New Jersey
Police in Westampton, New Jersey investigate teen chaos after rec center gathering:
A South Jersey neighborhood was thrown into chaos Friday night after a large group of teens poured out of a party at the Westampton Recreation Center and into the nearby Spring Meadows development, disturbing residents and damaging property.
Tatiana Iglesia had just put her newborn to bed when her partner, Eric Rodriguez, ran in, alarmed by the noise outside.
“He’s like, ‘call the cops — call the cops! They’re on top of the cars — they’re destroying them…they’re fighting,’” Iglesia recalled Rodriguez saying. “They were just on top of the cars — it was a riot outside.”
That chaos was captured on a video the couple shared from their Ring security camera. The footage showed dozens of teens running through the streets and jumping on cars. At one point, what sounded like a taser could be heard in the background.
“When I look out the window, I just see hundreds of kids everywhere…on my lawn, in my driveway, in my neighbor’s driveway…in the middle of the street,” Iglesia said.
Police helped disperse the crowd, but Iglesia and Rodriguez soon realized both of their vehicles were damaged. The roofs and hoods were all dented in. The mirrors and lights were also damaged, and footprints were visible the next day.
Westampton Township police said they responded to the neighborhood and are now investigating the incident, which they say appears to have started at the recreation center.
Fourteen-year-old Mikaela Barclay said she was at the party, which drew students from at least four different area high schools. She said the evening started off without issue — there was music and dancing — but things escalated once the party ended and the crowd left the building.
“That’s when it went all sorts of crazy,” Barclay said. “There were kids trying to fight in the middle of the road…jumping on cars.”
Barclay, who lives in the neighborhood, said most of the teens involved didn’t live nearby and showed little regard for the people who did.
“They were so disrespectful,” she said.
Other South Jersey towns that have experienced similar incidents are now taking measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The incident unfolded the same weekend Gloucester Township Day was postponed due to what officials described as “credible threats of violence and unlawful activity.” Last year, ten teens were arrested during the event following reports of large groups causing disturbances.
In another preventative move, Wildwood officials recently announced they would strictly enforce a 10 p.m. curfew for minors ahead of the busy summer season, warning that any violations would result in arrests — not only of the teens but also their guardians.
In Westampton Township, police say they’re now reviewing how the situation unfolded and are working to ensure similar disruptions don’t happen again. CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the mayor and the recreation department to learn what additional measures may be put in place.
Iglesia said she wants accountability.
“We came here after we started having our kids, trying to have a better life,” she said. “We worked really hard to get our cars, and for kids just to come out and do things without repercussions is so, so frustrating.”
New Jersey
NJ’s new budget is coming. How will state finances affect your taxes?
3-minute read
Gov. Mikie Sherrill addresses affordability crisis in NJ: video
Watch new Gov. Mikie Sherrill on state affordability: “Too many people are working too hard and still falling behind.” Jan. 20, 2026 at NJPAC, Newark
Gov. Mikie Sherrill is set to present her first state budget proposal in a Tuesday, March 10, address to the New Jersey Legislature. It’s clear the proposal will make some hard choices as state finances face major headwinds.
Late last month, Sherrill said her budget plan will include some “tough choices” because of the looming uncertainty of a structural deficit for state finances.
The governor explained that if projections stay on the current path, the state would have a structural deficit of about $3 billion by the end of June, when her proposed budget would be in the final stages of negotiations with the Legislature.
Uncertainty due to federal funding cuts, along with the end of pandemic relief funding, has already forced Sherrill to consider all of her options when crafting her plan for New Jersey’s fiscal year 2027.
The governor wouldn’t give particulars about what to expect in her upcoming fiscal plan but instead said she is “setting the table so people can anticipate that this is going to be a tough budget season.”
What does a structural deficit mean for New Jersey taxpayers?
A structural deficit, simply put, means New Jersey spends more than it earns.
Among the costliest tax relief programs in the state’s history, Stay NJ was introduced legislatively in the run-up to the fiscal year 2024 budget and received funding for three years without paying anything out.
The first Stay NJ checks are being sent out to qualifying New Jersey seniors, but the accumulated $1.2 billion covers only the first six months of the program for this year. Roughly $900 million will need to be added to the line item in Sherrill’s first fiscal plan to maintain the program.
The law that created Stay NJ requires full pension payments, full school funding payments and a surplus of at least 12% to be built into the budget as prerequisites for funding the program. The surplus was not 12% when the budget was signed during the last two years, but budget language allowed for a work-around.
Sherrill would not commit to requiring the prerequisites before she would be willing to sign a budget bill in late June.
Increasing costs for the State Health Benefits Program, which is already a contentious topic, could also be a concern for the new governor, as payments are about $2 billion annually and the 10% increase needed in this year’s budget added more than $180 million.
How does New Jersey’s budget process work?
New Jersey’s $58.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 is the largest in history and is set to expire at the end of June.
The plan for fiscal year 2027 — which will run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027 — is a major factor in how New Jersey state government will function by dictating which state departments and programs are funded.
After Sherrill’s address in March, her proposed spending and revenue plan will be analyzed and shaped in the Legislature through the spring. Negotiations will heat up as the current fiscal year winds to a close in June. If the budget cycle is normal, a final budget bill will land on Sherrill’s desk hours before the current fiscal year ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 30.
Though it would be unlikely — given Democratic control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office — in the event the budget bill does not get signed, state government shuts down. There have been two shutdowns in state history: for 10 days in 2006 and three days in 2017.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
New Jersey
Woman fatally struck by NJ Transit train in Ramsey
Phil Murphy on NJ Transit future during State of State address
Gov. Phil Murphy discussed the future of NJ Transit during his final State of the State address.
A woman was fatally struck by a train in Ramsey on the morning of March 8.
The unidentified woman was hit by the train at 10:49 a.m., just west of the Main Street crossing near the main Ramsey station, said John Chartier, director of media relations for NJ Transit.
Rail service was suspended in both directions between Allendale and Port Jervis but has since resumed, with delays of up to 30 minutes.
The train came from Port Jervis and was heading to Hoboken, and 150 people were on board at the time, Chartier said.
NJ Transit police are leading the investigation. No additional information about the circumstances of the death was available.
New Jersey
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