New Jersey
Exchange visitors have returned to work at the Jersey Shore at pre-pandemic levels
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.
Yordan Yordanov is spending his second summer in a row in New Jersey.“It will remain my second home for life,” he said. “Even though I’ve been here…overall, six months.”
Yordanov is from Bulgaria and has always wanted to see what life is like in America. He is in the United States on a J-1 visa, which allows overseas residents to enter the country on a work-study visitor exchange. He is one of 25 overseas students working at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey, this summer.
The boardwalk attraction employs 300 people overall during the summer tourist season. On any given year, Playland employs between 20-25 exchange visitors, according to Brian Hartley, vice president of the boardwalk attraction.
“We pretty much try to just keep it to that,” he said. “This way we can really make sure that they’re taken care of.”
Though COVID is still a pandemic, according to the World Health Organization, Hartley hopes life does not return to the early days of the public health emergency.
“We had a lot of kids who were afraid, parents were afraid for the kids to get a job, especially here,” he recalled, “you’re collecting tickets from people, you’re kind of touching them, people are sitting in seats, and someone else is sitting in it. We were going around washing them between every ride.
Playland also didn’t receive any overseas help in 2020.
The federal government under the Trump Administration suspended J-1 visas as it tried to limit the spread of COVID, according to the American Immigration Council. Restrictions were eased the following year under the Biden Administration. However, there was a backlog in American embassies overseas.
Hartley said things have slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“In 2021, I think we only have four or five [students,]” he said. Then it was a slow start getting going in 2022. A lot of the embassies were still closed for a while. But everyone now is really back into the full swing of things.”
A State Department spokesperson said that substantial improvements were made last year in reducing wait times across all visa categories.
For the last couple of years, the Alliance for International Exchange reported that more than 4,900 overseas students came to the U.S. for a summer work travel program.
Lisa Murray, director of the exchange program at the American Immigration Council, said she is also seeing a return to pre-pandemic activity in exchange programs.
“It’s taken us a few years to kind of get back up to our pre-COVID numbers. I would say that we are definitely there now.”
The nonprofit Jersey Pride has produced New Jersey’s annual LGBTQ Pride event in Asbury Park on the first Sunday in June since 1992. Attendance usually surpasses 20,000 over the weekend.
Happy Pride 🏳️🌈 See NJ’s 34th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration
Watch video of New Jersey’s 34th annual Statewide LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration in Asbury Park, on Sunday, June 7, 2026. 🏳️🌈
ASBURY PARK- The 34th Annual Statewide LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration in Asbury Park will take place from Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7, and the main festivities will culminate on Sunday with the grand parade and the outdoor beachside festival.
Jersey Pride Inc., the nonprofit organization that produces the Garden State’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Celebration in Asbury Park the first Sunday in each June, launched its annual parade and festival in 1992, and has remained a constant for New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ residents and their allies.
It is the largest, and oldest, LGBTQ Pride Celebration in the garden state, with attendance under normal circumstances surpassing 20,000 over the weekend.
Tickets to the family (and pet) friendly event cost $10 and will feature New Jersey’s largest outdoor display of the Names Project’s AIDS Memorial Quilt, rides in our Family Zone, and an array of eating options at the food court.
The Festival
The Pride Festival will see community groups and businesses distribute a wide variety of information, including job opportunities, housing options, family issues, disease prevention and screening, sources of support for victims of violence and abuse, legal rights and services, and the availability of support for issues that the queer community faces, according to Jersey Pride.
The Rally
Local artists will share the rally stage for a six hour outdoor concert against a backdrop of the Asbury Park Boardwalk and Atlantic Ocean. Adore Delano, Bryan Ruby, Dayo Dane, Danny Blu, Jasper, How I Became Invisible and Sister Funk are some of the artists headlining the rally.
The Parade
The parade will start at noon on June 7 at Asbury Park City Hall and head south on Main Street, then left on Cookman Ave toward the ocean, then left on Grand Ave. The parade will continue north on Grand to Sunset Ave, where it turns right and ends at the Rally / Festival Grounds.
Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com
New Jersey’s most welcoming towns pair walkable main streets with year-round arts calendars and centuries of preserved history. Some carry deep Revolutionary War legacies. Others grew up around an art museum or a resident orchestra. Free jazz fills Nishuane Park. The Mayo Performing Arts Center hosts touring Broadway shows. Expect Victorian beach streets, summer Shakespeare, and old battlefields. All places where strangers get treated like neighbors.
Cape May
Cape May built its hospitality on its bed-and-breakfast district. Longtime innkeepers remember returning guests by name. The city holds one of the largest collections of 19th-century frame buildings in the country. That Victorian architecture earned it National Historic Landmark status in 1976. Cape May stands at the southern tip of the state’s coast, where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Beach access stretches past Cove Beach and Poverty Beach to the central stretch near Beach Avenue. The Washington Street Mall handles shopping and dining inland. The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse still operates at the southern point. Visitors can climb its 199 steps for a view of the bay and ocean below.
Princeton
Princeton turned its university art museum into a public town square. The free museum opened a new building in October 2025 and holds more than 117,000 works. Princeton University began as the College of New Jersey in 1746, among the oldest in the country. Its collegiate Gothic campus stays open for self-guided architectural tours.
Bookstores and cafés line Nassau Street and Witherspoon Street downtown. Princeton Battlefield State Park preserves the ground where George Washington beat British troops in January 1777. The Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park follows the old canal corridor nearby. Level paths there suit walking and biking.
Morristown
Morristown holds the country’s first national historical park. Established in 1933, it preserves the site where the Continental Army camped through the brutal winter of 1779-1780. The town carries one of the deepest Revolutionary War legacies anywhere. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named it a Dozen Distinctive Destination. The Ford Mansion served as George Washington’s headquarters and stays open for tours. Acorn Hall, Historic Speedwell, and the MacCulloch Hall Historical Museum round out the historic-house circuit.
The Mayo Performing Arts Center on South Street books classical music, touring concerts, and Broadway shows year-round. The Morristown Green gathers the downtown restaurant and shopping scene around one public square.
Madison
Madison hosts the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University. It is the state’s only professional company devoted to Shakespeare and the classics. Performances fill the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre through a long summer season. The town stands about five miles east of Morristown.
Independent cafés, bakeries, and boutiques fill Main Street and Waverly Place. The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts occupies the 1900 James Library building. Its displays show the tools New Jersey artisans used in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Montclair
The free Montclair Jazz Festival fills Nishuane Park each year. Emerging and established players make it one of the larger jazz gatherings in the region. The town rests on the eastern slope of the Watchung Mountains. It keeps one of New Jersey’s busiest arts calendars. The Montclair Art Museum on South Mountain Avenue centers its collection on American and Native American art.
The Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University books dance, music, and theater all year. Restaurants and shops line Bloomfield Avenue in the Montclair Center district. The restored 1922 Wellmont Theater hosts touring concerts and comedy.
Westfield
The New Jersey Festival Orchestra calls Westfield home and plays venues around town all year. Shops, boutiques, and restaurants fill the Union County downtown along East Broad Street and Elm Street. The 1922 Rialto on East Broad Street was long the town’s movie house. It is being reborn as the Center for Creativity, a community arts venue for film, performance, and exhibitions.
Mindowaskin Park holds a pond, walking paths, and picnic spaces near downtown. The Spring Fling and FestiFall events bring music, food, and family activities to the blocks each year.
East Brunswick
Giamarese Farm and Orchards keeps a pick-your-own operation in East Brunswick. It offers seasonal fruit and vegetable picking, a corn maze, and autumn hayrides. The Middlesex County town leans toward families. Butterfly Park sets aside green space for butterfly conservation. Crystal Springs Family Waterpark gives a summer cooling-off spot.
