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Neighbors
Family In Union Coping With Second Devastating House Fire Family In Union Coping With Second Devastating House Fire
Family In Union Coping With Second Devastating House Fire Seven years after fire heavily damaged their home, a family in Union are trying to cope with yet another fire -- one that has left them homeless.  The fire broke out on Revere Avenue near the Maplewood border Sunday night. Union and Maplewood firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 90 minutes but the home sustained heavy damage.  Union fire officials said it was the second time they had been to the house for a fire.  The family has organized a GoFundMe campaign to ask the public's help.  "With a heavy heart and a GRATEFUL spirit I am announcing for those …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Someone Painted Fake Crosswalk In Union Street, Police Say Someone Painted Fake Crosswalk In Union Street, Police Say
Someone Painted Fake Crosswalk In Union Street, Police Say Police in Union are investigating after a crudely painted crosswalk was discovered in the middle of a street Thursday morning.  Officers noticed the crosswalk around 8:25 a.m. on Vauxhall Road near  Brookside Drive. Made with white spray paint, it's located at an especially dangerous place for pedestrians to cross, police said.  "For those who live in the area, this purported crosswalk should not be utilized to cross because the intersection is located on a curve with a grade making it UNSAFE to cross," the department said in a statement. The act of criminal mischief comes a…

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by Paul Milo
News
Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees
Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees Several species of small wasps that attack the eggs of a tree-eating beetle found in North Jersey were released last weekend within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, according to a recent report. The adult and pupae wasps are native to Asian areas where the emerald ash borer (beetles) are from. The Asian-native emerald ash borer beetles attack ash trees and have been detected in parts of New Jersey, as well as across the U.S. This year, the EAB has been detected in the following areas of New Jersey, according to the state's agricultural department: BERGEN: Glen Rock CAMDEN…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
10 Delicious Soft Serve Spots In North Jersey 10 Delicious Soft Serve Spots In North Jersey
10 Delicious Soft Serve Spots In North Jersey Happy National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day! Aug. 19 just so happens to be one of the hottest days of 2019. If you celebrate the holiday you may be able to cool off. Here are 10 delicious, local soft serve ice cream spots in Bergen County. All have 4.5 or 5 stars on Yelp. Alpine Creamery, Sparta Carmella Ice Cream, Fairfield Vegan, dairy-free soft serve from Carmella Ice Cream.souxsie • Instagram Cliff's Homemade Ice Cream, Ledgewood Curly's Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Riverdale Red, white and blue from Curley's.Curley's Ice Cream Dover Dairy Maid, Dover Ice Cream by Mike, Ridge…

