Vaporakis and her twin boys are physically OK. So are their cat and three dogs – one of whom was rescued from the fire and another who was found following an intense search. Firefighters prevented Tuesday's smoky blaze from causing major structural damage to the Sanford Avenue home. "As it turns out, their house was underinsured, making things even more difficult for them," said friend Lisa Leuck. "There are many repairs to be do…
Police Boost Presence At Westwood Regional HS Amid Alleged Threats Police Boost Presence At Westwood Regional HS Amid Alleged Threats
Police Boost Presence At Westwood Regional HS Amid Alleged Threats Police beefed up their presence at Westwood Regional High School following what some considered a threat triggered by an incident between students. It began after an 18-year-old student allegedly stole a cellphone from a younger one, multiple sources confirmed. The alleged victim and a friend grabbed the older student and beat him in a school hallway after lunch this past Tuesday, the sources said. The incident was captured on school surveillance cameras and student cellphone video, they said. His assailants apparently didn't know that the older student had previously sustained a traumati…
Woman, 75, Found Dying Washington Township Daughter After Stabbing, Reports Show Woman, 75, Found Dying Washington Township Daughter After Stabbing, Reports Show
Woman, 75, Found Dying Washington Township Daughter After Stabbing, Reports Show UPDATE: A dying Washington Township woman was found by her 75-year-old mother after she'd been beaten and stabbed in her townhouse, investigators said. Flora Casale, who's listed in tax records as owning the Washington Commons condo off Pascack Road, called township police at 12:05 a.m. Sunday, saying that "she found her daughter, Mary Huber, injured inside of the residence," a complaint on file in Superior Court in Hackensack says. Arriving officers found the accused killer, Patrick Camilli, with a knife atop the unresponsive Huber, 51, "in a pool of blood," the complaint says. Camilli, w…
Washington Township Woman Stabbed Dead, Boyfriend Charged In Attempted Murder-Suicide Washington Township Woman Stabbed Dead, Boyfriend Charged In Attempted Murder-Suicide
Washington Township Woman Stabbed Dead, Boyfriend Charged In Attempted Murder-Suicide A Washington Township man stabbed his girlfriend dead before trying to kill himself before dawn Sunday, authorities confirmed. Police responding to the Washington Commons townhouse complex off Pascack Road shortly after midnight found Mary Huber, 51, on the floor of her condo, with Patrick Camilli, 55, on top of her, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Huber, who'd suffered multiple stab wounds and bruises, was pronounced dead a short time later at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, the prosecutor said. Camilli was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was treated …