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In a ‘surprising upset,’ the winner of this year’s Pizza Bowl is new to North Jersey

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In a ‘surprising upset,’ the winner of this year’s Pizza Bowl is new to North Jersey


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Forget Super Bowl LVIII, Jersey pizza lovers want to know who won Pizza Bowl IV.

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And we have a winner: Vinnies’ Mootz of Lyndhurst, whose thin and crisp grandma pie topped with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes took home the prize on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Redd’s Restaurant in Carlstadt.

Jersey Pizza Joints, a Facebook group with 100,000 members, sponsors the event. Its members act as judges and whittled down hundreds of pizzerias to the “delicious dozen.”

New to North Jersey’s pizza scene, Vinnies’ Mootz will celebrate its first anniversary in April. The winning pie is a collaboration between restaurant owner Vinnie Morelli and his pizza maker, Angelo Dalia.

Dalia, who owned Charlie’s Pizza in East Rutherford, which was opened by his parents 40 years ago, initially hired Morelli. Then Morelli, who specializes in making fresh mozzarella, hired him to make the pies.

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In the first three rounds, pizza makers from each of the three regions, North, Central and South Jersey, were judged. A winner from each region advanced to the final round.

The event started at noon. Attendees who paid $50 to attend served as judges of one of the earlier rounds. Celebrity judges, including former New York Giants player Stephen Baker, judged the final round.

It takes hard work

There are more than 3,000 pizza joints in the Garden State, so to win top honors takes some doing. JPJ founder Guy Madsen of Clifton says the bar to win this contest is pretty high.

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Just to make the final four in any one region means impressing a significant portion of JPJ’s 100,000 members. They are, he said, truly discerning in picking their favorite pie.

Take last year’s winner, Coniglio’s Old Fashioned of Morristown, which put out Brooklyn-style pie and holds several world pizza making championships. He was eliminated in the North Region round after being edged by Vinnies’ Mootz of Lyndhurst.

The difference in the North was incredible tight, JPJ judges said.

“That was a surprising upset,” Madsen told the crowd.

Then again JPJs’ whole schtick is that Jersey pizza is the world’s greatest.

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“Great pizza can be found all over New Jersey,” Madsen said. “The pizza in central and northern New Jersey is like the wine region of Napa and Sonoma valleys, the world’s best.”

North Jersey Region

  • Grumpy’s Pizza Co., Saddle Brook
  • Nellies Place, Waldwick
  • Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, Morristown
  • Vinnies’ Mootz, Lyndhurst

Central Jersey Region

  • Capricci Pizzeria Panineria & Restaurant, Howell
  • Squan Tavern, Manasquan
  • Maruca’s Pizza, Seaside Heights
  • Mancini Pizza, East Brunswick

South Jersey Region

  • Nonnas Pizza Deptford, Depford
  • Boaggio’s Bread, Mt. Laurel
  • Lillo’s Tomato Pies, Hainesport
  • Riccardo’s Italian Restaurant, Browns Mills

Past winners

There’s been a different winner every year for the Pizza Bowl — and each year, there’s been a different style of pie. The first year, Pizza Terminal of Verona won with its more traditional pie.

Year 2 was Maruca’s of Seaside and Asbury Park, which is a tomato pie, where cheese goes on first and the tomatoes sit on top.

Last year, the judges picked Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, which is a Brooklyn style pie, square, with lovely bits of plum tomato and basil.

Meatballs

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JPJ also holds an annual meatball contest as part of its Pizza Bowl, and JPJ members vote in the months preceding the pizza voting. John Speciale’s PizzAmore Italian Kitchen of Carlstadt has been a repeat winner. He won again in 2024.

“Thank you, this was one hell of party,” Speciale said. “I am beyond words.”

Hall of fame

Each year, JPJ names a longtime pizza maker to its hall of fame. This year, the honor went to Al Santillo, owner of Santillo’s of Elizabeth. The pizzeria and bakery has been closed since a Jan. 6 fire caused extensive damage.

Part of what makes Santillo’s stand out is its 100-year-old brick oven, with a barrel arch. It was purchased in 1957 by Santillo’s father for $10,000.

The oven is 16 feet wide and 10 feet deep and can hold up to 30 pizzas. The bricks are ancient and heated by gas jet. It has a shallow roof, which keeps the heat in.

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“It’s a cathedral,” said Speciale, of Santillo’s 104-year old oven.



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NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call

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NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call


A young firefighter died two weeks after being badly hurt in a crash while responding to a fire call, according to the Malaga Fire Company.

Robert (Bobby) Reider, 23, was driving north along Delsea Drive while trying to get to the scene of fire on Saturday, June 27 when his car went off the road, officials said.

When first responders got to the scene of the crash, they found Reider trapped in his car and worked to remove him.