Playhouse 22 stages community theater, plays, and concerts year-round. The East Brunswick Public Library hosts programs and exhibits as a cultural hub. Bicentennial Park and the Tamarack Golf Course cover the sports side. Route 18 puts New Brunswick and the central Jersey corridor within easy reach.
Hospitality You Can Walk To
Hospitality here shows up in small, repeatable ways. The Morristown Green fills with the same faces every weekend. Princeton opens its new art museum to everyone for free. The New Jersey Festival Orchestra tunes up in Westfield. Giamarese Farm hands East Brunswick families a basket every fall. None of it is staged for outsiders. These towns built their welcome for the people who live there. The rest of New Jersey keeps showing up anyway.
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Powerball winning numbers are in for the Saturday, June 6 drawing with a jackpot that reached an estimated $212 million ($94.5 million cash option).
The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing are 16, 32, 55, 59, and 64, with Powerball number 3. The Power Play number is 3.
Did anyone win the Powerball jackpot?
No one won the Powerball jackpot.
When is the next drawing of the Powerball?
The next Powerball drawing is Monday. Drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
How late can you buy a Powerball ticket?
In New Jersey, in-store and online ticket sales are available until 9:59 p.m. on the night of the draw.
What does it cost to play Powerball?
Powerball costs $2 to play. For an additional $1 per play, the Power Play feature can multiply nonjackpot prizes by two, three, four, five or 10 times.
Are you a Powerball winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All New Jersey Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.99. For prizes over $599.99, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at New Jersey Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to New Jersey Lottery, Attn: Validations, PO Box 041, Trenton, NJ 08625-0041.
Winners can drop off their claim form and winning ticket in person at the New Jersey Lottery office where a secure drop box is available. Claim forms are also available at the office. Hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Lawrence Park Complex, 1333 Brunswick Avenue Circle, Trenton, NJ 08648.
To find a lottery retalier, you can search the NJ lotto website.
What is the Powerball payout?
The complete guide to winnings is:
- Match 5 White Balls + Powerball: Jackpot
- Match 5 White Balls: $1 million
- Match 4 White Balls + Powerball: $50,000
- Match 4 White Balls: $100
- Match 3 White Balls + Powerball: $100
- Match 3 White Balls: $7
- Match 2 White Balls + Powerball: $7
- Match 1 White Ball + Powerball: $4
- Match Powerball: $4
- Match 5 White Balls with Power Play: $2 million
- Match 4 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $200,000
- Match 4 White Balls with Power Play: $400
- Match 3 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $400
- Match 3 White Balls with Power Play: $28
- Match 2 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $28
- Match 1 White Ball + Powerball with Power Play: $16
- Match Powerball with Power Play: $16
What are the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot?
The overall odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million.
How do I find the Powerball winning numbers?
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Drawings are also lived streamed on Powerball.com. The winning numbers are posted to the Powerball and New Jersey Lottery websites.
-
West Virginia1 minute agoClassroom 2 Career initiative continues work to pair West Virginia students with career pathways – WV MetroNews
-
Wyoming8 minutes ago‘Hurts my heart’: Wyoming archaeologist speaks out against petroglyph vandalism
-
Crypto11 minutes agoBitcoin Surges 5% to $64K, Settles Near $62.5K as Trump Says Netanyahu Must Accept Iran Deal
-
Finance16 minutes agoCalifornia students must soon learn personal finance to graduate. Here’s how it will be taught
-
Fitness23 minutes agoThe Genius New Way to Lower Cholesterol Has Nothing to Do With Diet or Exercise
-
Movie Reviews31 minutes agoFilm Review: ‘Scary Movie’ Has Some Occasional Laughs But Mostly is a Lazy Misfire – Awards Radar
-
World41 minutes agoChina Box Office: ‘Dear You’ Leads Again as ‘Masters of the Universe’ Debuts
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoTony Award winners list: ‘Schmigadoon!’ wins best musical, ‘Death of a Salesman’ lives on
