New Jersey

Paul McCartney spotted in Metuchen: This week in Central Jersey history, Feb. 24-March 2

Published

1 year ago

February 24, 2025

Paul McCartney spotted in Metuchen: This week in Central Jersey history, Feb. 24-March 2

It was reported on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 that former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was spotted in front of the Buttery Bake Shoppe on Main Street in Metuchen on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 by borough resident John Manzo, who took a quick picture.

McCartney, 77, strolled around the borough. enjoying the spring-like day. He was seen taking pictures of the Metuchen’s downtown area.

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

Feb. 25, 2020: Gov. Phil Murphy proposed a $40.9 billion budget that raised taxes on millionaires, cigarettes and guns while setting aside a record amount of money for NJ Transit ― but helped pay for that by diverting money from other accounts, moves he’d denounced as budget gimmickry.

Feb. 26: According to several reports, the book “The Good Nurse” about Charles Cullen, a former nurse who was convicted in March 2006 of 22 counts of first-degree murder and is serving eight life sentences at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, might soon be turned into a Netflix film, it was reported.

Feb. 27: It was reported PharMedium, a South Brunswick healthcare company, would close on April 20, 2020 after the federal Food and Drug Administration said it manufactured and distributed drugs intended to be sterile, such as oxytocin and morphine sulfate, that were adulterated because the drugs were made under insanitary conditions.

Feb. 29: A patient at Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel who was suspected of having the novel coronavirus was cleared after tests were performed. While test results were awaited, the patient was treated in isolation.

Feb. 29: The Rutgers Prep boys basketball team beat Watchung Hills, 71-57, winning its first Somerset County Tournament title since 1983.

March 1: In an episode called “Human Sawdust,” the show Forensic Files II, on HLN cable news channel, featured Melanie McGuire, the former Woodbridge resident convicted of killing her husband, cutting his body into pieces and discarding them inside suitcases thrown into the Chesapeake Bay.

10 years ago

Feb. 25, 2015: Gov. Chris Christie was proposing a $33.8 billion spending plan for the fiscal year starting Wednesday, July 1, 2015 that included extensive changes to public workers’ pensions and health benefits, it was reported.

Feb. 26: It was reported Robert Heary, a surgeon at Rutgers University’s teaching hospital in Newark, was its highest paid employee, earning $3.14 million.

Feb. 26: In the 2015 Greater Middlesex County girls basketball tournament final, Piscataway High School beat Monroe, 77-74, in overtime, making it Piscataway’s third straight championship.

Feb. 27: The body of missing Perth Amboy man Moises Torres, an 80-year-old with dementia and hearing loss, was found at a spot along the Middlesex Greenway behind the former Boro Hardware in Metuchen, a more than seven-mile walk.

Feb. 27: HelloFresh, a delivery service for recipe kits, opened a warehouse and storage facility at 1501B W. Blancke St. in Linden, bringing more than 100 jobs to the city, it was reported.

Feb. 28: It was reported Jared Silverstein, a senior at Hillsborough High School who participated in the Grammy in the Schools Grammy Camp, performed on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015 at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

2000

Feb. 25, 2000: Tara Cunningham, 20, was sentenced to five years in prison ― the minimum prison sentence ― for stabbing and killing her boyfriend, Christopher Jay Hayes, in their Bound Brook apartment in November 1998.

Feb. 27: A growing movement of students at Livingston College at Rutgers University had started a grassroots effort to get Rutgers University to expand its student center, it was reported.

Feb. 27: The Westfield High School boys swimming team took first and second place in the 100-yard breaststroke and added a first and third place in the 400 freestyle relay to beat Cherry Hill East, 89.5-80.5, to win the Public A state title at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

Feb. 29: A Somerset County grand jury indicted Monique Lozada and Francisco Demoscoso, both of North Plainfield, and Manuel Carmona of Plainfield, in connection with the alleged kidnapping of Wilber A. Ramirez of North Plainfield.

Feb. 29: Katie Couric, co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show since 1991, spoke to an audience of more than 1,800 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick as part of the “Unique Lives and Experiences Women’s Lecture Series.”

Feb. 29: The body of a man was found in New Market Pond in Piscataway by a crew of township employees who were repairing the Washington Avenue bridge. The body was later identified as Zahid Saleem, 26, of North Plainfield, who had been missing since Friday, Jan. 14, 2000.

1975

Feb. 24, 1975: The New Brunswick board of education adopted a $10,710,934 budget for 1975-76. It was reported on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1975, they would ask the city for $8,760,312 of the total amount.

Feb. 24: Rev. Thomas Quinlan, 38, a South Amboy native, was shot and killed in a first-floor hallway of St. James Parish School in Penns Grove where he was principal. It was reported on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1975 that he was acting as a decoy in an attempt to lure the gunman out of the elementary school.

Feb. 25: In the semi-finals of the 11th annual Middlesex County Coaches Basketball Tournament, Woodbridge High School beat St. Joseph’s, 56-45, at Madison High School.

Feb. 27-March 1: “Anastasia” was presented by the Wardlaw-Hartridge Dramatic Club at the Wardlaw Country Day School campus in Edison.

Feb. 28: According to information released by the state Department of Labor and Industry, unemployment in Middlesex County rose by 1.5 percent in February 1975 to 10.3 percent.

Feb. 28: Under the guidance of second-year head coach Jerry Moore, Somerville High School set a school record for most victories in a season by beating Highland Park High, 56-53, in a basketball game.

1925

Feb. 24, 1925: Raymond H. Morris of New Brunswick was given a term of six months in the Hudson County penitentiary in the United States District Court after he entered a plea of guilty to an indictment charging him with embezzlement. He was taken to the penitentiary to begin his sentence.

