EDISON, N.J., Aug. 12 (ZFJ) — Retired Edison Firefighter Raymond Tibok, 58, of Edison, died peacefully on Thursday, Aug. 8, at JFK Medical Center. He was born in Perth Amboy and a lifelong resident of Edison. He served Edison as a firefighter for 30 years before retiring in 2022. Tibok graduated from John P. Stevens High School in 1984. “He loved fishing, working on cars, and playing southern rock with his guitar.

EDISON, N.J., Aug. 12 (ZFJ) — Edison Firefighter Howard Chaim Tarlow, 47, died on Wednesday, July 10, reported the Edison Firefighters Association, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1197. MyCentralJersey.com reported that township officials said that Tarlow died unexpectedly at home. Tarlow began his career in fire services when he joined the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department in 2008 “after expressing to a friend he wanted to give back to the community,” said IAFF Local 1197 on social media.

EDISON, N.J., Aug. 11 (ZFJ) — Edison police Lieutenant Donald Ship, 38, of Piscataway, died on Wednesday, July 10. New Jersey 101.5 reported that Police Chief Thomas Bryan told them that Ship died at home following a “short illness.” “Lieutenant Ship grew up in Edison and dedicated his entire life and career to giving back to the community that raised him,” said the Edison Police Department on social media. Ship began his career in law enforcement as a Kean University police officer before he transferred to the Edison Police Department on Jan.

Aug. 8 (ZFJ) — The Federal Reserve maintained the target federal funds rate at 5.25-5.50% at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)’s July 31 meeting. This rate was set on July 26, 2023, and has been held steady since then. The Fed has been aggressively increasing the interest rate since raising it from 0.00-0.25% to 0.25-0.50% in March 2022 in order to fight stubborn inflation. “The labor market has come into better balance and the unemployment rate remains low,” said Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his opening remarks at a press conference.

Aug. 1 (ZFJ) — The College Board has announced that, starting May 2025, 28 AP Exams will have their standard paper testing discontinued. Instead, these exams will be administered digitally through the Bluebook app. All schools and test centers will have to administer these exams digitally, though paper exams will still be available to select students approved by the College Board. The acceleration to digital testing was done to further protect the integrity and security of AP exams.

July 30 (ZFJ) — A Fort Lee police officer responding to a mental health call fatally shot Victoria G. Lee, 26, of Fort Lee, on Sunday, July 28, according to the N.J. Attorney General’s Office (OAG). OAG said in a press release that on Sunday, at about 1:25 a.m., Fort Lee police responded to “The Pinnacle” apartment complex on Main Street after receiving a 911 call from a man reporting that his sister was having a mental health crisis and needed to go to the hospital.

EDISON, N.J., July 30 (ZFJ) — One motorcyclist was killed and one motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash at the intersection of Route 1 North and Old Post Road in Edison on Sunday, July 28. On Sunday, at about 8:13 p.m., authorities responded to the intersection after receiving a report of a multi-vehicle crash, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Police located Alexander Teshima Chong, 44, of Belleville, who had been operating a motorcycle at the time of the collision.

July 26 (ZFJ) — After much anticipation—two years after its initial announcement—the renowned Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung celebrated the grand opening of its first East Coast location in New York City on July 18, 2024. Besides being the first location on the East Coast, it is also the world’s largest Din Tai Fung. Located at 1633 Broadway, the restaurant occupies a vast 25,000-square-foot space, capable of accommodating up to 450 diners and 500 employees.

July 27 (ZFJ) — At 1.50 C (2.7 F) above the estimated June average for 1850-1900, June 2024 has become the 12th consecutive month to reach or break the 1.5 C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). With a surface air temperature of 16.66 C (61.99 F), June 2024 was warmer globally than any previous June in C3S’ ERA5 data record.

EDISON, N.J., July 26 (ZFJ) — Joan Franklin Polanco, 37, of Edison, has been charged in connection with the fatal stabbing that occurred in Edison on Sunday, July 21, 2024, announced Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department. On July 21, Edison police responded to a call for a welfare check of the victim, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit. Shortly after, at about 4:37 p.