ZFJ founder. Oxford comma enthusiast. Unfortunately specializes in the government beat. Computer science and economics undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park.
EDISON, N.J., Aug. 29 (ZFJ) — The Edison Board of Education retired the use of jersey number 24 for all Edison High School athletic teams in honor of late baseball coach and athletic director James “Diamond Jim” Muldowney at the Aug. 20 combined caucus and public meeting.
Muldowney graduated from Edison High in 1973 and became a teacher from 1981-2000. He then served as the school’s athletic director from 2000-2008 and the district’s supervisor of physical education and health from 2008-2018.
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug. 28 (ZFJ) — A heat wave has been descending on America on Wednesday, Aug. 28, placing over 77 million people under excessive heat warnings and heat advisories.
High temperatures are forecast to be 10-15 degrees above average for much of the Central to Southern Plains, east into the Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic, wrote the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in a short range public discussion.
METUCHEN, N.J., Aug. 22 (ZFJ) — Walid Beshai, 36, of Bayonne, was arrested by Metuchen police at his residence on Wednesday, Aug. 14, in connection with a fire in the borough on June 27, 2024.
Patrol officers responded to the scene of a fire on June 27, 2024, at about 1:30 a.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause submitted to the court by police. Three residents were removed from a two-family residential structure, and a garage that contained one of the victim’s vehicles was actively on fire.
EDISON, N.J., Aug. 11 (ZFJ) — Andrew “Dean” S. DeNicola, 55, band director at John P. Stevens High School for 50 years, died on May 20, 2024, after many years of battling heart disease.
“His devotion toward music, the band program, and his students was unparalleled, and anyone who had the pleasure of getting to know Andy knew he was having fun and living his life to the fullest,” wrote the Central Jersey Music Educators Association on Instagram.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This news report contains graphic details of the police-involved shooting and vulgarities that could be offensive or disturbing to some readers.
Aug. 19 (ZFJ) — Body camera footage of the fatal shooting of Victoria G. Lee, 25, of Fort Lee, by Fort Lee Police Officer Tony Pickens, Jr., during a mental health call on July 28 was released by the N.J. Attorney General’s Office (OAG) on Friday, Aug.
EDISON, N.J., Aug. 13 (ZFJ) — Someone just had the front of their house unexpectedly power washed. A 30-inch water main was broken by contractor work on Woodbrook Drive, said Edison Mayor Sam Joshi on social media on Monday, Aug. 12.
The water lines are operated by the Middlesex Water Company.
Residents shouldn’t have water flow disrupted because the broken line is separate from the ones used for residential distribution, according to Joshi.
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.
