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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
Closure Of Asbury Park Record Store Strikes Chord With Residents Closure Of Asbury Park Record Store Strikes Chord With Residents
Closure Of Asbury Park Record Store Strikes Chord With Residents Holdfast Records has been a sweet escape for music lovers in the Jersey Shore area for nearly a decade. The Cookman Avenue record store is singing a swan song, though, as Monday will be its last day in business before shifting to online sales only. Co-owner Joe Koukos emphasized that the closure was purely strategic and unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve had a strong online business for years now, and this frees me up to be out and about looking for records, which is the fun part,” Koukos told NJ.com. Nearly 70 people mourned Holdfast's closing on a social media post publishe…

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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
News
Report: 100 American Dream Employees Laid Off Report: 100 American Dream Employees Laid Off
Report: 100 American Dream Employees Laid Off The American Dream Mall isn’t looking so dreamy after approximately 100 employees were laid off due to financial issues from the COVID-19 pandemic, reports say. In a letter sent to the megamall’s employees on June 1, officials cite the need for “organizational restructuring” following the pandemic as the cause of the layoffs, NorthJersey.com reports. "With the onset of COVID-19 in early March, life as we knew it changed dramatically and our new 'normal' is still undefined," the letter said. "This time has allowed us to look at our organizational structure, and what made sens…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Fugitive Pennsylvania Killer Caught Chillin' At Reopened Jacksonville Beach, Authorities Say Fugitive Pennsylvania Killer Caught Chillin' At Reopened Jacksonville Beach, Authorities Say
Fugitive Pennsylvania Killer Caught Chillin' At Reopened Jacksonville Beach, Authorities Say A fugitive who apparently didn’t know that the reopening of beaches in Jacksonville, Florida amid the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t include sitting around turned out to be wanted on homicide charges out of Pennsylvania, authorities said. A three-month manhunt ended Sunday with the arrest of Mario Matthew Gatti, 30. Gatti went on the lam in January after detectives charged him with criminal homicide for shooting 33-year-old Michael Coover, Jr. several times, killing him, as the victim cooked dinner at a Westmoreland County home, authorities said. The Jacksonville beach reopenings on Sat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
VIDEO: Tyra Banks Surprises Unsuspecting Union High School Students During Zoom Class VIDEO: Tyra Banks Surprises Unsuspecting Union High School Students During Zoom Class
Video: Tyra Banks Surprises Unsuspecting Union High School Students During Zoom Class Award-winning Union High School educator Nick Ferroni caught his students completely off guard by introducing them to a special guest during a Zoom class Monday morning — the one and only Tyra Banks. Ferroni, who teaches History and Cultural Studies, brought on Banks to share some words of wisdom in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, People.com reports. After virtually greeting his class, Ferroni casually introduced the TV personality, who was met with jaw drops and exclamations from star-struck students (click here to watch). “This is not real,” one student said in disbelief. “They’re s…

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by Valerie Musson