New Jersey

Murphy gets high marks in early COVID: This week in Central Jersey history, April 21-27

Published

11 months ago

April 21, 2025

Murphy gets high marks in early COVID: This week in Central Jersey history, April 21-27

According to a Monmouth University Poll, Gov. Phil Murphy’s approval rating among New Jersey residents skyrocketed to 71% amid the coronavirus pandemic, jumping 30 points since September 2019, it was reported on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

The poll also showed wide approval of the strict measures the state had taken to slow the spread of the virus.

Here’s a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.

Five years ago

April 21, 2020: The Somerset County Park Commission announced the annual July 4th fireworks display at North Branch Park in Bridgewater and other popular events had been canceled due to the financial and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

April 21: Seton Hall basketball star Myles Powell earned a second straight Haggerty Award as the metropolitan area’s top player, becoming the first Pirate ever to receive the honor twice.

April 22: Gov. Phil Murphy reported 3,551 new cases of the coronavirus in New Jersey at the state’s daily briefing, bringing the statewide total to 95,865. He also reported 314 more virus-related deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 5,063.

April 24: It was reported seven New Jersey schools were in the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the best 500 high schools released earlier in the week, including Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies on the campus of Middlesex County College in Edison.

April 24: Bon Jovi canceled the band’s upcoming summer tour with Bryan Adams, which included at show on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at the Prudential Center in Newark, it was reported.

April 25: It was reported the cities of South Amboy and Perth Amboy had canceled their annual joint Fourth of July celebration and several other large annual outdoor events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

April 27: According to a new Monmouth University Poll released three days after “Weed Day,” a sizeable majority of New Jersey voters would vote to legalize marijuana in November 2020, it was reported.

10 years ago

April 25, 2015: It was reported a person associated with Raritan Valley Community College in the North Branch section of Branchburg had been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and Somerset County and state health officials were conducting an investigation to identify those people who may have had sufficient exposure to require further testing.

April 25: Marisa Eve Girawong, a physician’s assistant, was killed in the 7.8 earthquake in Nepal. Before leaving to work there in 2014, Edison was listed as her place of residence.

April 25: Jonathan Morgan, 28, of Plainfield, one of two men responsible for the 2010 robbery and murder of Isidro Leonardo, 44, a Plainfield taxi driver, was sentenced to 45 years in state prison, it was reported.

April 25: The Stone Temple Pilots and Dreamers performed at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair.

April 26: The Franklin Township Food Bank’s annual Tour de Franklin fundraiser, featuring 62-, 40-, 25- and 10-mile rides, as well as others, was held in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.

April 26: The Montgomery High School boys tennis team won four of their five matches to beat Pingry, 34-30, clinching their seventh straight Somerset County Tournament tennis team title at the Green Knoll Tennis Center at Bridgewater.

2000

April 21, 2000: Lightning struck at least four homes in Middlesex County between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., setting one of them on fire.

April 23: It was reported New Jersey actors Avery Brooks and Joe Morton would be featured in the 11th annual “Genesis Festival 2000, New Voices in African-American Theatre,” which would begin Saturday, April 29, 2000, at Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick.

April 24: New Jersey voters passed a record number of school budgets the previous week, approving 88.1 percent of spending plans, up from the previous year’s 82.8 percent, it was reported.

April 25: The Transcontinental Gas Line Co., a Texas-based natural gas pipeline company, won final approval to build a controversial 155-mile gas line through Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On Wednesday, April 26, 2000, New Jersey officials said they would contest the federal approval.

April 25: Shawnetta Stewart and Usha Gilmore became the first Rutgers University women’s basketball players selected in the WNBA Draft.

1975

April 21, 1975: In high school baseball, Rich Gabriel’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning gave South River a 3-1 win over Woodbridge, which had its first defeat of the season.

April 22: During a five-hour Somerville Board of Education session, 12 teachers were put out of jobs and two programs were cut despite protests from students, teachers, parents and citizens.

April 24: Secretary of State J. Edward Crabiel was back on the state government payroll, one day after his acquittal on highway bid-rigging charges.

April 25: East Brunswick Mayor Jean Sears Walling died of cancer at Middlesex General Hospital in New Brunswick. She was 53.

April 25: It was reported poet-singer Patti Smith would make her first New Jersey appearance on Wednesday, April 30, 1975, at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick.

April 26: County and state health inspectors had ruled out problems in the Dunellen High School cafeteria as the cause of sickness which had kept nearly one-third of the students home for two days, it was reported.

1925

April 21, 1925: Ground was broken by the Charter Construction Company, Inc. of New York for the erection of First Church of Christ, Scientist, at Prospect Avenue and East Ninth Street in Plainfield. It was reported on Wednesday, April 22, 1925, the cost would be $55,000.

