New Jersey
Crews battling wildfire at Wharton State Forest in Waterford, New Jersey

At least two campgrounds have been evacuated as precaution.
Sunday, March 23, 2025 2:43PM
Crews battling wildfire at Wharton State Forest in Waterford, New Jersey
WATERFORD, New Jersey (WPVI) — A wildfire continues to burn in Camden County, New Jersey.
Officials say the so-called “California Branch Wildfire” has burned more than 1700 acres of Wharton State Forest in Waterford.
The flames were first reported near Raritan Avenue and Old Astion Road.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service says the fire crossed Mullica River, and is burning in Shamong Township as well.
At least two campgrounds have been evacuated as precaution.
Crews have the first at least 50-percent contained.
Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.

New Jersey
Rite Aid files bankruptcy, to close 300 stores. Which NJ Rite Aid stores are closing?

A tour of Product with a Purpose, LBI store with special-needs staff
Product with a Purpose in Ship Bottom sells a variety of decorative and practical items, and it is staffed entirely by people with special needs.
If you frequent drug stores, you could soon be in for a longer ride.
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy for a second time this month, and will close more than 300 stores during its restructuring.
“As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible,” Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said in a news release.
Which Rite Aids are closing in New Jersey?
Here is the list of stores closing, according to USA Today.
- Bayville: 424 Route 9
- Blairstown: 151 Route 94
- Bridgeton: 1070 North Pearl St.
- Bridgeton: 52 East Broad St.
- Highland Park: 332 Raritan Ave.
- Little Egg Harbor: 220 Mathistown Road
- Neptune: 75 South Main St.
- Parlin: 3553 Washington Road
- Penns Grove: 130 East Main St.
- Perth Amboy: 76 Smith St.
- Pilesgrove: 865 Route 45
- Point Pleasant: 3258 Bridge Ave.
- Sicklerville: 403 Sicklerville Road
- Toms River: 220 Route 70
- Vineland: 7 West Landis Ave.
- Whitehouse Station: 531 US Highway 22 East
New Jersey
New Jersey leaders begin search for new leader of Camden schools

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
On Wednesday, New Jersey officials launched the search for a new leader to replace Katrina McCombs, outgoing superintendent of the Camden City School District.
According to a notice on the school district’s website, the New Jersey Department of Education has hired Illinois-based HYA Associates to lead the search. The firm was selected “in a competitive bid process that required multiple rounds of review,” the website said.
A community input survey is open to students, parents and staff until June 11. The district will concurrently hold focus groups June 2–12. A feedback report will be presented to the School Advisory Board the week of June 17.
Ronsha A. Dickerson, a Camden resident and executive director of the Camden Parent and Student Union, said the search process is leaning in the right direction.
“This is not a bad thing, but it should have been in place already,” she said, adding that the community has been calling for an open process for a superintendent search since 2013, when the state took over the school district. “Our main concern is to keep the process transparent for the community.”
New Jersey
New Jersey county to tokenize $240B property deeds

A New Jersey county is set to tokenize $240 billion worth of property deeds after signing a deal with the blockchain-backed land record management firm Balcony.
Balcony said on May 28 that it signed a five-year deal with the Bergen County Clerk’s Office to tokenize 370,000 deeds on the Avalanche blockchain, adding that this was “the largest blockchain-based deed tokenization project in US history.”
Bergen County is New Jersey’s most populous county and is located northwest of Manhattan in New York City across the Hudson River. Bergen County has nearly 1 million residents, producing around $500 million in annual property tax revenue.
$240B in real estate is coming on-chain.@balconytech is working with Bergen County and multiple other NJ municipalities to digitize property records, and it’s powered by Avalanche.
This is the largest blockchain deed initiative in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/aeI0t5nffp
The deal was backed by Blizzard, an Avalanche-focused venture capital fund.
Balcony said the project will allow Bergen County to obtain a tamper-proof, searchable chain of title across all of its 70 municipalities.
Balcony expects the integration will cut deed processing times by over 90% while reducing the risk of fraud, title disputes and administrative errors.
Balcony CEO Dan Silverman said the project was a “turning point” for government record systems and real estate.
“We’re demonstrating how secure, distributed systems can replace outdated infrastructure and deliver real-world value for both governments and the public.”
Balcony plans expansion in New Jersey and beyond
Balcony said it is working with several other counties in New Jersey — including Camden, Orange and Cliffside Park — to modernize their real estate management records.
It said that Orange County lost nearly $1 million in municipal revenue due to incomplete and outdated records under the current management system, highlighting the need for a more effective solution.
The tokenization of 370,000 property deeds in Bergen County brings the total number of tokenized deeds in New Jersey to approximately 460,000.
Balcony said it intends to expand beyond New Jersey in the future.
-
Education1 week ago
Video: Columbia University President Is Booed at Commencement Ceremony
-
Technology1 week ago
AMD’s new RX 9060 XT looks set to challenge Nvidia’s RTX 5060
-
Technology1 week ago
Are Character AI’s chatbots protected speech? One court isn’t sure
-
News1 week ago
Read the Full ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report
-
Culture1 week ago
How Manga Megastar Junji Ito Makes Terrifying Series Like ‘Uzumaki’
-
News1 week ago
'Golden Dome' Missile Shield To Be 1st US Weapon In Space. All About It
-
News1 week ago
Video: Trump Repeats False Claims to South African President
-
World1 week ago
Belgium requests lifting of MEP immunity to investigate Huawei scandal