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by Cecilia Levine
Weather
Heat Advisory In Effect For Parts Of North Jersey Heat Advisory In Effect For Parts Of North Jersey
Heat Advisory In Effect For Parts Of North Jersey Brace yourself for another heat wave, New Jersey. The National Weather Services has issued a heat advisory for parts of Passaic, Hudson, Union and Bergen counties from noon Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday. Temperatures will be in the low 90s Sunday but with humidity at 75 percent will feel like the high 90s. Humidity will drop Monday but the temperatures are expected to climb. A heat advisory is issued when the combination of heat and humidity make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any length of time. Extreme heat c…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In
Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In A Newark man who caused the evacuation of a Union Walmart Thursday after brandishing an air-soft gun was arrested after turning himself into police later that day, authorities said. Joshua K. Phillips, 20, of Newark was charged with creating a false public alarm, weapon possession and shoplifting, Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Union Police Director Daniel Zieser jointly announced. Police responded to the Springfield Road and Route 22 Walmart around 10:45 a.m. on reports of a black man with a gun in an aisle -- leading to a full evacuation of the building, authoritie…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart
Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart A Walmart in Union was evacuated Thursday morning following a report that a man with a gun had been spotted there, police said.  Police later determined, however, that there had been no threat.  ** UPDATE: A 20-year-old Newark man who caused a stir at a local Walmart turned himself into police ** A woman called police shortly before 11 a.m. and said she'd seen a man in a black mask toting a black gun at the Springfield Road store. The store was evacuated and a team of officers entered, where they found an employee and a customer who had not yet left.  Police also found a bl…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Sussex County Man With History Of Taking Upskirt Pics Charged In Union Incident: Police Sussex County Man With History Of Taking Upskirt Pics Charged In Union Incident: Police
Sussex County Man With History Of Taking Upskirt Pics Charged In Union Incident: Police A man suspected of taking an upskirt photo at a store on Rt. 22 in Union last month has been arrested, police said.  Authorities say Stephen Grogan of Branchville knelt behind a shopper July 12 and was using his cell phone to take images of her,  police said. Grogan left the store when the woman confronted her but she followed him and obtained his license plate number, Union police said.  Grogan, 41, who had been arrested for the same crime in July 2018, surrendered to Union police last week after an investigation by Detective Michael Thiessen. He was charged with invasion of…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Lake Hiawatha Man Charged In Hit-Run Death Of Union 12-Year-Old Lake Hiawatha Man Charged In Hit-Run Death Of Union 12-Year-Old
Lake Hiawatha Man Charged In Hit-Run Death Of Union 12-Year-Old A 37-year-old man from the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit and run that claimed the life of a boy in Union last month, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Friday night.  Jose V. Marrero turned himself in and has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.  Jeremy Maraj, 12, was coming home from the park near his home around 8 p.m. July 17 when he was hit by a van that left the scene near Galloping Hill Road and Forest Drive. He died two days later.  Authorities said the employer of the dri…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
WATCH: Video Shows Shooting, Arrest Of Driver Who Fled Union Traffic Stop WATCH: Video Shows Shooting, Arrest Of Driver Who Fled Union Traffic Stop
Watch: Video Shows Shooting, Arrest Of Driver Who Fled Union Traffic Stop The Union County Prosecutor's Office has released police dash cam and body cam video showing a man getting shot by police after he fled a traffic stop in Union in June.  The video, which has been slightly edited, shows Lester Krek, 32, of Linden, getting interviewed by police during a traffic stop along Rt. 22 on June 7. After several minutes of back and forth with the officers, who inform Krek that his vehicle registration is expired, he takes off.  Krek later crashed in Mountainside and fled on foot into a nearby neighborhood, where officers catch up to him in the driveway of a …

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by Paul Milo
News
'Rest In Peace, Little Man': Union Mourns 12-Year-Old Jeremy Maraj 'Rest In Peace, Little Man': Union Mourns 12-Year-Old Jeremy Maraj
'Rest In Peace, Little Man': Union Mourns 12-Year-Old Jeremy Maraj Friends, classmates, neighbors and other residents of Union came together over the weekend to remember Jeremy Maraj, a 12-year-old boy who died Friday from injuries he suffered in a hit-and-run accident.  "The past few days have been very sad because we lost a very good person," said one woman, one of several people to post online testimonials.  "Jeremy has always been funny, kind and great to everyone. You will never be forgotten. We love you Jeremy."  A memorial to the Kawameeh Middle School student was erected at Irene Hoppe Park Friday, just hours after Jeremy died at Un…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Boy, 12, Struck By Van In Union Wednesday Dies Boy, 12, Struck By Van In Union Wednesday Dies
Boy, 12, Struck By Van In Union Wednesday Dies A 12-year-old who was hit by a van near an intersection in Union Wednesday night has died, police said.  The boy was struck by a driver who did not remain at the scene around 8 p.m. near Forest Drive and Galloping Hill Road. He was rushed to University Hospital in Newark in critical condition, where he died late Friday morning.  The Union County Prosecutor's Office identified him as Jeremy Maraj. He was a student at Kawameeh Middle School.  The driver, whose name had not been released as of Friday evening,  was identified after he notified his employer of damage th…

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by Paul Milo