April 22-23: The movie, “The Last Laugh,” starring Emil Jannings, was shown at Reade’s Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

April 23: Josephine Krysowaty, 11, who lived on Neshanic Mountain and was stabbed 20 times, died at Somerset Hospital, making it a murder case.

April 24: It was reported more than 700 people of Plainfield and vicinity had pledged active support of the campaign for $500,000 for Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield.

April 24: Rutgers University’s relay athletes regained the Middle Atlantic States Championship in the annual Penn relay games in Philadelphia, Pa., by beating Johns Hopkins, New York University and Lafayette in the mile relay.

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

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New Jersey

Division 3 NCAA Tournament: Three NJ basketball teams make the bracket

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Division 3 NCAA Tournament: Three NJ basketball teams make the bracket

Manasquan HS grad Matthew Solomon has special motivation in leading red-hot TCNJ. Montclair State, Stevens also repping the Garden State.

It was the kind of sequence that embodies everything we love about sports – and especially college basketball.

With 10 seconds left in the Saturday’s New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament final, TCNJ guard David Alexandre drove the lane, got cut off, spun around a whipped a pass into the paint as he fell backward. There to receive it was forward Matthew Solomon, a Manasquan High School grad, who finished his hard cut with a dunk that gave the Lions a two-point lead at Montclair State.

Then, on the other end, Montclair State star Jacob Morales had a long look at a game-winner with two seconds left – but Solomon closed out and blocked the shot as time expired.

Both teams are headed to the Division III NCAA Tournament, which unveiled its bracket today (so is a third New Jersey representative, Stevens Institute of Technology). It was an incredible moment on its face, so exhilarating that former Villanova coach and two-time March Madness champion Jay Wright spotlighted it on social media.

“That’s surreal,” Solomon said. “I grew up watching Nova, so to see that was really cool. He was giving Division 3 basketball some love, which is deserved.”

One of the best-kept secrets in college sports is just how high-quality D-3 hoops is, and Jersey has long been a hotbed, regularly sending squads to the Final Four. On the men’s side the Garden State’s last national champion was Rowan in 1996. That could change in the coming weeks.

But along with quality hoops, Division 3 ball features amazing stories, and the story behind Solomon’s heroics is even more incredible than jaw-dropping end to Saturday’s classic.

On his left wrist, the 6-foot-7 senior out of Spring Lake Heights wore protective tape over a wristband that read, “Paterno Strong” in honor of his cousin Billy Paterno, who died in 2024 at age 3 of leukemia. His parents, Point Pleasant residents Danielle and William, were at the NJAC title game.

“They’re an amazing family,” Solomon said. “The stuff they went through showed me what real strength looks like. Me facing adversity on the basketball court, when I look over and see them and look down on my wrist and see the Paterno Strong wristband, after what they did, I can keep playing for 40 minutes of basketball.”

Solomon finished the epic final with 22 points and 17 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting, but he was quick to credit Saddle River Day grad Alexandre (24 points, 4 assists) and ace point guard and Don Bosco Prep grad Nick Koch (14 points) for their contributions.

For some context on the achievement: Montclair State was 24-0 and ranked No. 1 in all of Division 3 when TCNJ beat the Red Hawks twice in three-game span.

“Jersey basketball, you know how it is – the best in the country,” Solomon said. “We got a taste of playing the top team in the country and that definitely prepared us for what’s next, and hopefully we prepared them, so we can both show the whole country what New Jersey basketball is about.”

There’s one more powerful aspect to Solomon’s story. His father Larry Solomon died of Covid in February 2021, and a month later his brother Andrew Solomon hit the game-winning shot with one second left in the Shore Conference A final, capping a perfect season for Manasquan High. Andrew went on to serve as a manager with Monmouth’s basketball program.

“People are trying to compare my shot to his, but Andrew’s got me topped by a million,” Matthew said.

But between his father and his cousin Billy, “I’ve got people watching me from above,” Matthew said. “All the things I do are for them.”

Keep that in mind as TCNJ (21-6 overall, 14-4 NJAC) opens the Division 3 bracket against Johns Hopkins (20-7) Friday Randolph-Macon in Ashland Virginia. The winner will face either host Randolph-Macon (25-3) or North Carolina Wesleyan (21-6) Saturday at the same site.

“We know we can run with the best of them,” Solomon said. “We’re not pleased with just being here now. Maybe the past two years, just making it was enough. This year that’s not enough. We’ve got a special group.”

In a new wrinkle this year, the D-3 quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place in Indianapolis, sharing a stage with the Division I Final Four. It’s a fitting reward.

“Playing Division 3 basketball has changed my life,” Solomon said. “You’ve really got to love the game, but I’ve built relationships with teammates, coaches and alumni – connections that I’m going to have the rest of my life. If I were to go back to high school, I would make the same exact decision a thousand times out of a thousand.”

