NJ mourns beloved teacher

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Monday:

⬛ NJ teacher killed by 94-year-old driver in hit-run, cops say

(Englewood Schools/Google Maps)

DUMONT — A 94-year-old North Jersey man is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash that killed a beloved elementary school teacher.

Ernest Hofmann, a Bergenfield man who was born in 1929, was charged with second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal crash and fourth-degree obstructing, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday.

⬛ Kids hide as man shoots 3 relatives dead before NJ standoff, cops say

Trenton police vehicle in May 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

FALLS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The day after a shooting rampage left three people dead, friends, family and the community are trying to recover.

Andre Gordon shot and killed his stepmother, Karen Gordon, 52, and sister Kera Gordon, 13, in Karen's Viewpoint Lane home in Levittown Saturday morning, according to Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn. Schorn said he then drove to the home of the mother of his two children, Taylor Daniel, 25, where he shot her dead and bludgeoned her mother with an assault rifle.

⬛ NJ man charged with putting grenade near Jewish school

Satmar Shul Lakewood (white building on the right) (Google Street View)

LAKEWOOD — A man has now been charged after officials found a grenade strapped to a utility pole near a Jewish school in November.

The device was found on Nov. 19 at the corner of 4th Street and Forest Avenue, which prompted the State Police Bomb Unit to be brought in, according to police Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith. The grenade was found to be inert.

⬛ Family mourns baby boy killed in terrible NJ pit bull attack

Daymon Jair Balbuena (GoFundMe)

WOODBRIDGE — A Middlesex County mother and father have said their final goodbyes to their infant son after he was attacked by the family pit bull.

Daymon Balbuena was born on Dec. 7, 2023. A funeral service for the baby boy was held on Friday at the Flynn and Son Funeral Home in Colonia, according to his obituary.

⬛ NJ man spent nearly 10 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit

Timothy Puskas, eating one of his first meals after his acquittal (courtesy Timothy Puskas)

A New Jersey man is working to rebuild his life after spending nearly 10 years in prison for murder — before finally being acquitted of charges.

Timothywas arrested in March 2014, for the beating death of William McCaw, a 22-year-old Tennessee resident whose body was found in the backyard of a New Brunswick home on Hartwell Street.

A Middlesex County jury convicted Puskas in 2017 of murder, weapons charges and hindering his own apprehension, and Puskas spent the next seven years as an inmate.

New Jersey towns that cut their property taxes last year

In 2023, the average property tax bill declined in 44 municipalities in New Jersey. The rankings, listed from the smallest percentage decrease to the largest decrease, is based on recent state Department of Community Affairs analyzed by New Jersey 101.5.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

Another NJ Friendly's restaurant closed: Here's how many are left

Although the Marton, NJ, Friendly's has been closed for a while, it's now being demolished for future development. But with the closure of the Marlton location, how many Friendly's restaurants are actually left? Here's a look at all remaining locations in New Jersey and beyond as of March 2024, according to the company website.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

Top 20 towns in NJ with highest tax increases

These 20 municipalities in 2023 had the highest one-year increase in their average property tax bills, according to a New Jersey 101.5 analysis of Department of Community Affairs data.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

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