State Wrap: Fire Guts Westfield Restaurant, New Jersey Reacts to Bin Laden Killing

Some were relieved. Some were anxious. Some were jubilant. Some were put off by celebrations of a lost life.

But throughout New Jersey, one thing remained consistent—the , announced by President Barack Obama on Sunday night, was big news all week in a state that lost close to 700 people in the horror of Sept. 11, 2001.

Many saw it as a victory, a move toward a safer world, and an opportunity for closure. Others saw it as a hollow killing, a possible prompt for reprisals, and a catalyst for the reopening of old wounds. Watch local reactions gathered by Patch editors from around the state in the videos attached at right.

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Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he feels Obama deserves "extraordinary credit" in the death of Osama bin Laden, and addressed what he said were the challenging decisions someone with great executive power must make. Read the governor's full comments on bin Laden .

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A six-alarm fire Wednesday night , a storied Westfield restaurant and lounge, and continued into the early-morning hours Thursday. Nobody was in the restaurant at the time of the fire, and six residents from three apartments on the second and third floors of the building all survived the blaze; only two residents were treated for cases of smoke inhalation. 

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Former Brick Police Officer Jeffery Lempicki turned himself in to authorities on Thursday after being . Brick Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist and Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford issued a joint announcement Friday afternoon stating Lempicki, 34, of Brick, had been charged following a joint investigation by Brick Police and the prosecutor's office. Lempicki had resigned from his job in March

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Equal rights advocates from around New Jersey gathered in Newark on Friday to .

Utlimately, Henry Velandia received a temporary reprieve when a federal immigration judge ruled that because the federal government may soon change its definition of marriage, Velandia's case will be continued until December. Friday’s ruling allows Velandia to stay in the United States with his spouse, Josh Vandiver, whom he married in Connecticut on Aug. 29, 2010 for at least seven more months.

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A late Monday night in downtown Hoboken. Due to a beeping sound coming from a mailbox on Washington and Newark Streets, the Jersey City bomb squad was called around 10 p.m. by the police and fire department, "in an abundance of caution," according to city spokesman Juan Melli. Around 11:30, officers determined that it was a false alarm. Melli said the suspicious, beeping package had been identified as "a Blackberry (mobile phone) with an alert reminder to take medicine."

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Two suspects were , Essex County sheriff’s department officials said Thursday. John "Johnny Vigs" Viglione, 52, of Ringwood, was arrested and charged with theft and resisting arrest. A duffel bag and a crowbar Viglione admitted he was using were found on the roof of the building.

A motor vehicle records check of the Jeep revealed the owner was Susan Baker, 46, also of Ringwood, who Viglione told officers was his girlfriend, adding she had dropped him off at the hospital center. A few hours later, police say Baker arrived at Verona Police Headquarters on Bloomfield Avenue, and asked an officer which law enforcement agency patrolled the hospital center. Before she got her answer, Baker left the police station and was stopped on Bloomfield Avenue and arrested.

Both suspects were charged with theft of immovable property and conspiracy. Viglione was hit with an additional charge of resisting arrest, and Baker was also charged with hindering apprehension.

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An automobile accident in front of the Morris County Courthouse shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday morning stemmed from a prior medical issue, according to a Morristown EMS official.

Dominick Sandelli, captain with the Morristown EMS, said a woman .

"It appears the woman had a medical issue before she crashed and that's what caused the crash," he said.