Montclair State (25-1, overall, 17-1 NJAC)

The Red Hawks reached No. 1 in the nation after reeling off 24 straight wins to open the campaign. They average 92.1 points per game shooting a whopping 40.4 percent from 3-point range and hitting 13.1 triples per game.

They will play host to Maine-Farmington (22-5) on Friday, and if they win will host the winner of Bates (18-8) vs. Yeshiva (20-8) in the second round on Saturday.

Leading the way is senior forward Jacob Morales, a Montvale native, Pascack Hills High School grad and former Rutgers walk-on. The NJAC Player of the Year averages 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard and Trenton native Kabrien Goss (14.7 ppg), freshman guard and Morris Catholic grad Cristian Nicholson (11.4 ppg) and sophomore forward and Lenape High School grad Myles Primas (9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are key contributors.

Under head coach Justin Potts, the Red Hawks reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and also made the field in 2022-23.

Stevens (18-9 overall, 10-4 MAC Freedom)

The Ducks are four-time MAAC Freedom champions under head coach Bobby Hurley, who won his 300^th game at the program’s helm in February.

They will visit Christopher Newport (21-5) in Newport News, Va., on Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s second round at the same site against either Mount Union (23-3) or Washington and Jefferson (22-6).

Junior guard Tommy Scholl, the MAC Freedom MVP, averages 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior forward Harmehar Chhabra, a South Brunswick High School grad, averages 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists and recorded a triple-double (12 points, 11 boards, 11 assists) against Lebanon Valley last month.

Junior guard Kyle Maddison (14.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.0 apg) and senior guard Matt Leming out of Haddonfield (9.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) add to an offense that shoots 47 percent from the field.

This is the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, all under Hurley. The Ducks reached the second round in 2022.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

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New Jersey

Blizzard causes heavy damage to New Jersey animal refuge

Published

15 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Blizzard causes heavy damage to New Jersey animal refuge

A New Jersey animal shelter is asking for the public’s help after last month’s blizzard did heavy damage to its property in Ocean County.

On social media, Popcorn Park Animal Refuge posted a video and described the fury of the storm. saying that the blizzard “caused unexpected damage… impacting habitats, fencing, structures, and critical infrastructure.”

The nonprofit animal haven says its team “worked tirelessly to keep every animal safe during the storm,” however, “the aftermath has left us facing urgent repairs and significant financial strain.”

Photo: Popcorn Park Animal Refuge

The refuge says this winter has been “especially challenging.” It says “repeated severe weather has forced extended closures to the public, further limiting vital support and creating an added burden during an already difficult recovery period,” adding “we need our community now more than ever.”

Popcorn Park was established in 1977, according to its website. It’s part of the Associated Humane Societies — which bills itself as New Jersey’s largest animal welfare organization. Popcorn Park describes itself as “a sanctuary for abandoned, injured, ill, exploited, abused, or elderly farm animals, birds, and wildlife (domestic and exotic).”

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Natural Daylight Time: What is it, and why New Jersey should adapt this practice instead

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Natural Daylight Time: What is it, and why New Jersey should adapt this practice instead

We’re now officially less than a week before we spring forward in New Jersey, and everyone has an opinion on it. The clock change, by the way, will happen on Sunday, Mar. 8, 2026. We’ll essentially skip the 2 a.m. hour and gain the extra hour of daylight in the evening.

But the reality is, we don’t gain a thing when we do this. We’re so conditioned to believe we gain sunlight, but all we’re doing is shifting the clocks. Animals don’t do this, and are unaffected by what a clock says.

ALSO READ: Snow vs. no snow: How most in NJ feel after latest blizzard

Our pets, on the other hand, are forced to change with our practice of doing this. It really is an outdated practice, but we can’t stop it just like that simply because we’ll either complain about it being too dark during winter mornings under daylight saving, or getting dark too soon during summer nights under standard time.

It should be a lot simpler. And for those of us in New Jersey, it can be. Here’s what I think we should do.

Time clocks calendar thumbs up green check approve sunrise sunset

Canva (Townsquare Illustration)

Leave the clock, adjust our day

When I worked on a golf course, all we did was adjust when we came in based on when the sun came up. During the longer days, we started at 6 a.m. And when the sunrise was later than 6 a.m., we adjusted our start time to 7 a.m.

Why can’t we just do this when it comes to work and school? Leave the clocks in standard time since that’s the one truly aligned with the Earths rotation. During the winter, make the regular workday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., then adjust it to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the summer. It’s just that simple.

In other words, we’d be following Natural Daylight Time. Just get rid of the clock change, and adjust our day based on the sunrise. Problem solved.

Final flakes: When does snow season end in NJ?

Gallery Credit: Dan Zarrow

Significant or historical events in New Jersey for March (in chronological order)

Here are some of the historical or significant events that impacted New Jersey or happened in the Garden State during March. Is there an event missing? Let us know with an email to dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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