New Jersey
Police in Westampton, New Jersey investigate teen chaos after rec center gathering:
A South Jersey neighborhood was thrown into chaos Friday night after a large group of teens poured out of a party at the Westampton Recreation Center and into the nearby Spring Meadows development, disturbing residents and damaging property.
Tatiana Iglesia had just put her newborn to bed when her partner, Eric Rodriguez, ran in, alarmed by the noise outside.
“He’s like, ‘call the cops — call the cops! They’re on top of the cars — they’re destroying them…they’re fighting,’” Iglesia recalled Rodriguez saying. “They were just on top of the cars — it was a riot outside.”
That chaos was captured on a video the couple shared from their Ring security camera. The footage showed dozens of teens running through the streets and jumping on cars. At one point, what sounded like a taser could be heard in the background.
“When I look out the window, I just see hundreds of kids everywhere…on my lawn, in my driveway, in my neighbor’s driveway…in the middle of the street,” Iglesia said.
Police helped disperse the crowd, but Iglesia and Rodriguez soon realized both of their vehicles were damaged. The roofs and hoods were all dented in. The mirrors and lights were also damaged, and footprints were visible the next day.
Westampton Township police said they responded to the neighborhood and are now investigating the incident, which they say appears to have started at the recreation center.
Fourteen-year-old Mikaela Barclay said she was at the party, which drew students from at least four different area high schools. She said the evening started off without issue — there was music and dancing — but things escalated once the party ended and the crowd left the building.
“That’s when it went all sorts of crazy,” Barclay said. “There were kids trying to fight in the middle of the road…jumping on cars.”
Barclay, who lives in the neighborhood, said most of the teens involved didn’t live nearby and showed little regard for the people who did.
“They were so disrespectful,” she said.
Other South Jersey towns that have experienced similar incidents are now taking measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The incident unfolded the same weekend Gloucester Township Day was postponed due to what officials described as “credible threats of violence and unlawful activity.” Last year, ten teens were arrested during the event following reports of large groups causing disturbances.
In another preventative move, Wildwood officials recently announced they would strictly enforce a 10 p.m. curfew for minors ahead of the busy summer season, warning that any violations would result in arrests — not only of the teens but also their guardians.
In Westampton Township, police say they’re now reviewing how the situation unfolded and are working to ensure similar disruptions don’t happen again. CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the mayor and the recreation department to learn what additional measures may be put in place.
Iglesia said she wants accountability.
“We came here after we started having our kids, trying to have a better life,” she said. “We worked really hard to get our cars, and for kids just to come out and do things without repercussions is so, so frustrating.”
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.
The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.
The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.
Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.
“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.
“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”
As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.
The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.
It’s fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.
True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team’s mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.
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ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) — Drivers heading to the shore on Friday afternoon saw slow-moving traffic for several miles coming off the Walt Whitman bridge, but many travelers said the start of the holiday weekend was smoother than they anticipated.
Aldara Madden, who was traveling with her friend Elana Maser, said the trip moved faster than she expected.
“I was expecting it to take a lot longer,” she said.
Maser added that they left school early to avoid delays.
“My mom and I do that every year and then we always stop here as our little pre-down the shore,” she said.
Others shared similar experiences.
“I’m coming from Bucks County, so I was worried there was gonna be some traffic but it really wasn’t bad at all,” said Erin McFadden of Churchville, who was headed to Ocean City.
AAA reported that while slightly more people are traveling by car this year compared to last, 2026 is projected to have the lowest year-over-year travel growth rate in more than a decade, excluding the steep drop seen in 2020 during the pandemic.
The organization attributes the slowdown largely to concerns over rising prices.
“Gas is ridiculously expensive and I think all the time before going anywhere these days,” said Debbie Maser of Philadelphia. “But this is our happy place and nothing can keep us away.”
A dreary weekend forecast may also be influencing travel patterns.
“I was thinking that, I wonder if there’ll be less congestion on the roads because of the weather,” said Kyra Wolin of Massachusetts. “It’s not looking to be too good this weekend with the rain.”
Still, many shore-bound travelers said tradition outweighs any concerns about rain or crowds.
“No not at all. You go down. You get it done,” said George Miller of Lansdale.
Eric Wolin of Massachusetts agreed: “Never, never. Margate’s a special place for us.”
As the unofficial start of summer begins, travelers said they remain committed to kicking off the season in their favorite spots, not letting rain, traffic, or high prices keep them away.
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This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.
As summer begins, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is urging residents to limit lawn watering, and hand water flowers and shrubs as a drought warning continues. The warning, in place since December 2025, could turn into a drought emergency if conditions do not improve. The state has suffered eight consecutive months of below-normal rainfall, according to officials.
“New Jersey is experiencing a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which we haven’t seen in more than twenty years,” state geologist Steven Domber said in a statement issued earlier this month. “The indicators that we track closely are showing persistently dry conditions. With uncertainty for rainfall in the coming months, we need residents to conserve water today, to ensure we have enough to sustain our needs over the summer.”
The Department of Environmental Protection uses a variety of indicators to determine drought levels, including precipitation, stream flows, reservoir levels, ground water levels and demand.
In addition to the last two months, officials say, the state “experienced below normal precipitation for 20 of the last 24 months since September 2024,” despite heavy snowfall events this past winter that helped restore reservoirs in North Jersey.
“While we saw a little relief over the winter, New Jersey is feeling the effects of nearly two years of below-normal precipitation,” Sherrill said in a statement earlier this month. She urged residents to voluntarily conserve water.
New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said that since precipitation has been below normal for most of the last 24 months, the recent winter weather did not provide enough water to help restore streams and groundwater.
Should a drought emergency be declared, mandatory water restrictions would be put in place. The last drought emergency lasted almost a year, between March 2002 and January 2003.
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