New Jersey
Meet the stranded seals nursing back to health in NJ
BRIGANTINE – It’s seal stranding season in New Jersey, which means the Marine Mammal Stranding Center is busy.
For more than 45 years, the center has nursed marine mammals and turtles back to health across the state. Since opening in 1978, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center has responded to over 6,000 incidents, according to its website.
While the center has dealt with an escaped California sea lion and a beluga whale in the Delaware River, the vast majority of cases involve seals, sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins.
Many of the center’s seals are found on beaches, but it’s illegal to approach or touch them. The center recommends staying at least 150 feet away from a seal and contacting the center at (609) 266-0538 immediately.
More: They rescue ailing seals — plus dolphins, turtles and whales — along Jersey’s shores
There are currently three seals at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center’s intensive care unit. Here’s a little more about each of them.
Grey seal found on Point Pleasant Beach sidewalk
On Jan. 12, a jogger found a four-week-old seal pup lying on the sidewalk along Baltimore Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach, likely after a coastal storm that breached the bulkhead at Lake Louise. The seal was transported to the center, where technicians have had to help her eat fish and fluids because she was not eating on her own. The seal is lethargic and thin, weighing less than 28 pounds.
The seal is in guarded condition, and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center expects to know more about her prognosis soon. She’s currently being kept in a dry tank, with supervised swimming time due to her weakened condition.
Grey seal rescued from beach in Sea Bright
On Jan. 11, a four-week-old grey seal was found on the beach in Sea Bright. After arriving at the center, the 35-pound seal responded well to feeding, eventually eating on his own, and has since shed his lanugo, a white coat visible on young seals weeks after birth.
The center expects to release the seal back into the wild after he’s fully recovered and gains weight.
Harbor seal bitten by shark on Long Beach Island
On Christmas Day, the center responded to reports of an injured harbor seal in Surf City. Technicians found the seal with a large laceration on his left hip and multiple smaller wounds on his abdomen and tail.
Veterinarians at the center determined the seal was likely bitten by a shark, and administered both oral and topical medications.
The seal’s smaller wounds have almost healed completely, and the large laceration is starting to heal, as well, the center said in a Facebook post. The center expects to upgrade him from the intensive care unit to a pool in the coming weeks.
More: Jenkinson’s Aquarium mourns loss of Luseal, a ‘local at heart’
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He’s won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.
New Jersey
Yellowcard Brings Ocean Avenue to New Jersey’s Own Ocean Avenue
Yellowcard played the Stone Pony Summer Stage on Friday June 12th. It was an astounding set. The band performed nineteen tracks from every era and iteration of the band. It was a special night for anyone who is a fan.
Openers Plain White T’s and New Found Glory also deserve special credit for fitting the bill flawlessly. It was the perfect way to set the stage for the show to come. Both bands have a strong stage presence and were able to captures the crowd’s full attention.
Yellowcard opened with a video of the Paramount stars. They continued their set by playing interlude snippets of other major movies such as “Back To The Future,” “Top Gun,” “The Goonies,” and the “Ghostbusters.” It really felt like we were watching a cinematic experience as well as a concert. The production was second to none. There was even pyro during certain moments of the show.
The band played six tracks off their new album Better Days. This was a huge highlight of the show. Better Days is not only the best Yellowcard album since Ocean Avenue, it’s one of the best pop-punk releases of the decade. The band worked tightly with Travis Barker, Avril Lavigne, and Alkaline Trio to enhance all aspects of the genre. The new tracks warranted even more of a reception than older tracks. We were truly watching a band in their prime.
Overall, Yellowcard are showing us the new heights bands can reach within the pop-punk genre. Their breakup and triumphant return displays to us that anything is possible. Please enjoy our gallery below from photographer Anthony Vito Cosentino.
Plain White T’s
New Found Glory
Yellowcard
All Photos by Anthony Vito Cosentino
New Jersey
Historical marker recognizing Lawnside, New Jersey, to be unveiled Friday
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.
The borough of Lawnside in Camden County will be honored with a historical marker from the New Jersey Historical Commission as part of the state’s Black Heritage Trail.
A ceremony unveiling the marker will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at Lawnside Borough Hall on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Road.
Marsharee Wright, aide to Lawnside Mayor Mary Ann Wardlow and long-time resident, said everyone is thrilled about the marker unveiling.
“We’ve invited the entire community and neighboring towns to come share the celebration with us,” Wright said.
Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, said it’s “an extreme honor” for the borough to be included in the state’s program, especially as Lawnside is amid a year-long celebration of its centennial.
“It really lifts our profile and hopefully more people will understand and know what Lawnside is about and what it means in the nation,” Shockley said.
Lawnside was one of six sites selected in Camden County in 2024, including “The Point,” a historic Black neighborhood in Haddonfield. Its marker was unveiled last June.
During the ceremony, the borough’s history will be showcased, along with the original documents signed by Gov. A. Harry Moore in 1926, which made way for the borough’s creation.
Though there are many Black enclaves in South Jersey, the borough is the state’s only incorporated antebellum Black community. First known as Free Haven, and later Snow Hill, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Peter Mott built a three-floor dwelling in 1844 that was once part of sprawling farmland where he helped slaves escape.
Mott’s house, now owned by the Lawnside Historical Society, serves as an Underground Railroad museum.
New Jersey
Is ICE giving up on Roxbury detention center? NJ leaders laud report
See the Roxbury warehouse scouted by ICE as possible deportation site
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in Roxbury recently apparently scouting a Rt. 46 warehouse as a possible migrant deportation facility.
Federal officials are considering abandoning plans for a controversial immigration detention facility in Roxbury, New Jersey, according to a June 18 report by The New York Times, prompting local leaders and state officials to declare a victory after months of legal and political opposition.
The proposed facility, a warehouse property purchased to serve as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, faced intense criticism from local residents, environmental advocates and elected officials who argued the site was unsuitable for housing detainees.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the Department of Homeland Security appeared to be backing away from the project following legal challenges that halted development.
“Today the New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is backing down on its mass detention center in Roxbury,” the statement said. “That is a big win for public safety, for the township of Roxbury, and for New Jersey.”
According to the Times report, the Roxbury facility is one of seven ICE is planning to dispense with by transferring ownership to other federal agencies or selling them.
Opponents argued the warehouse was designed as a logistics facility and lacked the infrastructure necessary to support a large detention center. They also raised concerns about the potential strain on local water and sewage systems and the impact on environmentally sensitive land surrounding the site.
State officials said they joined Roxbury Township in court to challenge the project, contending that federal plans violated local regulations and posed risks to the community.
“DHS’s plans were always illegal,” the statement said. “The Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people.”
Rep. Rob Menendez said in a statement on Thursday: “We are working to confirm reporting that ICE is abandoning its Roxbury warehouse plans, but if true, this would be big news. From day one, we have fought to stop this facility, bringing together thousands of New Jerseyans in opposition. Now we are on the cusp of an important win for our state.”
The detention center was expected to become part of the federal government’s broader immigration enforcement and detention network. However, the project became a flashpoint in New Jersey, drawing opposition from both local officials and residents concerned about public safety, environmental impacts and the facility’s compatibility with surrounding land uses.
Federal officials have not publicly confirmed whether the property will be sold or formally removed from consideration. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the reported change in plans.
Opponents vowed to continue monitoring the situation until the project is officially terminated.
“This isn’t a partisan issue,” the statement said. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Roxbury community as we keep DHS’s feet to the fire to ensure this facility is never opened.”
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