State Wrap: Fatal NJ Transit Collision, Essex County Sued Over Tran Ride, Dwek Tapes Released

One person is dead after an late Saturday night in Spring Lake. The accident occurred around 10 p.m. at the North Jersey Coastline crossing at Monmouth Avenue. According to Police Chief Edward Kerr and Lieutenant Gerald Preston of the Spring Lake Police Department, the train was traveling from the Manasquan Station towards Spring Lake Station when it struck a black Honda CR-V.

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The tracks of Essex County's Turtle Back Zoo train ride extend too far, according to Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. Hawkins, on behalf of the City of Orange, for allegedly misusing the Orange Reservoir property that's located in West Orange. He said the train has damaged the reservoir property since 2002. The civil complaint accuses Essex County of trespassing on Orange's property.

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Former Congressman John Adler at age 51. A Democrat who served one term as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's third district before being defeated last year by Republican John Runyan, Adler recently had emergency heart surgery after contracting a bacterial infection of the heart muscle, according to reports.

"John Adler was a remarkable statesman, a dear colleague and a good friend. His commitment to public service and for doing what he believed was right is a testament to the kind of person he was," State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney said in a statement.

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The investigative journalists who wrote The Jersey Sting on Monday afternoon, revealing a meeting between Hoboken Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo and FBI Operative Solomon Dwek in 2009, discussing a $5,000 donation and potential preferred treatment for zoning variances.

Russo’s meeting with Dwek—the same operative who nailed former mayor Peter Cammarano in the largest sting operation in New Jersey’s history—was first reported in last month. Russo has denied any wrongdoing, that anybody who portrays a bribe or quid-pro-quo, “is lying.”

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The commission re-drawing New Jersey's state assembly districts last Sunday, leaving incumbents and potential challengers scratching their heads to determine whether it helps or hurts their election chances.

The biggest change in the map include the merging of two senators of each party in the same district. Democratic Sens. John Girgenti of Hawthorne and Robert Gordon of Fair Lawn are in the same Bergen County based district and Republican Sens. Robert Singer of Lakewood and Sean Kean of Wall Township are in the same Ocean and Monmouth based district.

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Under a tent filled with more than 100 people, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. outlined plans Tuesday afternoon for a at the county's South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange.

"This project will enhance our residents' quality of life, create jobs and positively contribute to the economic development of Essex County," he said to the crowd, which included Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and the county freeholder board. DiVincenzo said the money for the boathouse restaurant will come from the county's capital dollars and open space dollars.

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Monday was the for roughly 260 Camden County employees. The bulk of them were laid off, and a handful retired as the county tries to close a $41 million budget shortfall. 

The layoffs represent about 15 percent of the county's workforce of 1,750. That number does not include employees at county agencies such as Camden County College or the public library system.

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A Seaside Park Fire Chief was hospitalized Tuesday after a vehicle, whose driver apparently fell asleep, drove into oncoming traffic, causing a at 6:30 a.m.

Fire Chief Michael Tumolo, 29, and Shawn Medley, 19, of Bayville were transported by Toms River Police EMS to Community Medical Center after the crash, said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy.

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A plan to build a Super Walmart near the Toms River-Manchester border of Route 37 is not a step forward for saving the Northern Pine Snake or for Barnegat Bay restoration plans, said a preservation group in .

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) has submitted documents in opposition to a plan between the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and the developers of a Super Walmart proposed to be built on the Toms River-Manchester border. The proposal is a compromise that would allow for the Walmart to be built, but with a smaller parking lot, and with the developer assuming responsibility to enhance the surrounding habitat for the snake, according to the state proposal.

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The union representing state motor vehicle inspectors is . SEIU staged simultaneous rallies at the Westfield, Delanco and Bridgeton stations Tuesday to protest the cuts, which is part of a change in the state’s contract with Parsons, the private firm the state contracts with to run motor vehicle inspection stations.