Booze and bananas: Port strike causes shortages

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Thursday:

⬛ Prosecutor: NJ sex offender raped lost girl walking in Toms River

Keith Hahn (Ocean County Jail, Google Maps)

TOMS RIVER — A convicted sex offender from Toms River has been accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl he picked up walking along Route 70 last weekend.

On Sunday, a 14-year-old girl contacted the Manchester Township Police Department and said she had been sexually assaulted by a man she did not know.

⬛ Teacher's raging husband brings knife to NJ school, officials say

School 18 in Paterson (Google Maps)

PATERSON — A school teacher was punched in the face and threatened by his colleague's husband, according to officials.

It happened last Thursday afternoon at School 18 in Paterson, the district said.

The husband, who has not been named publicly, checked in with school security at the entrance with a knife on him but was not stopped. Many of the lower schools in Paterson do not have metal detectors,

⬛ Recognize these bathrooms? NJ man busted on recording charges

Andy Cardenas, accused of planting video recorder in mall bathroom in NJ (HCPO,Canva)

JERSEY CITY — An 18-year-old man has been accused of planting a video recording device in a public restroom at Newport Centre in Jersey City.

Andy Cardenas, of Jersey City, was charged with third-degree invasion of privacy, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Multiple digital files were recovered from the device, including images from several unidentified restrooms.

⬛ Why your electric bill is going up in New Jersey

Canva

You're the main reason your electric bill shocked you this summer.

A hot few months led to a significant uptick in usage, stakeholders say. That, combined with increased energy costs on the front end, and the never-ending need to improve reliability, led to wildly more expensive monthly bills for countless Garden State residents.

The issue of rising electric rates and their impact on New Jerseyans was the primary focus of an Assembly hearing in Trenton on Wednesday.

⬛ Oh, no! Port strike could trigger booze shortage in New Jersey

Getty Images/AP/Townsquare Media illustration

The strike by dock workers in New Jersey, Philadelphia and along the entire East Coast shows no signs of ending anytime soon and the possibility of product shortages grows by the day.

Should days turn into weeks, nearly every segment of the retail economy will be impacted. The daily impact to the nations economy is being measured in billions of dollars.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is one of the nations busiest ports and employs more than 4,500 dock workers.

About 80% of all imported beer, wine and spirits arrive at East Coast ports. 60% of the nation's rum supply is shipped to the East Coast.

20 Great Jersey hangout bars in New Jersey

Gallery Credit: Dennis Malloy

New and classic favorites: The best dive bars in New Jersey

The term "dive bar" used to be something derogatory. Nowadays it's more of a badge of honor to say to own one, go to one, or work at one.

We started in South Jersey, stopped A LOT in Central Jersey and ended in North Jersey. We left out the Jersey Shore bar because there are just too many to choose from. If your favorite isn't on the list, don't be offended, just tell us about it. Here we go...

Gallery Credit: Dennis Malloy