Reider was then taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was treated for severe and traumatic injuries.

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Weeks later, on July 10 around 4:30 a.m., Reider died from his injuries while still in the hospital.

The Malaga Fire Company says that Reider joined their team in 2018 when he was just 16 as a junior firefighter.

He then went on to earn a certificate at Fire 1 at the Salem County Fire Academy in 2022.



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NJ Legislators Are Considering a Bill That Could Ban Tesla Robotaxis Due to Their Tech Choice

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NJ Legislators Are Considering a Bill That Could Ban Tesla Robotaxis Due to Their Tech Choice


New Jersey lawmakers are deliberating on a law that would create a three-year autonomous vehicle pilot program in the state, but Tesla might be banned from participating altogether over a technical choice made by the Texas-based carmaker for its self-driving vehicles.

The bill, officially known as S1677, would establish autonomous vehicle testing requirements with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. One of these proposed requirements is that autonomous vehicle operators use camera-based technology and two additional forms of sensor tech, such as lidar or radar. Of course, Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology is purely camera-based, meaning the brand could be banned from testing in New Jersey.

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The text of the bill is fairly straightforward, requiring prospective autonomous operators to submit a “law enforcement interaction plan” and detail redundant safety systems, crash-avoidance technology, and data recording capabilities. The specific language that would ban Tesla’s system requires autonomous operators to “be equipped with crash-avoidance systems, including a camera system and two distinct sensing modalities that are capable of detecting and tracking obstacles in the event of failure of the camera system.” The bill also favors keeping traditional steering wheel and pedal controls available. While initial testing would be completed with human safety operators, the bill would allow fully autonomous operation once certain metrics, such as 50,000 crash-free miles, are met.

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The decision to require both camera- and sensor-based technology is not a coincidence, according to The Verge. “This is not anti-Tesla. I’m pro-New Jersey safety,” Democratic state senator Andrew Zwicker, the bill’s primary sponsor and a physicist by trade, said to The Verge. “At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can.”

Tesla is, unsurprisingly, upset about this development, and the company is fighting back. The automaker’s public policy platform, Engage Tesla, features a call to action for Tesla owners to contact members of the New Jersey Legislature to oppose the bill, with the plea claiming the autonomous vehicle testing program is the opposite of progress, and saying that Tesla would be legally barred from testing in the Garden State. Statistics about roadway death rates in New Jersey and denying freedom of movement for elderly populations are also included.

pilot project with self driving teslas in the eifel region

picture alliance//Getty Images

“Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market,” the site reads. “Every arbitrary roadblock is a delay for the people who need this life-changing technology most. Legislation that bans Tesla’s proven AV technology from the market is not caution — it’s anti-competitive favoritism that will cause New Jersey to fall behind while other states move forward.”

The bill, introduced on January 16, is currently under consideration by the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill’s language closely mirrors talking points from the nonprofit SAVE-US, which is lobbying for stronger oversight of autonomous vehicle testing. New Jersey is not the only state pondering additional autonomous testing regulation; New York legislators are working on similar legislation. Just yesterday, federal safety regulators called out autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo for interfering with first responders.

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Headshot of Emmet White

A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.



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Are all Freedom Fuel locations $3.47? Not anymore

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Are all Freedom Fuel locations .47? Not anymore


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President Donald Trump is touting a new fuel option for motorists: Freedom Fuel, advertising gas at a discount price to local consumers.

When the network was opened and announced on July 7, it advertised $3.47 per gallon regular gas at the pumps, a noticeable difference from national and state averages in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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But is the gas actually as cheap as the 47th President says?

According to some gas tracking platforms, it may not be.

On GasBuddy, a website tracking gas prices across the country with a pricing heat map based on user submissions, some of the Freedom Fuel locations’ pricing appeared to have risen.

Some still sporting the names of what appeared to be their previous sites, like a Gas N Go on Island Ave, the following addresses on GasBuddy match those listed as one of Trump’s 25 gas stations.

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The pricing, however, varies:

  • 2200 Island Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 8
  • 400 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
  • 6243 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
  • 6800 E. Baltimore Ave, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
  • 6801 Tilton Rd., Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey – $3.89 as of July 8
  • 6501 Delilah Rd., Egg Harbor Township New Jersey – $3.57 as of July 9

Much about the gas station network remains unknown, like how long they’ll be operating or where stations could be popping up next.

Administration officials told USA TODAY on July 8 that the federal government has no role in the Freedom Fuel Network, nor is it providing it with funding.

The White House also said that “no other entity or person” is subsidizing the cost of gasoline.

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Contributing: Michelle Del Rey USA TODAY NETWORK

Kaitlyn McCormick is a Philadelphia-based reporter writing all things trending, breaking and city-related for USA TODAY’s Philadelphia Metro Connect Team.



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