Feb. 25-26: The movie “Love’s Wilderness,” starring Corinne Griffith, was shown at Reade’s Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

Feb. 27: In boys basketball, South River defeated Belleville High, 25-23.

Feb. 28: Plainfield experienced some sensations of an earthquake at about 9:30 p.m., the first of such an experience in the past 40 years, or since the more severe shock of 1885.

March 2: After taking a drink of orangeade at a Perth Amboy store, Anton Berlando, 4, of Carteret, became ill immediately and died before medical aid could be secured..

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

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New Jersey

Nightmare at NY Penn as train fire halts NJ Transit, Amtrak service for hours

Published

7 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Nightmare at NY Penn as train fire halts NJ Transit, Amtrak service for hours

New Jersey and New York City commuters are facing extensive delays in and out of New York Penn Station Friday, with intensifying ripple effects, after an Amtrak work train car on one of the hub’s tracks caught fire.

The FDNY says it was called to the Midtown scene on 31st Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, around 1:30 a.m. Nearly 100 personnel responded. Five civilians were evaluated at the scene by EMS, officials say.

It’s not clear what sparked the fire involving Amtrak’s contractor maintenance vehicles in one of the Hudson River Tunnels. It was knocked down well before 6 a.m., but service on New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and more was expected to see heavy impacts well into the morning rush, with Hudson River trains operating at reduced capacity. Amtrak said it didn’t expect to lift its suspension until at least noon.

Travel Advisory: Due to unforeseen track and signal maintenance resulting from a now extinguished fire in the New York area, all services traveling south of New York (NYP) are temporarily suspended. This suspension is anticipated to be in place until noon at a minimum. Services…
— Amtrak Northeast (@AmtrakNECAlerts) May 29, 2026
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New Jersey Transit and LIRR also announced delays and cancellations. Cross-honoring and diversion programs were in effect as the situation developed. Complete LIRR service at NY Penn had resumed by around 7 a.m., Friday said, though equipment issues were causing cancellations. Get the latest transit information here.

Video from outside Penn Station showed smoke billowing in the pre-dawn hours, as emergency personnel stood by with stretchers awaiting any potential victims.

Amtrak is investigating the cause of the fire.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause,” the agency’s latest announcement said, pledging to provide updates as new information becomes available.

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New Jersey

Violence reported at Delaney Hall in N.J. Calls to shut it down are growing

Published

20 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

Violence reported at Delaney Hall in N.J. Calls to shut it down are growing

How are detainees at Delaney Hall being treated?

A statement issued by DHS said detainees receive comprehensive medical care and all are treated well.

“They are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals,” the department wrote.

The release accused Sherrill, Booker and U.S. Sen Andy Kim, as well as U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez, Nellie Pou, LaMonica McIver, Frank Pallone and Analilia Majia, of continuing “to peddle falsehoods about ICE facilities,” and “spreading smears about ICE law enforcement and the Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey.”

Sinha said the assertion that individuals being arrested and taken to Delaney Hall are dangerous criminals is false.

“This is an administration that has repeatedly lied to us about what’s going on in immigration enforcement and immigration detention facilities,” Sinha said.

He added while Sherrill does not have the legal authority to enter Delaney Hall unannounced, that fact that she was denied entry is concerning.

“The federal government has denied her repeatedly, and it makes you question, ‘What is the federal government trying to hide?’” he asked. “They have no allegiance to any rule of law or semblance of democracy; they’re trying to rewrite the Constitution for people who are noncitizens.”

On Thursday, Sherrill issued a statement saying the New Jersey Department of Health attempted to conduct a inspection of Delaney Hall, but officials were only allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility.

“We will review and share the department’s findings from the limited portion it was allowed to inspect, and we will continue to pursue all appropriate avenues for demanding transparency and ensuring humane conditions for the individuals being held at the facility,” she said in the statement. “As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view.”

Sinha said a hunger strike among those inside the facility is continuing because they are being given spoiled food and inadequate medical care in deplorable conditions.

“People shouldn’t have to starve themselves to make their dignity known; people shouldn’t have to starve themselves to have their rights protected, but that’s what’s happening here,” he said.

Reports of escalating violence

Late Thursday afternoon there were reports of violence escalating within Delaney Hall.

Nedia Morsy, the director of Make the Road New Jersey, an immigration advocacy group, issued a statement saying multiple sources within the facility reported ICE agents attacking detainees and causing serious injuries.

“Right now there are ICE agents inside of Delaney Hall violently beating the hunger strikers,” Morsy said in the statement. “Someone will be killed if no one intervenes and shuts this down. These masked agents are acting as if they’re above the law. This is a modern-day concentration camp, and history will not forgive silence in this moment. We need to shut down Delaney Hall and free everyone inside.”

Resistencia en Accion, another immigrant rights group, also released a statement, calling for violence against detainees to end.

“We express our utmost disgust with the violence perpetrated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents today, May 28. Reports at approximately 1:40 p.m. reveal that ICE agents attacked the hunger strikers inside with batons and tear gas. Family members outside received calls from inside, confirming that there were people screaming, and according to their loved ones inside, unconscious detainees and blood on surfaces. ICE is the sole responsible actor for the escalation that has led to several wounded people inside and outside this week,” the statement reads.

WHYY News reached out to DHS late Thursday seeking comment about the reports of violence at Delaney Hall. A written statement was emailed to WHYY that said ICE agents had responded to a physical altercation involving detainees.

“In accordance with established ICE policies and their training, staff used the minimum amount of force to safely deescalate the situation,” DHS wrote. “Following the incident, all affected detainees were promptly evaluated by on-site medical personnel and were cleared with no serious injuries.”

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